//------------------------------// // 21| Green Dawn // Story: A Nightmare Come To Life // by Alcatraz //------------------------------// “Look,” Joseph said, glaring at Twilight, “you and I are going to have a nice, long talk about all this shit later.” Terminating the conversation, he turned to look up at the stage and saw a lighter blue unicorn mare levitating a big duffel bag and talking to Vinyl. He couldn’t make out their conversation, but he must have caught the tail end of it, because the blue mare departed through the backstage curtain while Vinyl made a beeline for the toffee apples. He looked to Twilight, who seemed to be fixated by something over by the stage. “See someone you like?” Joseph teased to alleviate the tension in the air from before, playfully nudging Twilight. “Wha? N-no, I just…” She looked left and right before going over to the stage. “I just needed to ask Trixie what time she will be performing so I can get in some time at the other games.” Looking at Joseph, she added, although in a slightly snide manner; “I’ve been too busy carting dying ponies off to the hospital to have any fun.” Her rear right hoof kicked up the back of her cape. “And after the fact, my costume has gotten all out of place!” The corner of Joseph’s mouth curled at Twilight’s discomfort as she made a vain attempt to fix the costume. “Alright, Merlin,” he said as he followed Twilight over to Trixie, “what’s your plans for now?” “You called me that before. Who is this Merlin?” “A wizard from Earth, I guess.” Twilight’s expression lit up and she beamed a massive smile. “You had wizards back where you’re from?! Was he like Starswirl?” “What? No! Wizards and witches are completely fictitious on Earth, Twilight! And who the hell is Starswirl?” Twilight didn’t answer, rather electing to grumble in annoyance at Joseph and brush him off as she spoke to Trixie. Joseph overheard Trixie say she’ll be ready in about half an hour, at which point Twilight trotted back around to Joseph with a bit more pep in her step. “Right, first a game or two, some snacks, then we go see Trixie’s performance.” “What about Spike?” Joseph asked, looking around the immediate area. “He doesn’t get a lot of time off, so I decided to let him do whatever he wants this evening. He’ll join us when Trixie’s show starts. She did say the show will be something that nopony will forget, and since this is my first Nightmare Night away from home, I’m really looking forward to it!” “Well good luck with that,” Joseph replied dismissively. “You go do your thing, and I’m gonna try and find Vinyl. She knows how to have fun, so I’m hoping I can have some fun with her too.” “Just… don’t get into any trouble, alright?” Twilight said, looking up to him pleadingly. “I’ve got some freaky she-demon… thingy… that wants my ass for reasons I don’t know. I can only say I’ll try, but if trouble finds me, it ain’t my fault, comprende?” “Fine, fine…” She turned to walk over to Applejack’s apple bobbing barrels, and Joseph went in the other direction to find Vinyl. After a few minutes of searching he found her talking to a charcoal-grey mare with a considerably darker, charcoal-black mane and tail. The mare caught sight of Joseph and seemed a bit surprised, raising a forehoof as if to move backwards. Vinyl saw her expression flick off to the side and followed it out of curiosity. “Oh hey there!” Vinyl beamed as Joseph approached. She turned back to her friend. “Octy, this is the mare I was telling you about!” Joseph couldn’t help but notice how she looked at him up and down; the corner of her nose curled with what could be construed as contempt or disdain. “Charmed,” she said succinctly, turning away from Joseph, effectively giving him the cold shoulder. “Why don’t you show her your wicked Nightmare Moon costume?!” Vinyl cheerily suggested. “I left it over at the stage,” he lied. “Didn’t want to lose or damage it.” “Eclipse, wasn’t it?” ‘Octy’ interjected forthright. “Vinyl told me about your performance in Canterlot.” “She did, did she?” “Yes, and something about that night has been troubling me.” “Oh yeah? What’s that?” Joseph and Vinyl shared confused looks as Octavia examined the nail of her hoof disinterestedly as an excuse to keep from looking at him. “Well, it’s just that Vinyl was supposed to supply the costume, right?” “...Yeah?” “If you didn’t wear it, where did you get yours from?” Joseph’s gut dropped momentarily, but he managed to think up an excuse quickly. “Well, after Vinyl made the arrangements, I decided to surprise her and everyone else by sourcing my own costume.” It was bothering Joseph how rude this mare was being, so he decided to cut her down to size. “I’m sorry, Vinyl hasn’t mentioned you at all. What was your name?” Success. ‘Octy’s’ gaze harshly narrowed on Vinyl, whose ears folded back on her head sheepishly. “I,” Octy began matter-of-factly, “am Octavia Melody, cellist for the Canterlot Orchestra. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a rather important show I need to practice for.” Without another word, she abruptly turned tail and left down one of the streets. Joseph watched in disbelief before Vinyl sighed deeply off to his right. “Sorry about that. She isn’t normally like this.” “She really needs to loosen up,” Joseph said. “Yeah, although it depends in which sense you’re talking about,” Vinyl replied, which made Joseph giggle-snort and grin widely. They both stared at each other in awkward silence for a moment as the rest of the crowd walked by the two obliviously. “Soooo…” Vinyl began. “How have you been liking everything so far?” “Well, this is my first time at this thing, so I kinda thought you might know what’s fun around here.” “Even though I live in Ponyville with Octavia, I’m not here most of the time since I do a lot of gigs in Canterlot. I only sleep in my own bed three or four times a week. Sorry,” she finished. “It’s fine, I guess.” “I’m just about to go back to the house to get some more music, but I’ll be back in time for the magic show. See you then?” “Most of the kids should be largely in bed or asleep, so see if you can’t find something a bit more… bombastic, eh?” Joseph suggested with a sly grin. “I’ll definitely try,” Vinyl replied in kind. “Although that’s the problem, too.” “Eh, so long as I can’t hear any crying I don’t particularly care.” “You don’t like kids?” Vinyl asked. Joseph snorted. “Not by a long shot. Like, don’t get me wrong, I know how to handle myself around kids, I just don’t want any.” “I s’pose they’re not for everypony. Anyway, I should be back in a bit.” “Alright, see you soon,” he replied. Joseph made his way back into the conglomeration of ponies beginning to crowd around the main stage, getting the best seat they could find, readying themselves for the show. Since it was a magic show, a lot of the parents had their kids either perched on their back, riding on their shoulders, or for the colts and fillies that had wings, were hovering just above their parent’s heads. No doubt for some of them this would be the end of the night before they went to bed, getting up in the morning and likely binge eating their bags of diabetes from tonight. Since he was on his own, Joseph decided to find himself a seat amongst the still-growing crowd. His loneliness didn’t last too long though, and soon after he took his seat a familiar drake walked up next to him. “Hey,” Spike said with a nudge. Joseph looked down to him. “Have you seen Twilight around?” “She went off on her own about an hour or so ago. Give her ten minutes and she’ll probably find us.” Much to Joseph’s bewilderment, Spike unzipped the front of his costume slightly and pulled out a handful of wrapped candies. “Dude, did you stuff yourself with candy? Like, literally?! Can I have some?” Spike giggled around a mouthful of candy. “Mmhmm!” He swallowed. “Means I don’t have to walk around with a big bag.” “That’s actually kind of smart. Although, won’t it collect in your feet?” “Nah, the elastic stitched into the costume makes sure it doesn’t slip where it doesn’t need to go.” Meanwhile on stage, the sight of Trixie levitating a long box attached to a set of wheels on stage caught Joseph and Spike’s attention. “Oh, it’s going to be one of those magic shows.” “Well yeah, what else did you expect?” Spike asked matter-of-factly. “...You know what, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect. Could’ve just been my expectation towards magic given how magically inclined everyone here is. I already know how this trick works anyway.” By now, there was quite the turnout for Trixie’s show, which meant Spike and Joseph were sandwiched next to each other with nary any room to move. “Spike!” a voice called out over the crowd. “Where are you?” “Let me get on your back,” Spike said to Joseph. Much to his annoyance, Spike immediately started climbing on his back rather than wait for the answer. “I’m over here!” Spike shouted back while waving his hand. Joseph turned to Spike and said in annoyance; “Instead of asking if you can climb on my back and doing it without a response, let it be known that I could have lifted you above everyone!” “Uh, heh, sorry about that…” “Let me demonstrate.” Joseph then proceeded to levitate Spike, turn him upside down and shake the drake, making his hidden stash of candy scatter around them. “Hey!” Spike protested. “Put me down!” “If you insist.” Joseph then cut the magic he was using to levitate Spike upside down, and he hit the ground and rolled on his back. Joseph then proceeded to pick up several pieces of wrapped candy. The remainder became a feast for a few fillies and colts as they made a grab for what they could before legging it. “What’d you do that for?” Spike asked angrily, rubbing the back of his head. “If you wanted some you could’ve just asked.” Joseph smirked at the dragon. “Making a point. And I did, but you didn’t say anything, so I took some anyway.” As Spike went to open his mouth, Twilight managed to find her way through the crowd to them. “There you are!” she said, heaving a breath of exhaustion, sitting down on the other side of Spike so he was in the middle of them. “How’d your evening go,” Joseph said through a lemon-flavoured hard candy. “Fine, fine... Managed to get in a few games, ate some snacks, then I wanted to find you two to watch the show with. And now here we are!” Joseph carefully regarded Twilight for a while. She seemed rather tense and anxious about something, but Joseph couldn’t put his finger, or… hoof on it. She was probably out of breath from playing the games and frustrated she kept missing. The box rested on the centre-back portion of the stage, and off to the side sat Trixie’s duffle bag. The din of the crowd dulled into hushed murmurs as Trixie stood, looking down at and over the crowd, waiting for them to quiet down. “Welcome, fillies and gentlecolts!” she shouted, rearing on her hind legs and kicking out her forelegs, “to the most unforgettable magic show of your life!” The crowd roared with approval, all pumped up, ready and waiting. “I’ve got quite the finale planned to end your night with a bang, so I’ll begin with some other tricks first. Could I please have a volunteer?” “Pick me!” someone shouted, jumping up and down in the middle of the crowd. Their voice was rather deep and had a slow drawl to it. “You there!” Trixie proclaimed, pointing at him. “Come up here with me.” The thinner young stallion had an off-gold coloured coat with an aquamarine mane and tail, as well as light yellow freckles. He made his way up the stairs, accidentally catching his hoof on the top one and stumbling the rest of the way onto stage. “What’s your name?” she asked. “S-Snails,” he said nervously. “Hey, Twilight,” Joseph asked, nudging Twilight as he spied the colt’s cutie mark. “I’m trying to watch the show!” she spat. Ignoring her, Joseph asked; “How much foresight do these ponies have to have in order to name their kid after their cutie mark? It makes no sense.” Twilight countered as fast as she could. “Nobody understands how cutie marks work. They randomly appear whenever somebody gains and/or realises their special talent.” It behooved Joseph not to make any further remarks about the little guy, so he turned his attention back to the show. Trixie’s horn lit up and, from Joseph’s perspective, the left half of the box opened up. “Snails, if you wouldn’t mind helping me into the box?” He held his hoof out for Trixie to use as support while she climbed into the box. Joseph felt a nudge in the rib cage from Spike. “Have you seen this trick before?” “Only on TV. Watch this. I’ll give you a run-down of what she’ll do before she does it.” As the box closed, Joseph whispered to Spike; “There’s two people in there. Trixie, and another up the front.” As Snails closed the lid, two hind legs slid out the bottom end. “How could there be two ponies in there if Trixie’s coat colour is the same as the legs?” Spike asked. “Dyes, magic, something. I dunno, whatever they did.” Joseph watched as Trixie levitated over a wood saw from her bag of goodies and handed it to Snails. “Now, you shall saw the middle of the box in half!” “Miss Trixie, you’re in there, won’t that hurt?” Snails asked as he eyed the rather large saw up and down. “It’s a magic show! Of course it won’t.” Joseph hadn’t been to any live magic shows before, so something like this was definitely fun and refreshing to watch. Snails then proceeded to saw through the box in the indicated position. After a few tense minutes of sawing, some strained effort on Snail’s behalf, the teeth of the saw finally breached the bottom of the box, at which point Trixie levitated over two pieces of wood, placing them where the saw cut through. “When you saw through the box, you’re separating the two people from one another. Then the ‘head’ tells the ‘feet’ to move,” Joseph continued, keeping his eyes on stage but his ears focused on Joseph. “Behold,” Trixie declared, “I am still able to control my disembodied hooves!” As the hooves ‘moved of their own accord’, the crowd ‘Oooo’ed and ‘Ahhh’ed in wonderment. “Now what happens?” Spike asked. Twilight was too busy watching the show to pay any attention to either of them. “I’ve already told you how most of the trick works, but I’m not sure how everything gets put back together. That’s the part I’m actually keen to see.” After the crowd finished gawking at the spectacle, Trixie used her magic to put both halves of the box back together and seal it with some kind of spell so it was a seamless box once more. As the flash of magic cleared, Snails helped her out of the box. When all four hooves were firmly planted on stage, Trixie said; “And to disprove any nay-sayers in the crowd…” She used her magic to flip open both halves of the box, levitating it up and over the crowd so everyone could see inside. Spike looked to Joseph, an eyebrow raised challengingly. “Explain that,” he said with a smug grin. “Whoever was in there got teleported out during the flash of her magic when she fixed the box.” That wiped the grin off Spike’s face pretty quickly. “Thank you, Snails, you can return to the crowd, and as a reward, I will be calling upon you later.” “Thank you Miss Trixie!” Snails jovially said as he made his way back to his original place in the crowd. For the next hour, Trixie put on various acts with increased flair and drama as the night went on. From the sawn in half trick, to pulling a rather angry rabbit out of a hat, to Rainbow Dash being trussed and tied on stage after her big mouth got her into trouble for heckling. Joseph could figure out most of the tricks Trixie demonstrated by watching closely and ignoring the intentional misdirection. As the fireworks and sparkles settled down from the majestic display of her latest tricks, Trixie strode through the smoke to address the crowd, her cape fluttering behind her. “I see many fantastic and wonderful costumes here tonight! But what is a magic show without changing the appearance of your very costumes?” The crowd hummed with curious delight at this. “Snails, could you join me on stage once more, please?” “But I don’t have a costume on…” he said dejectedly. “Come, I shall give you one!” She stuck out her hoof as the costume-less stallion made his way on stage one last time. Levitating out a book with a few bookmarks in it from the duffel bag, she handed it to Snails. “This is a book full of creatures of myth. Open it to a random page and I shall give you a very life-like costume!” Morbidly intrigued, Joseph watched as Snails opened the book to one of the bookmarks towards the front of the book. Joseph almost wanted to tell Snails not to do that, because now he’d played into her hands. Or hooves. The idea was to never do what you think the magician expected of you. “Oh, that one?” Trixie asked curiously, arching an eyebrow. Snails feverently nodded his head. “Well then, it shall be so!” Trixie’s horn lit up and she blasted him with a ray of green magic. It kicked up a cloud of smoke, likely to hide the person that either changed into a costume, or replaced Snails. When the smoke cleared, the crowd was a mixture of shocked expressions, awe, and curiosity. While he still had the same overall body shape, Trixie’s spell donned him with dark chitin, the colour of his coat shimmering on it in the moonlight above. Looking back, Snails saw a pair of gossamer wings between the shoulderblades of his forehooves. He pulled a lock of his mane down to look at it proper, seeing that the turquoise colour had been tainted with a heavy, oily green. Joseph’s suspicions were immediately raised. Keeping his eye on the spectacle in front of the crowd, he said to Twilight; “What the hell just happened?!” “Trixie is a magician that specialises in illusory charms; don’t worry about it.” “She just turned him into a changeling-esque version of himself,” Joseph spat through gritted teeth. “Pardon me if I seem rather pensive about it!” “Would you calm down? It’s just a magic show! The spell will wear off soon enough.” Having been constantly hounded by changelings, Trixie’s spell understandably put Joseph on edge. Tense and anxious, he begrudgingly continued to watch the performance, though not without keeping his guard up should something happen. “Who knows what creature Snails here represents?” Trixie asked, holding up the book she had him pick from. Being this far back in the crowd, he couldn’t quite make out the title. Maybe a book on the beings of Equestria? Myths and legends, perhaps? With an excited gasp, Twilight’s hoof shot up. Amidst dozens of others, Trixie pointed towards someone in the back. “You there, pink one!” “A super icky gross changeling!” the extremely exuberant, high-pitched voice called out over everyone. Joseph rolled his eyes, and he couldn’t help but force a small smile. ’Yup, definitely Pinkie.’ “...Yes, correct,” Trixie replied, almost indignantly. “Is there anyone else that would like to come up on stage and partake in the show?” Over a dozen hooves shot up in the air. Joseph’s gaze darted all around the place, heightened attention scanning the ponies who volunteered. ’If Trixie just used her magic to turn that colt into a pseudo-changeling version of himself, then Chrysalis has gotta be around here somewhere, right?’ Clearly, Nightmare replied dryly. Try getting away from the stage. Joseph quickly nudged Twilight to tell her he needed to go to the bathroom. Twilight, raptly looking at the display, only nodded and gave a weak “Uh huh” in response. He grumbled and tried parting the sea of ponies to try and get away from Trixie. “You there!” Trixie called out. Like being a deer caught in the headlights, thinking she was calling after him, Joseph snapped to Trixie’s voice. “We have another volunteer!” Fortunately Trixie was looking elsewhere in the crowd. By now three ponies were on stage; Sweetie Belle, Mayor Mare, and Octavia, which Joseph found weird. Didn’t she go off somewhere else earlier? What’s she doing back here? “I need one more!” Trixie hollered. ’Almost there…’ Joseph said to himself, hoping that Trixie wouldn’t see him. “Dark mare, way in the back! Why don’t you come forward?” Screaming internally, just a few more rows of ponies to go through before freedom, Trixie just had to notice him. ’What am I going to do?’ No doubt Chrysalis has a plan to oust you; she’s been in your head and knows exactly who you are. I’m trying to figure something out. If you don’t go to Trixie, Chrysalis will spring her trap to capture you. Best to play along to keep casualties at a minimum. Joseph began to begrudgingly make his way toward the stage, glancing carefully at Trixie all the while as he said to Nightmare irately; ’You wanna talk casualties? You were going to freeze everything with your eternal night! Everyone would have starved from not being able to grow anything, and the ponies themselves would have frozen to death! I never wanted to kill anyone, she retorted. There just so happens to be ancient magic to remedy those problems. ’Of-fucking-course there is,’ Joseph replied, rolling his eyes. Of course there would be. He made his way to the stage and went up the stairs to join Trixie and the others. “Behold, the final trick! You’ll all be talking about it for generations to come!” Trixie positively screamed, kicking up and exuberantly rearing her forehooves. She shot a beam of energy at Octavia, and the magic engulfed her. When it cleared, sure enough, there stood a pseudo-changeling variant of herself. The only thing that confused Joseph was that Snails and Octavia didn’t seem to be acting that much differently. Octavia still held her nose up high, like she thought she was better than everyone else. Another beam hit Sweetie, then Mayor Mare. The whole crowd was electric, stomping their hooves with excitement and approval as they watched Trixie mystify them with her magic. Snails, Octavia Melody, Mayor Mare, and Sweetie belle, stood on the stage while the crowd looked on in amazement, loud yet wondrous murmurs from one pony to another echoing around. ’Got anything, yet?’ Joseph asked Nightmare. He felt uneasy as he watched Trixie surveying the crowd with pride, a devious smirk etched from one ear to the other that would make the Joker proud. The crowd didn’t pay any mind to it. They most likely thought of it as part of the act. Chrysalis is unpredictable, Nightmare said. I can’t do anything for you or to her unless she makes her move. As it were, the ball is in her court now. “You’ve all heard the legends of Nightmare Moon, to whom this festival is dedicated to,” Trixie boomed once the crowd’s enthusiasm died down. “Several weeks ago saw her return from lunar exile. You all would have experienced the night that was supposed to be the day. But did you know… she still lives?” Trixie trailed off with a manner of mysticism in her voice. Ponies in the crowd murmured in confusion about how she was defeated, and the proof of Princess Luna’s return was testament to that. “Impossible!” a stallion shouted. “Ah-hah, that’s where you’re wrong! You were all witness to her but a few hours ago. Are you all really that blind?” “That couldn’t have been Nightmare Moon!” another protested. “Oh, but it was! She wears a disguise to walk among you.” A good portion of the crowd noticeably stiffened at the thought. “How would you all like to see Nightmare Moon for yourselves? Not just someone whom you think is another in disguise.” Trixie stood to the left of the stage, and the four ‘changelings’ stood off to the right, blocking the stairway and leaving Joseph in plain view of the crowd. He didn’t try to escape; doing so would only prove Trixie’s point. He needed to keep the status quo in his favour, but the scales were tipping in Trixie’s favour every passing second. “Behold, Nightmare Moon!” After that declaration, several ponies began snickering at the sight, but Trixie kept up her visage. “Laugh all you want, but this mare is wearing a disguise.” “It’s Nightmare Night, that’s the entire point!” someone else called out. Joseph caught Trixie’s deadly glare as she began to make his way over to him. For some disturbing reason, she put her hoof around him as if they were buddies. “You see, Nightmare Moon and I have been plotting a takeover of Equestria.” Everyone promptly froze. “For I am not who you think I am, either.” Deafening silence permeated the air. Without warning, Trixie blasted the base of Joseph’s horn. The magic cracked and destroyed the ring, and it fell to the stage floor in three pieces. Immediately Joseph’s mare form blinked away, replaced by none other than Nightmare Moon herself. Mutters rang out from the crowd. “This can’t be…” “I-impossible!” Nightmare Moon’s known history wasn’t doing Joseph any favours to say the least. Try as he might, he couldn’t think up a valid, substantial reason to explain how he looked to everyone else. As far as Twilight and her friends went, it was highly doubtful the six of them could quell the panic of an entire town. Trixie used the opportunity to remove her leg from around Joseph, taking centre stage. “You’re all fools!” she bellowed over the crowd. Trixie cackled malevolently as a pillar of toxic green flames shot up around her. The crowd wasted no time and bolted in the exact opposite direction from Trixie, scrambling over one another to get to safety. Seconds later, the green fire dissipated into wisps, all while Joseph looked on, too scared to move. A being as tall and as lean in stature as Celestia floated in mid-air. Gossamer wings kept her aloft as she looked out over the scattering crowd with malintent etched right across her face. “Nobody leaves!” she roared. The four changeling ponies on the stage took flight over the crowd, each landing with a thud in the middle of a major street to drive the terrified ponies back to the stage like cattle. “I told all of you that you shall remember this night, and remember it you shall!” She’s distracted, do something! Before Joseph could respond, a cupcake hit Chrysalis square on the right side of her face. “Have a cupcake!” an extremely angry, yet peppy voice shouted. Chrysalis’ head snapped to look at Pinkie as the rest of Twilight’s friends surrounded her, save for Fluttershy. “You’ll never get away with this!” Rainbow shouted, making ‘come hither’ gestures with what could otherwise be construed as balled fists as icing and sponge sleuced off of Chrysalis’ face. “Oh, but I already have!” she said, condescension lacing her every word, flicking away the remainder of the treat with magic. She glanced up as if to indicate to the four mares to look behind them. Three burly male stallions boxed in the mares from behind, making escape an unlikely event. “When Twi gets here with the Elements, you’ll be finished!” Applejack challenged. “Oh? You mean…” She put the nail of her hoof in her mouth and gave a sharp, shrill whistle. “...this Twilight?” The aforementioned mare trotted calmly up to Chrysalis’ side, sitting down with a knowing smirk of her own. A small puff of green fire flickered, and in the same spot sat a changeling version of Twilight. “Good heavens!” Rarity exclaimed. “What the hay did you do with Twilight!?” Applejack demanded. Another cupcake splattered across Chrysalis’ face. “Stop throwing cupcakes at her, Pinkie, it’ll make her mad!” Rarity chided. “I’m not throwing cupcakes at her, I’m assaulting her with cupcakes!” “Enough!” Chrysalis boomed. Joseph’s attention went from her to the crowd, and he could see everyone being corralled back toward the stage. Dozens and dozens of other ponies dropped their disguises, revealing either changeling variants of the pony that once was, or a normal changeling. “As I was saying before,” Chrysalis said, addressing the frantic crowd. “The mare you saw before was none other than the one and only Nightmare Moon, masquerading amongst you all as a combined effort with yours truly.” Joseph received his share of seething hatred stares. ’What the fuck am I supposed to do!?’ he screamed at Nightmare. Run, was her only reply. ’I didn’t run when that other lady needed my help, and I’m not going to run away when these people need my help!’ You are outnumbered, out-matched, and out-skilled in every possible manner you can possibly imagine. “Is it true, sugarcube?” Applejack’s voice caught Joseph’s attention in the middle of his inner conversation. She continued in a hushed voice so only he could hear. “Tell me y’all didn’t do this after we took ya in?” “Applejack, for all we know Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis were in it from the very beginning!” Rainbow said pointedly. Joseph just looked back at the four ponies before him; Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack each had expressions that begged him to say it wasn’t so, while Rainbow was justifiably cautious. There was only one thing to say. “I’m here because I died. I tried to make the best of it. Have I given you any reason not to trust me?” It wasn’t just what Joseph said, it was how he said it. His doleful expression carried the sincerity of his words. Even Rainbow seemed to relax. “Alright, Sugarcube. I believe you.” Another cupcake whizzed past and nailed Chrysalis right on the muzzle. She immediately stiffened, her magic wiping the cupcake to the ground once more, and looking down her nose towards the pink mare. “Pinkie!” Rarity exclaimed. Chrysalis gave a short, shrill whistle as one of the stallions-turned-changelings shoved Pinkie Pie forward. “Let me show you what will happen to you, and the rest of your precious town if you do not want to end up like Pinkie Pie.” She promptly levitated Pinkie in her aura, holding her high above the crowd. “Let this serve as a warning to anybody that tries anything against me!” Chrysalis fired a beam of energy at Pinkie. It hit its mark in the middle of her back as Pinkie began screaming. That spell… Nightmare Moon said in realisation. It’s a transmutation spell! ’How the fuck is that going to do me any good?!’ Joseph demanded. It means I know how to reverse it! Chrysalis sustained the beam on Pinkie as long as she could. Pinkie dropped to the ground in a heap as ponies quickly parted around her. She weakly pulled herself up, but not before stumbling as she did so. When ‘Pinkie’ gained her footing, she hissed at the ponies immediately in front of her, then leapt into the air to hover above them all. “Is there anypony that dare step forward?” Chrysalis challenged. As expected, she received no challengers. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “While I am the artifex behind what you see before you, Nightmare Moon is not without deserved credit. It is by her design that I was able to create more improved changelings.” On that queue, more changelings began filing out of the streets towards the crowd, who were quickly sandwiched between a veritable wall of chitin and the stage. Changelings with bulbous, pulsating torsos stood sentinel at the entrance of each street to cut off any would-be escapees. Tall, lanky changelings, standing as tall as Chrysalis on her hind legs strode in walking on theirs. The bulk of their frame caused them to hunch forward as their narrow, claw-like appendages dragged trenches into the dirt while walking. They were neither hands or hooves with claws, rather it looked like the bones of their forehooves extended out through the bottom of their hooves. Easily as tall as three ponies, the sheer intimidation of them had the ponies as far back as they could to avoid getting chunks of hamburger ripped from them. “Recognise these creatures?” Chrysalis asked Joseph with a condescending raise of her eyebrow. His wide-eyed, aghast expression silently confirmed Chrysalis’ rhetorical question. Apparently Chrysalis’ spell had allowed her to also rifle through his memories, as was evident by the creatures she’d recreated from his memory. Seeing them in a virtual setting on a computer or TV screen was one thing, but being in such a close proximity with them instilled an entirely new level of fear in Joseph. All he had to go up against Chrysalis was some crude bombs he’d made, and he didn’t even know if she knew about them. “Do you know where I keep my armies?” Chrysalis teased. “...Up your sleevies?” Joseph replied with the slightest of smirks. “Hidden in plain sight!” she retorted with an irritated snarl. “Having shapeshifting magic is invaluable for creating vast armies; there is no better satisfaction than imagining the look on the opposition’s face when they realise their ranks have been compromised.” Chrysalis turned her gaze to the thoroughly petrified crowd and fired a beam at random, hitting one of the ponies. ’The longer it takes you to create a work around to her spell, the more people get turned!’ Joseph shouted at Nightmare. This is an extremely delicate spell! Nightmare replied rather irately. If I can’t tune my counter-spell to reverse this one specific spell, not everything will end up where it’s supposed to. A scream rang out from the crowd, followed by an anguished, childlike cry of “Mom!” A blackened form lifted itself from amidst the crowd, flittering on its newly acquired wings over to the stage, and deposited itself on the platform without nary a sound. Joseph regarded the new changeling thanks to its familiar colours, then his gaze was drawn to the voice that cried out. The all too recognisable, dark-brown colt wearing a helicopter beanie looked on, tears welling up and creating rivulets down his face. “Give my mom back!” he shouted. “Oh, what’s this? A little foal challenging me?” Chrysalis nonchalantly plucked the little guy out of the crowd and levitated him up to her, holding him so he was at eye level. “And why would I do that?” “She’s my mom!” He bravely tried to take a swing at Chrysalis, but fell just short of what would’ve been tantamount to a boop on the muzzle. “I can sense how much you care for her,” Chrysalis said with a wretched grin. “No, I’m not going to give her back. A mother’s love for her kin is among the most powerful of emotions I am able to harvest.” She leered at the colt. “And it’s thanks to you and many others that enabled this level of subjugation to take place.” She levitated him back to his place in the crowd, but didn’t bother actually letting him down; she just cut her magic and he unceremoniously fell to the ground. “Everyone should have a mum to go home to…” Joseph said through clenched teeth, his anger rising. How dare she do that to an innocent child! He knew all too well the hurt that that colt must be experiencing. Joseph looked to him amongst the crowd, momentarily unable to remember the colt’s name. He sat on his haunches, head and shoulders sagging as tears slipped from his eyes to the dirt below. Joseph snarled at Chrysalis. “You’re going to burn! I will see to it myself.” Chrysalis just cantered over to Joseph. “We’re both in this together, remember?” “You’ve fucked with this town; you’ve kidnapped people—possibly killed them, too; and now you’re transforming these innocent people into your disgusting changelings? But above all, there’s one thing you should never, ever piss off.” “Oh? Enlighten me,” Chrysalis said flippantly. “A human,” Joseph said with a determination that made Chrysalis do a double take. Conveying a quick request to Nightmare, Joseph’s horn lit up, which earned a confused stare from Chrysalis. “What are you doing?” she asked. “The thing about bad guys is…” Joseph looked skyward for a moment. “...they never look up.” Chrysalis stiffened. Cautiously, she looked above her. A glass oil lamp bottle with a burning piece of cloth tied around its neck floated above her, waiting to be dropped upon her head. To Joseph’s confusion, she just laughed. “Oh, you think something like that will do me harm? It’s not often I say this, but that is adorable! Woola!” A blur shot past Joseph, knocking him off to the side, causing him to drop the molotov. When he righted himself, he saw a six-legged changeling standing next to Chrysalis, clutching the bomb in its maw, the cloth since extinguished. The creature made a show of crushing the bottle with its powerful jaw, which Joseph found a bit emasculating. The changeling, however, didn’t know what the bottle’s contents were, and donned a rather disgusted expression as it spat the foul liquid as best it could. “It’s going to take a lot more than that to defeat me,” Chrysalis said pointedly. “Now, Woola, show our friend here what you’re made of.” ’Uh oh…’ The changeling stampeded past Joseph at lightning speed, knocking his legs out from under him again. It ran a circuit through the terrified crowd of townsfolk, knocking them over and trampling over them before running Joseph’s way again. Its head connected with his abdomen, knocking him into the stage curtain where he hit something on the other side. He was caught off guard by what it was until he saw through a slit in the curtains: Vinyl’s soundstage. He heard more wails and cries from the crowd as the changeling dubbed Woola continued to harass them. Joseph held his head up, clutching his temple with a hoof in a vain attempt to make the disorientation cease. Woola ran up the stage once more, and stopped to give Joseph a jaunty taunt before racing off. Use your magic and pry up the board at the top of the stairs, Nightmare said. Woola ran over the stage as Chrysalis looked on and cackled at the mayhem she was creating. Joseph seized the opportunity and mustered as much concentration as he could, focusing on a plank of wood he assumed was near the top of the stairs. He heard some strained creaking coming from the nails holding the board to the floor studs, followed by Woola’s pounding steps as it literally ran circles around and through the crowd. But when those speedy steps made contact with the stairs, he didn’t hear anything for a few precious seconds. A loud crash from somewhere off to the stage’s left caught Joseph’s attention, and he looked over to its source. One of the buildings now had a rather sizeable hole in it, and in addition, a pair of chitinous legs hung outside, twitching erratically. Chrysalis narrowed her gaze at Joseph’s victorious smirk. “There’s more where that came from. In due time, though.” With that beast out the way, he could confidently stand up without worrying about being knocked over like a set of bowling pins, though he kept himself as close to the stage curtain as he could. The crowd of ponies looked on in confusion at the spectacle. Having been told Nightmare Moon was against them, it was certainly turned their perspective of Joseph upside down. ’I got an idea,’ Joseph said to Nightmare Moon. ’How much magic can you spare?’ Why, what are you… Nightmare began, only to cut herself off when Joseph mentally relayed his idea to her. Oh that is good, that is really good. One problem, though. ’There always fucking is,’ Joseph said in exasperation. It’ll need a pilot. With my magic flowing through it, you’ll be able to control it. ’Well, it can’t be too hard, can it? “Princess Celestia will get here soon!” a hopeful voice called out from the crowd. “Hah! You think your precious princesses will help? Gaze to the city of Canterlot atop the mountain in the distance and you shall see for yourself!” Chrysalis announced. Curious as to what she could mean, Joseph and the townsponies looked to the mountainside city, barely visible thanks to the nighttime sky, although illuminated enough by the moonlight above. “You all see my augmented Changelings standing in the streets? The more rotund ones, if you will,” Chrysalis clarified. “Engineered to be on the more… explosive side of things.” In that moment, a green haze erupted from the spires jutting above the city, followed by a massive explosion. Joseph’s jaw hung agape at the sight as the crowd wailed in abject shock, then Chrysalis spoke again. “Keeping your princesses occupied with cleaning up collateral damage in their capitol ensures that their attention is kept elsewhere, and not on myself.” Having demonstrated her ability to wantonly destroy, Joseph needed to act quickly to ensure she do no more damage. “It’s time to put this bitch down for good,” he muttered to himself. ’Is the spell ready?’ Get behind the machine and feed the spell directly into the mixing board. With Chrysalis distracted from gloating about the destruction in Canterlot, he slipped behind the stage curtain and hopped up behind Vinyl’s soundstage. He lowered his horn down to the control panel and forced the magic into every crack and crevice he could. Almost immediately, the machine began spluttering and coughing dry ice smoke as the spell took hold. It shakily rose, and Joseph saw the curtain being jerked open to reveal a confused Chrysalis, whose expression suddenly turned to one of momentary fear at the sight. Vinyl’s sound stage stood substantially taller than Chrysalis, its speakers turned and trained on her, motes of purple and black energy contaminating the dry ice smoke and wafting over the stage. Chrysalis backed up several steps without falling off the stage as the machine reached its full height on the pistons supporting its weight, Joseph looking down on Chrysalis from his position. The metal plates attached to the pistons gave an almighty stomp each, shaking the stage and unnerving Chrysalis. Joseph turned dials, flipped switches, and put records in their place, resulting in a look of consternation from the queen before him. The machine, full of Nightmare Moon’s dark magic, drew looks from everybody. The speakers turned and trained on Chrysalis as Joseph raised his right hoof high above the air, a dramatic motion as he readied to press that one button. “Lets drop this beat!” His hoof slammed the button, and two conical beams of magic shot from the speakers where Chrysalis stood, blasting holes in the stage. She barely managed to jump up in the air, carried by her wings as the beams singed the tip of her rear left hoof. Joseph looked up to her, refocusing the speakers on her and firing again. Her agility allowed her to quickly dodge out of the way with more warning this time. She flew higher, dipping into a dive as she flew straight for Joseph, dive-bombing on his position. He ducked out of the way, although he felt his horn make contact against the underside of Chrysalis’ carapace. She spun around in mid air behind him with the grace of a dancer, making another attempt to tackle Joseph. He barely managed to look behind him before his head snapped back as Chrysalis made contact with him, her forehooves wrapping around his barrel and dragging Joseph up and over the mixing board, tumbling down to the stage where he fell into the holes he created with a clatter amongst the wood. Without him behind the soundstage, it stood tall, ceasing any movement, the speakers emitting an ominous hum. “You try anything again…” Chrysalis began, standing above Joseph, only to levitate the terrified brown colt whom objected about his mum, onto the stage and in front of him. “I’ll turn him.” The brief defeat Joseph experienced dissuaded any rebuttal as Chrysalis carelessly tossed the colt back into the crowd. “Threatening little kids? That’s low, real low. I won’t let you!” He tried getting out from under Chrysalis, but she just slammed her hoof into his bruised abdomen, no thanks to Woola’s headbutt and Chrysalis’ tackle. Wincing in pain, he clutched at his side as Chrysalis stepped off him. She then leaned down to whisper in his ear. “You have a choice. If you assist me in my takeover of Equestria, I’ll see to it you receive joint rulership. No force in the land could possible stop us. You have the abilities of a god, and yet you squander them. Secondly, if you oppose me, you will inevitably die as a result of your misguided heroism.” Chrysalis stepped off Joseph to allow him to get up. It was her way of saying she expected he help her, but at the same time keeping her guard up should he try anything else. Joseph staggered to his feet, determination written across his face. “I died once saving someone. If it meant these people—” he swung a hoof over the crowd “—lived, I would be more than happy to take you down with me. I never asked for this to happen. It was Nightmare Moon who did this to me. I just want to be at peace knowing what I’ve done is for the better.” “Spare me your sanctimony,” Chrysalis said with a roll of her eyes. “It’s not about sanctimony. It’s altruism.” Joseph lunged at Chrysalis, but her superior agility allowed her to dodge out the way. He landed with a thud on top of a pile of splintered wood blasted from the stage, groaning as Chrysalis wordlessly mocked him by laughing under her breath. “You humans are weak. There’s only one thing for you to do if you value your piteous life.” Joseph spied a decently sized, stake-like piece of wood as Chrysalis placed her hoof on him, increasing her pressure on his bruised and battered torso. Joseph grimaced in pain as he tried to summon enough concentration to levitate the piece of wood. “It’s time for you to yield. The next thing you say will determine whether or not you live or die.” Joseph had had enough. The anger against Chrysalis building in his gut gave him the momentary strength he needed. He grasped the stake in his aura and thrusted it upward, driving it through the bottom of her jaw into the roof of her mouth, effectively pinning her mouth shut. “Shut. The fuck. Up!” Chrysalis staggered back several steps, her own aura slowly taking hold of the stake, and pulling it out. Coated in green ooze which Joseph assumed to be her own blood, she tossed it to the side.Much to Joseph’s abject horror, the gaping hole on the bottom of Chrysalis’ mandible began to close, flesh and muscle stitching itself back together aided by her magic. “You’ve dug your grave,” Chrysalis began, spitting leftover viscera in Joseph’s general direction. “Now lay in it!” “Kind of makes me wonder where I’m buried on Earth, if at all...” he said nonchalantly. “You insufferable being!” Chrysalis roared. She charged at Joseph, her forehooves wrapping around his neck. She flung the both of them into the crowd as the mass of ponies scrambled to part around the duo. Dazed, Joseph looked up to Chrysalis as she reared her head high, charging her horn, readying a blast of magic. ’No! Not like this!’ Joseph mentally screamed. He brought his forehooves in front of his face, hoping, praying, that just somehow he would survive. Eyes clenched shut, teeth grinding against each other in trepidation, all he could do was wait, helpless under Chrysalis to do anything else. Despite closed eyes, Joseph still managed to catch the flash of Chrysalis spell. roared in pain, and Joseph felt a weight lift off his torso. Still in shock, he waited what felt like an eternity before cautiously opening an eye. The front wall of the stage had caved inwards, crushed by Chrysalis’ smoldering body. The blast from Vinyl’s mech had destroyed half the stage’s platform, and Chrysalis’ contact with it made it look as though someone took a backhoe to a pile of wood and carved out a section. RUN! Nightmare Moon reiterated. While she’s distracted! Joseph’s attention was stolen by Chrysalis’ pure, unadulterated expression of rage and anger as she stumbled from underneath the stage, shrugging off the splinters of wood, ephemeral magic stitching closed any open wounds in her cracked chitin. He almost felt like voiding himself at the sight. Joseph hurriedly scrambled to his hooves, making the best of Chrysalis’ predicament to try and get as far away from her as possible. “Stop him!” she roared as Joseph began running through the crowd as they parted with screams around him. Changelings dove from above and made valiant attempts to tackle him from every angle they could. As he ran forward, Joseph saw changelings running at him. He managed to dodge two advancing changelings before one landed on his flanks from above. “Get off!” he wailed, bucking like a bull at a rodeo, inadvertently catching another two changelings square in the jaw. Joseph felt something sharp catch on his back, and he screamed in pain. Looking back, he saw the changeling biting into his skin. Joseph quickly bucked it off and continued running, making for one of the streets that led further into the town. As he neared his destination, he saw one of the pulsating changelings blocking his way. It gurgled, as if it was taunting him. ‘You’ll never get past me!’ it seemed to say. But, Joseph had had enough of Chrysalis’ shit. Using his lean stature and longer-than-average legs, he leapt over the changeling, a rear hoof catching the changeling’s horn as he landed on the other side with all the grace of a brick. He looked back, seeing the changeling writhing and flailing in place as even more changelings gave chase. Before the changelings could enter the street, the one thrashing about suddenly exploded. Dozens of changelings got caught in the explosion of gore and viscera, and they too were disarticulated from the force. Joseph didn’t stay to see how many dared follow him. He ducked and weaved down the streets, not caring where he was going, so long as it took him away from the bedlam in town square. As he rounded another corner, something caught on one of his forehooves, sending him tumbling ass over head into the dirt, rolling to a stop up against the side of a random building. Hastily picking himself up, Joseph caught sight of a few changelings flying overhead. He wasted no time in finding the nearest door and rushing inside. ’What do I do!?’ he asked Nightmare, panicking. We need to get into the Everfree, Nightmare replied. ’And what the fuck happened back there!?’ Joseph demanded. Which part? Nightmare Moon asked wryly. ’The part where Chrysalis’ spell didn’t do diddly-fuckin’-squat to me!’ Sometimes the will to survive can be a... powerful force unto itself. ’I got zero fucking patience for your ambiguous bullshit! Sometimes ponies get their cutie marks defending themselves in dire situations. Including–but not limited to–combat magic, and particle barriers. ’What!? Are you telling me I made a goddamn shield!?’ Precisely. ’That would’ve been the best feeling ever if I didn’t feel like I was going to piss myself…’ he finished in an exasperated sigh. I wouldn’t count on being able to do it again any time soon. None of the changelings had come knocking on the door, so Joseph decided to peek out of the window. Another one of those six-legged changelings zoomed past the window, and he ducked back behind the wall, hoping the creature didn’t see him. ’How am I going to get out of here?’ Twilight’s library is the next block over. If you get there I can telepo— ’No! I don’t want to puke everywhere again!’ Using just my magic on us both is taxing, which is why it hasn’t been the smoothest experience. Twilight, however, is bound to have some kind of spellbook, magical charm, or at the very least something that would allow me to supplement the spell to get us to the old castle. Joseph had an idea that the castle Nightmare spoke of was the one he saw in a dream a while ago. He decided against asking about it, a trivial matter at this point, and instead turned his attention to getting to Twilight’s library. He took several deep breaths to calm his palpitating heart. When Joseph could think more coherently, he kept himself pressed against the wall and looked outside the window. After a few minutes of nothing, he decided it would be safe to at least poke his head out the door and look up and down the street. Determining that the street was empty, he carefully exited the building, making sure to shut the door behind him as he did so. If any changelings spotted an open door they once saw closed, it would tip them off to his position. Go left down the street, take another left, and keep going, Nightmare Moon said. You’ll see the library sooner rather than later. Following Nightmare’s directions, Joseph made it to the library without any changelings spotting him. Glancing at the building, he quickly spotted one of the curtains being pulled aside as Spike’s face peeked out the window. He was better off staying hidden, so Joseph wasn’t sure why he was looking out the window. Regardless, Joseph took the opportunity to toss a pebble across the way, taking a few attempts to actually hit the pane of glass. The pebble cracked the glass, which caught Spike’s attention. He threw the curtain aside to see what it was, and his eyes caught sight of Joseph vying for his attention. Spike’s eyes widened when he saw Joseph. Joseph made an effort of trying to mime to Spike to open the door. It took a few goes, but Spike eventually got the message and Joseph was relieved to see the library’s door creek ajar. One last cursory glance to make sure the area was clear, and Joseph hauled ass towards the door, silently flinging it open with his magic. Once inside Joseph closed the door as silently as he could before facing Spike. “Dude, rule one in an invasion. Never look out of windows. Especially if things are making them crack!” “But you were trying to get me to notice you!” Spike defended. “Granted, but it’s still a stupid thing to do. How did you manage to get back here anyway?” “I’m small, so I hid and managed to make my way back here. Where’s Twilight? Is she OK?” ’Awww, piss…’ “I would have thought she teleported back here by now?” “That’s what worries me! She should be back here by now…” Joseph couldn’t bring himself to tell spike what happened to Twilight. By the looks of it, Spike had already got out of there before Twilight made her ‘big reveal’. “Look, she can take care of herself. She’s good at magic, right?” Spike nodded stiffly. “I’m sure she can handle herself.” “What do we do until then?” “We can’t stay here. It’s only a matter of time before those bug-eyed freaks find us in here.” “What about Fluttershy’s cottage?” Spike suggested. “What about her?” “She told me that she normally spends Nightmare Night at home, so she’s bound to be there. And her house is away from town, so it’s likely she hasn’t been found.” “Her house is on the edge of the Everfree, isn’t it?” “Yeah, why?” “That doesn’t matter right now. We need to get you there, and out of here.” “What if Twilight comes back and we’re not here?” Joseph considered that for a moment. “We’ll leave a note for her, how about that?” “What if the changelings find it?” ’Oh for fucks sake…’ “Is there anything we can d—” Joseph had a realisation. In trying to learn how to send messages to one another, Twilight gave him the tiniest portion of her magic. It allowed for messages to be instantly sent from one to another. What he didn’t know is if Changeling Twilight was actually the real Twilight, or if the real Twilight was somewhere else. Eventually he thought up an idea to settle Spike’s nerves. “I can send her a message. Like Celestia does with you, basically.” “Cool!” Spike beamed. He ran over to a nearby desk and pulled out a quill and parchment. “Twilight…” he began. “Gone to Fluttershy’s cottage. Please stay safe. Spike and Joseph.” He rolled it up and handed it to Joseph. Joseph took the scroll and poofed it away. In reality, he just put it in his hammerspace pocket. He wasn’t prepared to take the risk of alerting Chrysalis to his whereabouts. Spike looked very relieved, and it weighed on Joseph to have to lie to Spike about her. Ask if the dragon can find a book or charm, or something, Nightmare Moon reminded him. “Spike, I need your help with something.” “What is it?” “Nightmare Moon can teleport us to Fluttershy’s cottage safely, but because she’ll essentially be teleporting the three of us—” “Three?” he said, slightly confused. “I’m two people in one body, remember? She has to expend twice as much energy to teleport me and her, which is why my breakfast ended up in the toilet earlier. She needs something to supplement the spell; a book, charm, whatever.” “Celestia took the Elements back to Canterlot after… well, you know… Oh! I think there might be something. Keep watch up here while I go down to the basement.” Spike dashed off into the hall while Joseph kept an ear out in the main foyer. He heard a few noises, but couldn’t quite make anything of them, and wasn’t prepared to take the chance of looking out of windows anymore. “Got it!” Spike called from in the hallway, running back in with a dusty-looking book. “Keep it down!” Joseph reminded the drake. He levitated the book from Spike’s hand and looked it over. “The heck is this?” Exactly what I was hoping she had, Nightmare Moon interjected. Spike, on the other hand, didn’t hear what Nightmare Moon said, and added; “It’s the book Twilight used to read to learn new spells. Just be careful with it, Celestia took it out of the Canterlot Archives to give to Twilight.” Essentially, it tells you how to weave certain spells a bit differently. ’Shouldn’t you already know this sort of thing?’ I can weave teleportation spells for individual people, collectively, but given we share the same body, weaving one spell to take three individuals in two bodies isn’t going to be enough. I need to find a way for you to piggyback on the spell, since I’m the one casting it. Now find the section about teleportation magics. The book didn’t have an index by itself, or numbered pages for that matter, but fortunately for Joseph, Twilight had taken it upon herself to make an index listing the chapters, and the pages they were on, as well as taking the time to number each page. He found the spell Nightmare Moon wanted on page four-one-six, so he let her cast it. Hopefully he didn’t puke all over Fluttershy’s house.