Rainbow Dash stopped at the large door of the Everfree castle. It had taken her all morning to reach the place, but she was finally there. She pushed the doors open, and walked in. Just as before, the castle was empty and in ruins. Dusty tapestries hung from the walls, and the air tasted stale. Rainbow coughed as her lungs adjusted to the change.

Now that she was here, Rainbow wasn’t sure where to go. She knew that she was looking for a secret passageway, or a convenient door, but that was it. Using her brains, Rainbow thought out this dilemma. It’s a secret room or series of rooms where one can escape to. That means it had to be large. Since every inch of the castle above ground was accessible, that meant it reached below her. The most logical place to start would be the cellar. And it if was a secret, that meant it had to be in plain sight. All the best kept secrets were!

Sure enough, Rainbow found the passage hidden behind a large vat of apple cider. She had opened the lid, after wanting a drink, and nothing came out. It had peaked her interest, so she yanked it free. A dark tunnel went way past where the container was supposed to end. As Rainbow followed the path, she felt the air become more damp. Finally after a minute of walking, she saw a dim light ahead of her. She trotted forward, and stepped into a large room.

It was completely bare inside, save for the two large doors that stood at the other end of the room. They stretched higher than ten ponies, and were adorned with many archaic symbols. Rainbow stepped up to them, and observed the most obvious of the details. It was a large heart that surrounded most of the doors. It showed four different images, each taking up a quarter of the heart. The top left showed a pony with what looked like waves leaving its head. The top right showed another heart, but this one was cracked down the middle. The bottom left had a gem being held by two ponies, and the final image had a pony standing atop another.

Rainbow Dash though about what they might mean. Were these the trials that would await her? She shivered, wondering just what they meant. Steeling her nerves, Rainbow walked up to the doors, and placed a hoof on them. She was about to push them open when a loud, deep voice emanated from everywhere.

“Hello there small pegasus, why have you come here? Surely you are not here to enter the Cloister?”

“You are but a lone pony,” the voice said. “To enter you need a partner.”

“I can’t do that!” she called. “I’m here because my…partner…is in trouble! Please, let me in! He needs her…”

Reluctantly, Rainbow sat down, and told the voice her reason for being here. It never spoke a word while she talked, just listened quietly. She told it how Fluttershy died, how Tory had been so miserable, how Rainbow had fallen in love with him, and why she wanted to bring Fluttershy back. After she finished, the voice spoke calmly.

“So you believe that this boy will not be happy with you? Your only reason for being here is to bring his lost loved one back and restore him to his former self?”

“I know that Tory loves me, but he deserves to be with Fluttershy!” Rainbow said defensively. “If I can make him happy, even at the cost of my love, than I’m willing to make that sacrifice!”

“Your intentions are noble, no doubt.” the voice replied. “But I still cannot let you pass. The trials can only be done by two. If I could, I‘d let you through, but I‘m bound by my former masters. Unless they were to specify otherwise, I cannot release the magics that bind these doors closed.”

“…I understand,” Rainbow said, lowering her head. “Maybe one day, I can convince him to join me.”

“For what it’s worth, he’s lucky to have you! Anyone so willing to sacrifice so much for the sake of one pony is deserving in my book.”

“He isn’t a pony,” Rainbow told the voice. “He’s a human. And his first love sacrificed her life to save him. If anyone is so deserving, it was her.”

“Not even a pony, and yet you love him so! Such devotion…Maybe I can make this one exception. You’ve touched my stone cold heart, so I will let you through. Rainbow Dash, I wish you the best of luck in there. The trials you face will test just how strong your love really is.”

The voice faded away, and the doors began to open. A bright light erupted from the crack, which gradually began to fade as Rainbow’s eyes adjusted. She stepped through the doors, and they closed behind her. If she had wanted to back out, it was too late now. Rainbow was in the Cloister of Love now, and she had a mission to complete…

“What the hell could she be thinking?!” Tory asked himself as he flew over the Everfree forest. “I can’t let her go through with this! I have to hurry!”

After telling Cory about Rainbow Dash’s disappearance, Tory had gone to Applejack to see if she had any idea where the blue pegasus had gone. The earth pony said that Rainbow had tried to get everyone to go to the ruins after he left. When he heard this, Tory knew she had gone there, even though she was alone.

He’d dashed off towards the forest, collecting speed so he could fly faster. He was now flying over the forest, racing towards the Everfree castle. It loomed over the forest, casting a large shadow.Tory pushed himself harder, willing his magic to make him go faster. Yet even then, it had taken him an hour to reach the ancient ruins.

As he landed at the door, Tory noticed a set of hoof prints on the ground. They were the only set there, and looked somewhat fresh. That meant Rainbow had been here only recently. Tory followed the trail into the cellar, and through an empty vat. He dashed down the dark tunnel, praying that she hadn’t managed to get into the Cloister. His prayers were for naught though, when he saw the large room was void of any life. He walked up to the doors, and inspected the design.

“By Celestia, she managed to get in!” Tory exclaimed. “Oh Rainbow, why couldn’t you just accept that you’re the one for me now?”

“You there! You speak of Rainbow Dash as though you are close to her!” came a loud voice. Tory jumped when he heard it. “Might you be Tory?”

“She did,” the voice responded. “You’re lucky to have her. There aren’t many who would go so far just to make one happy.”

‘I know,” Tory said. “That’s why I have to get her back! I can’t let her go through with this! Please, let me in!”

“…Never forget how much she loves you,” the voice said, starting to fade away. “Give her the same love she showed towards you, and the two of you might make it to the end.”

“I don’t want to bring Fluttershy back!” Tory shouted. “I just want to be with Rainbow Dash! If I have to get over Fluttershy to make this work, then I will. Not even the gift of Fluttershy’s smile returning to me would make me happy if I have to hurt Rainbow!”

The voice did not respond, but the doors opened for him. Tory dashed through without hesitation. As he entered the next room, he saw a figure near the other door. His heart skipped a beat as he recognized Rainbow’s form. She hadn’t gotten past the first trail!

“Not without you.” Tory replied, stopping beside her. “Please Rainbow, come back with me. I know what you’re trying to do.”

“Why Rainbow? Please, tell me.” Tory asked quietly. “Do you know what could happen if Fluttershy comes back?”

“Yeah, but I don’t care!” Rainbow said, tears streaming down her eyes. “You should be with the pony YOU want to be with, not the second best! If I have to put my feelings aside so you can be happy, then I will!”

“Is that what you think?” Tory said, a hint of anger in his eyes. It wasn’t directed at her, just at what she said. “How could I ever think of you as second best? Rainbow, I love you just as much as Fluttershy! You both are equally important to me! The only difference is that you’re here with me…Fluttershy isn’t anymore. If I have to give her up to be with you…then I will!!”

“You don’t mean that!” Rainbow cried. “You wouldn’t give up Fluttershy! She was your world!”

“Yeah,” Tory admitted. “Keyword: was. Rainbow, I only came to accept Fluttershy’s death after seeing her beside me, but I couldn’t love her. She was gone, and I knew that. But you’re here, with me. Right now, YOU’RE my world. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this work…C‘mon, let‘s go back.”

Tory turned to leave, but when he heard Rainbow not following him, he turned back. His eyes were begging for her to come with him, but she knew that if she left with him now, she’d never be able to forgive herself. Rainbow sat down on the floor, her expression reading ‘I’m not leaving! I HAVE to do this!’

“You’re not leaving are you?” Tory asked with a sigh. He shook his head in defeat when Rainbow nodded. “Then I guess you’re stuck with me until then. I’m not letting you go alone! I’d have to be brain dead to abandon you.”

“Thanks Tory,” Rainbow said. “I just have to do this. I’ll never feel good about myself if I don’t try.”

“I understand,” Tory replied with a kind smile. “I’ll help you in any way I ca-“

Tory stopped mid-sentence, collapsing on the ground again. His breath came in shallow amounts, and the room began to spin around him. He felt his strength leave him, and his arms gave away. Tory was aware of Rainbow crying out for him. Tory told her not to worry, or at least he thought he did. His hearing was completely gone, and his vision was dimming.

A large shock arched through his body, making him scream in pain. It felt like someone had thrown a toaster at him while he was in the shower! The pain was so intense, Tory was amazed he didn’t pass out. His skin felt like it was burning off, and his insides felt like they were on fire. He writhed around on the cold floor, praying that the pain would stop soon. ..

Rainbow wasn’t sure what to do. Tory just collapsed on the floor and started screaming in pain. She rushed over to him, and tried to help him, but it seemed he was in so much pain that he couldn’t do anything! Tears started streaming out of her eyes, and she layed down beside him.

Rainbow knew she couldn’t do anything to help Tory, but she could stay by his side, and hopefully give him strength to fight back. She put her head down on his chest, and wrapped her hooves around his arm. Tory’s screaming began to ebb away, and soon he became quiet. His ragged breathing was the only sound in the room.

Rainbow looked into his eyes, and saw how glazed they were. Tory began to weakly stroke her hair, his hand trembling with each gentle movement. He spoke so softly, that Rainbow had barely heard what he said.

“T-This…is nothing…compared…to losing you.” Tory whispered. “I refuse…to give in…to the pain…I…won’t…lose you too..”

“Tory please,” Rainbow begged. “Save your strength! If you put any more stress on your body, you’ll kill yourself!”

“And leave you?” Tory asked weakly. “It’ll take…a lot more…than this!”

Tory let his head rest on the ground. He tried to even out his breaths, but it just made him sound worse. Rainbow got off of him, and moved over beside his head. She curled up next to him, her head beside his. She kissed him gently, keeping him close to her. She wasn’t going to give him up, not yet.

Rainbow perked up her ears, and listened. Sure enough, a trickle of water could be heard from the other side of the room. She got up slowly, and trotted over to the sound. She looked at the small puddle that formed beside the meager stream. It was green and didn’t look at that healthy. She carefully lapped up a few drops, and cringed at the sour taste. She waited for a few seconds, to see if it would have any adverse effects on her, but nothing happened.

Rainbow Dash stretched out a wing, and carefully scooped up some of the water. She slowly made her way back to Tory, and lifted his head up so he could drink.

“It’s going to be a little sour,” Rainbow warned. “But it’s perfectly fine to drink.”

She angled her wing so that Tory could sip the liquid as it ran down. He drank it in silence, not even making a face when the water passed his lips. After he finished, Rainbow got behind him and picked his head up gently. She layed down, and put his head on her side. She curled up slightly, so she could face him.

Tory turned his head towards her, and she kissed him. It was a short kiss, but it was enough to make Tory smile. His eyes filled with a warmth Rainbow had not seen from him before. It lasted for only a second, but that was long enough for Rainbow to figure out what it was. Tory was truly happy. He was in pain, but he was happy.

Despite the fact that she had gone against his wishes, that she had almost driven herself away from him by bringing Fluttershy back, Tory still loved her. He was content being with her, and no pony else! It made her cry, and she looked away so Tory wouldn’t see.

They stayed this way for what felt like hours. It was impossible to tell just how long they stayed there, since the room was underground and no light was filtered in. The only light came from the glowing stones that were embedded inside the walls.

Finally, Rainbow heard the gentle breathing of Tory in his sleep. She looked down at him, her eyes full of compassion and love. She watched the slow rise and fall of his chest, and soon fell asleep to the soft, repetitive sound. Before she fell asleep, she heard one thing come from Tory. It was a simple sentence, he must have been dreaming vividly for him to say it aloud.

“I do, with all of my heart and soul,” Tory whispered. “I do love you. Rainbow Dash…Will you marry me?”

The blue pegasus blushed deeply. To feel that strongly for her, even though they had not even been together for three days, showed just how much he cared for her. She leaned down to his ear, and whispered softly.

“I will Tory,” Rainbow said, kissing him lightly. “Because I love you too, with all of my heart and soul…”

When she awoke, Rainbow was vaguely aware of how quiet it was. Normally this early in the morning, the other pegasi would be loudly going about their business, doing their daily chores. She opened her eyes to find that the skies were dark and cloudy. But a thunderstorm wasn’t scheduled to happen today!

Then the memories hit her. Rainbow wasn’t in Cloudsdale, she was in the Cloister of Love. She looked down to see Tory wasn’t laying down beside her. Getting up, Rainbow looked around hastily for him. She turned towards the door that barred their passage forward. He was standing there, looking at the archaic symbols.

“Tory,” Rainbow said, coming up beside him. “What are you doing up? You should be resting still.”

“…I’ve seen these symbols before,” Tory muttered, completely disregarding her question. “Its…Its German!”

“Think of it like a second language,” Tory explained. “Or like a completely different culture. German humans have their own language, their own designs and concepts, anything to make them an individual nation. I studied some of their language a few years back. You see those symbols there, they mean ‘deceit’, and those over there mean ‘trial’. Rainbow, this first trial is to trick us.”

“You see that string of symbols there?” Tory asked her, pointing to a set that arched over the top of the door. “It’s a riddle. It says, ‘To continue along, look on with your brain, not your eyes.. The answer is ahead, you have only to try.’ I’ve spent many years solving riddles. If I’ve learned one thing, the answer is always in plain sight. Come here by the door.”

Tory stepped up to it, and rested his hands on the marble. Rainbow mimicked him, and understood what he was thinking. He signaled once, twice, three times, and they pushed on the door. It budged slowly, moving more easy as they progressed. They shoved it all the way open, and stepped into the next room.

Rainbow winced as sunlight hit her face. Being in the dim room for so long had made her eyes weak, and they had to adjust to the light once more. This room was very different from the last. The walls of this room were mirrors instead of rock, and a single hole in the ceiling sent a beam of light from one mirror to the next. On the floor, which sloped upward from the center, was a pedestal that held a small figurine.

The pedastal was very detailed, and extremely intricate. It held a wavy design that spiraled around the stand, and went all the way to the top. At certain intervals though, the waves branched off, giving the pedastal an eerie look. The figurine showed two ponies, both turned away from each other.

Tory and Rainbow walked up to the figurine, and inspected them closely. Tory let out a small sigh, and Rainbow turned to him. His eyes were deep in thought, and he began to fiddle around with the hilt of his daggers. She looked back at the object, and saw what he was staring at. More of the…German language…was surrounding the figurine in a perfect circle.

“Hmmm, this one is going to be difficult.“ Tory said to no one in particular. “I don’t know most of these words. I can puzzle out a few here and there, but that’s it. That one reads ‘bad’ and this one here reads ‘love’…But this one here, this one confuses me. I’ve seen that word before in my class. I can’t remember this one though!”

“I’m sure it’ll come to you soon. “Rainbow said confidently. “You’ve never let anything get past you, and you won’t now. Let’s look around, maybe we’ll find more symbols that you do know.”

Tory and Rainbow covered every inch of the room for other signs of writing, but they found nothing. Coming back to the pedastal, Rainbow sat down. Tory adopted a thinking pose, making him look funny in her opinion. She didn’t laugh though, as he looked really upset. To laugh now would be hurtful, and she wouldn’t do that to Tory.

“This is going to drive me crazy,” Tory said after a few minutes. “I know that word. I KNOW it! I just can’t think of it’s translation right now.”

“Maybe if you run a list of the words you can recall through your head, it could jog your memory?” Rainbow suggested.

“That’s pretty smart!” Tory said, picking up Rainbow. He kissed her on the cheek, and she blushed. “I didn’t know you were that intelligent!”

“Maybe after all of this is over, you can find out some other things you didn’t know about me?” Rainbow teased. Tory’s face turned red, and he looked away. She laughed gently, and flew up to give him a hug. “I’m glad to be with you Tory, even if it is only for a short while.”

He didn’t respond, he just turned his head away. Rainbow knew she had said the wrong thing. She had reminded him that if they succeeded, he’d have to choose between Rainbow and Fluttershy. That thought upset her, and she shook it out of her head. She would face that problem when she came to it.

Releasing Tory, Rainbow flew over to the pedastal. She did a few circles, looking for anything odd. Well, anything that would seem out of place in a completely random room. The only thing she could notice was that the figurines were removable. She reached out a hoof, but retracted it quickly. Rainbow was wondering if it could be a trap.

“Tory, I’m wondering,” Rainbow started. “You said the words you could figure out were ‘bad’ and ‘love’ right?” She continued when he nodded. “What if it means we have to resolve any love issues we find in the room? Look closely at the base of the figures. See how they look like they can be moved? What if we were to turn them towards each other?”

He reached over and turned one towards the center, while Rainbow did the same for the other. The moment the figures reached a certain point in the turn, they clicked into place, and slid into the pedastal. Tory smiled at Rainbow, and she smiled back.

Then the ground began to shake, and it threw Tory off balance. As he hit the hard stone, he banged his head on a mirror, causing it to fall back into another. This started a chain reaction where every mirror fell until the last one crashed to the ground and shattered into many small glass shards.

As the sound of breaking glass echoed around the room, the pedastal collapsed inward, and fell through the ground. Rainbow Dash looked down at where it vanished to see a pool of lava in the hole. It started to flow upward, slowly coming out of the opening and forming a perfect circle. It slowed it’s pace as it found more room to occupy. Rainbow saw Tory backing up to the wall, which had shattered glass on it. She saw him touch it, and his eyes widen.

Tory had accidentaly let a large piece of glass catch him in the back, and he was now stuck. If he moved, it would send a shock throughout his body, forcing him onto the ground and making him easy prey for the lava. He stood there, completely rigid. Rainbow flew over to him as quick as she could.

“Listen Rainbow,” Tory said, a hint of panic in his voice. “I can’t move, but you still can. You’ve got to get out of here. Fly up to that hole in the ceiling, and escape. I don’t want you to die.”

Rainbow looked behind Tory to see how bad it was. The shard he had lodged in his back was pretty large. If she was careful, she could break off the back of it, allowing Tory to take care of it later. Rainbow leaned down to it, and looked for a crack or something that could make the piece break sooner. Sure enough, there was a large one near the base of the mirror. She gave it a well aimed jab, and the piece broke off.

Tory came forward suddenly, able to move freely again. He stumbled really close to the lava, and Rainbow caught him by his shirt to prevent him from falling in. He gave her one of the most grateful smiles he could muster, and she pulled him back.

The lava was now half way up the sloped floor. Tory and Rainbow made their way over to the advancing door as quick as they could. Placing their backs to it, Tory looked at Rainbow, and she looked at him.

“Please Rainbow Dash,” Tory begged. “You can still escape! Fly out of here, forget about me! The hole is only large enough for you to get through! I’m too large!”

“I don’t care!” Rainbow shouted, tears in her eyes. “I refuse to leave you! If you die, then so will I! I love you too much Tory!”

Both of them heard a click behind them, and they fell backwards. As they looked up, they saw the door had opened. Had it been unlocked this entire time?! Quickly getting up, Tory and Rainbow pushed the door closed. They were just in time too, for the lava had reached where they’d been standing not even ten seconds ago.

“Yeah,” Tory agreed. “Lucky the door opened when it did. Which begs the question…Was that door unlocked the whole damn time?!”

“I don’t think so,” Rainbow replied calmly. “Remember how it clicked and then we fell into here? I think it was waiting for a key phrase or something.”

“Hmmm,” Tory said, letting his mind wander. “It only opened after you said you loved me too much to let me die alone…It responded to your love, and the loyalty you showed towards us…Loyalty! That’s it! Rainbow, the word I couldn’t figure out, it was ‘loyalty’! That was a trial to see how much we would do for the other!”

“And when I begged you to leave me behind,” Tory continued. “The door understood how much we felt for each other, and let us through.”

Rainbow hugged him tightly, glad to be able to stay with him longer. She knew she might have to give him up, but she could cherish every moment with him until then. The two broke the hug, and turned around to investigate the next room they would have to conquer.

It was a simple room, much like the first was. The walls were made of stone, and had glowing shards embedded in them. There was no shaft of light coming in through the ceiling. But instead of an empty room, there was a pedastal sitting in the center again. This time, it held a large diamond. The duo walked over to it, and investigated the words around it.

“I can sort of read this one,” Tory said. “If what you want is the key, deny the…and let it be. Your…will consume you and your partner too. That’s strange. I can read most of the words, but those two here and here I can’t. This second one almost looks familiar, but I’m not sure…”

“Let’s try to figure this one out before we try anything,” Rainbow suggested. She didn’t want to risk the chance of killing Tory again. He was badly enough injured by the glass in his back…Which reminded her…

“Tory, this is going to hurt,” she warned. “But whatever you do, don’t move.”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting a-aahhhhhht!” Tory cried out, as Rainbow yanked the glass shard from his back. The wound didn’t look serious, but it seemed bad enough to warrant a break.

“Ow, that stings!” Tory cursed. “Rainbow, can you give me a little more warning next time?”

“But if you had braced for it, the pain would’ve been more intense.” Rainbow said. “Besides, you can just heal the wound right, like you did with Applejack?”

“True,” Tory agreed, letting his body collapse on the floor, chest first. He reached behind him, trying to find out where to place his hands. “Hey Rainbow, can you guide my arms? I can’t see back there, so I don’t know where to focus my attention.”

The blue pegasus put her hooves on Tory’s soft hands, and he began to apply his magic. She guided him as he brushed them across the gash. It took only a minute for the magic to completely restore him to his former state. As he sat up, Tory gave Rainbow a kiss. She returned it, and rested her head on his lap.

“…Not for the day, but we can take a good long break.” Tory replied. “I think you’ve earned it after what we just went through.”

They curled up together, letting their bodies keep each other warm. Rainbow heard Tory’s breathing even out, and knew he was asleep. She listened for a few seconds, before her eyes grew heavy. The two of them hadn’t done much today, but the shock of almost dying again was enough to drain any pony or person of their energy. She let the exhaustion claim her, and slept peacefully…

Back in Ponyville, the rest of the group and Celestia were considering their options. With both Tory and Rainbow Dash gone, their current power was cut in half at least. Even Celestia knew how strong Tory was, if he could go against Discord the way he did. And Rainbow was fast. So fast that she could never get hit, making her all the more capable as she could always land her attacks.

As it stood right now, they were sitting ducks for Discord to pick them off. It would take just a snap of the fingers, and he could obliterate them. Why he hadn’t already was anypony’s guess! But since she had been here, Celestia had noticed a strong energy cloaking the town. It was familiar, but at the same time different. She couldn’t place it though.

“Well ponies, and Cory,” Twilight started, acknowledging her close friend. “We know that Tory and Rainbow are in the Cloister of Love now, and that Discord could kill us at any second. Do we have any way to defend ourselves?”

“We might not need to,” Rarity said, speaking up. “I’ve been feeling this strong presence around town. It came up shortly after we got back, so I think it’s good.”

“But are you entirely sure?” Twilight asked her. “I don’t want to be unprepared for a fight if I can help it.”

“Maybe we should git the other ponies together,” Applejack started. “An’ see if we can make some gear to stop Discord if he tries to beat us. Just in case.”

“That sounds like a good first step,” Twilight said with a nod. “I’ll put you and Rarity in charge of that. She can focus on armor, and you can get the weapons ready. Pinkie, you and your family get together with Applejack’s and start making food rations. We need to be able to eat, and someone has to prepare the food. But no sweets! That’ll just make the situation worse. Too much sugar can shut down the body, and we have to be ready when Discord strikes.”

The trio of ponies nodded, and rushed out of the room. The only ones left in the room were her, Cory, and Celestia. Looking at her mentor, Twilight thought about what would be best right now. Since they were now setting up for a full blown war, they’d have to get everything set up, and quick!

“Princess,” Twilight started. “Is there any chance we can get some materials in from Canterlot?”

“Raw materials?” Celestia asked. “I’m sure I can have some sent down, but that could weaken the army back at the castle.”

“I’m not asking for much,” Twilight pleaded. “Just enough to get us started?”

“But what about Tory and Rainbow?” Cory asked. “We can’t just forget about them!”

“We haven’t Cory,” Twilight said. “I’m sure they’re fine though. Don’t forget, those two are among the most capable Equestria has right now. Rainbow is easily the fastest pony in this world, and Tory has that special magic. Those two are easily unstoppable together.”

Cory didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he got up and walked out of the room. Twilight didn’t really like that. She’d grown accustomed to having him beside her. They’d become friends quite fast, and after their little journey to find Tory, Twilight had realized that maybe she felt something for the human teen.

At first, she had been upset at the thought. But after recalling how Tory had become so close to Fluttershy, that she had sacrificed herself to save him, Twilight had decided that maybe race really DIDN’T matter! Thinking like that had removed a strangely heavy weight off her shoulders.

“Ahem,” Celestia said clearing her throat, and breaking Twilight out of her musings. “I think I’ll go back to Canterlot, and prepare those materials you asked for.”

“Uh yes, thank you Princess.” Twilight said, still a bit lost in her thoughts. “I’ll handle things here, you should get back so Discord can’t hurt you. Now more than ever, the ponies need to see that they still have a confident leader.”

As the alicorn stepped out of the room, Twilight walked up the stairs to her bed. Having taken all the responsibilities of this event alone, she was completely drained. Spike came up to her as she flopped down, and handed her a daisy sandwich. Twilight took a few meager bites, but she didn’t really eat.

“C’mon Twi’, you’ve got to pull yourself together,” Spike said. “The whole town is depending on you!”

“That’s just it Spike!” Twilight wailed. “I can’t do all of this alone! Up until now, I’ve always had friends to help me! But now I can harldy think clearly! Most of my thoughts are about…”

Too tired to speak, Twilight just nodded her head. She hadn’t wanted to admit it, but she was so caught on Cory right now, she couldn’t even cast the most simple spells. Twilight let a tear roll down her cheek. Spike brushed it away, and smiled gently.

“Look Twi’, just go talk to him,” Spike suggested. “Tell him how you feel. Trust me, you’ll feel better after you do.”

“Coming from the dragon that could never confess to Rarity,” Twilight teasted.

“Only because a certain purple unicorn revealed my secret before I got the chance!” Spike teased back.

They both laughed at this. Twilight definitely felt better when she was smiling. Honestly, most everypony felt better with a bit of laughter. She was in the midst of considering switching Pinkie’s job to keeping morale up, when a knock at the front door broke her thoughts. Spike went to asnwer it, leaving her to think clearly for the first time in a few days.

It worked at first, until the sound of heavy steps came up the stairs. Looking up, Twilight saw Cory standing there. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but then again he always did around her. Twilight smiled, realizing that Spike must have called him back here. She made a mental note to hurt him later.

Twilight started to blush, but Cory couldn’t see that in the dim light. She had never done anything like this before. She could seal a legendary demon in stone, ‘defeat’ an Ursa Minor, even stand her own against Luna, but when it came to this sort of thing, she was completely out of her element. She had never read any books about love and how to confess to them.

“I’ve been feeling something lately,” Twilight started again. “And well…”

“Wait, I know where this is going,” Cory said, cutting her off. “You don’t have to say it if you don’t want to. But I gotta ask, who is he?”

Twilight blushed deeper at this. She wanted to just come out and say it was him, but that was too bold for her taste. She thought back to some spells she had learned a while back. Getting the magic together, she made a ring of pink smoke appear. But wasn’t just a ring, it was in the shape of a heart, and it formed around Cory.

Twilight was about to ask him not to leave. If he left now, she’d never be able to forgive herself! Then Cory surprised her by wrapping her in a big hug. So caught off-guard, Twilight nearly fainted from the shock. Regaining control over her body, she instead wrapped her arms around his neck.

“You too huh?” Cory asked. “Glad I’m not the only one that was feeling this way!”

“It seems like every time things pick back up, something has to ruin it!” Twilight complained. “Things had finally died down from the Luna event, then Discord comes back and tries to engulf the world in chaos! Then right after everypony got over that we have the massive Hellfire Wave and Tory appears the next day! Are we doomed to endure nothing but misery and suffering?!”

“I know I’m not really good with words, but let me say this.” Cory started, pulling Twilight closer to him. “Things happen. They always have, and they always will. It’s how life works. We just have to look past all of the bad shit, and enjoy the good…Like you right beside me.”

Twilight leaned into him more, glad that she had Cory beside her. She breathed in his scent, it smelled of marigold. It calmed her nerves, and she rested her head on his chest. He began to stroke her hair slowly and delicately. It tickled, and Twilight began to giggle. This got Cory laughing, and the two stayed that way for a few minutes, forgetting everything about the world that surrounded them.

Spike smiled as he heard them from downstairs. His little plan had worked to perfection. He’d seen the way Cory looked at Twilight, and the way she looked at him. It was obvious to everypony, save for them, how much the two felt for the other. He knew that he had to help, especially since it would give Twilight some much needed support to her mentality.

She’d been so unfocused these last few days, and it had taken its toll on her mind. With war just over the horizon, she had almost broken down. Spike had known Cory would be the only thing able to comfort her. That was how love worked. At least, that’s what the little dragon thought.

Spike felt shivers run down his back, and turned to see the purple unicorn and Cory walking down the stairs towards him. Twilight had an evil smile on her face, and her eyes glinted mischievously. Cory’s face was one that said, ‘Run, I think she’s snapped!’ Spike took his meaning to heart, and sprinted for the door. He was out of the building in record time.

“…HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Cory, that was priceless!” Twilight laughed in between gasps for air. “That was the most fun I’ve had since meeting you guys!”

“I may not be good with words,” Cory said with a laugh. “But I can fool around with the best of them!”

The two of them laughed again, almost crying from the fun they were having. They didn’t stop until the sun had passed the midday point. After that, both Twilight and Cory walked back into the library to relax, and talk about whatever they fancied. Forgotten were the worries of the real world. They just wanted to enjoy each other’s company. And they planned on doing just that, without their other friends jumping in…

Looking up at the bright sun, Derpy let it’s warmth flow throughout her body. After the events of the day before, the gray-ish pegasus had searched around for Tory. He treated her differently. He acted like she mattered, which not many really did for her. She had only experienced kindness from a few ponies in her life, but something always seemed to take them away.

Fluttershy was one of those ponies. The golden pegasus had always treated Derpy like she was one of the family. Because of that, Derpy had felt all the more pain when she died. The gray pegasus knew that Tory had feelings for the shy pony, and that made her happy. When the two of them were together, they seemed to radiate a special happiness that just brightened everything up. It hurt her so much to see Tory in pain, still grieving over her loss.

Though ponies always avoided her, Derpy always managed to learn about recent events from their whispers as she walked by. Though she was often clumsy and had an eye problem, Derpy’s hearing was quite strong. As a result, even the most quiet of whispers were heard by her excellent ears.

Derpy had learned of what happened that day in Canterlot. She knew how Tory had married the beautiful golden pegasus as she began her departure from Equestria. It had broken her heart to hear of the event. Now, the gray-ish pegasus just wanted to find him, to comfort him, and return the kindness he showed her.

It wasn’t until a few minutes before that she learned Tory had gone to the Everfree castle to get back Rainbow Dash. The amber-eyed pegasus had tried to follow after them, but the trail ran cold when she got to the main gate. If there had been any sign of them before, it was already covered up and erased from the building.

Derpy shook her head, clearing away the sad thoughts. She had a job to do, and that was assist in the delivery of several important packages from Canterlot. Supposedly, Princess Celestia had asked for Derpy personally to do this job.

Now Derpy wasn’t really all that fast, and she didn’t have a special talent like the other ponies. So it confused her that Celestia would want HER to take on such an important role. Despite the fact that she had visual issues and balance troubles, Derpy’s brain functioned as effectively as any other pony’s would. She had just decided to let everypony think she was mentally challenged so that they’d leave her alone about the eye thing.

Giving a weak sigh, the amber-eyed pegasus let her hooves walk along completely of their free will. Without realizing it, they took her to Rarity’s Boutique. Derpy walked right into the closed door, hitting her head on the wood. The door opened a few seconds later, and Rarity popped her head outside. She looked around, and then saw Derpy crouched on the ground, rubbing the spot where she banged into the door.

“Why Derpy, is that you?” Rarity asked. The pegasus just nodded. “Whatever can I help you with?”

“…” Derpy didn’t say anything. She was completely capable of speech, she just didn’t like to talk. Instead, she got up and looked into Rarity’s eyes.

“Oh don’t worry deary,” the unicorn assured her. “Tory will be back soon with Rainbow Dash. Why don’t you come inside and I’ll make you a cup of tea?”

Derpy followed the fashion designer inside of her shop. The inside was completely different from what it usually was. Instead of the extravagant designs around the mannequins, there were suits of brownish metal. Derpy tilited her head to one side, trying to understand why the most capable fashion designer in Equestria would suddenly drop her passion, and change into something new.

“It’s for the war sweetie,” Rarity said calmly. “Twilight asked me to make them after Applejack, bless her kind soul, suggested we prepare for Discord to attack.”

Derpy nodded, and followed the white unicorn into the kitchen. Taking a seat at the small table near the center of the room, the pegasus just looked down, wondering why she had decided to come here. She was on the verge of an answer, when Rarity came over and set a nice piping hot cup of green tea in front of her.

“So Derpy,” the unicorn asked, trying to make small talk. “What brings you to my cozy little home?”

“Oh, I see,” Rarity said with a nod. “You were wondering how we’re all doing. Am I right?”

Derpy nodded, brightening up. Rarity was another of the ponies that treated her nicely. She was also the only pony to actually understand the pegasus just by looking into her eyes. Rarity called it part of her gift, being able to see what others want to say just by looking at them.

“Well I’m thrilled that you came by, just to see if little ol’ me needed some support.” she said, smiling gently at the pegasus. “If only the other ponies were more like you. They all seem to just exude hate towards us, all because Fluttershy did the most loving thing one could do for her lover, and we still stand by Tory.”

At the mention of the human boy, Derpy lowered her head. Rarity noticed this, and put a hoof on her shoulder. She used her other hoof to lift the pegasus’ head, looking into her amber eyes. Derpy saw a gentle fiercness within them.

“I understand how you feel sweetie,” Rarity said softly. “We all feel the same way. It was just too soon in my opinion. And to think that I, me of all people, had treated him with such anger, when he was actually a nice guy! I felt so terrible when Celestia told us how he wasn’t a spy, and when he told us his story. It was so sad…Derpy, do you know his story?”

The pegasus shook her head. Tory’s past was one thing that was kept a secret from the public. Only the Elements of Harmony and Celestia knew about it. Derpy sipped her tea politely while she listened to Rarity tell her the story. A few times, Derpy almost cried. His life sounded so sad, yet he still tried to persevere. Even Rarity had trouble keeping the sadness out of her voice. When she finished, Derpy looked at her hooves.

“He needs our support now more than ever,” Rarity finished. “And I think your support would help too. Derpy, he does consider you a friend.”

The pegasus just nodded, still thinking about what she had heard. To learn so much about the guy that treated her so nicely…It made her happy to be considered his friend too. With a glance at Rarity, Derpy swore to herself she’d do everything she could to help keep Tory happy.

“I’m glad you understand,” the white unicorn said, noticing the fierce look in the pony’s eyes. “Now then, what say we get you outfitted?”

Before she had time to react, Rarity used her magic to drag Derpy into the main room, and began to take measurements. She pulled out a chalkboard, and began to draw sketches of a pegasus with light armor covering her torso, flank, and head.

“Derpy dear,” Rarity asked the pegasus. “Which do you prefer, mobility or defense? I need to know what kind of armor to make you so you can join us…Oh don’t look at me like that! Derpy, you’re our friend too, and we want you to join us with Tory…Hmmm mobility it is then!”

Rarity erased parts of the design, and removed the helmet from Derpy’s armor. Instead, she put greaves on the drawing, and sketched what looked like extensions to the wings. Observing them closely, Derpy saw how sharp the extensions looked, and glanced over at Rarity.

“Well you can’t just bluntly strike everything with your hooves!” the unicorn said with a start. “A good edge to those wings, and you’ll be able to cut down anything that you can’t punch! You won’t even feel the difference while you’re flying…What, don’t believe me? Ask some of the other pegasi, they’ll tell you they’ve tried on the pieces, and barely felt it at all. In fact, they said they were faster with it on than normal. Something about aerodynamics or…”

Derpy nodded, she understood. Derpy had studied hard in her flight classes. The edge to the wings would not only serve a battle purpose, but it would cut the air that glided past any pegasi wearing the extension, reducing wind resistance and increasing velocity. The end result, faster flying, and a more lethal slash to the opponent!

“I see you understand deary,” Rarity said with a smile. “So I guess I’ll get to work on your armor right away. Only the best for my friends!”

Derpy replayed that last word in her head…Friends…So few ever called her that. As Derpy walked out of the building, a tear rolled down her cheek. Just two weeks ago, she had been a nobody. She hadn’t any friends, just people who talked to her. Now Derpy suddenly had Tory, Rarity, Twilight, Cory, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash…even Grace and Big Macintosh, as her friends. That added up to nine friends. That was nine more than she had ever had in her lifetime!

Giving a sniffle of delight, Derpy walked down the street with her head held high, and a soft tune on her lips. After talking with Rarity, she felt much happier! She was going to enjoy herself, and the company of her new friends. Breaking into a trot, Derpy headed straight for Sugarcube Corner, wondering if Pinkie Pie was up for a good time…

Applejack was feeling good today. Something about it just seemed brighter. Maybe it was how Derpy seemed to be in a good mood after moping about yesterday, looking for who knows what. Maybe it was how Cory and Twilight seemed to be almost inseparable nowadays. Applejack couldn’t tell for sure, but things definitely looked good today.

After the meeting ended, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had gotten the pink pony’s family down to the farm, and they had collected as many apples as the trees would give. They’d loaded up all of the carts with the fruit, and shipped them directly to the sweets shop. There, Applejack’s family along with Pinkie’s began the careful task of making food rations for what would hopefully be an army.

Applejack herself wouldn’t be able to help though. She and Macintosh were placed in charge of organizing everypony to be battle ready. Rarity was helping by giving the pegasi bladed wings, and she had even designed a special horseshoe that would allow earth ponies to strike harder with each attack. It looked like a normal horseshoe, but it was enhanced with a special magic coating that made it lighter and tougher at the same time. The end result being a nice boost for the earth ponies’ low self esteem.

The orange earth pony herself was getting all of her farming tools together, and passing them out to ponies that came by for training. Twilight had said they should be prepared, why not go the extra step and get the ponies ready for actual battle?

“Okay ev’rypony,” Applejack instructed. “Watch closely at how Macintosh tries ta take me down! Brother, show me what ya got!”

The red earth pony held his weapon, a simple broom, in his mouth, and charged at his sister. He swept the wooden piece under her legs, causing them to fly out and Applejack to fall to the ground. As she got to her legs, her eyes flared with a playful gleam, and she lashed out with her front hooves. She tackled her brother, and removed the broom from him.

The watching ponies observed the scuffle in silence. They weren’t sure if this was a training session, but they were learning some fighting moves nonetheless. As the two siblings wore themselves out, they decided that it was time to end the little tussle.

“An’ that,” Applejack said with a huff. “Is how ya fight back. Did ev’rypony get that?”

As the observers nodded, Applejack thanked her brother for the help, and walked away from the group. She collapsed under a nearby tree, and watched as the ponies broke off into groups to practice what they saw. Taaking her hat off, Applejack sighed heavily. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see amber eyes staring at her caringly.

“Woah nelly!” Applejack said, surprised. “Oh, hey Derpy, what brings ya ta the farm? I thought you were hanging out with Pinkie Pie.”

Derpy continued to stare at her with that calm, caring expression. It creeped Applejack out, but it was still interesting to see her. All day, the pegasus has been trying to help others by going around and raising the morale of other ponies with Pinkie. So far, they’d managed to keep everypony’s spirits up.

“Oh well,” Applejack said with a shrug. “It don’ really matter. You sure been happy today sugarcube, what brought that on?”

“Heh, ya know Derpy, it’s kinda fun talkin’ wit you. I bet ya hear all kinds of things, am I right? Ya always listen ta the others, and don’ never say nothin’. Why, I’ll bet ponies tell ya all sorts of secrets!”

Derpy smiled kindly, and settled down beside Applejack. She yawned silently, and rested her head on the soft grass. The orange earth pony smiled. She looked adorable like that. It was a shame they had to become friends during the worst of times.

“Well, ya’ll just rest yer little head, an’ I’ll bring ya back a nice juicy apple ta snack on.” Applejack said sweetly.

The earth pony walked away quietly, and found a tree that still had a few apples left. Bucking it without even trying, two apples fell down, and landed on her back. Walking over to Derpy, Applejack placed one at her hooves, and slowly ate the other one. It tasted great, and had a sweet smell that wafted around her.

Looking down, Applejack noticed Derpy had woken up, and was nibbling on her apple too. She smiled at the gray-ish pegasus, and finished her apple. When Derpy ate the last bite of hers, the two got up and walked downhill towards Ponyville.

“…Still feelin’ out o’ it?” Applejack asked. “Well no worries! A lil’ bit o’ walkin’ ought ta get ya woken up.”

They walked into town, and was greeted by Pinkie Pie, as she performed some strange acrobatic trick that everypony seemed to love. Applejack smiled as she watched. Derpy stared in awe, as she had never seen an earth pony do something so…extravagant! The performance carried on for few minutes. When she finished, Pinkie walked over to her friends, sweating a bit.

“Hiya Applejack, Derpy!” Pinkie said in her happy-go-lucky voice. “What’re you doin’ out here?”

“Just takin’ a walk,” Applejack explained. “Me an’ Derpy thought it might be good to step away from the stress for a few minutes.”

“Oh, can I join you?” Pinkie asked. “My flank is sore from all of the fun I’ve been trying to share. If I don’t take a break, my legs are gonna fall off, and then what would I do? I wouldn’t be able to do what Twilight asked of me, and that would make everypony sad.”

“Easy there partner,” Applejack said, placing a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth. “Of course you can join us. Isn’t that right Derpy?”

The gray-ish pegasus nodded. Pinkie’s eyes lit up, and she began to bounce happily like she usually did. All three of them walked down the street, letting the sun warm them up. Derpy was enjoying the breeze that accompanied it, Applejack was looking around at the other ponies to see if any of them needed help, and Pinkie was humming happily to herself. After walking around the town, they all returned to their assignments, a little bit happier than when they started. When the other two left, Derpy jumped into the air, and headed for Cloudsdale. She had to get to sleep early, so that she could do her best tomorrow when she traveled to Canterlot to pick up the first shipment of materials.

All the other pegasi looked at Derpy with something close to envy. How come SHE was picked for this special assignment? They broke off into groups to gossip about how she must have wormed her way into getting Celestia’s favor. Derpy heard all of this, but she wouldn’t let the others get her down. She was too happy at having friends to let their words sting her heart.

Yawning silently, Derpy finally entered her cloud home, and fell onto the fluffy cloud bed. She nestled herself under the warm gray covers, letting the events of the day drift her off to sleep…

Discord was enjoying the show. After his ‘defeat’ in Canterlot, he’d gone to the one place where he could heal in privacy: The Everfree castle. It used to be his home, until Celestia and Luna trapped him in stone. The demon’s eyes flashed for a second, just thinking about that day made him angry. Instead, he shook his head and continued to watch his guests struggle.

He had been quite surprised to find Rainbow Dash come to the castle alone, especially since Tory had recently confessed to her. Discord had planned to strike her down, and then deliver the body to Tory personally, but something inside him said to wait. Not even a minute after he listened to it, Rainbow took off for the cellar, where he had that old ‘Cloister of Whatsit’…Oh right…’Love’!

That word disgusted him. He wanted to take the damn thing and drag it through the mud, rip it into a million small pieces of garbage, and roast it in the fiery pits of Hell! Ponies always talked about how much they ‘love’ somepony, and how they’d do whatever they could for that ‘special somepony’. Bleh! Discord hated anypony or person that used the term so loosely. They didn’t understand love at all!

If fact, only one pony seemed to really understand what love was, and Discord had killed her with her lover’s sword! Thinking back to that event, the demon smiled evilly. He loved to relive the moment the light left her and Tory’s eyes, even if he had nearly died in the process. He kept rewatching the scenario play out, laughing like an idiot whenever the sword pierced Fluttershy.

Then he’d watch Tory try to marry her before the pegasus died, and he’d sing her that sappy song that he ‘wrote’. The kid was many things, talented being one of them, but a song writer was not one of them! The lyrics sucked ass! Just thinking about it made Discord want to puke.

But getting back to the current time frame, Discord was enjoying Rainbow and Tory trying to solve the third trial. He saw Tory reading the words on the pedastal, and get frustrated when he couldn’t make out those two words. Discord knew them though. The whole thing read out, ‘If what you want is the key, deny the gem and let it be. Your greed will consume you and your partner too.’

It was a trial to see if they were greedy, or if they were generous. So far, the room hadn’t decided which they were. It would after another day or so decide that they were greedy on it’s own, and then the walls would close in around them. Discord wanted to see how long it would take the two ‘lovers’ to realize the door was unlocked on this room too.

“Hahahaha! Those two losers will never figure it out,” Discord said with a laugh. “It’s just too funny!”

The demon let his laughter ring around the castle. No one would come here, not since that gray pegasus tried. Discord had covered up the trail that Rainbow and Tory had taken. It was like they had never been there.

But now the demon was starting to get bored. Those two decided to just stop and take a nap. The nerve of those fools! But Discord was not really upset. He was actually glad this happened. He had been developing a little something that was sure to piss Tory off. For it to work, the boy had to be asleep. Since he now was, Discord began his little scheme to ruin yet another aspect of the teen’s life. He chuckled as his body disappeared into nothingness…

Tory’s sleep had been quite interesting lately. Almost every dream he had nowadays included him and Rainbow doing something fun. But this dream had not been pleasant. Instead, it made him worry, as he now stood in front of a very familiar building. It wasn’t one he’d seen since his last summer break.

Tory was standing in front of a large, white building. It towered into the skies, a good three stories up. It had two front doors, with a guard rail running half way between them, signifying that it was two separate homes. Tory gulped, knowing something wasn’t right. He looked behind him to see a highway on a hill. To his right, there was an large sign that said ‘Prima Motel’.

Tory was back in the real world! He knew, the moment he saw that sign, that he was in Pennsylvania. One of his aunts used to work at the motel, which had a bar on the side. He turned back to the white house. It wasn’t his home, but an old friend of his lived there. The guy and his siblings were a little…eccentric, but they were good people.

Tory thought back to the last time he was here, and gulped again. Before he left to go back to his main home in Florida, he’d stopped by to say farewell to his friends. It had started off simple. The entire summer, Tory had been trying to work his way towards his friend’s sister, but the girl didn’t really regard him like that. They mostly thought of him as a cousin, instead of a friend. At least, that’s what she said at the time.

Tory managed to get her to at least give him a chance, which wasn’t much considering he was still new to the dating scenario. When he last saw them, he had given her a hug, and snuck a kiss in before he let go. He knew she’d try to kill him if he tried, she even said so when they started ‘dating’, so he had one of her brothers open the front door so he could make a quick escape…Tory was just lucky that she hadn’t her ‘tools’ with her at the time.

Akira, as Tory referred to her, using the Japanese name he gave her when he wrote his first story, “The Uzumaki Brigade’, was quite…sadistic. There was no other word to use for her. It wasn’t that he was into that kind of thing, he just thought she was cute. It didn’t hurt that she was an avid Naruto fan.

But she always had a set of weapons around her, save for that day. Akira was an expert with throwing weapons, like knives and shuriken. She called them her ‘tools’. But it was really just a kitchen set of knives and her starter Naruto kit.

But getting back to the point, Akira was probably still pissed with him. He didn’t want to go in there. That would be like walking right into a hungry lion’s den with a meat necklace on, it’d be just plain stupid and suicidal.

“She sounds fun to me,” came an unfortunately familiar voice. “Would you be willing to introduce me to her?”

“Okay Discord, get out here,” Tory said, his anger beginning to rise. “You and I have some unfinished business!”

“That we do, but not today. Instead, how about I show you something I think you’ll enjoy?”

Tory didn’t like the sound of that. He looked at the house again, finally noting that the front dooe was open. Without hesitating, he dashed into their living room. The room was a mess, but then again, it always looked like that. There were like, ten kids in the house, all of them ranging from nineteen to three!

Tory didn’t stop though. He quickly made his way upstairs, stopping to see if anyone was home. The second floor was empty, which was where the parents and Akira slept. Sprinting the last flight up, Tory reached the third floor, where his friend and the older brothers slept.

The entire floor was one room. There were four beds inside, two along the left and right walls. The ceiling was slanted upward and inward, making it easy to hit your head if you got up from bed too fast. There was a single window, which had a figure huddled under it. Tory recognized the person as Eric, his old friend. Rushing over, he put a hand on his shoulder.

“Eric, what the hell happened?” Tory said urgently but calmly. “Where is everybody?”

“There is no Eric here…Tory.” he said. “There is only me, Discord.”

Tory took a step back, and withdrew his daggers. He got into a fighting stance, and held one dagger at his waist behind him, and the other at his head, the blade aimed at the one who claimed to be Discord. He looked just like Tory’s friend. He had the closely shaved hair, slightly smaller than Tory, and a slight baby face, but it was barely noticeable. The thing that spooked Tory was the look in his eyes, or actually his eyes for that matter. They were red with white pupils. He had a dark aura that covered the room, and it was actually visible It was a dark purple, the color of true evil, and it radiated off of him in waves.

“Discord you bastard!” Tory snarled. “What have you done with Eric?! So help me God, I will kill you where you now stand if he’s hurt!”

“Go ahead Tory, kill me,” Discord said, his voice echoing with Eric’s at the same time. It was creepy, but still kind of cool. “Just know that if you do, then you kill Eric too.”

“You…You possessed him!” Tory shouted in disbelief. “You twisted mother fucker!”

“As I say time and again, compliments will get you nowhere.” Discord said with a sigh, shaking Eric’s head. “When will you learn?”

“Go ahead Tory, make your little threats. Challenge me to a fight to the death. You can’t do anything.” Discord/Eric said walking around him. “You’re not even here! I dragged your spirit out of you while you slept. If anything, you’re just a ghost right now!”

“How did you find him?” Tory asked, keeping his daggers up. “No one knows about him but me.”

“Where did you think I learned about him?” Discord/Eric asked. “I stole the memory from you back when I first started probing your mind. In that sense, YOU led me to him Tory. Now then, I think it’s time we sent you back into that damned Cloister.”

Discord/Eric pulled out what looked like a .45, and aimed it at Tory’s chest. He pulled the trigger, and a gunshot sounded. The teen was hit dead center with the blast, unable to move in time. He flew back into the wall, and smashed against it. As he slid down to the floor, he saw his blood all over his torso. Tory’s vision dimmed, and Discord/Eric was gone…

Rainbow Dash jumped to her feet at the sound. She had been sleeping peacefully by Tory up until now. As she looked around, alert for any danger, she spotted Tory beside her, crying out in pain. His chest was stained red, and Rainbow almost fainted.

Instead, she shook the terrible thoughts away, and got beside him. She lifted his shirt to see what looked like blood. She feared the worst, and tried to apply pressure to where she thought the wound was. She couldn’t find any, besides a large mark on his chest, but it wasn’t even bleeding.

Tory began to calm down, realizing that he wasn’t dying. After another few seconds, his breathing returned to normal, and he sat up. He looked terrible, as though he had just witnessed the death of Fluttershy again. Rainbow began to speak soothingly to him, letting her voice snap him back into reality.

“Oh God Rainbow,” Tory sobbed. “That bastard has him! He stole Eric away! He found him, and possessed him! Discord is in Eric’s body!”

“Tory, calm down,” Rainbow said, trying to keep her voice even. Seeing him so worked up was never a good sign. “Take a deep breath, and tell me what happened.”

Tory inhaled deeply, and began from the moment he fell asleep. He mentioned how he was back on Earth, how Discord had taken over his friend Eric, and then used his body to shoot Tory at point-blank. That was when he cried out, and Rainbow brought him to his senses. Rainbow just listened in silence. When he finished, she spoke up slowly and calmly.

“What a heartless piece of shit,” she said, surprising Tory, who had never heard her swear. “I’m going to make him regret his birth!”

“Rainbow…” Tory said quietly. “Please, whatever you do, don’t go after Discord. I don’t want to lose you too…”

He wrapped his arms around her, and brought her in close. She returned the hug, and nuzzled his hair. He began to laugh, and then she felt something warm run down her stomach. She stepped back, and saw that the strange red liquid had soaked through Tory’s shirt and gotten on her.

“Its…Its liquid pop rocks?!” Tory exclaimed in surprise after putting some of the stuff on his finger, and placing it in his mouth. “Oh that bastard! He was toying with me!”

“Pop rocks are a type of candy back on my world,” Tory explained. “Basically, they were small, crystalline bits of candy that popped and crackled in your mouth when you left them there. Here, they still work, even though they’re liquid now.”

Tory scooped up a bit on his shirt, and passed it over to Rainbow, she licked a little off his finger, and it tasted like cherries. Then the crackling began. Rainbow liked it, and she took the rest from Tory. They sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying the candy. Tory hadn’t had any in forever, so it felt good to have some sweets grace his taste buds.

Finally they finished, and got up. Rainbow looked at Tory, and noticed he still had a bit of the candy on his face, just a little to the side of his mouth. She flew over to him, and licked it off, causing him to blush VERY deeply. Only after doing that did Rainbow realize what she did, and she blushed too. The two looked at each other, and smiled innocently. Rainbow wrapped her hooves around Tory’s neck, and kissed him gently. He returned it, holding her close to him.

As they broke the kiss, the walls around them began to rumble, and close inward. They picked up speed, barely giving Tory and Rainbow any time to think, let alone act. Tory ran straight for the advancing door, with Rainbow right behind him.

As they neared it, Tory noticed that they needed more time to get there. Thinking quickly, he ducked, causing Rainbow to fly right past him. Coming up, he placed his hands on the wall which were now within arms length of him, and pushed outward. They slowed down, but only a little. The strain on Tory’s arms was unbearable, but he kept pushing.

As he opened his eyes, he saw Rainbow looking at him from her place in front. Her eyes were round with fear, but Tory smiled at her.

“Go, go now Rainbow!” Tory shouted. “I can only hold these walls at bay for so long!”

“RAINBOW PLEASE!!” Tory begged her, tears beginning to form in his eyes. “Just please…go without me. If one of us has to die so the other can live, I’d rather sacrifice myelf than let you die! You still have a chance…for everything!”

She flew over to him, and wrapped her arms around his neck again. She gripped him tightly, refusing to leave his side. Tory groaned in pain as his arms were forced to bend, causing the strength behind them to weaken. The walls picked up speed once more. Tory got up, and placed his legs on the walls, now completely using his body to hold it back. He succeeded in even pushing them back a bit, and the walls stopped completely.

“Rainbow, I’m begging you,” Tory cried. His eyes shone with such sadness. “I’m going to die, either way. If this doesn’t kill me, then I could very well die fighting Discord. You though, you can still keep going. Rainbow, there are so many things the world has to offer you. Your dream to become a Wonderbolt, the chance to stay by your friends…a chance to fall in love again… Please, do this…for me.”

“T-Tory,” Rainbow said, speechless. How was she supposed to leave him there to be crushed to death? “I-”

“Aaaaaaagh!” Tory cried out as his muscles began to spasm. The walls groaned in rage, trying to press forward. “This…This is the last thing I can do…Rainbow…I’ve got enough left in me to get you past the door…This is your last chance! Go now!”

“Dammit Rainbow!” Tory cried out, now more upset because he swore at her. “There will be others… there always are. If you don’t go now, I won’t be able to hold these things back!…Rainbow, you can find another love. Forget about me. I’m done for…”

Before Rainbow had a chance to say otherwise, Tory used his magic to create a large hand, made of pure energy. It grabbed Rainbow, and moved her all the way to the door. She tried to struggle out of it, but it held her tight. It punched the door open, and dropped her on the other side.

Seeing that she was safe now, Tory let his arms fall to his sides. He could barely move them now. He looked at the distance he’d have to cover before the walls crushed him, and knew he wouldn’t make it unless he started off doing a sonic rainboom. Odds of that happening were zero.

“Let’s see if I can use another bit of cartoon material to get past this.” Tory said quietly to himself. He let his legs fall to the floor, and the wall swarmed around him. “I’m…I’m going ghost!”

Rainbow saw a flash of light, and turned away. She heard the rumble of the wall as it crushed Tory. At the same time, she felt herself being crushed too. She lowered her head, unable to do anything now. Her first love had sacrificed himself to save her…Just like Fluttershy…

Rainbow Dash fell to the floor and began to cry. Why? Why did this always have to happen to her?! And why Tory?! He deserved much better than this! Now she’d never get to be with him, she’d never be able to see his smile again…Rainbow felt so hollow inside.

And she knew it was her fault too. She had been the one to ignore Tory’s wishes, and come to the Cloister anyway. She had been the one to let him tag along. She had let him do so much, and he had paid the ultimate price…his life. Getting Fluttershy back would be terrible now. The pegasus would probably try to commit suicide the second she found out Tory was dead, that or be forever upset with Rainbow. And she knew the others would hate her for it. She deserved to be hated, since she had let Tory die. Rainbow let the tears flow so openly, praying that this was all a dream, and that she was beside Tory in Cloudsdale. She blinked once…twice…but she was still in the Cloister. Rainbow couldn’t bear it anymore, and curled up into a ball, just begging for something to change, for Tory to be beside her, comforting her.

Looking up and turning around, Rainbow saw something unbelievable. Leaning heavily against the wall, was Tory. His arms hung limply at his sides, and one leg seemed to be unable to hold his weight. Rainbow felt the tears build up in her eyes again, but this time they were tears of joy. She flew over to Tory, and tackled him to the ground, showering him in kisses.

“Ow…Ow…Okay Rainbow,” Tory whispered. “I’m kind of…banged up right now…and your standing on my…lungs.”

“Oh um…” Rainbow stammered, embarrassed. She got off of him, and walked around to lay down beside his head. “I’m sorry Tory…I just thought…I lost you…”

“And leave you alone?” Tory asked her, still out of breath. “I’d…have to be…brain dead! No…you’re not…getting rid of me…that easily!”

Rainbow kissed him gently, and curled up beside him. Tory’s breathing was irregular, but it slowed down to a certain pattern. Rainbow took it as a sign that he had fallen asleep. She rested her head beside his, and tried to fall asleep. But one thing kept her awake. Just how had Tory managed to escape the walls? Rainbow was so sure that he’d been crushed by them.

When she awoke, Rainbow felt almost at peace. She looked over at Tory, and saw how calm and peaceful he looked, even though he had nearly died earlier. Getting up as quietly as she could, she walked around the next room they had entered. It looked exactly like the Deception room, it even had the little bit of water on the side, only this time the water was clear.

Lapping up a few drops, Rainbow felt the coolness of the water surge through her, giving her legs energy. She was about to bring some water back to Tory when she felt a headache come on. It hit Rainbow so suddenly, that she actually felt dizzy, and fell to the floor. Then her vision changed.

Rainbow was back at the castle gardens, but now she was looking on from another point of view. This time, she was looking out from the center of it all. Before, she had been on the side, now she was right beside Fluttershy. Rainbow felt a tear roll down her cheek. The golden pegasus shouldn’t have had to die.

Looking over to Discord, Rainbow noticed that Tory’s sword wasn’t where it was last time. Instead, it was in his hand. Rainbow looked into his eyes, and saw something strange there. Tory’s eyes held no love as he looked at Fluttershy. Then, he did something that shocked Rainbow.

Tory actually stabbed Fluttershy with his sword. He fell backwards, completely of his own will. He smirked, and called out to the golden pegasus like he actually cared. Then everything proceeded as it normally did, save for Discords’ warning. Rainbow kept an eye on Tory, seeing no love or regret as he looked at Fluttershy. After he sang his song to her, Rainbow leaned in as he whispered to Fluttershy before she died.

“You deserve to die,” Tory said so quietly. “You’re weak and pathetic! Now I don’t have to stay with a loser like you.”

Rainbow stepped back, not believing what she was hearing. Tory was the one that killed Fluttershy, not Discord! Rainbow tried to punch Tory, but she just fazed through him, like she was a ghost or something. She continued to follow the rest of the event, until Tory ran out on them.

As Rainbow rounded the corner behind Tory, she could hear him laughing. It was quiet, but loud enough to make her spine shiver. He spoke in a malicious manner, making Rainbow wonder just what the hell was wrong with him.

“Now that she’s dead, I can move on to part two of Discords’ master plan to take over. Next, I’ll kill Rainbow Dash. She’s so gullible, that it won’t even be hard to get her to like me. I’ll just lay low for a while, and make everypony think I’m so upset about Flutterbitch’s death. Hahahaha!”

Rainbow felt her rage tip over. How could Tory, someone she believed to be so nice, have such a cruel side?! How could he kill Fluttershy, and call her a bitch?! Rainbow tried to hit Tory again, but she continued to go through him.

Rainbow stared at Tory, who still was asleep. She saw him in a new light now. No longer was he the innocent boy that she loved…He was a cold-blooded murderer, and Rainbow had to take him down. Everything made sense to her now. The reason Tory could cast magic like Discord, and ‘defeat’ the demon so easily…The reason he was able to survive being crushed to death, and why he didn‘t want to bring Fluttershy back…He was working with Discord in secret, trying to kill off the Elements of Harmony!

She glared at the boy she thought she loved. What was she going to do now? She was trapped in this room with him, and she couldn’t go forward. If she tried, Tory would probably kill her and steal the wish for himself or his partner Discord. Either way, she had to do something about him.

Walking up to him, Rainbow removed one of the daggers that hung at his waist. She remembered how Tory had used this dagger to cut himself, and offered for anypony to kill him. She wished she could go back to that moment and plunge the damn thing right into his non-existant heart! Thinking back on it now, Rainbow couldn’t believe she tried to protect this monster!

“Fluttershy deserved to die, did she?” Rainbow whispered quietly to herself. “What gives you the right to decide that? Maybe you’re the one that deserves to die! And with this knife, the very same one you offered to the other ponies, I’ll make sure that you get just that!”

Rainbow reared back her head, prepared to send the dagger right through Tory’s chest and pierce everything that kept him alive. But before she came forward, she started to remember things. She remembered how Tory had rescued her from the sea when she was drowning, how they had shared that kiss the very same night. She remembered how he held her close, and the great feelings he stirred in her.

Rainbow shook her head, trying to clear away those memories. They were lies, all of them! This bastard killed Fluttershy, he just downright murdered her! But though she tried to forget them, Rainbow couldn’t help but see the memories.

She saw the love in Tory’s eyes every time he looked at her. She felt how much he cared with every hug, and the emotion behind every kiss. Despite what she had seen, Tory seemed to genuinely care for Rainbow.

The blue pegasus dropped the knife with a clatter, and stepped back. Tears rolled down her face as she looked at the still sleeping boy. She couldn’t do it, she just couldn’t! Despite the fact that he killed Fluttershy, and that he was working with Discord, Rainbow still loved Tory! She was so torn between her love, and getting revenge for Fluttershy, she couldn’t do anything!

“I…I can’t do it!” Rainbow whispered to herself. “I love Tory too much to hurt him…”

“U-Uhn,” Tory groaned as he woke up. He grabbed the back of his head in pain. “I’m never going to do that again…Aw, who am I kidding? I’ll do it again if it’s for Rainbow Dash!”

Tory looked over at her, and saw how scared she looked. He became serious, and tried to get up. His legs wobbled, and a few times he buckled, but eventually he made it over to Rainbow. He tried to put his arm around her, to comfort the pegasus, but she ducked out of it and moved away some.

“Rainbow, what’s wrong?” Tory asked, he actually looked concerned. “Did I do something to upset you?”

“What?!” Tory asked, completely caught off-guard. “I would NEVER do something so monstrous! I loved her…so much. How could I kill her?!”

“I…I saw a vision…of you stabbing her with your sword,” Rainbow admitted. “I heard you call her weak and that she deserved to die!”

“I’d never say something so heartless to Fluttershy!” Tory said, his voice escalating. “I would’ve died for her if I’d been given the chance!”

“I…I don’t know what to believe!” Rainbow shouted. “I want to believe you Tory, I truly do…but the vision…”

“…Look,” Tory said with a sigh. “I can’t make you do or say something you don’t want to believe in. Only you can make the choice of what to believe. If you feel that I’m lying, take my dagger, and kill me right now. I won’t lift a finger in defense. But if you believe me, then please, don’t do something you’ll regret later…I’ve said all that I need to. Now you need to decide…”

Rainbow picked the dagger back up, and walked over to Tory. She looked into his eyes, and saw acceptance and love in them. She felt herself freeze, and couldn’t look away. She shut her eyes tight, praying that she would make the right decision . The memories came flowing back to her once more.

That first time when they were alone, when Rainbow confessed. If Tory was so bad, why would he save her life? He could’ve just as easily let her drown, and then he could move on to the next pony. But he didn’t. Instead, he saved Rainbow, and shared that fantastic moment by the moonlit water with her. That was not the sort of thing that a murderer would do…

The next day when they were going back to Ponyville, Tory had been right beside Rainbow the entire time. When he made those beautiful wings, and picked her up, followed by kissing her. When he played the joker and fell in the water, just so she could get a laugh. When he said he just wanted a peaceful life, and to settle down with her… Only someone that actually cared for her would do and say these things!

Then she remembered the first time she met Tory. Even before he woke up, Rainbow saw something in him. It wasn’t love then, it was something different that she couldn’t figure out. She’d seen the love Fluttershy gave him, and how she wasn’t going to let anyone hurt him. If Tory hated Fluttershy in the first place because he thought she was weak, why was he with her then? He could’ve just broken it off if he didn’t like her.

All of these thoughts flashed through Rainbow’s head. The vision kept popping back in between each memory, trying to remind her of what he did. She wasn’t sure what was true and what was a lie. Rainbow lifted the dagger into the air, and aimed the blade at Tory. He didn’t budge an inch, he just sat there, looking at her with an expression that read ‘I’ll love you no matter what you decide.’

The blue pegasus brought the blade down, and just narrowly missed Tory’s head. He looked from her, to the blade, and back. He got up, and hugged her gently. Rainbow just stood there, sobbing. She prayed she made the right decision.

“I…I couldn’t do it Tory!” she cried. “I couldn’t kill you! No matter how I look at things, it doesn’t make sense! Why would you kill Fluttershy, but save my life? Why would you betray us for Discord? That’s not the Tory I know! I just couldn’t accept it!”

“Hush now,” Tory said soothingly, stroking her mane softly. “You don’t have to say any more. Things are going to be okay now.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” he said, giving her a kind smile. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I almost killed you!” she protested. “I almost turned into someone I’m not! How can I not have done anything wrong?!”

“You almost killed me,” Tory responded. “The keyword is almost. Since you didn’t, there is nothing wrong.”

“…I love you Tory,” Rainbow said, kissing him. “And that’ll never change.”

They both got up, and walked over to the next door. The two of them had successfully completed all of the trials that stood before them. Now, they had only to walk through this door, and make the wish. Tory didn’t want to though. The moment Fluttershy was brought back, he’d have to choose between her and Rainbow. How was he supposed to make a choice like that?

Both ponies had lovable qualities that Tory found absolutely unresistable. Fluttershy was the super kind soul that showed the utmost compassion to everypony. Rainbow Dash was the loyal, brave soul that never backed down, and took on every situation with confidence. Fluttershy had this special aura about her that made everypony smile, almost like Pinkie, but in a different way. Rainbow, while stubborn, had this flair that made others never give in, and gave them strength.

Tory sighed, knowing that deciding this would be the most complicated part of his relationships. He couldn’t have both of them, could he? The thought was interesting, but it sounded so unfair to both of them. Yes, he’d be able to keep both relationships, but he’d have to devote his time to both of them, possibly making the other feel left out. It brought a tear to his eye, knowing that life could be so cruel to him at times.

“Don’t worry Tory,” Rainbow said calmly, as she saw the tear roll down his face. “You belong with Fluttershy. You loved her first, and you married her before you ever felt feelings for me. I’m just glad that I was able to spend even a little time with you.”

Tory noticed how she didn’t look at him Even though she said she was fine with him picking Fluttershy, Rainbow obviously wasn’t. That made him feel even worse about this. He knew that his choice would hurt the other pegasus, and Tory didn’t want to do that.

Before they even got another step in, a sword felw past their heads. It embedded itself in the door, and a large gust of wind followed it. Turning around, both Rainbow and Tory saw something they weren’t expecting. Standing at the previous door was Discord, still in Eric’s body.

“Surprised to see me, Tory?” Discord/Eric said, switching between voices. “I hope you don’t mind if I cut this short. I’m not going to let you revive that pathetic excuse for a pegasus! In fact, I’m not going to let either of you leave this place alive! The Cloister will become your tomb!”

“Discord,” Tory spat, unsheating his broad sword. “I should’ve known you try to stop us! This is the perfect chance to make you regret what you’ve done! Give back Eric’s body, and fight me like a man!”

“But I’m not a man,” Discord/Eric replied, an evil grin on his face. “Well, sort of. I’m still me mentally, but physically, I’m your friend. And no, I refuse to give up this body! He makes a good meat shield. You see these scars on his back?” Turning around, Discord let Tory and Rainbow see the large slash marks running along his back, something that enraged the teen. “Those are from slaughtering half of Manehattan. I got the ones on my arm from fighting some weaklings in Fillydelphia, and the ones on my legs are from Royal guards that tried to stop me. This body, while slow, has served a good purpose. Now, the ponies of Equestria will regard humans as spiteful creatures that seem to have an insatiable amount of bloodlust! Your kind are through here Tory!”

“I’m going to make sure your death is slow and painful you BASTARD!!!” Tory shouted, charging at what looked like his old friend.

Discord/Eric jumped up, and kicked off the door behind him. He flew past Tory, and landed on the advancing door. Grabbing his sword, Discord/Eric jumped off of that one, and flew into the air. He stopped himself about halfway up the room, and in the center of it. He hovered there, just standing. He had no wings, yet he stayed afloat. Tory jumped, letting his wings stretch for the first time since he’d come down to the Cloister. He saw a spot of blue at the edge of his vision, and knew what it was.

“Rainbow,” Tory called to her. “Go into the next room, I have to do this alone!”

“As if,” she huffed. “You think I’m gonna let Discord here fight just you? He owes me too, for killing my best friend! You’re not the only one with a grudge Tory!”

He sighed, knowing that Rainbow wouldn’t listen to him. Instead, he decided to work some of his magic, but it wasn’t noticeable, as he didn‘t raise a hand or even make himself look like he was concentrating. He simply built a small, invisible barrier around the blue pegasus, that would deflect weaker attacks. It wouldn’t stop the stronger, slower slashes, but Rainbow would be able to dodge those.

Tory nodded at her, even though he wanted her to turn tail and get out of there. Discord was no laughing matter. If they weren’t careful, one of them could die again, and then Discord would have an easy time killing the other one. Remembering the pain Tory felt at Fluttershy’s death, he let his rage comsume him, all but his brain.

Tory warped behind Discord/Eric without a word or signal, and aimed a slash at his sword arm. The possessed human raised his own sword in defense, stopping the attack without even a budge. The motion was so quick, Tory had barely seen it.

Discord/Eric turned and laughed. He swung his sword, which was a katana instead, and Tory blocked the attack. The impact of metal on metal sent sparks flying into Tory’s face, and he lost his focus for a second. Discord/Eric noticed, and kicked him in the stomach. The action sent Tory flying into a wall.

Tory remembered a skill he’d seen in one of his older games, and tried to think of what it would do. It was a skill called Aura, that made a large, ghost-like version of the user, and they both attacked like normal. The only difficult part was figuring out which version was the real attacker. Tory shrugged, and gave it a whirl anyway. But instead of the normal version, Tory would be applying a few personal touches.

Four gigantic, hazy copies of Tory surrounded Discord/Eric, and swung at him. Discord, naturally tried to block them, but their attacks passed right through him. Then the original Tory flew at him through one of the copies, and struck the possessed human with his sword. The attack connected, leaving a large gash in Discord/Eric’s side. Howling in pain, the demonic being let himself fall to the floor, and began to gasp for air.

As his feet touched the stone, a blue blur came at Discord/Eric from the left, knocking him clean into the wall. He slumped to the floor. Rainbow jumped back a few feet, knowing that he could be faking again. Tory landed beside her, and smiled. Rainbow kept her gaze on Discord/Eric, but she grinned too, knowing that he was looking at her.

“Good punch Rainbow, the last one to ever hit me that hard was Tory, and he had magic enhanced legs at the time.” Discord/Eric said, slowly getting to his feet. He looked up, and his eyes were wild. He still had a smile on his face, the creepy kind, and a few teeth were missing. “But I shouldn’t expect any less from the only true fighter among the Elements of Harmony.”

“Stow it Discord!” Rainbow Dash hissed. “You killed Fluttershy, and we’re going to make you pay!”

“Ugh, what IS it with you two and revenge?!” Discord/Eric said, giving them an upset look. “Every time we talk, it’s ‘you killed Fluttershy’ this, and ‘I’m going to kill you Discord’ that! Get over it! You two sound like a bunch of broken records!”

“Enough talk,” Tory said, putting his sword away, and getting his knives out. “You and me Discord, right now!”

Tory dashed at the demonic being once more, and slashed with his left hand. Discord/Eric stepped to his left, and swept his leg out, tripping Tory. The boy then used some magic to enhance his reflexes and strength, and planted one of his hands firmly on the ground to regain his balance, It worked, and Tory lashed out with his foot, smacking the possessed human in the face.

Rainbow came up behind him, and bucked him straight back to Tory. He pushed off with his hands, and flew over Discord/Eric’s head, making the guy collide with the wall once more. Now getting angry, the demonic being began to glow with a dark energy. Both Tory and Rainbow felt its raw power, and took a step back.

“You still don’t get it, do you?” Discord/Eric asked, his original voice taking over more speech now. “Your feeble attacks are barely even hurting me! I can crush you like the insects you truly are! Prepare, to feel my power!”

The dark energy around Discord/Eric began to pulse, and grew stronger still. A gust of wind was beginning to pull Tory and Rainbow towards him, and the human had to grab the pegasus just to keep her back. Their expressions ranged from fear to anger, and the demonic being liked it. He let more of his raw, unrestrained power surge through his body.

Since he had been freed from his stone seal, Doscord had been feeling more and more power return to him. He was still no where near as strong as he could be, and he wouldn’t be for another few weeks, maybe even months. But at the moment, Discord had enough power to level most of Everfree forest. And while Tory could most likely do that as well, it would drain that pitiful human to near nothing, while he would still have something left over to use.

Now starting to see just how powerful the demonic being was, Tory was beginning to fear. Not for his life, but for Rainbow’s life, and every other pony that would feel Discord’s wrath. Gathering his thoughts together, Tory knew he had maybe one chance to stop the bastard.

Tory reached into the deepest recesses of his mind, and called on every ounce of magical power he had. He pulled it forward, and forced it to surface. A warm feeling began to bubble up inside him, it even graced his senses. The sharp scent of pine tickled Tory’s nose, and he felt his body prickle as though he was surrounded by the needle sharp leaves of the tree. He opened his eyes, and found his vision was slightly greener. He raised a hand towards his enemy/friend, and released all of the power within him.

Rainbow Dash could only stare in amazement at Tory. He was litteraly glowing with power! She had been cringing in fear of Discord/Eric’s power when she had smelt the forest around her. It had held her tight, and she had almost thought she was surrounded by the trees. It wasn’t until she saw the green glow around Tory, and felt the gust of pulling her towards him, that she realized he was gathering his power as well.

As Rainbow watched, she saw him raise his hand towards their enemy, and unleashed a sharp smelling hell upon the possessed human. Discord/Eric’s power began to diminish, and soon he was on the floor still gasping for air. She looked at Tory, and found he was in a similar state, Rainbow rushed over to him, but an extended hand from Tory held her back.

He got to his feet, and focused what remaining power he had left into the air around Discord/Eric. A dark green portal appeared beside him, and Tory looked at Rainbow. She nodded, understanding what he wanted. She broke into a sprint, and caught the demonic being off-guard. Rainbow bucked him into the portal, and Tory sealed it closed. He collapsed onto his side, and panted heavily.

“I’ll…be fine,” he said weakly. “Just…used up…all of…my power.”

“I used…most of my energy,” Tory started. “To seal his…Then I…warped him into…another dimension. Right now…he’s…in a desert…on my world.”

“You sealed up all of that power?” Rainbow asked, amazed he had that kind of strength.

“Sort of…” Tory said, getting hid breath back. “Only for a while though…He’ll be back, within a few hours.”

“But, I don’t understand,” she said, realizing something. “Why not just kill him and be done with it?”

“Because, he’s still in my friend’s body.” Tory replied. “I couldn’t kill Discord…without killing Eric.”

Rainbow nodded. After realizing that he wasn’t working for Discord, she figured she understood Tory decently now. He was extremely loyal, like her. He wouldn’t sacrifice the lives of his friends, not even to kill the one that murdered his wife.

Shaking the thoughts away, Rainbow wrapped her arms around Tory, and kissed him passionately. Tory was so tired, he didn’t even return it though. She noticed this, and pushed him back to make him lay down. Expending that much energy had to have been taxing on his body! He didn’t say anything, he just gave her a grateful look.

“I think after that, we can rest for a little bit, don’t you?” Rainbow asked him. Tory simply nodded.

Curling up next to his head, Rainbow gave him one last kiss. Tory smiled, and closed his eyes. Soon, his breathing began to even out, and he fell asleep. Rainbow listened to him, letting the calm, rhythmic sound lull her. She drifted in and out of consciousness for a few seconds, but then she slept too…

Landing it the dust and grit of a really dry and hot place, Discord/Eric rolled on the ground as he came out of the portal. It sealed shut behind him, and the possessed human graoned. He was aching all over, not just from his newest wounds, but from the older ones that he had gotten earlier that day.

Rainbow had kicked him right in the gash Tory had sliced in his side, and that had opened the wound even more. It didn’t help that he was laying in dirt that had gotten into the cut. It worsened the pain, and Discord/Eric managed to get to his feet.

Looking around, he noticed that he was in some sort of desert. Tory had evidently warped him somewhere far away. There were no buildings in sight, which said plenty considering that the whole area was completely flat, and one could see for maybe miles.

Discord/Eric let his rage show, and shouted angrily, cursing Tory and that damnable pegasus. He tried to force his energy into making a portal back to the castle, but nothing happened. Discord/Eric reached deep into his mind, to find that Tory’s energy was blocking him. That little bastard! He sealed off Discord’s magic!

Now trapped in this hellish wasteland, Discord/Eric began to walk in a random direction, hoping that he would come across someone he could rob. It wasn’t long until he saw a dust cloud rising in the distance. Discord/Eric smiled…

Twilight Sparkle, Cory, and the rest of the remaining Elements of Harmony raced through the Everfree forest, heading straight for the castle. She had felt two sudden surges of magical energy, and had feared the worst. The first had sent chills down her spine, and she knew it was Discord. But the second confused her. It had made Twilight feel like it was winter again.

Approaching the castle, Twilight and her friends slowed down. She looked back at them, and they nodded to her. She was the supposed leader of the group, even though nopony had ever said anything about that. They’d all just come to accept her as the one in charge after the Luna event.

She looked at Cory, and he smiled. After yesterday, they’d grown quite close to each other. Now, he gave her courage. Twilight grinned at him, and turned back to the castle. She walked in, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. There weren’t even trails in the dust to show that Tory and Rainbow had been here. Twilight let her mind wander a bit, hoping it would find an answer. Before she could come up with anything though, a strange scent surrounded her. It was rose.

She followed what she believed to be the origin of the scent, and walked down the stairs to the cellar. It stopped in front of a large vat of cider. Pinkie ran over before anyone could get their minds running, and tried to get some from that vat. When nothing came out, she whined. That got Twilight thinking.

“Stand back Pinkie,” Twilight warned, her horn beginning to glow with magic.

She yanked the door of the vat open, and everypony as well as Cory saw that there was a tunnel behind it. Twilight picked up the rose scent again, and broke into a trot. They were close to Tory and Rainbow, Twilight could feel it. She heard the pounding of hooves behind her, and knew that her friends were still following. They weren’t sure what they’d find, but she had a bad feeling about it.

As they approached the first door, they saw a large hole in it. The hole resembled something close to a human. Twilight’s theory was confirmed when Cory walked up to it, and fit it almost perfectly, he was just a bit taller than the hole. Now afraid for Tory’s life, as well as Rainbow’s, she broke into a gallop, and left her friends behind. She dashed past the next room, and her hooves suddenly felt hot. She stopped and saw that the floor was smoking, as though it had been like fire earlier. Another door was on the other side of the room, and Twilight forgot about the floor. She dashed across it, not caring about the pain she felt shoot up her legs.

Galloping past the next door, Twilight found that the walls in this room were really close to her, and she slowed down. She wondered how many rooms they’d have to run through to find their friends. It couldn’t be many, could it?

Twilight turned her head at a sound behind her, and saw her friends and Cory coming up. She didn’t stop though, because when she turned back, she was at the next door. Slowing to a trot, Twilight saw two figures on the floor. Her heart stopped when she saw that one was a human.

“TORY!” Twilight shouted, dashing over there as fast as her legs would carry her. “TORY, RAINBOW DASH!!”

“Ugh,” Tory groaned, pushing himself off the floor with one hand, and holding his head in the other. “Can’t a guy get some sleep without somepony ruining it?”

“Oooohhh,” Rainbow said, getting up and stretching her wings. “What’s with all the noise?”

Twilight stopped as she got to them, confused at the way her friends acted. The others came up more slowly. Tory and Rainbow got to their feet, and looked at their friends in surprise.

“What’re you guys doing here?” Tory asked. “And how’d you manage to get in?”

“You idiot,” Twilight said, letting some of her emotions show. “We thought Discord had killed you! I felt those extremely powerful energies earlier, and we rushed here as fast as we could!”

“Discord?” Rainbow asked, trying to remember. “Oh yeah! He was here all right!”

“Well? Where is he?” Rarity asked, looking around the room for any signs of the demon.

Tory and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, a gleam in their eyes. Twilight saw this, and sat down, still waiting for an explanation. Tory noticed this, and sat down as well. This got everypony else, and Cory, to get down on the floor. He told them how Discord had sent him a dream about him possessing Eric, and how when he woke up, the demon had stopped them from entering the next room.

Tory purposely left out the part where Rainbow thought he killed Fluttershy, as that was something the others didn’t really need to know about. They had to go through her death twice already, why make it even worse?

Rainbow explained how they fought Discord/Eric, and how their attacks didn’t seem to do a thing to the guy. Then Tory told them about how both he and Discord/Eric released all of their magic, and the end result being the possessed human being sent to Earth without his magic.

“It’ll only last for a little while though,” Tory finished. “I figure we have maybe two hours until he gets enough power back to make a portal here.”

“Y-You SEALED Discord’s magic?!” Twilight exclaimed. “YOU were the second source of power I felt?!”

“It was amazing!” Rainbow said. “Tory just unleashed hell on him, and the guy lost it all. Then he made a portal, and I bucked him through it!”

“Proud o’ ya girl,” Applejack replied, coming up to her and holding out a hoof.

“Learned from the best,” she said, pounding her hoof into the earth pony’s.

“Uh, this is all good and stuff,” Cory interjected. “But maybe we should get moving? We don’t know how much of the Cloister is left, and you say Discord is gonna get back soon?”

“Don’t worry about it Cory,” Tory said with a grin. “This room was the last trial, and Rainbow already completed it.”

Tory gave her a look that said ‘Don’t say anything careless!’ Rainbow nodded, understanding what the trial was, at least, she thought she did. That vision must have been a test to see how strong their love really was, and Tory had known that. She grinned at him, the sly bastard!

“So, we can get our wish on the other side of that door?” Rarity put in, speaking up for the first time today. “We can bring Fluttershy back?”

Twilight saw this, as did Rainbow. The blue pegasus walked over to him, and put a hoof around his neck, trying to comfort him. They all knew what would happen once Fluttershy came back. That upset them, since they didn’t want to see their friends in pain. Once Tory made his decision, one of the girls would be so crushed.

Twilight decided that maybe she could do something for her friends, and used her magic to pull a quill, some parchment, and ink out of her saddlebag. She had been shopping earlier when she felt the magic surges, and hadn’t returned to her house since. She wrote a note to Princess Celestia, asking if there was something that could be done about this, and used her magic to warp it to her teacher.

“What was that about?” Cory whispered to her, seeing the unicorn do all of that.

Twilight turned him away from the group, and explained what she did. As she finished, another letter appeared, and Twilight read it. A large smile graced her, and she rolled the parchment up, and placed it back in her saddlebag.

She and Cory walked back to the group, who were just sitting there, thinking about how they could solve this dilemma. Twilight wanted to tell them that they didn’t have to worry, but she couldn’t, not yet anyways. She would wait until Fluttershy was back, so she’d only have to explain it once.

“Well,” Twilight started, breaking the silence. “We won’t get anything accomplished by sitting around here. You know what they say, ‘Actions speak louder than words.’ Let’s keep moving.”

Everypony plus the two humans got up. They proceeded to the advancing door, and tried to push it open. It refused to budge. Tory looked at his friend, and nodded. Cory nodded back, and the two of them moved over to the door. Tory cast a simple spell that would buff up his friend, and the two began to work. The door budged a bit, but not enough to get through.

Rainbow put her own strength in beside Tory, and Twilight did the same for Cory. Applejack came in as well, followed by Pinkie Pie. The door moved another inch, but that was it. They all looked back at Rarity, the only one that hadn’t tried to help.

“What?” the white unicorn asked, realizing that all of them were looking at her. “I just got another pony-pedi! Surely you don’t expect me to put my hooved on that cold, hard, dirty, smelly-”

“Rarity!” Twilight shouted, getting angry. “Which is more important, your pedicure, or your friend?!

Adding her strength, though it was pretty weak, everypony as well as the two humans managed to open the stone door enough for them to walk inside single file. As their eyes adjusted to the room, which was darker than all of the others, they all gasped at what they saw.

The room was quite large. It was easily the size of a stadium, to be exact. The only light in the room came from a single shaft in the ceiling about fifty feet above the group. It was completely bare, save for one thing that occupied the center: A large golden statue.

It resembled an alicorn, except that it had a short mane, and it’s tail was split in two. The figure was easily identified as a stallion. He had on spiked armor that covered his torso and legs, which were quite muscled. The base of the statue had an engraved plaque. It read:

Two Tail the Great
Here lies the alicorn of legends, that ended the Thousand Night War.

Simply known as ‘Tails’ during his lifetime, it had been prophesized he would save all of Equestria. Near the end of the War, Tails layed siege to the Griffon Castle, and reclaimed the young Princess Luna from her captors. In the process, he destroyed valuable equipment and intelligence, effectively ending their tyrannical assault.

Unfortunately, Tails took on a full barrage of arrows on his return, protecting the Princess from danger. Some of the bolts managed to pierce his armor, and struck vital wounds. Tails continued to fight until he came back with the Princess, only dying after he was sure she had entered friendly territory.

His was rumored to have loved Princess Luna, and it is believed that she returned the feelings. This Cloister is in honor of the loyalty, devotion, intelligence, and selflessness that he showed during his lifetime towards her. Here, he stands watch, protecting the love of those that should complete the trials.

In loving memory,
Luna.

Tory looked up at the statue, and felt some odd connection with that stallion. It was as though he knew Tails very closely. Stepping closer, Tory could almost feel the energy radiating from the statue. It reminded him of the forest, more particularly, pine trees.

“I see you’ve made it to the end of the Cloister,” came a voice behind the group.

Everypony, Tory, and Cory turned to see a dark aliconr standing there. It was Luna. She walked up to them, a look of grief and loss on her face. She stared into Tory’s eyes, and he thought something flashed in them for a second. He shook his head as Luna turned away. Had he imagined it?

“Princess Luna,” Twilight said, bowing. Everypony plus the two humans mimicked her actions. “Wh-What are you doing here?”

“Please, rise,” the alicorn of night replied. “I’m not here as a princess, but as a friend…To answer your question, I came because I felt that surge of energy earlier. I knew that you ponies, as well as you two humans were in the Cloister, thanks to my sister, so I rushed here as fast as I could.”

“Um, Luna, if I may,” Tory asked. He continued when she nodded. “Were you and Two Tail…?”

“…Yes,” she said. “I was still quite young at the time, and it was shortly after me and Tia defeated Discord, but I believed in me and him. He was always at my side, except for that one night. The griffons had timed their attack for when he was in a meeting, and stole me from my chambers. Tails came to rescue me the next night, and…died during the escape. If not for him, they would’ve used me as a bargaining chip for the War. I was so grief-stricken, I…I went mad. You all know the rest.”

“But, surely we could’ve healed him up!” Twilight protested. “Canterlot has had the best medical magic for centuries!”

“You forget just how old Celestia and I are,” Luna countered calmly. “We are easily a millennia old. During the time of the Thousand Night War, I was only twenty. Canterlot had magic that could’ve healed the wounds Tails received if they had been fresh. But by the time we returned to the castle, they were too deep and had already drained him of his life. He was barely holding on by a thread when we made it to the gates…”

“I don’t understand,” Rainbow said loudly. “Just what were all of you fighting the griffons over back then?”

“Territory, like it always was.” Luna answered, looking at the blue pegasus. “The Griffons and Equestrians have been arguing over certain borders for many generations, even before my sister was born. They still haven’t come to terms, but Celestia has been able to keep them quiet. Yet it’s only a matter of time until something breaks the tension.”

“…Luna,” Tory started. “Something has been bothering me since I entered this room. Every time I look at Tails’ statue, I feel as though I know him. And I feel his energy coming from the statue. That same energy is the one I used when I fought Discord earlier. Just what is going on?”

“…I knew it.” Luna said after a moment of silence. “I knew the moment I saw you, that you weren’t just some human. Tory, you’ve seen the amount of power you possess, am I right? You’ve defeated Discord single-handedly twice now.”

“Well, not really single-handedly,” Tory replied, looking at Rainbow Dash. “If not for her, I might not have been able to send Discord away.”

“He’s just saying that,” Rainbow returned, blushing under the attention. “I didn’t really do anything to help.”

“Regardless,” Luna broke in. “You’ve defeated Discord twice, have you not?” She continued when he nodded. “You have a massive amount of magical potential. I’m sure you’ve noticed that by now. The only known beings in our recorded history to have that level of talent are all alicorns. But now let me ask you this. Have you figured out what your magic represents?”

“All ponies capable of magic leave a scent or feeling when they cast magic,” Twilight said. “Usually the traces are too faint to detect, but in certain cases, there is enough to identify details about the caster.”

“You mean when I smelled pine, and felt it brushing against me, that it was a manifestaion of my magic?” Tory asked. Luna nodded. “Is that what my magic represents, pine trees?”

“It is,” the alicorn of night replied. “Almost everypony’s magic is a different color and smell, but there are times when two share similar traits. The first is when twins are born. The second…is when a soul has been brought back to life in another body.”

“I’m not sure I see where this is going,” Tory said backing away. He actually did, but he wasn’t sure about the idea.

“As I thought, you are a TERRIBLE liar,” Luna countered, smiling gently. The gleam was back in her eyes again. “Tory, you know just what I mean. YOU are Two Tails the alicorn!”

Everypony and Cory gasped at this. They all looked at him with something caught between respect and complete surprise. Tory just stood there, uncomfortable with the attention. He shook his head, trying to ignore the possibility that he was once an alicorn.

“But how can that be?” he asked Luna. “If I’m Tails reborn, why am I a human, and why do I not remember my life as him?”

“That is a long story,” Luna said, turning towards the statue. “One that I will tell you of another day. For now, you are all here to bring back your lost friend…and lover, are you not?”

Tory noticed how she hesitated when she said ‘lover’. Did the alicorn still think of him as Tails, and not the human that he was now? He hoped that she had managed to overcome her grief now, centuries later. Things were bad enough with him having to decide between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

“..We are,” Tory said with a nod. Luna’s eyes flashed again, and Tory turned away, not feeling comfortable under her stare. “Though I still don’t wish to do this, I know that I must. If I don’t Rainbow will never really be happy, and neither will my friends. This is just one of those parts of life that you have to grind your teeth, and make something work.”

“Well said,” Luna agreed with a nod. Her eyes darkened for a second, and she turned away. “Then step up to the staue and make your wish. If your love is truly strong enough, then Fluttershy will come back to you.”

Tory stepped up the the plaque, and knelt. He clasped his hands together, and began to think of his lost love. He recalled his time with her when she healed him, when they had traveled to Earth, every kiss they shared, and the look in her eyes as she died. A single tear slipped out of Tory’s eye, and he spoke up.

“Please,” Tory began quietly. “Please bring Fluttershy back to me! I wish for her to be alive again! I want to hold her close, to stroke her soft hair, and to be beside her once more! Please!”

The room began to glow brightly. The statue of Two Tail became illuminated, and its golden light shined throughout the room. Tory felt the energy from the statue seep into him, and recharge him to before his last fight.

Soon, the light died down, and everypony plus Tory and Cory looked around. On the ground beside the statue was a small round object that glowed a golden hue. Tory took one look at it, and his eyes began to water up. He ran over, and looked down.

Laying there, curled up, and completely asleep, was the beautiful Fluttershy. Her golden body gave off a soft light, and her pink hair looked as silky smooth as ever. Tory fell to his knees, and reached a hand out to stroke her hair. He pulled it back quickly though, fearing that if he touched her, then Fluttershy would disappear. He just sat there, staring at his first love.

Everypony sniffled at this, even Luna. They came over to Tory, and sat down next to him, showing him that they were there to support him. Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around Tory one last time, holding him close to her. She didn’t want to forget all of the time she spent with him.

Tory turned around, and gave her a loving look. He pulled her in front of him, and gave her a gentle kiss. It still held all of the love he ever showed her, and Rainbow wished she could stay like that forever. But like all good things, it came to an end. Tory looked into her eyes, which showed all of the events they had gone through together. Though it had been only four days, the two had forged a strong bond of love.

Rainbow let her hooves fall to her sides, and moved away. Tory looked hurt, but she kenw it was for the best. He nodded, showing his thanks for her, and turned back to the still sleeping Fluttershy. He reached down slowly, and let his hand rest on her head. This time though, she had a different feel.

When she had been a spirit, Fluttershy had felt cold to the touch, and the edges of her form were blurry. Now, she was warm with a new life, and her shape was as definite as Tory’s. He ran his fingers through her soft hair, letting her presence bring him to life. He moved his hand back to her head, and let it fall to his side. Instead, he put his body to the floor, and rested his head beside Fluttershy’s. Her breathing was soft, and she was still as adorable as the first time Tory saw her. Leaning over, Tory kissed her lightly between the eyes.

“…Mmm,” Fluttershy whispered, slowly waking up. She opened her sparkling blue eyes to see her husband right beside him.

“Fluttershy,” Tory said so quietly, it was almost inaudible. “Its…Its so good to have you back.”

“No,” Tory chuckled, a gentle smile on his face. “YOU are alive again…And it feels so great so see your beautiful face.”

“…” Fluttershy smiled at him, and leaned over. She kissed him on the lips, and looked into his eyes. “It feels great to wake up to yours.”

They both got up, and hugged. Everypony sighed at this, all save for Rainbow and Luna. The blue pegasus didn’t want to admit it, but she was jealous. Her time with Tory had been short, but it had been oh so sweet. Luna on the other hand, wasn’t thinking about Tory. She was remembering Tails, and the decision he had made before death.

“I’d love to,” Fluttershy said softly. “Especially since its with you again.”

Tory blushed at this, and they both laughed. He carried her towards the exit, followed out by his friends. The sun was shining brightly still, and they had all the time in the world to be together again. With Fluttershy by his side again, Tory felt he could do anything. Life was good once more…Life was good.

I.I.I Author’s Note I.I.I

Okay, I have plenty to say this time around, so let me start by saying this. Don’t hate me for my talkative nature, it’s all Pinkie Pie’s fault! My adaptive personality picked up her active nature, and well...

Second, what did you think? I had most of this layed out at the start of the last chapter, I just hadn’t figured out how to do things. I never do until I come to them. But did you like it? I wanted all of you to really enjoy what the characters were experiencing, so I made it double the length of a normal chapter. Don’t expect it too often though, it takes too long to put this much in at one time.

Third, nothing is over yet! NOTHING! I’m not going into any details, but let’s just say that Twilight sill has something she needs to tell the group.

Fourth, if you’re wondering, Derpy will be joining the main crew! How can I not add her?! SHE’S TOO FRIGGIN’ AWESOME!! I’ll go into more details the next chapter, so don’t ask any questions about her.

Fifth, I’d like to thank my newest brony friend, Kovuthelion15. He accepted me as his co-writer, and so I will be assisting him with his story ‘If This Is A Dream, Don’t Wake Me!’ Thanks to him giving me a chance, I’ve come across some new ideas that I’m going to apply ASAP.

A Hoof In Two Worlds

by Raven Smite

Trials