The camera flickered back on a forth time. Pinkie Pie panted, looking tired.
"O-okay everypony...these...these bad guys from Tartarus won't let me stop until we got'em all back where they belong so...uuugh...remember the rules. What you put in the comments appears in the story. Nopony besides me can see beyond the fourth wall or interact with it and I can't spill the beans about us being out-and-out fiction to the others.
The camera can't leave the studio, we're using fancy telescope lenses for this. The characters can be from any generation, toy or comic but they have to be from "My little Pony"
Everything that happens here is non-canon (except the Tartarus break out thingie, but not the big battle). Have Fun Keep the number of characters in the single digit range. or at least managable. Seriously. Don't let it overload. TERRIBLE THINGS will happen if you do. O-okay...I'm...I'm gonna rest for a bit."
Meanwhile, far away at a normal hillside, a dark rift still existed that led to the oblivion. It was only the size of a small bit, but that didn't stop one unicorn shadow from trying to escape.
"Impatient draconequus, he was in such a rush that he forgot to fully close the rift." She stretched and pulled util she was able to squeeze through the opening. "Not that I am complaining, when it allows me the chance to steal somepony's light and finally open up my shop again." She flashed a wicked grin at the thought of tricking souls that were foolish enough to buy her wares. Her smile disappear when she saw she wasn't alone.
"I knew I left a few loose ends here." Anarchy looked at the rift then at the shadow. He snapped his fingers and a giant sewing needle and thread appeared floating by. "Sorry hon, I may be the spirit of freedom but I have orders. Back in you go."
Instead of fleeing, the shadow flew closer to him. "Oh lets not be hasty. What is just one shadow escaping. I am hardly a threat. Beside all I want to do is help fulfill ponies' desires." She floated inches away from his face. "Can't you let one teenie tiny insignificant shadow escaped her prison. Surely your mother wounldn't mind?"
"Nice try, but no dice." However, before he could grab the sly shadow, a long spider leg erupted from the rift and swiftly struck through her. The leg then pulled back into oblivion, dragging the shadow with it. Shocked but curious, Anarchy peered though opening to see what was there. "No way, could it be? Nightmare Phobia long time no see!"
"Hello Anarchy, It seems you have not forgotten me."
On the other side of the void, stood, a shadow of an alicorn skeleton with a black horn with large skeletal wings. Four long spider legs connected to the main body with sharp spikes on the end. Instead of a tail was a stinger. Her expression was unreadable.
"We draconequus have excellent memory for your information. Got it memorized." He tapped a coyote finger to his head. "Anyway why are you her? Planning on making a jailbreak beautiful?" He summoned two flamming chakrams to his side and a full bodied black coat appeared on him.
"And leave this wonderful quiet nothingness? No thank you. I merely was curious where this light was coming from. Now that I have, please close it before more shadows distract you." She turned and started to walk away, dragging a shadow with her.
"As expected from mom's number 1 groupie." He rolled his eyes and the chakrams disappeared. "Hey wait up babe. Want to go out for ice cream sometime? My treat."
The shadow turned around and gave a hollow laugh. "Whatever. Not like I have anything better to do."
Short while later the rift was sealed extra tight this time. No more nobodies were going to escape oblivion now.
Draggle made an odd face, somewhere between a smirk and a sympathetic wince, when she saw Katrina desperately running from the pack of (from the cat-witch's perspective) titanic canines. Twilight likewise giggled, but her violet eyes showed concern. "Well, we found her, at least...should we help her?" the unicorn asked. "I overheard Applebloom saying she caught Katrina earlier while the Crusaders were still transformed. She was outright terrified of them..."
"Ha! Serves her right!" Draggle chuckled, watching Crunch and his followers running in a circle as they chased their shrunken prey. They looked like they were all chasing their tails...even on Crunch, it was actually really cute.
Twilight gave the Witch a stern look. "Draggle, Katrina was begging the Crusaders not to eat her. And she's probably gotten stepped on at last once today, and at that size she's powerless. She's been through enough, don't you think?"
Draggle sighed and rolled her eyes a bit...but she nodded. "Alright, Twilight. SIT, BOYS! The cat is ours!!"
Crunch and the Diamond Dogs instantly stopped chasing Katrina an sat down, panting. "Aww, but I almost catch tiny cat-lady!" Crunch whined as Twilight easily intercepted Katrina and snatched her up with her magic. "Wanted to stone her and use as chess piece..." his ears drooped, but Draggle approached him and patted his chest as she soothed the Rock Dog.
"Don't feel bad. Next time you're chasing a baddie, you can have 'em. I won't complain at all." Crunch barked in joy and licked his new Witch-Friend.
Meanwhile, Katrina floated in a violet miasma, inches from a lavender titaness's face. Anyone, hero or villain, in her position would be understandably terrified...
But for once, Katrina held her cool. She'd already gotten squished and nearly eaten more times than she could count already; what was once more? And it wasn't like this unicorn would be any more merciless than those three monster-fillies or those dang mutts.
If she was lucky, the mare might even keep her as a pet and not send her back to Tartarus.
Katrina sighed, slumping in the air. "I guess I should thank you, kid....um, would you have any plans for me that DIDN'T involve me getting stepped on, sat on or eaten?" As tired as she sounded, there was genuine hope in her voice. "And, would you excuse me for not begging for mercy? I've...*cough*...got a bit of a sore throat from all the screaming in t--*Cough!*--terror I've done today. Oh, and PLEASE DON'T GIVE ME TO THOSE THREE FILLIES!!! ...*COUGH!!* ...Ow. Need....lozenge...."
Twilight had to remind herself that this was Katrina's EVIL, Katrina herself had already found redemption and had entered the afterlife from what Pandora had been walking about before she left.
"I'll add her to my bottled villains to send gift wrapped back to Tartarus," Princess Anasi said floating down to the small witch, and zapped Reeka and bottled the fat wicked witch as well. The bottle was sound proof, so Draggle couldn't hear Reeka begging her sister for rescue.
"Trixie, I have nothing against that idea in the least. But don't you think you've been in that Alicorn form long enough?"
"Why cannot Trixie STAY Anasi? Trixie, I mean Anasi, can help the Princesses with the strain of running Equestria! And Anasi will enjoy teaching some new magic to her mortal friend Twilight Sparkle! Is that not right, Twilight?"
"Trixie, why am I suddenly in a jester's outfit?"
"Just a joke." Anasi said in complete and total honesty.
Later in an already very long day, Applejack was wandering aimlessly through the cracked and cratered streets of Ponyville. She had a lot to think about.
She paused for a minute to watch a team of pegasi lifting a storefront back into place, then holding it there while a unicorn magically nailed everything together. She felt the Blank Wolf Pup appear by her side before he spoke... she was getting good at that. "Hey."
"Hello," he said cautiously. "So. How much do you remember?"
"All of it," admitted Applejack. "Every last detail... brother."
The Wolf blinked slowly. "How is that possible? The Orange Wolf was unmade, and you were remade in her place."
"That was the plan, wasn't it? But then a funny thing happened..." The farm pony took a deep breath before she continued. "When Ah was the Orange Wolf, Ah was all fired up to do mah duty, and that was it. That's what Ah was made for. I didn't think about what came next. It didn't even occur to me ta want anything different... And then *somewolf* told me all about how there was more to life, and Ah thought about it... and in mah last moments, Ah didn't want to just disappear! Ah told Rota Fortuna Ah wanted to live!"
The Blank Wolf's jaw dropped. "You truly did that?!" He cringed, tail between his legs. "Mother must have been furious with me!"
"Well, Ah haven't had time to get ta know her the way you do, obviously, but Ah'd say she took it pretty well. But..."
The Wolf tensed.
"Me and the Orange Wolf... we ain't two people and we never could be. Mah soul was all we had between the two of us. Ah'm Applejack... AND the Orange Wolf. She lives in me!"
The Blank Wolf sat his hindquarters down, speechless.
"Everything the Orange Wolf was, everything she could do... it's locked up in the back of mah head. Ah don't know how to use that power, and Ah don't know if Ah want to know. Just... if Ah start messing everything up... please, help me?"
The Blank Wolf nodded firmly, pressed a forepaw to her shoulder. "You have my *oath*... sister. Whatever you require, whenever you wish it, I will teach you. I caused this... I will make it right."
Applejack smiled, finally, shaking off the dread she'd been feeling. "Thank you. You don't know what a load off mah mind that is."
A couple of colts raced down the street, playing, and they ran straight through the Blank Wolf without ever noticing. "Ya know, Ah've been thinking."
"Hrrrm?"
"Ponies are startin' to think I'm a mite strange, talking to folks who ain't there. That's on top of the whole 'Truth Vision' thing. If Ah can be a wolf, maybe you can try being a pony sometime. See what it's like on this side of the fence."
The Wolf stopped in his tracks. "Applejack... I'm not a comic book supermare. I have serious responsibilities!" He paced, agitated. "I don't have time to be leading some double life in Ponyville... for what? Company? Parties? Comic misunderstandings and friendship reports?"
"Well, why don't you make time, mister?" AJ retorted. "Literally! Ya twist space and time around so much already, what's one more..." She sighed and started down the road again. "Look, Ah'm sorry. It was just a crazy idea. Ah shouldn't be a nag about..."
Hooves clattered on the trail behind her. AJ froze, then spun around. Where the Wolf had stood, now there was a white earth pony stallion with gold eyes and a shaggy black mane. Automatically, she looked towards his flank, and so did he, as if he didn't know what he'd find there either. There was, it turned out, a cutie-mark... a strange design like a spoked wheel, with four slash marks behind it.
AJ stared. "Well, Ah'll be... How does THAT feel?"
He frowned. "Limiting. And itchy. I should switch back before..."
Pinkie Diane came trotting around a corner, skidded to a halt, and GASPED.
The Wolf-turned-pony flinched. "No, wait... You know I'm not really..."
Pinkie dashed the other direction, a cloud of dust behind her.
"Hey, Applejack," said Twilight Sparkle, on her way back from the market with full saddlebags. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh, him? He's... uh..." Applejack looked to the stallion helplessly.
He flinched at being put on the spot. "Er... Snow Bound?"
AJ nodded along. "Yeah. Let's go with that."
Twilight lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, a mystery pony, huh? You can tell us all about him at the party."
"Party?!" exclaimed AJ. "What party?" Pinkie went by in another blur, and three party invitations dropped neatly onto their heads. "Oh, that party..."
'Snow Bound' hung his head. "I am not prepared for this..."
Twilight smiled. "Do you want my advice? Put your best hoof forward and dive on in. You might be glad you did."
-
"And, if that doesn't work, distract her with some candy and run like hell." Coffee Swirl, now wearing the sword in a scabard between his wings, joined the relief effort finally, helping haul a small cart of unsalvageable materials off to the dump. "Her parties can leave you grateful for any time alone you can get afterwards."
He glanced back at his heavy cart, then to the ponified wolf. "Any chance I can get you to just erase this junk?"
"None whatsoever," said Snow Bound humorlessly.
Applejack rubbed her chin with a hoof, getting a sly look. "Could ya haul the cart, then? You being a strong, healthy earth pony and all?"
He blinked. "Why... I don't know. Can I?" He shoved a hoof against the fully-loaded cart, and seemed surprised when it moved easily.
"Great!" said AJ, lifting the cart's harness off Coffee Swirl and putting it on Snow Bound instead. "The junk yard's over thataway, just over the hill. Catch you later!"
The Wolf-turned-pony twitched. "What just happened?"
Elsewhere in Equestria, far from the now-empty battlefield, a small red creature in a black cloak wandered towards no particular destination.
Good thing I took advantage of the battle to sneak away unnoticed... it thought, smiling wickedly underneath its cloak. I must lay low for a while. If I start stealing magic now, I'll only draw attention to myself.
The creature's eyes glowed a bright yellow. Soon, Equestria... soon you shall know the wrath of Tirek...
-
Meanwhile in Canterlot a white glowing serpent moved quickly past every single guard, making sure to stay out of sight. The tiny piece of Morning Star was only slowly gaining something resembling a mind but it was filled with the alien emotion of fear. It knew that it would be hunted down. It knew that others would put their plans into motion soon. It knew that it was in no condition to defend itself. It felt unperfected, like it needed something or someone.
But it felt something drawing it closer, a gate of sorts. It slithered into a mirror, sensing a similar spirit calling it, speaking its first word.
"Sunset Shi..."
Before it could finish and before anypony could hear it, it was gone. It left no trace behind.
*Meanwhile*
Anasi, still stubbornly in her Alicorn form, was a flurry of blue magic and floating magician's props of all kinds. Cards, wands, mirrors; they all floated about Twilight's basement laboratory in slow corkscrews as the showmare pored over a sketchpad with Twilight by her side. Upon the table were some tiny glass jars. Containing the still-shrunken, yet-to-be-sent-to-Tartarus villains.
Scribbling in the notebook, the temporary Alicorn gushed over her work. "Even if Anasi must return to her Unicorn state, that does not mean she can put on a show to celebrate today's victory! Thank you for helping me plan the show, Twilight; this will be one of our greatest feats...!"
Twilight smiled at her friend's enthusiasm, looking over the scripts and acts they'd come up with. "Thanks, Trix--er, Anasi. Pinkie's already got a victory party planned of course, but I think today's....insanity calls for something special. This show will be just that." Her smile slipped a little as her eyes flicked to her shrunken foes. "But...does the show really need them?"
Suzette looked utterly terrified; given that she'd once kidnapped two foals as pets for her daughter Margette, she had to know the karmic irony of her helpless state quite well. Margette, meanwhile, pouted like a brat (which she was) at the role-reversal.
Ahgg headbutted the walls of his jar again and again, trying to knock it over...whoch was proving difficult, given that it was held fast to the desk with both a light gravity spell and duct tape. Twilight couldn't read...mandibles well, but she was fairly certain that what Ahgg was saying was profane.
Reeka fumbled through a coloring book, mumbling as her rather fat hands kept breaking the crayons if she gripped them too hard. Twilight herself had given her said book and crayons: though she was an enemy, and refused to reform, she couldn't bare seeing the Witch just stewing in her defeat. Especially since Draggle had yet to try and rescue her.
Albus fumed and whirled about, but so little was left of the cloud-wizard that he couldn't have escaped even if the jar wasn't airtight.
And Katrina...was reading a newspaper, not even looking up at her giant captress. She looked...relaxed, like she wasn't at the mercy of two giant spell-slingers AND on a waiting list for Hell itself. Maybe the sore-throat lozenges had something to do with that.
Twilight sighed, looking back at Anasi/Trixie "Shouldn't we get to sending them back to Tartarus? We can do a perfectly good show without them..."
"Oh, pish-posh!" Anasi chuckled, patting Twilight on the back. "These little miscreants won't be any trouble. I doubt they could get away with anything, what with their size and having our eyes AND the audience's on them. And anyway, perhaps Anasi can make this a recurring act as a sideshow! Oh! And now for some quick rehearsal!" With a quick flicker of blue magic, she popped open Katrina and Ahgg's jars and levitated the pair out of their glass prisons, setting them down in the middle of the desk...and also covering the pair in her and Twilight's shadows.
Ahgg's thrashing stopped immediately; the spider-beast gulped and nervously waved at the two titanesses. Katrina simply shrugged and set her newspaper down, looking up at Anasi with a raised eyebrow.
"It's time we went over your skit, you two. Now from the top, commence slapstick!" Anasi clapped her hooves together...and instantly Katrina and Ahgg were in a staged brawl: whacking each other with pencils, "fencing" with broken ends of quills and other props and pratfalls. Katrina even grabbed some of Ahgg's silk and started using it as a whip. And she seemed to be having fun.
Twilight watched the spectacle....and laughed. The choreography and timing were fantastic, she had to admit. "Not...haha!...bad, I'll admit! This is great--but, how did you get any of them to agree to this willingly?"
"Anasi's smile fell, and she leaned over and whispered to Twilight. "Most were thankful they were not simply sent back to Tartarus immediately. Or that Anasi did not crush or...eat...them as some kind of payback. Many of them don't comprehend Equestrian mercy. Suzette even told her daughter that there was no point in turning good; that even if she reformed the 'dumb ponies' would reject her anyway." With a sad sigh, she returned to normal volume and her upbeat tone. "And Katrina in partiucular liked the idea of being a tiny travelling attraction in Anasi's show. She even wouldn't mind remaining at that size!"
Twilight balked. Wanting to avoid Tartarus she could get, but in that state Katrina and the other villains would effectively be pets. "But...why? Assuming we can even DO that..."
A shout from Ahgg got both mares' attention. They looked down to find Katrina wrapping the one-eyed spider in his own web as he shouted, "This isn't in the script, dang it!" When Ahgg was fully wrapped up--resembling some kind of arachnid mummy, Katrina faced the two giant mares and took a bow.
"Trixie or Tartarus...at least they aren't the Crusaders!" She quipped.
Anasi gasped, then grinned. "Improv, brillaint! In fact, that will be your catchphrase!"
Twilight facehoofed. Well, at least the show will be fun...but if any of these mini-villains tries anything sneaky, I'm sitting on them.
-
The "Hooray, We Beat Back the Hordes of Tartarus / Welcome New Ponies" party was just getting warmed up when the spaceship smashed through the studio roof. Alien war machines came rolling down a ramp, firing "magical" beams that set decorations on fire and sent ponies diving under tables. "INFERIOR EQUINE BEINGS! YOU WILL TELL US THE LOCATION OF THE DOCTOR OR BE EXTERMINATED!" "EX-TER-MIN-ATE..." "EX-TER-MI-NATE!!"
The Blank Wolf didn't bother saying anything witty first, which would have disappointed Doctor Whooves a bit. He just let off a blood-curdling snarl and leapt...
The "Hooray, We Beat Back the Hordes of Tartarus / Welcome New Ponies" party was just getting warmed up when Applejack entered with Snow Bound. The dividers between the different film sets had been moved back, making space for everypony who'd helped in the fighting. "Y'all are sure in a good mood," said AJ. "Nothin' like the satisfaction of a job well done, huh?"
"Indeed," said Snow Bound, with an extra spring in his step. This ended abruptly when he found himself face to face with Shining Armor (finally a stallion once again) and Cadence.
Shining paused in the middle of levitating another one of those crackers from the snack table. "Have we met?"
-
"Good luck with everything, Trixie, I mean," Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, "Anasi." The blue alicorn mare lifted her head proudly and turned to prance out onto the stage before the collected ponies of Ponyville. The bottles containing the captured villains floated after her. Twilight looked after her and muttered. "I wonder why Celestia and the other alicorns are waiting to turn her back to normal? It's not like she needs having her ego boosted any more."
"So that's where they got to." Rainbow Dash landed beside her. "The villains, I thought they'd been sent back to Tartarus by now. I remember they were missing from the library when I looked there earlier."
"Oh," Twilight said. "Well, the CMC dropped by looking for something for show and tell at school, and since the villains are harmless enough right now, well..." She created an illusion like how Trixie-Anasi had showed her how that displayed the events at the school.
Applebloom, still in her flaming timber wolf form, held up the last of the small glass jars the Crusaders had brought in with them. The tiny catwoman in side cringed from her in fear before giving the assembled fillies and colts a sickly grin and wave. "And this is Katrina! She invaded Ponyville with all the other villains an' turned us into monsters, and then she got shrunk down. So now we keep her in a glass terrarium."
"Dears, that's all well and fine, but when will you get turned back into ponies?" Cheerilee pointed her hoof at the timber wolf, the heavily muscled griffin, and the young Changeling Queen with the white and pink carapace. The latter smiled, showing short but still menacing fangs.
"Oh! Well... Real soon now! Just as soon as Miss Zecora's leg heals up and she can brew the poison joke cure up again." She smiled and added, "And it's Queen Sweetie Belle right now, Miss Cheerilee. My changelings kind of insist on it." She patted the white chitin one of the five changelings with her. It buzzed its wings happily and nuzzled her.
"Yeah," 'Timberbloom' said, her voice suspicious, "real peculiar-like th' way yore new changelings 'accidentally' broke the last container of it at the Spa, Sweetie." The changelings looked quite innocent, or at least as innocennt as fanged bug-ponies ever could.
"Which reminds me, Sweetie," Cheerilee began. The changelings took off, their wings buzzing, and glared at her. She sighed. "I mean, QUEEN Sweetie, that when I assign homework I intend for YOU to do it, not your changelings!"
"Miss Cheerilee!" Sweetie gasped. "What makes you think I did that?"
Miss Cheerilee silently handed her latest homework over and pointed to the one answer written down for every question:
"'The answer to all questions is, whatever Hive Queen Sweetie Belle commands'."
Sweetie grinned and looked embarrassed. "Heh, whoops."
"Wait," Rainbow Dash said as the illusion ended. "So the new changelings ain't getting sent back to Tartarus? Why not them?"
Twilight shrugged. "I asked Celestia, and she said her brother Mortis said that the beings they once were are gone, so it would be unjust to send them back to Tartarus. I do wonder how the other changelings are dealing with the presence of a new Changeling Queen. Let alone Cadence!"
And many miles to the north:
"For the last time, Hercules Beetle, I will NOT track Sweetie Belle down and duel her to the death!"
-
"Father," Strife asked from the Draconequi realm, watching via a small portal only Pinkie could see. "Why aren't we retrieving the escapees that were shrunk down?"
Fear Itself laughed, eating popcorn while seated on his chariot like it was a sofa. "Because, Strife, This Is Better Punishment For Some Of Them Than I Could Do! Hahaha!"
And in the world of the living in the edge of hypothetical existence.
Back at the party, Snow Bound stared at Shining for a moment. "No. No we have not met." At least, not in the way you see me as now. The ponified wolf sauntered off to another area of the party, Applejack keeping near him.
"Huh. That seemed a little strange... Oh well, it's far from the strangest thing that's ever happened to me. Still... Something about him. Eh, no point worrying about it, given my luck," Shining mumbled to himself as he once again concentrated some magic into his efforts of devouring a few crackers.
"Dear, you were talking to yourself," Cadence gave Shining a quizzical look. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Huh? Oh! Sorry about that. I've just got this nagging feeling that that stallion with AJ seems familiar somehow, and I don't know why. Eh, either it's just nothing or it's one of those weird things I seem to attract that I would much rather ignore at the moment... Would you like to have a few crackers? They're pretty good!"
"Well... I suppose I could get myself something to snack on. Do you know if there happens to be a cheese platter near here? No matter how good those crackers are, the right type of cheese can always make them better!"
Pinkie overheard Cadence wonder about a cheese plate and facehooved. 'How could I forget about that!? She promptly used her physics-defying powers to pull a table covered with an assortment of cheese and a few other items out of seemingly nowhere. "Here you go, Princess Cadence! If you don't see what you want on this table, let me know and I'll see what I can do for you!"
Cadence looked over at the selection on the table and, with a slight twinkle in her eye, said "Why, thank you, Pinkie. Those look positively scrumptious!"
In another corner of the party, Applejack looked at Snow Bound and raised an eyebrow. "So, ya wanna talk about how ya'll know Twi's brother?"
"Not only do I not feel like talking about it, it is too long a story to relate while you attempt to get me to enjoy this party," Snow Bound said with an air of annoyance.
-
Applejack snorted and glared at him. Snow Bound was taken aback... the farm pony seemed genuinely angry. "You're keeping something from me. Something Ah'm not gonna like when Ah find out about it. Am Ah right?"
Snow Bound blinked. "You can't know that. You cannot probe my mind with the Truth."
"And now Ah know you're tryin' to pull the wool over mah eyes. Ah guess invisible spirits don't have to explain anything to anybody if they don't feel like it."
Now Snow Bound was getting a little heated himself. "I did not say anything that was untrue."
AJ shook her head. "Listen to yerself... making excuses like a colt with his hoof in the cookie jar. Snow Bound... it ain't nice for ponies to do that to their friends. Think about the position you're putting *me* in. How am I supposed to vouch for you ta mah other friends if *Ah* can't trust you?"
Snow Bound narrowed his eyes, nickering in a way that sounded eerily like the Wolf's growl. "You... You presume too much! I do NOT need to justify myself or my actions to YOU. It is not only my own secrets that I am keeping here."
AJ sighed. "Well, at least yer being honest. Alright, then, if it's really that important, then you do what you gotta do."
He walked over to a window, stamping his hooves, then paused and turned, giving her a guarded look. "Are you going to tell Shining who I am?"
AJ shook her head. "That's not the kind of thing a good friend does. If you've done somethin' that's gonna make me mad, then Ah'd rather hear about it from you."
Snow Bound looked out the window, at his reflection and hers. "I told you that I had died, before. They killed me. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence." While Applejack's mouth was still hanging open, he added, "They did it to stop me from erasing Shining."
"You were gonna do what?!!"
"For what it's worth, I am glad that I failed, now."
Other ponies started looking at them strangely, and Applejack quickly lowered her voice. "Maybe you'd better start from the beginning. Do yer stopping time thing. Ah'll listen for as long you want to talk about it."
The room turned grey and still, just like that time before, and at the same time Snow Bound flickered, becoming the Blank Wolf. He seemed larger than before, not so much the Pup now. AJ shivered despite herself.
"The tale is long," he rumbled, still facing away. "You will be more comfortable here, in between moments, if you become a Wolf as well."
"Ah'm fine, thanks."
He looked over his shoulder, a ghost of a smile on his muzzle. "Now who is telling fibs?"
"Okay, okay... Ah'm not totally fine, but Ah'll deal with it. Ah don't think Ah'm ready for..."
The Blank Wolf nodded simply. "As you wish..."
In the studio, Applejack and Snow Bound seemed to flicker for but a moment, and then they were back again, as if they'd never left.
-
Pinkie Pie stepped outside the studio to check if anypony hadn't joined the party yet. As if in answer, two Draconequi appeared by the door.
"Hey! Thanks for a great adventure." Pandora grinned giddily.
"Great big waste of time, if you ask me." Anarchy snorted.
"This one got really nuts! And not the good kind of nuts like peanuts, pistachios, coconuts..."
"We get the picture." Anarchy yawned, this place becoming even more tedious. "Well, job's done. Can we go now?"
Pinkie Pie bounced around the Concept of Rebellion. "Aw, don't you wanna stay for the party?! It's got loads of games and punch and music and cake and balloons..."
"Sis, for the love of Mom and Dad, tell me we can leave now." Anarchy groaned.
"I guess, but first let me get my notes! This has been one of the most exciting stories I've seen in a while and I want to remember every detail of it! It had everything! Action, drama, redemption, sacrifice, multiplayer crossovers..."
"Shut up."
"...Uh, Pinkie, that was kinda rude." Pandora frowned.
"What? I didn't say anything." Pinkie looked around in confusion. "Unless one of the Me's from the mirror pool showed up for this."
"Not quite." It sounded like Pinkie's voice, but there wasn't a drop of cheerfulness in it. "Though, I suppose you'd think I was anyway. Just another disposable pink pony that doesn't deserve her life, right?"
Pinkie bolted upright and gulped in dread. "No..."
"Yepperooni."
A second pink pony stepped out of the shadows. She looked like Pinkie, except her the colors of her coat, tail and mane, which hung straight off her like a shroud, were dull and muted. She wore a necklace of unicorn horns, and wore a party dress of stitched cutie marks and six Pegasus wings. This wasn't Pinkie Pie. It was that version of her; Pinkemena, who made the most infamous kind of cupcakes.
Anarchy blinked in confusion. "Um, Isn't that...?"
"Yes." Pandora nodded, staring wide eyed at the mare. She shot a glare to her brother. "I thought you closed the rifts!"
"I did!"
Pinkamena burst out in a frantic shriek of laughter. "HAAAAHAHAHAHAHEHEHEHE! Silly, silly draconequus. I didn't come from some other world. I came here with the rock dog and the big squid and all the others the devil pony set free."
"You... you were in Tartarus?" Pinkie asked, her face stone still.
"Of course. Where else would we belong?" Pinkamena grinned.
"But, you're not even from this version of reality!" Pandora pointed out.
"You think that your daddy's infinite domain wouldn't include bad ponies from every version of reality?" Pinkamena snarled at Pandora. "Especially my version. We had it coming, didn't we... me?"
"What?" The pink party pony shivered as she stared into the cold mirror of her own blue eyes.
"We deserved it!" Pinkamena declared furiously, her huge smile never wavering. "We let the world down, didn't we? We let our friends die, didn't we? We didn't stop THEM from erasing them like an old drawing, didn't we?! We let them tear the world apart and turn it into THIS, DIDN'T WE?!"
"Ooh..." Pandora and Anarchy exchanged a sheepish glance. The psychotic parallel knew about the lost Third Age and the part they played in it.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! See? They tore apart everything we knew and loved and they're acting like they accidentally knocked over a milkshake and forgot to apologize! But I bet they don't even want to apologize, do you, Mr. and Ms. Meany Friend-Killing Pants?!"
"Look, Pinkamena, we didn't like doing it, but it had to happen." Pandora explained. "It was horrible and a waste of life and time, but we had to do it or the whole universe would have suffered."
"Oh, I can understand that! You're saying our number just came up, and that means we had to go! Hay, I followed those rules all my life!" Pinkamena's strained smile was quickly beginning to resemble that of a shark. "And I still got punished for it! Guess Silly Ol' Pinkie Pie can't do anything right!"
"Pinkamena... You hurt ponies." Pinkie
"I SAVED THEM!" The cupcake maker hollered. "At least now they're in Heaven and not turned into shadows! At least now they have ponies who remember them! At least they weren't erased and drawn over like meaningless scribbles!"
"And, the..." Pinkie tried valiantly to swallow the lump in her throat. "The cupcakes?"
"Oh, that's easy! Now that everypony's had the cupcakes, everypony's got a little of their friends inside them! Now they'll never ever be gone! We'll all be together forever, just like true friends are supposed to be!"
"Sis, what in Dad's armpit kind of ideas did you give that Shadow Who Makes?!" Anarchy whispered.
"Standard stuff that Nyralethotrot gave me." Pandora shrugged.
"HEY! Don't you know it's rude to interrupt somepony!" Pinkamena growled.
Pandora turned towards the studio doors. "Maybe we should go get the wolfs and..."
"Don't. Even. Think about it."
Pinkamena had pulled out a knife. Though, "knife" was an understatement. It was more akin to a machete. The handle and blade were black iron, and all along the weapon were carvings of some ancient forgotten language.
"As long as I've got my new party favor, you two don't move."
"Uh, Anarchy..." Pandora's eyes widened in alarm. "That looks like..."
"The Concept Killing Spear? It's not quite the same, but it's the same material. The Evil One made it for me." Pinkamena's smile grew eager as she twirled the knife in her hoof. "He said that if I had the chance to use this on a friend-killing Draconequues, he'd make everything OK again!"
"What do you mean, ‘make everything OK again'?" Pinkie asked.
"Don't you see, Me? He's going to take over everything! He'll be in charge of the whole universe, so he won't care if we get one teensy weensy little world! He said that if I do this for him, he'll bring it all back!" Pinkamena's eyes filled with tears. "He'll bring back Ponyville! Our Ponyville! And all our friends! Kimono and Sweet Berry and Razzeroo and Toola-Roola and Minty!
"And all our friends who were turned into new ponies! He'll change them back to how they used to be! We'll have our Rainbow Dash who always dressed in style! We'll hear stories from Cheerilee! We'll have our Princess Rarity! We can have it all back! We can play games and have parties forever and ever and ever and NOPONY will ever, EVER take it away from us again!
"And all we have to do is help him by getting rid of the ones who helped take our friends away in first place!" Pinkamena raised the Concept Killing Knife, pointing to the Draconequi. "Sounds like a neato deal to me!"
"Pinkamena!" Pinkie strode between her doppelganger and the spirits of inspiration and revolution. "Think about this for a second! Bad guys don't keep promises! Everypony who ever trusted a bad guy to keep their promises has been stabbed in the back!"
"Not if I'm the one doing the stabbing!" Pinkamena gave a thrust of the knife to demonstrate. "When that meany-pants fixes the world, I'll use this and get rid of him too! Then we can live happily ever after, the end!"
"That won't work either! He gave you that knife! Do you really think he'd let anypony use something that could hurt him if he didn't have a way around it?" Pinkie begged her insane clone to understand.
"I... He..." Pinkamena hesitated. Her smile vanished, but it was quickly replaced by a glare aimed at the Draconequi. "Well, then at least I can get payback for what they did to us!"
"It wasn't just them! What about Princess Luna? She was there too. Are you gonna go after her too?" Pinkie demanded.
"She... She tried to hurt us! What she did to Minty!" Pinkamena raged, angry tears running down her cheeks.
"She's paid for it over and over." Pinkie countered. "She's our friend! Don't you remember when we went back to the rebuilt Ponyville Fluttershy made? She saved us."
"... She shouldn't have. There was never supposed to be a Pinkie Pie." Pinkamena ever so slightly lowered the knife. "We were just make-believe until our old friends changed the world and made us real. But now, I can bring them back. I can help make them real again. Why shouldn't I return the favor?"
"Because our friends would never ask their Pinkie Pie to help some awful monster kill everypony else just for them." Pinkie's voice was steady, but the tears in her own eyes were starting to fall. "They loved us too much to put that kind of burden on us."
"B-b-but... I have to save them! I have to make sure everypony's together forever! Then I can stop making the cupcakes and we can go back to the way things are supposed to be!" Pinkamena held the knife out in a defensive stance, as if they would suddenly attack her.
"We can't go back." Pinkie shook her head, her eyes never leaving her twin's. "We have to move forward. If we don't, then we make what happened to our friends meaningless. We can't do that to them."
"But... but..." Her hooves shook, the knife was nearly pointed right at the ground.
"It's not going to work, Pinkamena." Pinkie started walking towards her darker half, undaunted by the knife still in her hooves.
"I-i-i-it ha-has to..." The knife fell to the ground.
"Pinkamena, do you know why you really make cupcakes?" Pinkie picked up the knife and tossed it out of reach.
"To... to keep us together." The broken mare whimpered.
"No." Pinkie looked her dead in the eye. "The reason you make cupcakes is because there's a Parasprite in your head."
"...What?"
"There was an egg in a cupcake and when you ate it, it hatched and a larva got into your system, and found its way into your head. It's eaten most of your brain. That's why you feel the need to do these things. That's why you feel like there's an emptiness inside of you. That's why you lash out and make ponies hurt. And it will never, ever bring our friends together."
The dull pink pony stared, thunderstruck at the revelation. The two Draconequui stared, not wanting to breathe and stop the scene from playing out.
Pinkamena looked over at the knife, haunted by her actions and the truth behind her madness. "Kill me."
Pinkie blanched.
"Please, kill me." Pinkamena begged, fresh tears springing from her eyes. "Please! I deserve it! You know I do! I betrayed my friends! I betrayed my Element! I shamed my friends' memory! I killed ponies and laughed about it! I DESERVE TO DIE! I DESERVE TO GO BACK TO THE BAD PLACE!"
"No." Pinkie grabbed her reflection's shoulder. "No. We're not doing this. This is not how the story ends! I've waited for a chance like this for too long and I'm not going to let it go!"
"What chance?! The only chance you have is to vindicate yourself! You know better than anypony what I did! Haven't you wanted to meet me face to face and make it all stop?! Well, this is your chance!"
"NO!" Pinkie lunged at Pinkamena and hugged her tighter than she'd ever hugged anyone. "I've hated you for so long, because you were everything I hated in myself. But there's no room for laughter in hate. And there's no way to heal using hate. I don't want you gone. I want you to get better. I want you to be saved."
"Why... why would anypony want to help me?" Pinkamna sobbed.
"Because you're a pony, just like anypony else. You've been sick and you need help. And I'd be honored if you'd let me help you."
Pinkamena stared into her better half's eyes. There was hope in those eyes. There was kindness and happiness that she remembered from the time before the cupcakes. Maybe there was a chance. Maybe...
"No."
In a flash, Pinkamena threw Pinkie off her and sprinted for the Concept Killing Knife. She grabbed it off the ground and raised it above her head with the blade pointing down.
"It's way too late for me. But not for you." Pinkamena smiled ruefully. "So go. Be the Pinkie Pie that I never could be. Our friends need you."
The knife came down towards Pinkamena's chest.
"NO!" Pinkie galloped towards her, but it was too late.
With a flash, the dark pink pony was gone, party dress and all. The Concept Killing Knife fell to the ground with a thump.
"No... No.' Pinkie whimpered. "Wh-where's her body?"
‘There isn't one." Pandora breathlessly answered. "That was a concept killing weapon, which means that... she's not dead, she's been erased."
"Well.... This puts a new wrinkle in things." Anarchy stared at the ground where Pinkamena was. He grabbed the knife and sent it back to their domain.
"Yeah, she was a cornerstone." Pandora hesitantly walked over to the knife.
"Wha... what do you mean, cornerstone?" Pinkie wiped her eyes.
"Well... you know how different timelines are created by all the different choices and circumstances mortals make?" Pandora explained.
"Yeah..." Pinkie nodded.
"Well, a lot of timelines hinge on the life of one specific mortal because that mortal's choices create the divergence of the timeline. And she was one of them. Her timeline, her story relied on the existence of a Pinkie Pie who had gone crazy and made pony cupcakes. And now, that Pinkie Pie doesn't exist anymore."
"Wait, does that mean her home timeline is going to be erased?!" Pinkie frantically demanded. "After all that, her home's going to end up like the Lost Third Age?!"
"Not necessarily." Anarchy tapped his chin. "See, that timeline was amputated because it had become totally stagnant and unsustainable. But, sometimes, if a timeline collapses through no fault of its own, Fauna Luster lets the timeline reset. It goes back to the critical moment where the big change was made that caused the timeline to diverge."
"And what about this time?" Pinkie asked, wiping her eyes again.
"Well, I'd say the soul of the timeline's cornerstone being deleted thanks because it was plucked out of its place and influenced by the Concept of Evil would be grounds for a redo." Pandora shrugged.
"So... she's gonna go back to the beginning and start the cupcake making all over again?" Pinkie gulped.
"Excuse me." The three of them looked up to see an elderly unicorn.
"Oh, hey, Miss Dusk." Pinkie waved in a more subdued way than normal.
"Hello. Actually, now that you mention it, that Pinkie might not go back to making cupcakes." Half-LightDusk smiled enigmatically.
"What? Where you listening in on us?" Anarchy asked.
"Something like that." The unicorn shrugged
"But, what do you mean?" Pinkie desperately jumped into the old mare's line of sight.
"Well, I've had some experience with causality. And I'd say that the kind of shock you've caused her, as well as the circumstances that caused her erasure, could very well be enough of a glitch to change the events of the original timeline. In fact, I'd say that odds are very, very good that with the help of an old friend..." She gave Pinkie a pointed look. "When that version of Pinkamena Diane Pie took that cupcake with the secret Parasprite ingredient, she dropped it before she could eat it."
"You mean..." Pinkie almost didn't dare to hope. "You mean she might be all right after all?"
"I'd say the odds are pretty good. As long as you have faith in the magic of friendship and believe in happy endings." Half-Light Dusk smiled kindly. "Well, better get back to the party. Don't want them to run out of sarsaparilla before I get my fill."
The old mare walked inside, leaving the two Draconequi and Pinkie, who smiled madly.
"Uh, you OK, there..."
Before Pandora could finish, Pinkie Pie launched into the air and cheered "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NO MORE CUPCAKES! SHE'S GONNA BE SAVED! SHE'S GONNA BE OK! THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"
"Yeah, she's good." Anarchy rolled his eyes.
"Now we can really party!" Pinkie beamed. ‘Let's go!"
Pandora looked to her brother. "Uh... I really don't know if that's a good idea. I mean, you just had all that stuff from... from before dragged up and..."
Pinkie just scoffed, the smile never leaving her lips. "Oh don't be silly, I forgave you guys for that ages ago."
The Draconequi stared in surprise. Anarchy scratched his head. "You... you did?"
"Yeah. My friends helped me get past what happened ages ago. It's high time to make the most of the here and now with my friends." Pinkie trotted over and extended her hoof. "Including new friends."
The two of them shared a bewildered gaze.
"Well, then," Pandora blushed. "I... I guess we... or I guess I could..."
"Oh, what the heck. Why not?" Anarchy groaned as he pushed the studio door open. "Maybe mortals have learned to party since the last time I was here."
"That's the spirit! Oh I love to see you smile, smile, smile! Yes I do..." Pinkie cheered. She bounced back to the party, singing at the top of her lungs with the Draconequues of imagination joining in the chorus.
-
Draggle, having been given a bit of a 'reprieve' from returning to the after life (though not the SAME one she'd escaped from) was looking over the food present. She was now wearing similar, but a bit less ragged clothing and taken a bath (which she hadn't liked one bit, but had NEEDED to take to join in the party, considering she previously smelled almost as bad as a skunk, turning good didn't mean she suddenly liked EVERYTHING she'd hated in her previous life).
"Something wrong Draggle?" asked Twilight, looking to the good witch.
"Well...thing is, even if I didn't like the 'evil is a virtue' stuff Hydia made me do...I actually don't like ice cream...or pizza...or well, half this stuff..."
"I see...what do you like?" Twilight respected the now heroic witch's sense of taste had adjusted to eating such things.
"Let me see...I like raw fish, especially if it's a bit rotten."
Twilight's face turned a little green and she gave a gag at that thought but respected her opinion. "Well we're ponies..."
"Oh...Got any rotten eggs?"
"Uh...no...we normally throw those out..."
"Oh...What about apples with worms in them?"
"Y-Yeah...Applejack has a bin she throws them in, but the worms are gone, Fluttershy lures them away..."
"That'll do."
Twilight teleported away, asked Big Macintosh if she could have said apples, and returned with a basket of them. "H-Here you go..."
"Oh good! This one's moldy!" Draggle said. "Thanks," the witch stated, eating one of the moldy, hole filled apples like it was a ripe delicious one.
Twilight's face turned a sickly green and her hooves went to her mouth before she ran to the little filly's room and threw up, not caring how physically impossible it was.
Spike shrugged, snagging one of the apples and eating it. "Tastes good to me..."
Meanwhile also at the party, a unicorn pony with a maze cutie mark approached the snack bar, still humming the melody of Pinkie's song. Curiously, she was dressed as a maid, even though she didn't appear to be one of the serving staff.
"Awesome!" said a pegasus pony, joining her. He had a peace sign cutie mark, and wore a raggedy open jacket. "This party isn't nearly as lame as I thought it was gonna be."
"Keep it down," she urged him. "Or at least try not to get drunk or set anything on fire."
"You're the one giving me ideas, sis. Whatever! I do what I want! Ooh, do they have some of those little crackers?"
Cadence twitched, watching them go past.
Shining sighed. "What is it, Cadence? Tell me what's going on."
"Going on? Nothing! Nothing unusual... for when you're around... Relax."
Shining Armor face-hoofed. "But what if..."
"Party," said Cadence firmly. "Enjoy." She gave her husband such a kiss that nearby ponies started clopping their hooves on the floor to cheer them on.
-
Twilight Sparkle looked over her to do list.
"Alright, we need to a poison joke cure bath ready, WITHOUT the Cutie Mark Crusaders knowing to avoid more 'accidents.' It takes Zecora long enough to make it with an injured leg!"
Griffin Dash flapped over head. "Oh COME ON Twilight! What's wrong with them staying that way if they want to that badly?"
"Okay, first, we need it to cure Rarity of her Greedity phase."
"MINE!"
"SPIKE WANT!"
"And so she can shrink Spike back to his normal size with Rarity's help. Then hopefully the five former goblins can just join Cadence's swarm after Sweetie Belle is back to normal."
"Well, as Scootaloo's resident care taker, unless her parents say something different, I say she can stay a griffin if she wants."
"SPEAKING OF WHICH! How the BUCK did you end up a Griffin again?! I've asked a million times but you keep dodging the question! AND my reversal spells to get you back to normal!"
"I'm just expanding my horizons, it's not like I think griffins are cooler than ponies or some junk like that."
"Ugh! AND we need to get Trixie back to normal before her UNEARNED Alicornhood completely goes to her head!"
"This is Trixie, you can tell?"
"MORE THAN NORMAL!"
"Oh. Well if you've gotta know, it involved this chest of wish coins and-"
"PLEASE tell me you didn't make some bone headed wish that got you stuck as a griffin perminantly."
"Of course not! I've read Daring Do! I know how that goes! I wished to be a griffin until I decided I want to be a pony again. Nothing else to it."
-
Coffee Swirl groaned, munching on some snacks. He was not a social pony, so he didn't really enjoy Pinkie's parties. Especially when they had creatures that could erase him from reality in attendance. It was only Squire's sword that gave him some measure of comfort, even if was likely false comfort.
"Why am I here still?" Fluttercruel trotted by, snagging a drink with her wing as she went. "Oh, yeah. Spending time with her before she gets a real love interest."
"You're the only pegasus that interests me," Fluttercruel said in return passing him by, touching a certain part of his body as she passed wit her wing.
And with Twilight,
"Nothing else to it, she says," grumbled Twilight, finishing her mug of cider. "I had it right from the start." She smirked, remembering. "All the ponies in this town are crazy!"
"Eeeyup," agreed Big Mac behind the counter, pouring her another.
"Be at ease, warrior," remarked Snow Bound, taking a spot next to Coffee Swirl. "The Wolf does not hunt you." His serious tone never wavered, even as he nearly dropped the mug of root beer in his hoof, then overcompensated and almost spilled it all over himself. "If it did, you would already be taken, sword or no." He finally managed to take a sip, and his eyes bulged. "Sw... sweet!! I mean... ah, yes, this 'root beer' is indeed sweet..."
-
Twilight was about to go in search of the last item on her to-do list, when unexpectedly, it came to her.
"Cider, please," said Applejack in a distracted tone, before she turned her head and paused. "Twilight. Ah, er..."
"There you are! Could you hold still for a second?" Her horn began to glow, and she stared at Applejack intently.
The farm pony fidgeted. "What the hay are you doing? What's all this about, Twi?"
"I'm not detecting any magical spells or compulsions," said Twilight, finishing her spell. "I wasn't really expecting to find any, but that's a relief. Applejack, please don't take this the wrong way, but... your friend Snow Bound isn't what he seems."
AJ nearly laughed out loud. "Twilight, Ah know what he is. Wait, how do you know?" Oops. "Ah mean... what is it ya think ya know, exactly?"
Twilight smiled, a bit sheepish. "Funny thing about being a pony... Even a creature as powerful as a draconequus wears their true nature right on their flank, in a pony form. It's very hard to conceal that." Twilight realized that she was looking down at AJ, stepped off her soapbox, and nudged it aside without missing a beat. "The wheel with those runes... that's a symbol associated with Rota Fortuna, the Alicorn of fate and chance. The rest wasn't hard to guess with a little research. And... the fact that I forgot most of this and had to cast a memory spell on myself twice was a pretty good clue as well."
Applejack realized that the cider she'd ordered had arrived at some point, without her ever seeing Big Mac deliver it. Bartenders had their own tricks, it seemed. "Ah, know what it looks like, Twi, but he's not a bad pony. Wolf. You know what Ah mean..."
Twilight smiled. "If I thought he was evil, I would talked to the rest of the gang and the princesses first, not confronted you myself. I think we've all learned *that* lesson. I just don't understand... why him? How on Equestria did you even make friends with 'the monster who hunts monsters?'"
Applejack cut her off. "Twilight, that's a long story, and Ah've already been through one of those today... Twi? You alright, sugarcube?"
Twilight had a strange, pleading expression, eyes practically sparkling. "Do you think... he could answer some questions for me? He's been around a really long time! The history he must have seen..."
AJ groaned. "Ah wouldn't bet on it." Her ears pricked up. "Sounds like the magic show's about to start..."
-
They were interrupted by a voice.
"Ahem, I am afraid it is time go." Said Starlight, angel of death.
She looked at the remaining tiny villains still shrunk and in their bottles. They needed to return to Tartarus while Draggle herself would go to heaven. She was never truly evil and she proven that today. All the other escapees been rounded and were either in Tartarus or Heaven already. Well...almost everyone...Tirek (or Tim the Enchanter) was still loose but he should be powerless and could be taken care off for another day. As for the goblins turned channelings, they were somehow given new life and could stay.
"All right, I knew this was coming." Said Draggle after finishing a rotten apple core. "Goodbye, every pony and thank you, especially you Applejack for helping me learn I didn't needed to follow in my mother's footsteps to be happy."
"You're welcome". Applejack said, waving goodbye along with every pony else. They all had a sad but an understanding look at their face.
"WAIT! Anasi haven't gotten a chance to use Catarina and the others in my show yet!"
It was too late, Draggle, Starlight and all the tiny villains disappeared away in a flash of white light. Leaving Anasi/Trixie staring at her empty bottles.
"Oh, now what will Anais do to put on a show now?" Twilight suddenly had unusual grin on her face. She whispered something into her friend's ear. "What, that's easy."
"Prove it then."
5 minutes later every ponies, draconequus, griffions and etc were in the studio was waiting in front a stage with the curtain down.
"What did you whispered inside her ear Twilight" asked Pinkie Pie.
The curtains raised up to revealed nopony until an explosion of fireworks erupted. When the smoke cleared away Anasi stood in all her glory. She was a wearing radiant robe of stars that seems to twinkle as if they were real. "WELCOME ALL AND THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TO ANAIS'S FIRST MAGIC SHOW!"
"And hopefully her last." Mumbled Twilight. She along with the rest of the audience covered their ears in pain from just being blasted by the royal canterlot voice.
-
"So what did you all do to get into Tartarus?" Queen Sweetie Belle asked her changelings.
"Buying, owning, and selling slaves mostly. My husband and our three sons turned a pretty profit with all the pony slaves we traded." Said one of the five white changelings with light violet membranes smiling and nodding. "We even tried to grab a human once, but that didn't work out."
Queen Sweetie Belle gasped in shock then said firmly. "Okay, this is a royal command for all five of you. Slavery is NOT okay! Not just because I say so, but because it's wrong to buy and sell creatures that can think and feel like they're not people! Understand?!"
The five changelings shuddered, and bow to their queen, "We hear and understand our Queen."
"But before the magic show begins, Anasi has an announcement to make." Trixie-Anasi coughed, cleared her throat, and...
Transformed into an elegant and terrible Nightmare with a mane and tail of silvery fire and a Prussian Blue coat, Slit-pupil draconic eyes glared down at the audience with gleeful scorn as she bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice:
"BEHOLD NIGHTMARE MOUNTEBANK! INSTEAD OF A PRINCESS, NOW EQUESTRIA SHALL HAVE A QUEEN! BEAUTIFUL AND TERRIBLE AS THE SUN AND MOON COMBINED! ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR!"
The audience froze, staring in horror. Even the poison joke and greed-addled Rarity and Spike stopped clinging to each other for a moment to stare in shock.
Everypony, that is, except for Twilight Sparkle, who sighed, rolled her eyes, picked up a bucket of water, and dumped it over the Nightmare's head. The illusion faded to reveal a sputtering Anasi, shaking the water from her mane.
"Trixie!" Twilight snapped at her. "That is not funny!"
The alicorn sniffed.
"Anasi just wanted to make sure that everypony was awake for the show." She grinned. "She also needs three volunteers from the audience. Say, a flaming timber wolf, a muscular griffin, and a Changeling Queen?" Almost before the words finished leaving her mouth the Cutie Mark Crusaders seemed to teleport to her side.
"Here we are!" The thee fillies said, "Now what do we do?"
"Anasi needs you three to just stand right there for one moment," the alicorn said. "Just long enough for me to do --" she draped her wing before them, "THIS!"
The trio vanished into a puff of magic, and when it cleared, they stood revealed as normal (if wet) fillies again.
Anasi called off stage. "Anasi thanks you, Zecora. I doubt they would have stood still for the cure otherwise."
"I agree, sly Anasi," Zecora said trotting out onto the stage. "But one thing I need you to see: for the rest of this show, let me to the audience go. After that battle I still feel faint; I think all here need laughter to purge its taint."
"Dirty trick!" Rainbow Griffin called out from the audience.
"I'd say quite a clean trick," Anasi grinned at the splash washed fillies.
Meanwhile the CMC were discovering they'd been returned to normal.
"What?" Apple Bloom frowned. "Aww, Ah was startin' ta like ta be able ta breathe fire."
"Dang!" Scootaloo looked at her little wings and normal, non-Bulk Biceps muscled form. "That was cool being a griffin!"
"My Changelings?" Sweetie said, looking at the transformed goblins. They flew over and nuzzled her sadly. "At least you didn't change back. I guess now you have to go and stay with Princess Cadence and be loyal to her."
"We hope she lets us visit you, Queen Sweetie Belle." The white Changelings rose on buzzing wings. "You'll always be our hive queen." Sweetie watched sadly as they flew away.
The three fillies returned to their sisters in the audience. Rarity snatched at Sweetie, but hugged her gently.
"Mine," she said, in a far softer tone than previously. As she did, Rainbow Griffin cuddled Scootaloo close and Applejack nuzzled her restored little sister.
"Ah'll miss that little cat lady," Apple Bloom said. "Ah hope we get ta see her again sometime."
"Ahem," Anasi said on stage. "Anasi is glad she could help. But now back to the show!"
-
"AHEM. I think you forgot somepony." Twilight pointed to Rarity or rather Rari-greed still under the effects of poison joke.
"Oh, of course."
With an explosion of fireworks, a discorded unicorn appeared on stage. The confused pony barely had a chance to recognize what was going on before being lifted up with magic. A spiral vortex of pure magic surrounded her, hiding them from view. With a poof, the vortex stopped and normal (if damp) unicorn landed softly back to the ground.
Rarity blushed as she remembered everything she did as Rar-greed with Spike.
The audience responded with an applaud of either stomping, or clapping. Except for Spike who didn't look happy. Anasi bowed, and with another show flashy magic her volunteer was teleported off the stage.
"Rarity would probably like to have her old 'spikey wikey' back don't you think?" Twilight whispered to her assistant's ear. Which was hard seeing as he was twice his normal size.
"...I guess you are right." He sighed, and let go the last of his greed to return to his old height. He was shocked when Rarity rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.
Back on stage.
"Thank you. Thank you. You are too kind. Now, Anasi heard from a friend that a certain pony transformed into a griffion by using a wish coin. So for my next trick I will transform her back into being a pegasus." Rainbow Dash flashed Twilight a dirty look.
Next thing, Griffion Dash knew was she was teleported on the stage. She however did not look scared.
"Go ahead, that wish was unbreakable. I doubt even you as an alicorn could break it."
"Well we will see. Anasi does love a good challenge." Her horn glowed in preparation.
Just like before, Griffion dash was lifted in the air and was surrounded by a magic vortex. As the magic disappeared, a grinning griffion landed back on the stage.
"Told ya."
"I...was...merely testing how strong the wish was. Now that I have I will turn you back to normal."
She tried again, this time with more magic behind the spell to make sure it worked. She cringed when a griffon was still was on the stage.
"Still testing it?"
She then tried again, and again, and again but the only thing that seemed to change was the griffion's grin getting larger and larger with each failed attempt.
"Maybe you should just give it up?" Griffion Dash said while fighting hard not to laugh on stage.
"NEVER! ANASI WILL CHANGE YOU BACK!"
The alicorn then flew up. Her whole body glowed a bright purple and electricity seemed to surround her entire body. Her eyes became pure white and her horn crackled with magical sparks.
"Um... I have a bad feeling about this?" said Pinkie.
Then the entire stage exploded in a big blast of fireworks.