Justice Itself

by Autocharth

Act III - Ch. 23 Winter Comes

And here' the biggest chapter yet! Clocking in at just about 20K! Hoo!.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! The fantastical Web of Hope has kindly agreed to help with editing Justice Itself, starting with this chapter, and I think it has made a big difference, thanks to his considerable experience editing for writers. So thank him people, THANK HIM!

I hope you enjoy this very long chapter.

Chapter 23 Winter Comes

***

Her mind raced. This was an incorrect statement, she knew it even as she thought it. Race implied she was trying to think faster than someone else. The only one she could be certain she was thinking faster than was herself. Her body became a vague, distant thing, not so much ignored as put to one side while the grown ups were speaking.

There had to be some solution. No, she wanted there to be. There did not have to be a solution, although she was certain there was, even if she had no way of working it out. There should be some kind of solution within reach of her, if she thought about it hard enough. Everything had a reason, as much as Discord might not think so.

Discord...her mind briefly ran over everything she knew about him. He could, technically, be a solution but not an acceptable one. His ability to affect the minds of others could be of use, if she studied notes on related abilities. Only partial use though. No, it would only serve to plaster over the affliction and was an imperfect solution. She would not discard the idea but turned her thoughts from it, leaving it as a last resort for deliberation.

A thought formed, a fledgling idea. A feedback loop. Her assumption that Paladin’s emotions were enhancing Rainbow Dash’s own was the most likely explanation. She had no reason to dispute this. It was a theory, but it was a good one and Fluttershy seemed certain that Paladin was feeling guilt and sorrow.

For a moment Twilight wondered at how quickly and clearly she was thinking. It was not a lack of emotion, not in the slightest. But her thoughts were simply clean. She was totally calm. Serene. But why?

‘Paladin’s power. Everything strange we've done has been linked to that. He must have given me more than simply power. It’s letting me think without the normal worries and fears clouding my judgement. I can think, plainly and purely,’ she thought with a sense of satisfaction.

Her thoughts turned for a moment, plunging into contemplation of her friends and how their angelically enhanced souls would manifest further. What new abilities would they acquire? Eventually putting the matter aside for now, she turned back to solving Rainbow Dash’s dilemma; negative emotions overwhelming her.

‘Obvious solution; positive emotions. We have to break the cycle. Introduce positive, happy emotions that can reverse this. Fluttershy can project emotions. I know what we need to do.’

She was roused from her thoughts for a moment, feeling the Princess shift slightly.

“I must go,” Celestia murmured softly, regretfully. She shared a motherly smile with them. “I know this must drive you to despair, but please, hold onto hope. I am certain we can find a way to help her.”

Twilight nodded absently, her mind busy with other things. “We will. I know it.”

“Good.” The Princess glanced across the room. “Is there anything you require?”

A chorus of shaking heads was her answer, save for one very quiet “um….”

Fluttershy nearly flinched when the alicorn looked at her. “Would you like something? Do not be afraid to ask.”

She blushed, looking at the ground.

“I know this m-might be a little silly but...but could I just have some w-wool and knitting needles, if you don’t mind...I’m sorry…” She squeaked, hiding behind her mane.

Celestia gently moved the pink mane away so Fluttershy could see her. “I would be happy to, although if I might ask why?”

“I just..I want to knit Rainbow Dash something. For when she’s better.” Fluttershy felt the weight of her friend’s confused stares. “I-I like to knit. I can’t do anything to help, but maybe this is something I can do to show Dashie, to help with the, uh...all of it.”

“I will have somepony bring you some, and I’m sure Rainbow Dash will appreciate the thought,” Celestia assured her. She patted Twilight on the shoulder as she left, observing the thoughtful expression on her student’s face.

Slipping from the room, Celestia was almost immediately barraged by a herd of aids, scribes and assistants. Holding back a sigh, she sent one scurrying off for knitting supplies. It was hardly the oddest request, and she was sure they would have it done.

“Princess, we need your signature for Cap- Prince Shining’s medica-” one began.

“Your Highness, the emissary from-” started another at the same time.

Celestia accepted the constant chatter of requests and permissions and questions, trotting down the hall. The life of a Princess was not easy, and the fallout from Ardleon’s attack was significant.

“Lead on, my little ponies, we have much work to do.”

A few minutes later, Twilight stepped from the room. Pinkie Pie bounced along next to her.

“Let’s go make Pally smile!”

Twilight shook her head. “We’re not going to make him smile, although it would be nice. I have an idea. We need to check on him first.”

That got a frown out of Pinkie, who quickly replaced it with a somewhat calmer than usual smile.

“Of course it would be nice. You gotta try! And try! And try! And try!” Pinkie said confidently. “If we don’t stop trying, we’ll succeed eventually. We’ll fix Dashie and make Pally stop being all huffy and puffy and mean. We’re their friends. It’s what we do.”

The sentiment brought a smile to Twilight’s face. ‘It’s all so simple to her. But she’s right. We’re their friends. It is what we do.’

The lingering calm of the strange state she had fallen into remained, keeping her thoughts clear and pristine. They just needed to check on Paladin, to see what state he was in. The halls were empty save for the occasional servants and guards stationed more heavily around them than she remembered.

“Pinkie….” she made sure to keep an eye on one of the guards without looking like that’s what she was doing.

“Yeah-huh?” Pinkie bounced along, grinning merrily.

“Is it just me, or are the guards all...watching me?” Twilight felt the oddest sensation, like a dozen eyes were constantly staring at her. Which, she supposed, was because they were.

Pinkie followed Twilight’s suspicious look. “I think so. I wonder why. Let’s ask!”

“Wait, Pinkie-”

Critical Hit was a very dedicated guard. He could hit a wildly evasive target from two-hundred feet, right in their weak spot. He had managed to fight off Changelings trying to get into the barracks during the invasion with his squad and had been awarded a medal for bravery when confronted by an irate wyvern intent on eating a royal messenger.

Frankly, he really didn’t deserve this.

“Hiya!”

He blinked, hoping the eyes suddenly an inch in front of him would vanish the same way they had appeared. His horn began to light up, automatically going on the defensive. How had they gotten this close?!

His attack spell died before it started. He was familiar with mana flooding, when one unicorn restrained another not by suppressing their magic, but by simply charging so much magic into the air all around around their horn. All unicorn recruits were trained to recognise it. It was quick and dirty, lacking any sort of finesse because it simply required power. His horn spluttered, its magic losing coherence.

“I would really appreciate if you didn’t hit Pinkie with magic,” Twilight pulled Pinkie back from the guard, giving him some personal space. “And Pinkie, you should apologise for startling him. He is a guard, a day after an attack on the palace. He is bound to be jumpy.”

Accepting the scolding without her smile fading, Pinkie grinned at the perplexed guard. “Sorry!”

“Uh...that’s...okay?” He hesitated, relaxing when he felt the gathered magic disperse from his horn. “Can I do something for you, Lady Sparkle?”

“We were wondering why all the guards are watching Twilight,” Pinkie got in before Twilight.

Critical Hit gulped. “Uh, we aren’t.”

Pinkie frowned, leaning in close. He leaned back. She kept leaning forward.

“Are you lying?”

“...no,” he said lamely, starting to sweat.

“I think you are, and fibbing is bad,” Pinkie scolded him, giving him the same look she gave the twins when they were naughty.

“I-”

“You should tell the truth,” Pinkie insisted, stepping even closer. He was leaning so far back to keep away from her that any further would require standing on his back hooves.

Twilight was content to watch, admitting in the privacy of her thoughts that watching a fully trained palace guard being intimidated by Pinkie Pie was kind of funny.

“I- we aren’t-”

Pinkie’s voice took on a suddenly different quality. It shook the air and ignored eardrums, going straight to the brain. “Are you lying?”

“Yes!” he blurted.

A moment passed as he stared at Pinkie, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“W-what? How did you… “ Critical Hit stuttered.

Twilight shook her head. “Pinkie, was that necessary?”

“I never get to use my magic voice, and he was being naughty,” the pouting pink party pony protested.

The guard looked between the two, his expression torn between worried and confused. It was possibly just confused worry, or worried confusion, but it got the general idea across.

“How did-”

“Magic voice,” Twilight interrupted frankly. “Why are you all watching me? I don’t mean to be rude, but it feels like I’m being stared at and I really don’t like it. It never felt like that when I lived here, or even when I was here for the wedding.”

“We….” The looks he got when he started again, intending to stubbornly repeat his denial, shut the stallion down. He sighed. “The guard are just a bit..jumpy after the attack.”

Twilight nodded briefly, narrowing her eyes. “I can understand that, but I get the feeling there is more to this. I would really like to know.”

Eyes darting to Pinkie for a moment, as if she would use her ‘magic voice’ again, Critical Hit deflated, shoulders slumping. “After letting that happen to the Captain, and him being out of it for who knows how long, we just wanted to make sure when he woke up his sister would be fine. Everypony in the guard is kind of guilty that we were next to useless - again.”

Her lips pressed into a tight frown, Twilight listened, watching the guard’s face. This was, as far as she could tell, the truth. It wasn’t exactly something she could object to now that she knew the reasons.

“I didn’t realise the guard respected him so much. I guess I never thought about it much,” Twilight mused.

Critical Hit nodded weakly, looking at the floor. “I hope you don’t mind, Lady Sparkle, but now that I’ve told you, can I ask a question?”

He was clearly nervous, but she supposed it made sense. She was the personal protege of their immortal ruler, and a powerful magic-user, as she had just proven.

‘I was never really friendly with any of the guards when I lived here, either,’ she thought. ‘I guess I was kind of cold...’

“Of course you can,” Twilight found herself saying.

The guard hesitated, looking around as if to check they were alone. “How long was Captain Armour being...you know, controlled by the Changelings?”

She stared at him with a furrowed brow. “About a week. Shouldn’t you know that?”

“No, the only ones who do are Captain Armour, the Princesses and, I guess, you. We - the royal guard, that is - haven’t been told officially and...nopony wants to actually ask,” he winced, shaking his head at the very idea.

“Okay, I think I get it. Collectively, the royal guard feel bad because they didn’t find out Shining Armour was all mind-whammied, and then he gets whammied again while they couldn’t do anything to help so now you aaaaaaaaaall feel super-bad and are being all super-guards for Twilight,” Pinkie said in one breath, nodding to herself as she exposited.

Twilight and Critical Hit stared at her.

“Uh, basically, yeah,” the guard agreed reluctantly. He looked at Twilight beseechingly. “Please, just...let us do this. I promise we won’t invade your privacy or anything, Lady Sparkle, really.”

Her thin-lipped frown continue for a few more seconds before she sighed. “Fine. What harm could it do? Just make sure you do respect my privacy. A few extra guards, if it will make you feel better, but that’s it,” she said firmly.

Critical Hit let out a sigh of relief. “Of course, thank you.”

“It’s fine. I hate to just rush off, but we were on our way somewhere. Let’s go, Pinkie,” Twilight turned, trotting hurriedly down the hall.

“Okie-dokie-lokie. Bye-bye Critical Hit!” Pinkie caught the unprepared guard in a hug before she bounced off after her friend.

He shook his head at the oddity of the Element of Laughter, resuming his on-guard stance until about half a minute later when something occurred to him.

“Wait, how did she know my name?”

Doing her best to ignore the guards practically glueing their eyes to her, which was only slightly less creepy now she knew the reason, Twilight glanced at her bouncing friend when she caught up.

“How did you know his name?”

Pinkie grinned, shrugging at the height of one bounce. “Trade secret!”

Just giving a tired chuckle at Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie, Twilight shook her head and walked on.

They arrived at Paladin’s door soon enough, and Twilight attempted to knock. She wasn’t sure what sort of reception they would receive, but she had to try. Banging her hoof a few times, they stepped back, giving him any space he would need to feel safe.

She was glad she had brought Pinkie with her. Her cheerful friend would never get angry, so she was unlikely to suffer an emotional feedback loop of anger. There was a slight worry about her reaction if Paladin said they weren’t friends.

To Twilight’s relief, the door creaked open slowly. One eye, more blue than the strange blue-white it usually was, stared out at them.

“Yes?” He grunted, fixing them both with a wide-ranged glare.

Twilight gulped, her resolve weakening. Paladin was upwards and mobile, so she might be wrong-

“We just wanted to see if you were okie-dokie, and you are!” Pinkie gushed, bouncing to the door and staring right back with one equally intense eye. “Dashie has gotten all-”

“She is not my friend. I do not care,” he interrupted her, his one visible eye narrowing.

She couldn’t help it. Twilight gulped. ‘Maybe bringing Pinkie was a bad idea...she won’t take that well-’

“Aww, that’s a shame. Did you tell her that earlier?” Pinkie asked, her cheerful tone not dulling in the slightest.

‘Wait, what?’

Paladin jerked back in shock, his wide-eyed surprise expression sharing Twilight’s thoughts.

“I-...yes, I did,” he rallied, huffing as he looked away, wracking his vision over something they couldn’t see through the slender gap. “Now leave me be.”

“DId you say it to Twilight too?”

“Yes, now leave!”

“Okie-”

Slam!

“-dokie!”

Silence filled the hall, Twilight staring at her friend in open-mouthed shock. She continued to stare as Pinkie walked - walked - back over to her.

“Better close that up before you swallow a fly!” Pinkie tapped Twilight’s swinging jaw, giggling as it shot back up into place.

“P-P-Pinkie?!”

Her smile didn’t quite waver so much as change in some subtle way. It was still a smile, but one Pinkie didn’t use often.

“He didn’t mean it.”

“I’m sorry?” Twilight had to collect her thoughts. ‘Paladin just said Rainbow Dash isn’t his friend. He just repeated that I’m not his friend. Pinkie should be frantic, or in tears, or something!’

Pinkie just grinned, giggling at her friend. She acted as if it was all so obvious. Maybe to her, it was.

“He didn’t mean it. When he told Dashie they weren’t friends, and when he told you he wasn’t your friend. You said all this fuddy-duddy magic stuff was because he felt sad and guilty at the same time as Dashie, right?”

“Oh, well, yes-”

“So that means,” Pinkie went on, “that Pally didn’t want to say it, or he didn’t like saying it. So I don’t think he meant it. Why would he feel bad if he didn’t want to be our friend? Fluttershy said he felt bad, so he must not want to say it.”

Twilight shook her head. “Pinkie, I want to believe that but why would he be saying this if he didn’t mean it? Why would he say things like this? It doesn’t make sense.”

Rubbing her chin thoughtfully, Pinkie opened her mouth, shut it, opened it again, shut it, and then shrugged.

“No idea! But you don’t have any idea why he would suddenly not want to be our friends. I’m gonna assume he’s just all mopey right now because his friend isn’t his friend anymore. Like when I can’t play with Pound or Pumpkin, they refuse to play with other foals because they’re upset,” she suggested.

“I’m sure that’s not right. He is a grown stallion, not a child who can’t handle rejection,” Twilight pointed out.

“Is he? I thought- where are we going?” Pinkie bounced along as Twilight set off.

“I need to check the monkey guards, they’ve been watching his window to make sure nopony tried to fly in through it.” Twilight led her down to the courtyard, seeing again the ruined shrubbery Paladin had landed in.

The monkeys were at the table, playing cards. One lifted a hand, waving lazily to the mares.

“Oooh, cards!”

“Pinkie,” Twilight deadpanned, hurrying over as her friend bounced onto the bench.”They shouldn’t be playing cards, they should be watching the win-”

The helmeted monkey idly threw one of his cards, slicing through the air and bisecting a fly crawling up the wall.

“-dow.” She looked to the wall, trotting over to inspect the two halves of fly. “Okay, I take your point. You can keep guard and play cards at the same time. Has anything happened?”

The bare-headed monkey shook his wild mane in a negative.

“Got,” he asked Pinkie, “any threes?”

“Nope! Go Fish!”

Twilight rubbed a hoof against her forehead. “When did Pinkie join in? Oh, never mind. I’m going to the Archives, I need a bit more background research before I’m ready to go ahead with my plan.”

“Okie-dokie, want me to come help?”

“Ooh, that is a very tempting offer, but I think I’ll pass,” Twilight began to back away with a nervous smile.

Pinkie nodded, her attention now focused on her cards. “If you’re sure. Just remember: don’t think the books, read them!”

Turning with a barely perceptible roll of her eyes Twilight left.

“Got any fours?” The helmed monkey asked.

“Ooh, you sneaky monkey! One four you,” she passed it over with a giggle.

He accepted it with a smile. Well, Pinkie assumed it was a smile. She couldn’t see, but why wouldn't he be smiling?

“Ain’tcha gonna go fuss over ya friend?” Riko asked, fingers skimming his cards. “Fives?”

“Go fish! Dashie wouldn’t want me to crying and being all mopey. So I’m gonna stay positive and save up all the super-fun I have so I can tell her about when she’s better!” Pinkie assumed a comical expression of indecisiveness. “Any..ones?

Mojo flicked a card over to her. “A wise, calculated plan. I approve. Eight?”

He got two Go Fishes in reply.

***

“Red Rage’s Guide To Being Always Angry All The Time, no, Why Fear Is Your Friend by Yellow Belly, no, Blue Balls’-”

Twilight launched the book across the Archive, her cheeks bright red. She flinched when it landed somewhere with a sharp crack. Cringing, she waited for a librarian to materialise and scold her, hooves covering her face.

‘Wait, this is off limits to everypony except the Princesses and I at the moment.’

Sighing, her cheeks still red, Twilight turned back to the bookshelves. She swept her eyes up and down the shelves. A plaque announced that she was sitting before the ‘Emotional Studies’ section.

“There must be something more! Emotional magic must have been studied by somepony!” She knew she was exclaiming at herself, and this was a sign of madness. Twilight was starting to wish she had sent a guard to fetch Spike. He would complain and moan, distracting her from the more frustrating part of her search.

“Emerald Eye’s Envious Essays, that won’t help. Silver Sage’s Seething Spite Scripts is no use. How could Dresden’s Destructive Defiance justify being here?” She pulled more books out, a slowly growing cloud of paper around her. The shelf was rapidly depopulated. “Or Deadly Deadpan by Dresden! Not Amber Husk’s Ambition!”

The books began to shoot past her. Her magic scooped them out, flinging them past her.

No book was safe from her search as she scoured the bookshelves, trotting up and down the aisle. Row by row the ranks of printed knowledge were pulled, pried and picnicked by the desperate mare.

“Why would they put Scarlet Cheeks & How To Do Silly Slapstick in this section?!” She cried, dismissing the book with a burst of magic.

Thump.

“Ow~oooh.”

Twilight stopped, blinking a few times and running a hoof over her ears. She was pretty sure she hadn’t just let out a whoozy moan…

The unicorn spun, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

“H-Hello Twilight…” Cadence put a hoof on the bookshelf, steadying herself. “I-I think somepony just threw a book in my face…b-better catch ‘em...”

Embarrassment flared up, evolving quickly into mortification with a supporting role given to guilt. “Cadence! I’m so sorry!”

The Princess gave her sister-in-law a reassuring smile until her vision settled and there was only one guilt-ridden unicorn standing in front of her instead of three. “It’s fine, I shouldn’t have snuck up on you. I just heard a sound when I was passing by and thought I should check.”

Her cheeks scarlet, Twilight persisted in making sure her beloved foalsitter was okay.

“I am so, so, so sorry,” she repeated.

“Twilight, stop it. I’m fine,” Cadence couldn’t suppress a giggle at her former charge’s reaction. “It was an accident. I guess you were the one who threw this too?”

If Twilight had thought the red in her cheeks couldn’t get worse, the sight of the blue-font titled book proved her wrong. She could have sworn the heat could melt Windigo ice.from fifty feet.

“A very interesting book you were reading. I wonder what it’s about.” Cadence opened it, holding it aloft in front of her as she flicked through the pages. “Twilight!” She said in mock-scandal.

“Cadence!”

The two mares dissolved into giggles.

“Oh, I needed that.” Cadence put the book on the shelf before giving Twilight a hug. “I just...came from Shining. He’s still the same, but I wanted to see you. Spike came and told me about Rainbow Dash.”

Seeing the concern on her old foalsitter’s face, Twilight tried to smile. “Thank you. I know you don’t want to leave him alone. I’m trying to find a way to help her, but none of the books here have what I need.”

Twilight glared at the bookshelves, the sort of look normally reserved for victims of personal attacks. Her horn began to glow, returning the books to their places. With her bout of frustration passed, she began to regret her hasty actions.

A soft teal glow began to help and Twilight shared a warm smile with Cadence.

“What are you trying to do?” She asked, reading over the book spines and blurbs as they worked.

“Emotional magic,” Twilight answered after a moment of contemplation. She looked at the alicorn thoughtfully. “I think I know how to help Rainbow, but I wanted to look more at how magically influenced emotions worked. I don’t suppose you could help?”

Even as she asked it, Twilight felt bad. Her brother, the stallion Cadence loved most in the world, was comatose and here she was asking for help. Her self-conscious recriminations were cut off by a gentle one winged hug.

“Of course. I would be happy to help.”

The answer made Twilight at once both relieved and guilty. She gave Cadence an uncertain look.

“I really hate to ask, I know you must be worried about Shiny, so if you want to go back to him, I wouldn’t mind at all,” she mumbled, her voice getting quiet towards the end as Cadence began to shake her head.

“Twilight, I want to help.” Cadence tightened her wing-hug. “I will be honest, I’m not sure I can help you much right now but I’ll do what I can. Shining would hate to see me moping about being useless. Now, tell me, how can I help?”

Taking a deep breath, Twilight took solace in her sister-in-law’s warm hug and calming presence. She began to talk, the nearly empty library quiet save for the two mares’ discourse.

***

Princess Celestia sent the last of her aids away with a sigh of relief. The lowering of the sun was the sign to all in the palace that Princess Luna was taking over the royal duties. The last of them was able to inform her of Twilight’s location, and she set off toward the Archives.

She caught sight of not one, but two mares leaving the Archives.

“Cadenza,” she greeted them, smiling at her royal niece warmly. “I did not expect to see you here. How are you doing?”

“Auntie,” Cadence greeted in return. “I am doing...I’m fine. Twilight and I have just been talking.”

“I see.” She turned to peer down at her student.

Twilight beamed brightly. “We’ve been doing more than just talking. Cadence helped me work it out!”

“That is wonderful to hear. Work out what, exactly?”

A blush lit up Twilight’s cheeks. “Oh, I didn’t explain it, did I? I’m sorry, I got a little ahead of myself. I had this idea, you see, but I wasn’t certain.about it. I needed background information.”

“Emotions and magic,” Cadence provided.

“Ah. A solution to Rainbow Dash’s problem? I cannot wait to hear it.” Standing on Twilight’s other side Celestia walked alongside them letting them keep a slow, steady pace.

“Right, that. I had this idea, okay, about how emotions work when they are being affected by magic. It is emotions that are affecting Rainbow Dash, and they’re not being artificially induced. I just had to make sure of that. It is her emotions, but they’re being fed back to her through the link. Either Paladin is able to cope with the same level of emotions without falling into the same state as Rainbow or he is just not getting them. I was right in my initial theory, that Rainbow Dash is being subjected to a sort of loop.”

“Confirming your theory as best you can in the situation,” Celestia murmured with approval.

Twilight smiled slightly at that. “Cadence was a lot of help. Her magic is based on the interaction of magic and emotions. I was pretty sure we needed to find a way to cut off the constant flow of negative emotions, but I just wasn’t sure how to do it.”

“I told her how my love magic worked. She can’t do something like the Want it Need It spell, which forces emotions into a mind. My magic just sort of….encourages what is already there. Bring it to their attention, when they can’t focus on it,” Cadence knew the Princess knew this perfectly well. She also knew Twilight liked the chance to exposit.

“Exactly! So, we have to counter the emotions Rainbow is feeling without just conjuring up positive emotions inside her. Even if they are positive, they’re still messing with her brain and ability to think. It might not even get rid of the negative emotions. They would both be present, and just act as counter balance. Keeping those two different forces balanced would be dangerous and she would need constant monitoring and then how would she be when something happens to her? Would she just always be neutral, neither happy or sad, with any slightly depressing event putting her at risk?! How could we-”

Princess Celestia coughed delicately.

“I do believe you are getting a little bit away from the point, Twilight,” she suggested gently.

Twilight shook her head, blinking a few times. “I….I think you’re right. I’m sorry, Princess. Going back to the point, we have to make her feel good about herself, naturally. Which is when I finally knew exactly what we’ll do!”

The brilliant smile and fire of determination in her student’s eyes warmed Celestia and she smiled back down at her.

“I am thrilled to hear that. Shall we make our way to Rainbow Dash’s side? I shall send a runner to collect Pinkie Pie from her game with the monkey warriors. The last time I checked, they were playing Twister.”

“Twister? Pinkie is playing Twister with monkeys?” Twilight really should not have been surprised. “She’s probably winning too.”

“She was ahead by two games at the time. Unfortunately I had to decline her offer to join in, but if I had she would not have been so certain of victory, oh no.” Celestia let out a light chuckle at the memory.

“P-Pinkie asked you to play Twister? You’re the Princess! She can’t do that!” The idea was as scandalous to Twilight as it was funny to Celestia. “Princesses do not play Twister!”

“Really?” Arching an eyebrow, Celestia looked between the two smaller mares. “Cadenza, surely you have played Twister.”

Cadence shook her head, trying not to smile at Twilight’s reaction to this very strange subject.

“Of course she hasn’t! She’s a Prin- wait…” Twilight cut herself off, face scrunching up. “Yes you have.”

“I have?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, remember? You were staying the night after foalsitting me because of the weather and you and Shiny were playing it when I got up to go to the bathroom. I remember because I wanted to play too but you both made me go back to bed.”

Cadence flushed, a blush almost hidden by her pink fur. Almost. “Ah, oh, yes, that. Twilight, I’m not sure how to tell you this, but we weren’t, actually, playing Twister.”

Now it was Celestia’s turn to hold back a smile, or in this case a full bellied bellowing laugh. She could almost see the cogs turning in Twilight’s brain.

“But you were on the floor and your legs were all tangled and- Sweet Celestia!” Twilight all nearly screamed. She gave her sister-in-law a slack jawed stare of pure incredulousness. “Y-you were- i-in the-...on the floor!? How could you?!”

Celestia pursued her lips, expression thoughtful. “I could have sworn you knew already Twilight. It really is quite easy. You see, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much-”

What had just been a simple flushing of the cheeks at the embarrassing alteration to her childhood became a full, blazing blush. “Princess!”

“I had better go check on Shining,” Cadence said hurriedly. She wrapped a wing around Twilight and gave her a quick hug. “I wish I could help more, but my magic isn’t at it’s best right now. If you need, come and get me. I’ll do my best. Until then, you know where to find me.”

Putting her embarrassment behind her, Twilight returned Cadence’s nuzzle. “I will. Promise you’ll tell me if anything changes? If he wakes up early? I know there isn’t much chance…”

“I will.” Cadence let Twilight go and gave her aunt a hug. She stepped away from the pair as the reached the next junction in the hallways. “After he and I ‘play Twister’, of course,” she added with a wink before all but fleeing at Twilight’s expression.

“So, shall we see to your friends?” Celestia asked once she had her guffaws under control.

Twilight managed a grumbled reply, her cheeks feeling as though they had been stained permanently red. Underneath it all she did feel something a bit more positive. Cadence was more worried about Shining Armour than she let on but Twilight was certain she had been genuinely enjoying herself. As Pinkie continually proved, just because sad things were happening you didn’t have to go around spending every minute being sad.

“Yes,” she said at last. “Let’s go and fix Rainbow Dash.”

***

“Girls, I know what to do,” she announced as she burst into the room.

Somedragon coughed.

“Girls, and Spike, I know what to do,” she revised.

She felt the Princess next to her shift slightly.

“Princess, girls, Spike, I know what to do,” she stated flatly.

“Ask Cadence for help? You know, magical alicorn of love and stuff,” Spike suggested.

“She is unlikely to be of help,” Princess Celestia said softly. “An alicorn’s magic is linked to their emotions, especially so in Princess Cadenza’s case. The one pony she loves most in the world is comatose and even though she knows everything says he should be fine, she cannot help but fear for him.”

Twilight frowned, nodding slightly. “The Princess is right. Cadence can do incredible things, but only when she and BBBFF are together. She might be able to help, but I think we should try my idea first. I spent a lot of time thinking about it. It has more chance of success, and I don’t want to make Cadence leave Shining Armour’s side right now. She spent the evening helping me already, and if it wasn’t for her understanding of how magic and emotions work I would never have hit upon this plan. A mind is always more useful than raw magic.”

Seeing Spike’s downcast expression Rarity ran a hoof over his emerald spines soothingly. “It was a good suggestion though, darling,” she comforted him.

His expression melted into a goofy blush. “T-thanks Rarity.”

She gave him a warm smile, before turning her eyes on Twilight. “So, I take it you are going to explain this plan of yours?”

“Just give me a moment to put it into words. First of all, the way I reached it was somewhat odd. I think I have found another way the angelic essence has ‘augmented’ us, or in this case me. I can cleanse my thoughts. Well, not cleanse. Direct. No…” Twilight rubbed her forehead. “I can basically think faster and clearer, removing worry and the other sort of things that distract my mind. It lets me think more efficiently, basically.”

“Twilight can super-think now! You must know how to fix Dashie.” Pinkie beamed, grin growing wide. “The day is saved!”

“Save the cheerin’ for after she’s actually fine. Twi’ still hasn’t told us her idea yet,” Applejack tried to be patient with Pinkie, who had unceremoniously come bouncing back into the room with a smile that fell at the sight of Rainbow Dash’s continued state. She gave Twilight a hopeful look. “Go ahead sugarcube.”

Twilight nodded, taking a deep breath as she marshalled her thoughts. “We need to use our feelings.”

Dumbfounded stares met her.

“Feelings? Like, just...feel at her?” Spike asked dubiously.

“Yes, our feelings. I think, think, that maybe our feelings are the key. Rainbow Dash is overwhelmed by negative emotions, you know that. I think the link between us and Paladin is causing a loop of some kind, with their dark feelings cycling between each other and growing. Rainbow Dash is being devoured by them. Her mind has turned inward, she is buried under so much guilt and sorrow that she is completely tuning out the world. We need to force her to focus on positive emotions, turn her thoughts away from the faults and flaws she is obsessing over.”

“Flaws?” asked Rarity, arching an eyebrow. “Well, it is guilt I suppose. The poor thing is probably obsessing over minor things and blowing them out of proportion- stop looking at me like that!” She snapped.

Applejack coughed, turning her head away from Rarity. “Ah get ya. So, how’re we gonna do that?”

“Fluttershy.” A determined smile spread across Twilight’s muzzle. “Fluttershy is going to do it. We are going to counter all the guilt consuming her, all the sadness afflicting her, with love. With every scrap of happiness and joy that she has had a hoof in in our lives. Whatever flaws and faults, real or imagined, we are going to forgive and dismiss. Can you do that?”

Fluttershy stirred from her watch. She alone hadn’t been looking at Twilight, her gaze fixed on Rainbow Dash. She looked up, nodding. Her mane fluttered over her face for a moment, almost hiding her determined expression.

“Not just making emotions though, you can’t just conjure them up into her. You have to share our real feelings, show her what she needs to break the cycle herself. You can shield her from the growing darker emotions, but she has to break herself free of it.”

“Yes. I can.” There was no nervousness in her words or expression. She was certain, even if she didn’t know how her powers worked, that she could do it. Because Rainbow Dash needed her. She needed all of them.

Twilight gave her a smile, sharing in that same knowledge. It didn’t need to be spoken, there wasn’t a soul in that room who didn’t know it. “Good. Now, everypony-”

The sound of a throat being cleared cut her off. Celestia lowered her hoof. “This is something you should do on your own. I will be outside, if you need me. Good luck, my faithful student.” With that she turned, leaving Twilight with a final confident nod as she slipped from the room.

The sign of her mentor’s faith in her buoyed Twilight’s spirits. She had a solution, even just a theoretical one, and the Princess believed in her. She was nearly excited enough to miss the way Spike was looking uncertainly towards the door, his expression torn, and back to Rainbow Dash.

“Spike…”

He flinched, twiddling his claws as he looked at her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um...when you said everypony, did you just mean your friends?” Spike asked, mouth twisting as he tried to hide his uncertainty.

Twilight smiled, resting a hoof on his shoulder. “Yes, I did.”

His expression fell. “O-oh, I’ll just leave y-”

She turned back to the bed, bringing him with her. “So all six of us are going to do this.”

The little dragon nearly tripped as she pulled him along, stumbling over his own feet in surprise. “Really?!”

“Of course she is serious, you are Rainbow Dash’s friend, are you not?” Rarity stood next to Twilight as they formed a half-circle around the bed, putting her hoof on Spike’s other shoulder. “We shall do this together. All of us.”

“Darn tootin’ we will!” Applejack shot a grin to her friends.

“We’re gonna make Dashie feel all good and right!” Cheered Pinkie Pie.

They stood there, surrounding their blank-eyed friend. Applejack’s grin turned grim, prepared to do whatever she had to for her friend. Next to her Rarity wore a thoughtful expression. Fluttershy could do little but concentrate on knowing that she was the one who could do this. It would take all of them, but without her they could do nothing. Pinkie Pie was smiling.

Just smiling. She didn’t worry, she wasn’t grim. She smiled, because she knew Rainbow Dash would be fine.

“Uh, how do we start?” Applejack shifted her hooves, glancing around the room.

Twilight went to reply, intending to merely repeat the same instruction to call up their happiest memories of Rainbow Dash.

“Just-”

A giggle cut her off. Pinkie clapped a hoof over her mouth but her giggling was not to be denied. Her chest heaved and her mane bounced. Muffled mirth filled the room.

“Pinkie….”

The earth pony waved a hoof at Twilight, struggling to speak. Eventually, lungs working like bellows, she managed to collect herself enough to reply.

“I-I was just thinking-” Pinkie nearly lost herself again. “About the time we repainted all of Applejack’s apples! The look on your face!”

After a moment Applejack chuckled as well. “Took me near half an hour to clean one bucket, did ya know? Ah was gettin’ right angry, all told, an’ just as Ah was gonna come lookin’ ta give ya both a piece of my mind what happens but a certain somepony drops a rain cloud over my head!” She smiled ruefully. “Course she couldn’t give me any warnin’ before she let loose with the rain. The apples mighta been clean but Ah looked like a drowned cat.”

“Giving heads-up has never been her forte,” Rarity agreed with a titter. “Do you recall that dreadful mare, the one from Manehatten? Oh, how I wanted to just tell her to leave and never darken my door again. Unfortunately, to do so would be to risk not just my business but that of those who recommended me to her. I had to be oh so polite to that horrible pony when she was calling Ponyville a ‘hick town’.”

Rarity’s mouth curved into a smirk.

“It was such a shame Rainbow Dash ‘forgot’ a cloud from her weather work. Ruined the poor mare’s dress before she was two steps out the door. Soaked to the bone.”

“She had it coming,” Spike observed. “She tried to buy me! Like I was a pet!”

“Spike,” Twilight tried to sound scolding, but she couldn’t help but agree.

Fluttershy spoke up. “She always warns me though,” she murmured. “So I could make sure all the animals were safe in their nests and burrows, and all their little homes. She even helped me once.”

Spike interrupted with a snicker. “I bet she just loved that.”

“Oh no, she actually rather- oh, sarcasm.” Fluttershy blushed.

“Remember when she tried to teach the Crusaders sarcasm?” Applejack asked with a chuckle.

Rarity’s shoulder shook slightly. “How about the time she was absolutely certain she could perform a ‘daring feat’ she read about in those books of hers, if only she wore that ridiculous pith helmet?”

Fond laughter filled the room, memories rising up. Twilight smiled, speaking up next. “We had so much fun when the new Daring Do novel came out. We stayed up all night reading it together. Rainbow Dash insisted on reading Daring Do’s lines, of course.”

“I did Ahuizotl’s,” Spike bragged.

Fluttershy was smiling warmly as she listened to her friends. She followed Twilight’s idea of positive emotions, of breaking the cycle using theirs, and had reached out to her friends. She was only barely aware that the sudden cheer was being gently encouraged by her power, helping them to see the light and laughter through the darkness of their worry about their friend. The room now buzzed with an upwell of positive emotion, for the first time breaking through the aura of fear and worry they had endured. The issue at hand hadn’t been forgotten, but for just a few moments they were sharing memories that made them laugh and smile.

They couldn’t force it, but with a giggle Pinkie Pie had opened the way. Fluttershy caught a wink from the grinning party pony. Giving a grateful smile, Fluttershy focused. She still wasn’t certain how she did things, so far managing to simply want them enough for this mysterious power to do what she wanted. The only way she could describe the sensation was of reaching beyond herself as if grasping invisible threads.

She felt, not saw, these threads. To her mind they were shining gold strings that glowed with internal energy. She touched them, although she couldn’t say how, and they responded. She felt in the threads exactly what she wanted; love, happiness, good cheer, everything they needed to help Rainbow Dash.

Each thread was pulled to her, gathered and woven to her will. She didn’t think, she just did, letting the power guide her. She wasn’t aware when this began, but it led her way as she harvested the warming shine from her friends. The girls were the easiest, the link she shared with them making the process faster and stronger. Spike came without much trouble. It took an effort of will for her to simply draw the positive emotion straight to herself. When she called on them, the strings from Spike seemed to route to her through Twilight, travelling along a small, barely present link.

Fluttershy took a breath and it felt like she was inhaling everything her friends were feeling. Their emotions filled her. She breathed out and the threads continued their path. It was almost a blanket, and in her mind she saw Rainbow Dash as a coiled mass. She drew the blanket over her friend’s plagued mind. The shadows that clung to her mind shrivelled but remained, fed from within.

‘I have to help her do this,’ Fluttershy had forgotten about her friends, about her body. Her mind was devoted to a world beyond the physical, to something deeper. The thoughts that fed the darkness, how Fluttershy saw Rainbow’s condition, were not within her reach. She could not speak, not in words. She had to counter them in a way only she could.

The blanket drew tight.

She drew on the wealth of love and compassion welling up within each of them. The shining blanket changed. An endless stream of guilt and self-loathing flowed from Rainbow Dash, perverting the bond meant to link them and twisting about to return, mirrored constantly.

‘No,’ she thought.

The golden threads melted into that stream, joining the dark current as a core of shining light. Where Paladin’s end of the link rebuffed what Rainbow felt and reflected it upon her Fluttershy denied it. She could not stop what Rainbow Dash was feeling, but she kept it from returning to her anew. The shadows were stripped, leaving just the love and joy.

Rainbow Dash’s body shook for a moment, her thoughts jolting. The delirium that blinded her and left her comatose shuddered in her mind.

‘Maybe...maybe I don’t suck.’

With a gasp Rainbow Dash came up, sitting upright as she stared with eyes wide open. Her friends stared back, all save Fluttershy. Instead, Fluttershy launched herself with enough force to knock Rainow back down.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash! We were so worried!”

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times. She was inside. There were walls in every direction and above and below. She knew she should be terrified. Instead, she was mildly annoyed and very confused.

“Uh, okay...what just happened?” She asked, frankly shaking her head as she endured Fluttershy’s hug.

Instead of answering, her friends jumped her.

***

“Okay, sho, I wab ou’ ob ib-”

“Rainbow Dash, please, I know you are very hungry and very curious, but if you do not stop talking with your mouth full I will be forced to take drastic action.”

Rainbow Dash loudly swallowed, patting her stomach. “Jeeze Rares, calm down,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

A frosty glare drilled into her.

“Your lack of manners on its own is not, however irritating, enough to aggravate me so. The crumbs you are spraying into my mane on the other hand…." Rarity trailed off with an apocalyptic expression.

Shoveling in another mouthful, Rainbow grinned sheepishly. "Shorry."

Rarity's eye began to twitch dangerously. A cloth held in a soft magenta glow began to hesitantly wipe her clean. Without shifting her expression she snatched it with her own magic.

Ignoring the silent glare that promised retribution, Rainbow Dash glanced at the others. This time she swallowed before talking.

“Okay, so I remember most of it. Paladin said we weren’t friends and suddenly it all just felt way, way worse. Like, the worse thing ever. I felt like the world was over, like I had personally screwed up so badly that nothing was right and that everything bad ever was my fault." She gulped again, though this time it had nothing to do with food.

"Don’t start that again,” Applejack warned her. She shoved the next plate to her friend. “Ah’d rather see ya stuff yer face then get all mopey. Ain’t that right Pinkie?”

Pinkie nodded, her cheek rubbing against the blue coat. “That’s right! No more mopey for Dashie!”

Rainbow Dash tried not to let her face show her thoughts. “Yeah, okay, I get it, but come on Pinkie, you’ve been hugging me all the way from Bulwark’s room. You can let go now.”

A beaming grin overtook Pinkie's face. "Nope!"

"Great," Dash muttered flatly. "So, girls, and Spike, any change with Paladin?"

She tried and failed to hide how pensive she was, but her attempt at casualness did nothing in her favour.

"No," Twilight admitted.

Rainbow’s expression grew downcast. "Oh. Guess I really bucked up, didn't I?"

Though she had expected no answer she got one quite firmly.

"Ya made a mistake, yeah, but ya tried to make it right. Paladin is outta sorts," Applejack shook her head. "No idea what we're gonna do."

"We'll do our best." The soft words came from Fluttershy. She was smiling softly. She blinked suddenly. "Oh my, I forgot. I'll be right back."

They watched Fluttershy scamper away.

"What was that about?" Rainbow asked, shoving another mouthful into her hungering maw.

They found out a few minutes later when Fluttershy returned, a dark bundle in her hooves. She held it out to Rainbow Dash, hiding her blush behind her mane.

"Uh, Fluttershy?" Dash arched an eyebrow, ears perking up curiously.

"I...I made this for you. For when you woke up."

"Ooookay...thanks?" Taking the bundle, Rainbow found it to be soft wool, incredibly soft. "This some kinda really long scarf or somethiiiiii- cool!"

Fluttershy peeked out, her cheeks still red. "Do you like it?"

Rainbow Dash held out a woolen jumper in front of her, the dark blue interrupted by white lightning bolts from the shoulders forming a V terminating near the hem. She whistled, turning it over.

"You even got wing covers!" She spread out one of the wing sleeves, tracing the white, lightning shaped edging. "How the hay did you knit something this cool?"

Her blushed darkened as Rarity joined in on the praise.

"Fluttershy, darling, this is what you were working on? Why did you never tell me you possesed such a wondrous talent for knitting?"

Fluttershy did her very best to bury her head in the sand, although she was unfortunate enough to only have her mane. Despite her efforts she found herself the victim of unrelenting praise and compliments from her friends.

"Oh, I just like to k-knit in my spare time. It's just a little hobby," she explained reluctantly. "I asked the Princess for some wool, so I could make you something."

"You made this, just for me?" Rainbow stopped inspecting, her eyes drawn to her friend.

Fluttershy nodded. "I...I couldn't stand doing nothing, so I thought...thought I could make something for you, for when you were better."

She squeaked in shock when she felt someone pulling her. Rainbow's hooves held her tight in a quick hug.

"Thanks Fluttershy," Dash muttered. She pulled away, grinning awkwardly. "So, enough mushy stuff. I'm full, let's get on with making everything better like we always do."

A belch took them by surprise, accompanied by a flare of emerald light. Spike caught the scroll before it hit the ground, unrolling it and, clearing of his throat, read it out.

"My Faithful Student, the Elements of Harmony, and Spike- Hey, she mentioned me for once!"

"Spike..."

"Okay, okay. Ahem; My Faithful Student, the Elements of Harmony, and Spike, though my duty called me away before you were done, I am pleased to hear of Rainbow Dash's recovery. The timing is quite fortunate, as I have prepared a chance for you to return to Ponyville. Only for a few hours, time enough to organise what you can before returning. When you are ready, have Spike send a firemail reply or come find me. I shall be in the western tower, the mage-chamber at the top, when you wish to go."

Spike looked, glancing around. "Huh, wonder what she means. It can't have been that hard to get a train or an air chariot."

“Hmm, that does seem a little odd,” Twilight agreed.

"Who cares? She said we could head home, an' Ah got a family who're gonna be wonderin' what's goin' on." A grin came to Applejack's face.

"We won't be there for long, remember," Twilight reminded her. She was already listing what to collect from the library, compiling the list swiftly in her mind.

"Still, hey, I can get my Daring Do books- and organise the weather team, blah blah blah, " Dash rolled her eyes at the looks she got.

Fluttershy's own pleased smiled faltered, thoughts of seeing her wonderful animal friends again fading away. Another thought had abruptly intruded.

“What about Paladin? Should we...should we ask him if he wants to come?”

A snort shot from Rainbow Dash. She crossed her forelegs. “Who cares? If he wants to, he can find out himself!”

She shot up, leaving her friends blinking and staring in her wake. She held her wings out wide, soaring away, a scowl on her face.

“Get me when we’re leaving,” she growled before she was gone.

“Err...I think I will go tell him,” Twilight said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.

“No.”

They all stopped, staring at Fluttershy. She squared her shoulders, returning their looks with a firm stare.

“I’ll ask him.”

Twilight looked worried, glancing at her friends for support. “Fluttershy, I’m not quite sure you want to do that. Not right now, at any rate. He’s very-”

“I know,” Fluttershy interrupted, and the shock of her meek friend doing so silenced Twilight. “I know how he feels. So better me, since I can leave if he starts to get angry, okay?”

“Darling, she does have a point. With that blank look of his, she can tell if he is getting angry better than we can. Perhaps we should just step back and let her try. Maybe he will react better with her than with one of us?” Rarity laid a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, smiling warmly at her.

“Really?” Twilight felt her lips twitch into a frown. “Why?”

Rarity coughed and smiled in a distinctly sly way. “Oh, just a hunch.” She shooed Fluttershy. “Alright dear, you can tell him. Come, my friends, let us return to our rooms.”

Twilight shot Applejack a questioning look but the farm-mare just shrugged. They trailed in the same direction as Rainbow Dash, reaching their rooms. In truth, the only luggage they had were the dresses Rarity had made, and she went about repossessing them for safe storage.

Fluttershy could sense his shimmering aura of misery, his guilt and anger mixing unpleasantly. She shuddered but forced herself to knock. After a minute she managed to knock with enough force to make an actual sound, doing her best to ignore the way her friends, sans Rainbow Dash, were peeking out of their door every so often to check on her.

It occurred to Fluttershy that if Paladin really did want to be left alone, why would he answer the door? She cut off her musings, the door creaking open. Paladin’s bulk blockaded it. His eyes fell on her and his guilt spiked.

‘What is he guilty about?’ Even as she thought it, she felt him begin to manufacture anger. That was the only word for it. His thoughts were a sealed thing, but she felt him forcing anger out, as if trying to replace the guilt and hurt with rage.

“What do you want?” He growled, not bothering to wait for her to talk. “I have had enough of your…” he grimaced, shaking his head. “Of your disturbances.”

Taking a deep breath, she tried not to tremble. To her surprise, it worked. She looked at him, frowning.

“The Princess is giving us some time in Ponyville, before we come back and work out what to do about Ardleon.” She was amazed her voice didn’t shake. “Do you want to come?”

He stared at her, his expression flat telling her nothing, her power telling her everything. He was shocked, and worried.

“No, I do not. I have no wish to spend time with any of your kind,” he snarled, regaining his footing after a moment of hesitation.

She blinked.

“Okay. We’ll see you when we get back.”

His shock was nearly palpable to her, disbelief colouring their bond as she turned and trotted away.

“G-good riddance!”

His shout came out not full and impassioned, not dark and furious. It was confused, distressed. His wings fluttered in agitation. Panic swelled up, fear of failure prickling him, reminding him of the fate they might suffer if he did not act.

‘...If I have to freeze this entire world...’

That probably explained his very childish shout. “I hope you get lost!”

Fluttershy looked back, giving him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

With a snarl he slammed his door shut. Her smile faded.

He was trying to hurt them. He felt bad, he felt guilty for it, but he was still trying to hurt them.

“Why?” She whispered, her eyes glued to his door.

Within, Paladin wasn’t sure how to react. He felt like he should do something. His wings ached to release his tension, his legs groaned with pent up energy. He had to react, to do something. But he didn’t know what to do.

“Why didn’t it work?” He raised a hoof, but held off his stomp at the last moment. “Why?! This is meant to save them!"

‘She should have been in tears!’ Paladin stared at the wall, his expression bleak. ‘I’m trying to make her cry. I wanted her to be hurt.’

“O-oh Heavens…” he collapsed on his side, shaking his head. “It’s the only way. I-I will save them from him! I have to!”

He snarled promises, threats, to the empty air. If he hoped for reassurance, there was none. The great pegasus simply lay there, his stare seeing a thousand feet into nothing.

“I will save them. At any cost.”

‘Even if it kills me.’

His door stayed undisturbed, given a wide berth by all, until they left, heading for the eastern wing. The one exception was when one butter-yellow mare stopped to leave a parcel. She considered knocking, but an impatient call drew her away

***

They gathered, the seven of them on the balcony of the tower. Twilight was happily explaining the mechanics of a mage-chamber and it’s many uses, which Spike boiled down to;

“You cast magic, but in a room where it’s all protected so if something goes wrong it gets drained away.”

A chorus of nods followed Spike’s single-sentence explanation, earning him a frown from Twilight.

“Essentially, yes, but there is a lot more involved! You can’t just sum it up in a one sentence. That’s like...like...I don’t know what it’s like. You just can’t do it!” She exploded. Giggles erupting around her. She felt Spike shaking on her back, doubtless holding his claws over his mouth as he tried to muffle his own mirth.

“I doubt they really want to know more, Twilight,” a voice they all knew joined the conversation. She smiled at them as she stepped onto the balcony, the sunlight causing her pristine white coat to almost glow.

Twilight blushed. “I-I know Princess, but they should care about the details more. Details are important.”

A giggle of her own came from Princess Celestia before she smothered it. “Of course they are. The way is prepared, you may come in now.”

She stepped aside, allowing them passage into the room she had ushered them out of ten minutes before. Soft runes provided the light, rings centred on the domed ceiling slowly descending to the floor, where the pattern continued to the centre of the room. Princess Luna stood there, her horn’s glow matching the runes. She nodded in greeting, but her attention remained on the central circle and its slowly building glow.

Twilight gasped, staring at the spell-light. It hadn’t been there before, nor had there been the sense of energy in the room.

“Is that- oooh, I knew it was possible!” She squealed, prancing like a filly on her birthday.

Celestia smiled brightly at the reaction.

"I knew you would be happy. It was an intriguing prospect and I have been working away at it when I can. Luna was particularly interested. An anchored mass teleportation point seemed to be something of a priority after recent events in Ponyville. Luna and and I can easily send the seven of you to Ponyville."

"Six," Spike interrupted the Princess. "I'm not going."

"Excuse me, yes you are," Twilight disagreed.

"No, I'm not. If I go back, you'll try to leave me there so I'll be 'safe'." The little dragon shook his head.

"I..."

He stared at her.

Twilight sighed. “Okay, yes. But Spike, I want to you come back and stay there so you will be safe.”

“Except I’ll be safer here! With all the guards, and you guys, and the Princesses!” Spike said. He threw his arms out. “This place is way safer! So you’re not ditching me back in Ponyville!”

“Spike, please…” Twilight sucked in a breath. She knew this would be a long argument.

“No, Twilight, please, don’t make me stay in Ponyville while you go off somewhere dangerous again! I know you worry about me, but I worry about you as well!” He found himself lifted, Twilight’s magic depositing him in her hooves. “Twilight…I don’t like you going away.”

She nuzzled him. “I don’t like it either. But you’re my family, Spike. I’ve been raising you since you hatched. You mean so much to me, I can’t bear the idea of you getting hurt.”

“I can’t bear the idea of you getting hurt, while I just sit around a library twiddling my claws. I want to help, to actually do something,” his tone verged on begging.

Twilight glanced up, but her mentor simply gave her a steady look. This was something Twilight and Spike had to work out themselves. Biting back a sigh, Twilight looked down at her young ward.

“First, I am not going off anywhere dangerous. Second...if I did leave you in Ponyville, I get the feeling you wouldn’t stay there, would you?”

He shook his head.

Twilight sighed. “Well, okay, I promise if you come with us, I won’t leave you there. After we get back we will discuss what to do if - if - something requires that I go somewhere dangerous. Neither of us is comfortable with the other being in danger without being there, so for now we’ll stay together, okay?”

After a moment of contemplation Spike nodded. “Okay. If you Pinkie Promise not to leave me there.”

“Spike! I expected a little more trust than this,” she scolded.

Spike just stared at her with a stubborn frown.

She sighed. “Okay, if you insist.” She raised a hoof, glancing uneasily at Pinkie’s very focused stare. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my ahhhh!”

Four minutes later, six mares, one with a slightly sore eye, and a baby dragon stood in the centre of the room. The combined glow of Celestia and Luna’s magic lit their faces and forms from below. Spike and Rainbow Dash were enjoying making creepy faces at each other, using the light being cast to see who could make the best campfire ghost story appropriate face.

“The Princesses are doin’ their fancy magic, don’t ya’ll have any manners?” Applejack demanded with a fearsome scowl.

They stared at her for a moment.

“You win,” they both said at once.

She blinked. “Huh?”

They simply snickered to themselves at the poor mare’s confusion.

“Are you all ready to go? The way is prepared.” Luna swept her eyes over them, turning her focus back to the magic.

Twilight looked around and got nods. “We’re ready,” she confirmed.

“A message has already been sent to prepare a train for your return. We shall see you back here tomorrow, if all goes to plan,” Celestia informed them. “I await your safe return eagerly, my faithful student,”

“We’ll be back soon Princess, and then we can work out what to do about Ardleon.” Twilight could feel the magic building, gathering in a manner much akin to her own teleportation, albeit much more powerful. “Hold on girls-”

“Hey!”

“I was about to say ‘and Spike’, for your information.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

The building magic reached its pinnacle and power flared into life.

“Princess…”

Celestia’s ears twitched at the soft voice and her eyes saw, through the bright glow, Fluttershy staring at her.

“Please look after him.”

The magic flashed, and they were gone.

***

Six mares and one dragon whelp materialising a metre above the middle of the town centre was sufficiently odd enough to earn them looks of surprise and set one of the flower selling mares to what many would consider her secondary business; panicking. Her cry of distress was cut off by soft blue magic.

"Darling, please, it is just us. No need to panic, " Rarity reassured her, apparently at ease as she was lowered to the ground alongside her friends.

The golden glow of Celestia’s magic released them, allowing those who knew them to approach and letting Pinkie leap up joyously.

"We're home in Pooooooooooonyville!" She cried, rearing up with forehooves flailing.

Applejack shuddered, an image of a stallion with a vest and stetson overlapping her friend in her mind.

"Pinkie ain't ever spending any time alone with Braeburn," she swore quietly, making a vow to spare future generations.

"I really do think the poor mare needs to visit a doctor about her anxiety," Rarity said as she let her magic fade.

Rainbow Dash took to the air, wings flaring. "I'm going to find the weather team, get things worked out for, what, a week?"

Twilight nodded. "Maybe two, just in case. Or maybe three-"

"I'll go a month," Dash interrupted. She sniffed as she surveyed the sky. "I hope this isn't typical or I'll have to explain to Cloudchaser how to do her job again. See you gals later, catch you at the library when I'm done."

With that, she shot off. Applejack made the same promise to return and set off for home, leaving as Rarity hurried to her parents' house, Pinkie Pie bouncing for the bakery, and Twilight trotting with her little dragon on her back.

"So...if your plan was to make me stay, who are you going to ask to look after the library?" Spike asked, very carefully not adding 'not like it needs somepony to look after it.'

Twilight cocked her head to the side as she thought. "Maybe Time Turner. He does always return books on time and he is very good at keeping track of things."

"Except...if he spends all day in the library, that means Derpy will be there too."

Spike’s point made Twilight frown. "Spike, don't be so mean. I am positive she won't cause much...I mean, surely she wouldn't do much...he could keep her from..."

Each defense collapsed before she could finish it. Spike coughed and jerked a thumb in the direction of the town hall.

"Okay, I get your point," she conceded.

He crossed his arms, sitting there with a supremely satisfied smirk.

"Well then mister, who would you suggest?"

He lost his smirk, staring at her in befuddlement. "Wait, you're asking me?"

Now she smirked. "You shouldn't tear things down without having something to put up in its place. So come on mister smarty-scales, help out. We only need to work it out because my original plan fell through."

"Hmm." He ran a claw over his crest. "Caramel? He doesn't do much."

"Which is why he will probably be helping out on the farm, since Applejack will be away," she pointed out.

Spike scratched his head. "Right, I guess. Blue Note?"

"I don't really feel like I know him well enough to ask him to do something like that."

"Urgh, fine. How about...hey, Vinyl!" Spike waved off to the side.

Twilight swiveled her head to look in the same direction. “Vinyl? You mean Vinyl-"

"Yo!"

Twilight cringed internally. She had nothing against the often travelling DJ, she was just...a bit wild for Twilight. Not the sort of influence Spike needed. Unfortunately, Spike had gotten her attention and she was trotting over with a grin.

“Hello, Vinyl. We’re only in town to organise things before heading back,” Twilight said, silently trying to indicate they really had to go.

The DJ apparently missed the unheard indicators. “Wicked. What’d you need?”

As much as she wanted to say nothing, Spike beat Twilight to the punch. “We need somepony to look after the library while we’re away. Just, you know, make sure everything is fine, that’s all.”

Vinyl pushed her shades out of her eyes to squint at Spike. “Uh, yeah, libraries are normally pretty quiet places, right? Quiet isn’t really my thing,” at Spike’s falling expression she hurriedly added, “but I think I know just the pony. She arrived this morning on, like, the first train from Canterlot. Apparently whatever happened at the Gala was pretty heavy, so she just wants to chill here for a bit. She’s just the sort to spend all day in a stuffy library.”

As much as Twilight wanted to protest that her library was not, in fact, stuffy, she realised now was probably not quite the time.

“Well, she wouldn’t need to do much, just make sure everything is fine. There isn’t really much to do anyway, unless ponies come to check out books.” Nervous as she was to accept the idea of somepony Vinyl ‘Charged With Noise Pollution’ Scratch was vouching for, Twilight had more things to do before they left.

“Wicked. I’ll grab her and swing round in, what, half an hour?”

Twilight smiled and nodded gratefully. “That would be very helpful, thank you. Just call out if we’re not in the main room, I have things to organise in the basement. Thank you very much Vinyl, this is really helpful.”

The other unicorn brushed it off with a flip of her spiky mane. “Nah, it’s cool, and I know she’ll prefer that to my trashy place. Me an’ Tavi will be there.”

Thanking the mare again, Twilight and Spike went on their way. She could feel his smug little smirk without looking.

“Guess I ‘put up’ something pretty good there, didn’t I?”

Twilight tried very hard not to roll her eyes. “Yes, Spike, yes you did,” she said with exaggerated gratitude. “In fact, you did so well I feel I just have to trust you with something important. You can find the books on my list and get them packed and ready to go.”

The dragon whelp groaned, slumping on her back. “Twilight!” He whined, pouting as she giggled.

***

Utter stillness was broken, great cracks rending the frozen surface as he emerged once more. The wounded ice field was littered with shards and chunks once more, a frosty blue light illuminating the terrain. Ardleon flared his wings as he rose, listening to the howl of the storm around him.

The howl of his storm.

“My strength returns,” he hissed, testing his faultless armour with probes and touch. Casting his blazing blue gaze across the massing herd, there was a hint in the air of a smirk none could see. “My army is gathered.”

With a thought, he willed the frost and the chill around him, swirling windy tides of blizzard twisting around him. The storm and the ice, the snow and north, he felt them like he had not before. The windigos were his bridge to this world, and they had soaked the frozen landscape in their spirits as he rested.

His eyes narrowed.

“It is not enough.”

Slowly, he turned, casting his stare southward. He could sense them now, the thieves and his master. His helm canted to the side, listening to the windy howls.

“Yes….they must come north. I will drive them from their filthy dwellings, drag them to this place. I will bring them here.”

His fists clenched, the pool below snapped into glacial ice.

“And you will feast.”

The living storm of chill and hate spun about him for another moment. Only a moment, a single moment, and then the journey began. A winter that could freeze a world.

***

Applejack found herself receiving not unwelcome hugs, first from her sister, doing a remarkable impression of a ballistic projectile, and then from her brother who opted instead to go with ‘downhill boulder’.

“We heard a big mean ol’ metal thingy attacked the Gala, an’ there was lotsa magic an’ we were worried an’ are ya okay an’-”

Apple Bloom was interrupted by the substantial trouble caused from Applejack’s hat smothering her face. She pushed it up, her worried look replaced with a pout.

“Hay!”

Applejack chuckled, hugging her sister for a moment. She felt Mac’s forelegs tighten for a moment before he released her and stepped back.

“Ah’m fine, don’t ya worry none, Apple Bloom. Gonna take more’n a big metal monster ta put yer sister outta action. Everythin’ been okay here?”

“Eeyup,” Mac confirmed. His habitual hay drooped from his mouth and the look in his eye told Applejack he wouldn’t be so easily placated.

She dipped her head, apparently smiling down at Apple Bloom, but she doubted her brother was fooled.

“Ah got some bad news though; Ah’m headin’ back, on an overnight train. Came back ta let ya know an’ help get some things settled. Not sure how long Ah’ll be away, but Dash is organisin’ the weather team to work without her for a month, so Ah guess we should do the same. Caramel is usually able to help, so we’ll ask him.” She went right into discussing what to do for her absence, rushing through in the hopes that would be all they had to talk about.

“Nope.” Mac, unfortunately, was not inclined to play ball. He was openly frowning at her. “Why ya gonna be away?”

“The Princess, she, uh, just wants us to be there with the Elements. In case that ugly metal monster comes back, ya see? Ain’t nothin’ serious, just a precaution like thing.”

His eyes narrowed. “Ah see. What about Paladin?”

She shifted uncomfortably, rubbing her elbow nervously. “H-he stayed. Didn’t needa come back, so, ya know, he stayed. Princess needs him for...stuff.” Even as she gave the lame excuse she could feel her brother’s eyes boring into her.

“‘Stuff’?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Stuff.”

Apple Bloom stood between the two of them, head turning from one to the other and back again. “Huh?”

“Bloom, Ah needa talk to Applejack,” he rumbled.

“Ain’t that what yer doin’?” The little filly cocked her head to the side curiously.

“Alone.”

“But-”

“Apple Bloom, listen to yer brother,” Applejack cut in.

The filly’s head snapped back to her so fast Applejack’s too-large hat spun and slipped, blinding her. It took her a few seconds to push it up, but she was voicing her protest before she could even see.

“But-”

She found herself on the receiving end of stares from both her siblings, stares that promised a week mucking out the dirtiest, foulest pens on the farm if she didn’t comply. Sighing, Apple Bloom stuck her bottom lip out and began to trot away.

“Ah’ll be comin’ ta get my hat, so don’t go gettin’ it dirty an’ don’t wander far!” Applejack called. Her sister gave a vague wave before she vanished into the house.

That left her with her brother, who was failing to hide his displeasure, largely because he wasn’t actually trying.

“Now, Mac, this ain’t that bad. Just gonna be in Canterlot awhile, then the Princess’ll send us home with everythin’ right as rain-”

“Don’t lie to me.”

She stopped and stared at him. She took in his flaring nostrils, his tense shoulders, the rigidness of his ears, his narrowed eyes. It all led up to one very unpleasant conclusion: Big Mac was angry, really angry.

Applejack sighed, shoulders slumping.

“Ah won’t. Mac, Ah ain’t sure what’s goin’ on. That metal thing? Ya know what Paladin said he used to be? He’s one of them, and he’s mighty angry. Gave the Princesses a run for their money an’ he was swearing’ all sorts’a nastiness when he ran. Ah don’t know much, but the Princess is only lettin’ us outta sight for today and tonight, then it’s right back to the palace. A whole train full of guards is gonna be arrivin’ any minute, an’ we’ll be headin’ back with ‘em.”

Mac listened, his obvious signs of aggression slowly fading away. He still didn’t look particularly happy. “Ya shouldn’t have tried to lie to me, little sis.”

“Ah know, Ah know. Ah didn’t wanna worry ya,” she said.

His expression was unimpressed. “Ah’d worry just as much, especially if ya’ll kept the truth from me. Ah gotta ask, why didn’t Paladin come back?”

She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck tiredly. “Truthfully? Ah ain’t gotta clue. Darn colt has been actin’ weird since the Gala. Told Rainbow Dash and Twilight he wasn’t their friend, really layin’ into them, an’ he’s been ruder than Ah ever seen him. The whole thing with Ardleon, the big metal monster,” she explained at her brother’s quizzical expression. “That’s thrown him for a loop, far as Ah can tell. Used to be his buddy, now he’s promisin’ to find us an’....”

He stared at her as she trailed off, confusion colouring his eyes until he caught on. The hay in his mouth fluttered to the ground, snipped by his clenched teeth.

“Ain’t nopony touchin’ my sister!” He all but snarled.

“Whoa now! Settle down Mac, Ah wasn’t plannin’ on lettin’ him,” Applejack informed him tartly. “Ah know ya gotta worry an’ carry on, cause that’s what big brothers do, but right now we need’ta focus on the farm. Ah’m gonna get my hat, then go write a letter. There’s a harvest comin’ up, an’ ya’ll will need more’n just Caramel.”

With admirable self-control Macintosh calmed himself, letting his anger flow out in a single deep, shuddering breath. He turned, following her as Applejack set off for the house.

“Who ya writin’ to?” He asked, putting what she had said behind him. For now, at least, she was right that they had to think of the farm. Once that was done, he was going to sit down and give this a good think.

Applejack grinned at him, both out of relief that he had dropped the subject and at her answer. “Well, let’s say somepony put me in mind of a certain cousin who owes me a favour.”

***

“Can I-”

“No, Vinyl.”

“Aw, come on! You didn’t even let me finish. You barely let me start!”

Octavia took another sip from her cup of tea. “I am quite aware, thank you.”

Pouting like a filly half her age, Vinyl Scratch slumped. “Killjoy.”

Something like a very small smirk came to the earth pony’s face. “Oh, yes.”

Their host emerged from the pantry, a tray of biscuits in her magic. “Sorry about the wait, pantry reorganisation wasn’t scheduled until tomorrow.”

Octavia smiled politely. “You really did not need to, Miss Sparkle.”

“It’s only polite, you are doing me a tremendous favour,” Twilight said happily.

“Are you sure you have the time to socialise? From what you said, I gather you have rather a lot to prepare.” The earth pony recalled the wealth of peculiar devices she had seen earlier. Upon their arrival and the apparent emptiness of the library, Vinyl had eagerly led the way down, following banging and other muffled noises into the basement.

She had stepped into the well-lit room, it’s packed dirt walls interrupted by intruding roots, and let out an ear-piercing shriek as a silvery, shiny beast had fallen over her. It had grasped her in a dozen wildly dancing tentacles, pulling her down as they fought.

All in all, it had been quite embarrassing when she stopped screaming bloody murder long enough for Vinyl’s magic to remove what turned out to be a collection of tubing, metal coils and wires.

A blush lit Twilight’s face as she too remembered what had happened. “I really am sorry about that,” she cringed, cheeks flushing under her coat.

Octavia dismissed the matter with a shrug. “As I told you, it was an accident. We should have announced ourselves when we came down, but, as usual, Vinyl’s presence had a detrimental effect on the manners of all around her. You may have noticed.”

Both sent aside glances at Vinyl and Spike, the former trying to convince the latter that a career in pyrotechnics was the way to go.

“Yeah, I think I have,” Twilight agreed. She smiled again as she returned her attention to Octavia. “We have just about everything we need packed and ready to go. The more delicate equipment is very safely wrapped.”

“The post office ran out of bubble wrap.” Looking up from his conversation with Vinyl, he laughed. “But Derpy had plenty of her own she was willing to let us use.” His expression became thoughtful. “I wonder why she had so much.”

"Derpy...she is the wall-eyed mare, yes? She seems quite nice," Octavia remarked, taking another sip.

Twilight agreed, "she is, she's just a little...clumsy. Things tend to sort of break around her. Town hall, for instance."

Octavia gave her a confused look. "Town hall? The whole building?"

"It was awesome," Vinyl answered with a chuckle. "She should totally go into demolition. Why deliver mail when you can break shi-stuff, break stuff with your plot?"

Twilight let the glare she had sent Vinyl when the mare began to say 'shit' fall away, only to catch Octavia doing the same thing.

"Hey, Spike, wanna show me that new fire trick you mentioned?" Vinyl was already pushing him out, eager to escape the double glare.

"Uh, okay..." the confused dragon let her herd him out, leaving the other two mares alone.

"I apologise for her. She often forgets not to swear around children," Octavia said with a shake of her head.

"It's fine," Twilight assured her. She grimaced. "Honestly, I would be surprised if he didn’t know a lot worse. Spike is too smart for his own good, at least where gems and Rarity aren’t concerned."

"It must be something of an education, raising a dragon as..." Octavia hesitated. "I am sorry, but I am not sure how I should refer to him. Is he your son, or brother?"

Twilight put down her teacup. "I... I’m really not sure. Sometimes I feel like his mother, sometimes he's my little brother and when I'm studying he's my assistant. It's kind of complicated."

"A unique situation, it seems," the earth pony agreed, lifting her teacup again. The cup paused, it's rim pressed to her lower lip, as Octavia thought of something.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight noted the frozen posture.

"...did Vinyl say 'fire'?"

It took Twilight a few seconds for that to sink in.

Their sudden mad rush nearly knocked the table over.

Fwooosh!

They burst from the library as the emerald firelight faded.

"Whoa! Now that was awesome! See what I mean? That sort of display could make real bits!" Vinyl was grinning like a lunatic which, to be fair, was not unusual for her. Octavia was relieved, however, to find that she was grinning like a lunatic who still had eyebrows.

"Aw, thanks." He blushed at the praised, chest puffing up proudly.

"Spike!" Twilight’s shout made him cringe, deflating. "What are you doing?"

"I was just showing Vinyl a trick. I didn't think you'd mind, you were right there when she asked me to show her," he pointed out hurriedly.

She frowned hard, staring at him intently. 'Oh Luna, he's right.'

Twilight sighed. "You're right, I was there and I should have been paying more attention. Spike, you should be more aware of fire hazards."

"Calm down, he was doing it straight up, nothing to burn." Vinyl shrugged their worry off.

A growl Twilight would almost call beastial came from the earth pony next to her. "Vinyl! This is fire, not just fancy light! Somepony could get hurt. What if a pegasus was flying overhead and neither of you noticed?"

That set both mare and dragon off-balance. Spike’s eyes widened and he began to look around frantically.

"Dude, calm down, you didn’t hit anypony." Patting Spike on the shoulder, Vinyl turned to the other mares. "Okay, I get it, don't encourage baby dragons to set things on fire."

"You shouldn't need to be told that!" Octavia rubbed her forehead. "I'm starting to wonder if Vinyl is more of a headache than staying in Canterlot. I just wanted to relax away from the madness of Canterlot, not deal with her more annoying traits," she said to Twilight.

Vinyl pouted. "Aw, come on Tavi! I'm not that bad. I even found you a place to stay."

This conversation could have gone on for hours, and possibly would have, if not for a shout from afar.

Applejack came trotting up with Rarity, a white square in her mouth.

"Howdy ya’ll," she lisped past the letter.

"Hi girls," Twilight beamed at her friends. Spike waved, mostly at Rarity, grinning at her.

Rarity sighed and removed the letter with her magic. She nodded at Vinyl. "Hello. Ah, Vinyl Scratch, a pleasure as always. Miss Octavia, wonderful to see you again, although I must admit I didn't expect to see you here. Allow me to introduce my dear friend Applejack."

"Howdy, an' welcome to Ponyville Miss." Applejack took her hoof and shook it.

"Nice to meet, but just Octavia, please. I only arrived today. After the Gala, I decided to go someplace quiet." She grimaced. "Why I thought coming to see Vinyl would give me that, I have no idea. Still, I am sure this delightful town will prove to be calm and relaxing nonetheless."

Applejack and Rarity exchanged looks.

"Uh...Ah ain’t touchin' that one. Twilight, can Ah borrow Spike for a minute?" Applejack approached the dragon, reclaiming her letter.

Octavia raised an eyebrow and looked to Rarity.

"What did she mean?" She asked suspiciously.

"Darling, let me tell you about some of the things that have happened to 'quiet little Ponyville'. I'm sure you will find it quite enlightening."

Not far away, Spike looked up to Applejack curiously. "What's up?"

Applejack held her letter out to Spike. "Got a favour to ask. Can ya send a letter to ponies other than the Princess?"

He nodded, his eyes lingering on her letter. "So long as I've met them and have an, uh, impression of them? Like, how well I know them or if they're really memorable. If I don't have much impression of them, I need to know their general area and distance. I could send a letter to the Princess pretty much anywhere, or Twilight, or you guys."

"Uh huh, so what about my cousin Braeburn? Ya gotta remember him," Applejack said with a chuckle.

"Remember him? He definitely leaves an impression. He'll be in Appleloosa, right?" He took a few deep breaths, concentrating.

"Should be, last Ah heard," she confirmed, holding the letter out.

Spike took it in his claw, holding it upright before him. "Right, think I've got it. Of course, if I don't, the letter will just burn." He took a deeper breath, before suddenly blowing out a lung's worth of green fire.

Applejack held her own breath, letting it out as the letter dissolved into a sparkling ash cloud and flew away.

"Much obliged Spike," she gave him a grateful smile.

"Ah, don't mention it." He brushed it off, but clearly looked quite pleased with himself.

They rejoined the others, just as Rarity reached the story about the parasprites.

***

Twilight welcomed another of the group into the library main room, smiling as Fluttershy trotted in. The meek pegasus smiled back, although it shrunk a little at the sight of Octavia and Vinyl. She didn’t know one, and she knew the other a bit too well to be comfortable around her.

“O-oh, hello Vinyl,” she squeaked.

The unicorn waved at her. “Yo, Fluttershy! How’s it hanging?"

"Alright. I've just been making sure all my little animal friends will be looked after while I'm away." Fluttershy looked at the others. "Wow, I thought Rainbow Dash would be here already. No wonder she feels annoyed. "

Octavia finally roused from her thoughts, which currently were largely related to doing something horrible to Vinyl for not telling her a number of very important things. She looked up to see the yellow pegasus.

"Hello...wait," she narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me miss, but I feel like I have seen you somewhere before."

Fluttershy gulped. She didn't like being recognised.

"She was at the Gala!" Pinkie announced cheerfully. "Like me! Although only a bit like me because she didn't come onto the stage and make new friends, she went out into the garden to play with the animals!”

The entire room was treated to the spectacle of a grown mare editing out the existence of another pony from her sight and hearing in real time. Octavia just stared as if she hadn’t heard Pinkie Pie. Since the party pony’s initial entrance and Octavia undergoing what could be best described as a sort of ‘violent fit’, she had apparently resolved that simply hating Pinkie Pie for almost destroying her musical career wasn’t enough. It was only a cold shoulder in the sense that the tip of an iceberg is cold. While true, it fails to explain just how very cold the rest of her was as well.

Pinkie Pie, however, simply took it as a challenge.

“...she was at the Gala?” Vinyl offered.

“Ah, yes, now I remember. You were the one who made the animals...um…” Octavia trailed off as Fluttershy went from a pony to a ball of ruffled feathers and embarrassed whimpers. She looked at the others, from Rarity to Applejack and through Pinkie, in confusion.

“She’s still a mite sensitive about that,” said Applejack with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh my, I did not mean to..." Octavia frowned, not sure what to do. "Excuse my rudeness. I had no intention of bringing up bad memories. Please accept my apologies."

Fluttershy peeked through her mane, looking at Octavia for a moment.

"It's alright," she said in a near whisper. "I shouldn't let it get to me." She stood up again as she spoke, her voice getting louder until it had reached a proper volume.

Octavia smiled at her, relief colouring her expression. "My name is Octavia. I am a...friend of Vinyl’s. I do hope that does not unduly hurt your opinion of me."

"Hay! That's...you know, actually pretty likely, but still," Vinyl protested half-heartedly.

Fluttershy giggled along with the others, Vinyl joining in after a moment.

"It's nice to meet you," she murmured, holding a hoof out to Octavia.

"Likewise." Octavia took her hoof. "It appears I will be 'library-sitting' for a time, so your friends have been catching me up on how very exciting Ponyville can be. Much more exciting than my dear friend told me," she added with a glare at said 'dear friend'.

Vinyl just grinned. "Would you have visited if I told you the truth?" She asked.

"No, I would not have, and I would have missed out on seeing it's more enjoyable side. You did, however, still lie to me." Octavia hrrmph'd.

"Technically I just never told you about that stuff. I never lied."

"Lying by omission is still- oh, never mind. Not sure why I even bother," Octavia grumbled.

Vinyl went to reply, getting as far as opening her mouth before she was interrupted. The interruption took the form of a speeding pegasus bursting through an open window. She hit the ground not with her usual bouncing crash but a soft thump.

"Huh?" It was Rainbow Dash, for there were none others like her, and she let her look of irritation fade in favour of confusion. She poked the mattress. "Um, what?"

Twilight allowed herself a brief smile of satisfaction.

"I did wonder why you put the tacky thing there," Rarity commented.

Rainbow Dash scowled. "Whatever. I am done with organising stuff. Done! Three hours! Three hours wasted because blah blah blah regulations blah!"

She flopped down on the mattress. The niggling annoyance was a sour note to Fluttershy, who wrinkled her nose like it was a bad smell.

"So, what're we- Vinyl, what's up?" She and the unicorn brohoofed, Vinyl grinning down at her.

"A friend of mine is gonna look after the library. Speaking of which, don't you have a train to catch?" Vinyl asked with a glance across the room.

"So eager to have us leave you two, alone?" Rarity, ever the gossip, gave them an evaluating look.

"Yeah, I'm totally gonna ravish Tavi the moment you're out of the room." Snickering, Vinyl glanced at the flushed, annoyed look on her prudish friend's face.

Octavia spluttered, alternating her glare between the two unicorns.

"Vinyl!" She finally managed to get out.

"Right on the coffee table, just there," Vinyl went on.

Rarity giggled. "We had best leave you to it then."

"Can't keep the Princesses waiting, might as well get a move on," agreed Applejack, standing up.

The others followed her example, Twilight calling out to Spike. He came in, a checklist in hand.

"How is it Spike?"

"They're just moving the last stuff now," he told her cheerfully. "All the books and the thing with all the wires should be on the train soon."

"Wonderful, good job." Twilight praised.

Spike grinned. "It was nothing. So, are we leaving?" He asked, noticing they were all standing.

"Now that I know everything has been sorted out we are," she confirmed, levitating over a bulging set of saddlebags. Twilight turned to Octavia. “I can’t thank you enough. I really appreciate knowing the library will be in good hooves.”

Octavia smiled back, shaking her head. “Please, no need to thank me. I was worried I would have nothing to do except keep Vinyl from doing stupid things while I was here. It’s an honour of be of help to the Princess’s protege.”

Blushing, Twilight quickly ran through a few more things about the library for the earth pony. She had already done so, several times, but it was obvious she was nervous leaving her beloved home in the hooves of even somepony as responsible as Octavia.

“Alright, ready to go! Let’s get outta here,” Rainbow Dash declared, hovering in the middle of the room. “See you two later, try not to break the table!”

Vinyl snickered as she waved them away, Octavia next to her sparing a scowl for both the unicorn and Rainbow Dash.

Spike looked from Fluttershy’s blush to Rainbow Dash’s snickering. His brow furrowed in confusion.

“I’ll explain when you’re older,” Twilight said, just as he opened his mouth to ask.

He snapped his jaw shut up with a diamond-crunching snap.

“You always say that,” he whined. He hopped on Twilight’s back as they stepped from the library, waving to a squad of guards who were currently forgoing their usual stern expressions for looks of strain. Boxes filled to bursting with metal, oddly coloured swirling glass, wires and a dozen other pieces of equipment sat on their backs. They shouldn’t have weighed as much as they did, but the guards were finding out that perhaps they weren’t quite ordinary devices. Their weight was certainly extraordinary.

“I do not. Uh, sir? Are you sure you’ll be fine with that?” Twilight asked, concerned by the guards’ expressions.

“We’ll...be fine...Lady….Sparkle…” the guard huffed, giving his squad a wave and sending them off. “Just...lead...the way…”

"If you’re sure..." Twilight looked worried, but the guards were clearly not budging on the issue. She kept an eye on them regardless, and when they wouldn’t notice she might have used a little bit of magic.

The train awaited them, a few short carts prepared for the return journey. Twilight and Spike oversaw the loading of her equipment, her books sent to the carriage they would occupy for the short trip. With everything packed away, the pair joined the rest in their carriage.

Fluttershy was ensconced on one of the beds, a basket of wool next to her. She smiled happily, her knitting needles working away.

"Oh Twilight, the Princess sent some lovely wools for me. I just love knitting." She was already well on her way through one article, her knitted garment taking form quite quickly.

"That was nice of her. I didn't realise it was a hobby of yours," Twilight commented as Spike slipped from her back.

Rarity was sitting across from Fluttershy, watching her work. She nodded in agreement.

"Really darling, you have such a talent. What are you making?"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack interrupted the conversation, rolling and bouncing across the floor. Pinkie skipped after them, a whistle in her mouth, wearing a black and white shirt.

"Pinkie, what is going on?" Twilight asked, deadpan, while two of her friends wrestled across the floor.

"Hmm...." Pinkie stopped, rubbing her chin. "Judging by my shirt and whistle I'm either a bank robber who likes whistles or-"

"Say uncle!"

"Never!"

"Oh, right, I'm the referee!" Pinkie giggled.

Twilight stepped aside, letting her rambunctious friends continue their game. The train lurched, its whistle blowing. Finding her own place to sit, Twilight opened her bag of books and tried to ignore Pinkie Pie's attempt to out-whistle the train. The trip would be overnight, but she had her friends to keep her company.

"Y-yay...I...won..." Thump.

Twilight didn’t look up as she levitated Pinkie off the floor to lay her on an unoccupied bed.

***

Hours passed. Paladin brooded, Twilight read, Fluttershy knitted.

Ardleon unleashed his army.

***

Within the fog that had turned the afternoon sinister without warning, atop a hill on the outskirts of Ponyville, a sudden weight came upon the air. Mist gathered into a pillar, fusing in an instant into a upright statue of ice. In the same moment, the ice seemed to change in some subtle, undefinable process as it became something else entirely. The end product was a towering figure of frosty steel, chill blue flames spreading from the jutes on its back into menacing wings.

Gravel crunched beneath its boot. Ardleon’s gaze ignored the fog and he looked coldly upon Ponyville. His very manner suggested the sneer his helm concealed. His arms were crossed and his stance that of a being who feared no challenger, whether in confidence or arrogance.

“This is where you dwelled, brother.” His voice was cold as the air around him, each word seeming to herald more frost upon the ground. Already plants in every direction had begun to die as their innards froze. “This is where you were chained by their evil.”

The mist swirled around him and a head similar - but far more beastial than the inhabitants of the little town below formed. It whinnied, shaking it ethereal mane. Eyeing the fog-laden town, it snorted and pawed at the air with a rapidly forming hoof of icy wind.

Ardleon warded it back with an absent gesture, lifting his gauntlet into the air to strike its muzzle with the back of his hand. He felt stronger now. Powerful.

But not strong enough.

“No. Not yet.” There was no real reason to speak, to actually say the words. He could feel the rest of the herd spreading across the region through the bond he had forged in ice and steel, and the ones in his company were no different. They would serve his will no matter where they were.

Yet he had to admit that it felt good to verbalise his commands. The physical realm was where the greatest conflicts happened, where the most important moments took place. Adding his voice to the order conveyed a sense of importance and power.

More of his servants took shape around him. They were a mere fraction of the force under his command and more than enough to swamp this ‘Ponyville’ with a glacial freeze. Already the rest fell upon Canterlot, drowning it in their hunger. He felt the strength they were gaining as the capital city fell to them. An ample distraction for the time he needed.

“You are blinded by your prison, Tyrael, by a weak form given in to their deceptions,” he whispered to the frozen air. His still raised hand clenched into a fist. “Merely destroying it will not free your power, you must realise the truth yourself. You must see through the lies they have bound you with and embrace who you are.”

The silent town gave no response to this accusation. There was none that could satisfy him anyway. He felt the psychic imprint of angelic energy. They were not here, already on their way back to Canterlot. Back to the Archangel they had tarnished. He would see to it that they would never arrive.

His armoured fist fell forward, striking at the distant town with the weight of judgement. “Go.”

They howled into action, a storm born from stillness in a single moment. The air rippled with their stampede around him. Against the raging torrent of frozen wind Ardleon was a pillar of unmoving steel. Only the flame of his wings moved, flickering and twisting in the blasting herd.

The windigos fell upon Ponyville, streaming over the homes of ponies unaware of the threat. Invisible to all but the beasts and their master, a wall of emotion stood around the town. A vast dome built from years of love, kindness and friendship stood to the senses of the windigos as an all too familiar deterrence.

Ardleon snorted in amusement as the creatures balked and cried in fear. He had torn the knowledge from their minds, how they had been denied their true sustenance. Reduced to feeding on mindless animals in the wild reaches of the world and those rare living creatures in this world lacking the warmth to deny them or the power to drive their thirst off they had dwindled to a single herd cowering in the frozen north.

“Go.”

They shook and trembled but Ardleon’s will was iron as it ran through their connection and they surged forward once more. A harsh laugh barked from within the depths of his helm. He could feel their joy as the aura of friendship did nothing to them. The herd’s whinnies echoed across the land and they stormed forth with the might of an angel at their backs.

“No city will protect them. No walls will hide them. I have mastered hatred and I bend it to serve the light of the High Heavens. I will make you see the truth if I must. Hatred and Terror will divide these mortal creatures until at last they are driven to destruction.”

“They will turn on you when the threat grows beyond their limited power and you will realise the weakness of mortals,” Ardleon declared to the frozen sky. His arms spread as he though he was embracing the blizzard and his wings flared. For metres around him the ground was an ever-expanding circle of ice.

The edges of Ardleon’s form began to break, turning to ice and then into mist. Even as he departed, his final words seemed to hang in the air with the weight of a dark prophecy.

“I will redeem you, brother, if I must encase this world in ice. Justice will be served, whatever the cost.”

***

They gave no warning. Overcast weather to the north had weather pegasi confused, backtracking requests and orders in search of the responsible pony.

Even Celestia paid attention, looking through the great window before her. Her brow furrowed as a shiver ran down her spine. She watched the rushing clouds, a sense of doom gripping her.

"What..."

They fell upon the city, ghostly whinnies booming down. Ponies caught outside stared upwards at the living blizzards. Everypony knew the story, they all knew of the Winter of Windigos, but few made the connection. The city became still for a few vital seconds.

A wave of cold preceded the herd. It was not simple physical cold, their sinister chill stealing happiness and joy. Smiles died, grins withered. Suddenly all the bad things in life seemed so much more significant, suddenly the flaws of others seemed so much more obvious and that much more annoying. Good qualities seemed less important. Given a few minutes to stew in the hate-plague the Windigos brought would have left the city a warzone.

The windigos didn’t give them a few minutes. They didn't even give them one.

Ice rained from the sky. No diminutive hail was this, but great jagged blades and mauls of rime that struck rents in stone and smashed wood to splinters. The paltry protection of windows was proved a lie, shattered glass sprinkling in razor showers across streets and intruding into homes. The first of many screams filled the city as the windigos descended, their haunting, beastial cries a savage counter.

Magic filled the sky. The Unicorn Guard reacted across the city, striking out with a rainbow of magic. Power flashed and flared into being, spells let loose at the ghostly herd. Gleeful neighs answered the onslaught, the insubstantial windigos twisting and slipping through the assault untouched.

They spilled into the city, leaving rime down minuettes and frosting Canterlot's characteristic towers. Ponies fled, the unnatural aura crushing them with fear. The bravest of guards found their courage shrivelling up. Pegasi, guard and civilian alike, found their wing beats slowing with every moment. Frost lined their coats and grew over their feathers.

Those on the ground were not spared, their desperate attempts to flee thwarted. The windigos were everywhere, their presence freezing water and frosting everything. Fear was egged on as fleeing ponies grew more desperate at seeing their fellows encased, the misty ghost-flesh of windigos swirling around their victims,. Fellowship was abandoned and it became everypony for themselves. Siblings shoved at each other, seeking to outpace the other. Spouses fought to be the first out and children abandoned parents.

A windigo swept down upon a mare and a stallion, a loving couple whose bond had been reduced and dulled by the dark aura. She let out a gasp as the cold gripped her. She cried out, ice spreading over her and sealing her scream away before it was even complete. He looked back, realising she was no longer there. Their love, deeply buried, made him turn, and for a moment he fought off the hateful influence.

"Velve-" he called, trying to reach her.

The misty form of the windigo burst from behind her frost-locked form, a gleeful whinny the last thing he heard before unearthly chill swamped him.

Princess Celestia burst onto the balcony, her eyes taking in the chaos below. Already the once pristine city had taken on an Arctic quality. Her guards stared, feeling the chilling of hope and courage into brittle fear and doubt.

"No," she whispered, horror lacing every word. "No, impossible. This is too fast, they were never this str-"

"Princess! You shouldn't be out h-"

She looked up at the same time as the guard who stood before her, a gravely cold whinny screaming at them. Abandoning his attempt to have the Princess take cover, the guard unfurled his wings as the beast descended. The unicorns among them struck out, but the creature paid them no mind.

"Stop!" Celestia called to the pegasus, reaching out her magic.

Even so, fighting off the cold, he reached the windigo too fast for her to stop him. The strength was sapped from his limbs before he could even try to hit his target. His joints ached and slowed, his wings going still. He never cried out, because the windigo had already begun to seal him in ice. He began to plummet, twisting in the air as he fell enough to catch sight of Celestia’s horrified expression and glowing horn.

'Useless cow,' he thought darkly. 'Should have learned to look after herself!'

He barely noticed his fall had slowed. The windigo hadn't, its attention fastened on feasting on the hate and fear festering within its victim.

It stopped thinking. Not by choice. Radiant sunlight shone across it and without so much as a whimper it came apart like so much mist in the rays of the rising sun. The light died down, a gentle glow lowering the frozen pegasus.

"Take him inside," she ordered in the too quiet, too calm of a voice for a mare past mere anger. The Princess waited for them to be gone, gathering power to her until she was alone.

"Enough."

Celestia rose, her wings flaring widely. By all rights she should have fallen, but gravity had no hold over her. She called to the deep reserves of power within her, power she had lost over a millennia of forcing the moon to obey her. It flooded her being, and for a moment her mane ceased flowing gently, twisting and writhing in the grips of not a mere solar wind but a hurricane. Each hair and feather was lit up by internal luminescence.

She said nothing, not even as she gained the attention of every single Windigo. Celestia remained still in that pose for a few more seconds. Her eyes narrowed.

For an instant, her mane became fire. For a moment, Princess Celestia burned.

The sun exploded through the cloud cover, searing it in a perfect circle. From every angle the figure of the Princess mimicked the Summer Sun Celebration, the sun somehow always behind her as it poured light upon the city. The entire layer of unnatural storm clouds was gone within seconds.

The light took on an almost physical, liquid quality as it fell over the city. It flooded through the streets, running over and through the many towers and minarets. Though the sunlight should not have been able to reach places shaded and covered, it managed to nonetheless, sweeping through every corner of the city. No place was untouched, and neither were the windigos.

They screamed and howled and roared, the touch of the sunlight burning their ghost-flesh. The herd fled, pain alien to them wracking their forms. The aura of hate and fear they had extruded was not merely torn apart but rendered to nothing, the psychic stain cleansed with purifying sunlight. Where hate and fear had scarred the natural energy she burned them away, leaving no spiritual wounds to fester within her city.

Ice melted, running to water where the solar radiance touched it. Rime cracked and fell, disintegrating before it hit the ground. Ponies began to move again, their shells falling away. Hot heads cleared and cold hearts warmed as the soft, loving rays of the sun embraced them. Despite the substantial water damage, ponies rose from where they collapsed, shaking their drying bodies.

A stallion let out a groan as the ice surrendered its grip on him. He immediately turned, forcing his tired limbs to move towards his defrosting wife. Each step was easier than the last until he reached her side.

"Oh, Night Light, what happened?" She asked, leaning on him for support. He wrapped a foreleg around her, nuzzling his wife.

"I...I’m not sure," he admitted softly. His eyes turned upwards, to the slowly descending light above. "But I think the Princess just saved us."

Celestia slowly allowed her wings to relax, beating them slowly as she landed. Her hooves touched down on the flagstones of a courtyard, where several guards who had only just emerged from the castle. The swiftness of the attack had left most of the Royal Guard still within the palace.

"Rally the guard and head into the city. Every district, every suburb. There will be ponies in need, assure them the danger has passed," she commanded, holding herself straight and strong until the last of the guards had left. She felt her shoulders slumping, but amid the flurry of scribes and aids it went unnoticed.

Guards poured out at her command, trying to ensure order in all quarters. What they had endured left most ponies even more passive than usual and there was little trouble. After such a devastating run-in with monsters from an old mare's tale, nopony was in much mood to fight or argue.

Night Light and his wife carried each other, leaning against the other. A squad of guards caught sight of them. One frowned slightly.

"Uh, hey," Critical Hit poked one of the others. "Aren’t they the royal astronomers? You know, the Captain's parents?"

"Damnations lad, you're right!" The sergeant barked in alarm. "Quickly lads, get them to palace! If they're not safe and sound in the next three minutes, I'll have Critical Hit gelded!!"

They all hopped to it, although none so fast as Critical Hit himself. He was a bit worried, since the palace was a four minute gallop away. He was pretty sure the sergeant was joking...but not completely.

In her study, the Princess of the Sun felt her shoulders slumping further and she finally sent her aids from the room. As much as she hated putting it on her sister's shoulders, Celestia knew she simply needed to rest. Her veins still stung and her muscles ached at the power she had channeled. Though none could have seen it, the air boiled around her, the heat of the solar energies enough to kill any save herself.

'Just a few minutes to think,' she promised. 'I need to think. The windigos should still be locked away, and even if they were somehow freed they should not have acted like that. Think, damn you, think.'

Celestia lowered her head, resting on her haunches for a moment. Her eyes drifted shut, just so she could focus, she told herself.

When her door burst open, she was dozing, draped gracelessly across her desk. Celestia jerked awake, shaking her head. She nearly leapt from her desk, ears and nostrils flared.

"I'm awake! I was just resting my eyes for a moment!" She claimed, blinking the sleep from her eyes. She had dozed for barely five minutes, according to her clock. Nearly half an hour had passed since the attack.

Her attention to the time was lost immediately, catching sight of who had unceremoniously come upon her.

"Tis not the time for slumber, sister," Princess Luna said. Her tone was filled with urgency.

"I know, Luna. My apologies, I know I should be doing more. Thank you for-"

"Neigh, that is not what we meant. Were it up to us, sister, you would be forced to go to your chamber and sleep."

Celestia frowned. "If not that, then what?"

"Ponyville, Celestia, they are attacking Ponyville!"

***

Paladin watched from his broken window, staring across the city that had been so deeply struck. His coat was wet and he dripped on the floor with melted rime.

“Ardleon…” he murmured, turning his gaze north. He had seen where the creatures fled. Creatures that carried with them a frosty essence, a link within them.

In his stunted state he could not discern their deeper state, but they had swamped the city and their aura had afflicted such a massive area it was all but impossible to miss it. To him, who had once been Tyrael, the feeling of Ardleon’s power was as familiar as his own had been. As familiar…

“...as Izual…” he voiced the thought with a sombre tone, his eyes closing at the surge of pain. Turning from the window, his eyes fell on the carefully opened package sitting on his bed. He lifted it up, feeling the soft, warm material of the storm-grey scarf. It felt softer than anything he had felt before, and to his touch almost had an internal warmth.

He hesitated, glancing again to the north. After a moment his mouth flattened into a frown, his eyes narrowing. Paladin gently unrolled the scarf. He slipped through the door, winding it around his neck, and set off. A scarf was a good start, but he needed more.

It was quite cold up north, and he would need to wrap up warm.

Author's Note:

So, I hope this chapter was enjoyable. Ardleon unleashes the windigios, Celestia sets the sky on fire, Paladin has decided to run after Ardleon on his own. That couldn't possibly backfire, not at all! Hopefully next chapter won't be too far away.

As ever, thanks to Nealend86 and, from now on, Web of Hope for being my editors. Life has sadly gotten on top of Merujea and she's busy with it.

Please leave comments, they feed me like the souls of the innocent feed the video game industry; willingly and with much fun had all round.

Comments

[Nealend86]

Glorious sun lasers for the win!

[Grahf]

“I can basically think faster and clearer, removing worry and the other sort of things that distract my mind. It lets me think more efficiently, basically.”

so Twilight your saying your mind is as sharp as a certain slicing instrument?

[TheStratovarian]

Crud, meet high explosives laced with nitro. Yeouch, big chapter, but glad to see them gem updated! Huzzah!

[Snolf]

“No city will protect them. No walls will hide them. I have mastered hatred and I bend it to serve the light of the High Heavens. I will make you see the truth if I must. Hatred and Terror will divide these mortal creatures until at last they are driven to Destruction.”

With that attitude, Ardleon will summon Mephisto, Diablo, AND Baal!

[Muffinsforever]

That was quite good, "ravishing" even.

But I must say, with an internal monologue that justifies "Terror" (with a capital even; "Hatred" too), Ardleon sorta seems like he went THAT bad a little fast...

[Sketchy Markks]

He's going to try to save them all by himself.... Dangit Paladin, you are not allowing yourself justice!

[Autocharth]

3250807 As sharp as a very sharp thing indeed.

3251020 Funny thing is, he thinks he's talking about them dirty mortals giving in to those forms of evil. Silly bugger.

3251121 Never fear, it's going to make sense eventually. To be fair, he doesn't think he's bad. He thinks they are.

3251128 And that's his problem, putting everyone else ahead of himself. Justice for everyone else, but too busy to save some for himself.

[Raistlin]

3251020

Ardleon:
-Enraged because his brother has been encased into a weak, mortal form by "obviously evil" mortals whom he is consorting.
-Consorts with monsters of Fear and Hatred and takes a form according to their essence.

It´s just me, or angels in Diablo have an awful tendence to corrupt/catch the idiot ball?

[Quantum_Shift]

3251234
It's like a game of dodgeball, but the Angels are being represented by the slow, chubby kid who just falls over and cries anytime he's hit. And that everyone aims at, and throws far too hard at.

...

I am so glad I wasn't that kid.

[Raistlin]

3251471

So True
To think that humans, even after losing their nephalim status, are still better than them.

[Muffinsforever]

3251216

Quick reply!

I was just saying; you know, since the source-ish material is named after the representative incarnation of Terror (lol)

[Quantum_Shift]

3251494
Yeah, up until humanity starts its own 'holier than thou, thus better than thou' BS that crops up every other generation or so.

[Keeper of Jericho]

Ardleon is the kind of villain I hate the most. The kind who does evil simply because he's too retardedly stupid to think and listen for a moment. He's basically too dumb to live. I hope he dies, after first being ripped apart by a massive wave of guilt or something. Would serve him right.

[Autocharth]

3251580 I agree on that kind of villain being enraging, but at the same time Ardleon has a narrow perspective. Angels barely EVER get challenged on their moral ground, and in general they're all quite straight forward. They have for uncounted ages had the very simple task of 'Fight Demons'.

The problem with Ardleon is that yes, he isn't the brightest bulb, but he has absolute certainty in his convictions. He simply lacks the imagination to think that Tyrael could be responsible for his state. It's less retardedly stupid and more so set in his views and ways he can't consider anything else. This obviously blinds him to the flaws in his own thinking.

Also, you know, evil spirits of hate and fear mixing their energies with his might not have exactly a good effect.

3251386 I've also stated, a number of times, that he has to get his powers back because this is based in the time between D2 and D3. He is in D3, so he has to become an angel so he can give up his powers. Your point is quite valid too, of course, heh.

3251234 I disagree with angels being easily corrupted. There's ONE that was 'corrupted' in a fallen angel sense, Izual, and he was tortured and chained into a form entirely unlike his own. Personally, I imagine it was like when Tyrael found himself in a physical body, expect Izual had demons torturing him and tormenting him. He didn't choose to fall, he was broken.

Imperius, as much as a prat as he is. has a valid point in that if they had destroyed Sanctuary none of this would have happened. It wouldn't have improved matters in the Eternal Conflict, of course, but from his view they should have done it. Plus, the thing with Imperius is that he's a war leader, his entire job has always been to fight and battle and wage war. Without Mathael to provide wisdom and Tyrael to provide justice, Imperius lost what balanced him. He was, from what I gather, an amazing leader of the angelic army and a masterful tactician. But he should never have gotten the amount of authority he did. By their nature Itherael and Aurial are passive beings, not proactive as Tyrael and Imperius seem to be, so they were unable to properly balance him.

I love the angels in Diablo, because among their number is Tyrael. If you judge them by their worst, you ignore their best. And Tyrael is the best.

3251498 Ardleon is in that instance actually naming those three Evils directly, because he thinks the mortals will fall prey to them, exposing their flawed nature.

3251494 Some humans are. Unless the humans serving in that evil coven in D3, Adria and various others don't count as human? In which case, why could angels who do wrong against all angels? For all their flaws, Angels were never hostile to humans aside from Imperius, who as I said above is a war leader. His job isn't to consider things in anyway except a war based one. Considering he has waged a literally endless war since the beginning of creation, he and most angels are rather stuck in their ways.

3251471 You mean the angels who have held their own against the endless hordes of the Burning Hells in a war that has gone on literally forever? The angels who are the only thing that kept the demons from ravaging Sanctuary? In the end, I believe the angels of the High Heavens are ultimately a force for good.

3251558 Of course, some humans, like the male Witch Doctor, are just the best people ever.

[SwimmingDalek98]

Wow... looks like Ardleon caught the idiot ball this time! I wonder how Tyrael is going to solve this without his angel powers...

[Buckshot2825]

*whistles* it's agonizing waiting for these things to come out but boy is it a reward to read the monster that spawns when you do publish.
Now i have a reputation to keep up sooo

"My Faithful Student, the Elements of Harmony, and Spike- Hey, she mentioned me for once!"

Spike is so under appreciated lol.
Everypony does it on purpose i bet

[clonezero]

Ooh boy!

Damn misguided angels!

[Aru]

I usually hate villains like our Ardeilon. Why? Well, they are dumb. Like retard-dumb-dumb.
But he is an angel. So he is thinking that he is so holy and righteus that he can basically cause no less mayhem and pain then demons as long as he thinks his cause is the right one. Looking at how demons and angels are portrayed in Diablo I think that humans actually have much more in common with demons then with angels.

[Sandova Mirell]

Excellent chapter, my friend. I was greatly amused by your Dresden Files references. I mean, Dresden's Destructive Defiance? Pure gold, right there. Keep up the good work, you are one of my favourite writers on this site.

Sandova out

[xbox432]

Whoa, Auto... you been getting enough sleep? You couldn't have been, not with getting this monster of a chapter written. Also: Dresden’s Destructive Defiance & Deadly Deadpan by Dresden? If these are a shout out to a certain Chicago wizard like I think they are, you have just won all my cookies….. and they’re all chocolate chip!

Below you will find some typos for your editing pleasure:

*Holding back a sigh she sent - Holding back a sigh, she sent
*from-” started another at the same. - from-” started another at the same time.
*magic into the air around around their horn. All - magic into the air around their horn. All
*her, his one viisble eye narrowing. - her, his one visible eye narrowing.
*Dashie wouldn’t want me to crying and being - Dashie wouldn’t want me crying and being
*Windigo ice.from fifty feet. - Windigo ice, from fifty feet.
*reading. I wonder what’s about.” Cadence - reading. I wonder what it’s about.” Cadence
*you see, and but I wasn’t certain.about it. - you see, but I wasn’t certain about it.
*emotions work then they are being - emotions work when they are being
*Twilight was certain she been genuinely - Twilight was certain she had been genuinely
*“She is unlikely to be of a help,” - “She is unlikely to be of help,” - or - “She is unlikely to be of any help,”
*Her ability to think always more useful than raw magic.” – Not sure what you were going for here, but it needs to be revised.
* “So, I take you are going - “So, I take it you are going
*of a throating being cleared - of a throat being cleared
*their nests and burrowed, and - their nests and burrows, and
*She breath out and the threads continued their path. - She breathed out and the threads continued on their path.
*to a world beyond on the physical, - to a world beyond the physical,
*The thoughts that fed the darkness, how Fluttershy Rainbow’s condition, were not within her reach. – You should fix the part between the commas, it doesn’t really fit.
*Fluttershy peekee out, her - Fluttershy peeked out, her
*Dash held out woolen jumper in front - Dash held out a woolen jumper in front
*this is what you working on? Why - this is what you were working on? Why
*mass teleportation port seemed to be - mass teleportation portal seemed to be
*But Spike, I want to come back and stay - But Spike, I want you to come back and stay
*teleportation, albeit it much more powerful. - teleportation, albeit it was much more powerful.
*bouncing for the bakery and Twilight - bouncing for the bakery, and Twilight
*Octavia gave smiled politely. - Octavia smiled politely.
*Applejack approachrd the dragon, - Applejack approached the dragon,
*no intention no of bringing - no intention of bringing
*mouth before the interruption. The - mouth before she was interrupted. The
*His voice was a cold as the air - His voice was as cold as the air
*the fog-laden town it snorted - the fog-laden town, it snorted
*The windigoes fell upon Ponyville, - The windigos fell upon Ponyville,
*the windigeos as an all too - the windigos as an all too
*arms spread as he though he was embracing - arms spread as though he were embracing
*of the Winter of Windigoes, but few - of the Winter of Windigos, but few
*thwarted. The windigoes were - thwarted. The windigos were
*swirling around their victims,. - swirling around their victims.
*taken on an Arctic quality. - taken on an arctic quality.
*never this str-" – Why the L?
L
"Princess!
*of a voice for a mare - of a voice of a mare
*the natural energy she burned - the natural energy, she burned
*get them to palace! If - get them to the palace! If

[Quantum_Shift]

3251636

You mean the angels who have held their own against the endless hordes of the Burning Hells in a war that has gone on literally forever? The angels who are the only thing that kept the demons from ravaging Sanctuary? In the end, I believe the angels of the High Heavens are ultimately a force for good.

Oh, I never said otherwise. It's just that their common lack of emotional perspective often blinds them to the motivations of humanity and other races, allowing atrocities to even be contemplated by the keepers/guardians of Good. Angels are, by definition, the ones who are keepers of, at least, Order, if not outright Goodness and all that as well.
The problem is that underlying current of pure Order is easily perverted to counteract their own pools of Good, simply by overlaying an unfamiliar new thing.
See both Izual (who was suddenly exceptionally vulnerable to torture) and Ardleon (who is now uncontrollably raging, and no longer thinking rationally) and you get the point. Well, you already understand that point, you're writing it, after all.
But yes, Angels are a force of Good in this section of Creation, but they are easily subverted with even the simplest of miscommunications.

Of course, some humans, like the male Witch Doctor, are just the best people ever.

I never said humanity was all bad or all preachy.
And the Necromancer from 2 is a really nice guy, according to his Bio. Apparently, you get born a necromancer, and grow into your power. To constantly fight off the inherited demonic markers on his soul and fight for true Good is pretty epic, and he supposedly, as a character, like both children and small animals.
They just tend to get sick and die if he's around them too much.

Anyhow, yeah, lovin' the story, haven't seen anything to point out just yet. I will say, though, that mentioning that his emotional chaining would be high on my list of things to tell Tyrael for the simple reason that he should know the 6 would likely feel anything that happened to him.

[Autocharth]

3253539 By the Mighty Thor, I love this comment. Just oh, eerything about it! The Necromancer was my favourite class from D2, much as the Witch Doctor is for D3, and I just love how the creepiest guys are basically the nicest. I agree with basically everything in your comment, and damn I loved reading it. Especially the point about the angels and miscommunication. In my mind, a lot of that is due to the fact for the majority of their exist things have been, if you think about it, quite simple. Like I said, they just fought the demons. Oh yes, the demons could be tricky, but the angels still had quite a clear guide line on what to do: thwart the evil demons. It all black and white for eons, so complicated things to try deciphering.

Then humans came along and muddled things up with 'moral issues'. At least Tyrael came to a good conclusion quite quickly.

3253453 3253085 Heh, I was having such fun with all those book titles, how could I not do a Dresden reference?

Thanks for the typo catches. Well, I guess I'll have to have Nealend and Web executed for failure. Ah, what a shame.

[Quantum_Shift]

3253607
Heh, glad I could tickle your intellectual funnybone.

But yes, according to Blizzard's bios, Necromancers are born, and get more powerful as they age. Since Death is both held back and drawn in by their mere presence, they themselves age slower, but show their age more readily. They also cause any young or old people and any small animals to sicken and die, something about lower life-force, but I think that's just a thing to explain Necromantic immunity to disease, so the germs just pass around from their new, not-dying-or-fighting-them-off hosts.

As for the angels... yeah. They are creatures of Order first, and Good/Righteousness/Justice/Happiness/TheAmericanWayness/Whatever second, or even third. And when things don't line up with those concepts they have of an orderly universe (see also, Sentient Mortals) then they resort to extremism. Because it works on what they know, so it works on everything, right?
In other words, the Angels carry a communal Order Hammer, and everything looks an awful lot like a Chaos Nail as a result.

It's not that they fall with ease (they fall with grace, instead, usually an abnormally high body count) it's that they don't always react with the right strategy for the situation.
Demons, being creatures of Chaos first and Evil/Darkness/Oppression/Depression/TheTwilightNovels/Whatever second, can usually just be eliminated to make the world a better place, from the Angel's PoV. Humans, though, keep straddling the line, and they aren't even consistent with it. Some of them act like they're good, but are secretly evil, some act evil but are secretly good, and some act evil-but-secretly-good-so-that-the-good-guys-think-he's-good-but-he's-actually-evil while really being good all along, which just confuses the shit out of the angels. And then some are just sitting off to the side saying, 'Leave us out of your marital issues, guys!' and trying to sit in the gray areas. Which, of course, are too black for the angels and too white for the demons, like a group of mexicans being stereotyped.

The problem is like the ones in the Kingdom Hearts story: The Heartless are nothing but emotion-driven mindless animals, intent on sowing anarchy and terror for the fuck of it; and the Nobodies are all emotionless asshats with holier-than-thou mentalities and an inability to feel anything, even physical sensations. And what's really bad is that both sides are both right and wrong, the Heartless just want to feel happy again, and the Nobodies don't want to be alone inside their hollow shells. But the way they do it is the problem: BLOW UP ALL OF CREATION.
And the Demons are all emotional constructs with next-to-no ability to think rationally until they are truly powerful, and the Angels flip shit whenever they encounter something new, like (for example) emotions.

So, yeah... deep, thoughtful analysis and everything, complete with a comparison to a completely unrelated game franchise! I feel accomplished, and that fact makes me feel sad.

[Autocharth]

3253700 Best. Comment. Ever. I just love this whole comment to death. Once again you've got my whole view on the issue down pat. Although I think the angels would have done more if not for Imperius taking the helm when Malthael went mad. I'm really just restating my earlier ramble about Imperius being a war-leader who is good at that, but not at leading in a bigger sense, in an attempt to get you to offer your views on that subject. I am masterfully subtle, aren't I?

[Quantum_Shift]

3253759
Well, you're right. He's an excellent general, but a pretty poor statesman. He's a brilliant strategist and a great field marshal, but he is not meant to be a head of state.

That's really all there is, not much more to say. I'd trust him to lead the troops, but not the nation; he'd run it into the ground and spend more on the military budget than the last eight presidents of the US combined.

uh, anything else you want analysed?

[Cadmium]

I'm wondering how noone noticed the nudge to our favorite yellow marines who live in a state of constant and extreme ire.

ALWAYS ANGRY!! ALL THE TIME!!

And the Dresden references where also gold.

3253607

It was all black and white for eons.

Sums it up quite well, add to that my theory that the behavior of the "normal" angels is influenced directly by the Angiris Council, which is currently heavily leaning to Imperius nature being the dominat one due to Malthael's and Tyrael's absence, Itherael's passive approach and Auriel not being the confrontational type. And you have an angel that completely disregards all possibilities of this situation being anything other than black or white. Also the Windigos are certainly not helping.

I also have a theory about the Council being something like an analouge to the Elements of Harmony because if you include Inarius, the possible Archangel of Creation, you have six Archangels to the six Elements.
Auriel Archangel of Hope --> Laughter
Imperius Archangel of Valor --> Loyalty
Malthael Archangel of Wisdom --> Kindness
Tyrael Archangel of Justice --> Honesty
Itherael Archangel of Fate --> Magic
Inarius Archangel of Creation --> Generosity
Im not sure about those allocations so what do you people think about that?

P.S.: Long post is long because sometimes i think too much about stuff.

[Arad]

Favorited, I'll be coming back to read this when I have a free moment (which isn't as often as I'd like)

[Autocharth]

3253799 I just like to go over things like this. Discussing them with different people can lead to different ideas and new thoughts cropping up. Or maybe it's just hearing/reading confirmation of what I already think, who knows.

3254073 I love the theory about the Angiris Council influencing lesser angels. By nature Imperius would be quite dominating, and left with the two most passive members of the Council would sort of balloon his influence. I believe, however, that Inarius merely served the Council as a tactician, but was not one of the Council himself. He was still an archangel, but he's like a Lesser Evil - still major, but not as major as the big 3 (or in this case the big 5). Still, in general the ways you matched them up seemed as close to accurate as could be imagined. Not that I'm saying you're right. You could be. Maybe you are. But maybe you aren't. It would be silly of me to just TELL you now, wouldn't it?

Feel free to think even more stuff and post even longer comments! I love 'em!

[Aurora Dimmet]

3254286

What is your point, exactly? This point in history, anything of any merit has already been said by someone. Every concept has been played out, just with different features and names. Every story arc written, every expression put down and shown around.

If I say I noticed an MiB reference in this story it's because it reminded me of MiB. I don't need to put that any other way than how I felt like putting it some... 24 weeks ago. ... TWENTY-FOUR WEEKS? Why are you bothering me about this /now/?

Enjoy your archangels in silence instead of pestering me. D:

[DeltaOsprey]

Found this story yesterday. Finally caught up. Something something *witty remark* catchphrase.
I need sleep.
*thump*
zzzzzzzzzzzz

[Lolsternater]

PRAISE THE SUN!

[Hat and clogs guy]

3250807 so... as sharp as a spoon then?

[Insanity]

3254869
Question, world of warcraft crossover? neat :) But will it be random advneturers in Equestria or ponies in Azeroth and will it be horde or alliance centric or both?

[Autocharth]

3265082 The idea, I can safely say without spoiling it, starts off in Equestria then moves to Azeroth, and will concern both Horde and Alliance roughly evenly. Although don't expect the Forsaken as a whole to presented in a good or sympathetic light, and the Thunder King's mogu and Zandalari will play major parts in it.

Oh, and Illidian is most main WoW character in it.

[Insanity]

3265120
Illidan, nice problem is high complex character who's the anti hero of the wow heros. and yay the mogu zandalari azeroth the ponies and everything yay!

[Autocharth]

3265788 Due to the lack of grammar, I am forced to ask if you were perhaps having a sugar rush when you wrote that comment?

Because it will be in the story description, no spoiler for me to inform you that the reason Illidan is in it is that he is possessing Twilight. How, why, when and for how long are to be answered in the story. But I intend for the story to cover from the beginnings of Mists of Pandaria all the way to the end. But I love the Thunder King, and trolls, and so they'll be very heavily involved. So I had best get to work on finishing Justice Itself then, because I want to have a completed story before I started up anything else.

[Menelaus Redz]

I'm surprised no one has made an obligatory comment about the chapter title.

I am disappoint.

24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3u99wrz871qfz5cpo1_1280.jpg

[Autocharth]

3269048 I know, I was surprised too. I did choose not to go with the proper line, obviously, but still. Also, in that picture, it looks to me like Cadence took Chrysalis's horn and turned it into a sword. Which, you know, she deserves.

[RainbowCrash88]

And thats how Celestia caused global warming!

[Frazzled Pony]

The quality of this never ceases to amaze. Damn, Ardleon is so deluded I can't not hate him. Arrogant idiot. "Oh, I've mastered hatred." For someone who has personally fought armies led by Hatred, he is really blind. For someone who knows the events of Diablo 2, he is even worse.

Though I know it is because of the horribly strong Windigos, I'm still a little disappointed in the lack of strength of the Canterlot population. I'd have hoped some show of emotional strength, from people not related to the mane six, to show even more clearly how incorrect Ardleon is.

A few nitpicks:

"She felt, not saw, these threads. To her mind they were shining gold strings that glowed with internal energy." I know it is a mental, odd thing here, but saying she can't see the threads and then immediately afterwards describing them in visual terms seems a little odd.

"He stared at her, his expression flat telling her nothing," I think a comma after "flat" would be nice.

"Six mares and one dragon whelp materialising a metre above the middle of the town centre was sufficiently odd enough" Think you mixed two sentences, I suggest either "was sufficiently odd to..." or "was odd enough". Using both "sufficiently" and "enough" in this sentence makes for a sentence that is kinda wrong.

"The mist swirled around him and a head similar - but far more beastial than the inhabitants of the little town below formed." I think it would be a smoother sentence with "and formed a head, similar but far more bestial than the inhabitants of the little town below." As it is now, you kinda have a sentence that was interjected into the narrative kinda oddly. Also, I'm pretty sure it's spelled bestial. That does mean "beast-like".

"Hatred and Terror will divide these mortal creatures until at last they are driven to destruction.” Shouldn't all three major evils be capitalized here? Either all or none would make more sense to me.

There were a few other just slightly odd wordings, but these were the ones most glaring to me. I aim to help, not to annoy, I hope you see these this way.

Great chapter, lots of awesome, funny and great emotional moments and as always, I look forward to more.

Happy writing.

[Autocharth]

3270956 with normal windigos they would have been fine. As you might note, Celestia was surprised by how these windigos were acting. The difference is going to be quite important. Glad you're enjoying the story, although this level of quality you like is never as high in the grammar department as I wouldlike.

[TheGreatSako]

Well...that happened, those things are broken, and what's-his-face really likes hearing himself talk.

[Rune Soldier Dan]

Damn, I just...keep re-reading this story, and it stays good.

[GGKKDAJF]

Deadly Deadpan by Dresden

img.pandawhale.com/post-11756-i-understood-that-reference-gi-FtYn.gif

[Crimson Bolt]

How friendly is this to those that know nothing of Diablo?

[Autocharth]

3385390 Well, I think it's reasonably friendly, for a crossover. Tyrael's nature and character are generally set out throughout the story, and I try not to make it too thick with Diablo only stuff. There are obviously things you won't get, but hopefully it all makes sense in context.

I suppose the only real way to know is to give it a read, because I'm not sure myself, and see how much you get.

[Crimson Bolt]

3385407 Thank you for the reply. Things that would make it unfriendly are characters, concepts, or motivations that are unexplained relative to this story. The most friendly crossover I have read is a Bioshock crossover known as Siren Song. I went in knowing nothing about the game but it was not confusing in the least, the story was a complete standalone. I guess I will have to check it out and see how confusing it is.

[Blaze Song]

um, quick question, if Paladin dies, will the others? I mean he is magically/spiritually tied to the six..., well if it doesn't kill them, Futters would certainly 'FEEL' him die, ow..

[gwojo]

winter is coming

[4morian5]

Ardleon becomes a cruel, hateful, terrifying monster, equal to the demons, because he thinks he's saving Tyrael from the "evil" ponies. What do they say about good intentions?