> Three Wishes: The Hole In The Sun
>  by Xepher
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Appendix: Chapter Summaries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This appendix contains summaries of the individual story chapters so that a reader returning to the story after the sometimes-way-too-long breaks between updates can quickly refresh their memory of what's happened so far. Each paragraph is behind a "spoiler" tag, so you should be able to avoid inadvertent spoilers for chapters you haven't read yet. It will be updated as new chapters are published. It's arranged at the start, rather than at the end, so it doesn't accidentally collect comments for whatever the "latest" chapter is. If you're reading the story for the first time, just skip to the next chapter (the Prologue) and start there.



Prologue: The Battle of Equestria

Eleven years after Rupert (and the end of Three Wishes), an ancient evil, known as "Nemesis," has returned after 10,000 years. He created Discord and most of the evil in the world, leaving traps and artifacts behind, before somehow being banished to a red star, which has recently reappeared in the sky.

The Elements of Harmony are useless against him in the first battle, and a plan is hatched. The rest of the mane six are transformed to alicorns by the CMC, with use of the Alicorn Amulet. Attacking a second time, they are nearly defeated, when Discord attempts to help. Finding he can't use his magic against his creator, he "cheats" and gives his magic to Fluttershy, who grows antlers and paws, becoming a sort of hybrid between alicorn and draonequus. It's enough for her to save her friends, and together they managed to banish Nemesis back to the star.

Before he's banished though, he sets the star on a collision course with the world itself. Unable to stop it, as it seems to absorb all magic, Celestia moves the sun to block it. A hole develops in the sun, and Celestia must use all her magic and some of her own life force to contain it. She ages, her mane turning grey and her face wrinkled. Even then, she admits that can only contain things for a few years at most, so they must find a more permanent solution. She's also lost direct control of the sun.


Chapter 1: The Longest Day

With half the world baking, and the other half freezing while the sun isn't moving through the sky, a desperate plan is hatched. The new alicorns rearrange the solar system, putting Equestria in orbit of the sun, and the moon in orbit of that. Knowing this will bring the planet closer to the sun and the Hole, and it's magic absorbing abilities, but having no other choice before life around the world starts to die.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy tries to come to terms with her new hybrid form, AJ and Pinkie learn a bit about flying and teleporting, and Twilight tries to help discord with relationship problems.


Chapter 2: Tomb Raiders

The CMC, having heard via dragonstone that Fluttershy spotted some odd ruins, decide to head to the Saddle Arabian desert. The ruins sounded like one of the potential artifacts that Nemesis left behind. Investigating, they find an ancient temple of sorts, and activate a device which reveals a giant black obelisk, covered in runes. The tower is set in a deep, cylindrical pit, and the three descend to explore it.

After they reach the bottom, and touch the tower, the stairs retract, leaving them trapped, and the obelisk activates, draining all magic from the area. Scootaloo can't fly, Sweetie Belle can't teleport or levitate, and even Apple Bloom's control over minerals fails.

As they day heats up, and their magic is slowly siphoned away, the CMC try many ways to escape, but lacking proper tools and magic, nothing they can rig up seems to hold. The old bones they found at the bottom are too brittle, and the rocks and such are too wide to get any purchase in the few, narrow cracks between the stone of the walls.

Eventually, Apple Bloom comes up with a desperate plan. Using a rock, she severs the metal claws from Sweetie's paw, and has Scootaloo use another rock to hammer them through her own hooves. The pain is incredible, but she can now get purchase in the small gaps and climb the wall. Reaching the top, she resets the device, and the stairs reappear, allowing her friends to escape just in time.

The trio is found later by Twilight, who is about to destroy the evil device before Sweetie stops her. The obelisk appears to siphon magic and beam it toward the red star (now in the center of the sun) and Sweetie thinks it might be usable as a conduit to attack Nemesis. Twilight agrees, and teleports them home before the final orbit of the planet is established, and long range teleportation, along with all other major magic, becomes impossible.


Chapter 3: The Mulligan

Far Travel, a unicorn archeologist, arrives at the CMC headquarters, having been sent by Queen Celestia to report on the excavation of the obelisk. She's a bit uncertain about giving such important information to three young mares, but does so anyway. They discuss her findings, which basically suggest that the obelisk may in fact work as Sweetie suspected, and can be used as a conduit, especially if used in concert with other similar artifacts. Far Travel also mentions that they may have tentative locations on two more, in the jungle, and in the arctic.

The problem, she explains, is that they can't even dig out the first artifact, the second seems to be missing, and no one can confirm the one in the far north. Apple Bloom suggests and old friend, Sky Chaser, might be able to help with the dig, and suggests they go to Canterlot to locate him, as he'd previously been in the now-evacuated Cloudsdale.

Agreeing, but even more incredulous, Far Travel can't believe AB has an airship of her own moored out back. Even harder to believe AB's claims to have built it herself, and designed many of the components, such as the Equuium-based engine. On top of that, her statement that she often "crashes" at the castle when in Canterlot send Far Travel over the edge, and she snaps, asking basically "who the heck do you think you are?"

Apple Bloom proceeds to set her straight, explaining just how many times she and her friends saved or changed the world, and why she's on a first name basis with Queen Celestia. When Far Travel apologizes, AB forgives her, saying everypony gets one mulligan. They head toward Canterlot as AB explains how she met Sky Chaser.


Chapter 4: Rock Candy

Eight years prior, just a few years after Rupert, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were testing a new, steam-rocket design, powered by a new element Twilight and Sweetie had refined from caribou "firestones." The rocket, that Scootaloo had deemed the "teapot" overheats and breaks free of the test stand, and crashes on a dome shaped hill. Surveying the wreckage, AB decides to stay late and admire the peace and quiet of the sunset.

While doing so, she encounters a young diamond dog called "Runt," with a stutter, and helps defend him when two older diamond dogs come to pick on him. In the process, she senses something odd in their lifeforce, and in this "rock candy" they were eating.

The next day she visits Twilight with a sample, and they discover that it's lead acetate, aka "lead sugar." Basically, the diamond dogs have been poisoning themselves, and literally giving brain damage to their children by feeding them this stuff. It explains the decline of their civilization, speech impediments, aggressive behavior, etc.

Apple Bloom won't let that slide. She's determined to fix it, and starts developing a plan.


Chapter 5: The Teapot Dome Scandal

Apple Bloom works to put her plan in motion and save the diamond dogs from themselves. She starts by getting some of every candy Pinkie Pie can get her hooves on, and taking it to Runt and the diamond dogs for taste testing. She wants to get them something to enjoy instead of the lead acetate. In the process, she discovers Runt himself was born without the ability to taste sweetness, so never enjoyed rock candy. So, despite his stuttering, he's actually very intelligent, and not aggressive at all.

With Runt's help, they get the other diamond dogs to try the candy, and settle on peppermint as a favorite. While making the trade, they find that the diamond dog tunnels beneath the "teapot dome" are lit by glowing "hot rocks" very similar to Caribou firestone. They trade some of the candy for hot rocks.

Examining the stones, Twilight determines that, when refined, it'd be enough equuium to replace 100,000 bits worth of coal in a steam locomotive. The stuff is really, really valuable, and likely to change the entire face of the Equestrian economy when it hits the market.

AB sees the problem there. The diamond dogs would be overrun and exploited before they knew what hit them. So the plan gets more complicated. Along with help from her friends, she develops an entire outline for how to trade candy to wean the diamond dogs off lead, get equuium in return, stockpile it secretly to avoid a rush on the diamond dogs, and then meter it out slowly into the economy to prevent an entire collapse of existing industries.

To pull this off, she gets Twist to make the candy initially, then enlists the aide of Diamond Tiara and her father's company to stockpile things. Twist doesn't want to handle the major candy distribution, so Silver Spoon volunteers, using the trust fund she's recently inherited after her mother's death. But no pony is willing to commit funds to the venture without some sort of guarantee, and for that, they need Celestia. 

Celestia hears the case, and feels horribly guilty that, while she noticed the decline of the diamond dogs over the centuries, never looked into it, and basically let an entire race poison themselves under her watch. She agrees to help, knowing (unlike Apple Bloom) that no matter how important the reason, from the outside, it will look like a royal monopoly and be a huge scandal when revealed. But it's the right thing to do, so she gives it her seal anyway.

To prepare for the eventual fallout, she finally agrees to Twilight, Luna, and Cadance's insistence that she take the title Queen. They wanted it to honor her, but she takes it so that, if the scandal is too much, they can use her as a scapegoat, claiming she went mad with power and such.


Chapter 6: The Little Things

As the Lumbering Walrus arrives in Canterlot, Apple Bloom finishes her story of the Teapot Dome scandal, and Far Travel is still a bit shocked. She explains how Celestia was almost run out of office because of that, and AB, on the verge of tears, says she was horrified once she had realized that. It was when she'd tried to apologize, and Celestia would have none of it, that the two became true friends, and Celestia insisted AB user her name, rather than her title.

Erstwhile, Celestia wakes late in the afternoon, and finds herself in the kitchen as Luna comes down for her typical breakfast. Celestia looks forlorn, and Luna asks why she feels so guilty for simply sleeping in. Then it clicks: Celestia slept through the sunrise, a thing which has never happened in her life by sheer law of causality. The two share a moment of consoluation, and reflect how so many strange, impossible things have happened, and the soldier on, and yet it's the little things, like sleeping in, that bring it all crashing down.

As Apple Bloom and Far Travel try to find the Queen, they discover Celestia has rearranged the castle to make room for Cloudsdale refugees in the main halls, and the "throne room" is now the former breakfast nook off the kitchens. The two squeeze their way in. While catching up, Celestia spreads her wings, knocking a stack of books over. This leads to a chain reaction of small things falling, breaking, and etc. None of the ponies stop it though, and afterwards are confused as to why. Celestia believes it shows something about the nature of the herd instinct, they nopony did anything because nopony WAS doing anything. Then Luna busts in to check on the noise, fearing the worst, and sets off another comic chain reaction.

AB and Far Travel are looking for Sky Chaser (aka "Runt"), and Celestia points them at the archives. They find the diamond dog, himself a refugee from the now-fallen Cloudsdale, surrounded by piles of books. AB introduces him to Far Travel, and explains the problem they have with excavation the obelisk. He says that with a few of his students, they could dig the thing out in fifteen minutes. Far Travel finds that nearly impossible, as it'd take unicorns at full magical potential hours to shift that much dirt. Apple Bloom bursts out laughing. When she tries to explain what's so funny, she finds it hard to convey. Basically she's just shocked that that's the line for "unbelievable." There's a hole in the sun, and all these other impossible things, but what has apparently crossed Far Travel's limit for plausibility is some creatures who are famous for their digging speed being able to dig really fast.

The laughter turns into a bit of a breakdown, as AB starts to sob, recounting all the trials, horrors, and fears she's had to face in the past few months: nearly losing all her friends in Nemesis' initial attack; being frozen helpless in crystal during their nearly-failed counter attack, driving her friends own claws through her hooves to climb out of a death trap, and at the end of it all, she has to fix an impossible hole in the sun. Sky Chaser hugs her, and tells her she's wrong. "You don't have to fix it. We do."

At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack is getting frustrated, bumping her new horn constantly, and tearing new holes in her hat every time she tries to put it on in a huff. Big McIntosh finds her, and she explains all her problems, with the new wings, the horn, the "princess" thing, and how it's just not her.

As AJ rants, Derpy arrives in a passable, though far from elegant landing. She gives AJ a letter, and when she tries to read it (in her mouth, rather than using her new magic to hold it) she finds that it's for the CMC. She turns on Derpy, insisting the mailmare do her job properly, and deliver the mail to the CMC HQ in the top of Rupert. Derpy makes excuses, that Sweet Apple Acres is technically the address, and so she's done her job as required. AJ responds, "What's a matter, ya scared a heights?"

When Derpy looks away awkwardly, it's clear that's the case. Mac gives a hard elbow to AJ, and she starts trying to apologize, but makes it worse, asking how a Pegasus can be afraid of heights. Derpy breaks down in tears, and says she never asked to be a pegasus, and she already gets teased enough for her eyes and clumsiness. If she others found she was afraid of heights too, they'd all laugh at her even more she fears. AJ tries to assure her that's not the case, but Derpy just says "What would you know?" and explains how AJ is a princess, with her own farm, a huge, loving family, friends, is one of the Elements, etc. How could she possibly know what's it's like to not even be comfortable in her own skin?

As Derpy flies off, AJ flops down on the ground, and Mac sits next to her. "I know, I'm a right, self-absorbed jackass, aren't I?" All Mac says is, "Eeyup."

Over at Fluttershy's cottage, Discord is trying to convince her she looks beautiful in her new form. She accuses him of only liking it because it's more like him. He admits to a bit of narcissism, but claims he likes her in any form. She insists it's not about him, but about others, about how she's afraid all the ponies in town think she's hideous or horrifying. Discord, with mock affront, asks why his opinion doesn't matter. He's her friend, and he's learned that you should listen to your friends. 

Fluttershy again insists it's not about him, so, with mock affront, he demands to know which of her OTHER friends must be insulting her, and goes through the list (AJ is too honest to say she's not ugly, Pinkie thinks ugly is funny, Rarity can't allow a good friend not to know how bad they look, etc.) Fluttershy becomes more and more upset, defending each of her friends, saying none of them would ever, ever do that to her, and all of them in fact assured her she looked quite nice. Point made, Discord smirks. "So why won't you believe them?"

Fluttershy her built up frustration cut short, stomps off in a mock huff, knowing he's right, but also knowing he didn't have to be so smug about it.

Lastly, the CMC are in their HQ, discussing the prospect of using the obelisk against Nemesis. Sweetie explains that both distance to the sun, and the dispersion in the air would severely weaken any spell coherence. Scootaloo asks which matters more though, and when Sweetie explains that the air is really a big problem, Scootaloo suggests flying the thing to space.

The other two are taken aback, but as they think about it, it seems like it just might work. Not with what they have, the engines are too small, and a lot of their existing designs relied heavily on magic, which isn't an option after the Hole. They'd have to do most everything without relying on any strong magic, save for the final spell.

As they try to solve this, Applejack arrives... on the back porch. She flew up there, surprising the CMC by actually using her new wings. She delivers the letter Derpy had dropped off earlier, and the trio read it.

It's from Babs Seed, in Manehatten. She says she'd love to see the trio again, and explains how the CMC there in Manehatten has become a sort of think tank of blank flanks, as so many ponies there are trying everything to earn their marks, that many are almost polymaths.

Applejack leaves, saying she needs to go apologize to Derpy, and the CMC trio form a plan to go visit Babs, taking some of their problems to her, to see if bringing more Crusaders in on things might help.


Chapter 7: The Manehatten Project

The Crusaders arrive in Manehatten, at an old rail yard that's the new headquarters of the CMC. They meet Babs Seed, and find that she's been receiving anonymous donations, including this new facility. For her part, Babs is surprised that they repopened the rail line, and Sweetie deduces that Celestia had it reopened for them.

Babs gives the three a tour, and they're surprised by how many ponies are still blank flanks, even into adulthood, including Babs herself.  She explains that she's almost given up on getting her mark, but that it's a good thing. She can branch out and learn whatever she wants, without worrying if it compliments a special talent or not. Of course, she tells them not to ever say that to any of the youngsters.

A helper comes up, saying a huge shipment has arrived. The expected rocket engines weren't supposed to be there until the next day, and everyone is surprised when they go and find that the obelisk recovered from the desert is on the deck of a ship outside at the dock. Celestia had it shipped there because she must feel the CMC have the best chance at flying the thing into space. Babs doesn't believe that's possible, but Scoots reminds her she hasn't seen the Kettle engine designs yet either. The two have a math-and-engineering discussion, and Babs is finally convinced.

The next day, the engines arrive by rail, and Babs is properly astonished at how big the large ones are. While they're unloading things, Celestia arrives by chariot. The Ponyville crusaders are friendly with her, but Babs is stunned to be talking to royalty, and Apple Bloom, having none of that, declares Apple Family Privilege. She explains to Babs and Celestia that they have to treat each other like they would her... that is, be friends. It works, and Celestia explains what she's asking the CMC to help do.

The next few weeks are full of work, as all the ponies try to solve the various problems in attacking Nemesis. Apple Bloom, for her part, is particularly vexed by the temperature and heating issues, especially during reentry, and how everything that insulates well enough is too heavy. Babs calls in two ponies, Flurried Heart, a chef, and Burning Sky a glassworks artist. It turns out Burning Heart has been trying to build a better kiln, but is having trouble with baking bricks that are light, and Flurried Heart says that sounds remarkably like a souffle. The two suddenly realize they have a lot they could learn from each other, and head off to work.

Apple Bloom questions how Babs knew they could help, and she says there's nothing special too it... she just thought about someone working with hot stuff, and someone that makes light, fluffy stuff. AB calls it luck, and Babs says there's no such thing. Just something about Cutie Marks and the magic behind that, that every Cutie Mark story out there is always full of impossible "luck" yet happened anyway. She says she's just learned that if you bring enough of that wild, untamed Cutie Mark magic together, it starts setting off sparks, and sometimes, if one is big enough, a pony gets her mark.

A month later, Flurried heart and Burning Sky rush into the room where the others are, and say they've solved it. Burning Sky holds up what looks like a piece of pink, tattered blanket. She puts an ice cube on top then holds it over a fire. When it doesn't melt, the others are impressed. They never did solve the brick problem, but when Sky saw Heart making cotton candy, she got the idea to try it with glass. The spun glass looks just like cotton candy, but can insulate things against incredible heat, even fire. Flurried Heart got his mark in the process.

A few days later, Babs calls a big meeting. She explains that, as usual, it's time to give up and move on, or ask for help. That is, shift ponies around to work on new things to hopefully inject new ideas, but they get one last chance to ask for help. Most are too embarassed to go first, until a little colt stands up. Rolling Thunder has apparently been trying to make magic bubbles for fish to fly around in, but can't keep them from popping. When no one has an easy answer, Babs suggests that maybe, if he wants to see his fishy friends up close, he should go underwater instead, as it'd be less scary for the fish. Seeing that even he was brave enough to ask for help, others start to speak up, and it becomes a group brainstorming session.

As this continues, Babs starts mentally cataloging all the challenges they still face. When Sweetie takes her turn, she explains that they've done the calculations for the magic required. Basically, even if they could pump unlimited magic into the obelisk, it'd overload while still at least an order of magnitude below what's needed to penetrate the corona and reach the horizon of the Hole itself. She goes on to explain the finer points of the magical theory around the problem, and several unicorns chip in ideas, but none that seem to work. They get onto the idea of finding other obelisks, and using them in tandem. The problem, Sweetie explains, is that the harmonics dictate the obelisks would have to be a very precise and large distance (40 miles) apart from each other, yet be activated simultaneously, with sub-millisecond accuracy. The only way to do that is to connect them all with runic structures to sync the energies. Unfortunately, the minimum connection would be pure platinum, and that'd still need to be around the same width as the obelisks themselves. No way to fly forty miles of "wire" as wide as a hallway, as it'd be more weight than all the buildings in Manehatten combined.

Burning Sky chimes in, her cheerful voice saying "So all we have to do is figure out how to fly Manehatten into space!" Sweetie reminds her that there are still other challenges to solve as well. "Yet, but if we could put a city in space, the rest would be easy!" The ponies all chuckle at that, but then Babs starts thinking it really WOULD solve most of their problems if they had a city-sized place to work up there in space. But there's nothing in space but emptiness, the stars, the sun, and... the moon! She runs to the front of the stage and explains how they can build everything on the moon. Sweetie recognizes that the lunar basalt would work for runic energy conduction, another pony chips in that tunnels could be dug to let them have a place to live and breathe. Other pipes up, saying how they can grow food in greenhouses. Marks start appearing on flanks. More and more ponies start shouting out ideas, and the crowd starts breaking into ad-hoc working groups, full of hurried and excited ideas. Ponies everywhere are getting their marks in a huge Cutie Mark Cascade.

Babs stands back, watching something more amazing than her wildest dreams as hundreds of ponies all get their marks over the course of a few hours. More interesting, that so many are radically new. Not just old things like music notes and flower petals, but ponies with rocket engines and mathematical graphs on their flanks. As the excitement dies down though, she looks briefly to her own flank, and find it still empty. Apple Bloom tries to console her, but she shrugs it off. It was still an amazing day after all. "Holy crap, AB, we're gonna build a friggin' city on the firrin' moon!"



Chapter 8: Departures

Sweetie visits Rich Industries while in Manehatten. She talks to Diamond Tiara, who's now in charge of the company after her father's death, and Silver Spoon, her wife.

Diamond is sad over her fathers death, but partly because they spent their latter years fighting, and never got along very well. She torn up about both missing him, and for how she had so much hate for him in some ways as well.

Filthy Rich had died during Nemesis's attack, and Sweetie feels a bit guilty, she and her friends maybe could've been faster, or better, or stronger, and saved a few more lives. Silver Spoon assures her it's not her fault.

After they three sit down and have some drinks, Sweetie makes her ask. She wants to "borrow the company." Diamond figures it has to do with "saving the world again" and asks for the explanation. She explains the plan to build a base on the moon, and the other stuff the CMC came up with.

In the process, Silver Spoon lets it slip that they (Diamond and Silver) were the ones secretly funding the Manehatten CMC.

Explanations finished, Sweetie remembers that she also needs to borrow a ship to go get a relic from the arctic.

Diamond sighs, "Why not take two while you're at it!" Sweetie explains she knows its a big ask, that switching all that industry over to non-profitable things may very well bankrupt the company.

Silver nuzzles her wife, "You know you're going to say yes, why not just get it over with?" Diamond admits that's the case, but it's hard, because the company is the one thing her father WAS good at, and destroying that would leave nothing left of his legacy. She walks off to think.

Silver and Sweetie talk a bit, and Silver shows some mail she'd brought in, and diamond gets mad when she returns. The letters, she says, are always ponies claiming Flithy Rich owed them money or some other scam, and Silver was supposed to throw it out.

This letter is different though, it went to their home address. Silver insists on opening it, and then tells Diamond she's definitely going to want to read it. Diamond grabs it, and starts reading, but before she can finish, she starts crying and tells Sweetie to read it for her.

The letter is from a pony named Autumn Leaf, and it explains how, when nemesis struck Fillydelphia, she'd been living there with her son and daughter. When the volcano erupted, ejecta hit the end of the street, and she ran to try to retrieve her daughter from a friend's house.

The house was on fire and damaged when she got there, and the daughter and her friend were screaming, stuck on the upper balcony. Before she could react, another quake buried her in rubble.

She was pulled free by Filthy Rich, and he also braved the apartments and fire to retrieve Autumn's daughter and her friend. The friend's mother was still missing, and when Filthy went to go try to rescue her too, he knew he might not make it. He asked the names of her daughters, and then said "My own daughter is named Diamond Tiara." He handed Autumn his wallet (with his address in it). "Please let her know that I tried."

Filthy Rich died trying to rescue the other girl's mother.

The letter includes a picture of the mother, her daughter and friend (who Autumn was adopting) and her son. The daughter and friend were pink and grey, just like Diamond and Silver, and Sweetie can't help but wonder if Filthy saw something in them when they were crying and trapped.

With the letter finished, Diamond is crying fiercely as Silver hugs her. She pulls away, turns to Sweetie Belle and says. "Fuck the company. Take whateve ryou need and go get that bastard."



Chapter 9: The Donner Party

The chapter opens on an icebreaker. Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Discord, and the Caribou Donner and Blitzen, are on an expedition to the arctic to look for another obelisk.


Dash and Fluttershy are playing a game of chess, but learning to use their magic to animate the pieces as Discord coaches them. Sweetie enters, telling them there's a meeting soon to decide where to make landfall, which is disappointingly further south than they'd hoped, but the weather is turning. Before they go up though, Dash makes one last charge with a knight, skewering Fluttershy's king. Fluttershy explains that's not a legal move, and Dash answers of course not, it's a fighting move. Discord laughs, saying it certainly was effacacious. He moves to get up, but sees Fluttershy upset. She admits she really wanted to win. So he says "you shall" and whispers to her. Two words: "Ghost Army." Fluttershy decides to cheat just as dash did, and brings her "dead" pieces back to life, all moving at the same time, circling and slaying Dash's remaining army. Dash says it's not fair, and Discord counters it is "effacious." Admitting defeat (and that it was awesome) Dash asks for tips to improve her own magic, and she had trouble with even one piece at a time.


Up on the bridge, everyone meets, and decides they have to land at Ond Ulv Fjard. It'll mean weeks of extra hiking on hoof, but it's their best bet with the weather getting worse. They land in the early dawn, and immdiately feel the bitter cold. Everyone brought at least some clothing, save Sweetie Belle. Instead, she concentrates, and uses her golem magic to change her body. She grows longer legs, and splits her hooves and paw into wide, snow-shoe like pads, similar to the caribou. She makes her fur much longer and shaggier as well.


Discord reminds the rest he's handling logistics, and has their supplies. He whistles and a large trunk comes galloping out of the ocean on hundreds of tiny legs. (Yes, this is The Luggage from Discworld.) Sweetie is disappointed that while she could surprise everyone with her own transformation, she still gets one-upped by Discord, even without his magic. Discord pulls thick fur coats out of the bottomless luggage for himself and the rest of the ponies. Everyone suits up and starts hiking into the forboding arctic wilderness.


Days later, the party is lost. The circular mountain range around the north pole of the world is nearly fractal in nature, so one valley looks much like the next. But only a few have attainable passes through to the polar valley beyond. Donner is unsure if they're in the right valley this time, or if they need to go back and try the next one to the left... or right. Sweetie asks Dash to fly up for an overhead look, to try to match things to the map they have. Dash drops her fur coat and takes off.


Flying high, Dash finds it a struggle. The air is far colder than she's ever experience, even near the edge of space with Scootaloo. The combination of the oncoming winter, the polar climate, and the magic literally being sucked out of the middle of the sun is making is difficult to even fly, much less stay warm. She finally manages to get high enough to see the valleys below clearly, though her wingtips have gone none. She realizes she needs to get down soon.


Moments later, Dash crashes, unable to control her flight well enough due to shivering and numb wings. The other rush to her side, and she's chattering, barely able to speak in the cold. They try to quickly get the furs back on her, but she can't fold in her wings. Fluttershy grabs one with her paws, and slowly helps her fold it back in, realizing it feels almost like ice.


That evening, the party is inside a rather lage tent Discord also produced from within The Luggage. It's multi-room, and has a large living space with a fire, where everyone sits and slowly drinks soup. Dash is moaning in pain, as her wing hurts more now than it did when she crashed. Fluttershy examines it, and finds signs of frostbite at the tip. Asking what that means, Sweetie takes up the explanation, saying it could mean partial amputation at worst, or maybe just a loss of some dexterity if she's lucky. Dash freaks out and tries to move her pinions, critical for flight, and finds they won't respond. Fluttershy tries to caution her to wait and let things heal before they'll really know how much her flight will be affected. Dash snaps, and says that's easy for her "You can barely fly as it is!" Fluttershy starts to cry, but finds resolve instead, and hugs her friend. "You don't mean that" and Dash is suddenly crying too, apologizing.


That night, Donner and Blitzen find themselves sharing one of the three rooms, as Fluttershy insisted on staying with Dash, and Discord knowing Fluttershy would appriciate it more if he roomed with Blitzen than one of the other mares.


Unable to sleep Donner turns to Sweetie and the two begin talking. Donner asks if she's worried they won't succeed, and Sweetie admits she worries all the time. Donner is surprised, as Sweetie never seems to show it, and Sweetie echos the sentiment, saying Donner always seems to "in charge" and "stoic." Donner breaks down a bit, admitting she's afraid, and has no idea what she's doing, and already Dash has gotten hurt because she lead them the wrong way. Sweetie hugs her and consoles her, and Donner thanks her for always being so kind, so "sweet." Sweetie blushes and jokes that it's in her name and everything.


Then Donner leans in and kisses her. Sweetie is stunned for a moment, and Donner starts to panic. She leaps from the bed and starts apologizing in a stammering way. Sweetie tells her to wait, but the caribou is panicked now. Finally Sweetie whisper-yells loud enough to get her attention, and she returns to the bed. There, Sweetie says she's flattered, but she's not interested in mares. Donner seems surprised, admitting she thought it was "pretty common for ponies" and that Sweetie seemed uninterested in Blitzen, who obviously had a crush on her. Sweetie laughs, explaining that Blitzen's problem was thathe an annoying chatterbox, not that he was male. Donner admits to herself that makes sense, but tells Sweetie that she thought she cared for her.


Sweetie hugs her, and says she does, but as a friend, and that's not the same as romantic interest. Donner admits she logically knows this, but that it just felt like... more.


The two talk, and it's shown that Caribou society is a lot more conservative about such things, whereas Equestria in general sees no problem with same-sex relationships. It also comes out that Donner has very few friends in her life, so Sweetie explains how Twilight used to have the same problem, but learned to work though it, literally becoming the Princess of Friendship.


Donner seems to relax finally, and the two have a more amiable chat. Near the end, Donner asks Sweetie tp promise not to tell anyone. Both about the kiss, and that she's gay. She admits she hasn't even told her family, and Sweetie advises her that secrets like that only hurt the more they're kept. She also says she knows Donner's family would never hate her for something like that, though she admits she doesn't really know how the rest of Caribou society mike take it. In the end though, Sweetie admits it's Donner's secret to keep or not, but in return for her promise, she makes Donner promise one thing as well. That is, to keep trying, to "kiss some more mares" until she finds one that loves her the way she deserves. Donner agrees, but then Sweetie says this is too important, so they have to do it right, and demonstrates the proper Pinkie Promise technique. The two laugh a bit before falling asleep.

There's a flash to Pinkie Pie, who's flying over the Equestria Space Corps Training Grounds (previously Sweet Apple Acres) as her Pinkie sense goes crazy at the size of the promise that was just made. But she senses the laughter as well, and figures things will probably work out okay.

Chapter 10: Shadows in the Dark

Opening in an unknown place and time, a mare walks through a desert. It's soon revealed that the mare is Rainbow Dash. She attempts to fly away and escape, but a pain in her wing stops her.

Behind her, vines seemingly tangle her wing. A strange voice approaches, offering to help, which Dash is grateful for, but when the voice suggests it's too tangled and must be "cut loose" the horror sets in as Dash realizes this new unicorn means to cut off her wing.

Dash refuses, and the mare offers to help in return for a favor, a "ride out of... here." As the discussion continues, she realizes this mare The Nightmare that corrupted Luna years ago.

The Nightmare offers to heal Dash's wing (frostbitten in real life) and make her stronger and faster than ever if she but joins her. Dash refuses, and gets bolder now that she knows the enemy.

In the end, Dash refuses and the nightmare leaves in a huff.

The next scene is a dream of Fluttershy's, wherein an injured Dash crashes before her. When she tries to help, Dash freaks out, and then the Nightmare approaches, saying it must be hard to be a freak. That's when Fluttershy remembers her changed, dragonequus-like form. But she also remembers her friends, and that they still love her in the real world, so she politely declines the Nightmare's offer.

The Nightmare doubles-down though, implying that while Fluttershy may be okay as a "freak" her foal may be teased endlessly, and left friendless. Fluttershy says of course she has no foal, and the Nightmare smirks, saying "but it's in the works, isn't it?" Fluttershy doesn't admit anything, but asks what she'd want in return. When the Nightmare mentions joining her, Fluttershy again declines, and asks the intruder to leave. The Nightmare laughs, saying who is she to boss around such a being. Fluttershy then hits her with The Stare and she's forced from the dream.

The next dream is Blitzen's. He's sledding. The Nightmare tries to make his dream a horror by manifesting a cliff where none was before. He just loves it though, as Caribou know how to fly already... at least before the Hole. When the Nightmare mentions the Hole took that away, Blitzen gets a little sad, then cheers up because his "roomate" said they'd fix it.

Curious at this, the Nightmare asks about his companion, and quickly discovers that he's sharing a tent with Discord, and abandons the dream, leaving Blitzen to sled in gnarly peace.

Blinking into the next dream, she finds Discord in Fluttershy's cottage, and he greets her as "Sister" which she denies, even though they were both creations of Nemesis ("Dear ol' Dad.")

The Nightmare points out how Discord's magic is gone, and she almost overlooked him. She insists he tell her where it is, and though he refuses, his subconcious betrays him and an old film reel plays behind him, showing the scene where he gave his power to Fluttershy.

The Nightmare offers to return his power if he joins her, and he adamantly refuses. So she threatens instead to go take it from the weak pony he gave it to. Discord laughs it off, telling her she wouldn't make it three steps if she tried to fight Fluttershy. The Nightmare laughs as well, saying she seemed to be the most fearful pony ever, and it'd be child's play to bend her to her will.

Discord laughs again, saying that's exactly why he gave his power to her in the first place. Nightmare jokes about "love and friendship" and Discord admits those are strong too, but no... He gave his power to Fluttershy because she was the one pony he was certain would never abuse it.

"But she's afraid of her own shadow!" The nightmare insists. "Yes," Discord replied, "But strength doesn't come from a lack of fear, but in how we face our fears" and explains that Fluttershy, by virtue of being so fearful, is the strongest pony he's ever met. He then dares the Nightmare to go and try, and he'll be waiting to celebrate her failure. When the Nightmare balks, he realizes she already did try, and failed.

The nightmare leaves in another huff, and Discord is left lamening why it always has to be so difficult with family.

The next dream is Donner's. She's in Hartholm, in University. It's a rainy, depressing day, and seems to recall a time when she was in a stage play. The actor playing her counter part in a romance didn't make it for his reading, so a female caribou stood in for him. Yet Donner, when it came time for the kiss in the scene, kissed her anyway. The girl freaks out, and calls her names like dyke and cowlicker, as do the other students, and Donner is left to flee the scene.

She runs through the rainy streets, and finds her home, and an oversized image of her father, who is likewise ashamed by his "pervert" daughter. He denies her and she flees again.

She ends up sobbing in a deserted street when the Nightmare finds her. This time, the creature is taking a softer tact, asking what's wrong, and Donner mistakes her for the godess Nótt that her father had told her about in stories.

The Nightmare likes being respected, and offers Donner a seat. After a bit of confusion, she realizes the creature is not a goddess, but something else, a "Dökkálfar" (dark elf) perhaps. The Nightmare tries to soothe her anyway, offering her hapiness in many forms. She offers to make Sweetie (or any mare she wants) love her, and Donner refuses. She offers instead to make her "normal" so she'd be interested in males, but she refuses again, saying that wouldn't be true to the promise she'd made to Sweetie to be herself. Lastly, the Nightmare offers to make her a bull, so she could love mares, and not be considered abnormal. Donner refuses again.

Getting frustrated, The Nightmare summons a dream version of Sweetie, who advances on donner, professing her love and desire. Donner backs away, angry, yet wanting so, so much for it to be true. The false Sweetie continues pressing, begging Donner to love her back, and Donner, in tears, finally shouts at her to go away.

The false Sweetie vanishes, and the Nightmare says, in an unexpectedly calm way, that Donner isn't worth her time, before vanishing herself as well.

The final dream opens outside a prehistoric cave, where a giant spider spins a web, and other, multi-legged things roam. The Nightmare realizes this is already a horror dream, and she won't have to work to scare the dreamer here, so she turns to mist and takes up residence in a crevice of the cave, waiting for the horror to play out so she can attack when the dreamer is most vulnerable.

The dream goes as she expects at first, two sets of hoofsteps approach and the spider questions their prescenes. When there is no answer though, the Nightmare moves in for a closer look. She realizes all the creatures are focused on her, not the new arrival, and are asking why SHE is in their dream. She has a moment of fear and falls into the waiting limbs of an eight-legged, cave-pony Sweetie Belle.

Actually, all the creatures: spiders, crab-i-corns, and cave-pony are Sweetie Belle, Sweetie explains. She's expirimenting with 8-legged forms in her dream after hearing about Slepnir. The Nightmare can't believe it, as a fractured self is almost unheard of in the dreamscape, yet it seems true.

Sweetie then (cheerfully) questions who the intruder is. She enthuses that Luna was the only pony she knew that could dream walk, and the Nightmare briefly plays as though she IS Luna. Sweetie says nice try, and that her disguised aura almost worked... then she realizes it's not a disguise at all, but rather, this is the thing that was bound to Luna, and so has a similar "taste."

The Nightmare, realizing she's way out of her depth, still gives it the old college try when Sweetie asks why she's there. She gives a half-hearted speech about the power, and wishes, and etc. that could belong to Sweetie if she accepts and joins her, but before she can even finish, Sweetie says okay. The Nightmare is so surprised she has to ask her to repeat it. But Sweetie is gung-ho, and asks how to go about it.

"You just have to welcome me in," the Nightmare says. So Sweetie hugs her.

The next morning, the others wake up and realize Sweetie is changed. She's grown small fants, and her pupil's have become slits. Dash, reacting quickly, knocks her out cold and they tie her up. When she comes to, Sweetie promises she wasn't possessed, but joined her willingly to help a desperate and lonely creature in need. The others are not so sure though, so Sweetie lets the Nightmare take control (red mist glows around her eyes when this happens, a la Sombra) and she greets the others. Sweetie and the Nightmare go back and forth in terms of being in control of her body, and also have discussions inside Sweetie's mindscape in much faster than real time.

In the end, Donner says she wants to trust Sweetie, and if Sweetie trusts the newcomer, she will to. When they decided to give her a name (beacuse "The Nightmare" isn't exactly encouraging to trust) she takes the name Nótt and says that Donner has named her, after the dream they shared in the previous night.

After they decide to let her go, Sweetie makes a show of magically removing the ropes binding herself, and reminds everypony that ropes don't exactly stop magic, and they need to be more careful in the future. Discord tells her, no, they remembered, and Fluttershy snaps her talons, removing Sweetie's horn and magic. Sweetie panics, feeling betrayed, but quickly realizes that maybe she is a bit rash, and that almost got her friends killed in the Obleisk pit, so maybe it is for the best.

Once everything settles, Blitzen stumbles in, asking who the newcomer is. When introduced as Nótt, he says "not who?" right on cue, and Discord realizes that joke is going to last forever!


Interlude: A Farewell to Armoires

After a week or two, the expedition makes it into the inner slope of the mountains circling the pole. It gets a bit easier and warmer and they head downhill, but then things get bad.

Everyone wakes at dawn when the Luggage begins howling like an injured dog. It starts vomiting up random items, and its condition worsens.

Fluttershy and Discord do what they can, but nothing seems to help. It's a magic creature from another universe, Discord explains, so it's not the Hole or anything harming it. Fluttershy tries to sense its emotions, and gets only loss and sadness, like its giving up.

Discord surmises that its something to do with its roots, of where it's from. "Like how a spell fades when its caster dies" Sweetie suggests, and Fluttershy adds, "Or a pet refuing to go on when its master dies."

The magical chest coughs up a book, and Discord looks at it, seeing that it explains everything. The book is a well-read, dog-eared tome called "The Colour of Magic" and all the ponies say they feel like they know that story somehow, but they can't quite place it. When they ask who wrote it, Discord shows that the author's name is faded and worn, "like a memory faded with age." Fluttershy asks Discord if he can't maybe remember who wrote it.

Discord, for his part, gets a bit sentimental, saying he definitely remembers, and will always remember, "As will millions and millions of others in countless universes across all of time and space. The guy that wrote that, he created something so wonderful, so powerful, that it will never be forgotten."

Blitzen asks if he means the Luggage, and Discord laughs, saying that and so much more. He goes on to explain what's so special about the Luggage. Not just that it can hold everything, but that it can never be lost, that it will follow its owner anywhere, and not walls or mountains or oceans or planets can stop it. Not even being in the wrong universe or plane of existence.

Blitzen is confused, so Discord explains further. "My dear boy, The luggage simply got called home."

"But, isn't it dead?"

"Yes, exactly. NOTHING will stop it!"

(This chapter was written as my response to the death of Sir Terry Pratchett, who wrote The Colour of Magic (the first book of Discworld), inspired me to write, and forever changed my outlook on life. I like to imagine that, whereever he might have gone after death, the Luggage... HIS Luggage, will surely follow.)
> Prologue: The Battle Of Equestria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


By Xepher

Prologue: The Battle Of Equestria

Canterlot Castle, War Room.
Eleven years after Rupert.

Most of Queen Celestia's inner council was there in the War Room, and were sitting around the large planning table after their recent defeat. Princess Luna was beside her sister as always, and they were joined by the golem mares of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Spike and the Elements of Harmony—save Fluttershy—had just arrived.

"I can't believe the Elements barely even slowed him down!" Rainbow Dash said, plopping down in a chair, drained. "He was laughing when he left, like it was nothing more than a joke."

"Agreed," Princess Luna said. "This is most worrisome. Magic across the world seems to be getting weaker ever since that accursed red star came into the sky."

"Tell me about it. I had to do a running take off just to get airborne. I haven't had to do that since before my first day at flight camp!"

"When the Elements didn't work on 'im," Applejack said. "I thought we were done for. Why do ya reckon he let us go?"

"He's a big meanie pants," Pinkie Pie said. "They always like to gloat."

The ponies in the room all nodded. It seemed a common enough weakness among the villains they'd fought over the years.

"Twilight, dear," Rarity said. "Did you ever manage to reach Cadance or your brother?"

"I got through on the dragonstone briefly before things weakened again. They're trapped in the Crystal Empire by a blizzard. Seems it even took out the rail line. Shining and Cadance are doing all they can to hold the capital against it."

"A blizzard that strong, right as we're attacked?" Spike said. "I doubt that's a coincidence."

Luna spoke up. "Agreed. It seems our opposition has been busy."

There was a loud pop, as Discord and Fluttershy arrived with a snap of the draconequus's talons.

"Thank you for coming," Queen Celestia said to Discord. "Fluttershy said you may have information on this new foe?"

"New?" Discord said. "My dear Queen, I assure you, he is anything but new."

"Surely he must be. I think I would have heard of such a being before, linked as I am to my own star."

"Oh Celly, surely you didn't think you were the first to have control of a sun?"

The Queen looked at Discord uncertainly.

"Oh, how adorable," the Lord of Chaos said, rubbing his mismatched claws together. "You actually did! But I assure you, you are not the first, and with my help, hopefully not the last either."

"Now is not the time for frivolity, Discord!" Luna said. "You seem to know this creature. Tell us plainly."

"Oh, very well," Discord said, sighing. "His name is Nemesis, and he's the Avatar of Destruction. Every ten thousand years he returns to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting world, bringing death, disorder, and... le sigh... even chaos upon its inhabitants. Blah, blah, blah."

"How exactly do you know this?" Princess Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Well, if you must know..."

"And I think we must," said Luna.

"Well... he may-or-may-not-have-created-me-and-given-me-my-powers."

Discord looked around, seeing the dumbstruck faces. "What?" he said. "You didn't think that Celestia had created me or something, did you?"

Celestia didn't know whether to feel disgusted at the insinuation or bemused at how sheepish half of the Element bearers looked.

"Oh Dizzy," Fluttershy said, nuzzling the Lord of Chaos in sympathy. "All these years, and you never told me some, big, mean, evil, evil creature made you. No wonder it took you so long to learn to be nice."

"So I have daddy issues!" Discord said, stomping away from the pegasus. "So what? It's not like you ponies don't all have some serious psychological problems of your own!"

Fluttershy let out a sharp gasp, and Discord froze in place before turning to look at her. Realizing what he'd just said, he quickly tried to apologize. "I'm sorry, Flutters. You know I didn't mean it like that."

He moved to hug the yellow pegasus, but she gave him the cold shoulder. "We'll talk about this later," she said under her breath.

"So this 'Nemesis'," Luna said, trying to get the conversation back on track. "What else can you tell us about him?"

"Well, if you believe his version," Discord said, his voice flaring into the theatric as he continued. "Nemesis was the original force in the universe. In the primordial, destruction and chaos ruled the heavens. Order and life got a foothold anyway though, and the world was born. The powers on both sides fought for millenia, yada, yada, yada." The draconequus gave up on the narrator voice and continued. "Anyway, he was bound into that red star that bears his name, a lot like Moon-Butt here was bound to the moon itself. His banishment was a lot longer than a thousand years though, and I think he's rather ticked off about it. Also, before he was defeated, he put a bunch of failsafes in place to continue in his stead, as well as prepare for his return."

"What sort of failsafes?" Twilight asked.

"Well, besides yours truly, I think it was mostly the standard bad guy shtick. Cursed artifacts left behind, sources of power buried in ancient ruins, dark cults with curiously specific calendars, that sort of thing. Clichéd, but you have to remember, this guy was the original bad guy. He wrote the book on this stuff, and pretty much all the really evil things you've seen in the world can be traced back to his influences."

"Sounds like Sombra on overdrive," Scootaloo said.

"Interesting thought," Discord said. "I wouldn't be surprised at all if King Sombra had run across one of those cursed relics. After all, nothing really says 'Nemesis' like a monomaniac with glowing red eyes!"

"You believe Sombra fell victim to a trap or curse Nemesis left behind?" Luna asked.

"It sounds like his kind of thing," Discord said. "He's big on the monomania. I did chaos, Sombra did crystals, and—"

"And," Luna finished the thought for him. "Nightmare Moon did darkness."

The room was silent for a moment, then Applejack spoke up. "Pardon me for speakin' outta turn here, but didn't ya tell us that was yer own doin'?"

"While I freely admit it was my own jealousy and bitterness that allowed it to take hold within me, The Nightmare itself was not my creation. It had to have come from somewhere."

"Well then," Spike said, pounding a fist into his palm. "Just one more thing this guy deserves to pay for!"

"Do you know of any other things he may have left behind?" Twilight asked Discord.

"Way back then," Discord said. "I wasn't really in on that 'bigger picture' stuff, and we didn't exactly have planning meetings either. I mostly just went around blowing things up and cackling like good ol' Dad wanted. The few obvious relics I remember seeing are long gone. Unless somepony is hiding a three hundred foot high obsidian obelisk around here that I don't know about."

'Wait," Dash said. "You mean like in Captain Venture and The Towers of Anubis?"

"You do remember that those books are fictional, right?" Spike said.

"Duh!" Dash said, rolling her eyes. "But Twilight's always telling me how a lot of stories and legends have some bit of truth to them, right? I mean, Nightmare Moon was 'just' a story too."

"She's right," Twilight said. "At least, it's definitely worth looking into if we get the time."

"I hate to spoil the excitement," Discord said. "But I doubt Nemesis is going to wait around for you to go on an archeology dig in Saddle Arabia. Even if he did, and even if you could find one of the relics he left behind, there's no guarantee it would help defeat him. Even I have no idea what most of them were for or how they worked."

"So what can we do?" Scootaloo asked. "How do we attack him? What's his weakness?"

"Weakness?" Discord gave a false chuckle. "I don't think he has one. His name isn't an accident. His power and purpose are, quite literally and directly, opposed to pretty much everything you ponies hold dear, and he's had eons to refine his defenses. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I'll bet Celestia's strongest spell didn't even dent a single scale on his hide, did it?"

The ponies remained silent, as what Discord said was sadly accurate.

"I thought so," he said.

"What about your magic?" Rarity said. "Surely you plan to join us in this fight?"

Discord gave a warm smile to Fluttershy, and turned back toward Rarity. "My dear," he said, his posh accent enhanced by the sudden appearance of a monocle and black tie. "I wouldn't dream of missing it!"

"Yeah, that's all well and good sugarcube," Applejack said. "But do ya think yer magic can stop him?"

The monocole and tie disappeared. "Sadly, no. While I think I may be able to help counter some of his spells—mi magia es su magia and all that—I know when I'm outclassed, and there isn't a larger class than 'Nemesis' when it comes to raw power. Honestly, if it wasn't for the pouty faces you'd all make at me, I would've run for the hills a long time ago."

"So you are, or aren't, going to help us?" Applejack said.

"Was it the monocle? Nopony ever takes you seriously when you're wearing a monocle."

"Dizzy, please," Fluttershy said. "Be serious."

"I am serious!" Discord said. "I think we're all going to die of course, but I'll be happy to run defense for whatever you ponies can cook up as a plan." Seeing that there were still a few unconvinced expressions in the room, he continued. "Ugh, fine. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Thank you, Discord," Luna said, relaxing.

"The monocle is a joke, but that silly rhyme is a sacred vow? Honestly, I sometimes think you ponies are even crazier than I am. And never mind the fact that you're all itching to go attack an invincible evil force!"

Fluttershy spoke up. "But you said somepony trapped him in that star before though, so he can't be invincible, right?"

"Something did, but I doubt it was a pony. By the time Nemesis disappeared last time, the only equines left alive were cowering in caves and trying to figure out how to rub the sticks together to make fire."

"So no idea how he was defeated?" Celestia asked. "Or how we should attack him this time?"

Discord shook his head.

"I still think the Elements have to be our best chance." Twilight said. "They did at least slow him."

"Perhaps," Discord said. "But obviously they need a bigger kick."

"Just spitballin' here," Applejack said. "But is there any way to put some o' Discord's magic into the Elements?"

"That'd be impossible," Twilight said. "His power is the complete opposite of Harmony."

Discord reached out toward Twilight's crown, and was zapped by a small spark of energy that left a tiny wisp of smoke rising from the tip of his claw. "Ow! She's right. I don't think your jewelry likes me very much."

"What about us?" Apple Bloom said, gesturing to herself and the other two Crusaders, "Can we somehow integrate our powers with the Elements?"

"I don't think so," Sweetie Belle said. "Twilight and I looked into that a few years ago. The Elements of Harmony are bound to the six bearers exclusively. But..."

"But what?" Apple Bloom asked.

Sweetie shared a look with Twilight, who nodded reluctantly after a moment of thought.

"I had an idea last year," Sweetie continued, "when I was working with Zecora to try to heal the world tree back in her homeland. I came across an old chest..."

"Yeah, and?" Spike said.

"Well, do you remember years ago, when that unicorn, Trixie, came to town to duel Twilight?" The ponies nodded. "And how she had that Alicorn Amulet that greatly increased her power?"

The meeting was interrupted as an out-of-breath pegasus in Solar Guard uniform rushed into the room.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty, but there's a new report just in from Fillydelphia."

"Speak freely, sergeant," Celestia said. "The ears in this room are all trusted."

"Yes, Ma'am. It's bad. The foe we saw earlier has apparently taken control of the weather and is battering the coastline with a hurricane as we speak. We're trying to evacuate the city, but... well, as I said, it's bad."

"Thank you," Celestia said. "Return if you learn more." The guard saluted and rushed back to his duties.

"Well?" Dash said. "What're we waiting for. We need to go help Fillydelphia!"

"Patience, Dash," Twilight said. "We need a plan of attack first."

"So, about that Amulet," Spike said, turning to Sweetie. "Didn't it corrupt anypony that wore it?"

"Yes," Twilight said. "Which is why I told Sweetie her idea was too dangerous to try. Of course, that was before we were facing an ancient evil from before the dawn of the world."

"Tell me," Discord said. "This corruption, it didn't by any chance come complete with a menacing red aura and/or some form of monomania, did it?"

"Yes, it did actually," Sweetie said. "Which is why I'm not suggesting anypony should actually try wearing the amulet..."

"You had my curiosity," Discord said, grinning. "But now you have my attention!"

----

An empty field outside of Canterlot.
Three hours later.

"So we're actually doing this?" Rainbow Dash said.

"I fear we have no better option, darling," Rarity said.

"How umm, dangerous, did you say it was?" Fluttershy asked.

"Just the right amount of dangerous," Discord said. "If that curse is one of Nemesis's, then there's no telling what it might do. On the other hoof, we know exactly what he'll do if you don't stop him."

Twilight sighed. "I won't sugar coat it. He's right. You all remember how much it corrupted Trixie. I honestly don't know if using it this way is going to filter that out properly or not."

"I think it will," Sweetie said, removing the amulet from the box and holding it in her mechanical paw. "I believe the spell of corruption is bound to the act of fastening it around a pony's neck. We're not doing that. We're sending power through it from a distance instead, using it to fuse our three magics on the way to the targeted pony. It should be safe from the corruption spell."

"But you're not sure?" said Fluttershy.

Sweetie looked at the pegasus. Fluttershy had been the pony who taught her the self confidence which, even now, allowed her to suggest such an outlandish course of action. She felt bad for asking her to take such a crazy risk, and couldn't lie to her. "No, I'm not. That's why Twilight and I agreed to drop the idea last year. It was too risky."

"It's okay, I'll go first," Rainbow Dash said, volunteering. "If it doesn't work, you won't have to risk it."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "And that's why we've got Discord and the Queen here too. If something goes wrong, and somepony turns evil, hopefully their magic is enough to contain the problem out here, away from the city."

"Okay, enough talk," Dash said. "Let's do this. We need to stop this jerk as soon as possible!"

"Are you ready, Sweetie?" Twilight asked.

"Just about," Sweetie said, hanging the amulet atop a tripod she'd just finished setting up. "Okay, ready here."

Dash moved to the far side of the amulet, about five feet behind it. Sweetie Belle backed away a dozen paces, sighting through the amulet at Dash, as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom moved to either side of her.

"You ready, girls?" Sweetie asked, turning to her fellow Crusaders in turn.

"Ready as I reckon I'll ever be," Apple Bloom said.

"I"m ready if Dash is," Scootaloo said.

"Hit me!" Dash said, nodding across at the assembled Crusaders.

The three golems each closed their eyes and concentrated, drawing deep on their innate elemental magics.

Apple Bloom relaxed her body, letting her senses probe into the ground and life around her. She sensed the magic inherent in every root, blade of grass, worm, bird, and insect. Reaching deeper, she felt at the potential for life that was in the basic moisture, minerals, and every tiny molecule of soil. Going deeper still, she also drew upon the life that had been, the decomposing compost from generations of plants long dead, and the raw elements left behind in bones from creatures long forgotten. Weaving these together, she sent it all surging toward the amulet.

Scootaloo reached out with her own pegasus magic. The wind and weather came to her like a second skin, swirling and surrounding her. Great power came from lightning and thunder far off in the sky, but closer too were wind and clouds. These could be just as powerful. Rain could destroy a village, or save a farm. Wind could tear apart even the strongest of shelters, but could also bring relief from summer heat. Combined, the two could turn mountains into sand, and carve canyons out of the earth itself. She collected all the energy she could, and blasted it through to the target.

Sweetie Belle had no doubt that her force with unicorn magic was nearly unparalleled. In the dozen years since she'd discovered her true nature, only a few ponies—all on this very field with her—had ever rivaled her for raw power. In that time, she'd had near-daily practice and study with her abilities, and they'd become finely honed to pinpoint precision. She had no doubt in her ability to pour untold amounts of highly focused magic through the amulet and into Rainbow Dash, and some of her knowledge to go with it as well. As such, her focus was instead on defeating the curse component in the amulet.

Even though the evil part of the spell seemed to trigger on fastening the necklace, there was always some danger that the malevolent magic could become mixed in with the rest. To that end, she was doing her best to pour all the love, friendship, and kindness she could into the amulet along with the magic. Twilight had convinced her that her cutie mark really was in the magic of friendship, and she had to hope that the good intentions of her and the rest of the assembled ponies would be enough to keep the evil spell at bay while the rest of the elemental magics fused in the amulet and transfered to Dash.

Rainbow Dash stared at the three younger ponies as they opened their now-glowing eyes. Three beams of energy—red, white, and blue—shot into the amulet, one from the chest of each crusader. The amulet began to glow and vibrate, making an audible hum which quickly rose in pitch as the light moved through the spectrum from a soft yellow to an actinic white. Dash gulped, determined to stay in place, despite all her senses telling her to put as much distance as possible between herself and the amulet. Then there was a blinding flash lancing toward her, and Dash closed her eyes.

The rest of the ponies and beings watched as a bright column of spiraling energy leapt from the amulet and struck Dash directly in her chest. As it did so, the magic flared brightly, causing them all to turn away from the sheer intensity of it.

Opening her eyes, Rainbow Dash cautiously took a breath. Nothing hurt, so that was good. Looking ahead, she saw the three Crusaders swaying a bit from the effort, their eyes returning to normal. She took a few cautious steps towards the group.

Sweetie Belle opened her own eyes as the fugue state subsided. She grinned as she saw Rainbow Dash walking toward her, and was about to say something, when Scootaloo beat her to the punch as usual.

"Oh my gosh!" Scootaloo said, pointing at Dash. "Look!"

Dash reached up to her forehead where Scootaloo was pointing, and found there was, in fact, a horn there. "It worked?" she said, still not quite believing what her senses were telling her.

She was an alicorn.

"It worked!" Sweetie said, trotting in place with excitement. "It actually worked!"

"Slow down, Sweetie," Twilight said, stepping toward Dash. "Let's make sure she's okay first."

"I'm fine," Dash said. "Just... surprised is all."

"You don't feel a sudden and irresistible urge to take over the world?" Discord said.

"Or that wheels are untrustworthy?" Pinkie Pie added.

"I'm serious," Twilight said. "We need to make sure she's not corrupted by the amulet."

"I'm fine, Twilight. Really," Dash said.

"Just let me check, okay?"

"Ugh, fine."

"I'll be quick," Twilight said, and began scanning the new alicorn for any sign of malevolent curses or other side effects.

As Twilight scanned, she felt something tap her on the back. Turning though, nothing was there, and she went back to her investigation. Then she felt another tap. Still seeing nothing, she looked back at Dash, and saw that her friend was smirking. At eye contact, Dash burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, Twi," she said as she brought the stick she'd been levitating behind Twilight into view. "But this is just so awesome!"

"I don't know 'bout ya'll," Applejack said, smiling. "But that sure sounds like the Rainbow Dash I know."

"So am I evil or not?" Dash said, looking at Twilight.

"Nope, seems fine to me," Twilight said.

"Awesome! Now, how do I shoot magic with this thing?" Dash said, tapping her new horn. "I'm gonna blast Nemesis back to the stone age!"

"Patience, my little pony," Celestia said. "In all honesty, I'm actually amazed you were able to perform even basic levitation so quickly."

"Seems easy enough, just like learning to fly," Dash said, earning her an eye-roll from Scootaloo.

"I was actually hoping that might happen," Sweetie Belle said. "I was trying to put some of my own knowledge into the spell as well as the raw magic."

"Good thinking, Sweetie," Twilight said, then looked at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. "Can you girls try to do the same for the others? It'd really help if they don't have to learn everything from scratch."

"We'll certainly try," Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah," Scootaloo agreed. "So who's next?"

"Oooh, me! Me!" cried Pinkie Pie, bouncing into position behind the amulet. "Do me next!"

Dash laughed. "You are gonna love this, Pinkie!"

Over the next hour, the process was repeated for Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack. The breaks between each casting got longer as the Crusaders wore themselves out. After Applejack, they'd rested nearly half an hour before feeling ready for the final alicorn transformation.

Fluttershy nervously walked into the target zone. "Umm, are you sure you've had enough rest already?" she said.

"I figure I'm ready for one last shot," Apple Bloom said. "You girls doin' good?"

"Yep," Scootaloo said.

"I'm ready," Sweetie Belle said, rolling her head and stretching her neck. "Let's finish this."

"Well, umm, you can rest a bit more if you want," Fluttershy said, stepping back away from the target area.

"Fluttershy," Applejack said. "Ya gotta quit stallin'. It'll be fine, sugarcube."

Discord went to the side of the yellow pegasus. "And I'll be right here. I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Fluttershy looked up into the eyes of her best friend and companion for the past dozen years. The draconequus was still rarely serious, but it touched her heart to see how quickly he would drop the jokes when something was important to her. She took a deep breath, and steeled her courage.

"Thanks, Dizzy," she said, then stepped back into place. "I'm ready."

Discord backed away, and the Crusaders charged their last spell of the evening. As the humming amulet got louder and louder, it was matched, an octave higher in pitch, by the "eeeeek" from Fluttershy. She held her ground and didn't move an inch, though she was still emitting a shrill squeal long after the final afterglow had faded.

----

Mid-air, Somewhere Southwest of FIllydelphia.
Four hours later.

"Whew, I never figured flyin' would be such hard work," Applejack said, steadily pumping her new wings as the group flew on toward Fillydelphia.

"It's gotten a lot harder since that red star showed up," Dash said. "It's like the control I have on the air is just way weaker now."

"I've noticed my unicorn magic is weaker as well," Twilight said to Dash, before pulling alongside Applejack. "I'm still amazed you're already flying, and Dash was already doing basic levitation. I wish I'd been that lucky when I got my own wings."

"Whee!" Pinkie shouted, as she did a barrel roll through the group, carrying Spike beneath her. "This is almost better than cake!"

"Urp," Spike held his claws over his mouth, a green tinge showing on his face. "Come on, Pinkie, please stop doing that!"

"Then again," Twilight said, huffing with the effort of keeping even just herself aloft for the long flight. "Maybe part of it just comes naturally to some ponies."

Scootaloo flew up beside AJ as well, lugging Apple Bloom beneath her. "At least you're not having to carry somepony."

"Hey!" Apple Bloom said, looking up from where she was being carried. "It's yer own dang fault! You're the one that broke mah plane, remember?"

"I believe we are nearing our destination," Luna shouted out from her position at the front of the loose formation where she was likewise carrying Sweetie Belle. "I can see the shoreline, and Fillydelphia is just to the north from here."

Discord unfolded himself into existence beside Celestia as she brought up the rear. He was wearing swim goggles and a bathing cap, and doing the backstroke. Celestia saw this, and gave him a stern look. With a flash, the swim gear disappeared, and he righted himself to fly head first beside her. "Sorry," he said. "Old habits and all that."

"Did you find anything in Fillydelphia?" the Queen asked.

"Lots of destruction. Downtown is completely flooded, a lot of buildings are damaged, and most of the harbor is completely gone. I asked around, and it seems Nemesis disappeared about an hour after the brunt of it hit shore."

"Any idea where he might have gone?"

"Probably got bored with the hurricane and is setting up some new disaster."

"Uhh, guys," Rainbow Dash shouted. "Is there supposed to be a volcano near here?"

The ponies all turned to look where Dash was pointing. "Ah yes, right on cue," Discord said, staring at the rapidly growing cinder cone to the northwest of the city.

Luna, on point, turned the group and headed for the volcano. As they neared it, the ponies could see Nemesis, his form now that of a giant, black, six-winged alicorn, standing several stories tall astride the break in the caldera where the lava was pouring down toward the city.

"Nemesis!" Celestia shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, as she flew toward him. "Cease this at once!"

Nemesis swiveled his massive head, bringing to bear a jagged, impossibly sharp horn. Beneath the horn, he grinned, revealing razor-like fangs. "So you've learned my name," he bellowed. "That should make it easier for you to beg!"

With that, Nemesis fired a bolt of magic at the Queen. Celestia rolled just in time, getting only a few singed feathers in the process, before firing back with a blast of her own.

Nemesis curled one set of wings, blocking the magical attack with nothing but massive feathers. He sighed. "And here I thought you were starting to learn. Or did you forget how that didn't work last time?"

Behind him, Luna and Twilight had circled, both of them sending their own magic bolts, which hit directly on his spine.

"Seriously?" Nemesis said, turning to look behind him. "Do you feeble-minded ponies not understand that your magic can't hurt me?"

"That doesn't mean we're gonna stop trying!" Dash shouted, diving at him from the side, and firing her own, somewhat weaker magic blasts.

"I tire of this long range nonsense," Nemesis said. "Let's make it more personal."

The massive black equine began to stride down the mountain, shrinking as he did so. Once he reached the size of Celestia he launched into the air and glided to a nearby field. Landing, he came to a stop and sat down.

Luna and the others weren't sure what to make of his actions. Circling, a few fired a couple more blasts at him, which he shrugged off without comment. Seeing that nothing was making progress, the group set down in the field and surrounded Nemesis, cautiously approaching from all sides.

"Ah, much better," Nemesis said, standing as Luna and Celestia came into range. "I find it's more interesting to watch you mortals suffer up close."

"Why do you attack us?" Celestia asked.

"I am Nemesis. My very existence is to oppose yours."

"Surely we can come to some sort of peace?" Luna said.

"Yes, once all life on this world has ceased, it should be very peaceful indeed," Nemesis said, grinning.

Behind him, the Elements of Harmony were lining up with Twilight in the center, preparing to attack.

"But to what end?" Celestia said, trying to keep his attention as she saw Twilight's eyes start to glow. "Why must you destroy everything?"

"You may as well ask why water must be wet, or the wind so light and free." Nemesis paused for a second. "Speaking of light..." he said, turning to face the Elements. "Not going to let that happen again. It actually kind of stung last time."

At a wave of his hoof, Twilight was instantly frozen inside a large, translucent red crystal, just before the Elements could fully activate.

"Fiend!" Luna cried, charging him.

"Nope. Annnd nope!" Nemesis said, turning to point in turn at Luna and then Celestia, freezing them as well. "Anypony else?"

"Let them go!' Rainbow Dash said, charging her horn.

"Yeah!" screamed all three of the Crusaders in unison, preparing their own attacks.

"Hmm," Nemesis said, freezing all four with another casual wave. "I don't remember the blue one having a horn before. Oh I see, you thought becoming alicorns would be enough to stop me?"

"We will stop you!" Applejack said, lowering her head and horn to attack physically, as Pinkie did the same beside her.

"I thought you were supposed to be the one representing honesty," Nemesis said. "But here you are spouting such ridiculous lies." He waved his hoof and the two were surrounded in crystal.

"Enough, you brute," Rarity said, seeing Applejack and Pinkie become entrapped as well. "We will not stop un—" The crystal left her frozen in mid-sentence.

"Let her go!" Spike screamed, charging and swinging his sword.

"Oh, you brought a dragon?" Nemesis said. "And a young, uncorrupted one at that! How quaint."

Spike's sword struck true against Nemesis's rear wings, but didn't even dislodge a single feather.

"Boring," Nemesis said, capturing the teenage dragon in a crystal with another flick of his hoof.

"So who does that leave?" Nemesis said, turning with a predatory grin to stare at Fluttershy. "Ah yes, the coward."

"You forgot one," Discord said, popping into existence behind Fluttershy.

"Ah, Discord! I've been looking for you. Seems you've let these ponies get out of control in my absence."

"Actually," Discord said. "I thought my job was to help things get out of control."

"Wait, surely you're not taking their side in this?"

Discord surveyed the crystals binding his friends, then grinned as he snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened.

He snapped again. And again. But nothing continued to happen and a panicked look began to cross his usually nonchalant face.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked the draconequus.

"It's not working," Discord said, more serious than Fluttershy had ever seen him. "I'm trying to remove the crystals, but my magic isn't working."

Nemesis began to laugh. "You fool! I gave you your power—more power than any of these sad ponies could even dream of—and you think I didn't put in a safeguard? Ha! You're not the first who's tried to betray me. Just ask the windigos! Oh wait, you can't."

Discord frowned. "What did you do?"

"I stripped them of their bodies and left their souls to roam in endless, unspeaking agony until the end of time!"

"I meant," Discord said, "to me."

"Oh that. Quite simple really. Deep in the core of your being, there's just a tiny little rule which says you can never, ever use your powers against me."

"I see." Discord hung his head. "Then I guess it's over. You win."

"Of course I win!" Nemesis said. "There was never any doubt of that. I just wanted a bit of fun along the way."

"I can't believe I used to be like you."

"You still can be. Join me, and—"

"And together we can rule the galaxy as father and son? No thanks, 'pops.'"

"Very well," Nemesis raised his hoof, preparing to finish the battle. "Should I rend your soul from your flesh like the windigos? Or maybe we can think of something a little more personal. Hmm... Yes. I believe you rather enjoyed being trapped in a statue for a few years. Maybe you'd enjoy that for a few million?"

"Wait!" Discord said, holding up a paw. "Let me say goodbye first?"

"Prolong your suffering an extra minute? I guess I can do that."

Discord knelt down in front of Fluttershy, putting his mismatched forepaws on her shoulders.

"Fluttershy," he said. "I should've said this a long, long time ago."

Fluttershy looked at him, sniffling with tears starting to form in her eyes. "What is it, Dizzy?"

"I love you," Discord said, "and I would do anything for you." He then wrapped the yellow pony in a hug, and kissed her deeply.

Fluttershy's eyes went wide, both at the statement, and at the sudden sensation of the draconequus's mouth against hers. Over the years since his reformation, she'd grown quite close to Discord, and he had become her best friend and more in many ways. Occasionally, thoughts had crossed her mind that they might be more, that she might have romantic feelings for the chaotic draconequus, but there just never seemed to be the right time to explore the idea. Above all, she didn't want to risk losing her friendship, and in her darker thoughts, feared a relationship gone wrong might make him turn malevolent again. But now, at the potential end of the world, here he was, kissing her. In his kiss, she felt the warmth and depth of the compassion that few others would ever suspect in the former villain. As the kiss lingered though, she felt something else as well.

There was a surge of power, of magic. She could feel it flowing into her though the kiss, the wild, chaotic energy filling every molecule of her being. It was unlike any of the three pony magics she already possessed, seeming in many ways to be almost antithetical to them. Yet underneath it all, she could sense the love that came with the unexpected gift, a love which somehow tamed and controlled the maelstrom into a focused energy unlike she'd ever imagined. As the transfer subsided, Discord pulled away from the kiss and put his mouth beside her ear as part of another hug.

"What did you—" she started to say.

"Shhh," Discord whispered. "It was a gift, to show you I meant what I said. I love you, Fluttershy." Then, through gritted teeth he added, "Now go kick his ass!"

"Okay, enough," Nemesis said. "Time to finish this. I've decided to let you both watch a bit longer before I turn you to stone. Now, which one your friends should I kill first?"

"Don't," Fluttershy said.

"And what are you going to do about it, hmm?" Nemesis stepped toward Fluttershy, and used a magic field to shove Discord out of the way behind him. "Just because you've grown a horn, you think you can stop me? You think your new alicorn form is going to work better for you than it did for your friends?"

Fluttershy let out only a small "Eep" in response. Then, behind Nemesis, Discord started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Nemesis said, turning and advancing on his former minion, who was now rolling on the ground in mirth.

As Nemesis leaned over and stared directly down into his face, Discord stopped laughing and said, with the most self-satisfied grin he could muster, "You fool! This isn't even her final form!"

"What are you talking about?"

Behind him, unnoticed now, Fluttershy was transforming. Her body was lengthening, becoming more supple. Her tail was filling out, becoming dragon-like and sinuous, though tufted with fur at the tip. A pair of matching antlers grew on the top of her head, to either side of her unicorn horn, and her forehooves were turning into lion paws. Reaching out with one paw, she snapped, and eleven crystals shattered, freeing their occupants.

Hearing the sounds from the shattering crystals, Nemesis looked up, and saw that his captives were now free. "What did you do!" he yelled at Discord.

"Simple, daddy-o," Discord said as he stood up. "I cheated!"

"No!" Nemesis threw a bolt of energy directly at Discord. Fluttershy saw it, and it disappeared in a blue-rimmed hole that suddenly appeared in mid air. The bolt reappeared from an orange-rimmed hole that was directly behind Nemesis, and hit him in the tail, causing him to yelp in pain.

"No, you can't do this!" Nemesis screamed in rage, still convinced that Discord was to blame. "I made sure of it!"

"You're right. I can't," Discord said, grinning in absolute joy. "But she can!"

Nemesis whirled about, and found Fluttershy grinning at him as well, her smile revealing a pair of short fangs in her newly lengthened muzzle. "Get him, girls!"

To their credit, the three Crusaders were only stunned for a moment by Fluttershy's new appearance after they were released from the crystals, and they quickly moved to attack.

Apple Bloom stomped a forehoof firmly into the ground, and the earth beneath Nemesis erupted in vines and brambles, which tangled themselves around his hooves. He tore them loose fairly quickly, but it was just enough delay that Sweetie Belle was able to form a force field binding his wings.

Turning his head to cancel the magic around his wings, Nemesis was blindsided by a physical tackle from Celestia, knocking him to the ground. Angrier than ever, he blasted her off with an expanding pulse of magic, then stood to deliver a killing blow. He found his magic was interrupted as a dragon-wielded sword slammed into his muzzle. Before he could turn to attack Spike though, Luna body-checked him herself, and managed to get out of range before he could retaliate.

Standing to his hooves, panting in rage, Nemesis shouted, "Enough!"

"Yes," Twilight said, her eyes glowing white as she and the other Elements floated in mid-air, connected by strands of harmonic energy. "It is."

A spiraling column of light leapt from Twilight's crown, trapping Nemesis in a prismatic tornado as the energies swirled around him. Six elements joined forces, bound together by friendship, but supercharged now as well by all three types of pony magic pouring from each of the alicorn bearers. Even that may not have been enough however, were it not for the impossible addition of a final ingredient.

Chaos—discord itself—was now integrated into the Elements of Harmony through Fluttershy. It should have been impossible. The primordial magic, taken from Nemesis himself, was the thaumaturgical opposite of everything the Elements of Harmony represented. Yet there it was within Fluttershy, bound together with her own kindness and harmony by the love Discord had wrapped it in.

The combined energies pierced through Nemesis's outer shields with little effort. Defenses honed over eons to block pony and other magics suddenly became useless, unable to distinguish the attacking foreign magics, shrouded as they were in familiar chaos. They shot straight to the heart of his power, chaos seeking through the myriad channels and prying them open for the powers of harmony behind it. With the paths clear, the Elements went to work.

"Nooo!" Nemesis screamed, struggling physically to get free from the rainbow that held his hooves and was gradually working its way up his body. "This isn't possible!'

The Crusaders were the first to start cheering. "Yee haw!" Apple Bloom yelled. "Gotcha!"

"You traitor!" Nemesis screamed at Discord, spittle flying from his lips with rage. "You will pay for this! You'll all pay!"

"Interesting," Discord said, standing beside Fluttershy as the multi-colored energies continued to flow from her and the other Elements. "So this is what it looks like from the other end of that rainbow."

As the magic began to close around his neck, Nemesis screamed one last time. "If I can't have this world, then neither will you!"

The Elemental energy worked its way up to his head, and finally covered his horn as well. When it did, a column of light lanced out to the red star, binding Nemesis once again to his stellar prison, and leaving only a charred and slightly smoking patch of grass where he'd been standing.

"We did it!" Sweetie Belle said, turning and hugging her friends. "I can't believe it's over."

"Whoo hoo!" Scootaloo exclaimed, leaping into the air to raise a forehoof in victory. Her magic didn't let her catch her weight in the air as she expected though, and she stumbled at the abrupt landing.

"Does anypony else feel that?" she said.

"Feel what?" Rainbow Dash said, the first of the Elements to recover after the banishment was complete.

"I think I do," Sweetie said. "It's like something cold inside of me."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "I feel it too. It feels kinda like... well, like when somethin' is dyin'."

Twilight was the next to recover. While she had been preparing to use the Elements, she had seen Celestia take the brunt of Nemesis's magic pulse. She quickly scanned about and, seeing the Queen lying a short distance off, attempted to teleport to her side. When she couldn't cast the spell, she ran there instead. The rest of the assembled group followed her as soon as they saw where she was headed.

"Are you okay, Celestia?" Twilight yelled as she approached. The Queen started to stand as she arrived.

"I believe so, Twilight, but I fear Nemesis may have struck the last blow."

"I felt him try to cast something right at the end there, but I thought we blocked it."

"I'm afraid not," Celestia said. "At least not entirely."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie said, her eyes going wide in concern. "What'd that meanie do?"

Celestia pointed at the red star in the sky. It was significantly larger than any of the ponies remembered, and looked to be visibly growing even as they watched.

"That can't be good," Dash said. "What's it doing?"

"I believe Nemesis placed the star on a collision course with Equestria," Celestia said.

"Can you stop it?" Twilight asked.

"No, I still seem to have no control at all over the red star."

"Nor I," Luna said. "Though my power has always been lesser than Tia's."

"So what's gonna happen?" Applejack asked. "I mean, ya said it was just a small dwarf star, right?"

Luna answered. "Small for a star, yes, but it would still be enough to destroy every living thing across the entire world."

"So hit it with the Elements!" Scootaloo said.

Twilight closed her eyes, focusing. "No good," she said after a moment. "I can't sense it strongly enough to even try to target it."

"What about you, Discord?" Scootaloo said.

"I'm afraid I no longer posses any magic," Discord said. "But perhaps you might ask Fluttershy to give it a go."

Fluttershy looked up, still getting used to her new body, the extra weight of antlers on her head, and her horn as well. Said horn glowed as she tried to reach the star with any form of magic, but when that failed, she snapped her claws as well, just to be sure.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can sense it in some weird way—I think that may be through Dizzy's power—but I can't do anything to it. It's like my magic just dies out as it approaches the star."

"I think that may be exactly what happens," Luna said. "Powers around the world started weakening when the star first came into the sky. I believe it may be directly absorbing or nullifying magic."

"If it's coming toward us," Rarity asked. "How long do we have?"

Luna and Twilight looked at the star, then at each other.

"Hours maybe?" Twilight said.

"How the hay do we stop a star—without magic—in just a couple hours?" Applejack said.

Celestia took a deep breath and let it out quickly. "With another star."

The Queen of the Sun closed her eyes and stared into the heavens. The sun had been on the verge of setting above the plains to the far west. Now it began moving back into the sky and northward, accelerating on an intercept course with the red dwarf.

The ponies watched as Celestia began to sweat, then shake and tremble with the effort, but she kept at it. The sun continued on its intercept, as the red star grew ever larger in apparent size. The progress was slow to pony senses still excited from battle, but the sun was crossing in minutes what would normally take most of the day.

As the sun came close to the intruding star, Celestia collapsed to her knees with a gasp. Luna rushed to her side, but was waved off. "I must finish this, Luna." The Queen remained on her knees, but raised her head again, and the sun resumed its course.

Finally, the event began. No pony could look directly at it for more than a fractional second, and any spells they tried to enhance sight just fizzled. Twilight quickly constructed a few pinhole viewers from some nearby leaves however, and they used those to observe more directly.

At first, it looked as though the sun was simply absorbing the smaller star wholesale. The limb of the sun seemed to be erasing the red orb completely, covering nearly two thirds of it before the true scale of things became apparent. The stars weren't colliding edge on as the ponies viewed it. Rather, Celestia was placing her sun between the planet and a massive projectile aimed directly at it. The stars hadn't even collided yet, the sun was simply in front.

When all but a remaining sliver of red had been occluded, things changed. At first, nopony even realized what they were seeing. The scale of the event was so massive that it was occurring in relatively slow motion. Little rays of light began to sprout from the sun near where it intersected the red disc. Over the course of several minutes, the "rays" grew to become huge plumes of stellar matter, literally splashing out from the far side of the sun as the stars collided.

Everypony watched, slack jawed, unspeaking, as the scale of the devastation took hold in their minds. Twilight did some rough calculations, and explained that the smaller plumes they were seeing were likely larger than the entire planet. Thankfully, Celestia seemed to have gotten the sun in place just in time, with the impact occurring just behind the limb of the sun as seen from the planet, meaning the ejected material wouldn't be headed toward them, but was directed into space instead.

As the glowing ejecta faded and the red star disappeared entirely, the ponies sat with bated breath. Nopony wanted to celebrate prematurely again. A minute passed, with no visible changes, then two.

Luna looked to her sister, who was still concentrating, her eyes closed as she knelt. "Tia?" she asked. "What's happening?"

Through gritted teeth, Celestia could only reply, "Fighting... still."

"I feel my magic returning," Twilight said, tentatively reaching out along the lines of power Celestia was sending upward. "Maybe we can help her with the sun now?"

"No!" Celestia shouted. "Don't touch it!"

Startled, Twilight instantly dropped the magic she'd been probing with.

"What's wrong, sister?" Luna asked, but got only a head shake in return.

"Look!" Scootaloo said, holding one of the pinholed leaves and pointing at the image it cast on the ground. "Something's happening!"

The other ponies looked, and saw that a dark spot had appeared in the middle of the sun's disc. It was growing.

Twilight, feeling her magic was again strong enough for a proper field, cast one above the group, tinting it dark, like smoked glass. With the light dimmed, the ponies could now look directly at the event. What they saw was something none of them would ever forget.

There was a hole in the sun.

It started small, easily confused with a large sunspot, but quickly grew and gained definition. It was like looking into an impossibly deep well, if the well were lined with stars. The center was pure blackness, but surrounding that was a warped and distorted field of stars, all tinged darker and darker shades of red as they got closer to the apparent edge of the anomaly.

"Is that what normally happens when stars collide?" Applejack asked.

"Certainly not in my experience," Luna said.

"Do you think it's an illusion?" Twilight said. "It can't possibly be going all the way though the sun to the stars behind. Can it?"

"One moment," Luna said, closing her eyes to focus for a moment. "It appears almost identically when seen from the moon. The stars within the rim appear from to have shifted, but the hole itself is perfectly centered in the disc of the sun, despite the fact that the view is nearly forty degrees off angle from here."

"That's impossible!" Twilight said, before thinking better of it. "Or at least it should be."

"Hey," Sweetie Belle said, looking up. "I think it stopped growing."

"I think you're right." Twilight said. "That's good at—"

"Ahhh!" Celestia screamed, the sound full of pain as she fell onto her side. Luna was next to her instantly.

"Tia, what's wrong?" she said, cradling her sister's head with her own magic.

Celestia's eyes flickered rapidly beneath the closed lids, but she didn't respond. While that was worrisome to the other ponies, it was was still less of a shock than how she now appeared. Gone were the ethereal mane and tail, as well as the eternal beauty that was the envy of mares around the world. Before them now lay an aged, wrinkled mare, her mane and tail nothing but dull, frazzled, and unkempt gray hair. Across her muzzle and face were the lines, wrinkles, and balding patches of fur that one would expect from a wizened grandmother near the end of her days, not the immortal Queen of the Sun. Ribs showed beneath the skin of her barrel, and one could trace the details of every bone and sinew through the emaciated flesh of her limbs.

"Oh sister," Luna said, wrapping her forelegs around Celestia, and beginning to cry. "What did you do? What did you do!"

There was no reply.
> Chapter 1: The Longest Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: The Longest Day

Royal Ponyville Library.
Twenty hours after the Hole.

"Aarrgh!" Twilight screamed in frustration, before letting her head flop onto the desk in front of her. "It's no use! We've been at this all night and there's just no way—"

Her rant was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." Scootaloo hopped up from the couch in the library where she'd been doing her own research. "Discord?" she said, surprised to see the former Lord of Chaos waiting at the entrance.

"Yes, 'tis I," lamented the draconequus. "Though perhaps 'Minor Incongruence' might be a better name now. Can you believe I had to walk all the way over here?"

"Having a tough time without your magic?"

"You know, you never really appreciate having instantaneous travel through a dimension of milk and cookies until you've lost it."

"Uh huh," Twilight said. "I'm sure it must be tough being confined to a normal existence like the rest of us."

Discord rolled his eyes. "Says the magical alicorn princess."

Twilight smiled softly. "Touchè." She'd been having these verbal sparring matches with Discord for years now. While she was never as close of a companion to him as Fluttershy was, they'd been reasonably good friends in the time since his reformation, and that friendship had come to express itself in sarcastic and witty digs at one another. She was glad to see him still trying to be jovial, even though it was clear the loss of his magic was going to take some real adjustment on his part.

"Well, don't let me interrupt," Discord said, waving a paw dismissively. "Please, continue with whatever nerdery you two bookworms were up to. I believe it was something involving frustrated screams and, if I'm not mistaken, the distinct sound of a head hitting a desk. I do wonder, whatever could cause such concern?"

Twilight's smile faded as she recalled the seriousness of the situation. After Celestia had blocked Nemesis's star with her own sun, the magic absorption of the anomaly had surrounded the sun itself. Celestia had poured incredible amounts of her own magic into it just to keep the sun in place in the sky as it absorbed the physical impact, as only a tiny fraction made it through, while the rest was sucked into the Hole. Doing so had cost her dearly, and she had tapped into her own lifeforce to finish the deed and save the world. Now, her own magic connection to the sun had been nearly severed, with just enough remaining to keep Nemesis confined, but leaving her unable to control the sun's movement at all.

"...and that's where the immediate problems start," Twilight said, after explaining the situation to Discord.

"Well, the day has seemed a tad long," he said.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "Try twenty-one hours too long!"

"And if we don't fix it soon," Twilight added. "Half the world is going to freeze, while the other half practically melts."

"So fix it," Discord said, gesticulating with his paws. "Harmony it up and get things rolling!"

"Weren't you listening?" Scootaloo said, raising her voice. "We can't! Celestia can't move the sun. Twilight can't! Luna can't! Any magic that tries to touch it just gets consumed by that stupid hole! We've been up all night—and I use the term loosely—trying to figure out how to do it, but we've got nothing!"

"Whoa there. Hold your horses! I'm on your side, remember?" Discord said, before beginning to tap a claw against his chin in thought. "So, everything will die because you can't spin the sun around the world?"

"Yes!" Scootaloo said, frustrated.

"So why don't you spin the world around the sun instead?"

"Why don't we..." Scootaloo's rant trailed off as the thought penetrated her mind and was actually considered. When it reached the core, it clicked into place. There, new ideas connected, ready, waiting to go from the years of physics research and study she'd done. She looked at Twilight, a lopsided grin on her face as it all came together in her head.

"That might actually work..." Twilight said, as similar ideas permeated her own mind.

Discord grinned. "And here I thought you two were supposed to be some of the smartest ponies in Equestria!"

"Yeah, yeah... " Twilight said, smiling in return. "Seriously though, if this works, everypony in the world will owe you a debt of gratitude for saving their lives."

"Two, actually." The draconequus held up a pair of talons. "Celestia knows I didn't walk here for my health!"

"Okay, yes," Twilight giggled. "You gave up your magic to save all of us, so we'll count this as number two."

"Why did you come over here, anyway?" Scootaloo asked.

Discord's smile faded and he sighed. "Fluttershy and I... we kind of had it out earlier."

"I'm sorry," Scootaloo said. "What happened?"

Twilight's first reaction was to chide Scootaloo for wasting time. The world was on the verge of destruction—again—and there was no time to waste. But she bit down on that instinct. There was never time... unless you made it.

Over the years, she'd been Celestia's personal student, the Element of Magic, a Princess of Equestria, and many other things. She'd faced villains on a regular basis, ancient evil more times than she could count, and the end of the world—or at least life as ponies knew it—many times over. Through it all, she'd come to a rather irregular conclusion: The world would always need help, but if you didn't make time for your friends when they needed help, then what was the point? With that in mind, she mentally set aside all her thoughts of orbital mechanics, and focused on her friend.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Tell us what's wrong."

"It's nothing," Discord said. "She's just... just blaming me for the way she looks now. She says she 'never asked for this' and won't stop crying. I mean, I tried to tell her I didn't care if her limbs were all symmetrical, she still looked good to me. But then she just started throwing things. I'm not used to blocking projectiles with parts of my own body, so I left."

Scootaloo and Twilight looked at each other, and Scootaloo spoke up first.

"You know," she said, "have you tried looking at it from her perspective?"

Discord slammed a fist down on a nearby table. "Of course I have! I've spent a dozen years trying to see things like you ponies do! But every time I think I've figured her out, she turns out to be so impossibly unpredictable!"

Twilight smirked. "Says the former embodiment of chaos."

Discord gave a wan smile, though it never quite reached his eyes. "I just don't understand, though. I gave her everything... everything I possibly could. It literally saved the world. But now she's mad—at me—for what I've done?"

Twilight walked over to Discord, looking him in the eyes. "She is grateful for what you did. We all are. I promise. But for her entire life, Fluttershy has been a quiet pegasus, finding solace with her animals and a relatively simple life. But in a single day, she becomes an alicorn, and then a... whatever sort of hybrid she is now." Twilight probably had more questions than Fluttershy herself on exactly what happened with that, but those could wait until after they'd fixed the sun.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "Twilight's right. I don't think she's really mad at you, she's just scared. I remember how frightened I was when I first learned I wasn't a normal pony, but at least I still looked like myself. Fluttershy's been changed twice in a day though. I can only imagine how scary that must be."

"So if she's not really mad at me..." Discord said, letting the question trail off.

"Go to her, you dolt!" Twilight said, putting a hoof on Discord's slumping shoulder. "Let her throw things if she must, but be there for her when she's done."

"You're right! Once more unto the breach!" Discord said, rising and holding out a paw as if it had a saber in it. When none appeared though, he slouched and resumed his frown. "It's just not the same without the props."

"You'll live," Twilight said. "And so will Fluttershy."

Discord nodded, then quirked an eyebrow. "Speaking of living, shouldn't you be rushing off to save the world or something, before you run out of time?"

The former unicorn, alicorn, princess, librarian, Element of Harmony, and little sister best friend forever rolled her eyes with a smile. "Don't worry, there's always time if you make it."

----

Canterlot Castle, Throne Room.

"So you're suggesting we spin the planet around the sun?" Celestia said, her wrinkled eyes still bright and fierce beneath her gray mane. Luna had brought her back to the Castle after the confrontation, and it had taken hours for her to regain consciousness, but she'd insisted on being a part of the planning the moment she could stand. No pony in the castle could bring themselves to object.

"Technically," Scootaloo said, "it's called an orbit."

"But you want to spin it as well as 'orbit' it, yes?"

"Right," Twilight said. "The spin will provide a rough approximation of the day/night cycle we're used to. The orbit is needed so that we can keep the world close enough to the sun without it falling in."

Scotaloo jumped in. "With the Hole, the light coming from the sun is much less than it used to be. Right now, it's toasting one side of the planet, but if we get it spinning, there actually won't be enough warmth for the whole world unless we move it closer."

"They speak truth, sister," Luna said. "I wish there was some other option, but I see none. Already crops are dying and it's only been a day and a half."

Celestia let her head droop. While she was far from dead, her considerable age had caught up with her, and she couldn't deny the toll it took. The other ponies looked at her with concern before she finally spoke up. "I just worry that if we sacrifice the magic of our world for a little warmth now, we may never recover it."

"I know, Tia." Luna put a wing around her sister. "But the world will slowly freeze if we don't bring it closer to the sun... and the Hole. Twilight and I have both run the calculations several times; being close enough to keep the world alive means being well inside the Hole's zone of influence. If we remain outside it, however, we have only a week or two at best before all the crops fail and ponies begin to starve."

The Queen sighed. "But a world without magic..."

"Not without magic," Twilight said. "Just... weakened magic."

"How weak do you think it will be?"

"It's hard to say, but I would start by evacuating Cloudsdale and the other pegasi cities... just in case."

"Weather control?"

Twilight shook her head. "I can't say for certain, but my estimates suggest that pegasi will have almost no control over clouds, rain, or other weather. We'll be subject to free range, unmoderated weather like the Everfree and other wild zones."

"Wait," Scootaloo said. "What about seasons then? If the pegasi can't manage the weather, then how do we handle Winter Wrap-Up and such?"

"That's a long-term variation," Twilight said. "If we plan things precisely, we can have an almost universally spring-like weather pattern through most of the central latitudes."

"Yes," Luna said. "But if I'm understanding the plan correctly, we've only one attempt at this endeavor. Once we set the world on its course, we'll have only the most limited control of it when it gets closer and our magic diminishes. While Equestria may survive a year or so without seasons, what if our hardship must be endured for longer?"

Twilight laughed nervously. "Surely we'll find a proper solution before then?"

"But what if we can't?" Scootaloo said, looking at the purple alicorn with a determined glare. "What if it's really that bad?"

"Scootaloo is correct," Luna said. "While I am ever optimistic, I feel it is only prudent to prepare for the worst."

"But how?" Twilight said. "While a lot of Winter Wrap-Up is about earth pony, non-magical duties, none of it would ever work without pegasi magic behind it all, shifting the temperatures and weather from cold to warm."

Celestia lifted her head, a lopsided and weary smile gracing her face. "Tilt."

"Excuse me?" Twilight said.

"Tilt it," the Queen said. "Tilt the world. If you're orbiting it, then the top half will get more daylight for half the year, while the lower half gets proportionally more darkness. As it moves around the sun, that will shift and reverse though."

Both Twilight and Scootaloo looked toward the ceiling for a second, their lips and eyebrows twitching as they ran calculations in their heads. Luna, however, saw it almost instantly. "Tia, you're a genius," she said, grinning.

"But," Twilight said, reaching for an objection. "That would mean it was winter in parts of the world while it was mid-summer in others. The seasons would be completely opposite depending on where a pony was in the world!"

"But there would still be seasons!" Scootaloo said, impressed with the idea. "It'd be weird to get used to, but it just might work! Well, if the orbital period we need for proper warmth is close enough to a year long."

"Even if it is not," Luna said. "Some seasonal variation is surely better than none."

Twilight smooshed her hooves into her eyes and face, rubbing them; thirty six hours without sleep now, and her sense of "crazy" was getting blurrier all the time. "So we've got to spin up the world, tilt the axis at a precise angle, orbit the moon around that in some stable manner, and send the entire system on a hyper-accurate orbital insertion toward the sun, knowing that we'll lose magical control of everything as we get closer, and thus will be limited to only the most minor of corrections near the end?"

"Piece of cake, huh?" Scootaloo joked, elbowing Twilight in the ribs.

"If only," Twilight said. "I actually know a pony who's an expert on cake."

----

Outside Fluttershy's Cottage.

"Wheeee!" Pinkie Pie shrieked, as she did yet another vertical loop in the sky. "Come on, Fluttershy, get up here!"

"Umm, I don't really think I—" Fluttershy was interrupted as Pinkie swooped in and grabbed her by a forepaw. "Eeep!"

Her instinct to hover kicked in as Pinkie dragged her up into the sky, and the two mares hung face to face at treetop level.

"See," Pinkie said. "Isn't this fun!"

"I just..." Fluttershy said. "I don't feel right being up here... like this."

"Like what, silly?"

"You know," Fluttershy wiggled her toes and talons, and pointed to her antlers as well. "Like this."

"You mean the most totally awesome, bad-ass, completely symmetrical, and amazing alicorn-draconequus hybrid ever?"

Fluttershy blushed. "I don't think you should say that word."

"It's okay, some of my best friends are donkeys. Besides, your coltfriend said it!"

The yellow pony hybrid gasped. "How do you know that?"

"So Discord is your coltfriend!" Pinkie said, doing a mid-air prance with her hooves. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

"Shhh!" Fluttershy said, looking around for witnesses as she clamped a paw over Pinkie's snout. "Stop shouting that!"

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Pinkie Pie continued in a loud whisper once Fluttershy let go of her face. Seeing that her friend still wasn't smiling though, she stopped and tilted her head to the side. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I... I just don't know. It's all so confusing. One day everything is safe and normal. Then suddenly I'm watching my friends about to be killed by some big evil pony, and there's Dizzy in the middle of it all, telling me he loves me. Then he gives me his magic and now I'm not even me anymore!"

"Of course you're still you, silly! If you weren't you then you'd be somepony else, and somepony else would be you. But you're not somepony else, and somepony else isn't you, so you have to be you since you are you!"

Maybe it was the sheer enthusiasm of the delivery, Fluttershy thought, but the pronoun soup actually seemed to help. "I guess you're right," she admitted.

"Of course I'm right. If I wasn't right, I'd be wrong, but I'm not wrong, I'm Pinkie Pie. So if I'm not wrong, that means I'm right!"

Fluttershy laughed. Even after years together, she still had trouble telling when her pink friend was being sincere, or was just putting on an act to cheer somepony up. In the end, she supposed, it didn't really matter, and that's what made Pinkie Pie's talent so special.

"It's just that so many things changed so fast," Fluttershy said. "I don't know what to do. I'm just... just so scared by it all."

"I know," Pinkie said as she wrapped her friend in a hug. "But it'll be okay. You know that, right?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"Good! Now let's turn that frown," Pinkie Pie rolled so she was hovering inverted, "upside down!" When Fluttershy didn't follow suit, she grabbed the hybrid by the antlers and started to roll her herself. "I said... 'Uuuupsiiide doooownnnn...'"

The two were interrupted by Applejack. "What in tarnation are ya'll up to?" she said, stopping mid-trot on her way up the path to the cottage and staring into the air at the two.

"Eeep!" Fluttershy shrieked, dropping to the ground as her wings slammed reflexively to her sides in surprise.

"Oh hey, AJ!" Pinkie said, swooping down to greet the farm pony. "I was just explaining to Fluttershy that there's no need to be scared." Pinkie looked at the tangled mass of paws, talons, antlers, tail, and snout that was the crashed Fluttershy. "Though it doesn't seem to be working like I hoped..."

"Ya don't say."

"Oh! Did you come out here to fly with us? Have you figured out loops yet? They're so much fun! I'm all..."

"Pinkie."

"...and then it's just 'Wheee!' because I'm upside down but it still feels like I'm right side up..."

"Pinkie!"

"...so maybe Dash can show me how she does that one with the..."

"Pinkie Pie!"

"Yes, Applejack?"

Applejack took a deep breath to compose herself and mentally lowered the volume. "I'm sorry, but I ain't here ta fly with ya'll. The Queen's asked us all ta come to Canterlot immediately. Apparently this thing with the sun ain't over."

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy said, having untangled her limbs and joined the conversation. "It's not because... I mean... he's not back, is he?"

"Nemesis?" Applejack said. Fluttershy nodded. "Naw. I suspect it's got somethin' to do with the sun still bein' up."

Both Pinkie and Fluttershy looked at Applejack with confusion.

"Neither a ya'll noticed? It's been daylight for goin' on forty hours now."

"Oh my!" Fluttershy said. "After I fought with Dizzy and he left, I... well, I just cried until I fell asleep. I thought I just slept all the way through the night."

Applejack looked at Pinkie. "What?" the party pony said. "I lost my watch, so I had no idea what time it was."

"Ya don't wear a watch, Pinkie."

"I know! I lost it!"

"I mean, you have never worn a watch for as long as I've known ya."

"I know," Pinkie said, using the same slow enunciation Applejack had. "I lost it."

"How did you lose it if you never had it?"

"I had it until I lost it!"

"I didn't know you had a watch, Pinkie," Fluttershy said. "When did you lose it?"

"Oh," Pinkie said, back to her normal, chipper voice, "on the rock farm when I was eight."

Applejack attempted to plant a hoof on her forehead, only to have it clonk awkwardly against her new horn. She sighed. It was bad enough that the hat didn't sit right anymore, but this was just turning into "one o' those days."

Just as she was about to suggest they all get moving toward Canterlot, Discord came walking up the path. Fluttershy saw him, then looked away to avoid eye contact, so Applejack spoke up. "Heya, Discord. Ya comin' with us to Canterlot?"

"Actually," he said. "Why don't you two go on ahead. I need to talk to Fluttershy."

"Well, the Queen said she wants all of—" Applejack said, but was cut off by Pinkie.

"That's a great idea! Come on AJ, let's fly there now!"

"But I'm supposed ta bring all ya'll with—"

"I said, 'Come on AJ, let's fly there now.'" Pinkie made several large and not-so-subtle gestures to get her point across.

"Oh," Applejack said, getting the hint. "Right then. We'll just be on our way and see ya'll there." She trotted past Discord and on down the path as Pinkie followed above.

After they were beyond earshot of Discord and Fluttershy, Pinkie looked down at Applejack, who continued to gallop back toward Ponyville. "Where are we going, AJ?"

"Like I said, the Queen wants us in Canterlot."

"But Canterlot is that way!" Pinkie pointed at the mountain on the horizon to the right.

"And the train is waitin' for us in Ponyville."

"You don't need a train, silly! You've got these!" Pinkie said, gliding lower and poking Applejack's wing with a hoof. Applejack ignored her and continued running. Pinkie flew above her, and rolled inverted, letting her face drop down right beside Applejack's. "Why aren't you flying?"

Applejack tried juking left and right to avoid Pinkie's stare, but the party pony was quick and coordinated, even when upside down. Finally, Applejack skidded to a halt.

"Dang it, Pinkie! I just don't like flyin', okay?"

"But it's so much fun!"

"Not fer me, it ain't. I get all woozy with nothin' under mah hooves, and every time I look down, I feel like I'm about to fall."

Pinkie thought about this for moment. To her, the woozy feelings in your stomach when you did loops and went upside down were the best part. It was like your own personal roller coaster. But she knew not everypony liked roller coasters either. "It's okay, AJ. We can take the train if you want."

Applejack sighed. "No Pinkie, you're right. Flyin' there's much quicker. I can't let my own fears get in the way when the fate o' the world might be at stake." Applejack leaped into the air and started pumping her wings. "Come on, let's go before I change my mind."

"Wait!" Pinkie shouted, causing Applejack to drop to the ground in surprise. "I've got an even better, super faster idea for how to get there!"

"Ya do?"

"I just remembered, we're alicorns now! We got wings, and we got horns. We can just zap ourselves to Canterlot!"

Applejack looked at her with a not inconsiderable amount of trepidation. "I don't know about that... I'm pretty sure I've heard Twilight saying that teleportin' was a mite dangerous if a pony don't know what she was doin'."

"It can't be that hard!" Pinkie said, starting to scrunch up her brow in her idea of concentration. "Now I bet if I just think like really, really, really hard about how much I want to be in Canterlot—like right now and not having to fly all the way—that..."

"Ahhhh!" Applejack screamed. She wasn't sure what was worse, the distinct impression that she'd been turned inside out at least twice over, or that she now found herself clinging to a weather vane on the top of a very high castle tower.

"Hehehe!" Pinkie laughed nearby. She was dangling from one rear hoof which was caught in the rain gutter of another parapet nearby. "Guess maybe it does take a bit of practice."

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack yelled, closing her eyes and grabbing the weather vane even tighter as it broke loose under her weight, causing her to slip to the edge of the roof. "Get me down from here!"

She opened her eyes a moment later, when she felt a hoof poking her... in her wing. "Silly Applejack!" Pinkie said, then leaped off the roof and glided to the ground. Applejack swallowed her pride—and fear—then followed shortly after.

----

Canterlot Castle, Throne Room.
A few minutes—and one minor crash-landing—later.

Applejack was still pulling the last bits of courtyard grass from her mane and feathers as she and Pinkie trotted into the throne room.

"Greetings Applejack, Pinkie Pie," Luna said. "My apologies, but the others have not yet arrived."

Applejack laughed nervously. "Yeah, Pinkie here found us a bit of a shortcut."

"So my guards inform me," Luna said, smiling. "Do not fret; I'm assured the repair shall be trivial."

Applejack blushed, knowing now that there had been witnesses to her rooftop humiliation. "Yeah, uh... sorry 'bout that."

Three loud pops sounded behind Luna, and the ponies turned to see that Twilight had arrived with Spike and Scootaloo. As greetings were being exchanged, there was a loud thud against one of the larger stained glass windows. A vaguely pony-shaped outline could be seen through the glass as it slid off the window to the ground. Scootaloo looked askance at Twilight, who explained that since every other villain seemed to always make a dramatic entrance through the glass, they'd finally decided to shore things up with a couple of reinforcement spells. "I put the same spells on the library in Ponyville too," Twilight added. "It does wonders for encouraging the proper use of doors." She winked as a slightly dazed Rainbow Dash walked in, then turned to talk to Luna.

"Hey, squirt!" Dash said, pretending nothing had happened as she trotted over to Scootaloo. "You won't believe how fast this new alicorn magic lets me go! I just raced from Manehatten to Los Pegasus... twice!"

A smirk crossed Scootaloo's face. "What was your best time?"

Dash was surprised. "I uh... wasn't timing it. But wait, you've done that already?"

"Sure! We've raced it quite a few times. The coast-to-coast atmospheric record is forty three minutes, eighteen seconds. But that was after we decided using the jet stream was cheating. I made something like thirty seven minutes before that. And of course sub-orbital time is even faster, but we're still figuring out the rules for that."

"Hang on there, Scoots. You found another pegasus that can keep up with you?"

"Not a pegasus." Scootaloo grinned, enjoying the way she could keep Dash guessing.

"Who's this 'we' you're talking about then?"

"Apple Bloom."

Dash opened her mouth to say something, but paused with her jaw agape and scratched her head. "Okay, I give up. Explain."

Scootaloo laughed. "Well, we've kinda been keeping it a secret so we could do a big reveal when everything was finished, but seeing as the world's about to end, might as well let you in on it now." She draped a wing over Dash's shoulders, leaning in to whisper conspiratorially. "I've got two words that are going to change your life, Dash: Rocket Science."

Scootaloo's explanation was interrupted as Celestia walked in, followed by Rarity, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle, all fresh from Ponyville. "Thank you all for coming," she said. "I hope you've all had a chance to rest since we last talked, as I'm afraid we have another major challenge in front of us now."

There was one more pair of pops, revealing Fluttershy and Discord. The hybrid pony's eyes were a bit bloodshot and swollen. It was clear that she'd been crying, but her friends were glad to see she was smiling as well, and as Discord had an arm draped over her back, it looked like the two had made up.

"Umm, sorry we're late," Fluttershy said. "We, umm, had some stuff to take care of and..."

"Think nothing of it, my little pony," Celestia said. "Or should I say, Princess?"

Fluttershy blushed. "Oh my, I don't..."

"Yes, a good point, sister!" Luna said, stepping up beside the Queen. "The five of you are now alicorns, and with that comes the title of—"

"Nuh uh!" Applejack said, making a cut-it motion with her forehoof. "Not doin' it. I ain't no princess, and you ain't gonna make me one!"

"But Applejack—" Twilight started to say.

"Not up for debate, Twi. Look, I love ya all dearly, and you girls are the best friends a pony could ever ask for. Ya can all be princesses if ya want and I'll be happy for ya. Heck, ya all deserve to be princesses! But that ain't me. Personally, I think Equestria's got enough princesses as it is—no offense, yer majesties—but even if that weren't the case, I don't want no fancy title in front of my name, even if I do got wings, and a horn on my head now."

"But you have saved the world in stopping Nemesis," Luna said. "That accomplishment deserves recognition and title."

"The world ain't saved yet, or we wouldn't be here. Besides, Discord did more than I did this last go. Why don't ya let him be a princess instead?"

"Oooh, I always wanted to be a pretty, pretty princess," Discord said, posing demurely with a leg kicked up behind him, pretending to twirl a parasol over his head. Fluttershy rolled her eyes at him, and he returned her gaze with a puppy dog stare. She gave in, snapping her fingers to make a parasol and tiara appear for the draconequus. "Thank you, deary," he said, the guise complete.

Twilight ignored the garish display, and stepped closer to Applejack. "Why does this bother you so much, AJ? It's not like anypony is gonna make you move to a castle or take on extra responsibilities. It's not going to change anything important."

"I know, Twi, but it just don't feel right for a pony to be thinkin' of herself as above other ponies." Realizing she'd just said that in the presence of at least half the nation's royalty, Applejack quickly corrected. "I mean... it don't feel right for me to be thinkin' of myself as above other ponies."

"Applejack," Twilight said. "Nopony is going to think differently of you. I remember how I worried about that when I first became a princess, but after I got used to it, I learned it didn't really change anything."

"It did though, Twi. It did. I'm not sayin' it was a bad change, mind ya. But that's 'cause you were always meant for this sorta thing. Yer a born leader, Twilight. Being a princess is part of your destiny. But it ain't mine."

"But, AJ—"

"No, she's right," Queen Celestia said. "Titles carry weight, even if nothing else changes." She looked at Twilight and Luna, a soft smile showing through wrinkled lips as she continued. "If they didn't, you two would never have teamed up with Cadance to insist I take the title of Queen."

"But that's different," Twilight said. "It was just a change to—"

"Yes, you had very convincing arguments for it, and as you'll recall, I did acquiesce. But the point remains; even though 'nothing important changed' there is still a very distinct difference now in being called Queen than when I was called Princess. I cannot fault Applejack for not wanting that sort of burden."

"Thank you, yer majesty," Applejack said, nodding in a slight bow.

Celestia nodded in return. "Case in point. As for the rest of you, I suggest we table the discussion of titles until the current crisis has been averted."

"Right!" Dash said, stepping forward. "So what do we do to fix the sun?"

"I'm afraid we still don't have an answer for that," Twilight said. "For now, we're just trying to keep the world from dying."

"What do you mean? Don't we have to get rid of the Hole for that?"

"Eventually, yes, but for now all we can do is..."

The ponies in the room spent the next several hours going over the plan.

----

CMC Headquarters.
Sixty-one hours after the Hole.

The Crusaders popped into existence on the porch as Sweetie Belle teleported them back to their headquarters. Looking down from their post high in the branches of Rupert, the three ponies looked across the orchards and hills at the sunset, still panting with exhaustion. They'd spent the past day and a half helping to evacuate Cloudsdale, while the various alicorns had started to rotate the planet. The former pegasus city was now sitting in a field on the far side of Canterlot, its inhabitants safely relocated to terrestrial locations.

"I never thought I'd be so glad to see the sun go down," Sweetie Belle said, letting the breeze dry her sweat-plastered mane.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "This feels like it's been the longest day ever!"

The other two glared at her, as they dripped with sweat from the sauna-like weather three full days of sunlight had brought on.

"What?" Scootaloo said, grinning. "Somepony had to make that joke!"

"Could be worse," Sweetie said. "Just imagine how cold it must be in Saddle Arabia right now. I heard it even snowed."

"Don't know about ya'll," Apple Bloom said, wiping sweat off her own forehead, "but I wouldn't mind a bit o' snow right now."

The others nodded in agreement. A moment later, Apple Bloom turned and went into the clubhouse. "I'm gonna see how the others are gettin' on."

She pulled out the dragonstone from her desk. It was one of the early models, about the size of a plate, and not exactly hoof-portable like the newer ones, but it was a gift from Gunnar—the Caribou High Chieftain she'd met the day she got her cutie mark—and it was perfectly serviceable as a desk unit. She tapped the activation symbol, and the green, heatless flame of dragonfire sprung into existence above the stone. She then tapped the runes to activate the royal channels that had been woven into this particular stone by the Queen herself, letting her access the same communications that Twilight, Luna, and the other alicorns were using to coordinate their efforts around the world.

Luna had stationed herself at the north pole, while Twilight had gone to the south. The other alicorns, including Cadance, were spread more or less evenly around the world's equator. The two at the poles were combining their powers to orbit the moon around the world several times per hour. The tidal drag from the moon was slowly imparting inertia to spin up the planet, but the resulting tides limited how low—and thus how powerful—the acceleration could be. Unicorns throughout the world had been stationed near particularly vulnerable parts of the coastlines, and were attempting to fight off the worst of the tides.

Meanwhile, the alicorns along the equator were using their magic to push and tilt the axis of the planet itself. They would push northward for part of a rotation, then southward on the opposite side, the timing of their actions coordinated by Luna and Twilight, who were making precise observations of the night skies to track the planet's shift. After each push, they'd move some miles east, to once again be in prime location for another push. After the set up had been explained in the throne room, Rainbow Dash had described it "like some sort of weird, slow-motion, magic jump rope with the moon."

The dragonfire crackled with sound. "Okay Fluttershy, that's good. Stop and move to the next location." The voice belonged to Twilight, though as the vibrations were magically transmitted through the trapped dragonfire, they lost some of the lower and higher frequencies, making her voice sound tinny and small.

"Okay, Twilight." If Twilight's voice was tinny and small over the dragonstone, then Fluttershy's was almost microscopic.

"Where's she at?" Scootaloo asked, standing now behind Apple Bloom.

"I think she's supposed to be somewhere in the desert near Saddle Arabia." Apple Bloom dug out the copy of the plan's map, and pointed. "Yeah, she should be moving from here to her next point here."

"Ask her if it's snowing there!"

"Nuh uh," Apple Bloom said. "I've got it on receive only. We shouldn't interrupt."

"Yeah, Scoots," Sweetie said. "They've got enough work to do without us pestering them."

The dragonfire crackled again, this time with with the voice of Luna. "Okay, Rainbow Dash, prepare to push south on my mark."

"Roger that," Dash replied.

"In 3... 2... 1... Go."

"On it!"

"Good. Hold for at least nine minutes if you can. I'll signal again when it is finished."

"Can do," Dash said, though it was clear, even over the dragonstone, that she was straining with the effort.

"I can't believe they've been at this for seventeen hours already," Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie nodded. "And another ten to go at least."

Fluttershy's voice came through again. "Umm... Twilight?"

"Not ready for you again yet, Fluttershy." Twilight responded.

"No, umm... it's not that."

"Something wrong?"

"I can, umm, sense something weird. I think maybe I can feel something with Dizzy's magic "

The three Crusaders looked at each other, curious, before leaning closer to the flame to listen.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked again.

"No, well, not really. But now I see some sort of tomb thing a little bit north of here. It really feels all cold and scary like Nemesis. Maybe somepony can come take a look?"

"I'm sorry Fluttershy, but we need everypony where they are for now."

Dash broke into the conversation, her voice sounding even more strained. "Yeah, some of us are kinda busy here, Flutters."

"Oh, well, okay... I just thought that since we'd talked about those black tower things in that book Dashie mentioned that maybe—"

Scootaloo leaned past Apple Bloom and hit the rune to transmit. "We're on our way, Fluttershy!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at their friend. "We are?"

"What?" Scootaloo said. "It's not like we have anything better to do."

The other two shrugged, then smiled. Who needed sleep anyway?

The three-way hoofbump was completed with "Cutie Mark Crusaders: Tomb Raiders!" then Sweetie's horn glowed, and there was a loud pop as the trio vanished. Only a faint "Eeep!" could be heard through the dragonstone as Fluttershy was surprised by the arrival of three unexpected companions.
> Chapter 2: Tomb Raiders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2: Tomb Raiders

Saddle Arabian Desert.
Sixty-two hours after the Hole.

"Eeep!" Fluttershy screamed, as the trio of Crusaders popped into existence directly in front of her as she crested a dune. Thankfully, she managed to avoid her normal curl-into-a-ball reflex and actually remained aloft.

"Hi, Fluttershy!" Scootaloo yelled, waving as the hybrid pony set down next to them, her hooves and paws crunching through the thin layer of frost covering the sand in the waning moonlight.

"Umm, hi, girls. What are you doing here?"

"We heard ya mention that tomb," Apple Bloom said. "So we came to take a look."

At the mention of the tomb, Sweetie Belle noticed Fluttershy lower her head and her ears, showing her fear at the mere thought of it. If anything, Sweetie thought as she stared, the new hybrid form made the timid pony even easier to read than before.

As Fluttershy made eye contact and realized Sweetie was staring at her, she flinched, pulling her longer body in on itself, trying to be as small as possible as a blush grew on her yellow-furred cheeks. Yes, definitely easier to read, Sweetie decided. Even if she hadn't heard from Scootaloo how Fluttershy was embarrassed by her new form, it was written quite plain in her body language now. But perhaps she could help.

Step one, get Fluttershy to say something ridiculously overnice.

"Sorry to stare," Sweetie said.

This, of course, caused Fluttershy to blush even more. "Well, umm... It's okay. I know I look like a freak now and it's only natural that ponies want to stare at me."

Easier than expected, Sweetie Belle thought. The next part was a bit trickier though. She knew it was very, very difficult to convince Fluttershy to take a compliment directly, so step two was to take the ridiculous statement and run with it some direction that Fluttershy didn't expect.

"Who called you a freak?" Sweetie said, doing her best to sound sincerely offended. "What kind of horrible pony would think you were a freak just because you looked different? Tell us and we'll go take care of 'em right now!" She finished by pounding a hoof into her open paw.

Okay, she thought, perhaps that was a bit of oversell, but hopefully Fluttershy wasn't in a mental state to notice.

"What?" Fluttershy said, eyes going wide in shock and she looked between the three Crusaders, who had caught onto the act and were putting on tough looks as well. "Oh no! Please don't go hurt anypony." Fluttershy then hung her head and continued, "I mean, umm, nopony actually said anything like that."

Step three, wait for Fluttershy to realize her own mistake.

After a moment of silence, Fluttershy looked up and saw a smile on Sweetie Belle's face. "You know," Sweetie said, walking up to Fluttershy to hug her. "I once knew this wise pegasus who told me it wasn't very kind to call a pony names. I think she needs to take her own advice."

Fluttershy leaned into the hug, wrapping paws around Sweetie's neck and sniffling. "It's just so scary."

"I know," Sweetie said. "We all know." She gestured to the other golems. "Trust me."

Fluttershy let go of the hug and sat down, wiping her eyes and smiling as she realized what Sweetie meant. "I guess you girls would know better than anypony."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "Ya remember how much we were all panickin' back when we first learned what we were?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"But I'll bet ya never once thought of me as a freak, even after ya saw me bleedin' mud."

"No!" Fluttershy said. "I would never think that!"

"Mah point exactly," Apple Bloom finished, smiling.

"But I just... it's so hard to get used to looking so different. I mean, even if other ponies don't think badly of me, they're still bound to look at me strangely."

Sweetie could only smile as she held up her own metal paw, wiggling the toes for emphasis. "Tell me about it."

Fluttershy let out a small chuckle and a sigh. "I get your point, Sweetie, but it's not quite the same, is it? I mean, you kept your leg that way on purpose. You told me you could grow your skin and fur back if you wanted. But me... I'm stuck like this."

"Okay, yeah," Sweetie said. "I did make a choice, but the result is the same. Sure, some ponies stare, but you get used to it pretty quickly, and so do they. Besides, the rest of the Elements are going to be getting stares too now that they're all alicorns. Then there's Discord. Ponies used to cower in their homes just seeing him walk by. Now I don't think anypony in town even blinks twice when they see a draconequus mushing a team of ice weasels through the market in mid-summer."

"That was one of his cuter pranks," Fluttershy said, a smile growing around her fangs.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "Everypony in town already knows you two are together, I don't think they'll flinch just because you look a bit more... chaotic."

"Well I suppose that's—" Fluttershy stopped, her facing turning bright red. "What do you mean...  'together'?"

"Oh, come on Fluttershy! It's not like it's a secret. You two are always in town together, making eyes at each other, and all that stuff. Everypony knows you two have been getting it on for a while now."

A small, shrill note began to emanate from somewhere within Fluttershy as her face discovered even brighter shades of red which it could turn. Meanwhile the rest of her seemed to have frozen in place, pupils locked, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Fluttershy?" Sweetie waved a hoof in front of the hybrid, as the shrill noise got louder.

"Way to go," Apple Bloom said, elbowing Scootaloo. "You broke her."

"Hey!" Scootaloo said. "I was just saying what we were all thinking."

"I think ya mean you weren't thinkin'!"

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy," Scootaloo said laying her ears flat against the ever-increasing squeal. "Please... please stop squeaking."

The shrill squeak stopped abruptly, and was followed by a cascade of half-whispered words. "But why would anypony think that I mean we never even so much as kissed until just the other day when he gave me his powers and oh no I can't believe everypony in town thinks Discord and I have been doing... that... that kind of stuff!"

"But you've thought about it, haven't you?" Sweetie said.

Fluttershy kept her head low, but slowly lifted her eyes to stare up at Sweetie with an uncertain grin. "Maaybe...?"

"Ha ha!" Scootaloo laughed. "Good for you!"

"But... I... just... I but..."

"Relax!" Apple Bloom said. "Don't overthink it. You two are perfect fer one another. Everypony in town thinks it, you think it, and I got it on good authority that Discord thinks it too."

Fluttershy's eyes brightened at this. "Really?"

"Really really!" Apple Bloom said. "Hasn't he told ya somethin' like that already?"

"Well, umm, he said that he did love me and all that, but I... umm, wasn't sure if he really meant it like that."

"Oh for crying out loud!" Scootaloo said. "Fluttershy! Look at me!"

Though her ears instinctively went flat at the aggressive tone, the hybrid pony obeyed and looked at the orange pegasus. Scootaloo grabbed both sides of her face, pulling her closer and completely invading her personal space.

"Fluttershy," Scootaloo said. "Stop worrying about your appearance. You were a fashion model at one point, and if anything, you look even more exotic, lithe, and powerful now with this new form. Anypony would be lucky to have you on that alone. You've also saved Equestria more times than I can count, and deserve to be happy for that alone as well. And now... you're possibly the most powerful pony in the world! But Discord loved you before all that, and still does."

Fluttershy blushed again at the compliments. "Well, umm, I guess that's true, but Discord—"

"You're not getting it." Scootaloo sighed. "Discord didn't give up his power to save the world. He gave up his power to save you!"

There was a moment of complete silence as Fluttershy's mouth hung agape. Then she spoke. "Do you, umm... really think it—"

"Yes!" all three of the crusaders shouted in unison.

The hybrid pony was silent for another moment. Tears then began to form in the corners of her eyes, but they were accompanied by a growing smile. "Thank you, girls," she said. "I... I needed that."

The trio all smiled, and Apple Bloom spoke up. "Now, about that tomb?"

----

Somewhere slightly northwestish.
Slightly laterish.

"Found it!" Apple Bloom shouted, as she surfed the wave of sand over the crest of a dune, her earth pony magic turning the fine grains into her own, personal conveyance. The other two Crusaders had split up somewhat to search, as Fluttershy's alicorn flight had covered quite a few miles between her sighting of the ruins and the point where they'd caught up with her. She'd pointed them in the general direction, but had to hurry on to the next target site to help with shifting the planet, and couldn't take the time to go back and show them the exact location.

"I see it!" came the faint call from Scootaloo, somewhere off in the sky to the east. The pegasus swung closer and shouted "I'll go find Sweetie!" before soaring into the distance again. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom headed directly for the sharp, artificial angles sticking out against the otherwise curved world of dunes and sky.

As she approached the ruins, the silhouette resolved into individual structures. There were several domed roofs, held up by columns half-buried in sand. The architecture looked quite similar to many of the elaborate, open-air structures in modern Saddle Arabia. The roofs seemed to be arranged around an open area and a black obelisk. It was only a couple of stories high, nowhere near the three hundred feet Discord had described. Then again, Apple Bloom thought, the draconequus was quite prone to exaggeration.

The tell-tale "pop" of a teleport let her know that Sweetie and Scootaloo had arrived, and she turned to find them standing a few feet beside her.

"Wow," Scootaloo said. "That's a pretty fancy tomb."

Sweetie Belle started walking toward it, gawking at the structures herself as she got closer. "It doesn't really look like a tomb though. Too open for that."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said, as she and Scootaloo trotted forward and into the structures as well. "It's more like a temple or garden."

Scootaloo lifted a hoof, about to shout a new rallying cry, then thought better of it. "Nah, 'tomb raiders' still sounds better than 'garden raiders' I think. Let's just stick with that."

"Hey!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Look at this."

The other two turned to see what the earth pony had found. Behind the initial semi-circle of roofs, there actually was a garden, and in it, a fountain which had a slow trickle of water dribbling into it from a small rocky outcrop. There was a thin layer of ice over the rest of the water's surface.

"Must be some kind of spring to be flowing for all these years," Sweetie Belle said.

"How deep do ya think ya'd have to go to hit water in all this sand?" Apple Bloom said. Sweetie and Scootaloo could only shrug. If the earth pony didn't know, they surely wouldn't.

The three continued to investigate the ruins for a bit, but other than a few abstract murals, didn't find anything of interest. Beyond, that is, the obelisk itself. Unable to procrastinate any further, the three finally turned and faced it as the first rays of dawn began to brighten the sky. Thinking consciously about it, they could all feel the slight sense of foreboding that emanated from the artifact.

Sweetie Belle was the first to step forward into the sandy courtyard. "Well, it's not nearly as big as Discord suggested." As she said that, the ground began to rumble, and the sand surrounding the monument begin to shift. Sweetie quickly scrambled back to the slate floor beneath the roofs surrounding the open space around the obelisk.

As the Crusaders watched, the sand in the courtyard drained away like water in a tub, revealing a massive cylindrical well surrounding the obelisk, one that descended hundreds of feet below ground, and was maybe fifty feet across. When the sand finally stopped flowing, it was clear that the thirty feet of obsidian above ground was only a small fraction of the massive obelisk that continued deep into the earth.

"Oh," Sweetie said, as the roaring shush of flowing earth subsided. "Never mind then."

Stepping to the edge of the massive abyss, the ponies saw that the light of early morning only reached a short way into the depths. Sweetie cast a small light orb spell, sending it dropping into the darkness. As it descended, they could vaguely make out a spiral staircase protruding from the stone wall of the well, and eventually it hit bottom, showing that the entire thing looked to be perhaps two-hundred and fifty feet deep. Tracing the staircase back up, they could see that it started on the far side of the courtyard from where they were, and looked to provide easy access to the bottom.

"Well?" Apple Bloom said, looking to her friends for their thoughts.

"Riiight," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes. "Like we're somehow not going down there."

"I'm just sayin' it looks a tad suspicious is all."

"Relax, AB, we do this all the time, remember?"

"Yeah yeah," Apple Bloom said, rolling her own eyes. "Forgive me for bein' a bit hesitant when I'm the only one that can't fly or teleport my way out o' stuff like this."

"You know we'd never leave you behind," Sweetie Belle said.

"I know... I just get tired o' bein' the one gettin' rescued all the time."

Scootaloo punched her in the shoulder. "Then stop being the one walking into traps!" she said teasingly.

"That's what I'm tryin' to... Ya know what, never mind, let's just get on with it."

Apple Bloom set off around the perimeter of the well, heading for the top of the staircase on the far side as her friends followed. Reaching the far side, she examined the stairs and found that they looked pretty solid, the massive stones protruded from the wall a bit like pegs or the branch-staircase on Rupert, and were wide enough to not cause too much concern, even if it was a rather large drop, with no rail along the inside edge.

Sweetie lit her horn to provide some additional light, and took the first hesitant steps down. Apple Bloom followed a few paces behind her, and Scootaloo trailed after that.

"You know," Scootaloo said, launching into the air after a few slow paces. "How about I just meet you guys at the bottom?"

Her friends both glared at her.

"Or... Maybe we shouldn't split up," she said, getting the hint and setting back down on the staircase.

The three descended for several minutes, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom both taking their time and checking their footing cautiously. No false steps were found though, no traps sprung, no tripwires hit. Eventually, as the sky above continued to brighten in the inexorably slow dawn, the trio reached the bottom of the well and found themselves standing on a roughly level sand and gravel surface surrounding the massive obsidian obelisk.

Looking closer, the Cruasders could make out faint runes etched into the surface. They were each nearly a foot high, but considering the size of the artifact, plenty of meaning could still be inscribed. Sweetie increased the brightness of her light spell, but the symbols were still hard to discern. Walking closer, Sweetie brought her horn and eyes within inches of the lowest rune and moved about, examining it from multiple angles. The etching was still nearly invisible though, and Sweetie thought it was almost as if the stone was absorbing the light itself.

Stepping back, she joined Apple Bloom, who had been examining the stone of the well walls.

"Look at this stuff," Apple Bloom said. "I've never see anything like it. It's almost like metal in the way it shines an' with how dense it is. Yet... the tool marks an' such show it's clearly been chiseled and carved like stone." Apple Bloom put her head against the rock, trying to get a line of sight as close to the surface as possible. "Dang it! Ah need more light to see how these line up."

"I'm a little hesitant to use too much magic near that thing," Sweetie pointed at the obelisk, "but I can can cast a bigger illumination spell if you want."

"Or you could just wait," Scootaloo said. "It's gonna be dawn soon I think."

Apple Bloom looked at the giant tower, feeling the sheer presence of it throughout her being. "Yeah, maybe best to just wait."

The three ponies looked up toward the sky at the top of the well, trying to estimate how long until proper sunrise might provide the light they needed. As they watched, the moon came into view, tracking across the sky much, much faster and larger than they'd ever seen it move, before disappearing beyond the other edge of the well.

"Well, looks like Luna and Twilight are obviously still hard at it," Scootaloo said.

They sat down in silence for a few minutes, and continued to wait.

Apple Bloom saw it first. "Look!" she said, pointing at the now brighting tip of the obelisk as the first rays of direct sunlight hit it. As they watched, the light moved down the tower, and even though it'd be many hours still before direct light reached the bottom of the well, the ambient light was already making it easier to see.

Then the tower began to hum slightly, and the runes that were so faint before began to glow a pale, ethereal red.

Sweetie Belle walked back toward the obelisk, studying the now visible symbols, trying to recall what she could of ancient languages and spells. As she got closer, she could make out finer details surrounding the large runes. These details turned out to be smaller runes, flowing and weaving between the large ones like webs strung between branches of a bush. The smaller symbols pulsed slightly, their light dimmer overall, but flowing in pulses, almost as if they were conduits of some sort. Unlike the large runes, these smaller ones seemed to be beneath the surface of the stone somehow, even though the material itself was completely opaque. Suspecting some sort of optical illusion, she reached out with her metal paw to touch the surface. As her first claw made contact, she screamed and fell backwards.

"Sweetie!" Scootaloo was beside her in an instant, as was Apple Bloom. "What happened!"

Hyperventilating, eyes wide, it took Sweetie a moment to answer as she lay on her side. "Nemesis," she said between gasps for air. "Definitely his..."

"Are you gonna be okay?" Apple Bloom asked.

Sweetie nodded, and took a moment to catch her breath. "Yeah, I think so." She moved to stand up, but collapsed when she tried to put weight on her metal leg. "Well that's not good."

"What is it?" Scootaloo said.

"I can't seem to move my leg or paw. Everything below the elbow is... not responding." Sweetie held the leg out to her side, and showed how it flopped lifelessly from the elbow and down.

"That's it," Apple Bloom said. "We're gettin' outta here. Now!"

"No argument from me," Scootaloo said. "Sweetie, wanna just zap us out of here?"

Nodding, Sweetie closed her eyes and lit her horn. But instead of finding themselves turned inside out and tasting cotton candy, the three heard and saw only a small fizzle from the unicorn's horn. "Really?" Sweetie said, stamping her good forehoof in frustration. "Really?!"

"Stairs it is," Apple Bloom said. "Let's move."

Scootaloo thought of flying ahead, but wasn't about to leave her injured friend to make the climb on her own. "Need me to help you, Sweetie?"

"I'm okay for now I think." Sweetie said, hobbling forward on three hooves and looking up at the staircase. "But we'll see how that holds out after a thousand stairs."

The three began to climb; Apple Bloom in the lead, Sweetie Belle in the middle, and Scootaloo following. With a lame leg, it was slow going, but after a relatively short while, they'd reached about a third of the way up, and took a brief break.

"How're ya holdin' up?" Apple Bloom said.

"So far, so good," Sweetie said. "Not even that tired yet. Just have to take it slow."

Then the well began to rumble. Looking up, they saw the top of the staircase shifting. The stones that stuck out from the wall to form steps rotated, turning the upper portion from a staircase into a slide for a brief moment, before retracting completely into the wall. The pattern of movement cascaded down the spiral, the staircase effectively vanishing from the top down.

"Seriously?!" Sweetie yelled, as she turned and began to hobble back down as quickly as possible.

"Come on, come on!" Scootaloo urged, alternating her glances between her injured friend above and the vanishing stairs not far enough above. "We're not gonna make it. I'll just fly you down."

Scootaloo spread her wings and leapt into the air beside the staircase, aiming to scoop up Sweetie. Gravity had different plans though.

"Oh no, not again," was all she managed to say before tumbling into the edge of the stairs and falling when no magical air currents were there to support her weight.

"Scoots!" Sweetie yelled, collapsing to one knee on the edge of the stairs and glancing over just in time to see the spiraling pegasus smack hard into the ground below.

"Keep moving!" Apple Bloom said, coming up behind Sweetie, as the very stairs they stood on began to shudder with movement.

But it was too late. The two ponies lost their footing and slid along with the rotating stairs a brief way before falling off the inside edge as they tumbled and lost control on the rough surface. Thankfully, they were only a dozen feet or so above the ground by that point, and the loose gravel and sand absorbed a small bit of the blow, even if the individual stones left some painful bruises.

Apple Bloom was the first on her hooves. "You okay?" she said, looking at Sweetie who'd fallen right next to her.

"Yeah, good enough. Go check on Scoots."

Sprinting to the side of the orange pegasus, Apple Bloom saw quickly that her friend was at least still moving. "Scootaloo! Are you okay?"

"Ugh..." Scootaloo moaned, starting to roll over, but stopping abruptly with a loud cry of pain.

Settling back onto her back, Scootaloo turned her head to look at Apple Bloom. "Crap! I think I broke my wing."

Looking now at her friend's wings, Apple Bloom could see clearly that the leading edge of the left one had a bend in it where there was no joint.

"Let me take a look." Apple Bloom stepped around the fallen pegasus, careful not to tread on either outstretched wing, and examined the break carefully. She could hear Scootaloo gritting her teeth as she gently probed through the feathers with her hooves. Puling a few feathers aside, she saw a small bit of bone protruding through the skin underneath the feathers.

"How bad is it?" Scootaloo asked, after hearing Apple Bloom suck her teeth in sympathy.

"It's... It's definitely broken, Scoots. But it don't look too bad, considerin'."

"Alright. Gimme a hoof here rolling over?"

"Sure thing."

Scootaloo pulled in her other wing, and then slowly rolled onto that side, as Apple Bloom helped steady the broken wing. Getting her hooves underneath her, she was able to stand up. Wincing, she started to slowly fold the injured wing as far as she could. The pain became too much though, and it was clear she was going to be stuck with it extended at least one third or so.

By the time she'd caught her breath from the pain, Sweetie had limped over to join them. "You were right, Apple Bloom."

"About what?" Apple Bloom said.

"It's a trap." Sweetie said, and pointed down at the ground they were standing on. Where Scootaloo had hit, she'd torn up a bit of the surface sand, and revealed that the the rough "gravel" they'd originally thought they were walking on in the dark was actually thousands of broken bones. Looking closer, the three could see bits of skulls, jaws, long bones, ribs, and countless fragments too small to be identified. "I think it's been a trap for a very, very long time too."

----

Nine hours later.

As the planet still wasn't up to full rotational speed, this day was lasting much longer than normal, and the sun was still several hours from noon. The direct sunlight did reach most of the way to the bottom of the well though, illuminating almost the entire obelisk as well as heating everything to a sweltering temperature.

The Crusaders had taken what meager shelter they could in the shadow of the eastern wall, then as that diminished, the tower itself. Though as solar noon approached, that was diminishing as well, and none of them were eager to get too close to the monolith again.

Scootaloo had spent the first hour exploring the damage to her wing, trying to see if there was any possible way to flex and use it, or for that matter, gain control of even the slightest breeze. The sky looked so tantalizingly close and inviting, the few clouds occasionally high overhead—only seconds away at almost any other point in her life—now impossibly distant without access to magic. With little else to do though, she'd finally given into sleep.

Apple Bloom had tried, unsuccessfully, to grow some form of vines or weeds along the walls to provide a hoofhold for climbing. After that, she'd attempted to manipulate the rock itself. That would be difficult at the best of times, and it had taken her years to learn that it was even possible to manipulate solid stone with earth pony magic, but she thought perhaps even the tiniest indents might provide some hold for climbing. Manipulating the sand should have been easy—she usually had nearly as much control over the fine granules as Scootaloo had on air currents—but found that, like Scootaloo, she couldn't even move a single molecule, thanks to the magic draining effects of the obelisk. Eventually, she'd taken a nap as well.

The magic was what Sweetie Belle had been focusing on. She'd tried to sleep a bit, as the others napped, but the dark feeling of dread from the obelisk kept her from it. Ever since the sunlight had touched it, the obelisk seemed to have started draining their magic, preventing any use of flight, teleportation, or even the growth of a single weed. Thinking back on what Discord had explained about Nemesis however, it perhaps made a kind of sense. It wasn't the sun that triggered the artifact, but rather the Hole that came with it. If artifacts like this had been designed to help Nemesis return, then it made sense that they would siphon magic from the world—or from victims sacrificed or trapped here—and send it to the anomaly that had been at the core of the red star once it became visible in the sky each night.

Sweetie Belle felt for sure she was on to something with her theory, but despite the better part of a day mulling it over and refining it, nothing she could think of helped in any way with escaping the pit they were in. The only consolation seemed to be that perhaps the magic drain would cease with nightfall, but that was still at least ten hours away, and she had a haunting feeling that whoever built this trap knew what they were doing. She also thought back to Celestia's sacrifice a few days before, and the way a drain of magic had quickly shifted to drain even more.

Sweetie was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of Apple Bloom moaning nearby.

"Ugh," Apple Bloom said, wiping the sleep from her eyes. "How long was I out for?"

"About seven hours," Sweetie Belle said.

"Then how come ah feel worse now than when I started?"

"I think the obelisk is actually starting to drain our lifeforce."

"That don't sound good."

"It's not."

"So I'm guessin' ya changed yer mind about trying to wait for night and hope we get our magic back?"

"Actually, I'm starting to worry about even waiting for noon. This thing started when just part of the tower had a line of sight to the Hole. With the way this whole structure is built, it's clear that astronomical alignments are important to the spells here. I'm really nervous about what's going to happen when the entire obelisk is in view of the sun, or when it lines up directly overhead."

"You think it'll shift gears or somethin'?"

"I don't know, but if a pegasus could just wait for a star to set then fly out, I don't think we'd be walking on so many wing bones, do you?"

"Good point," Apple Bloom said, cringing a bit at the thought of walking on dead ponies. Forcing herself to ignore it though, she went to reexamine the walls for what felt like the hundredth time. She hoped that the nap, ineffectual as it felt, might at least give her a new perspective on how to escape.

Looking at the strange stones now in the full light of day, the material seemed even weirder. What had seemed metallic in the wan starlight and magic now looked much more clearly ceramic, like the stone had been carved and placed, then the surface sintered and fused to a high sheen. The cracks between the blocks were the only thing that gave her a clue to this, as deep within a few she could see more porous stone. Unfortunately, such larger gaps were very few and far between, as most of the stones were cut with high precision, leaving only the narrowest of gaps, far too small to get even the tip of a hoof into.

If she had access to a proper shop, Apple Bloom knew she could come up with something. Even just mounting a grip on an L-bracket might be enough. The thin metal could probably wedge between most of the stones, and would easily let her climb. The blocks themselves were between one and two feet in size for the most part, meaning easy reach if only there was something to grip.

But she had no tools, no materials even. Apple Bloom cursed herself for setting off to the far side of the world without even a stupid saddle bag. She and her friends had become so used to having their magic to get them out of every tight spot, that apparently they'd lost the ability to even plan ahead. That would definitely have to change, Apple Bloom thought, as she stared into yet another impossibly small crevice, hoping for new inspiration that just wasn't coming.

"What're you looking at?" Scootaloo said.

"Gah!" Apple Bloom said, jumping at the surprise. "Didn't realize you were right behind me."

"Hey," Scootaloo said, smiling. "Don't blame me. You're the one staring at solid rock."

"It's not solid though... not quite." Apple Bloom pointed out the cracks between each stone. "There's just no way to get any grip in those small spaces without climbin' tools or somethin'."

Scootaloo froze in thought, then facehooved and started laughing. "Oh wow! After all these years, now I finally get it!"

"Get what?"

"Daring Do. Reading the early books years ago, I could never figure out why a pegasus would have a grappling hook like they showed her with on some of the covers. I mean, it wasn't in the narrative, so I just figured the artist had been an earth pony or something and didn't realize what she was drawing. But now it makes sense. Now that I've got a broken wing, I really wish I had a grappling hook!"

Now it was Apple Bloom's turn to smile. "Daring Do! That's brilliant!"

"What?" Scootaloo asked.

"Book... fourteen or something, I forget now. Anyway, the one where she was trapped in the troll's cave and lost all her gear."

"Right, she had to make a weapon and all she had to work with were..."

The two ponies smiled, and finished the sentence together, shouting, "...the bones on the ground!"

Apple Bloom went to work immediately, digging through the sand and fragments to find some larger bones she could work with. Her first attempt was a small long-bone, which she chipped at with a rock to sharpen one end of, making a wedge. Approaching the wall, she put the point in the largest gap she could find, and tapped it into place with a hoof. Letting go, it stayed put. Excited now, she quickly made another, and wedged it into a gap slightly further up and to the side, and decided to give things a try.

Holding as closely as she could to the rock, she began to pull herself up. But the bone snapped long before taking her full weight. She tried again with the other, but it too gave way, shearing where the structure of the bone was compromised by the sharpening.

Later attempts got more creative. Apple Bloom tried different types of bones, trying to find something that would fit into the gaps without modification, but almost none would. The exception were skull fragments, which would be hammered into the gaps in groups and sets, forming small ledges which the tip of a hoof could just barely catch on. Apple Bloom found that if enough were put in place, and she was very careful in distributing her weight, she could actually get entirely off the ground using these. Unfortunately, it took nearly half an hour to get two hoofholds in place, and considering the enormity of the climb before her, it would take days to reach the top by that method.

Then she tried ribs. They were somewhat flat to begin with, and though they still had to be sharpened some, their internal structure meant they didn't weaken quite as much in the process. Setting them in place while on the wall was very difficult though, their curved shape not lending itself well to hammering.

"Dang it!" Apple Bloom cried, as yet another rib shattered with an off-angle blow.

"Do you have to bang each one in by hoof?" Scootaloo asked from the ground a few feet below.

"If I don't wedge 'em in good, they won't hold mah weight."

"Can you maybe make some sort of curved hammer?"

"Curved hammer?"

"You know, like an ice axe."

Apple Bloom jumped down from the two working hoofhold she'd established. "That might work."

Rummaging around in their pile of collected bones, Apple Bloom found a couple of roughly matched femurs, and a pair of similarly matching ribs. Then, grabbing a sharp bit of broken bone, she turned and cut some hair from her tail. Using this, she tied the ribs to the ends of the long-bones, making two pretty decent facsimiles of an ice axe.

"Okay," Apple Bloom said. "Let's give it a try."

She approached the wall, and carefully swung the first at a gap a few feet above her head. It wedged and stuck perfectly. Pulling her weight up, she swung again for a higher gap, connecting there as well. Using her forelegs alone, she continued this for a couple more swings, bringing herself to nearly a dozen feet above the floor. The next swing failed though. The gap may have been slightly narrower, or the angle may have been off just slightly, but either way, the rib bone failed to wedge into the gap, and instead broke, rendering the axe useless.

Apple Bloom's scream of frustration got the attention of Sweetie Belle, who, with only one hoof, found she wasn't much use in crafting tools, and had tried to rest briefly. Seeing her friend dangling now by one forehoof from the wall, she quickly hobbled over to join Scootaloo below.

"Are you okay, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie called up.

"No, I am not okay!"

"Can we do anything to help?"

"Not unless you've got a ladder, or either a ya'll got yer magic back without tellin' me."

Scootaloo unconsciously began to flex her wings, every instinct telling her to fly up and help, but the pain quickly reminded her that wasn't an option, and even without the break in her wing, the lack of magic was keeping her grounded.

"Just get out of the way!" Apple Bloom shouted. "I'm jumpin'."

It was a long drop, but at least this time she was prepared for it, and growing up with an accident prone pegasus like Scootaloo as a friend, she'd had plenty of practice at the tuck-n-roll. It still hurt though.

"I thought you had it there for a minute," Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, me too," Apple Bloom said, rubbing one knee where it'd hit the rock on the way down. "All this bone is just too darn weak! What I wouldn't give for a bit o' proper metal to work with. Anything! Just some angle brackets even. Anythin'..." Her mouth wound down as her thoughts sped up. "...anythin'... metal... at all."

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Sweetie Belle said, as Apple Bloom's stare drifted down toward her disabled leg. "Wait, what are you thinking?"

A strange half-grin crossed Apple Bloom's face. "Here I am, wishin' I had some metal pieces, and here you are with a whole leg made o' metal."

"You can't be serious," Sweetie Belle said.

"It's not like yer exactly usin' it right now," Apple Bloom said, her grin becoming more sheepish. "Besides, it won't matter at all if we don't get out of here soon, right?"

Sweetie closed her eyes and sighed. "You're right. I guess it really is the only resource we seem to have down here besides bone and a few rocks." Sweetie smiled, remembering a conversation years prior. "And it's not like I can object just because it seems weird."

Apple Bloom returned the smile, and then sat down with Sweetie and started thinkings things over. First order of business was probably getting the leg off. She wasn't sure exactly what would work best, but the longer "bones" in Sweetie's forearm looked the most promising. Unfortunately, with no tools and no magic, there was no easy way to do things. She realized that to even try to get those parts out, she'd have to wedge an actual bone between them, twisting that until the joint itself was forced to give, rivets and other smaller components snapping and bending. Disconnecting the other end would be even harder, as there'd be no easy leverage to pry things apart. But even if she could get the parts out, there was still no way to sharpen or flatten the ends to fit in the gaps.

"Argh!" Apple Bloom screamed in frustration after pondering it for a few minutes. "I can see a thousand things I could build just with what's in yer leg here, but I don't have the tools to do any of it! All I can do is hammer on things with rocks! Which would be fine if I had some nails to hammer on! But I don't, and I can't believe we're all gonna die for want of a damn nail!"

"Take a deep breath," Sweetie suggested. "Calm down and think things through. I'm sure we can figure this out."

"I'm sorry, Sweetie. It's just... Well, the heat ain't helpin, but it's so frustratin' not being able to do any of the stuff I'd normally have no problem with. It's like—"

"Like having a broken wing when you want to fly?" Scootaloo interjected.

"Or losing so much magic you can't even move your own leg?" Sweetie added.

Apple Bloom hung her head. "Point taken, girls. It's just... I'm supposed to be the clever one, right?"

"What do you mean?" Sweetie said, leaning over to nuzzle her friend.

"Well, ya both got yer powerful magic and flight, right? I mean if it weren't for the obelisk, you'd just fly us out of here, right Scoots?"

"Well, yeah."

"And Sweetie, failing that, you'd teleport us out. Or levitate us, or summon a ladder, or who knows what else."

"Something like that, I'm sure."

"Right, but me... I don't have the same direct abilities. I gotta think my way outta situations when you girls aren't there to save me. And now, when it's finally my turn to pull the weight, we're all gonna die 'cause even though I got a thousand ideas, I can't do nothin' with 'em without tools."

"Oh Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said. "It's not your fault. You are clever, but it's not your responsibility to be the clever one, okay?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, giving her friend a nudge. "What makes you think you are the clever one anyway? If I recall correctly, I'm the one that got her cutie mark for applied physics and mathematics in using her power."

"Scoots is right," Sweetie said. "And I got my mark for thinking things through instead of using my own power. You, on the other hoof..." Sweetie couldn't help but grin, "basically just rage-smacked death upside the head with a giant tree; no clever plan or forethought what-so-ever."

Apple Bloom chuckled, as tears welled at the corners of her eyes. The conflicting emotions of frustration and sadness, of fear and love for her friends, combined with the heat and insane situation, overwhelming all normal responses, but she made a joke anyway. "So you're saying I am the best one to bang the rocks together then."

The other two laughed gently at that, the desperation and despair behind all their eyes weighing heavy against any real humor.

Apple Bloom wiped her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to focus. "Okay then," she said. "If I'm not the clever one, then I don't think either of you are either, or we'd be out of here by now. So let's assume we're all idiots."

"Us?" Scootaloo said. "The ponies who dashed off to the far side of the world without supplies, on zero sleep, no preparation, and even less planning, then walked themselves right into an ancient death trap? Yeah, I don't think we need to assume anything."

"So," Apple Bloom continued "Let's put our heads together. Maybe three idiots can add up to a single clever pony if we try hard enough."

"Hmm," Sweetie Belle said. "Maybe if we try to think like some other pony that actually is clever. You two were getting a lot of ideas from Daring Do earlier. That was kind of working. So who's the most clever pony we know?"

The three just looked at each other, Sweetie realizing she knew the answer before she'd even finished asking. "Okay," she continued. "So what would Twilight Sparkle do."

"Heh," Scootaloo laughed. "She'd probably make a list."

"Okay, what kind of list?" Sweetie said, continuing the exercise.

"Seriously? I was joking."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "But yer right. Twilight would make a list. There's gotta be a reason she always does that."

"Okay then," Scootaloo said. "How about a list of ways we could escape?"

"How about a list of things we could use to escape instead?" Sweetie suggested.

"Item one, magic!" Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, and item two is 'airship' then," Apple Bloom said. "Let's try for simpler. What's the simplest things we can think of to get us out here? Obvious starters include ladders, ropes, climbing gear—"

"What about water?" Sweetie Belle said. "If we could somehow flood this pit, we could just float to the top."

"In the middle of the desert?" Scootaloo said.

"There was a fountain up top. That water had to come from somewhere."

"Sand then," Apple Bloom added. "It was flooded with it when we arrived. There probably is a way to do that. I just doubt it's down here near us."

The three pondered the idea a bit more, but none of them could think of any way to trigger whatever hidden mechanisms were in place when they only had access to solid stone walls.

"I keep going back to climbing out," Apple Bloom said. "It'd take so little. L-brackets, pitons, stakes, bolts, anything like that. Heck, like I said earlier, just gimme a box o' nails and we'd be on our way."

"How many nails?" Scootaloo asked. "Minimum, I mean."

Apple Bloom, in the groove of the thought exercise, went with it and looked up the walls, considering things. "I'd guess maybe a hundred all the way to the top if ya really stretched it, but if they were bigger nails, ya could probably pull 'em and reuse 'em like we were tryin' with the bones. Maybe only need four then. Two to stand on while ya hammer the next ones in."

"Say they were about two or three inches long."

"You're gettin' really specific now, Scoots. Ya got somethin' in mind?"

"Just humor me?"

Apple Bloom agreed, and thought hard on it. Finally she said, "If I had a hammer, sure."

"We've got rocks and bones!" Sweetie said, hoping this was going somewhere.

"No, I mean a proper hammer," Apple Bloom said. "It's more about pullin' the nails back out to reuse 'em. Nails that short, can't pull 'em out by hoof."

Scootaloo hung her head in defeat.

"What were you thinking, anyway?" Sweetie asked her.

"Your claws," Scootaloo said. "When Apple Bloom mentioned nails, I was looking at your paw and saw that they look a lot like nails, metal and everything."

Sweetie looked down at her limp leg. The claws she'd put on the end of her toes were vaguely nail like. They curved and tapered a lot more than any normal nail, but that probably wouldn't matter at all for the use they were thinking of here.

"What do you think, Apple Bloom?" Sweetie said, nodding toward her paw. "If you had a proper hammer, do you really think you could climb out of here with these?"

"I reckon I could, at least if the hammer could pull 'em without a normal nail head on 'em."

"So then," Sweetie said. "We're exactly one nail puller from escape then."

"What if you didn't have to pull them each time?" Scootaloo said. "Like the axes you tried earlier. Can we tie the claws onto bones or something like that?"

Smiling, Apple Bloom stood. "Only one way to find out! Pass me that sharp rock!"

After a few minutes, and a few well-placed blows, Apple Bloom had managed to shear the four large claws off the end of Sweetie Belle's metal toes. Sweetie assured her that she could feel absolutely nothing as this occurred, and she had helped her friend repair the leg a few times before, but it still felt weird to be hammering on a friend's foot.

After the claws were removed, the three worked quickly to tie them to the end of some bones. Unfortunately, the small size and diameter of the claws, as well as the slick surface of the metal, meant that this didn't hold together very well. Other attempts were made to drive the claws through the bone, before wrapping and tying it with hair, but this weakened the bone too much, and the ends of the bones splintered after three or four swings.

Then the sun peaked over the rim of the well, finally reaching the bottom of the obelisk.

"What the hay is that?" Scootaloo said, suddenly doubling over with pain. "I feel like I just got kicked in the ribs."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said, feeling similar. "Makin' me feel like I got the wind knock outta me."

Looking from their work area toward to the obelisk, then up at the sun, Sweetie realized her fears were coming true. "I think I was right. The whole obelisk has a line of sight to the Hole. It's... trying to kill us now I think."

The ponies inched away from the center of the pit, finding the sensation lessened slightly the closer they got to the walls, but the drain on their lives was obvious and undeniable.

"Well," Scootaloo said, looking at the shattered remains of the last axe they'd tried. "It's been a pleasure knowing you both."

"No!" Apple Bloom said. "We're not going out like this."

The fierce determination in her voice reminded Sweetie Belle of a previous time when the earth pony had adamantly refused the inevitable. As such, she couldn't help but feel a small glimmer of hope, that maybe, just maybe, the same incredible power Apple Bloom had harnessed to save Applejack might somehow overwhelm even this horrible artifact of Nemesis's. She didn't dare say anything, but kept looking for any sign of glowing eyes or other magic channeling.

"I'm not sure we're really getting a choice in the matter," Scootaloo said.

"No! Ain't gonna let that happen!" Apple Bloom muttered, stomping around in furious thought, hitting her own head with a forehoof. "Think, AB, think! You can figure this out."

"I'd tell you to let it go," Scootaloo said, also remembering the near-death of Applejack. "But we all know you're too stubborn for that."

Apple Bloom ignored her friends, continuing to pace and mutter to herself. 

After a minute, Sweetie said, "I wish Twilight was actually here."

"Why?" Scootaloo said. "She'd lose her magic too and be just as stuck as us."

"I guess you're right. The rest of the Elements would probably be no help either."

"Well, Fluttershy's new chaos magic might work."

"Heh," Sweetie Belle chuckled. "You know who would actually be the best at getting us out of here?"

"Who?"

"Spike! His claws are like built-in climbing gear. He wouldn't need anything else at all, and could just climb right out of here."

Apple Bloom froze in mid-pace, then ran and hugged Sweetie. "Okay, today, you are the clever one!"

"What?"

"Built-in claws! We've been thinkin' about this all wrong. I keep tryin' to make tools, 'cause it's what I'd normally do. But this ain't a normal situation. Gotta think outside the box an' all that!"

"At the risk of repeating myself," Sweetie said. "What?"

"Oh just grab that big rock o'er there 'fore I change mah mind!"

Scootaloo grabbed the rock in question as Apple Bloom started holding one of the detached claws against the edge of her own hoof, contemplating angles and thicknesses.

"What are you thinking, Bloom?" Sweetie said, nervous at the nearly manic demeanor of her friend.

"I'm thinkin' this claw is a lot bigger than a hoofnail, and I'm thinkin' it's gonna hurt like tartarus when Scoots pounds it through my hoof."

"What?!" Scootaloo said, eyes going wide as she started to understand her friend's plan. "No way!"

"Well, I can't just put it in the toe, it'd split it an' tear right out. Gotta be through the sole."

Sweetie Belle's own eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "Do you have any idea how much that'll hurt?"

Apple Bloom turned and looked at her two friends with fierce determination in her eyes. "A whole lot less than watchin' you two die in this pit." She knelt down and held the first claw in position over the top of her other forehoof. "If I can't be the clever one... well I'm at least gonna be the stubborn one. Now just do it!"

Scootaloo quivered a moment in uncertainty, but after making eye contact with Apple Bloom, knew she had no choice. She brought the rock down on top of the claw, and, like a nail, it penetrated slightly into the tough outer surface at the top of the hoof.

"Ow," Apple Bloom said, feeling the impact, yet knowing it still hadn't hit the incredibly sensitive tissues inside her hoof. "Okay, Scoots, that's one. I'm pretty sure I got it aimed 'tween the bones, but even so, it's gonna take a few blows to get this all the way through. I'm gonna scream. A lot. Ya gotta ignore that an' keep goin' until I actually tell ya to stop, okay?"

Scootaloo bit her own lip, but nodded in agreement.

It took five more blows with the heavy rock to drive the claw all the way through Apple Bloom's hoof. The screams had been enough that Sweetie had looked away entirely, and Scootaloo's eyes were completely flooded with tears as she saw the muddy "blood" begin to seep out through the wound she was making. But the pegasus was true to her word, and kept at it until Apple Bloom called her off, the three inch claw finally going all the way through from the top of the hoof and protruding through the sole and into the sand. The hoof itself didn't split though, and when Apple Bloom gave the sharp end a tug, it had zero give to it, even if it did hurt like nothing she'd physically experienced before.

Then there were three other hooves to do.

When the ordeal was finally over, and a shaking Apple Bloom had emptied her stomach twice over from the pain, she finally approached the wall.

Reaching up with a muddy forehoof, she found the protruding claw easily slipped into a gap and the pointed end gripped the stone well. She then kicked a rear leg up into a lower gap. The claws there had gone in from the bottom and been driven slightly forward, leaving the point sticking out from the middle of the toe on her back hooves. This let her keep her mass close to the wall like a biped. With two claws in, she began to pull herself up to reach for higher gaps. The pain was indescribable. Her weight was being held by metal, crudely driven through some of the most sensitive tissues in pony anatomy. Her scream echoed so loudly in the hollow cylinder of the well that even her own ears were ringing afterwards.

"Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said, wincing in sympathy. "You don't have to do this."

"Ya know that ain't true, Scoots. I meant it when I said we ain't goin' out like this."

"It's just... you don't have to be the one to do this."

Putting on her best smile, Apple Bloom looked down at her friend. "Ah Scoots, it ain't like I haven't done this before." She reached and hooked another gap, gritting her teeth against the pain. "Sometimes, when ya say 'no' to death, ya got magic an' stuff on yer side, and everything comes up all flowers and pretty like." She reached again and gained a bit more height, the burning pain almost overloading the nerves, feeling cold and hot at the same time. "Other times though, ya only got metal and pain to back ya up." Apple Bloom swung another hoof, gaining a few more feet. "But I didn't let that bastard take mah sister, and I ain't lettin' 'im take my friends either."

Scootaloo looked away as Apple Bloom continued to climb. She was sobbing, and Sweetie Belle hobbled next to her, leaning against her in lieu of the hug her injured leg wouldn't allow.

The pain really was excruciating. With every step of her climb, Apple Bloom felt as if somepony had driven a nail through the tender quick of her hooves and was wiggling it around to exacerbate the overload in as many sensitive nerves as possible. She also felt it was somewhat ironic that her mind's own attempts at analogies could do no better than the actual pain she was experiencing. This was, she realized, exactly how villains tortured their captives in Daring Do and Captain Venture novels. But here she was, dangling now a hundred feet above a literal death pit, the tortuous metal her only hope of salvation. Nearing the top, she realized there was at least one up side to the pain in her hooves. That was, it so overwhelmed all other senses, that even though her muscles were in more pain from this climb than ever before in her life, she hardly even noticed, thanks to the near-demonic agony in her hooves.

When she finally reached the top, Apple Bloom could hardly even remember her own name. The climb had taken perhaps twenty minutes in total, but the pain had made it feel like a lifetime. As she scrabbled over the lip of the well, and onto solid, horizontal ground, all she wanted to do was sleep for a thousand years. But she knew she couldn't afford even a moment's rest. The obelisk had been continuing to pull at her life during the climb, and was of course still draining her friends as well. Looking up at the bright, mid-day sky, she could see the sun was nearing noon-position as well. If Sweetie was right—again—then that would be a very bad thing.

Ignoring the pain, Apple Bloom set off to reinvestigate the complex. There were obviously ancient mechanisms controlling the stairs and the pit, and—

Apple Bloom paused. In front of her, one of the previously normal-looking columns now glowed with red runes. One of those runes looked very, very much like a set of spiraling stairs.

It can't be that easy, she thought. No way. Just, no way.

But she couldn't resist the potential either. Noon was almost here, she had no other idea on how to get her friends out of the pit unless she went far, far away for help. She weighed that urgency against what'd happened to Sweetie when she'd last reached for a rune. But this column wasn't the obelisk in the bottom of the bit. This was up top, where presumably those in charge would be. Those watching the sacrifices... or making them.

She reached out and touched the rune.

A loud rumble sounded behind her, and she ran back to the edge of the pit awkwardly, as the claws protruding from her soles made it hard to balance her weight. Looking down, she saw that the stairs were, in fact, reappearing.

"Sweetie!" Apple Bloom yelled. "Scoots!"

She could see the forms of her two friends, laying down near the edge where she'd climbed. It looked as though they may have passed out due to heat or perhaps some effect of the obelisk.

"Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle! Wake up!" she shouted again.

The forms below her didn't stir, but the staircase continued to unfold itself and was nearing the bottom. Thinking quickly, she ran to the fountain they'd seen during the night, and, tearing a large leaf from a nearby plant, made a small bowl and filled it with water. She dumped this over the edge and, though it broke up into droplets on the way down, the "rain" was enough to waken her friends.

Seeing them stir, Apple Bloom yelled again. "Stairs! Start climbing!" She waved a hoof as well, pointing. The two waking forms seemed to get the hint, and she heard a faint "Whoo hoo!" from the pegasus as well. Watching, she saw her friends start up the stairs, and tracked them as they continued to climb. Every fiber of her being wanted to rush down and try to help, but the exertion of the climb had caught up with her, and she found she couldn't even stand under her own weight anymore.

As her friends neared the top, Apple Bloom heard and felt the obelisk begin to hum. Looking up—and down at the shadows—she realized the it was almost exactly noon, even if it was eight hours late or so. As she watched, the runes on the obelisk began to pulse, the reds much brighter than before, and even the smaller conduits of writing were now glowing bright enough to see from quite a distance. Then a red field lanced out near the base, thrumming ominously as it encompassed the entire floor of the pit before beginning to rise slowly. Apple Bloom could feel the heat released by it from hundreds of feet above, and realized very quick that this was what killed all the ponies whose bones they'd been treading on, and what had sintered the stone walls to their black ceramic sheen. Her gaze quickly sought out her friends.

Sweetie Belle was hobbling as fast as her three legs could carry her. Scootaloo was making decent time, though her broken wing meant she took up the entire width of the stairs and couldn't help support her friend from the side. The two were almost to the top when they felt the flash of heat from below. A quick glance was all it took to make them both speed up their pace. The intense heat field drew closer and closer as the magic field climbed up the well like rising lava. They could feel it starting to singe the tips of their tails, but they managed to reach the top of the stairs before it climbed halfway up the pit.

Throwing themselves away from the lip of the well, the two ponies took a minute to catch their breath, before turning and looking back at the obelisk. They caught sight of Apple Bloom on the far side of the rim, waving to let her know they were okay. Then the obelisk, finished with its spell of incineration, went dark.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at each other. All the noise and heat had ceased, and for the briefest moments, they thought perhaps it was all over. Then a beam of actinic light, brighter than the sun itself, lanced from the top of the obelisk and directly toward the center of the sun, and the Hole within.

On the far rim, Apple Bloom had to shield her eyes and turn away. She thought she could feel her flesh being seared, even through her fur. Then it was over, the beam ceased, and the pit started to fill with sand. It took many long minutes, but when it was finished, and all was quiet again, she still refused to believe it. She waited, not at all convinced the game was really done. But nothing happened and nothing continued to happen. Eventually, she saw that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had risen and were slowly making their way around to her, careful not to go anywhere near the edge of the former pit in the once again flat and innocent looking courtyard.

"Well," Scootaloo said, as she and Sweetie came into range of Apple Bloom. "That was something."

Apple Bloom, utterly exhausted, hooves in blinding agony, looked up at her friends—her living, breathing, not-at-all-dead friends—and grinned. "Yeah, not like we had anything better to do."

----

Some many hours later.

"Oh my goodness!" Twilight Sparkle said, seeing three ponies collapsed by the edge of a fountain in the moonlight. "Girls! Are you okay?"

Scootaloo was the first to stir. "Twilight?"

"Scootaloo! Are you three okay?"

"Yeah," the pegasus mumbled, still regaining consciousness. "At least mostly."

"Oh no!" Fluttershy gasped, seeing the bent and broken wing Scootaloo was favoring when she stood. "That looks horrible!"

"Heh," Scootaloo let out a tired laugh. "You should see the other pony."

Twilight lit her horn, and began scanning the Crusaders, wincing as she detected their injuries, and sensing their more subtle pains as they all woke up.

When Apple Bloom stood up, mud oozing from around the claws driven through her hooves, Fluttershy nearly fainted.

"It's worse than it looks," Apple Bloom said. "Well, at least I hope so."

"What happened to you all?" Twilight asked, looking around at the temple structures at the remaining tip of the obelisk.

"Well..." Sweetie Belle said, grinning, "Scootaloo had this great idea..." She then proceeded to tell the story from the beginning, with only occasional interruptions from the insulted pegasus.

"So it took all your magic?" Fluttershy asked, as the story was completed.

"Not quite." Sweetie looked down at her paw. There was a slight but visible twitch in it when she concentrated hard enough. "I think some of it is coming back now that we're out of the pit."

Twilight turned and looked at the obelisk. After a moment of concentration, she lit her horn and said, "I think I can create a spell to destroy it. It seems to be pretty fragile when it doesn't have a connection with the Hole or victims to leech."

"No," Sweetie said, stumbling to her hooves. "Wait!"

"What?" Twilight said, turning back to look at the unicorn. "Why?"

"I'm... I'm not sure exactly, but I've got a hunch."

"Go on..."

"That thing is sucking in magic and beaming it directly to Nemesis, right?"

"I guess that'd be one way to put it."

"Yet none of our own magic can reach anywhere near the sun, or Nemesis and his Hole."

Twilight paused a moment, thinking. "So... you think..."

"I think that maybe there's some way to use this. Maybe, just maybe, we can find the right spells, the right powers, the right something to send into this... and we can use his own artifact as a channel to attack through!"

"There's no way this one artifact—despite it's obviously powerful local effects—was strong enough to draw the red star in from so far away," Twilight said. "There'd have to be others like it elsewhere, all working together to channel that kind of power over such a vast distance. Even if we could find some way to send our own spell or attack through this one, the power from those others would probably wash it out by the time it got to the Hole."

"So we find the others," Apple Bloom said, resolute. "We get them all and turn them against him."

"Cutie Mark Crusaders... tomb raiders..." Scootaloo said, raising a hoof and twirling it in mock excitement. "Yaaay...?"

After chewing her lip in thought for a moment, Twilight came to a conclusion. "Okay, we'll leave it for now. If we can find the others, maybe we can use them. For now, let's get you girls back home and fixed up. We've got a day or so before the world reaches final orbit, and I think I can still manage one last teleport back to Ponyville."

Apple Bloom had never felt so glad to feel herself being turned inside out.
> Chapter 3: The Mulligan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3: The Mulligan

Sweet Apple Acres.
Four months after The Hole.

Far Travel once again lamented the irony of her name as she climbed the 1,237th stair up the tree. Sure, she'd traveled around the world multiple times, and couldn't really imagine a life stuck in one place, but her name also seemed to result in her getting picked for the less exciting types of travel as well. When the team in Saddle Arabia had been asked to send a representative to report their findings, all heads had immediately turned to Far Travel. She didn't want to go. Unraveling the mysteries of the obelisk was much more exciting than a week-long journey back to Equestria just to answer some royal questions. "But traveling is your special talent!" the others had argued, even though they wouldn't doubt that she contributed just as much research acumen to the team as any other pony on it. Officially, of course, it came down to seniority, but she really doubted she'd be huffing her way up this impossibly tall tree if she'd been named "Mystery Solved" or "Relic Hunter."

And why was she being sent out here anyway? Originally, she'd returned and gone directly to Canterlot. She'd met with the Queen and Princess Luna the next morning and, as she'd wrapped up her report, assumed she'd be headed to port for the next boat back to Saddle Arabia and the dig site. Instead, the Queen had ordered her to take her findings and report to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, charging them as her personal agents in all matters related to the obelisk. Far Travel knew, of course, that the three young ponies had been the ones to discover the obelisk in the first place, and she'd heard of some of their more public exploits—as had anypony that read a paper in the past decade. Still though, she didn't understand how stumbling into a trap qualified them in any way to interpret and judge her expedition's research. The Queen had been insistent, if a bit cryptic. "You may find yourself quite surprised once you discover just what those three young mares are capable of."

Finally reaching the top of the staircase, Far Travel took a brief moment to compose herself, pushing a loose strand of long red hair out of her face before knocking. She heard the sound of hooves behind the door before it swung open, revealing a yellow-coated mare with a similar red mane held back by a small bow. "Howdy!"

"Umm, yes. Hello. My name is Far Travel, and Queen Celestia has asked me—"

She was cut off as the pony before her turned and yelled over her shoulder. "Hey ya'll! It's that unicorn from the dig Celestia said was comin'!"

"Well, let her in," a softer voice said from somewhere inside.

"Oh, right. Mah bad." The pony opened the door wide and motioned for her to step inside. "Mah name's Apple Bloom, and these are my friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo," she said, pointing in turn to a white unicorn and orange pegasus.

"Nice to meet you," Sweetie Belle said, followed by a clipped "Hi," from Scootaloo.

"Please, have a seat," Sweetie added, motioning to an empty cushion beside the large table in the center of the room.

Taking her seat, Far Travel surveyed the room. It was well built, but very spartan. It felt like a cross between a ranger station and children's club house. The table in front of her was covered in a seemingly random assortment of maps, charts, and innumerable papers. Glancing closer at one of the papers near her seat, she realized it was actually one of the reports her team had sent to the Queen. Perhaps these three really were involved in some way.

"So," Sweetie Belle began, taking the lead. "As you can see, we've been keeping up with your team's reports, but Celestia said you've found some more definitive answers recently?"

Far Travel craned her neck to rummage through her saddle bags, pulling several large stacks of papers out with her magic and putting them on the table. "That's the bulk of the research and theories involved so far."

Scootaloo leafed through the edge of one stack, giving a soft whistle. "That's a lot of reading."

"Yes, well," Far Travel said, still uncertain why she was answering to three young mares. "The executive summary is that we've determined that it should be possible to send coherent spells through the artifact, as Princess Twilight originally suggested."

"Actually," Scootaloo said. "That was Sweetie's idea. Twilight was about to destroy the thing and Sweetie stopped her."

"Really? The paper I was sent as part of the original instigation of the team was from the Princess herself."

"Don't worry about it," Sweetie said. "I really just had a vague idea about using them as a conduit at first. Twilight's the one that helped me refine it before we took it to Celestia and asked for investigation."

Far Travel nodded politely, trying to remember the details of that paper. There had been other attributions on it, but she'd forgotten them quickly after the curiosity about the main concept had taken her.

"So," Sweetie continued. "That's great then! If we can actually maintain coherency, then we've got a real shot at this."

Scootaloo raised a hoof. "Sorry, question from a non-unicorn here. Remind me why 'coherent' is important? I thought the plan was just to blast magic through the thing to hit the Hole from the inside."

Smiling, Sweetie Belle answered. "Right now, the obelisk just sucks in all magic, right?" Scootaloo nodded. "Well, it's not exactly elegant about it. It basically mixes it up a lot in the process. Think turbulence in an airflow. When it comes out the other end, it's just raw energy, not an actual spell."

Scootaloo's eyes widened as the analogy connected. "Oh, gotcha. But if you can get an intact, coherent spell through it, then it can actually do something on the other end. Attack or hurt Nemesis in some way, right?"

"Exactly!"

"Unfortunately, it's not that simple," Far Travel amended. "The distance to the Hole means the magic starts to decohere naturally anyway. Additionally, interference from other channeling artifacts seems to effectively wash out the signal as well. Again, like Princess Twilight suspected."

"So?" Apple Bloom said. "We guessed that already. We just gotta get a bunch of 'em together, set 'em up in proper phase with each other, and boost the signal that way."

Far Travel smiled. Perhaps these three young mares really did understand the problem. She continued, "That's where I have some good news and some bad news. We—or rather, other teams that the Crown sent to search—may have located another two artifacts. That's the good news."

"Dare I ask about the bad?" Sweetie said.

"First—"

"Of course the bad news is multi-part," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes.

"First," Far Travel continued, shooting an annoyed glare at the pegasus. "The scrying teams believe one may be buried beneath a remote glacier, roughly a few hundred miles north of the Crystal Empire."

"That's in the old Northern Kingdoms, isn't it?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Almost exactly in the center of it, which makes us think—"

"That it can't possibly be a coincidence," Sweetie finished the thought.

Scootaloo's hoof was in the air again, causing both her friends to look at her with expressions that effectively asked, "Really?"

"What?" Scootaloo said. "History is boring."

"Yeah, until it tries to kill ya." Apple Bloom muttered, flexing her hooves against the dull aches that still lingered from the injuries she'd inflicted on herself to escape.

"Come on, Scoots," Sweetie said. "I know you remember this. The old war between the griffin and caribou? The vanished capital? The disputed territory? Celestia establishing the Crystal Empire as a buffer between the two?"

"Oh, those Northern Kingdoms," Scootaloo said, faking understanding. "Why's that bad again?"

Sweetie Belle sighed, but resisted the urge to actually bang her head on the table. Scootaloo's "selective intelligence" was always a bit trying, but she soldiered on anyway. "The caribou and griffins fought for something like a thousand years over what, to all outside observers, seemed to be just an empty region of lifeless ice and rock, until Celestia stepped in and built the Crystal Empire to force the two apart. Now we're discovering there's an ancient evil artifact right in the middle of that 'empty' region. See how that might be bad?"

"Okay, okay, I get it now."

"You said they found two?" Apple Bloom said, turning back to Far Travel.

"Yes," Far Travel continued. "The other was pinpointed to within a few miles of a jungle river south of the Zebralands."

"But that's good, ain't it?" Apple Bloom asked. "We're close allies with the Zebras."

"The bad news is the past tense. When the team finally got to the location, they found an ancient temple, that, despite cultural and architectural differences, was very similar to the one in Saddle Arabia. But where the obelisk should've been was an empty hole. All around it were signs of recent excavation."

"Somepony stole it?" Scootaloo said, astonished.

"It looks that way. The team's next attempts at locating it indicated it likely went down river, but no vessel large enough ever turned up at the coastal port where the river ends. All attempts to pinpoint the artifact since have failed."

All the ponies around the table were silent a moment while the full implications set in. It wasn't just going to be traps and ancient spells fighting for Nemesis. Somepony or group out there was actively working against them it seemed.

"As you can imagine," Far Travel continued. "We're now rather concerned about the security of the known obelisk. Ideally, we'd like to bring it back to Equestria, both for protection, and so it can be more easily studied. Additionally, if and when we recover more artifacts, we'll need to move them to some central location anyway, in order to try using them in a phased array."

"Sounds like a good idea," Apple Bloom concurred. "I take it there's some kinda problem though?"

Far Travel nodded. "The sand around the artifact is extremely unstable. Normally that wouldn't be an issue; a few trained unicorns could easily hold the sand back while the object was lifted. Of course, magic use anywhere near this particular object is impossible though."

"Don't have to remind us of that," Scootaloo said, unconsciously flexing her recently healed wing.

"Sorry," Far Travel said. "I forget that must've been a rather horrible experience for you all."

Apple Bloom's mind went back to the dull pain in her forehooves. They'd taken the brunt of the damage on her climb out. The Hole's influence meant she'd been unable to heal herself rapidly like she would have before. She never regretted—even for a second—her painful choice of escape method, but the lingering pains were a constant reminder of just how close they'd come to death yet again. This unicorn didn't know the half of it. "We lived, that's what counts."

Far Travel continued, "We brought in several earth ponies experienced with mining and similar professions, but none had dealt with loose sand like that before. Every attempt to excavate and remove it with purely mundane efforts has failed so far. The sand just fills back in or collapses before we can free it. At this point, we're out of ideas. The Queen seemed to think you might be able to help with that."

"Hmm..." Sweetie Belle pondered the problem. "So you need to move a lot of sand rapidly, before it can slough back in, and do it without any use of magic?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Oh!" Scootaloo raised her hoof out of habit. "What if you just blow it up? Plant a bomb down there, it'd blast a ton of sand out almost instantly!"

"I fear explosives may damage the artifact."

"Oh, right. Gotta keep it intact. Hmm..." The pegasus tapped a hoof on the table for a moment before jumping again. "The Tea Kettles!"

"What?" Far Travel asked.

"Get a couple of the mark three Kettles around the edge and just start blasting."

"Ya know..." Apple Bloom lifted her head in thought. "That might work, but again, I think ya might end up damagin' the artifact with all that sand blasting around inside the well."

"Yeah, you're right," Scootaloo agreed, sitting back down. "Even the mark one was eating through the backstop in those early tests, and that was without anything more than ambient dust."

Far Travel now found herself completely out of the loop, and getting frustrated. She was about to ask what a tea kettle had to do with excavation when Apple Bloom spoke up again.

"I know who can help. Sky Chaser!"

"I was just thinking the same thing," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm sure he can find a few students that wouldn't mind a field trip to Saddle Arabia."

"Oh yeah," Scootaloo said. "That's probably a much safer option."

Far Travel looked around, now more confused than ever. "Who's Sky Chaser?"

Apple Bloom smiled. "An old friend of mine. He's been livin' up in Cloudsdale for the past few years, though..." She remembered that Cloudsdale had been evacuated, and what remained of the pegasi city was now disintegrating in a field outside the capital. "Well, I guess he's in Canterlot for the time bein'. That's where you're stayin', right?"

"Umm, yes." Far Travel said, uncertain where this was going. "The Queen was gracious enough to provide accommodations at the castle."

"Perfect! That's where I usually crash in Canterlot. I got a sneaky feelin' Sky Chaser's gonna be in the castle somewhere too, if I know him."

"You 'usually crash' at the castle?" Far Travel wasn't sure what to think of these ponies who apparently treated the capital of the entire Equestrian nation as their personal hosteling arrangements.

"Well," Apple Bloom said. "I mean ah sleep there. Not like, actually crash, crash."

"Yeah," Scootaloo laughed. "We leave that to Rainbow Dash and Applejack."

Apple Bloom chuckled at the joke before moving to glance out a window. "I figure we got plenty of light left, so no reason we can't head out now. 'Less ya had somethin' else to do in Ponyville first?"

"Well, no. My only business here was with you," Far Travel said, still confused.

Apple Bloom turned to her friends. "And I'm guessin' you two ain't feelin' an overnighter in Canterlot?"

"I'd actually like to go over these field notes Far Travel brought," Sweetie Belle said, turning through the papers on the table.

"I'm coaching the Crusader flight camp in the morning," Scootaloo said. "So unless you really need to me to come, I'd rather not have to wake up that early to fly back."

"No worries," Apple Bloom said. "Ya don't mind me takin' the Walrus, do ya Sweetie?"

"No, that's fine. I thought I might hang out with Rarity tonight, but I don't mind the walk to town."

"Cool." Apple Bloom darted to a side room, and returned a moment later with a pair of saddle bags. "Ready to go?" she asked Far Travel, as she walked toward the back porch.

"Aren't the stairs that way?" Far Travel asked, pointing toward the front door.

"Yeah, but the Lumbering Walrus is moored off the back deck."

Far Travel looked through the doors as Apple Bloom opened them, and her jaw dropped. "You have your own airship?"

"Eeyup," Apple Bloom said, as she dropped her bags on the longboat-sized deck of the ship. "It ain't purty, and it ain't that fast, but sure beats hoofin' it all the way to Canterlot."

Far Travel came to a stop on the porch and stared up in awe. The balloon portion appeared to be a natural canvas color, slightly yellowed from sun and age. It was a pointed cylinder, maybe sixty feet long, and fifteen in diameter. On it were painted crudely stenciled versions of the three Crusader's cutie marks. Slung beneath it with ropes was a wooden deck, about fifteen feet long and six or so wide, that wouldn't look out of place on a nautical boat, though there was only a foot or two of hull beneath it, presumably to save weight. At the rear was a propeller attached to some sort of metal engine, which Apple Bloom was currently filling with a hose connected to a barrel mounted on the railing of the porch.

"Don't worry," Apple Bloom said. "It's just water for the steam. Ain't flammable or nothin'." When the tank was full, she hung up the hose, and began untying the ropes that held the gondola to the porch. The deck of the craft slipped free and rose a few inches up against the loosened ropes. "Nope, still a tad light. Gimme a minute."

Far Travel watched as the young mare moved to the front of the craft and began filling some apparently below-deck tank with what looked like more water.

"Okay, that looks about right," Apple Bloom said, noting the relative slack in the mooring ropes as the deck sunk back level with the porch. She untied the ropes, then pushed the ship gently away from the porch with a hoof. The airship drifted easily outward from the tree as Apple Bloom went to the engine and twisted a small valve-like wheel.

"It'll take a minute to heat up," Apple Bloom said. "But the breeze is goin' the right way, so might as well drift while we wait."

Far Travel just looked around in shock. This morning, she'd been rather perturbed that Queen Celestia had ordered her to take her findings to three young mares she'd though of as just newspaper novelties. But these Cutie Mark Crusaders apparently had the resources to maintain a castle-like headquarters at the top of thousand foot tree, free reign of the castle—at least enough to presume upon it for lodgings—and their own airship.

"Where did you get an airship?" Far Travel finally asked.

"Ah built it," Apple Bloom said. "Well, technically all three of us did. But it was mostly my project. The Walrus is slow, but it's all that's left. Scoots crashed the last of the big aeroplanes during the attacks, and the really fast stuff... well, it don't hold up so well without magic."

Far Travel shook her head and rubbed her eyes, overwhelmed with all the jargon that'd been soaring just over her head since she arrived at the infernal tree. "I give up," she said. "The Queen told me I'd be surprised at you three, but I'm not just surprised, I'm lost."

Apple Bloom was silent for a moment, unsure how to respond. "I'm sorry," she finally said. "We weren't tryin' to be difficult, I promise. What's confusin' ya?"

"Well—"

"Hold that thought," Apple Bloom said, noting the steam starting to pour from the vent on the engine. "Just one second, promise."

That was it, Far Travel thought. This was just ridiculous. She was supposed to deliver academic reports on an ancient magic artifact, and somehow she'd been shanghaied onto an airship, and wasn't quite sure how.

Apple Bloom closed the vent, and adjusted another valve, before leaning out and giving the propeller a good, swift spin. It caught, and the engine began to putter along, with small puffs of steam emitting from some lower exhaust on the engine. She twisted the throttle, and the propeller picked up speed and started pushing the ship forward.

"Okay," Apple Bloom said. "Sorry about that. We're on our way now though, so what was it ya were sayin'?"

"I was just saying that I have absolutely no idea what's been going on for the past ten minutes. One moment, we're talking about excavating and locating the artifacts, next thing I know, you're all talking about tea kettles! What does a tea kettle possibly have to do with excavation?"

"Well, it's not actually a—"

"And how in the world is this pegasus friend of yours going to help dig it out?"

"Well, Sky Chaser's not actually a—"

"And how in the unholy depths of tartarus does some young mare like you, barely out of schooling in some hickville town, have her own airship, get away with calling the Queen by her given name, and presume to simply 'crash' at Canterlot castle without so much as a letter of notice?"

Apple Bloom was caught completely off guard by the outburst of vitriol. She clenched her jaw as her nostrils flared. The rest of her body was unmoving, the only sign of change two spots of now-decaying wood growing in size beneath her forehooves. She fixed Far Travel with a stare that needed no translation. It quite clearly said, "You have three point seven seconds to make this okay, or something very interesting is going to happen."

To her credit, Far Travel's forehooves both clamped over her muzzle almost instantly, her own mind astonished at her outburst. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that, I swear!"

Apple Bloom continued to stare, though the decay stopped growing.

"I... I'm sorry," Far Travel continued. "I've been awake for three days I think, and I just can't take any more surprises. Please, forgive me?"

Closing her eyes, Apple Bloom took a couple of deep breathes, then sighed. She'd been there herself, plenty of times. Sometimes there were just days where you snapped. "It's okay," she finally said. "Everypony gets one mulligan. But don't talk of presumption. You don't know me, or Celestia for that matter."

"I'm sorry," Far Travel said, her eyes still wide with fear and guilt. "I just... I..."

"Ya think 'cause I talk all country-like, that I'm some bumpkin from 'hickville' and shouldn't be included when dealing with important stuff like the artifacts."

"Well, I didn't say—"

"Miss Far Travel," Apple Bloom said, shifting her accent to the erudite Manehatten that she'd picked up over the years, both from Rarity and visiting her cousin Babs. "I am perfectly capable of conversing in a tone you might consider refined and dignified. The fact that I do not normally do so is because I am not, as a rule, embarrassed about where I come from, or the ponies I associate with. I am, at heart, an earth pony from the country, and I speak as I am most comfortable. It is your fault, and no other, if you allow such a simple thing as dialect to influence your opinion of a pony's intelligence or worth."

"I really didn't mean to—"

"I'm not finished," Apple Bloom said, stamping a hoof with a firm, but not obnoxious, gesture. "You asked how I presume to call Celestia by her given name? That one is simple. She has asked me to do so. Queen Celestia is one of the wisest, kindest, and most loving ponies I have ever met. I am honored and humbled beyond measure to have her consider me a friend, and in turn, I would not deny that friendship for the world. I call her 'Celestia' because I sincerely believe that she wishes me to do so—that she wishes me to behave as her friend, not her subject, because she has so many of the latter, and so few of the former. But do not think for a second that lessens my devotion or loyalty. I would gladly die for Queen Celestia. Not because she is Queen, but because she is my friend, and because I believe with all my heart that whatever path she has committed herself, her life, or the entire nation to, is absolutely worth the sacrifice."

Far Travel opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when Apple Bloom held up a hoof for silence.

"Lastly," Apple Bloom continued. "You asked how I come to be in possession of my own airship. As I said, I built it myself, with help from my friends. Perhaps that is insufficient though. If so, you should know I didn't just build it; I designed it. I don't mean just the paint, or some minor tweaks, but from the ground up. The integrated water ballast tanks? My design. The two-axis rudder? My design. The damn engine itself, too. Mine. It runs on Equium. Perhaps you've heard of that? It was discovered by Sweetie Belle, who you just met. Pretty much every train and other steam engine in Equestria runs on it these days. I built the first one though, when I was still in that 'hickville' school."

Far Travel didn't know what to think, much less say. The claims were, generally speaking, outrageous. Yet the tone of this young mare left little-to-no room for doubt. And hadn't the Queen herself sent her here? She'd made a horrible mistake in her assumptions, and she knew it. There was nothing left but to apologize, both often and profusely. "I'm sorry! I really am!"

"I know," Apple Bloom said. "You didn't really know who you were talking to, or what the real situation was before. You were thrown out of your comfort zone and you reacted instinctually, rather than logically. That's why you get the mulligan."

"Thank you," Far Travel said.

"But know that the lecture you just got is why you don't get a second. You no longer have any excuse for ignorance, or for acting like an ass."

Nodding, Far Travel said only, "Understood."

"What do you say we start over then?"

"Umm, yes please?"

"Howdy!" Apple Bloom said, smiling and extending a hoof as she switched back to her normal accent. "Mah name's Apple Bloom!"

"Pleased to meet you?" Far Travel said, somewhat timid after the sudden change in both accent and attitude.

"You too, miss. Now, I think ya were wonderin' just what Sky Chaser could offer, and what in the world Tea Kettles had to do with excavatin' in the sand. Curiously enough, the history of the two are pretty well tangled."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Far Travel said, putting on a smile.

Apple Bloom smiled in return, as she leaned into the tiller a bit to compensate for a slight crosswind. "I reckon we've got a bit o' time until we reach Canterlot, so the first thing ya should know, the Kettles we were talkin' about ain't the normal kitchen implements yer probably thinkin' of. They're actually a larger version of a device my friend Scootaloo originally called the 'Tea Pot'...
> Chapter 4: Rock Candy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4: Rock Candy

Sweet Apple Acres.
Eight years ago. (Three years after Rupert.)

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were inside the newly christened Cutie Mark Crusaders Aeronautical Engineering Department. The name was, of course, much grander than the reality. The "department" consisted solely of an old tool and storage shed Apple Bloom had convinced her sister to let them repurpose into a workshop. The fillies had cleaned it out and Apple Bloom had shored up the roof and walls, then added several work benches and other tools as time allowed. Originally she'd wanted it to be up in Rupert with the main CMC Headquarters, but the practicality weighed against dragging stuff up and down a thousand feet of stairs regularly. And in recent months, as the construction attempts had moved into the realm of rocketry, the distance from other things both fragile and flammable was a definite plus.

Today the two were testing a new nozzle for what Scootaloo had termed the "Tea Pot." Of course, calling the eight foot long device a tea pot—even though it did technically boil water—was about as accurate as calling the Royal Palace of the Crystal Empire "a gemstone."

"Okay," Apple Bloom said, as she finished tightening the last bolt of the new nozzle. "Go ahead and pour the water in."

Scootaloo nodded, and dumped a bucket of water into a raised tank at the far end. The liquid gurgled as it filled the pipes below, and when it finished, Scootaloo closed and latched the pressure lid on the tank. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom set her wrench down, and then opened the double doors of the workshop behind the nozzle end of the device. They'd forgotten that step once, and the outcome had been memorable enough that they weren't likely to forget a second time.

Finished, both ponies gathered on the side of the roughly-cylindrical amalgamation of steel pipes and tanks. Apple Bloom made a final inspection of the plumbing, checking for any obvious leaks or rust in the pipes leading from the tank into the boiler sections, as well as any loose bolts in the massive steel framework anchoring the device to the ground. In a few moments, it would be trying very, very hard to tear itself free from those restraints. As such, she checked twice, but found them to be quite solid.

"Okay, Scoots," Apple Bloom said. "Let's check the firestone."

Scootaloo turned and grabbed tinted goggles and ear mufflers, handing Apple Bloom her set of safety gear before donning her own goggles and hanging the hearing protection around her neck. The Tea Pot was loud and had a tendency to throw random bits of detritus into the air with vibration and the raw wind currents it generated. The tinted part was for the firestone.

"Right then," Apple Bloom said, cranking loose the three heavy latches on the fuel access doors and opening them. Inside the smaller boiler tank were two metallic hemispheres, held on swing arms. They looked a bit like large marbles cut in half and stuck on the end of scissor blades. Apple Bloom reached over and turned a small wheel through a single revolution. The hemispheres moved a nearly imperceptible amount closer, but began glowing a dull red. Both fillies could feel the heat coming off them through the short fur around their eyes and nostrils. Apple Bloom gave the wheel one more turn, moving things another hair closer, and the glow rapidly moved into white-hot, causing the ponies to recoil from the heat.

The firestone had been one of the many things to come from the quickly growing trade with the Caribou. Originally found as faintly glowing rocks, Caribou explorers—lucky or rich enough to have them—had been using them for centuries as a way to stay warm. Matched in pairs or sets, the stones would heat up when brought together in close proximity. Then Twilight and Sweetie Belle had gotten a hold of a set.

The two had quickly isolated a rare element inside the rocks that they'd dubbed "Equium," both in honor of Equestria, and for the precise way the quantity and distance had to be balanced to maintain a desired energy output. The two magic users had gone on to extract and refine the element from the stones, discovering that the heat it generated could be incredibly more powerful when purified, though a minimum quantity in close proximity was necessary to get any reaction at all. The marble-sized amount in the Tea Pot was therefore split in half, and as long as the halves were separated by more than a few inches, they were effectively inert. When brought closer though, they would quickly start to generate heat.

"Looks good to me," Apple Bloom said, finishing her pre-fire inspection and swinging the access doors closed. She cranked the three latches back into place, and gave each handle a hard thump with her hoof to make sure they were sealed as tightly as possible. The pressure in that chamber would be enormous, and it very, very much needed to stay closed.

"I'm still amazed how much the heat increases with just a tiny change in distance," Scootaloo said. "You ever wonder what would happen if you cranked them all the way together?"

"I reckon it'd melt right through the tank and just keep goin' through the ground below, too. That's why that there knob's got a stop on it. Won't let ya crank it down too far."

Scootaloo briefly pondered the mischievous applications of self-immolating magic spheres, but realized they'd be more dangerous than funny.

"Okay," Apple Bloom continued. "Doors open, water tank filled and sealed. Exhaust valve?"

Scootaloo checked a valve just above the nozzle. "Closed!"

Apple Bloom reached for the preheat steam valve and opened it, as well as the main supply valve. Water flowed from the large tank, into the smaller boiler tank with the fuel in it. It quickly boiled, and the steam vented off to the top of the main tank, where it condensed back into the water, warming the tank's contents slightly, and more cool water flowed into the boiler as the circulation continued.

"Can't you crank it up higher to make this part go faster?" Scootaloo asked, impatient with the time it took to preheat the water supply.

"Ah probably could," Apple Bloom responded. "But I'd rather we had a chance to see leaks an' other problems before it was at critical pressures."

"Chicken," Scootaloo said with a grin. Apple Bloom just shook her head and continued.

After a few more minutes of monitoring gauges, she was satisfied that things were holding, and the main tank pressure was correct. She closed the main valve, waited for the last of the water to boil off, then closed the pre-heat valve as well, before finally cranking the fuel control knob down several more times. The metal of the boiler tank itself began to take on a faint glow.

"You ready for this?" she asked Scootaloo.

"I've been waiting a week for you to finish this new nozzle design I gave you. Let's do this!"

"Right then. Get on the exhaust valve."

Scootaloo moved to stand by the valve at the nozzle end. Apple Bloom nodded, and Scootaloo opened the valve. A brief puff of steam and hot air escaped from the not-quite-empty boiler. Apple Bloom then opened the main fill valve, and water, under pressure in the main tank, rushed into the boiler, quenching the glow of the metal. The nozzle sputtered and spat a few drops of hot water, then quickly began issuing a steady dose of steam. Apple Bloom shouted "Close!" and both ponies quickly shut their respective valves.

"Twenty... nineteen... eighteen... seventeen..." Apple Bloom began counting softly. She'd been unable to find any gauges that would work for the boiler pressures the Tea Pot generated, so they'd been playing it by ear. Her current estimates were that the steam would take about twenty seconds to reach maximum safe pressure at the fuel throttle setting she was using, but there was a more literal part to playing it by ear as well, and while she counted, she listened closely for any sound of fatiguing metal that might indicate an impending failure.

The metal of the boiler began to glow red as Apple Bloom's count neared the end. Both ponies raised their hearing protection up over their ears, and the last few numbers were shouted to compensate. "Three... two... one... Fire!"

Scootaloo yanked the large quarter-turn valve open, and superheated steam roared out of the nozzle, leaving a horizontal column of white vapor shooting out the doors of the workshop at supersonic velocities. The rapid flow of the steam sucked nearby air along with it, creating a wind and ear-popping drop in pressure inside the building. Apple Bloom looked at the strain gauges she'd placed on the device's mounting, noting as quickly as possible what the maximum readings were, since it dropped quickly after the first second or two of pressure was released. Meanwhile, Scootaloo kept an eye on the thermometer they'd placed on the nozzle itself.

After about fifteen seconds, the Tea Pot was noticeably quieter, and while plenty of steam was still flowing, it was no longer shooting out with the beam-like linearity it had started with. A few more seconds, and the last puffs of steam were gone. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo merely nodded at each other, not wanting to remove their ear protection, and Apple Bloom began the fill process for another run.

The main tank was good for about fifteen runs in the current design.

"Well?" Scootaloo said, briefly pulling off her ear protection while the boiler heated again several cycles later. "Was it better?"

"Yeah. Ya can run the full numbers yerself, but eyeballin' it, I'd say we're about fourteen percent up. What about the exhaust temperature?"

"Up six percent or so."

They covered their ears and ran another thrust cycle. When it finished, Apple Bloom decided to risk a slightly higher heat setting, and dialed the firestones closer.

"What was the temp on that one?" she asked, after the valves were closed again.

"Definitely better. After you dialed it up, I'd estimate it was at least..." a smirk crossed the pegasus's face, "twenty percent hotter."

Apple Bloom facehooved. "Seriously, Scoots? That again?"

Scootaloo stuck out her tongue. "Just because you don't appreciate it, doesn't mean it's not funny. But seriously though, it really was like twenty one percent or so hotter than our previous tests."

They eventually found that, with proper timing, they could reduce the dead time between active thrusts to just about the same length as the thrust time itself. They just had to be very quick to refill the boiler, before it overheated and started to melt while dry.

When the main tank was nearing empty, Apple Bloom decided to give it only one more run, and dialed the firestones another notch closer for a final test. As the pressure built, she counted down as usual, but noticed the boiler was getting noticeably brighter at the same countdown points. It still wasn't bright enough to loose integrity, but she decided this was as hot as she was willing to push things for a while.

"Three... two... one... Fire!" Apple Bloom yelled.

Scootaloo gave a yank on the valve handle, but it stuck. Eyes widening in alarm, she grabbed it with both forehooves and yanked harder, still to no avail.

"Here," Apple Bloom shouted, tossing her a hammer. "Try that!"

Scootaloo took the hammer and gave a couple of whacks to the valve, but in her panic, did so from the wrong side, causing the handle to bend, and jamming the valve itself further.

"No, the other way!" Apple Bloom shouted. Scootaloo looked confused for a moment, then realized her mistake and started hammering from the other direction, hoping the damage wasn't too great.

Seeing the unfolding disaster in front of her, the boiler glowing brighter and brighter, filled with supercritical steam, Apple Bloom decided to abort, and reached for the fuel control knob to shut things down. Unfortunately, the superheated metal of the boiler had now jammed the threads in the scissor mechanism as well. Thinking quickly, she turned and grabbed a wrench, using it to force the knob to turn. It worked, but the added friction of the swollen metal meant it was going to take several minutes to make the multiple revolutions needed to shut things down.

Then Scootaloo got the valve free, and the Tea Pot howled like a Windigo. The metal mounting structure began to flex, then a bolt head snapped off and shot through the roof like a bullet. The two ponies looked at each other, and Apple Bloom shouted—though for all the noise, it may have just been mouthed—"Run!"

The two ran out the side door and quickly galloped away from the building. A few seconds later, a large crash caused them to turn and look. The Tea Pot had broken free, and shot through the far wall of the workshop. For a brief moment, it slid along the ground like it was ice, before hitting a rock and shooting up into the air. There, its flight took on a somewhat corkscrew pattern, leaving a massive white trail of billowing steam behind it as it sailed off toward the horizon. When the steam subsided, they could still barely make out the faint shape of the now-ballistic device itself against the sky. Eventually though, it fell onto a dome-shaped hill near the horizon.

For a few moments of deafening silence, both fillies were just glad to be alive. Neither was quite sure what to say, until Scootaloo finally turned toward Apple Bloom. "So... I'd say that boiler needs to be at least twenty percent cooler, wouldn't you?"

"I hate you," Apple Bloom deadpanned.

"I know," Scootaloo replied, smiling. "I know."

----

A dome-shaped hill.
A short while later.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stood over the wreckage of the Tea Pot. Not much was recognizable—let alone salvageable—in the twisted metal. The device had left a decent gouge in the dirt and vegetation, and smaller bits of metal were scattered throughout the nearby bushes and rocky outcroppings. Of the firestone, there was no sign.

"Well, I'd call this a total write-off," Scootaloo said. "At least we know the idea can fly though. Just imagine when we put wings on it!"

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said, a bit more dejectedly. "I guess. It took me a month to build this thing though, now I gotta start over from scratch."

Scootaloo put a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "True, but if I know you, that just means the next one will be even better."

"Heh, thanks Scoots," Apple Bloom said, returning the gesture with genuine affection. "But now we're gonna have to beg some more firestone, and I get the impression Twilight only let us have this first batch 'cause Sweetie helped refine it."

"We'll figure it out. For now though, you want a lift back to the farm?"

"Naw, you go on ahead. I wanna look around a bit more, see if I can find anything worth savin'."

"You sure, AB? I can drop you off on my way back home."

"I'm sure. It's only twenty minutes or so on hoof anyway."

"Okay then," Scootaloo said, launching into the air. "See you tomorrow!"

Apple Bloom nodded and waved as her friend left, then sat down with a deep sigh in the waning sun of late afternoon. While it was great that both her friends had become so talented, it sometimes got to her that she was always relying on them for transportation. If they went anywhere as a group, Scootaloo was either giving her a lift through the air, or Sweetie was simply teleporting them all to their destination. Yes, either was quicker than trotting there by hoof, but... sometimes stubbornness won out, and she did it anyway, just to prove to herself that she could.

Surveying the horizon, Apple Bloom took a deep breath, savoring the scents of late summer. The dry grass up here on the hillside was wild, and while similar to the alfalfa hay of the fields below, had a smell all its own if a pony took the time to appreciate it. Faint hints of clover, dandelions, and even a few wild berries mixed in with the subtler smells of the wild grass strains. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the life she could feel through her hooves.

Like the smells around her, the pulse of life had subtle variations too, ones she'd become attuned to in the past couple of years. There was spring, with its explosion of fast, excited growth. On the other end, deepest winter, where life clung on to every morsel of warmth and energy, waiting out the cold. Then of course summer, when things seemed carefree, and all the creatures and plants acted with no concern for tomorrow. But Apple Bloom had found her favorite time was by far the late summer and early fall that she could sense beneath and around her now. That was when life went about with purpose and determination.

The grasses were working hard to sprout their final seeds, ensuring new growth come spring. The mice and other burrowing critters worked fervently, storing up food for the icy months to come. Foxes and mink hunted and grew out their fur to guard against the coming cold. And the birds gathered together and started to prepare for their great journeys south. Every living thing had a purpose in the fall, Apple Bloom felt. Everything but her.

She looked off to Rupert in the distance. Her massive world tree stood tall as a mountain against the sky. The giant branches swayed gently in the late sun, the millions of leaves individually shifting, causing it to almost sparkle at this distance. There was her big achievement. There was her bright fame. There it was, three years in the past. Not even an adult yet, and Apple Bloom felt perhaps her best days might already be behind her. She told herself that obviously couldn't be the case, but sometimes, on days like today, when everything had literally blown up in her face, it definitely felt like that might be true.

A flicker of movement from a nearby boulder caught her eye. She turned to look, but nothing was there. Just tall, dry grass swaying in the light breeze of sunset. But when she turned back toward the orchard, another flash of color caught her eye. It was white-ish. Too bright to be just grass, and too big to be a puff of dandelion or cottonwood fluff.

Standing, Apple Bloom took a few steps toward the boulder. "Who's there?" There was no answer. She concentrated on her other senses, and felt some larger source of life behind the rock. Something was there, and it didn't feel like an animal, but it didn't feel like a pony either.

She took another couple of steps. "I know yer there. Show yerself!"

Two ears and a pair of eyes slowly appeared from around the edge of the stone. From the height, Apple Bloom realized the creature was probably close to her own size. "It's okay," she said. "I ain't gonna hurt ya."

The face stuck its way out slightly farther, revealing a short snout in a stubby muzzle, and sharp looking teeth. It was followed by the rest of the creature, which was standing on two legs. Apple Bloom recognized it from pictures she'd seen in some books. It was a diamond dog.

This particular diamond dog was much smaller than she'd expected though. It was slightly taller than her, but only as it was standing upright. She figured she probably outweighed it by a decent margin. It also looked odd compared to the pictures she'd seen. Its forelegs—"arms" she remembered—weren't nearly as overdeveloped, though they were still longer than the rear legs it stood on. One of its ears seemed to be damaged as well, folding over and flopping loosely, causing the cream-colored fur to stick out oddly at the crease. It also lacked any of the clothing, collars, and jewels most diamond dogs reportedly wore. Most strangely of all though, was how timid it was behaving. Supposedly, diamond dogs—while not outright dangerous—were relatively aggressive and obnoxious. This one seemed to be more scared and nervous than even Fluttershy though.

"Howdy," Apple Bloom said, raising one hoof in a cautious wave.

The diamond dog moved his mouth several times, as if trying to speak, but no sound came out. Then he shook his head and finally manged a quick, muttered "Hi" before turning his head away and staring at the ground.

Apple Bloom smiled. "Mah name's Apple Bloom. What's yours?"

There was a moment of silence, then a stuttering "Ru...ru...ru..." before he gave up and looked away again.

"It's okay, ya can take yer time." Apple Bloom had met a filly at camp one year with a nervous stutter. She'd learned that as long as she gave the filly time to calm down, she'd eventually get past it and get the words out.

The diamond dog took several deep breaths, then closed his eyes and forced out, "Th-they... ca-ca-call me Ru-ru-runt."

Giving another smile, Apple Bloom said, "It's nice to meet ya, Runt."

"Yo-you t-too."

"So, uh, what brings ya out here?"

Runt looked around, and pointed at the scattered wreckage of the Tea Pot.

"Oh," Apple Bloom said, flushing slightly at her failure. "Ya saw that, did ya?"

Eyes widening in excitement, Runt smiled. "It fl-flew! I sa-sa-saw it fl-flying!"

"Yeah, though it weren't supposed to yet."

Runt cocked his head to the side. "It was y-y-yours?"

"Yeah, me and mah friend. Dang thing was supposed to stay put for testin', but it got away from us and took off."

"You a-a-actually built it?"

Apple Bloom couldn't help but notice that Runt's stutter was disappearing the more he talked. "Yeah, I reckon I did. Though Scootaloo, my friend, helped design a lot of it."

"Th-that's amazing! It l-l-looks so complex. What is it supposed to-to do?"

"Well, it's meant to be an engine for a flyin' machine at some point. Scoots, she's kinda the fastest pegasus in the world, but she had this idea that a pony could build a machine to go just as fast."

"I thought you s-s-said it wasn't supposed to f-f-ly."

"This was just a test o' the engine itself. It was supposed to stay bolted to the ground. Eventually though, somethin' like this was meant to go in some kinda contraption with wings and such, let anypony fly up in the sky like a pegasus, at least for a little while."

Runt grinned. "Aw-awe-aw-awe... Cool! So how does it wo-work?"

Apple Bloom wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. It was clear Runt wasn't an adult, but diamond dogs didn't age at the same rate as ponies either. She wasn't sure if she was talking to a little child, or a young adult older than herself. Of course, even adult diamond dogs weren't really known for their intelligence either. On top of that, the stutter and shyness were obscuring things even further. She didn't want to treat him like he was six if he was really sixteen. On the other hoof, could he even understand the workings of a rocket? Best to start small and work up, she figured.

"Do ya know what a tea pot is?"

Runt shook his head. Not promising then, Apple Bloom thought.

"Well, ya know how when ya put water over a fire, it gets all steamy?"

This time, Runt nodded.

"It's kinda like that. There's this tank, and we put some magic firestones in it—well, they ain't really magic, but might as well be—anyway, they get really hot, then we pour in some water. When it boils up, all the steam is trapped, until we let it out through..." Apple Bloom looked around, and found the twisted bit of metal that remained of the nozzle. "Through that bit there, which pushes the whole thing forward."

Nodding, Runt appeared to consider this for a moment before speaking. "So, the steam can only grow out the b-b-back part?"

"Grow? Ya mean expand?"

"I th-think so."

"Then, yeah. The steam expands out the back, pushin' things. Basically it's takin' the heat o' the firestones and makin' it into thrust."

"What are f-f-fire st-stones?"

Apple Bloom thought for a moment about how to explain it simply. "Well, they're basically these special rocks that get really hot when you put them close together."

"Hot rocks?"

"Yeah, I guess ya could say that."

"No. I m-m-mean hotrocks. We have l-l-lots of glowing rocks like th-that. We c-call them 'hotrocks' as a single w-word."

Apple Bloom's own eyes now went wide. "Really? Where?"

"All o-over. We use them to k-k-keep all our tunnels w-warm and for l-light under-gr-ground."

Thinking this might let her avoid begging more Equium from Twilight—and thus having to explain what happened to the last batch—Apple Bloom jumped on the idea. "Do you think you could show me?"

"I... d-don't kn-know. I don't th-think the others would like if I was b-bringing a p-p-pony into the dens. They'd h-hurt me if they f-f-f-found o-o-out."

"Your denmates hurt you?"

"Not ba-bad. Just, p-p-pick on m-me. I am the ru-ru-runt after a-a-all."

"Aww, I'm sorry, Runt. I know what that's like. Me and mah friends, we used to get picked on a lot by some bullies."

"You used to get p-p-picked on t-too?"

"Yup. Me an' every other foal in class really. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon used to be just the worst sort a ponies ya could think of."

"Used to?" Runt said, his non-limp ear raising in curiosity.

Apple Bloom smiled at that. "Yeah, mah friend Sweetie Belle... well, she insisted we start tryin' to be friends with 'em. Be nice to 'em and all that. It was hard at first. None of us really wanted to do it. But Sweetie insisted, and, well... it eventually worked. Diamond and Silver even came to mah last birthday party, and not in no ironic way like they used to."

Runt looked disappointed. "That's g-good," he said, hanging his head.

"What's a matter?"

"I... I don't th-think just be-being nice will wo-wo-work. I'm too d-d-d-different. They don't like when I re-re-read and think about the wr-wrong things."

"What do ya mean, 'wrong things'?" Apple Bloom said, tilting her head in confusion and concern. "Long as ya ain't plannin' some evil scheme, ain't nothing wrong with thinkin' about darn near anything."

Runt nodded. "But the others don't s-s-s-see it like th-that. They don't l-l-like when I come up here to wa-watch the sunset and the c-c-c-clouds even. They think it's not r-r-right for a d-d-d-diamond dog to not like the tu-tu-tunnels, or to wo-wo-wonder what's over the horizon."

"I'm, uh, sorry," Apple Bloom said, not sure how to console this odd creature. "I know it ain't fun to feel like yer different."

Runt let loose a short, barking sort of laugh. "How would you kn-kn-know what 'different' f-feels like? You're just the s-s-same as all the other p-p-ponies."

Now it was Apple Bloom's turn to laugh. "Oh boy, Runt, did you ever pick the perfect pony to say that to."

"Wh-what do you m-m-mean?" Runt said, caught completely off guard by Apple Bloom's laughter.

"Well fer starters, I ain't even technically a pony. I'm actually a scarecrow that was brought to life as a golem by a wish my sister made on a magic cupcake."

"What's a g-g-golem?"

Apple Bloom sighed. "Promise me ya ain't gonna freak out and run away?"

Runt's head nodded in agreement, but the fear in his eyes gave the minority report. Apple Bloom went ahead anyway.

"Basically," she said. "I'm a mud monster. I was made o' sticks and dirt, and given life by a magic wish."

Runt nodded uncertainly. He knew all of the words used, but they may as well have been gibberish for all the sense they made.

"Aw dang it, lemme just show ya." Apple Bloom grabbed one of the scrapped pieces of metal lying around, and made a small cut in her fetlock. She held it up to Runt, letting him get a good look at the mud-and-water that flowed.

Runt's eyes went wide. "Th-that's a tr-trick. A magic sp-spell!"

"Well, it is and it ain't. Like I said, I was brought to life by magic, but it ain't no trick or spell now. That's mah blood. That's who I am. Like I said, I ain't a normal pony, and I promise ya, I really do know what it feels like to be different."

Runt moved closer, looking at the muddied fur on her foreleg.

"Go on," Apple Bloom said. "It's real, I promise."

Runt sniffed at the "blood" that had dripped to the ground and at Apple Bloom herself several times, before stepping back. "It really is y-y-your bl-blood?"

"Yup."

"But... how? I m-mean how does it wo-work? Does it cl-cl-clot? Do you a-age? Are you heavier like ro-rocks? Can you sw-swim? Wh-what happens—"

"Woah, slow down there!" Apple Bloom said. "That's a lotta questions."

"S-s-sorry," Runt said, hanging his head and letting his good ear droop.

"Nothin' wrong with questions," Apple Bloom said, making sure her tone was cheerful and encouraging. "Just, maybe we should start at the beginnin'? How's that sound?"

"Beginning?"

"Sure, I'll tell ya my whole story if ya want, but I want to hear yers too. Figure it's a fair trade that way."

Smiling, Runt nodded and his ear perked up. "Okay."

The two spent the rest of the early evening talking. Apple Bloom told the story of when she and her friends had discovered their golem natures, and Runt slowly revealed details about his odd life underground. The diamond dog was, Apple Bloom decided, actually quite smart once you got past the stutter. From what he described, it sounded like that was the biggest source of his problems too. The other diamond dogs respected only strength and tradition, and had no time for his curiosity and desire to learn about the wider world. He kept talking about how trapped he felt, and Apple Bloom really felt for him.

She'd felt that way herself from time to time. While she loved her family dearly, none of them were exactly forward thinking intellectuals. When she got excited about some new invention she was working on, and rambled on about it at dinner, Applejack would just nod politely, saying "That's nice, AB." Granny wasn't much better, and Big Mac was... Well, he was Big Mac. But at least she had friends she could talk to. She could discuss grand ideas with Scootaloo, who was always eager to help with anything that went fast or exploded. If she had more subtle things, Sweetie was always there to talk about social problems, or magical theories and ideas.

Runt had no one though. If he wondered about something he read, he couldn't just go to Twilight and ask questions. He couldn't talk about his personal problems with a big sister. And he couldn't run away to a clubhouse with his friends when the bullies closed in.

"So you really grew that huge tree?" Runt asked, staring off at Rupert, silhouetted against the last sparkles of twilight.

"Eeyup. Got this for it, too." Apple Bloom turned and pointed to her cutie mark. "You can come visit sometime if ya want. There're stairs all the way up to that clubhouse there near the top."

"R-really?"

"Of course. Friends are always..." Apple Bloom trailed off, her ears swiveling as she heard voice approaching. 

"Ruuu-nt!" one of the voices said, with a slight hiss. "Where aaare you?" The sing-song cadence sounded menacing.

Runt's eyes went wide in fear. His head darted back and forth, searching for cover.

"Runt should comes out and plays with us!" said a second, gravely voice. "Or we's gonna make him sorry!"

"Who're they?" Apple Bloom whispered, joining Runt as he flattened himself to the ground to hide behind one of the nearby outcroppings.

"B-b-bullies."

Apple Bloom heard footsteps approaching, then a pause and the sounds of sniffing.

"I smells a ruuunt!" bully number two said. "I smells him close!"

Unable to see from their hiding spot, Apple Bloom closed her eyes and concentrated on her earth pony magic. She could sense two large sources of lifeforce a couple dozen yards away. They were quite a bit larger than the echoes of Runt or herself, but... something was wrong with them. Their echoes were off-color, sickly somehow, but not weakened like she'd seen with elderly or dying ponies. Something else was amiss. The sounds of further sniffing broke her train of thought, and she felt the echoes moving directly toward her and Runt. Apple Bloom opened her eyes and looked at Runt, unsure what to do. He was shaking with nervousness, and flattening himself as much as possible, so she stayed put as well.

"We sees you!" the first voice said, as a large gray paw reached over the ledge and quickly snatched Runt by the scruff of his neck.

"Let him go!" Apple Bloom said, jumping to her hooves.

"I thoughts I smelled a pony!" said the smaller of the two diamond dogs. He had dark brown fur and a black vest. His companion—now dangling Runt in the air—was gray furred, and wearing a yellow vest. Both sported collars with large spikes on them.

"I said. Let. Him. Go!"

The diamond dogs didn't seem impressed. The brown one casually licked some piece of crystalline rock he was holding in one paw before responding. "Or what?"

The gray one took a lick of a similar rocky substance held in his paw as well. "Yeah, what's little pony thinks it can dos?" Runt had gone limp in his other paw, giving up.

While her eyes maintained contact with the diamond dogs, Apple Bloom's actual focus was on the vines and bushes behind them, which she was quickly encouraging to grow around their feet. "Ya know, I never get tired o' hearin' that. Always makes it much more satisfyin' in the end."

"I thinks little pony talk too much!" said the brown one, putting the crystal in a vest pocket, before pounding a fist into the other paw.

"Just r-r-run!" Runt shouted. "I'll b-b-b-be okay."

Feeling her adrenaline building with fear, Apple Bloom knew what she was about to do was incredibly risky, even to the point of stupidity. But she also knew it was the right thing to do, and as such, there really was no debate. "Naw, Runt," she said, hiding her fear beneath a tone of nonchalance. "Can't do that. Nopony hurts my friends and gets away with it."

The brown diamond dog growled, and Apple Bloom responded, "Come on, ugly, what're ya waitin' for?"

The brown dog moved to charge her, but was immediately tripped by the vines around his feet, and ended up face down on the ground, kicking to free his feet from the unseen attacker. "It's gots me! Gets it offs! Gets it offs!"

Apple Bloom concentrated as hard as she could to grow more weeds and brambles to hold and pin him. A couple of loops managed to grab and hold one of his arms, then the other, as he struggled wildly against the plants. It worked, Apple Bloom thought in relief. She knew she was very lucky that the trapped dog had simply thrashed about randomly, and hadn't been cognizant enough to pull or claw at individual plants pinning his feet.

The larger diamond dog, seeing his companion trapped, was smart enough not to move and trip himself. "Pony think she clever?" he bellowed, tossing Runt to the side and bending down to quickly slash through the weeds with his large claws. "Now you in for world of hurt!" he said, taking several big steps toward Apple Bloom.

Crap, Apple Bloom thought. Time for a new plan. Stepping backwards slowly, she scanned the ground nearby, trying to remember the subtleties of a trick Applejack had taught her last applebuck season. She really hoped she could pull it off, as she wasn't likely to get a second chance.

"Is little pony scared?" the large dog said, chuckling in his gravely voice.

Why yes, yes I am, Apple Bloom thought to herself. Gulping though, she forced one more line of bravado as she continued backpedaling to stay out of range. "Naw, us Apples ain't afraid a nothin'. Just lookin' for the proper tools is all."

Realizing his confident—but slow—stride wasn't actually closing the distance, the diamond dog picked up the pace just as Apple Bloom tripped over a couple of loose rocks. He paused his advance to point and laugh, expecting his quarry to finally show the proper fear. Instead, she was smirking. "Found 'em!"

Apple Bloom tossed two hoof-sized rocks high into the air, then turned and planted her forehooves. Focusing on, but not looking at the diamond dog—Applejack had taught her that trying to turn would upset her aim—she waited for the rocks to fall. When the timing was right, she leaned onto her forehooves, arched her back, and brought her hind legs up. Then, a fraction of a second apart, she let her rear hooves exploded outwards, each connecting solidly with one of the rocks, sending them flying directly at the mass of surprised gray muscle and claws behind her.

From the nearby bush where he'd hidden, Runt watched as Apple Bloom bucked two rocks in impossibly quick succession directly at the gray bully. The rocks both connected, the first catching her opponent in the chest, but before he could even start to bend over from the impact, the second rock caught him directly in the forehead. Runt's jaw fell open in astonishment as the massive diamond dog's eyes went cross, and he fell limp to the ground, his rock candy falling from his paw and rolling to stop nearby.

For her part, Apple Bloom was actually more surprised than Runt was. Even in practice, she rarely got both rocks in the same buck, and her aim tended to be less than brilliant. Her plan had been to hit a couple blows to the chest just to surprise him, then sprint off and try to lay some sort of trap with more vines. The knockout head shot was pure luck, but she liked to think that just maybe, it was because she was doing the right thing in protecting her new friend. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't pretend she'd planned it all along.

"Wow," Runt said, stepping out from the bushes as Apple Bloom was growing more plants to restrain the recently defeated. "H-how did you learn to d-d-do that?"

"Apple buckin'," Apple Bloom said, smiling as she finished entangling the second diamond dog. Satisfied both of the bullies were secure, she turned to Runt. "Are all yer denmates like these two?"

"M-mostly. These two are w-w-worse though."

As if on cue, the still conscious diamond dog growled, "We's going to gets you pony! We's not forget!"

Ignoring the outburst, Apple Bloom looked at Runt. "Is somethin' wrong with 'em? I mean, besides bein' a couple o' bullies?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"I... I'm not really sure how to explain. See, I can kinda sense the life in stuff. Part of what lets me grow plants like this. I can sense the life in other ponies, and creatures an' stuff, including these two. But the echoes I get off 'em are wrong somehow."

Runt shrugged. "I don't kn-kn-know."

Apple Bloom put a hoof against the head of the fallen diamond dog and closed her eyes in concentration. She could sense his lifeforce clearly now, pulsing slightly cooler now that he was unconscious, but it still had the off-color character she'd sensed earlier. Focusing now at close range, the "color" wasn't quite homogeneous like it seemed from a distance. Instead, she realized that there was something mixed in with the life she was sensing, polluting it almost like silt could be suspended in water, changing its color without ever actually becoming part of it. Once she identified the signature of the pollutant, she tried to isolate it in her senses. Immediately, she could sense another large mass of it in the other diamond dog, but after a moment, realized there were smaller sources nearby as well. She'd almost missed them because their signatures were not muddled in with lifeforce.

After she'd created the rock plinth as part of the fugue state that had saved Applejack and grown Rupert, Apple Bloom realized that her earth pony magic applied not just to life, but literal earth as well. She could sense, and in some very small ways, even manipulate rocks, stones, dirt, and similar things. It was much more difficult to use that part of her magic than the part that dealt with living things. Her working theory for that was that life—all life, animal and vegetable—was actually pretty darn magical to start with. But she'd been practicing with the mineral part of her abilities as well. Following the faint source, she moved to the side of the diamond dog and picked up the white, translucent crystal it had dropped. Yup, she thought as her hoof touched it. It was the same strange "color" in her magic senses as what she felt in the diamond dogs.

"What's this crystal stuff they were lickin'?" Apple Bloom asked Runt.

"That's ju-ju-just sweetrock," Runt said. "All the o-o-others say it tastes gr-great."

"All the diamond dogs eat this stuff?"

"Well, n-n-not me. Even as a p-p-pup didn't like it. It just t-t-tastes like dirt to me."

Apple Bloom looked at the crystal, and decided to give it a taste. She brushed off the dirt from one end, and gave it a tentative lick. The taste was almost sickeningly sweet, like pure sugar. She was hesitant to swallow any though, so she swished some extra saliva around in her mouth and spit, repeating that several times before turning back to Runt. "That's as sugary as all get out to me," she said. "Ya say that just tastes like dirt to ya?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, you," Apple Bloom said, walking over to the conscious diamond dog and holding the sweetrock down where he could see it from his tangled position. "What's this stuff taste like?"

"Heh, why I answer if stupid pony not even know sweet rock taste sweet?"

Wow, Apple Bloom thought, these guys really are dumb.

"Wh-what are you a-a-asking for?" Runt said.

"I ain't quite sure, but like I said. Somethin' ain't right with these two, an' I think it might be connected to this sweetrock stuff."

A loud groan made both of them turn around. The large diamond dog was waking up.

"Uh oh," Apple Bloom said. "I think we might better skedaddle. I got a feelin' those weeds ain't gonna hold him fer too long."

Runt nodded in eager agreement.

"Are ya gonna be okay?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Y-yeah. I can k-k-keep out of sight for a f-f-few days. They've been m-mad at me before."

"Okay." Apple Bloom was reluctant to leave Runt at the mercy of the two huge bullies, but apparently he'd been dealing with them for quite a while already, so she just had to trust that he knew what he was doing. "Don't forget to come visit sometime."

"You, m-m-mean it?"

"Like I was sayin' afore these two showed up, friends are always welcome at the CMC."

Another loud groan sounded, and quickly turned into an angry growl.

"Okay, I'd better get a head start here!" Apple Bloom said. "Nice to meet you, Runt. Hope I see ya soon!"

"Y-you too, A-a-apple Bloom," Runt said, before turning and tunneling into the ground in a noisy whirlwind of claws and paws, leaving Apple Bloom with her turn to be shocked. She'd known diamond dogs could dig quickly, but Runt disappeared into the ground like it was water. She could only imagine how much faster the larger, stronger diamond dogs must be. She supposed that was why Runt had tried hiding instead of tunneling away when they first appeared.

The sound of snapping vines reminded her it was time to go. Tucking the sweetrock into a knot of ribbon on her mane, Apple Bloom galloped down the hill and toward Rupert.

----

Outside a tree that's also a library.
The next day.

Sweetie Belle looked up at the sign above the door. A board with the word "Royal" crudely painted on it had been tacked on in front of the elegantly carved "Ponyville Library." "What's up with that?" she said, pointing out the addition to Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom could only shrug. The writing was bad enough it could have belonged to Scootaloo, but she couldn't imagine any reason why the young pegasus would have modified the sign here at the library.

Knocking at the door, Sweetie heard Twilight's voice. "Come in!"

The two fillies entered, and found Twilight relaxing on a cushion near the far window, reading a book. "Hi girls," she said, placing a bookmark before setting the novel down. "What brings you here?"

"What's the deal with the 'Royal' sign?" Apple Bloom said.

Twilight let out a nervous chuckle. "It's uh... Well, I blame Luna."

"Oh?" Sweetie said.

"I suppose it's a bit my own fault as well."

Sensing a juicy story, Apple Bloom pried. "Come on Twilight, you can tell us."

Rolling her eyes, Twilight sighed. "I guess you'll end up hearing it from somepony anyway."

Sweetie and Apple Bloom both put on their biggest fake smiles.

"Well," Twilight began. "A couple of nights ago, Luna was visiting, and we'd been up late talking. We may have had a few glasses of wine as well."

Sweetie raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway," Twilight continued. "I was complaining that some bureaucrat in the Office of Royal Decorum had been sending me letter after letter, insisting that, as a Princess, I must move to a royal residence, as required by an ancient law he'd discovered. Of course I don't want to leave Ponyville, and I'm quite happy at the library. I jokingly told Luna I should just slap the word 'Royal' on the sign to shut him up."

"Lemme guess," Apple Bloom said. "She didn't realize you were joking."

"Actually, she thought it was a hilarious joke. So hilarious, she insisted we do it immediately. Next thing I know, we've dug up an old scrap of board and some paint from the basement, and Luna is doing her best to paint with one eye closed."

"Why one eye?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Ummm..." Twilight hesitated, remembering her audience was too young to drink.

"Stops ya seein' double," Apple Bloom said.

"How do you know that?" Twilight said, suddenly concerned.

Apple Bloom laughed. "Don't worry, Twi, wasn't personal experience. But I do live on a farm where half our income's from cider sales, and even my own sister's named after booze. I've been around plenty a ponies when they're drinkin'."

Twilight relaxed a little.

"So anyway, why don't you just take the sign down?" Sweetie asked.

"And that's why I blame Luna," Twilight said. "After she finished with the paint, we went outside to put it up. I'll admit, even I thought it was a funny idea at the time. The problem is that in her inebriated state, Luna didn't just tack the sign up there. She affixed it with probably one of the most powerful binding spells I've ever seen. It would take me weeks to unweave it."

"Couldn't ya get Celestia to do it, or even Luna herself?" Apple Bloom said.

"That's the worst part. Apparently Luna didn't stop with a nearly-adamant binding spell. When she returned to the castle, she issued a royal decree about it before going to bed. It would now, technically, be treason to remove it. As for Celestia..." Twilight hung her head. "When I told her, she didn't stop laughing for nearly a full minute. When she recovered, she basically told me that's what I get for drinking with Luna, and that I should 'at least be glad that it didn't involve pudding.' On the plus side, I don't think I'll be hearing from the bureaucrats in Decorum for a while."

Sweetie and Apple Bloom smiled. They'd both gotten to spend some time with Luna when visiting the Caribou with the princesses last winter. Having only really known her from Nightmare Night and second-hoof reports through their sisters before, it'd been interesting to see the royal pony sisters as regular ponies. Luna had been surprisingly fun to be around, joking with Celestia and Twilight, as well as Gunnar and his wife. It was therefore easy to picture her doing exactly what Twilight had described, even if most other ponies in Equestria would be astonished that a royal could "misbehave" so easily.

"So what did you girls actually come here for?" Twilight asked. "Please tell me it wasn't because everypony is talking about the sign already."

"Naw," Apple Bloom said, pulling the sweetrock from her bow. "I actually wanted to ask ya about this."

Twilight took the rock in her magic and brought it closer for examination. "Where'd you get this?"

"A diamond dog, actually. Ya know what it is?"

"Not exactly, but I think I can find out pretty quickly." Twilight spread her wings, and flew up to one of the high bookshelves. Tilting her head to read the spines more easily, she quickly scanned the shelf before pulling a book and bringing it to the table and opening it. She set the sweetrock down, and flipped through a few pages. "Looks somewhat like calcite or halite," she said, and moved the crystal toward her mouth.

"Wait!" Apple Bloom said. "What're you doing?"

Twilight stopped. "The easiest way to tell calcite from halite is by taste."

"It's really sweet, like sugar."

"It should be either salty or relatively tasteless."

"Then I don't think it's one of those."

Twilight moved to taste the sample again. "No, don't!" Apple Bloom said.

"Why?"

"I... I think it might be poisonous or somethin'. Can you see if anything else matches?"

"Okay..." Twilight said, unsure, but trusting the filly to have a good reason to think so. "Let me see what else is in here." She flipped through more pages, trying to think what might be sweet, yet potentially toxic. Then she remembered a theory she'd heard about the demise of the ancient Roanen Empire, and flipped through to 'Pb.' There it was. Reading quickly, with rapid glances to the sample of "sweetrock," Twilight quickly confirmed the identification.

"Well?" Apple Bloom asked, when she saw Twilight finally look up from the book.

"Where did you say you got this again?"

"I got it off a diamond dog. Apparently they eat it like candy or somethin'." At this, Twilight's eyes went wide, her ears flat, with her jaw dropping as well.

"What? What is it?"

"Lead acetate."

"Oh no," Sweetie Belle said, her own paw covering her mouth in shock now too. "Does that mean—"

Twilight interrupted in the only way her horrified mind could, by lecturing from the book. "Also known as 'lead sugar', lead acetate, like other lead compounds, is highly toxic, interfering with many biological tissues and systems, particularly the development of the nervous system. It is therefore especially dangerous to foals, with prolonged exposure often resulting in permanent learning disabilities, memory problems, aggressive behavioral disorders, and other neurological ailments."

All three ponies stood in silence as the implications set in. Apple Bloom finally spoke up, and filled Twilight in on the full story of what she'd heard from Runt.

"So if he's right," Apple Bloom said, concluding the story. "Then all the diamond dogs have been eating this 'sweetrock' since they were young."

Sweetie Belle had tears in her eyes. "They're literally feeding their children poison like it was candy," she said sniffling. "That's... that's horrible."

Twilight hung her her head, nodding. "It's horrible to contemplate, but it would explain so much about the diamond dogs. The various speech impediments, the aggressive behavior, even the ancient statues and ruins that seem way beyond their current level of technical and cultural sophistication."

"What about me?" Apple Bloom asked, somewhat afraid of the answer. "I licked it once, but I spit out most of it."

"Oh! No, no. You'll be fine." Twilight said. "That shouldn't be enough to do any real harm one time, but it is cumulative. Small doses can add up over time."

"Is there any way reverse the damage?" Sweetie asked.

"I'm afraid not," Twilight said. "Stopping the ingestion may help some of the physical symptoms like joint pain and stomach aches lessen, but much of the neurological damage is likely permanent."

"So you're saying they're beyond help for the most part?"

Twilight nodded solemnly, and all three ponies stood in silence.

"No!" Apple Bloom said, stamping a hoof with sudden determination a moment later. "We can still save the young ones."

"But—"

"I take it back," Apple Bloom said. "We are going to save the young ones!" She looked at Twilight and Sweetie, daring them to disagree.

"But how, AB?" Sweetie said. "I don't think they're likely to just listen to pony advice about how to raise their pups, and we can't just take them from their parents either."

"We can if it comes to that," Apple Bloom said.

"Apple Bloom!" Twilight gasped. "That's not—"

"It is an option!" Apple Bloom insisted. "The last option, I'll grant ya, but don't ya dare tell me they'd be better off growin' up poisoned and brain damaged. But, I've got somethin' else to try first."

"Oh really?" Sweetie asked, looking questioningly at her friend. "And what's that?"

Apple Bloom grinned. "Come with me!"
> Chapter 5: The Teapot Dome Scandal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5: The Teapot Dome Scandal

Sugarcube Corner.
A quick trot from the library later. (Still three years after Rupert.)

"Hi, Pinkie," Apple Bloom said, trotting up to the counter with Sweetie Belle in tow. "How many kinds of candy do ya have?"

Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, preparing to enumerate the previously uncounted varieties of confection available.

"Wait! Forget I asked," Apple Bloom shouted, holding up a hoof just in time. "I'll just take one of everything."

Pinkie grinned, and hefted a large sack over the counter. "There you go! One biggest bestest every-flavor-we-have candy assortment, sorted alphabetically for ease of use."

"How many of those do you usually sell?" Sweetie asked, surprised-yet-not-really-surprised that such a thing was already prepared.

"Zero!" Pinkie gleefully exclaimed.

"Then how long has that one been sitting?"

"Oh, no, I would never sell old candy. I packed this one just this morning."

"You put one of these together every day, yet never sell any?"

Pinkie laughed. "That'd be silly, silly!"

"So you do sell some then?"

"Nope nope! You're the firstest to buy the biggest bestest! Like I said, I just put it together today."

"Wait, this is the first time you ever put one together? Then how did you..." Sweetie trailed off, realizing where this was going.

"Yup!" Pinkie said, winking. "Two tail twitches and an itch on the left fetlock."

"Well then, how much do we owe you?"

"Nada! The Royal Treasury already paid the bill last week."

"But we... we just found out about..." Sweetie lost the thread of any coherent thought, as she found often happened when dealing with Pinkie Pie.

Apple Bloom just smiled. Somehow, the more she learned about her own abilities, the less strange Pinkie Sense seemed. Recently, she'd started to suspect that it was some really weird extension of earth pony magic.

"Well," Sweetie said, turning to Apple Bloom. "Now we just need to go by—"

"Oh oh!" Pinkie interrupted again. "I already commissioned Bon Bon and Twist for all the candies they can make, too. They're in the bag as well, filed under BB and CC."

Deciding to ignore the first level question, Sweetie went for the second. "I get BB for Bon Bon, but why CC?"

Apple Bloom laughed. "She filed it by candy, not maker. BB is for bon-bons, the candy, not the pony. CC is candy canes."

Sweetie shook her head. "Let's just go, before my brain explodes."

"Thanks Pinkie," Apple Bloom said, waving. "We'll see ya 'round."

"Okie dokie!"

----

CMC Headquarters.
Three point one four seconds later.

Scootaloo heard a soft knock, and looked up from her book. Nopony ever knocked. The treehouse was a thousand feet in the sky, and miles from town too. Anypony that was coming to visit was generally expected well in advance, and it's not like the postmare would even deliver here.

Another knock. Well, Scootaloo thought, putting down her book and heading for the door, this should be interesting. Opening the door though, it was actually much more interesting than she'd anticipated. Standing on the other side of the threshold was a diamond dog.

"Gah!" she gasped, briefly startled by the freakish, bipedal appearance of the creature. It, in turn, stepped back in shock as well, and the two stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Umm... Can I help you?" Scootaloo finally ventured.

"I... I was t-t-t-told I could vi-visit," said the—now that she looked more closely—small and scrawny creature.

"O-kaaaay..." They had set an official CMC policy that anypony was always welcome to visit the CMC headquarters, and several foals from class, as well as a few adults from town, had come to visit in the first couple of months after they'd finished the headquarters. But a diamond dog? That was new. This one seemed harmless enough though. "Uh, come on in I guess."

The diamond dog stuck his head in timidly, looking around at the interior without actually stepping inside. "Is-is... A-a-a-apple Bloom here?"

Curiouser and curiouser, Scootaloo thought. "Not at the moment. She'll probably be here later though. Why do you want to know?"

The diamond dog looked down, like he'd been scolded. "Sh-sh-she said I should v-v-visit her h-here."

Apple Bloom had never mentioned anything about knowing a diamond dog, and yet... Scootaloo got the impression he was telling the truth. Well, more accurately, she got the impression he was too socially inept to lie convincingly. Yet she also knew her friend wouldn't likely keep something like this from her. So what in the world was going on? Best to assume the best though. "You can come in and wait for her if you'd like."

The diamond dog took a few steps into the treehouse.

"My name's Scootaloo," the pegasus said, extending a hoof.

The diamond dog just looked oddly at the extended hoof, not sure what to do with it, but he did reply. "I'm... Runt."

"Umm, nice to meet you," Scootaloo said, after eventually lowering her hoof. "So how do you know Apple Bloom?"

The two were interrupted by a loud pop. Runt yelped, and dashed behind the table on instinct. Scootaloo just turned, well used to the sound of an incoming teleport. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had just arrived with a large bag. "What've you guys got there?" she asked.

"Candy," Apple Bloom said, letting the bag thump to the floor. "Lotsa candy."

Sweetie Belle quickly caught sight of Runt behind the table. "Uh, we have a guest?" she asked, pointing him out.

"Yeah, says he knows you, Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said. "I think the teleport scared him," she added in what she—and only she—would consider a subtle whisper.

Apple Bloom, recognizing Runt from yesterday, gave a soft smile in his direction. "It's okay, Runt. These are my friends. You can come out."

Runt looked embarrassed as he stepped around the table. "S-sorry. The n-n-noise was l-loud."

"It's okay, Runt," Apple Bloom said, pointing at her friend. "It was just Sweetie here showin' off again."

Sweetie opened her mouth for a witty retort, but decided against it. Instead, she turned to the diamond dog. "Hello, Runt. Apple Bloom's been telling me a bit about you this morning. It's a pleasure to meet you." Sweetie held out her paw.

Startled, Runt looked at the metal limb. Apple Bloom had told him about her friends last night, including the one with the metal bones, but it was still surprising to see directly. At least he knew what the gesture meant though. He grasped her paw in his own, and they shook.

"Wait," Scootaloo said. "Am I the only one that didn't hear about this? Also, what the heck kinda hoofbump was that?"

A smirk crossed Sweetie's face. "Like it? I picked that up from Spike, who said he learned it from a griffon. Apparently it's how you do it if you have thumbs."

Scootaloo shook her head rapidly to clear her thoughts. "Okay, never mind that. Since when do you have a diamond dog for a friend, Apple Bloom?"

"Aw, relax Scoots." Apple Bloom said. "I only met Runt yesterday. It's yer own fault ya slept in late this mornin'!"

Rolling her eyes, Scootaloo shrugged. "Okay, fair enough." Her tendency to sleep in routinely meant she was the last to the party, so to speak. "So fill me in though. What's the story here?" she said, nodding toward Runt and the bag of candy.

"Sweetie," Apple Bloom said. "Why don't you and Scootaloo take a walk while ya tell her what's goin' on? I'd like to talk ta Runt on my own fer a few."

Casting a suspicious look between her two friends, Scootaloo wanted to object. She didn't feel like a walk at all—she was a pegasus, she never did—but she'd learned that when she had no idea what was going on, it was usually best to follow the lead of her friends. "Umm, okay," she said. "Yeah, let's go on a walk. I sure love me some long, slow walks on the flat ground. Yup."

Apple Bloom facehooved. She appreciated that Scootaloo at least got the hint this time, but her attempts to "sell it" were simply awful. If the situation itself wasn't so sad, she'd be laughing her tail off right now. Instead, she just saw her friends to the door, and made sure it was closed behind them, before turning to Runt.

"So," she said, not wanting to face the hard truth. "Uh, welcome to the CMC Headquarters, I guess. Ya want the tour?"

"Tour?" Runt asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah, I can show ya around, explain stuff."

Runt looked around at the one-room treehouse. There were a few windows, a couple of doors, and some very spartan furniture. "Th-th-there's more r-rooms?"

"Ah, not exactly."

"Then wh-wh-what's the t-t-tour?"

Apple Bloom chuckled a bit nervously. "Well, mostly it's me walkin' real slow and pointin' out the trophies an' such on the shelf. Then we stand out on the porch, and ya get to go, 'I can see mah house from here!'"

Runt looked toward the glass doors leading to the porch. "I w-w-would like to s-see the view."

"Right this way then!" Apple Bloom trotted to the doors, and opened them, motioning for Runt to step through.

"Wow, it really is h-high up here!"

"Eeyup. Nearly a thousand feet. Took me forever ta grow all those stairs."

Stepping to the railing, the diamond dog leaned out and took in the view. He really could see his house from here, or at least the hillside that contained it. Looking off to the distance though, Ponyville itself was visible, the multi-colored houses standing out from the greens and browns of the surrounding fields. Beyond that, the distant mountains, and the great castle of Canterlot.

Runt closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths. When he opened them, he was smiling. "It's so... peaceful," he said. "The sky is so endless from way up here. It's like it goes on forever."

Apple Bloom couldn't help but notice his stutter had practically disappeared. "Ya like it up here, eh?"

Nodding, Runt grinned. "There are no walls c-closing in. There's no ceiling pressing down on me. It's like... like being free." He closed his eyes again, and turned his face toward the sun. "It's wonderful!"

A diamond dog that didn't like the ground? Well, Apple Bloom thought, certainly not the strangest thing she'd heard. The look of joy on Runt's face did make what she needed to say that much harder though.

"Umm, Runt..."

Opening his eyes, Runt turned toward her and saw the look on her face. He tilted his head. "Is something wr-wrong?"

Taking a deep breath, Apple Bloom sighed and hung her head. "Yeah, Runt, I'm afraid there is. I promise I'll tell ya all about it in a few. First though, would ya mind helpin' me with something?"

"Okay. I g-g-guess I can tr-try." It seemed his stutter was coming back as Apple Bloom's nervousness wore off on him.

She lead him back inside, and pulled a few hard candies from the bag. Apple Bloom unwrapped one and broke it, offering a piece to Runt. "Can you taste this, and tell me what ya think?"

Taking the sweet, runt put it in his mouth and tried to chew it, his sharp teeth making loud crunches.

"No, no, just suck on it for a second, let it melt in your mouth slowly. Like this." Apple Bloom put another piece in her own mouth, and let the sweet, orange flavor melt on her tongue.

Trying to comply, Runt dutifully stopped chewing, but couldn't stop himself from making contorted faces as he sucked on the candy. "H-how long do I have to-to keep doing this?"

"Somethin' wrong?"

"It ta-tastes awful!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead and spit it out if ya want."

Runt did so immediately, smacking his tongue and lips afterwards, trying to get the taste out of his mouth.

"That bad?" Apple Bloom asked, surprised at the reaction. "I guess we can cross orange off the list then. How about this one?" She handed him a piece of another candy. Runt looked at it suspiciously. "Just a quick taste. Ya can spit it right out if it's no good."

It was, apparently, no good. Neither was the next, or the next. Apple Bloom dug further into the bag, and tried some wider varieties, including chocolates, mints, and assorted truffles. Runt didn't like any of them, though mint he at least tolerated, saying it made his tongue feel funny, even though it didn't really taste good.

"Okay, one last thing." Apple Bloom went to the small pantry in the corner, where they kept their tea, hot cocoa, and some basic snacks. She returned with a bowl of sugar, and gave Runt a small spoonful to taste.

For once, his reaction was rather mild. "Like it?" she asked.

"It's m-m-mostly tasteless. Just a faint h-hint of dust."

Brow scrunching in confusion, Apple Bloom thought it through. "So I guess ya just really can't taste sugar at all then. Nothin' sweet works for ya."

Runt nodded, and Apple Bloom tried to imagine what candy would taste like without the sweetness. Orange would be... just bitter and acidic. Mint would be weirdly numbing. Chocolate... well, burnt dirt was how Runt described it, and she had to believe that was probably about right. Even apples and cider would be awful without the sweetness. She shuddered at the thought.

"So it wasn't just sweetrock that you don't like, but all sweets." Apple Bloom said. "You can't taste sweetness, so it's all just blech?"

"Y-yes," Runt answered. "But I n-n-never knew there were s-so many other things that I c-couldn't like because they're sw-sweet. Wh-why did you want m-me to try all th-those?"

It was sad, Apple Bloom thought. Runt would never be able to enjoy so many delicious things if he couldn't taste sugar. But there was a tremendous upside for him as well. Because of his lack of taste, he'd never poisoned himself with the lead in sweetrock. She looked up at him and gave a sad smile, before launching into a full explanation of what she'd learned about the systemic lead poisoning she suspected was crippling the diamond dogs.

By the end, Runt was horrified, yet nearly as determined as Apple Bloom was to do something about it. It all made so much sense, he thought. Why he was so different from all the others around him. He wasn't just smarter than them by accident, but because he'd been the only one to grow up without being poisoned. Though some quirk, he'd been born without the ability to taste sweet things, yet that'd allowed him to escape the curse that plagued the rest of his entire race. A small price to pay for never being able to enjoy an apple, he thought, even after Apple Bloom had explained in detail just how much he was missing in that regard.

----

A dome-shaped hillside, near a crashed Teapot.
Two days later.

The three Crusaders stood a little ways down the hill from the entrance to the diamond dog warrens. Apple Bloom was carrying the bag of candies, and today was the start of the experiment. She was nervous, but was glad to have her friends beside her.

Out of the cave-like entrance, Runt appeared. Jogging over to the ponies, he looked nervous.

"Are we good to go?" Apple Bloom asked him.

"I th-think so. I t-t-told them you were coming, bu-but they didn't seem to really understand why p-p-ponies would come here. I th-think they might not be t-t-too nice."

"We suspected that might happen," Sweetie Belle said. "That's why all three of us are here."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said, nodding to Sweetie. "We're more than a match for any mean old diamond dog."

"Whoa there, Scoots," Apple Bloom said. "Let's try the carrot—errr, the candy, before the stick, okay?"

"It's your show, AB. I'm just here for backup."

"Yeah, Apple Bloom. Lead on!" Sweetie Belle said.

Taking a moment to psych herself up, Apple Bloom took a few deep breaths, then marched resolutely into the tunnels.

Runt and the other two ponies followed closely behind, and the group soon found themselves in near darkness. Then it started to get brighter again. Continuing, the ponies were surprised to see how well lit the tunnel became. As they stepped into the fully lit portion, they could see the light was coming not from torches, but from glowing rocks stuck into the walls at irregular intervals. It was just as Runt described, they really did use "hotrocks" for lighting. As the equium in the stones wasn't purified though, the glow was mostly pretty faint, meaning there were a lot of rocks used to light the tunnels.

Turning a corner, they came upon a larger room. It'd obviously been dug out from the surrounding earth by claws, and assumed a roughly hemispherical shape, though the floor and walls were full of imperfections, where large stones or tougher strains of minerals protruded. Several other tunnels connected to the room, and before they could ask Runt which direction to take, a large diamond dog entered the room from the far side.

"I thoughts I smelled ponies!"

Apple Bloom recognized him from both the voice and the dark vest as one of the bullies she'd subdued the other day. Looking at her, it appeared he recognized her too. "You!" he said. "I owes you a beatings!"

Scootaloo quickly stepped beside Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle took the other flank, both ready to defend their friend. Apple Bloom held up a hoof for them to stand down, as Runt slowly tried to move out of sight of the whole ordeal.

"Howdy!" she said, taking a slow step forward. "Mah name's Apple Bloom. I think maybe we got off on the wrong foot the other day."

"I'm going to breaks all your foots!"

"You could do that. Or, maybe I can give ya a present to make up for it?"

The large diamond dog paused in his advance. "Present?"

"Uh, yeah. I got some delicious candy here. It's like sweetrock, but way better." Apple Bloom reached into the bag and pulled out a small piece of watermelon candy, and carefully tossed it to him. "Try a piece."

The diamond dog sniffed at it, before starting to put it in his mouth.

"Ya gotta unwrap it first!"

Getting a confused look in response, she pulled out another piece, and demonstrated, before putting it in her own mouth.

The diamond dog followed suit, and made several curious faces. Then he crunched into the candy and finished it quickly.

"Like it?" Apple Bloom asked cautiously.

"Is good," he said, before starting to advance again. "Still owes you a beatings!"

"Wait wait wait!" Apple Bloom said. "Try this one." She broke off a piece of a candy cane and tossed it to him.

Trying to find a wrapper again, the diamond dog was slightly confused. After Apple Bloom explained it was safe to eat directly this time, he put it in his mouth and made several funny faces as the strange cooling effect hit his mouth. After a few seconds though, he seemed to be enjoying it thoroughly.

"Is bestest sweetrock I is ever had! Does pony has more?"

Apple Bloom turned and smiled at her two friends, nodding. This might actually work. "Yes," she said. "I've got lots more. I'll give ya a big piece if ya promise not to beat us up."

The diamond dog considered this for a moment, before making his own counter offer. "Maybe I just beats yous and takes all the pieces of candies?"

"Yeah, you just try it," Scootaloo said. "See what happens."

The diamond dog started to growl, the fur on his neck and back rising at the threat.

As she was trying to defuse the situation, Apple Bloom felt that could've been worded better. That said, it was bound to come up eventually. If the diamond dogs thought they could just take stuff, they'd never learn to cooperate. They needed that cooperation if they were ever going to convince them to stop using sweetrock. Maybe it would be good to set an example. Carrot and stick.

"I really wish ya wouldn't try to beat us up," Apple Bloom said. "Ya couldn't even take me alone last time, and now mah friends are here too. But if yer determined. Well, let's get it over with."

The diamond dog charged.

"Sweetie, would ya be so kind?"

"With pleasure," Sweetie Belle said, her horn lighting as she levitated the bully off the ground and held him just beyond his arm's reach of the group. He struggled for a few moments, throwing insults as well as useless swings and kicks. The ponies just waited him out. When he started to slow down, Apple Bloom spoke.

"Now, we could keep at this all day, but I'd really rather not. Wouldn't ya much rather have this here candy cane?" She brandished the large confection in front of the helpless creature. "Like I said before, I'll be happy to let ya have it. Ya just gotta be nice to us, an' stop tryin' to pick a fight."

The diamond dog finally stopped struggling.

"Ya ready to play nice?"

He nodded.

"Sweetie?"

"Are you sure, Apple Bloom?"

"I'm sure."

Sweetie shrugged, then released her hold on the diamond dog, freeing him where he'd been held, mere inches from Apple Bloom.

Holding out the candy cane, Apple Bloom offered it to the diamond dog, who quickly snatched it from her. "Now remember," she said. "This means ya aren't gonna try to hurt us no more, right?"

The diamond dog nodded meekly.

"Right? Ah want to hear ya say it."

"Yes. Not hurts ponies."

"Good!" Apple Bloom smiled. "Now, how would ya like to get another candy cane?"

Suspicious, but obviously interested, he responded. "What's the pony wants this times?"

"I reckon we might make a trade for this one. I see ya'll got all these hotrocks just all over the place here, and I'd really like a couple'a my own. So I was thinkin' maybe if ya wanted to trade me a couple of those for a big ol' piece a candy, that'd be a fair deal."

"Pony just wants the hotrocks? Why ponies not just takes them?"

"They ain't so easy to find where I'm from. An' these 'round here belong to ya'll, least the way I reckon. Figure I gotta give ya somethin' to make it fair."

Thinking the deal seemed too good to be true—hotrocks were everywhere, literally every couple of feet in every tunnel—the diamond dog was hesitant, but couldn't pass up a chance for this delicious new pony sweetrock. He darted to the side of the room and yanked a few of the hotrocks out from where they'd been placed in a wall, then offered them to Apple Bloom. She took them, and gladly handed over another candy cane, this one spearmint instead of peppermint.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya!" Apple Bloom set the bag of candy on her back and turned to leave. Her friends, having expected a longer expedition, were confused, but followed her, as did Runt.

After they left and got some distance away from the exit, Scootaloo spoke up. "What was that all about? I thought we were going to try to meet a bunch of the diamond dogs."

"Ah think that one will be enough for now," Apple Bloom said. "We gotta work 'em slow. We'll come back in a couple of days, after the big bully in there has bragged to every other one about his delicious new sweetrock. Then we won't even have to talk 'em into tryin' it. They'll be begging for it."

Sweetie laughed. "You know, Apple Bloom, sometimes, I think you're a little too devious."

----

Diamond Dog Den.
Three days later.

"Mores! Wants more pony sweetrocks!"

"Hold on there," Apple Bloom said. "I've got another deal for ya."

The diamond dog waited patiently to hear it.

"See, ah've been thinkin' that maybe some'a the other diamond dogs might want some candy too. Well, and there are so many kinds, that ah ain't quite sure what's best. So I was gonna have my friend Runt try to find out. Problem is, he'll need some help."

"Yes, yes. I helps the Runts. Hows I helps?"

"What I'm gonna do is leave him a whole bag of candy, and everyone'a ya'll can get one piece a day from 'im. Now, a course some a ya might think to take more than one piece, but that wouldn't be fair. Runt's gonna need someone to make sure no one tries to take more."

"Pony wants me to guards Runts and the candies?"

"Exactly! I figure yer big an' strong. I'm sure ya could do a good job at it. But I know it's hard work. So I'll tell Runt to let you take three pieces a day, instead'a just one. How's that sound?"

"Three pieces? Justs for guardsing?"

"Eeyup. But if I hear ya let the others cheat, or ya let anything hurt Runt, then ya ain't never gonna get any candy from me again, got it?"

The diamond dog nodded. "Is deals! When starts? I gets my pieces nows?"

"Once piece now. Ya get the rest at the end'a each day."

"Twos now. Ones later!"

"Heh, okay. Ya got a deal!"

----

CMC Headquarters.
One week later.

"Well?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I c-can't believe it actually w-worked," Runt said. "None of them cheated, and no one p-p-picked on me."

"So, what'd they like the best?"

"The c-c-candy c-c-canes. The r-r-red ones."

Apple Bloom smirked. Somepony was about to become very busy. But first things first. "Okay, so tell me, just how important are the hotrocks to ya guys in those tunnels?"

"Wh-why do you ask?"

"Because if ah go through with this next stage of the plan, I think ya might be runnin' outta 'em pretty quick."

"I-it's not going to k-kill us to do without them."

"Good."

----

A non-descript house in Ponyville.
Later that afternoon.

"Apple Bloom?" Twist said, opening the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, ya know, just tryin' to save the world."

Twist looked at Apple Bloom with confusion. "What does that have to do with me?"

"That depends. How fast can ya make those candy canes?"

"Umm, usually I do about three hundred in a large batch, but the Cakes let me use the kitchen in Sugarcube Corner at Hearth's Warming last year, and I did maybe a thousand. It took the whole weekend though. Why?"

"Hmm." Apple Bloom ran some numbers in her head. "Three hundred should do fer for now. But, just hypothetically speakin', how many could ya do a week if ya had, say, yer own kitchen and maybe a couple'a other ponies helpin'?"

Twist scrunched her brow in thought. "Umm, I don't know, Apple Bloom. Thousands at least. But what in the world is this about?"

"To be honest, Twist, I ain't positive it'll work out yet. Don't want to get yer hopes up. But if it does go like I'm tryin' to make it go, then ya might be runnin' the biggest business in Ponyville in a couple'a months. Suffice ta say, I think I may'a found ya the biggest untapped market for candy in Equestria."

Twist, for her part, really had no idea what to make of that. It sounded appealing, but the whole thing was so out of the blue. And while she was friends with Apple Bloom, it wasn't like they were extremely close friends. Still though, she knew her well enough to trust that this wasn't some sort of trick. "So, what do you want me to do?"

----

Royal Ponyville Library.
The next day.

"Value?" Twilight Sparkle said. "I'm not sure. Caribou traders consider them to be decently valuable tools, equivalent in trade to a good axe. I have no idea what the value is when you're talking about refined equium, as there's never been such a thing before."

"Can't ya... extrapolate?" Apple Bloom asked, hesitantly. "That's the right word, right?"

Nodding, Twilight considered it for a moment. "Well... If you consider just the value as a fuel source for existing steam engines, a few ounces of equium could replace all the coal needed by a locomotive." She pulled out a pen and parchment, running some calculations. "Figuring the number of trains in Equestria, multiplying that by the average length of trip, and accounting for the coal consumption per mile of travel and the number of trips per year. Hmm... wow! That's... Wow!"

"What? What's 'wow'?"

"That's a lot higher than I imagined. The three or four ounces of refined equium to run a train for a year would save about thirty-thousand bits in coal. And that's not counting for all the time saved in not having to continually reload at stations, and shovel the coal itself. And if you consider that the equium would probably last for many, many years as well, then it'd be worth maybe something around one hundred thousand bits, just in coal savings alone."

"So, yer telling me that marble-sized bit'a equium ya gave me to experiment with was worth more than a house?"

"I... I guess I am." Twilight looked as shocked as Apple Bloom felt. "Wait, what do you mean, 'was'?"

"Ah, never mind that for now. There's plenty more I think. Here." Apple Bloom handed the hotrocks she'd traded for over to Twilight. "How much do ya think ones like these are worth?"

Horn glowing, Twilight scanned the rocks. "Hard to say for sure, but these seem to have roughly the same concentration of equium as the samples we originally got from the Caribou. Something around eight percent or so if I had to guess."

"So, ten or twelve'a' 'em to make a fuel-sized marble bit?"

"Or less. These are larger in volume than our target size after refining."

"So that rock is worth ten thousand bits after it's refined?"

Twilight held the rock up in front of her. Hard to believe, but yet it seemed to be true. "I think so, if you can find somepony to buy it, of course. Speaking of, how did you get a hold of it?"

"Would ya believe me if I said I got both of 'em in exchange for a single candy cane?"

"From a diamond dog?"

"Eeyup. And they got thousands of 'em too. How fast do ya reckon you an' Sweetie can refine a hundred of these things?"

"Me?" Twilight asked. "It took several days to refine a single ounce. Sweetie Belle helped speed that up some, and it goes a bit faster now, but there's no way to do that much here in my lab. You're talking an industrial scale process here, Apple Bloom. You'd need a dedicated facility to process that much on a regular basis."

Apple Bloom hung her head.

----

On the trail from Teapot Dome.
Three hours later.

The Crusaders were walking through the fields, headed back to Headquarters from the hill that Scootaloo had christened Teapot Dome, in honor of the crashed engine. Apple Bloom had insisted on the walk, both to clear her own head, and to give her time to explain things to her friends after they'd dropped off another batch of candy with Runt.

"Ten thousand bits!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Each? That's crazy!"

"Eeyup, but that's what Twilight said they'd be worth." Apple Bloom was still trying to wrap her own head around it. "An' that's just the saved cost in coal for trains. I reckon we can find dozens'a other places it could be used too, like if we ever get that Teapot flyin' properly. Of course, we ain't got no way to refine it all, and the raw rocks aren't worth much to anypony when they just glow a bit."

"But ten thousand bits per rock! We'd be rich. We could buy anything we ever wanted!"

"Yeah, Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said. "But it's not ours to sell. It belongs to the diamond dogs."

"Sure, but we can trade a few candy canes and then we'll be rich!"

"That was mah plan," Apple Bloom said. "But the point was to keep 'em from poisoning themselves, not to make us rich. I figured we could trade some candy, keep 'em eatin' that instead, and get a little useful equium in the process. But if it's worth that much... that changes things a bit."

"How so?" Scootaloo worried her brow with confusion. "I mean, more money is better, right?"

"But what happens once everypony else figures out what we're doing?" Sweetie Belle said. "Just imagine what the papers would look like, 'Fillies trade candy for untold riches!' Then the next day, every swindler and huckster in Equestria would be here, trying to take everything they could for themselves. Imagine the Film Flam brothers times a thousand."

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "We're tryin' to help the diamond dogs, not get 'em overrun and ripped off."

"Hmm," Scootaloo said. "I guess you have a point. If we really want to keep them from eating sweetrock, we need to keep trading them candy for years and years."

"Exactly," Apple Bloom said. "So we either gotta keep equium from actually bein' valuable, or keep everypony in all'a equestria from learnin' about where it comes from."

"That's a pretty big secret to try to keep, AB."

"Ah know. Which is why I think we gotta try for the other one first."

"But how do you make something valuable not valuable?"

"Well," Apple Bloom said. "Remember what we've been learnin' in economics?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. That textbook is the most boring thing I've had to read all year!"

Apple Bloom chuckled. "Yeah, but I know ya picked up some of it, so stay with me here for a sec. The way I figure it, we got cheap supply right now from the diamond dogs, as they have no idea what hotrocks are really worth. Yet we've also got a potentially high demand for equium, replacin' thousands'a bits worth of coal every month. If we let everypony in on it, the diamond dogs get overrun and bought out, and then we got nothin' to keep 'em away from sweetrock."

"Right," Sweetie said. "But the prices will go down pretty soon after all that equium gets on the market. It won't be worth nearly as much after a few months."

"Exactly! So what we need is some kinda buffer. Somethin' to keep the market steady."

"Oh," Scootaloo added. "Like the way a water tower works!"

"Huh?"

"You know, the water from a well gets pumped up to the reservoir in the tower a little bit at a time by the pump, but then it provides steady pressure to the rest of the pipes going into ponies' homes, even when ponies use more water than the well could provide on its own."

"Yeah, I guess that is a good analogy then."

"But it only works if the water tower gets filled up before everypony turns on their taps."

Apple Bloom smiled. "See, I knew ya were payin' attention!"

"Yeah yeah," Scootaloo said dismissively, even though she was smiling a bit. "It's still boring though!"

"So," Sweetie Belle said. "We've got the well, with the diamond dogs. I think the candy is our 'pump' then. That means we need a water tower."

"That," Apple Bloom said. "And we need the pipes to distribute it. Well, and some way to refine it. Ah guess that'd be like the water filter in this analogy."

"Doesn't the water company usually do all of that?" Scootaloo said.

"Hmm," Sweetie Belle stopped on the trail as she pondered. The other ponies stopped as well, once they realized she'd fallen behind.

"What is it, Sweetie?"

"Well, I was just thinking you're on to something there. It's going to take a pretty big facility to process all the equium the diamond dogs have. You need a company for that sort of thing. So doesn't it make sense that the same company might also provide the pipes and the water tower? That is, store up a reserve of equium, and run the distribution network?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"But they'd have to be trustworthy," Apple Bloom added. "We have to make sure we trade candy to the diamond dogs really slowly. So they'd have to build up a reserve for a couple years before startin' to sell, and not tell anypony about it in the meantime."

"I think I might have an idea on that," Sweetie Belle said, grinning.

----

A rather ostentatiously large house in Ponyville.
The next day.

"Sweetie Belle? What are you... I mean, uh... Hi! What's up?"

"Hi Diamond, am I interrupting something?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Oh, no. Silver and I were just hanging out by the pool. Come in!"

Diamond Tiara led Sweetie Belle through the large house and out to the backyard and the poolside. "Have a seat," she said, motioning to the chairs under the large umbrella.

"Thanks." Sweetie took a seat, and the two were joined a moment later by Silver Spoon. She took a seat next to Diamond after drying off from a swim in the pool.

"Hello Sweetie," Silver said, squeezing the last of the water out of her braid.

"Hi, Silver. I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks. How are you doing?" Sweetie Belle replied.

"Better. It's still hard, you know, but..." Silver looked across at Sweetie. "Well, it's getting easier. At least at times. Sometimes, I even forget she's gone, and for a few minutes I feel almost normal. Then I feel awful that I could ever forget."

Sweetie nodded in sympathy. "I don't think she'd want you to feel bad, Silver. Your mom loved you, and I can't imagine she'd want you to feel guilty for moving on with your own life."

"I know, it's just..." Silver Spoon hung her head, tears starting to form in her eyes. "I just miss her so much."

Sweetie stood up and walked around the table, giving Silver a hug. "I know, and I'm sure she knows it too."

Sniffling, Silver looked up. "Thanks, Sweetie. For everything, I mean it. I don't know what I would've done without you and Diamond these past few months. My father's so distant, and..."

"We're here for you," Diamond said, leaning in to make it a group hug.

"Thank you both... I mean it." As the hug ended, Silver wiped her eyes, and tried to put on a smile. "So what brings you over here anyway, Sweetie Belle?"

"Actually," Sweetie said. "I've got a bit of a business proposition for Diamond."

"Oh?" Diamond said, "What kind of business?"

"Big. Really! It needs your father's company to pull it off."

"Why are you talking to me then?"

"Well, you said last year that he was grooming you to take over the company when you graduate. I figured that if you were to bring him a big deal now, he'd be pretty impressed, right?"

Diamond leaned forward in her seat. "And?"

Sweetie chuckled a bit nervously. "Okay, so it requires a lot of secrecy, and sounds pretty crazy at first. It'd be a tough sell. But I think you, his own daughter, would perhaps be able to convince him."

"So, how big and how crazy are we talking here?"

"Big enough and crazy enough to change the world." Sweetie looked Diamond directly in the eye. "Literally."

Diamond paused in thought for a moment. Strange how much difference a few years could make. She and Silver both used to tease Sweetie and her two friends mercilessly. But the unicorn had, against all odds and common sense, decided to befriend them regardless. At the absolute height of their teasing one afternoon, she'd... hugged them. Diamond still wasn't sure exactly why that even worked, but it broke something in her. She'd needed that hug, more than she had ever realized. After the initial shock had worn off, she started to see everypony, including herself, in a different light.

In the years since, Sweetie Belle had become a relatively close friend, to both her and Silver. Then, when Silver's mom had died in the spring, Diamond had been at a loss. She loved her friend dearly, but had so little practice in how to be outwardly compassionate. Sweetie had stepped up to fill that gap, helping Silver get through the worst of it, while Diamond in turn learned from her example, and saw what true friendship and compassion should look like. She was eternally grateful to Sweetie, both for the indirect lesson, and for saving her friend Silver from the worst of the depression.

Through the whole ordeal, she'd come to realize she could trust Sweetie Belle implicitly, despite their earlier history of animosity. The unicorn didn't hold a grudge. She was truly one of the nicest ponies Diamond had ever met, as well as one of the most forthright and honest. Never mind that she was also one of the most powerful. So when she said this idea was big enough to change the world, Diamond Tiara believed her.

"For the better, I presume?" Diamond asked.

"That's the hope."

"I'm in."

"Just like that?"

"I can't speak for my father, of course. But I think I personally owe you more than you realize already. If you say it's worthwhile, I trust you. I'm in."

"Thanks, Diamond." Sweetie Belle couldn't help but smile. Three years ago, everypony in class, even her own friends, had called her crazy for trying to befriend the two biggest bullies. Now, not only had they stopped picking on everyone, but they'd become pretty good friends to her in their own right. So, while she logically knew it was by no means a done deal, she couldn't help but feel she'd just been granted a multi-million bit favor on the power of friendship alone. It really was magic.

"Now," Diamond said. "You mind telling me what I just signed on for?"

----

CMC Headquarters.
That evening.

"That's great!" Apple Bloom said, happy to hear the news from Sweetie Belle. "Ya think she'll be able to convince her dad to go along with it though?"

"Well," Sweetie said. "Like Diamond said, it's all about profit. As long as we can prove the potential for that, the rest is just a matter of balancing the numbers. We just need to get a proper presentation together for him."

"We could show off the Teapot!" Scootaloo said, eager to help. "I bet he'd love that."

"Ah think we might want to keep it a bit more... professional," Apple Bloom said. "Besides, just the potential revenue from the railroads should be more 'en enough profit for 'im. Let's save the fun stuff for later."

"What worries me," Sweetie said, "is, even if Diamond and her dad come through, and agree to keep everything secret for a couple of years, the second they start selling, everypony in the world is gonna be trying to jump into the market too. Somepony's bound to figure out where the equium is coming from at that point."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "It'll be impossible to keep it a secret after ponies start using it all over Equestria."

"We got one other problem to worry about too," Apple Bloom said. "Let's not forget, the whole point'a this wasn't to start a business or change the world. The point was to keep the diamond dogs from poisonin' their kids." Sweetie and Scootaloo lost their smiles at the reminder. "Even if we pull that off, let 'em grow up healthy, they ain't gonna be able to do much with their smarter minds if they don't get some education to go with it."

Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, if this works—"

"When it works," Apple Bloom corrected.

"When it works," Sweetie continued. "There's going to be an entire generation of diamond dogs growing up, needing schools."

"Well," Scootaloo said. "There'll be plenty of bits to help pay for schools, and to hire ponies to teach them."

"But what to teach them, that's going to be the tricky thing. The basics, sure, at first. But when they get a little older, what then? When unicorns learn magic, or pegasi end up at flight school, where do the diamond dogs go?"

The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come on in, Runt." Apple Bloom called, recognizing the unique echo of his lifeforce outside the door.

Runt stepped into the treehouse. "We were just talkin' about ya," Apple Bloom said.

"We were?" Sweetie asked.

"Close enough. Anyway, got a question for ya, Runt. What would ya do if ya had a million bits?"

"B-bits?"

"Ya know, money?"

"I don't kn-know. Is that a lot?"

Chuckling, Apple Bloom replied. "Yeah, it's a lot. What would ya do if ya had enough money to do whatever ya wanted?"

Runt scratched behind his drooping ear as he thought. "Uh, first I'd l-leave the tunnels. Get some house way h-h-high up, like this."

"You think this is high?" Scootaloo said. "You should see Cloudsdale!"

Runt tilted his head in what they'd come to recognize as a non-verbal, "What?"

"It's a pegasus city that's actually made of clouds. It's way, way up in the sky!"

Eyes lighting up, Runt said, "That s-s-sounds amazing! H-how do you g-get there?"

"Well, us pegasi just fly there. But other ponies can get up there by balloon and stuff."

"Do you th-think I could g-go sometime?"

The Crusaders looked at one another, shrugging. "I don't see why not," Sweetie Belle said. "I can probably get Twilight to teach me her cloudwalking spell. Maybe we can visit in a couple of weeks."

Runt smiled. "Th-thanks! I c-can't wait!"

"So," Apple Bloom said, getting back on track. "What else would ya do with all that money. After ya got yer own place up high somewhere?"

"Ummm... I think I'd buy l-lots of b-b-b-books. Th-there's just so mu-much to learn."

"You like learning things?" Scootaloo said.

Runt nodded.

"Have you ever thought about going to school?"

"We don't h-have schools. I r-read about them though."

"Well," Apple Bloom said. "We were thinkin' maybe ya might want to go to a pony school, at least for a bit."

"I c-could do that?"

"I don't know if—" Sweetie Belle started to say, when Apple Bloom cut her off.

"Yeah, o' course ya can."

"But Apple Bloom," Sweetie said. "I'm not sure that—"

"I said, o' course he can go to school," Apple Bloom insisted, then amended in a whisper to Sweetie, "We'll figure out the details later."

Runt looked between the two, slightly confused as to what exactly the issue was. But the thought of seeing a city in the sky, and of getting to go to school and learn all those things he could only try to guess at before, that's what kept his focus—and his smile. He couldn't wait!

"I think," Sweetie Belle said. "That leaves us with one final problem. We just have to figure out how to keep things from getting out of hoof once sales of equium kick in."

"Okay," Scootaloo said. "Maybe I'm not thinking this through all the way, but... why don't we just ask Princess Celestia to help? Can't she just 'decree it so' or something?"

"Ya know," Apple Bloom said, smiling. "That just might work."

----

Throne Room, Canterlot Castle.
One Week Later.

Princess Celestia reviewed the files one final time. The Cutie Mark Crusaders would be arriving shortly, and she was making sure she had all the details straight beforehoof. Twilight had been keeping the Princess apprised of the situation ever since Sweetie had brought her the lead acetate sample and they'd realized what was happening to the diamond dogs. Celestia had been devastated when she'd read that first report.

When Luna had been banished over a thousand years ago, the diamond dogs had been a moderately powerful empire in their own right. Like the griffons, caribou, and other races, they'd had their ups and downs and mostly kept to themselves. Over the centuries though, their civilization had waned and Equestria itself had grown to cover the lands the diamond dogs used to call their own. As the remnants were mostly underground, there had been only minimal problems. Celestia realized she'd thought almost nothing of it at the time. The decline had been so gradual as to be nearly unnoticed, and as it meant less conflict, her few thoughts on the subject had been mostly positive. At some point, probably a few centuries ago, she'd basically forgotten about the old empire entirely, and considered the remaining diamond dogs to be part of her own nation, no different from the other myriad creatures and beings under her protection. And that's where she had failed them.

Somehow, she'd let an entire race poison themselves nearly to extinction while under her rule. She hadn't noticed. She'd seen the decline, and merely taken it as a blessing, rather than something to be investigated. How many had died of starvation as they lost their ability to plan for the future? How many were killed by senseless violence, driven there by the poison in their minds? How many children had been poisoned on her watch? How many could she have saved if, centuries ago, she'd merely taken a few minutes to dispatch a pony to investigate? The answer, she knew, was too many. It was always too many.

Now there were these three fillies. In a matter of weeks, they'd not only discovered the problem she'd overlooked for centuries, but had developed a solution as well. And not just some basic stop-gap. No, these young ponies had not only figured out something for the diamond dogs to enjoy instead of the poison, but they'd also developed an elaborate plan of trade that would ensure the diamond dogs had candy for years and years to come, and would also bring a revolutionary new source of energy to all of Equestria. Then, as if that wasn't impressive enough, they'd foreseen and compensated for the incredibly disruptive nature of the whole thing, and already made deals to protect not just the diamond dogs and their interests, but the Equestrian economy itself. She could've thrown an army of diplomats and economists at the problem, and they'd take a year or more to do what three fillies had done in under a month. The efficiency with which the Crusaders attacked and solved problems was, Celestia thought to herself, humbling, if not outright frightening.

Flipping through the files, Princess Celestia tried to focus on the upsides. For one thing, at least she finally knew what that most recent charge—"one biggest bestest every-flavor-we-have candy assortment"—to the Royal-Party Emergency Fund was for. The fund was one of the few treasury accounts she kept personal tabs on, as very few ponies were authorized to the account, and it was meant to be used only rarely. Pinkie Pie was one of those, however. And while about two thirds of her charges seemed to indicate that she had mentally put the hyphen in the wrong place—treating it as the Royal Party-Emergency Fund—the remainder often provided an early warning system of sorts for impending issues. It was, effectively, a crude way to harness Pinkie Sense for the national good, and well worth the cost of occasional bills for balloons, confetti, and pudding.

Celestia had seen the charge show up over a month ago, and at first dismissed it as the party-emergency type, but it had made her pay much closer attention to news from Ponyville anyway, just in case. Now it was pretty clear that it was related to an emergency worthy of the Royal Party. More importantly, the charge had, at least in some small way, helped expedite the work the Crusaders had undertaken to save the diamond dogs. In that regard, it was worth every single bit. If only somepony like them had been there eight hundred years ago.

"Good afternoon, sister!"

Celestia looked up to see Luna entering the room. "Good afternoon, Luna. You're up early."

"Yes, I thought it would be interesting to meet this diamond dog the Crusaders are bringing." Seeing her sister frown, Luna added, "That is, if you don't mind me intruding upon your audience."

"No no, of course not."

"Then what worries you?"

Celestia sighed. "How can I face him, Luna? How can I look this child in the eye, when I let his entire race poison themselves for nearly a millennium?"

Luna moved to hug her sister. "It's not your fault, Tia. You mustn't blame yourself."

"I know. I know. It's just, I could have done something. If I'd realized. If I'd just paid more attention all those years ago."

"No pony is perfect, not even you, dear sister. You can't be responsible for the whole world."

"But I am, aren't I?"

"Tia, you can't—"

"I raise the sun, and lower it every evening. Everypony in the world depends on me. If the great Celestia, Princess of the Sun, isn't responsible for the world, then who is?"

"All of us. Each and every pony. We are all responsible for the world."

Sighing, Celestia looked up and smiled at her sister. "Thank you, Luna. Have I mentioned how much I missed you while you were gone?"

"Yes, and I you. But really, Tia, the whole world? Apparently you let your head get almost as fat as your thighs while I was gone." Luna stuck out her tongue and ducked out of range before Celestia could swat at her.

"I suppose I deserve that one. Still, I just wish I could have done more."

Luna dropped her playful pose. "If wishes were fishes..."

"...the sea would be full." Celestia finished the quote. "I know, I know."

"Let us do what we can now though. It is never too late to improve things."

Celestia laughed. "I thought I was supposed to be the sunny, cheerful one."

"Mayhap thou should behave as such then?" Luna had, for the most part, adopted modern vernacular only a few years after her return, but felt the antiquated modes of speech were a great way to tease her sister.

"Aye, verily." Celestia, in turn, felt exactly the same way. The two were interrupted by the arrival of a palace guard.

"Your audience has arrived, Princess."

"Show them in, Corporal."

The guard nodded to his companions by the main doors, and they swung them open. He then unfurled a scroll in front of his eyes, puffed out his chest, and bellowed, "Announcing the arrival of the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Ms. Apple Bloom, Ms. Scootaloo, and Ms. Sweetie Belle; and their retinue: Mr. Runt, Ms. Diamond Tiara, Ms. Silver Spoon, Ms. Twist, and... Princess Twilight Sparkle." The guard nearly stuttered on the last name, taken completely by surprise that a royal princess was somehow merely in the "retinue" for three fillies. His duty complete though, he let the scroll roll itself up, and marched back to his post by the doors.

"Welcome, my little ponies!" Celestia said. They seemed taller than she remembered. Thinking back, she realized she hadn't seen the three Crusaders since taking them to visit the Caribou last winter. Had it really been the better part of a year?

"Howdy, Princess!" Apple Bloom said. "Good ta see ya again. You too, Princess Luna!"

The other ponies chorused their various greetings as well. Introductions were then made, mostly for the benefit of those ponies not accustomed to meeting royalty. Both Diamond and Silver were nearly at a loss for words to be having an audience at the Royal Throne of Canterlot. Twist was happy, but not nearly as awed by the fame. Then Runt was introduced.

"It is an honor to make your acquaintance Mr. Runt," Celestia said, nodding to him in a slight bow. But Runt's eyes just went wide, and he froze, staring up at her. Before him was the biggest pony he had ever seen. He didn't know they could get that big. Apple Bloom and her friends were already larger than him, if not quite as tall, and several other ponies he'd seen were bigger than him on all counts. But Princess Celestia, she could probably step on him by accident and not even notice.

An elbow caught him in the side. "I said, 'Runt, this is Princess Celestia!'" He looked to his side, at Apple Bloom, who through gritted teeth muttered "Yer supposed to say, 'hello!'"

"H-h-hello." Runt said.

"Not to me," Apple Bloom lamented, her hoof going to her forehead. "To her!" She pointed back at the enormous white pony standing in front of him.

Celestia smiled warmly, "It's okay, Apple Bloom." The Princess of the Sun then lowered herself onto her knees and then to the floor, bringing herself to eye level with the small diamond dog. "Hello, Runt. I know this must all be a bit disorienting. I'm sorry if I scared you."

Looking at her face to face, Runt couldn't take his eyes off her mane. It... It just kept moving. It was like it was made of the sky itself, rather than hair. It was beautiful, yet from it rose a horn so massive it could skewer him like a spit. He had to keep reminding himself this was a pony, not a diamond dog. Ponies didn't beat up smaller ponies just for fun. Just because she was bigger than him didn't make her a threat.

"I... I'm s-s-sorry," Runt finally manage to stammer. "You're ju-just so b-b-b-big!"

Behind Celestia, Luna exploded with laughter. "See, Tia! I told you! Too much cake! Your thunder thighs scare even a diamond dog!"

Twilight and the Crusaders had, of course, seen the royal sisters with their guard down before. The young ponies found it pretty funny, and laughed along with Luna. Twilight merely rolled her eyes. But for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, this was world shattering. It was odd enough to see a Princess kneeling and then laying down before a young diamond dog, but then Luna's insult left both of them standing with mouths agape.

For his part, Runt had no idea what had just happened. "Never mind her," Celestia told him, while peals of laughter continued behind her. "She's just picking on me because I put instant pudding in her shower again."

"Y-you get p-p-picked on, t-too?" Runt said.

"Of course. She's my sister. It's what sisters do."

Runt tried to wrap his mind around that. Celestia was the biggest pony he'd ever seen. She was the biggest anything he'd ever seen. Yet even she got picked on and teased?

"D-doesn't it... h-hurt? Don't you g-g-get mad?"

"Sometimes, but not for long. It's easy with a sister, of course. I know she loves me, and I her. But I've also been called much worse by more ponies than one could count. I have been insulted, both in the flesh and in writing, by ambassadors, generals, viscounts, kings, queens, and everypony in between. They have ridiculed my personality, mental acuity, tastes, emotions, gender, species, and pretty much every physical aspect of my being up to and including—for reasons I'm still not clear on—my elbows."

"H-how do y-y-you p-put up with th-that?"

Celestia leaned in close, draping a wing over Runt. "You want to know the secret?"

Runt nodded.

"The secret is that such things, even the most vile of them, are only words. They may be true or they may be false, but their mere utterance does not determine their veracity."

Runt tilted his head in confusion.

"I may be fat. Or I may not be fat. Either way, my sister telling me I am does not actually change the fact. It is either true or not true, regardless of her insult. So why should it bother me? If I'm fat, then she's telling me the truth, and if anything, I should take issue with the fact itself, not with her. If I'm not fat, then she's lying. And why should I let the words of a liar bother me?"

And for that, Runt had no answer, even though he felt he'd been doing exactly that for almost his entire life.

A few lengths away, Twilight was smiling. Her own childhood was full of moments like the one she had just seen, Celestia confiding some secret knowledge of the universe that always seemed to be exactly what Twilight needed to hear. Standing now on the outside, as an adult—and princess—in her own right, Twilight felt she'd gained a new perspective on her lifelong mentor in recent years. Celestia was wise, of that there could be no doubt. And she really and truly did know great secrets about the universe. But what impressed Twilight more and more wasn't the arcane knowledge or seemingly infinite power that Celestia possessed, but rather the care and genius she applied to even the smallest of things.

There were plenty of unicorns that could learn probably any ancient spell that Celestia knew. There were hundreds of scholars that knew more about particular histories than she did. There were even other ponies, herself and Luna included, who could raise the sun. But would any of them have been able to kneel down in front of a frightened young diamond dog, and manage to make the "sticks and stones" lesson into a special "secret" that he'd likely never forget? Would any of them have known to even try? Twilight didn't think so, and that's what made Celestia so impressive.

Finishing her talk with Runt, Celestia folded her wings and stood, before turning to address Apple Bloom. "I believe you've come with a proposal you'd like me to assist with?"

"Yes, ma'am." Apple Bloom said. "Ah've been workin' the past few weeks, tryin' to figure out how ta get the diamond dogs a supply'a candy in trade for hotrocks, without 'em gettin' overwhelmed."

"Yes, I've read the basics in what Twilight sent me." While technically true, Celestia had actually read the entire proposal the young ponies had come up with. Twilight and Celestia had both agreed it would be best for them to all present it in person though, mostly as a learning experience. However, Celestia admitted to herself, she'd also asked for the face to face because she needed to remind herself why it was all worth it.

The Crusaders began their presentation with Apple Bloom explaining the basics. Twist, with a small capital investment to start with, would make candy. She'd then trade that candy with the diamond dogs in exchange for hot rocks. Filthy Rich's company—with Diamond Tiara managing things—would then purchase those hotrocks, and they'd be stored temporarily.

Diamond Tiara then stepped in to continue. She explained how after several months, the local stockpile of hotrocks would be shipped to the company's main facilities in Manehatten, and refining operations would begin. In the meantime, Sweetie Belle, with assistance from Twilight, would help train company unicorns in the process, and oversee the initial setup of a small lab to run the operation. The hotrocks would be refined and the resulting equium stored in special containers to prevent accidental activation.

Meanwhile, they'd also be building and testing equium powered locomotives, as well as looking into the difficulty of retrofitting existing steam engines for the new power source.

This would all continue, Apple Bloom explained, for several years. As soon as the workflow was sorted out and things were running smoothly though, the operation would then expand to other diamond dog warrens around Equestria.

"And that's where it starts to get kinda tricky," Apple Bloom said. "Diamond's company can handle—"

"It's my father's company actually," Diamond Tiara interjected.

"Fer now," Apple Bloom said, a slight smirk crossing her face. "Anyway, their company has the resources to handle all the refinin' and transport, but they ain't exactly got a diplomatic corps or anything. So that's the first bit we need some help on. Ponies that can talk them other diamond dogs into tradin' candy and stayin' away from that poison sweetrock. And ponies that can keep their mouths shut about it too."

Celestia nodded. "I'm sure I can find some trustworthy mares and stallions for the job."

"I reckoned as much. We're also gonna need a candy company."

"Isn't Miss Twist here your supplier?"

Twist stepped forward. "Umm, well your highness. I like making candy, and I'm really happy that I can maybe help out by doing what I already like to do. But I don't want to run some big candy company."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "We tried to talk her into it. But she insists she doesn't want to be rich."

Twist blushed, then pushed her glasses back up on her nose. "I'm happy to help out in Ponyville, and if I can make enough money to open my own store here in town in a few years, that's great. But I just want to have little shop with customers I know, not run some huge factory."

Celestia smiled. "That's a very mature view of things, my little pony. I suspect you'll be much happier for it in the long run."

Twist smiled at the compliment. "Like I told Apple Bloom, I'll be happy to share my recipe with whoever you think can handle the big stuff."

"Couldn't your father's company do it, Diamond Tiara?" Celestia asked.

"Well, we're really more of an industrial and manufacturing company, and..."

"It's okay, Diamond," Sweetie Belle said. "You can blame it on me." Sweetie then looked at Celestia. "I basically told her they couldn't have that too. Originally I was thinking to not let Twist get pushed out of the deal, but... Well, bottom line is, I think the equium monopoly is enough for one company. Frankly, some other ponies deserve to get a piece of the pie, no offense to you or Filthy Rich, Diamond."

"None taken," Diamond said. "I actually think you're right. It's more fair that way. It also means we don't have to explain why an industrial company suddenly decided to expand into confections."

Behind it all, Twilight smiled again. She looked forward to telling Rarity about this. Her little sister was spreading the idea of generosity so infectiously, that even the formerly spoiled brat of an industrial tycoon was happily turning away from greed.

"So," Apple Bloom continued. "If ya know any ponies with a candy factory, or lotsa money to start one..."

"What about me?" Silver Spoon said. The others turned toward the previously quiet pony. She hadn't been part of the plan, just allowed to come along on the trip because Diamond was going, and she wanted to meet the Princesses as well.

"Huh?" Apple Bloom queried.

"I... I totally understand if you don't think I deserve it or anything, but... What if I ran the candy making business?"

Stepping over to her friend, Diamond Tiara looked Silver in the eyes. "You know you're my best friend, so please don't be mad, but... Well, first off, isn't your dad's business in shipping? Secondly, and it hurts me to say this, but your dad isn't exactly somepony I'd trust with this sort of thing."

"Not my dad. Me."

The others looked confused.

Silver looked around the room, realizing she knew most of those present and trusted them. Of the ones she didn't, well... if you couldn't trust the princesses and the royal guard, then who could you trust? Silver sighed, then started to explain. "Okay, yeah, my dad's current business is in shipping. But before that, it was in coal mining. Before that, sports equipment. Before that, agricultural supplies. And before that, encyclopedia sales. He's never made a profit in any of them."

"How's that possible?" Scootaloo said, "I thought you guys were rich!"

Silver looked down. "We are. But it's not because of my dad. All the money is my mom's..." Silver paused, steeling herself before correcting, "...was my mom's."

There was a brief round of mumbled condolences, and Diamond craned her neck around to hug Silver before letting her continue. "It's mine now though. Well, technically it's in a trust for another year and a half or so, but I have some access to it. That's why my dad's been going so crazy since mom died. He didn't get much in her will, just a small monthly stipend. Enough to live comfortably on, but not to be rich. The rest all went to me."

Ears around the room perked up. This was the first any of them, including Diamond and Sweetie, had heard of this inheritance.

"While she was alive, mom kept funding all dad's crazy ventures, but when she was sick there at the end... she told me that was it. The money she'd kept behind was for me, not him. He'd already gotten his share, she said. She told me to go out and be my own mare, and to do something worthwhile with both my life and the money. I promised her I wouldn't let either go to waste."

The Crusaders looked around at each other, unsure what to think of this new revelation, then Luna spoke up. "Forgive me for being so bold, but may I ask how much money we are discussing here?"

Looking toward the darker princess, Silver Spoon responded. "Around fifty million bits are in the trust fund, though some of that is reserved for schooling and some other specific purposes by the will."

Eyes were wide around the room. That was, Diamond Tiara thought, "a lot of money," even by her standards. Her own family's assets were probably around the same scale, but the majority of them were tied up in the company. Having that much in liquid funds was, well, impressive, Diamond thought.

Sweetie Belle was the first to shake off the surprise. "Sorry, Silver. That's just a lot to wrap our heads around I think. Why are you just telling us about this now?"

"Well... When mom died, I didn't want ponies just being nice to me because they knew I was rich."

"You do realize, everypony already knew you were rich, right?"

"It's just different," Silver said. "I'm rich now, not my parents. But Sweetie, you and Diamond... you were my friends though all this hard stuff anyway. I know I can trust you both, and I think my mom would agree."

The two aforementioned ponies smiled, as Silver continued. "I also think she'd like this idea. It's a business, and unless you're all outright lying to me, it should be a pretty wise investment. Secondly, it'll be doing some good in the world too. As such, I think it's exactly the sort thing the trust fund allows me to tap in early for. I'm sure the attorneys in charge of it would agree."

"And if not," Luna said, grinning, "I'm sure a letter from a princess—or three—might change some minds."

"Let's try not to strong-hoof anypony just yet, sister," Celestia said. "Besides, this is not ours to decide." Celestia turned to Apple Bloom and the Crusaders. "This is your plan, Apple Bloom. I will leave it in your hooves to decide if Silver Spoon is the partner you wish for this portion of the endeavor."

Apple Bloom, caught on the spot, wasn't quite sure what to make of this. She looked to Sweetie Belle, who of course nodded. Then she looked to Scootaloo, who merely shrugged. Luna and Celestia were exactly as unreadable as one expected thousand year old royalty to be, and Twilight... Well, Twilight just smiled happily. It really was up to her, she reckoned.

Thinking for a moment, Apple Bloom realized her real problem was still ancient. Silver Spoon had been filed under "enemy" for so many years, that it was hard to not get crosstalk from the past in her mind when thinking about the rich pony in the present. This was important though! The fate of the diamond dogs, of Equestria itself—or at least its near-future economy—hung in the balance. It was hard enough trusting Diamond Tiara, but at least that was mitigated by the fact that it was her father's company technically, and they were an established industrial juggernaut already. Silver was proposing to do all this from scratch.

On the other hoof though, weren't they doing all of this from scratch? So why couldn't Silver manage it? It was just making some candy canes after all. Heck, Silver was actually older than she was even. They were all nearly adults now. If she removed the thought of Silver as a former bully from her thoughts, Apple Bloom couldn't find any real reason Silver wouldn't have just as good of a shot at pulling this off as she herself would. Actually, she could think of about fifty million reasons that Silver'd have an even better shot at it.

"Okay, works fer me," Apple Bloom said, walking over to Silver. "Welcome aboard!" The two bumped hooves. "That fixes that bit up nicely then. Next part's a mite more difficult I suspect though."

"Do tell," Luna prompted.

"Well, if we manage to get the diamond dogs off sweetrock, them kids are gonna be growin' up smart, like Runt here. They're gonna need schoolin', despite what my dear friend Scootaloo might think."

"Hey!" Scootaloo said, sticking out her tongue. "I'm all about books now, remember?"

"Ya know I'm just kiddin'," Apple Bloom said. "But in all seriousness, if this works, we're gonna have an entire generation'a diamond dogs growin' up, and none'a their own are gonna be able to teach 'em properly."

Celestia and Luna both nodded. "So what's your suggestion there?" Celestia prompted.

"Well, we don't really know what they're gonna need to learn. I mean, unicorns get magic school, pegasi usually go to flight schools. Earth ponies, well..." Apple Bloom looked around at Diamond, Silver, Twist, and thought about the various other earth ponies she knew as well: Pinkie Pie, the Cakes, Carrot Top, even her own family. "I guess we tend to just jump right into work and business, don't we. Anyway, point is we don't know what the diamond dogs'll need. So fer now, I say ya collect like a twenty percent tax on equium, and put it in an educational fund. Then we can use it to take care of 'em when they start to be ready for school in a few years."

"Sounds quite reasonable," Celestia said.

"In the meantime..." Apple Bloom said, nodding to Runt to pick up the thread. He just shied away though.

"Go on," Apple Bloom encouraged him. "They need to hear it from you."

Runt looked up at the massive pony princess, took a deep breath, then sputtered out, "I want to go to school!"

"I thought he could come to classes with us," Scootaloo said. "But Twilight thinks that'd be unfair."

"And it would be," Twilight said. "Cheerilee has a hard enough time just keeping the lot of you under control. Runt... Runt has a lot of catching up to do. He's going to need a school and teachers that can help him with that."

Celestia once again knelt to eye level with the diamond dog. "There are many boarding schools throughout Equestria that offer education to multiple species, so I'm sure we can find a place for you. And while I think your desire is noble, I want to warn you, school may be very difficult. I know of no other diamond dogs that have attended one. You would likely be the only one of your species wherever you go."

"Th-that's p-p-perfect," Runt said. "I d-d-d-don't get along w-w-well with other d-d-diamond dogs."

That was, Celestia thought, so very, very sad. And her own fault as well. Here stood the one diamond dog that seemingly escaped the consequences of her negligence, and yet he was isolated and alone, even among his own species, because of it. Yet he was still determined to better himself.

"Well then," she said. "If it's what you truly want, then it would be my honor to recommend you to a school, and pay for your tuition as well." It was, Celestia realized sadly, almost literally, the least she could do.

"N-no," Runt said. "I m-m-mean... I w-want to go to sch-school, but I'll p-pay for it, m-m-myself."

Celestia blinked in surprise. The sort of schools that could provide the specialized education he'd need would be expensive, and she didn't think Runt quite understood just... Her thoughts tapered into a mental facehoof just as Apple Bloom interjected with the explanation.

"See Princess, ah figure Runt here, well, he sorta got this whole thing rollin'. So I figure we all owe him a bit of a finder's fee for all the business that's about to go down. Reckon one percent or so oughta be enough to pay for a boardin' school, dontcha think?"

Celestia smiled, even though it hurt inside. She was denied even that token gesture of compensation. Yet she had to admire the completeness of it. "Of course, of course," she said. "I'm sure that will be more than sufficient. And I applaud your thoroughness. You seem to have considered all angles in this venture."

"Thanks, Princess," Apple Bloom said. "We've all been workin' hard to sort it."

"So if I'm understanding correctly, all you need from me is to find a few trustworthy liaisons to contact and initiate trade with the other diamond dog warrens, and provide a letter of recommendation for Runt to a school of his choice?"

"Well," Apple Bloom said. "There is one more thing."

Celestia knew there would be, and she suspected it was the one thing these fillies, bright and thorough as they were, didn't fully understand. "Yes?" she prompted.

"Well, we need ya to make this kinda official. Like, yer hoofprint on things, promisin' all the splits and such go where they're supposed to. Diamond's father, Filthy Rich, well he needs that sorta guarantee."

Diamond spoke up. "We need to know that, if our company invests that much money in stockpiling a resource we can't sell for years, that we'll have exclusive rights to it. That... forgive me, your Highness, but my father needs to know we aren't being cheated. That you're not letting some other company stockpile equium too."

And there it was, Celestia thought. The request to make things official with a royal seal. Of course it made sense when taken piece by piece. Stockpiling buffered the market, which kept the diamond dogs from being overwhelmed. Letting a company do it made sense because they had the resources in place. Of course they deserve to profit from their investment. Of course it had to be secret too, or the economy was at risk until there was a stockpile. So of course they needed assurances that they weren't being swindled. It all made perfect sense, and it was a great solution to a difficult problem. It would help both the diamond dogs and Equestria itself in the long run.

These well intentioned fillies, brilliant, amazing, and clever, had the perfect plan. But it wasn't a perfect world. Celestia knew that they were only asking for something that was perfectly logical and reasonable. But if you didn't understand logic and reason—if instead, you were the type of pony that engaged in politics—then it looked like something much, much more sinister. What the Crusaders were asking for, and—Celestia had already decided—were about to get, was literally a secret, government-sanctioned monopoly on a highly valuable natural resource, which bypassed all normal government channels and economic safeguards in no less than fifteen different laws and treaties designed specifically to ensure that such things never occurred.

"So ya think ya can help us out?" Apple Bloom asked, after Celestia had paused longer in thought than expected.

"Of course, my little ponies. I'll be happy to sanction and guarantee the terms of the venture."

Luna gave a brief, side-eyed glance to her sister, and Celestia returned it with an eyebrow raise both knew to mean, "We'll talk about it later."

"Thank you!" Apple Bloom said. "I think that's all then. I know we gotta get ya some papers on all this, but Twilight said she'd help with that later this week."

"Will you stay and dine with us?" Luna asked, mostly to Twilight.

"I'd love to, Luna," Twilight said. "But I promised this group we'd go visit Cloudsdale once we finished up here. Apple Bloom's been begging to see one of the new mainline airships, and one of them is making the Canterlot-Cloudsdale run this afternoon."

"I understand," Luna said, then turned more generally towards everypony. "I hope you all enjoy your trip."

There was a chorus of thank-yous and goodbyes as the audience ended, with Twilight eventually ushering the group out of the throne room. Luna and Celestia were then left alone as the guards pulled the outer doors shut.

"You do realize what you've just committed to," Luna said. "Don't you, Tia?"

Celestia made a show of counting under her breath. "Seventeen violations of various anti-trust acts, three counts of conspiracy, and four different cases of treason. Though, technically, I'm not sure I can commit treason against myself, and the treaty with the Crystal Empire was before reunification, so maybe it's only two conspiracy violations as well."

"Very funny," Luna said, deadpan. "And you forgot the one about doing absolutely boneheaded things just because you feel like it."

"That's not a law... that was just something you decreed while drunk one night."

"And royal decrees are laws! You said so yourself when you insisted I take my half of the royal duties."

The two sisters smiled at each other. Then the smiles faded as reality once again set in.

"You're right, Lulu," Celestia said, sitting down on the floor. "I'm in deep on this one."

Luna nodded. "We are in deep."

"It's the right thing to do though, right?"

"It is."

"But..."

"The scandal. I know. I remember thinking that courtesan gossip was bad enough a thousand years ago, but since my return... These newspapers, Tia! How'd you let them get so out of hoof?"

"They kept me in check," Celestia said, with no trace of sarcasm in her voice. "They are ugly, in their own way. But they shine a light into any darkness, even my own."

"Darkness?"

"Oh Luna... I... After what happened to you, I saw the same darkness in myself at every turn. The Nightmare took you in a moment of weakness, a moment of darkness. But it could've just as easily been me. A thousand years by myself, and it was so easy to just brush aside concerns when they contradicted my own opinions, so easy to simply ignore the voices of ponies I was supposed to be caring for."

Luna sat down next to her sister and wrapped a wing around her larger sister, leaning into her warm side. "And the newspapers?"

"Vile. Awful. Rats, the lot of them. But like recognizes like. I realized that if those rats could get their claws into me, then I was probably doing something dirty."

"That's... amazingly pessimistic, Tia. Even for you."

"It's like I told that little diamond dog earlier though. If what the rats say bothers me, then perhaps it is what I'm doing that I should be bothered about."

"And this monopoly you've just granted? Surely you don't think that wrong?"

"No! No, of course not. It is, just as those fillies all explained, the best solution possible."

"And the rats?"

"Oh, they're going to tear me shreds when they find out. When equium sales begin in earnest, and everypony starts looking into things, they'll be demanding my head for interfering so directly in the market. Which reminds me..."

Luna looked up and made inquisitive eye contact with her sister by her side.

"You remember that 'suggestion' you, Cadance, and Twilight have all been trying to push on me since last winter?"

"Taking the title of Queen?"

Nodding, Celestia explained. "I think I finally see a reason for it."

"How so?"

"When this becomes public, ponies will be outraged. I'm violating so many laws, but more importantly, I'm violating the basic principles of openness and fairness that Equestria is founded on. Nopony is going to let me accomplish anything useful, assuming they don't find some way to just kick me out entirely. Yet this equium thing... it's going to be a revolutionary advancement for our nation. It'll need to be managed carefully, as things will be changing fast, yet I won't be in any position to say much, much less heard."

"You think they'll listen more if you're a Queen?"

"No! Just the opposite really. That's why I didn't want to take the title before. It'll distance me from others, put me above you, Cadance, and Twilight."

"You are 'above' us, Tia, both literally and figuratively, and you know it."

"Be that as it may, that was never my real desire. But now some use might be made of that. If I call myself Queen now, it may serve to distance me from you and the other princesses. This 'venture' can be my doing, and mine alone. When it's revealed in a few years, and the outrage ensues, you and Twilight can say you had no knowledge of it. You can say I'd gone mad with power, calling myself Queen, issuing monopolies, etc. 'Oh, if only we'd seen the signs,' you can say."

"Really, Celestia?"

"Well, less ham-hoofed, but you get my point. You and Twilight can perhaps manage to steer the country for a year or two while I take the brunt of the scandal. Hopefully, if this all works as we imagine, all of Equestria will indeed benefit, and the outrage will fade quickly. If not though... It will make it easier to know that ponies I trust will still have the love of the populace."

Sighing, Luna looked up at her big sister. "You know that is never what we wanted you to be Queen for."

"I know, Lulu."

"It was meant to be an honor. First among us. A sign and symbol that you truly are the best of us."

Celestia felt tears start to well up in her eyes. "I know, Luna, and I love you for it."

"I love you too, Tia." Luna sniffled, and the two royal sisters hugged as they sat on the cold marble of the throne room floor.

----

Cloudsdale.
Three months later.

Though it wasn't quite as impressive as the mainliner they'd ridden from Canterlot several months ago, Apple Bloom still admired the elegant craftsponyship of the smaller airship's construction as she disembarked. The other Crusaders stepped off the deck behind her, followed closely by Runt and Twilight Sparkle. Reaching the bottom of the gangway, Twilight led the group to the end of the dock, where they retrieved Runt's luggage—a single trunk, filled mostly with books—and then on toward the far side of town.

As they walked—the non-winged kept aloft by Sweetie's recently perfected cloudwalking spell—Runt was smiling ear to ear. The young diamond dog was so incredibly happy to be on his way to school, and in Cloudsdale no less! Twilight and the Crusaders had helped him look at various schools, but he kept circling back to the prep school in Cloudsdale. For one, it wasn't too far from Ponyville, and the friends he'd made there. It also routinely housed plenty of non-pony students, including many griffons, a couple of caribou, and at least one minotaur. More importantly though, it was up high!

Here, there was no ground at all to be seen. There were no tunnels closing in on him, no tight spaces to get trapped in. The ground under his feet was cloud, not dirt. No diamond dog bullies would be popping out of it to torment him. Here, he felt safe. He felt, against all stereotypes for his race, at home.

"Whatcha starin' at?" Apple Bloom asked, seeing Runt, eyes closed, with his face turned toward the sun in a grin.

"I just... I'm so happy to b-be here!"

"Heh," Apple Bloom smiled. "I kinda knew that, seein' as ya wouldn't shut up about it for the past three weeks."

"Yeah," Scootaloo added. "And I thought I had been eager to reach the sky the first time."

In the past few months, Runt had learned to take the light teasing as the friendly banter it was meant to be, so totally different from the mocking he'd dealt with most of his life.

"Okay, come along now," Twilight said, after turning and finding her entourage lagging. "We don't want to be late."

The group hurried to catch up with Twilight, and made good time to the school, finding they were actually a half hour early for registration, and decided to take a walk to the nearby park.

As the ponies walked past the swingsets and cloudboxes, past benches and trotting tracks, Scootaloo spoke up. "This looks familiar somehow," she said.

"Have you been here before?" Twilight asked.

"I don't think so, but... isn't that the university across the way?" Scootaloo pointed across the grassy part of the park and track.

"I think so, why?"

"Is there another park like this, this close to it?"

"The university?"

Scootaloo nodded.

"I don't think so," Twilight said. "The maps only showed this one."

Collapsing onto her haunches in front of a cloudbox, Scootaloo said. "This is it then."

"What is?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo pointed at the cloudbox in front of her. "Here. This. That's where I was... made."

The other ponies' eyes went wide in comprehension. This was the story they'd heard from Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, of how Fluttershy had sculpted a friend out of the cloudstuff, and later it'd been brought to life by a wish and a cupcake. This was where Scootaloo had started.

The orange pegasus stood and walked to the edge of the cloudbox, dragging a forehoof through the cloudstuff within, before picking some up and letting it drift back down off her hoof. "Hard to believe," Scootaloo said. "That somehow this stuff became me."

"At l-least you started in the sk-sky," Runt offered. "Not in the d-dirt."

"Hey!" Apple Bloom said, assuming the diamond dog meant mock offense in her direction.

"N-not you. I meant me," he said.

"I guess you're right," Scootaloo said, smiling. "I did start in the sky. Probably explains why I was chasing it for so many years. Just wanted to get back up here."

"Yeah, ya were pretty single minded," Apple Bloom said. "But I think our friend Runt here's got ya beat. He's been tryin' way harder to chase the sky than you ever did, and he started from underground too!"

Scootaloo looked at Runt. "But you know what? We both made it! That's what counts. We're both up here now, aren't we, Runt?"

Runt grinned, his tongue hanging out slightly, and his bent ear flopping in the breeze. "Yup!"

"You know," Sweetie Belle said. "We're all going to miss having you around, Runt. These past few months have been fun."

"I'll miss you all t-too."

"Promise you'll come visit?"

"He better!" Apple Bloom said. "After all the work we went through to get 'im up here!"

"Speaking of," Twilight said. "This time we really might be late if we don't head back."

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "Wouldn't want our friend here to miss the overwhelming joy of classes and homework!" The sarcastic statement was completely missed by Runt himself, who genuinely looked forward to classes and even homework.

The group returned to the school, and found the office now open. Twilight retrieved a clipboard with half a dozen forms to fill out, and was about to start writing when she thought better of it.

"Here," she said, passing the paperwork to Runt. "You'll need to get used to this kind of thing if you're going to study here."

Taking the clipboard eagerly, Runt sat down in the middle of the floor and began to fill out the various boxes and blanks. The scribbling was fast, but mostly legible, Twilight decided after looking over his shoulder. When the noise of quill on paper subsided though, she looked again. Runt had the end of the quill in his mouth, and was thinking about something.

"Something I can help explain?" Twilight asked.

"It says 'full legal name' here," Runt said.

"That means all your names together. For example, my full name is Twilight Sparkle, even though most of my friends just call me Twilight."

Runt continued to pause in thought.

"Are you trying to remember your full name?" Twilight prompted.

"No," Runt said. "I don't have a name."

"Well if you don't have another name, you can just put 'Runt.' Lots of ponies only have one name too."

"But I don't even have one name."

At this, Twilight hesitated. The odd statement also got the attention the Crusaders as well, who'd been distracted by an extremely obese griffon that was having trouble exiting the office.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle said. "Isn't your name 'Runt'?"

"No. That's just what all the others called me since it's what I was, the runt. I never got a real name, and this form says full legal name. I don't have one."

Apple Bloom noticed then that Runt's stutter had practically vanished for this conversation, and started trying to figure out why.

"Wait," Scootaloo said. "Have we basically been insulting you by calling you Runt this whole time? I mean, ponies used to call me chicken and I hated it. I never meant to do that to you."

"No. It's okay," Runt said. "I know you didn't mean it as an insult, and I've been used to it for years. But... it's not a real name. I need a real name to go to school."

"Why dontcha just pick one then?"

"It... it wouldn't be a legal name though, would it?"

At this, Sweetie got a huge grin on her face. "I don't know... maybe we should ask somepony from the Royal Ponyville Library." When Twilight didn't get the hint, Sweetie elbowed the princess and tried again. "I said, maybe somepony from the Royal Ponyville Library might have some idea how to make something like a name change legally binding!"

Twilight looked at Sweetie Belle with a wrinkled brow. She knew the filly was hinting at something, but it wasn't quite—Oh, she thought. Then she laughed. Luna's drunken proclamation! Of course, Luna wasn't the only pony who was a princess.

"Are you suggesting that I, as a Royal Princess, might be able to issue a decree, and therefore make legal and binding a name of this creature's choosing?"

"Wait," Scootaloo said. "You can do that?"

"There are a few upsides to being a princess."

"So you could decree my name to be 'Scootaloo the Stupendous'?"

"More like Scootaloo the Stupidious," Apple Bloom muttered.

"Hey, I heard that!"

"Never accused ya'a bein' deaf, just dumb!" Apple Bloom said, smirking.

"Come on, guys, be serious," Sweetie Belle said. "This is a big deal here. Runt's trying to pick his own name."

"I can, r-really do that?" Runt asked, his stutter returning briefly.

"Yes, you certainly can," Twilight said. "And I'd be honored to make it my first royal decree."

"So," Apple Bloom said, "Watcha thinkin' about?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo added. "Pick something cool, like 'Ace' or 'Firetail'!"

"Just don't pick, 'Rupert'," Sweetie said, grinning. "Or we'll be here all night arguing about it."

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both gave her a dirty look for that one.

"Can I pick a p-pony name?" Runt asked.

"Umm, sure," Twilight said. "You can pick any name you like."

"Well, I was thinking about what Scootaloo said earlier."

"Don't tell me yer goin' with 'Ace'!" Apple Bloom said, rolling her eyes.

"No. At the park. What you both kind of said, I guess." The ponies perked up their ears as he continued. "You said I'd been chasing the sky, and I think you're right. All I ever dreamed of since I first saw the blue sky and the clouds, was getting out of the tunnels. I imagined myself way, way up in that sky, away from the bullies and the dirt and ground. Free."

The ponies nodded in sympathy.

"So, yeah," Runt continued. "I think if there's one thing I've done with my life, it's chase the sky. Then, when you first brought me up here a few months ago, I thought I'd finally caught it. But that night, before we left, and we were waiting at the dock for the airship and the stars began to come out, I realized the sky goes so, so much further than I could ever imagine. But I still want to chase it."

"So?" Apple Bloom prompted. "What're we gonna call ya?"

"Sky Chaser," he said, smiling ear to ear with contentment.

----

Royal Dining Room, Canterlot Castle.
Three years later.

Looking down at the papers scattered on the table above her breakfast, Celestia scanned the headlines.

"Celestia's Treason!"

"Secret Royal Monopoly!"

"Equestria's Exclusive Equium Exposed!"

"Cadance's Griffon Love Child!"

"Royal-Industrial Conspiracy!"

"Teapot Dome Scandal!"

Thankfully, one of those was a celebrity tabloid, but the rest were well respected news sources. The day she'd been dreading had finally arrived. Queen Celestia sighed, and finished the last of her tea. For some reason, it tasted much more bitter today.

> Chapter 6: The Little Things
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6: The Little Things

Aboard the Lumbering Walrus, nearing Canterlot.
Present day. (Four months after The Hole.)

"So you're telling me you engineered the Teapot Dome scandal?" Far Travel looked incredulous. "As in, the biggest political upheaval since the reappearance of the Crystal Empire? You're telling me that was your idea?"

"As ah was sayin'," Apple Bloom explained. "I didn't know at the time the sort of political problems it'd cause. I just thought we were doin' what was best fer the diamond dogs."

"You know Queen Celestia nearly got run out of office when that hit the papers, right?"

"O'course I do! I felt positively awful 'bout it the second I realized she was gettin' blamed for what was rightly my idea. First thing I did was head straight to the castle an' try to apologize. I couldn't even get close at first, on account of the mobs of reporters and such at the gates. Ended up havin' to sneak in around a side door. Got caught by the guards right away o'course, but luckily one of 'em recognized me and took me to see Celestia."

"And?" Far Travel prompted, when Apple Bloom didn't continue the story right away.

"Sorry, just a minute here," Apple Bloom said, locking the tiller and reaching for a pair of flags. "Gotta let the guards know we ain't attackin' by air or nothin'." She leaned over the railing, a flag in each forehoof, and made a quick series of semaphore signals to the guard station on the city perimeter, before being signaled in return.

"All good?"

"Eeyup. Says we can dock right at the south tower of the castle."

"So you got in to see the Queen, and what'd she say?"

"Well, that's when she told me her side a' things: how she knew the scandal it'd cause, how that made her take the title of Queen to distance herself, and the rest. But she also told me not to blame mahself, that no matter what happened, she was glad I caught her 'mistake' an' that we were savin' the diamond dogs now. I weren't hearin' it though. 'It just ain't right,' I said, tears in mah eyes, 'All them ponies out there mad at ya for my dumb idea. How can I ever make it up to ya, yer Highness? I just gotta find some way ta make this right!'" Apple Bloom sniffled. "Sorry, still gets to me when I think about it I suppose."

"It's alright," Far Travel said, smiling gently. "Take your time."

Apple Bloom blinked quickly and shook her head in the cool breeze to dry her eyes. "Okay, well... The next part's somethin' I ain't likely to ever forget. So there I am, cryin' an' all, and Celestia, she puts one hoof under my chin, an' raises it to look her right in the face. When she does, I see she's got tears in her eyes as well, an' then she says 'My little pony—No. My dearest Apple Bloom, I owe you—and your incredible group of friends—more than you will ever likely realize, and certainly far more than I can ever hope to repay. There is nothing I could desire from you, save that you might someday count me among your amazing set of friends.'"

"That's a pretty good impression of the Queen," Far Travel said.

Apple Bloom chuckled, and sniffled again. "Thanks, ah've had some practice. But anyway, she says that, an' it ain't like I could possibly say anything else, so I just break out in more tears. 'Of course, yer Majesty!' I say, 'Ah'd be honored!' Then Celestia, she just gives me this warm smile, and shakes her head. 'My friends call me Celestia,' she says, then leans over and wraps me in a big hug." Apple Bloom paused to wipe her eyes, then looked at Far Travel with a smirk. "So yeah, that's how come I 'get away' with calling the Queen by her given name."

"Wow," Far Travel said. "That's some story." Seeing the look on Apple Bloom's face turn dark, she quickly amended, "No, no! Not that I don't believe you! It's just... a lot to think about."

"Well, might have to do that later. We're here."

Far Travel turned around and saw they were pulling up alongside one of the higher castle towers.

"Grab that rope at the front, would ya?" Apple Bloom pointed at a coil of rope near the bow. "Toss it around that far bollard when we get close, then pull it in tight." Seeing Far Travel nod and move to the front, Apple Bloom made one last correction with the tiller, then cut the engine and quickly grabbed her own rope. Years of practice with Applejack meant her toss caught around her own bollard on the first try, and she quickly secured the line and darted forward to take over for Far Travel. Apparently that wasn't necessary, as the front of the airship was already secured, complete with a proper, quick-release mooring knot.

"What?" Far Travel said, seeing the look on Apple Bloom's face and enjoying her own turn to surprise somepony. "You think I don't know my way around a deck after traveling as much as I have?"

----

Queen's Chambers, Canterlot Castle.
Afternoon.

Celestia rolled over, letting a wing stretch out and drape off the edge of the bed. After a moment, she could feel the warmth soaking through her feathers, easing cramped muscles as it radiated from the fireplace across... But wait, she thought, she hadn't lit a fire last night! 

Confused, she quickly sat up and, peeling open tired eyes, saw that the room was glowing with bright light, far too intense for a fire. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she took another look around, and finally understood. It was sunlight, streaming in through the windows. Celestia had slept in.

Royal Kitchens, Canterlot Castle.
Slightly later in the afternoon.

"Ah, good morning, Tia!" Luna said, trotting into the kitchens and seeing her sister finishing a meal of toast and eggs.

Celestia jumped slightly at the overly cheerful address. "Oh, yes... good morning, Luna."

Luna paused her pantry rummaging and eyed her sister closely. "Is something wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"No... nothing really. I just... overslept."

"Ha! I knew my habits would rub off on you eventually!" Luna smiled and dug back into the pantry, searching for her favorite sweetened oats. Finding them, she snagged a bowl and milk with her aura and moved to sit across from Celestia. 

"No Luna, that's not it. I mean, I woke up and it was... bright. It was mid-day by the time I opened my eyes."

"Really Tia? You know it's okay if you need more rest, what with all..." Luna trailed off, making vaguely encompassing gestures with a forehoof, while not wanting to directly point out her sister's aged state. "No pony will blame you if you need a little extra rest now and then."

Celestia's eyes turned back to her own food, downcast, and Luna stopped even her own chewing at the sullen look. After a moment of silence, Celestia looked up at her sister, small glimmering droplets of moisture visible in the corners of her eyes.

"What is it?" Luna prompted, all jocularity gone from her voice. "Please, tell me. Why do you feel so bad about sleeping in?"

"Oh Luna, don't you understand? When I woke up, the sun was already in the sky!"

Luna's hoof shot to her mouth, her own eyes going wide in sympathy as she realized what that meant for a pony who, by simple law of causality, had literally never missed a sunrise. "Oh Tia," she said, moving to hug her sister. "I'm so sorry!"

"Thanks, Lulu." Celestia returned the hug, sniffling. "Funny how it's the little things that get to you, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Luna returned to her seat. "Take airships," she said, prompting a curious look from Celestia. "Ponies flying massive machines all through the sky. You think that'd be a big change after I was gone for a thousand years. And sure, it was a bit surprising the first time I saw one. But you know what really took some time to get used to?"

"What's that?"

"Indoor plumbing!"

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle.

"Seriously, Tia!" Luna put her forehooves on the table and leaned forward, her expression earnest. "Do you have any idea how many embarrassing surprises lay in wait for one untrained in the use of flush toilets?"

"I must confess, dear sister, that I do not."

"Nor shall you!" Luna said, smiling even in mock affront. "Those memories have been buried deep and I hope to never recall them again!"

Celestia laughed aloud this time, before smiling at her wonderful sister. "Thank you, Luna. You always know how to cheer me up."

Luna nodded in response, as she chewed another mouthful of oats, then said, "With all sincerity though, you should count being able to sleep late amongst the blessings of this new solar arrangement. Enjoy it while you can, as I've no doubt you'll be forced back into the slavery of raising the sun soon enough."

"One can hope."

"One must hope, Tia. One must always hope. You taught me that so very, very long ago."

----

Throne Room (née Breakfast Nook), Canterlot Castle.
Five staircases, two wrong turns, one stop for directions, and three very crowded hallways later.

Apple Bloom, hearing a muttering voice through the small, slightly open door, decided to knock, just to be sure.

"It's open!"

Shrugging, Apple Bloom pushed against the door, and was met with some resistance. "It, uh, seems ta be stuck!" she called through the open crack as she continued to lean her shoulder into it.

"Sorry about that!" A familiar voice called back. The resistance disappeared instantly and Apple Bloom nearly fell into the small room. Recovering her hooves quickly, she saw several stacks of books moving to another corner of the cramped stone room, the tell-tale aura of Celestia's magic levitating them.

"Apple Bloom!" Celestia said, giving her a smile after settling the books precariously on an even larger pile of tomes. "What a pleasant surprise! And Miss Far Travel too. Welcome."

The Queen was seated behind a table that was likewise piled high with books, papers, and what looked like the leftovers of at least three different meals. While the Queen's smile itself was as warm as ever, Apple Bloom couldn't forget that it was now set in a wrinkled face, framed by gray hair and weathered fur. She had to fight to keep her own smile from faltering in return. "Howdy Celestia, how're ya holdin' up?"

"Perfectly fine, save that everypony keeps asking me that. Nopony seems to listen, but I assure you, I'm still way older than I look."

"Heh, good ta know."

"So, I see Miss Far Travel was able to find you." Celestia said, before turning to Far Travel herself. "I hope you didn't run into any difficulties."

Apple Bloom and Far Travel shared a brief look.

"No Ma'am," Far Travel said. "I left a full report at the, umm, 'Headquarters' before Apple Bloom suggested we return here."

"Something I can help with?" Celestia said.

"Actually," Apple Bloom said. "I'm lookin' for Sky Chaser. Thought him an' a few a’ his students might be able to help Far Travel an' her team dig out that tower."

"An excellent idea," Celestia said. "And as seems to have become tradition, one I feel I should have thought of myself when Far Travel first posed the problem to me, and saved you the journey."

"Oh, not at all—"

Far Travel's objection was cut short as Celestia raised a hoof. "There is no need to assuage my ego. As my sister continually reminds me, nopony is perfect, especially myself. That is something I accepted long ago. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't still 'facehoof' when I find I've overlooked something simple."

Chuckling at that, Apple Bloom was pleased to see Celestia's sense of humor was still as strong as ever.

"Thankfully," Celestia continued. "This one only seems to have wasted a day's journey or so. The last one... Well, I still feel bad that I left several dozen ponies effectively camping under tarps for over a week before I realized that the massive throne room was sitting empty and useless here in the castle."

"Ah," Apple Bloom said. "That explains all the confusion we had tryin' to find ya. Guards kept tellin' us ya were in the throne room, but I guess ya 'moved' it. I think we circled back through the big one like three times 'till one of the ponies campin' out in there finally pointed us down here."

"Yes, apparently nopony liked being told their audience with the Queen would be in the servant's breakfast nook, so I rechristened it." Celestia stood and, spreading her wings, declared "Behold! The Grand Throne Room of The Equ—" The Royal Canterlot Voice was cut off by the sound of a breaking vase as the Queen's wings knocked it over in the narrow space.

All three ponies stared at where it had fallen, watching in fascination as the pile of books it landed on wobbled ponderously several times, then toppled, knocking over three more stacks like dominoes. As all eyes followed the disastrous chain, the third pile collapsed against the edge of the table and its wrongly-sized table cloth. There, the combined weight of the books pulled at the extra fabric that draped to the floor, tipping an abandoned mug of tea slowly but inevitably over the edge above.

It's handle breaking loose on impact, the remainder of the cup then rolled lazily, but persistently, toward the back of the room, the heavy, slow 'woga woga woga' of ceramic against the wooden floor the only noise in the room. Eventually, the remnants of the cup came to rest against the base of a door leading to the kitchens, and all was quiet.

Celestia, her wings still frozen in their not-quite-fully-extended position, slowly turned her gaze away from the cup and locked eyes with Apple Bloom. The two shared another second or two of silence, then broke into riotous laughter almost simultaneously. Far Travel, however, wasn't sure what to think.

"Oh wow," Celestia sighed, catching her breath a moment later. "I don't know why that was so funny."

"Me neither," Apple Bloom said, her forelegs spread to brace herself as she caught her own breath. "It just... it just kept goin'... an' goin'. Why didn't ya stop it? Ya coulda caught things easy with yer magic."

"I..." Celestia paused, and scratched her head with a forehoof. "I honestly don't know. I believe I thought you would steady the books, as you were right next to that third stack. Why didn't you try to catch them?"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Guess I've kinda gotten used to bein' around unicorns. Sweetie's always on top of stuff like that, an' so's Twilight. So, I figure two magic users in the room, one a' ya'll was sure to stop it."

"And what about you, Miss Far Travel? You're a unicorn, why didn't you arrest the disaster as it unfolded?"

Far Travel, already uncomfortable from the outburst of laughter, now felt her eyes go wide at being put on the spot even more. "Uh, I ah... That is to say, I apologize your Majesty, but it didn't occur to me to act out of turn when you seemed nonplussed by the events yourself. I thought perhaps you'd done it on purpose for comedic or other effect."

"Would that I were that clever," Celestia said, chuckling slightly. "As I think there actually is an excellent lesson to be found here."

Apple Bloom cocked her head. "How so?"

"Witness, three of us here," Celestia said, waving a hoof inclusively. "All of us adults, all perfectly capable of quick and independent thought, yes? Yet, all of us chose to not act, and therefore abate an easily abatable—though thankfully minor—disaster, simply because no other pony was acting."

Nodding solemnly at the realization, Apple Bloom reiterated in her own words, "No pony did anything to stop it 'cause no pony was doin' anything to stop it."

"Strange how that happens, isn't it?" Celestia said. "One of the great strengths of our race is the herd instincts we inherited from our ancient ancestors. We naturally cooperate and work together, and compared to some of the more solitary races like the griffons or the minotaurs, we have very little conflict amongst ourselves because of it. But that same herd mentality can be a weakness as well, as we've just comedically demonstrated here."

"So yer sayin' we should... do what exactly?"

"I have no idea," Celestia admitted, grinning. "But I'm sure it's important somehow. Come back in a decade or so, and I'm sure I'll have refined it into a most excellent object lesson of at least some sort by then."

"Heh, I'll hold ya to that!" Apple Bloom said, her smile waning as she remembered the looming threat. "Just gotta, ya know, save the world first. Speaking of... ya know where Sky Chaser might be at?"

"I believe I saw some diamond dogs up in the—"

"Tia!" A shout came from behind the door to the kitchens, accompanied by hurried hoofsteps. "Sister, are you okay? I heard crashes! Have you fallen?"

Celestia, Far Travel, and Apple Bloom all turned as one toward the kitchen door, realizing a moment too late what was about to happen.

"Luna, wai—" Celestia was cut off as the door was flung open by Luna's aura, sending the broken mug flying across the room to impact an unlit candelabra mounted on the far wall. The ancient grout holding the upper mounting bolt gave way, leaving the fixture to swing upside down like a pendulum by the remaining bolt. Watching, all the ponies in the room saw that the remaining bolt too was working its way free, and would leave the heavy steel fixture to plummet onto the very fragile looking decanter set on the table below when it did so.

Swing. Swing. Swing. Then it dropped. Inches above the decorative crystalware, it was caught in a blue aura. "Were you all just going to let it fall and shatter things?" Luna asked, setting the heavy fixture safely out of the way by the wall.

"Don't look at me!" Apple Bloom said raising her hooves in denial as Celestia turned her way. "That was completely outta my reach this time!"

Luna turned toward Celestia with worry on her face. "Sister? Are you quite okay? Did you not see what was about to happen?"

"No Luna, I saw it."

"Is something wrong with your magic then?" Luna's worried look continued. "Have you grown weaker?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Then you were just going to let it drop and destroy things?

Celestia nodded.

"Why?"

At this, a smirk grew from the corners of Celestia's mouth. "I think," she said. "I think I just wanted to see what would happen."

"To what purpose?" Luna said, her worried expression becoming one of confusion.

"I have absolutely no idea," Celestia said, her smirk building into a full-blown grin. "And it's probably going to take me a lot longer than a mere decade to figure this one out!"

At Luna's now-even-more-incredibly-confused look, both Celestia and Apple Bloom erupted in laughter, which was contagious enough that even Far Travel managed a chuckle or two by the time it finally subsided.

----

Royal Canterlot Archives.
One laughing fit and three more wrong turns later.

"And here I thought you liked me for my mind," Sky Chaser said jokingly, after Apple Bloom and Far Travel had explained the situation with the obelisk. The two ponies had eventually found him holed up in a far corner of the archives. He'd explained that, as long as he had to be stuck back down on the ground, at least here he could be surrounded by books.

"Yeah, yeah, who woulda thought I'd be askin' Runt"—Apple Bloom punched him in the arm to accentuate his old nickname—"for his muscle power, eh?"

"That's how I know you must be desperate!"

"In all seriousness though, Chaser, ya think you can round up a few a yer students and manage to dig that thing out for 'em?"

"I don't see why not. Sand's kind of a pain to dig in, especially if it's as loose and dry as what you're saying, but I'm sure six or so of us could keep it at bay long enough to let them pull the thing out." He turned to Far Travel. "You've got gantries, block-and-tackle and all that kind of stuff in place, right?"

"Of course," Far Travel said. "It's just with over two hundred feet of sand anchoring it, there was no way to pull it out. If you can get things clear, we can hoist it."

"Seems a shame to travel halfway around the world just to do ten minutes of work."

"Ten minutes? No, no. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but the entire pit needs to be excavated. We're talking at least two hundred feet deep, and dozens of yards across."

Apple Bloom grinned. "You've never seen a diamond dog at work, have ya?"

Far Travel's gazed flickered back and forth between Sky Chaser and Apple Bloom, staring at each in turn for any sign of a joke being played. "You can't be serious!"

Apple Bloom just stared back, tapping her foot in a slow cadence.

"Seriously?" Far Travel said after a moment. "Ten minutes? You can excavate a million cubic feet of sand in ten minutes?"

"Well, me and five others," Sky Chaser said. "And your numbers made it sound more like three-quarter million cubic feet." He grinned. "So maybe give us fifteen minutes to be on the safe side."

"It's just hard to believe."

Apple Bloom laughed. "Really, that's where the line's at?"

"Excuse me?" Far Travel said, when Apple Bloom continued to laugh some more.

"Ah mean, where ya draw the line on what's believable."

"Well, even if we had full use of magic, it'd take a team of unicorns at least a day to excavate that much dirt. The idea of it being completed in a quarter hour does seem a bit incredulous."

"So let me get this straight," Apple Bloom said, her laughter abating for the moment. "There's an ancient obelisk that's literally been suckin' the life an' magic outta the entire world, and sendin' it into deep space to feed some ancient evil which was confined inside a star since before our ancestors even figured out how ta make fire. Said evil star's now set up shop in Celestia's own Sun, punchin' a hole clean through it by the looka things, and settin' the entire world on a path to destruction in another couple a years if we don't do somethin' about it." Apple Bloom started laughing again. "I'm sorry, I don't mean ta mock ya. It's just... just... Oh come on, ya gotta admit it's at least kinda funny."

Apple Bloom looked at the other two for any hint of amusement. Seeing that even Sky Chaser was giving her a dubious look at this point, she knew she was probably pushing it too far, but, course set, continued on anyway.

"There is a hole in the damn sun! Yet the idea that a handful a creatures who spend their entire lives diggin' might be really fast at diggin' is what ya find hard to believe?" She chuckled one more time. "I'm sorry, really ah am, but that's just hilarious. I'll stop laughin' now though. I'm done. Promise." She moved her hoof across her mouth, indicating that she was, in fact, zipping her lip, and proceeded to stare at her hooves.

The ensuing silence was broken first by Far Travel. "I guess," she said. "I can see how that is perhaps a bit absurd, when you view it in that light. And I do apologize if it sounded like I was doubting your abilities, Mr. Sky Chaser."

"No harm done," Sky Chaser said. "I didn't believe a Teapot could fly until I saw it myself, so I know the feeling."

Apple Bloom looked up. "No, I'm the one that should be apologizing here," she said, her voice lacking it's usual twang. "I'm sorry Far Travel, I meant it when I said I wasn't intending to mock you. There's no reason something amazing shouldn't be amazing when you've never seen it before."

"It's okay," Far Travel said.

"I think I'm just going a bit crazy lately," Apple Bloom continued, seemingly oblivious. "Well, more so than usual. I mean, I know the world's been turned upside down for everypony, not just me, but... and maybe it's selfish, but they didn't face down a six-winged alicorn demon the size of a mountain. They didn't help cast an untested spell using a known-evil artifact on their own sister as a last ditch effort, only to get frozen in crystal as the battle was being lost. They weren't forced to watch as their friends were likewise disabled and marked for death. They didn't have to rip off their friend's toes and hammer them through their own hooves to escape a ten-thousand year old death trap. They..." Apple Bloom felt tears start to form in her eyes as her voice got shaky. "They don't have to fix the damn hole in the sun. But I do."

"You're wrong," Sky Chaser said. "You don't have to fix it. We do." He wrapped his arms around Apple Bloom, lifting her front hooves completely off the ground in a hug. "We all do."

Returning the hug, Apple Bloom, started to smile. "Thanks, Chaser. I needed that."

"Hey, you're the one that taught me that I didn't have to be alone. Gotta remember your own advice, AB."

Hug ending, Sky Chaser let Apple Bloom drop onto her hooves. "So," he said. "You really think digging up this obelisk thing is going to help save the world?"

"Sweetie Belle does."

"Good enough for me." Sky Chaser said, then turned to Far Travel. "So, when do we ship out?"

----

Sweet Apple Acres.
A week later.

Applejack paused in her work, taking the hat off her head to wipe the sweat from her brow, and inadvertently hitting her horn in the process. "Consarn it!" she yelled, as her hoof struck the sensitive nerves of the new appendage. It felt like hitting her funny bone every time... if said funny bone was wired directly to the back of her eyeballs. In a huff, she quickly tugged her hat back onto her head, the slight tearing noise reminding her a moment too late that it no longer fit quite the same.

"Damn it all!" she yelled, throwing the hat to the ground. The thing was practically swiss cheese after the past few months.

"Somethin' the matter?"

Applejack turned to find Big McIntosh behind her, and blushed at her loss of control. "'Tain't nothin' Big Mac. Just mah hat don't fit right no more."

Big Mac looked slowly between his sister and the beat up hat on the ground.

"Yeah, I know alright. I got a horn now, I know that. But Rarity's been a unicorn her whole durn life, and that mare's got more hats then we got apples. Don't seem ta be a problem fer her now, is it?"

"Eenope."

"So why can't I figure out how ta wear a darn hat?"

Big Mac gave a thoughtful look.

"I know, I know. I need ta learn some more patience. Just this... this ain't me, Mac." Applejack waved her hooves over her body, emphasizing her new horn and wings. "I ain't no buckin' princess. What's a farmer like me supposed ta do with these frilly wings and this pesky, oversensitive horn?"

Big Mac opened his mouth to say something.

"And I know what yer gonna say. I know I should just mare up and learn to deal with it."

"Eeyup."

"I suppose I could try ta think more on the positive aspects an' all. I mean, ah did manage to buck half the trees in the northern orchard in one day. Destroyed three trees in the process when I got a bit too enthusiastic though. Trees grow back though, right?"

"Eeyup."

"But wings? Me? Mah hooves belong firmly on this here ground. What am ah gonna do with wings?"

About to suggest the obvious, Big Mac was again cut off.

"And do you have any idea how much of a pain these buggers are? Ya got to preen all them feathers regularly, or they look a right fright. Worst of all, they itch somethin' fierce if ya don't. An' ta think, I used to consider tryin' to work tree sap outta my coat to be the worst groomin' chore I had to put up with."

The two Apples were interrupted as a grey pegasus swooped in and made a rather undignified—but passable—landing.

"Ha ha!" The mailmare shouted. "Four hooves, no face! Suck it ground!"

"Uh, hey Derpy," Applejack said. "Ya okay, there?"

Derpy Hooves looked up at the alicorn and her brother (simultaneously.) "Yep yep! Just fine. Got something for you here, give me just a minute." She turned and rummaged around in her mailbag, eventually pulling out a letter and holding it out for Applejack.

The orange mare walked forward and took it, crossing her own eyes and looking strangely similar to the mailmare as she tried to read the envelope while holding it in her own teeth.

"Wash it shay, Mac?" she said, giving up, and holding the envelope toward her brother.

Big Mac rolled his eyes, and coughed suggestively, while discretely rubbing his forehead where a horn might be if he had one.

Applejack spit the envelope out on the ground. "What?"

Big Mac just shook his head, and Applejack read the envelope as it sat on the ground.

"Hey," she said, turning to Derpy. "This ain't fer me. It's addressed to Apple Bloom. Ya should take it to her at their headquarters up there in that big tree." Applejack motioned toward the looming figure of Rupert in the far distance.

"Umm," Derpy replied. "Technically it's addressed to Sweet Apple Acres, which this is, so..."

"Now hold on a minute... Apple Bloom's up in Rupert, that's a couple miles o'er yonder and several thousand feet in the air besides. Yer the mailmare, ya should deliver it to the intended recipient, unless yer slackin' on the job."

Hooves stepping in place nervously, Derpy tried again. "But the envelope only says Sweet Apple Acres, so leaving it with you is, uh, completely within protocol."

Applejack gave her a funny look. "What's a matter, ya scared a heights or somethin'? I mean, Rupert's just a tree, he don't bite or nothin'."

Derpy looked away nervously, one hoof unconsciously scraping at the ground.

"Oh my, ya really are, ain'tcha? Scared a' heights ah mean."

Derpy cowered under the accusation, looking like she might burst into tears. Big Mac elbowed his sister in the ribs, hard enough to knock her several steps sideways.

"Ah'm sorry, sugarcube, I don't mean nothin' by that. I just never expected ya... I mean, ya fly all the time. Yer a pegasus and everything. How can ya be scared a heights?"

By now, Derpy was in tears. "It... It's not like..." she said between sniffles. "It's not like I asked for these wings! It's just... just the way I am!"

"But if yer scared a heights, why fly? Why take a job where ya do that all the time?"

Raising her head, the grey pegasus stared directly at Applejack, which took some clear effort. One eye was twitching, obviously fighting to go some other direction, but the mare was putting in the effort to force both eyes to look directly at Applejack. "This!" she shouted, pointing at her twitching eye, just as it seemed to break free of whatever willpower had restrained it, and wander off to some oblique angle. "You think I don't take enough flak for this alone?"

"I'm sorry—"

Applejack was cut off as Derpy continued, tears now rolling her face, leaving dark streaks in the grey fur there. "Everypony already knows I'm weird, and clumsy, and there's something wrong with me. I know they all laugh behind my back. But if they knew I was scared of heights too—a pegasus scared of heights, it's almost funny even to me—just imagine how much more they'd laugh. They'd laugh in my face, not just behind my back."

"Oh sweetie, I'm sure nopony's laughin' at ya."

"Really? What would you know about being laughed at. You own a huge farm, you have a big family, and tons of friends. You're buddy-buddy with Princess Twilight and you're one of the Elements of Harmony. Now you're even an alicorn princess yourself! What in the world could a pony like you possibly have to complain about?"

Applejack couldn't bring herself to respond, and just sat in stunned silence, staring at her crumpled and abused hat a couple of paces away.

"Thought so. Anyway, I've got to go. Other deliveries to make." Derpy took off into a canter, then spread her wings and flew away, disappearing into the distance.

Big Mac walked up besides his sister, and let his own rump settle to the ground next to her.

"I know Mac, I know. I'm a right, self-absorbed jackass, aren't I?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac said, smiling warmly at his little sister.

----

Fluttershy's Cottage.
Erstwhile.

"But I mean it, Fluttershy. You look amazing!" Discord said, as he circled once again around the couch.

"I know you mean it, Dizzy, but that's because I look more like you now," Fluttershy responded, continuing to pace around the couch herself, staying just beyond reach.

"Oh, you wound me, dearest!"

Stopping her pacing, Fluttershy gave him a slanted-eyed look that brokered no debate.

"Okay okay, I confess I am certainly egotistical in my own way. One can hardly help it when one is the Lord of Chaos." He paused, holding out a talon as though waiting for something regal to appear. "Oh right," he said, his tone much more down to earth. "Former Lord of Chaos."

"On Dizzy, it's not you, it's just..."

"Just what, Fluttershy?"

"Just... no creature has ever looked like this. I stand out anywhere I even try to go, and you know I'm not exactly a fan of being noticed."

Discord smiled, and knelt down to eye level with the draconalicornequus, and lifted her chin with his paw. "And no creature has ever looked as I, which many could argue makes us perfect for one another."

Smiling, Fluttershy learned in and wrapped him in a hug, her larger, alicorn-sized wings completely encircling Discord's narrow body. Hug complete, she stood back. "It's not about you, silly. Or about us together. I know it's a little selfish, but this is about me. You remember how afraid everypony was when you first moved into town. Well, now I... I'm afraid they're going to look at me the same way."

"Let 'em eat cake!" Discord declared, holding a talon aloft in a military pose.

Both friends mentally counted down from three, which was the general time frame it took Pinkie to appear at random mentions of cake, pie, party, punch, pudding, and, for reasons still unclear, cucumber. When nothing pink materialized, the conversation resumed, and Discord dropped his frozen pose.

"Seriously Fluttershy, I think you look great, and I love you just the way you are. And I loved the way you looked before you changed too. I really mean that."

"I know, Discord, and I'm oh so grateful for it. But like I said, it's not really about you."

Discord tilted his head, and again with his for-Fluttershy-only sincerity, asked, "but why not?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why isn't it about me?"

"Oh, Dizzy, I know you love to be the center of—"

"No, not for that. Not for me. About me. I'm your friend right?"

"Oh, but of course!" Fluttershy said quickly, "You've been a great friend for many years now."

"So you care what I think?"

"Well, umm... of course I do, but—"

"Oh I see, it's one of your other friends then. It's not Twilight Sparkle is it? Has she been saying mean things about the way you look?"

"No! Twilight would never—"

"Rainbow Dash then. That mare never knows when she's gone too far with a joke."

"No! Of course not."

"Pinkie! She has no shame, and doesn't think any other pony should either, so she'd hardly know she was insulting you when saying you look silly."

"What? No! Pinkie would never be mean like that!"

"Right, silly me. Must be Rarity and her impeccable sense of taste. She couldn't bear to let you go around looking as you do without informing you of your faux pas. What a generous friend!"

"How could you even say that?"

"Oh... I see now. It must be Applejack. Honesty just wouldn't let her lie to you, so she had to tell you how hideous you looked."

Fluttershy's mouth dropped open in horror. "Discord! Why would ever accuse AJ of being that mean?"

"Because you said my opinion doesn't matter!"

"What? I never said—"

"You said my opinion wasn't enough. Yet the opinion of friends matters. So if I'm saying you look fine, then it must be one of your other friends telling you different."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide with anger. "How dare you!" She yelled softly, advancing to poke Discord in the chest with a talon. "None of my friends would ever insult me like that! In fact, I'll have you know that every single one of them has told me they like the way I look now!"

"So, why don't you believe them?" Point made, Discord slumped onto the sofa and smirked.

Fluttershy felt her eyebrow twitch in rage. On the one hoof, he made a good point. On the other, he was being so smug about it! "Argh!" she finally cried, stomping away to the kitchen to collect her wits... and some birdseed. It was feeding time after all.

----

CMC Headquarters.
Later that afternoon.

"Not even Kilimarejaro?" Apple Bloom said. "It's pretty close to the equator, an' it's mighty tall."

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Sure, it's tall, but it's nothing compared to the distance to the sun. The magic would still lose most of its coherence before it even left the atmosphere."

"Wait," Scootaloo cut in. "Run that by me again."

"What part?" Sweetie asked.

"The decoherence thing. Is it the distance that's the problem, or the air?"

"Both really."

"Right right," Scootaloo said, waving a hoof rapidly. "But which matters more?"

Eyes rolling toward the ceiling in concentration, Sweetie pondered things. "Well, at this end, the atmosphere does more harm I believe."

"This end?"

"Magic tends to disperse exponentially over distance, just like most forms of energy. However, the air itself absorbs and scatters it as well, increasing the problem, and giving the distance-based decay a massive head start."

"So," Apple Bloom said. "Wouldn't the thin air up on a mountain help?"

"Some," Sweetie said. "But not enough. The type of spells we're looking at for an attack are extremely, extremely high energy. You've seen the beam-like spells unicorns use in battles, right?"

"O'course."

"The reason you can see them is because of the air molecules scattering some of the energy. With the class of spell we're talking about though, the thaumaturgical output won't just scatter and make the air glow, but will literally obliterate the air molecules it comes in contact with. Each of those will effectively be a miniature sun for a brief second as it's ripped apart. The energy released will not only make for a very visible beam, but will also interfere with the overall coherence of the spell, scattering it immensely."

Apple Bloom stared out the window for a moment in thought, wrapping her head around the sheer magnitude.

"Okay," Scootaloo said. "But what if—and just bear with me a moment—what if there was no air in the way?"

"Well," Sweetie again thought through the hypothetical. "Even in pure vacuum, the logarithmic decay would still mean massive losses at the range to the sun, but... It would be several orders of magnitude better, even if the distance were identical."

"That's what I thought!"

"What're ya thinkin', Scoots?" Apple Bloom said, her brow furrowing as she tried to guess.

Grinning, Scootaloo held out a hoof, and slowly mimed a rocket launch, complete with impromptu sound effects.

"The Kettles?" Sweetie Belle gave an incredulous look. "You want to fly the obelisks on the Kettles? As in, put them up in space?"

"Well, I figure there's no air up there to get in the way. Believe me, I've checked."

"It could actually work," Apple Bloom said, her eyes lighting up as her mind raced through the possibilities. "Well, the basic thrust requirements are doable at least."

"But they don't even fly now!" Sweetie objected. "Magic's too weak with the Hole. The structural spells won't hold, and pegasi magic couldn't deflect enough air at launch speeds either. The Kettle would rip itself apart."

"Fair point. But the engines themselves'd be strong enough to lift the obelisk I reckon. Just need to figure a way a' holdin' it all together."

"Without magic," Sweetie amended.

"Without magic," Apple Bloom agreed.

"Come on, guys!" Scootaloo clapped her hooves together. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We totally got this!"

Sighing, Sweetie Belle gave in. "I guess we have pulled off crazier things before."

"Whoo hoo!" Scootaloo cheered, raising her hoof toward the others. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, Rocket Aviators!"

As she reached in for the hoofbump, Apple Bloom paused. "Wait, didn't ya already use that one a few years ago, back when we first got the Teapot working?"

"Oh gimme a break. We've been at this for like a dozen years. They can't all be gold. Now come on, don't leave me hanging!" She waggled her hoof for emphasis.

"You know," Sweetie said. "It's not very accurate either. Our goal here isn't aviation, per say, but rather the emplacement of artifacts in orbit."

"Seriously?" Scootaloo said, hoof still outstretched. "You're grading me on these things now?"

"Well, as you said, it has been many years. Surely we should improve our rallying cries at some point."

"I concur," Apple Bloom said, causing Scootaloo to look her way. "This mission, nay, crusade, is more of a structural engineering challenge. Or perhaps a logistical one. We are attempting safe delivery of ancient relics after all."

"Hmm... yes," Sweetie said, in a voice not unlike that of her sister Rarity. "It simply won't do to mischaracterize such an important task at this juncture."

"Mischaracterize?" Scootaloo said, her expression one of utter confusion. "What in the world are..." Her objection trailed off as she noticed the sounds of barely contained laughter behind her and turned to face Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom, sensing the jig was up, burst out laughing, and was quickly joined by a soft chuckle from Sweetie Belle.

Both her forehooves found their way to Scootaloo's face as she let out a loud sigh of frustration. "Argh! You guys were messing with me!"

Sweetie pulled out all the stops in her impersonation of Rarity. "Well, dear, you do make it so easy sometimes."

Apple Bloom likewise did her best ‘snobby Manehattenite.’ "Yes, 'tis but a trifle at points, and I feel one would be remiss in not taking full advantage when such opportunities present themselves."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and shook her head, but the other two could see she was smiling underneath the feigned annoyance. Her friends were annoying at times, but she wouldn't trade them for the world. Besides, she'd get them back soon enough.

The good-natured ribbing continued for a few more minutes, with swears of revenge, and arguments about just who may-or-may-not have been the most naive at a certain party at few years prior, but was soon interrupted by a knock from the back doors.

"Ya expectin' somepony?" Apple Bloom asked, looking to the other two.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shook their heads. Shrugging, Apple Bloom left the group and trotted quickly to the doors leading to the rear deck. Opening them, she was more than a little surprised to find her sister there.

"Uh, hey there, Apple Bloom," Applejack said.

"Hi, sis... Umm..." Apple Bloom faltered in her speech, but resumed quickly. "Weren't expectin' ya to be knockin' at the back doors here."

Applejack rubbed her neck with a forehoof. "Yeah, well... these new wings an' all. Figure I might as well get some use outta 'em, right?"

Apple Bloom smiled. Her sister had been notoriously reluctant to fly since her transformation. "If ya say so, AJ. Anyway, what brings ya up here?"

Applejack, more comfortable with practical matters, quickly presented the letter. "Not sure who it's from exactly, but Derpy left it with me. Figured it might be important, so I brought it on up."

"Yeah," Scootaloo joined the two. "We've been trying forever to get mail delivery up here. Derpy insists that as we're part of Sweet Apple Acres, technically, we can't get door-to-door."

"I'm ah, sure she has good reasons fer that," Applejack said. "'Sides, I need an excuse to come visit ya'll sometimes anyway. Figure a letter's good enough fer that."

Apple Bloom took the letter and started opening it.

"Who's it from?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, I don't know 'till I finish openin' it, do I?" Apple Bloom said, continuing to fumble with the envelope.

"May I?" Sweetie Belle asked, joining the rest near the doors.

"By all means," Apple Bloom said, tossing the envelope casually toward the unicorn.

Sweetie caught it in her paw, and with her magic, made quick work of extracting the contents. "It's... it's from Babs!"

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were in nearly perfect sync as they excitedly asked, "What's she say?" It'd been years since any of them had seen Babs Seed, and it was easy to forget that the real Cutie Mark Crusaders were still out there, in Manehatten and elsewhere.

Sweetie quickly skimmed the letter, then began from the top.



Hey Cuz,

It's been a while, huh? I heard through the grapevine that you and ya friends is trying to save the world again. Well, we ain't up to nothin' so fancy here in Manehatten, but I likes to think we're makin' some good in the world still.

Anyways, wanted to say thanks for those engines ya sent our way. We had three get their marks last week alone after workin' on some of that fancy engineering. That's more 'en we usually get in a full month most times. In fact, and I ain't one to jinx things, but the way I figures it, this magic suckin' hole you guys is fightin' is actually the best darn thing to happen to the Crusaders in a long time.

Now, I'm not any sorta wimp wantin' yous to appease the bad guys an' all, but the weakened magic seems to be encouragin' all sorts of new ideas, what with how ponies can't rely on magic for everything these days. As a result, I never seen so many ponies thinkin' on their hooves so much. And a friggin' cartload of 'em are gettin' their marks because of it too. Our 'graduation' numbers have nearly tripled since this disaster started.

Even before all this mess though, things was still takin' off. I think I told yous how I wanted to market this place as a 'think tank of blank flanks' when ya were here last. Well, it's worked great!

All the older blank flanks have been tryin' so hard to get their marks, they've ended up studyin' and tryin' a little bit of everything ya see. They ain't got no speciality, but they're sorta experts in 'cross-disciplinary studies'... or somethin' like that.

Well, point is, word got 'round, and now big shots from all over have started comin' in. They're dumpin' weird problems on us, and more often 'en not, we solve 'em. More importantly, a lot of 'em here is gettin' their marks in the process. How friggin' awesome is that?

Anyways, I'm sure all of yous guys is super busy, but if ya get some time, you're always welcome to swing by. I know a lot of the members here would love to meet the original CMC trio, and who knows, maybe some of these blank flanks might be able to help. Stranger things have happened, right?

Your cousin, friend, and fellow Crusader,
--Babs Seed



"Has it really been two years since ya'll went and saw your cousin?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't feel that long ago," Scootaloo said. "That was a fun trip."

"Fun for you guys maybe," Sweetie Belle said. "You didn't get talked into sharing a hotel room with Rarity!"

Even Applejack chuckled at the remark. Sure, Rarity was one of her dearest friends, but that didn't mean the mare didn't go a bit nuts when in the center of the fashionable metropolis. Thankfully, she'd been able to excuse herself by way of visiting her relatives, the Oranges.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom said. "It's amazing how fast things change."

Applejack felt her feathers ruffle involuntarily at the thought. "Don't have to remind me 'bout it."

"Oh right," Scootaloo gushed at Applejack. "How awesome are wings, huh? You started to do any real tricks or anything yet? I know Dash said she'd been trying to teach you some stuff."

"Uh, not really," Applejack replied. "I ain't been too keen on my hooves leavin' the ground."

Scootaloo was about to object when Applejack continued, "But I reckon I need to change that, and make the most of it."

That didn't sound like the stuck-in-her-ways sister Apple Bloom was familiar with. "Glad to hear ya movin' toward progress an' all, AJ, but... Weren't ya just tellin' me yesterday how ya were sick of those 'darn useless feathers and pesky horn always gettin' in the way'?"

Blushing slightly, Applejack responded, "I reckon I was, but sometimes I can be a 'right self-absorbed jackass' too."

Sweetie Belle snorted in laughter at the unexpected self-effacement, and was joined by Scootaloo soon after. Apple Bloom just tilted her head and smiled.

"Big Mac?" she said, recognizing the not-so-subtle hoofprints of her brother's wisdom.

"Eeyup," Applejack said, smiling faintly. "Speakin' of, I need to go an' catch up with Derpy. Try an' apologize."

"I'm, uh, sure she'll be willing to forgive a princess for..." Scootaloo said, attempting to sound encouraging while not knowing the details.

"I ain't no damn—" Applejack cut herself off. "Sorry, Scoots. That's been a bit of a sore point, and one a' the many things I gotta apologize for."

When no further explanation was forthcoming, Scootaloo wanted to pry, as did the others. But they'd known Applejack long enough to realize they'd hear the story when she was ready, and not before.

"Good luck, sis," Apple Bloom finally said. "I'm sure she'll understand and forgive ya for... whatever it was."

"Thanks, AB." Applejack hung her head. "I sure hope so." With that, Applejack turned and trotted back out to the rear deck, before leaping over the railing and soaring away.

"Any guesses?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Nope," Apple Bloom replied. "But, I do think we should go see Babs."

"I'd love to see her again too, AB, but shouldn't we concentrate on the more immediate problems?"

"No, I mean we should take the problem to her an' the rest of the Crusaders. You read the letter, apparently the CMC solve problems now."

"We do?" Scootaloo said, returning from the deck, where she'd been mentally critiquing Applejack's flight mechanics as the alicorn sailed off.

"I mean, the actual Crusaders. The ones in Manehatten."

"Wait, then who are we then?"

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, and Apple Bloom actually facehooved, mentally preparing herself to explain things to her featherbrained friend. Sweetie Belle beat her to it though.

"What we're trying to say," she began. "Is that the..." Sweetie then trailed off as she saw Scootaloo was grinning a very toothy smile in her direction.

"You're messing with us," Sweetie said, realizing the point of the grin.

"Well, dear," Scootaloo said, the impression of Rarity not quite as good as Sweetie's, but unmistakable still. "You do make it so easy sometimes."
> Chapter 7: The Manehatten Project
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7: The Manehatten Project

Industrial Rail Yard 359, Manehatten.
Three weeks later.

As the train ground to a stop with the slow screech of metal on metal, Sweetie Belle looked out the window. They were pulling into an ugly industrial area of some kind. A rusted fence surrounded an open yard, and beyond that were various warehouses and other buildings a couple of stories high. The yard itself was mostly paved, but some standing water remained in various potholes and cracks from a recent rainstorm. A few piles of pallets and disused barrels also stood out in the otherwise flat lot.

"Are you sure this is the right stop?" Sweetie asked, noticing other passengers looking out the windows with similar trepidation.

"Pretty sure," Scootaloo said, pointing to a building on the far side of the lot. "Look!"

Above the high doors of the warehouse was the familiar logo of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the yellow filly silhouette in stark contrast to the blue shield she was centered on.

While her friends stared out the window, Apple Bloom had already made her way to the far end of the car, eager to be done with the long journey. She leapt to the ground before the linkages had even finished clacking and settling between the cars. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hurried to catch up with her, and the trio were soon greeted by the unmistakable smell of the city.

To Scootaloo, it was just stale air; what happened when you let something sit too long near the ground. To Sweetie it was much the same, just the general miasma that was found in a large metro. But to Apple Bloom, it was something more.

On the one hoof, the city's smell was full of rot, of pollution, of too many ponies and not enough grass and trees. But on the other, the oily smells were those of progress, of technology and the future. Ponies crowded here, onto this otherwise useless little bit of land because this is where the world turned. Here in Manehatten, futures were written, pasts forgotten, and a pony could be anypony she wanted to be. Yes, it stank, but they put up with it because no where else in the world held such potential.

Apple Bloom looked up at the skyline in the distance beyond the rusted fences of the rail yard. Out there for miles and miles was nothing but pavement, bricks, steel, and concrete. Sure, there were a few parks here and there, the occasional garden or decorative bush, but by and large, the city was a made thing. It was hooves and horns that shaped Manehatten, not nature. The thought gave Apple Bloom shivers.

The city was, in a way, everything antithetical to her sense of life and nature, yet at the very same time, such a perfect example of life's fundamental tenacity. That Manehatten existed—that Manehatten thrived—proved that life itself could hang on anywhere. Sure, she could never live in a place like this, but knowing it was here, that somehow such an impossibly wonderfully awful thing could exist, well... She took a deep breath and—despite coughing at the smell of coal dust—smiled. At least it was always nice to visit.

"Apple Bloom!"

Turning from the skyline and her reverie, Apple Bloom spied her cousin trotting out to meet them. "Babs!" She ran toward the greeting.

The two met and exchanged hugs, before Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle got their greetings in as well. After a few moments of small talk, Babs turned to all three of them. "So, youse guys finally found a problem ya couldn't solve on your own?"

Apple Bloom chuckled. "Yeah, well, ya said the CMC are the best at figuring out the impossible. We reckoned savin' the world might fall under that sorta category."

Babs just smirked knowingly, before turning and waving for the others to follow. "Come on you guys, lemme show ya around our fancy new headquarters!"

"Hang on," Apple Bloom objected. "We've still got gear to unload."

"Aw, don't worry 'bout that. You guys is royalty here. We've got loads of volunteers to do the heavy liftin' while I get youse settled in."

"Are you sure about that?" Scootaloo said. "I mean, some of that stuff is pretty fragile."

"Don't worry, Scoots. I already briefed everypony on the fancy stuff you guys was bringin'. Told 'em to be extra careful with all of it."

"Well, if you're sure they won't drop any of it..."

"I'm sure. Trust me, these ponies are the best at this. Heck, some of them even got their marks in logistics."

"Really?" Sweetie asked. "I thought it was all blank flanks here."

"Well, yeah, when ya join. But it's not like we just kick a pony out for getting their marks or nothin'." Babs nodded toward Sweetie's own cutie mark with a wink. "'Sides, it takes a lot of work to run this place, and I'm not gonna turn down help from anypony that wants to give it."

"Alright," Apple Bloom said. "Ya win. Just feels a mite weird lettin' other ponies do the hard work while we trot around gawkin'."

"Aww, you'll get used to it, cuz." Babs grinned. "Called bein' a manager."

Seeing all three of the Ponyville Crusaders cringe at the word, Babs found herself chuckling. "Well, if you're that worried about it, you can come supervise tomorrow when the big stuff shows up. That reminds me, how'd you get the railway to finally reopen the line anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked.

"This place used to be a coal depot, offloading from ships onto rail. When it went out of business a few years ago, the railway closed the spur,” Babs explained.  “I've been trying to get 'em to reopen it for over a year, ever since we moved in here, but they said no way. Apparently no profit in it. Then suddenly, I get a letter sayin' you guys is comin' and next thing I know there's a whole team of ponies workin' their way down the line inspecting and repairing things."

"Wow, really?" Scootaloo said, turning toward Sweetie and Apple Bloom. "You don't think—"

"Oh, I definitely think." Sweetie Belle said. "Remember how I said it was weird that the tickets were marked as sold through the Canterlot office, even though we requested them in Ponyville?"

Scootaloo nodded.

"Eeyup," Apple Bloom said. "Got Celestia's hoofprints all over it. I ain't complainin' though!"

"Ya got the Queen herself pullin' strings for you," Babs said, shaking her head and smirking. "But you don't want to let another pony unload your luggage?"

"I reckon ya got a few string pullers yerself," Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean no offense, but I'm sure ya didn't just buy an entire industrial park on yer own."

"Hey, we've done pretty good here! Fundraisers now and then, a lot of alumni donate regularly. We've been goin' for years without a problem."

Apple Bloom stopped and stared at her cousin with raised eyebrows. "Really? Alumni donations got ya all this?"

Babs raised her forehooves in surrender. "Okay, ya gots me. Seems somepony with a lot of money decided the CMC was a worthy cause."

"Who?"

"No idea. Happened right after you guys left last time. Found a check for a million bits in the mail, completely anonymous."

Apple Bloom looked surprised. That was a lot of money out of the blue for sure. "Why didn't ya ever say anything? I know we ain't been here directly, but ya coulda put that in one a yer letters."

"Well, the check came with a note, asking that I don't say nothin' about it. Just that I use it, but try to keep it on the down low."

"That's... a bit odd," Sweetie said. "But I guess some ponies don't like being noticed, even when they're doing something nice."

"Yeah," Babs said. "And it seemed like the least I could do an' all. So I kept my mouth shut on it, and tried to make good use of the money. A few months later though, I got another check, and another. Then one day, a little more'n a year ago now, it's not a check I get, but the deed to this place, made out to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, care of Babs Seed."

"So why're ya tellin' us now," Apple Bloom said. "If it's supposed to be a secret?"

"Aww, you know me, AB. I was about to snap not telling at least somepony. I figure since youse guys is here in the flesh, then at least I ain't writing it down or nothin'. 'Plausible deniability', they call that. 'Sides, ain't like I ever signed nothin' or actually agreed to this secret stuff."

"Wow!" Scootaloo said. "That's really weird. Still though, pretty cool that somepony is giving you all that money and stuff."

"You think that’s cool?" Babs said, grinning as she opened the door to main building. "Wait 'till you see what we've done with it!"

The tour took over an hour, as Babs showed the trio through the halls, buildings, workshops, and studios of what could really only be called a campus. Though the place had been a coal and shipping yard in its former life, the Crusaders had transformed it into something wonderful. There were dorms and a cafeteria, machine shops and artist studios. There were docks at the south end, including a small drydock with a schooner under repair. The north had a three story building with a working bakery and a textile mill. In between there were seemingly endless passages and hallways and smaller rooms, all filled with blank-flanked ponies working on countless endeavors, skills, and trades. Many were foals, but quite a few were older, like Babs herself.

"I never knew there were so many grown ponies without their marks," Sweetie Belle said.

"I don't think anypony did," Babs replied. "Most of the foals are from in and around Manehatten itself. They come in after school or on weekends, and go back home to their families at the end of the day. But the older ponies have come here from all over the world. We were so spread out that nopony knew just how many of us there were until we started to gather together. Now we've got so many that we ended up needing to build dorms. It's been for the best though. The older blank flanks have basically become permanent staff, helping out with the foals, and in all the daily chores around the place. Some are are even on the payroll, like me."

Apple Bloom couldn't help but look at her cousin's flank. "Ah can't believe ya still haven't gotten yer mark, Babs."

Babs laughed. "And I still can't believe you're made of mud or whatever, or that Sweetie's got a metal paw for a forehoof."

"Ya get used to it after a while." Apple Bloom said, smiling.

"Yeah, and eventually, you get used to being a blank flank, too."

"Don't tell me you've given up," Sweetie Belle said.

"Naw, more like I've... accepted it I guess. I jus' got burnt out on tryin'."

"But..." Scootaloo said, trying to find the right words to encompass the "everything" she was waving her hooves around to indicate. "You're like, the head of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! If you're not trying to get your mark any more then... then... Well, what's it all for?"

Babs smiled, but there was a wearied look in her eyes as she did so. She'd heard this from other close friends before. "How many things did you try, before you got your mark, Scoots?"

Scootaloo laughed. "I have no idea. Seems like we were trying a dozen things a week back when we were foals."

"Right, now imagine that you were still trying that hard, all these years later."

Scootaloo opened her mouth to argue, but froze, unable to think of any reasonable retort once she properly imagined just what that might actually feel like. "I'm... I'm sorry, Babs," she said eventually, pawing at the ground awkwardly. "I guess I never really thought of it like that."

Babs snorted. "Don't be sorry for me! That's the last thing I friggin' need. I'm just sayin', I think I'm doing something pretty good in the world—which is more than most ponies can say—and at some point, it simply stopped being about getting my mark. Now when I do something, it's because it needs to be done, or even just because I want to do it. No larger goal required. In a way, I think I'd actually be a bit sad if I finally got a Cutie Mark."

"Ya really mean that?" Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah," Babs said, nodding. "I don't have a Cutie Mark, so I can be anything I want to be. I can learn whatever, do whatever, and none of it's 'wasted' because it doesn't compliment some singular 'special talent' or whatever." Babs held up a hoof to forestall the incoming objections. "Yeah yeah, I know it ain't really like that exactly, and I'll clock any o' ya that tell the youngsters I said that. But that's how most ponies treat it, and you know it. I'm jus' sayin' I don't have any pressure on me to specialize, so I can learn and do whatever I feel like. For example, would you guys believe I actually spent the better part of a year studyin' magic?"

The other three ponies all gave very incredulous looks.

"Naw, it's true! Me, an earth pony and everything. But I was still desperate back then, and after I heard about how you got your own mark, AB—how ya found all sorts of earth pony magic—well I figured I had to at least give it a shot."

"No luck though?" Sweetie asked.

"Not really. Eventually learned to make plants grow a little faster. I can sense a little bit of lifeforce stuff, but nothing like what AB can do, never mind a unicorn like you. Still though, I don't regret it. There was a ton of really interesting stuff I'd never even thought of before, and even if I can't cast spells or nothin', it's still neat to be able to look at some unicorn device and know how it works. Plus it's great for messin' with ponies' heads."

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo said. "Like pranks or something?"

"Not exactly, but... well, you know how snobby unicorns can be sometimes—no offense Sweetie—especially here in Manehatten?"

"None taken," Sweetie said. "That's Rarity's world, not mine."

"Well, just picture the look on their face when they're braggin' about some priceless magic heirloom or whatever at a party, spinning some grand story about how the ancient runes symbolize this and that, and the seventh son of a seventh son... you know the kind. Anyways, picture the look on their face when this earth pony—and a blank flank even—comes up and reads what the runes actually say. Nine out of ten times, it's a chamber pot, and the runes are just dirty jokes, or it's some vase from an old store, and the writing is just listing a price for cornmeal or something."

As the group was laughing at the thought, a teenage unicorn ran up to the group. "Hey boss," he said, addressing Babs. "We finished unloadin' da gear off da first train, but what do ya want us to do wit da big freight on da boat?"

Babs cocked her head. "The rockets and engines aren't supposed to be here until tomorrow."

"No boss, ain't that. This is some sorta big black rock thing."

Turning to the others, Babs asked, "Youse guys expecting a delivery?"

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Just the Teapot and Kettle prototypes from Ponyville tomorrow, like ya said."

Babs turned back to the errand runner, who responded before she could even say anything. "Naw, boss, this ain't no mechanical stuff. It's this big, tapered rock thing. Pointy at one end, looks a lot like a two hundred foot long version of a stalllion's—"

"Celestia!" Sweetie said, cutting the unicorn off mid sentence. "I'll give you even money that she had the obelisk shipped here for some reason."

"Even money?" Babs said. "You still owe me for the Manehatten vs. Rainbow Falls game!"

"Yeah yeah," Sweetie said, waving a hoof dismissively. "You know the Prismatics are a better horse hockey team. Manehatten only won that one on a technicality!"

"The Prismatics only made it to the finals on a technicality! Either way, you technically owe me two hundred bits!"

"Uh, boss..." the unicorn gopher interrupted. "Still need ta know where ya want us to put that big black... uhh... 'stallionhood' thing."

Rolling her eyes, Babs looked at the hapless volunteer. "Did it come with any paperwork? Shipping manifest? Receipts?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Got somethin' right here." His horn fritzed with some seemingly mismanaged spells as he magically searched through his saddle bags. "Ah, here it is!" A paper levitated over to Babs.

Babs read the crumpled manifest: "Transport and store only in a horizontal orientation. Ensure a north-south axial alignment whenever possible. Do not allow long axis to come within fifteen degrees of alignment with sun."

"Eeyup," Apple Bloom said. "Sounds like our obelisk."

"Shall we go see?" Babs said.

The others nodded, and the group headed out to the south docks. There, they saw a freighter with a massive black obelisk prone on the deck.

"Why'd Celestia have it shipped here?" Scootaloo pondered.

"I'm sure she thought this would be the best place for research," Sweetie replied, nodding cheerfully to Babs. "It is the thing we're trying to launch into orbit after all."

Jaw dropping, eyebrows scrunching, Babs turned to Sweetie. "That? That thing is huge! No way is something that big going to fly."

"Oh yeah?" Scootaloo said, smirking. "You haven't seen a Tea Kettle yet."

"But that thing is made of solid rock. Look how low that ship is sitting in the water. The thing must ways tons."

"Oh, many, many tons!" Scootaloo said, still smiling. "But I reiterate: You haven't seen one of the Kettles yet."

"You keep saying that, but I don't see how anything can be powerful enough to make that fly,” Babs said, still waving in the general direction of the massive piece of cargo

The conversation continued in that tone for some time, taking the party back indoors. As the argument continued, they eventually found themselves in a classroom with a blackboard. There, Scootaloo used science. It was super effective.

"So you get it now?" Scootaloo asked, looking at Babs, chalk dust covering both their upper bodies.

Babs stood back from the chalkboard, staring at the numbers for both the tested Kettle prototypes and the still-only-conceptual Cauldron designs, before finally accepting the truth of what the numbers were telling her: It just might actually work.

The sheer magnitude was still boggling though, and as the reality of that settled into place inside her mind, only one word was appropriate.

"Woah."

----

CMC Headquarters, Manehatten.
A day later.

The rest of the Ponyville shipment had come in just before noon, and Babs Seed found herself smiling to see the hard-and-fast physical versions of the mathematical concepts she'd been discussing the night before.

The Teapot Flyer was something to behold, in and of itself. Swept wings, fish-like body, and this giant, flared nozzle on the back; it was, in Babs' reckoning, a very, very elegant way to commit suicide.

The Kettles, on the other hoof, were well... another kettle of fish entirely. The two prototypes took up an entire flatbed freight car each. The bell assemblies alone were large enough for a pony—even Celestia—to step inside of. The compression chambers and turbopumps were absolutely revolutionary compared to any engineering she'd seen before. Then there was the main fuel ring. It was—and she could find no other word for it—a thing of beauty. Apple Bloom had apparently managed to engineer a near-perfect annulus made of Equium, such that it irised open and closed with finer precision than most camera apertures. Through it, water or—as Sweetie Belle had suggested—cryogenically liquefied gases could be injected and flash-heated to millions of degrees, providing enormous thrust, as well as precise throttling. A few of these really did have the potential to lift even a multi-ton stone obelisk.

After the Ponyville Crusaders had checked things over, Babs gave the order and the logistics team moved in and started removing tie-downs in preparation for offloading the engines. As Babs and the others watched and chatted, a shadow flicked across the yard, causing eyes to turn skyward. Moments later, a large chariot set down, bearing Queen Celestia herself.

"Hey Celestia, good to see ya," Apple Bloom said as the Queen stepped off her conveyance.

"A pleasure, as always, Apple Bloom," Celestia said. "And it's lovely to see you as well Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo."

"Hi!" Scootaloo said.

Sweetie just smiled.

"I trust Rupert still fares well?"

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "Stupid little hole in the sky isn't going to throw him off."

"And Sky Chaser? How has he handled the fall of Cloudsdale?"

"Well enough," Apple Bloom said. "I mean, as well as anypony that called it home can, I reckon."

Celestia hung her head. "At least we had time to get everypony out. I do miss the grand arena though, and the pegasi architecture." She pawed at the ground, then looked up with a bright smile. "We shall rebuild it ten-fold when this is all over! It shall be the grandest sight in ponydom!"

"Hear, hear!" Scootaloo chorused.

"First though, I fear we must face our foe. Have you had time to look over the obelisk?"

The Ponyville contingent turned toward Babs, who was showing a timidness none of them had seen since they were foals.

"Umm..." Babs muttered, barely audible, as she stepped forward to address the Queen. "If it please your majesty I—"

"Nope!" Apple Bloom stepped forward, putting a hoof on Babs' chest to stop her. "Celestia," Apple Bloom said, "this is mah cousin Babs Seed. So I'm uh... invoking Apple family privilege here."

Both Celestia and Babs cast nearly identical looks of confusion at the earth pony. "Apple Family Privilege?" Celestia said. "What, pray tell, is that?"

"Ain't quite sure yet," Apple Bloom said, still standing proud. "Just made it up. But it means ya gotta treat her like ya treat me."

All around the perimeter of the yard, ponies were gasping or holding their breath. Sure, Manehatten didn't often stand on hierarchy. In fact, the working classes pretty much prided themselves on not giving a buck where a pony came from. But a queen—The Queen—was still The Big Glaring Exception. Seeing a pony act so brazen, even in defense of their beloved Boss, was a bit surprising. More surprising still, was Celestia's reaction.

She laughed.

"Of course," Celestia said. "I would have it no other way." She looked to Babs and motioned with a forehoof to come closer. Babs, for her part, looked mortified. "It's okay, my little pony. I may look a bit dessicated, but I assure you I have no desire for your blood."

"Blood?" Scootaloo said.

"Sorry, just got back from Transylmaneia. You try being several thousand years old and then holding a press conference there."

Scootaloo waved a hoof. "Nevermind, I don't even wanna know."

Apple Bloom stepped up behind her cousin and pushed her toward the Queen. "Go on, she just said she ain't gonna bite."

Resisting, Babs slid across the muck of the yard as Apple Bloom pushed her toward Celestia. "I'm not scared," she said in a loud whisper to her motivator. "I just don't know what to say."

"Try 'hello'," Apple Bloom loud-whispered back, as the top of her head was still pushing Babs along.

Stopping just shy of running into the Queen, Babs looked up. Before her was the pony that controlled the sun itself. The pony that ran the nation, and, at least in practical terms, the world. The pony that was, quite possibly, older than dirt itself. She stared wide-eyed up at the kind, wrinkled face, and found her mouth frozen halfway to open.

"Boop!" Celestia said, as she tapped Babs on the nose with a hoof.

Babs remained motionless, and Sweetie asked "What'd you do that for?"

Celestia seemed equally puzzled. "It's one of Luna's tricks. Doing something very un-royal-like usually breaks the ice and puts others at ease. Usually."

Apple Bloom walked around to the front of Babs and waved a hoof in front of her eyes. "I think ya broke her."

Sweetie was just about to start probing the motionless pony for spells or other magic influence when the corner of Babs' mouth started twitching. A moment, later, she broke into riotous laughter.

"You okay there, Babs?" Sweetie Belle asked after the laughter had subsided.

Shaking her head, Babs looked over with a grin. "Yeah, just... well you ever have that feeling that everything you ever thought you knew just got turned on its head?"

Sweetie smiled and raised her paw up in front of her, turning it in contemplation as she thought back to that day in the clubhouse all those years ago. "Yeah, I think I know the feeling."

Apple Bloom gave Babs a playful shoulder bump. "We've all been there, cuz. Like ya said though, ya get used to it."

"Heh, yeah!" Scootaloo said. "Now? World goes upside down? We just call it Thursday."

"What do you call it when things actually go as expected then?" Babs asked.

Scootaloo made a show of pondering this for a moment, looking to Sweetie and Apple Bloom, both of whom shrugged. "Don't know," she finally said, smirking. "It's never come up!"

The assembled ponies all chuckled at that. Celestia, laughing as well, looked around at the Crusaders, both the ones she knew, and the ones she was just meeting. She could tell she'd made the right choice in bringing the obelisk here, even though all her advisors had tried to insist on taking it to one of the various universities or other "proper" research facilities. They'd talked about how this was a one-of-a-kind event, how important it was to the fate of the world, how it needed the top ponies of the top facilities working on it, how this project was going to turn the world upside down in terms of what they understood about science and magic. They were all right, of course, and that was the problem. Anypony else she took this to would, quite rightly, consider this an astoundingly unique occurrence. But she'd brought it here, because to these Crusaders, it was just another Thursday.

"So, my little pony," Celestia addressed Babs again. "Have you had a chance to examine the obelisk?"

Babs, still chuckling slightly, turned back to the towering form of Queen Celestia. Suddenly, the alicorn seemed far less imposing, and she marveled at just how palliative laughter can be. "Yes, Ma'am," she said, with a touch of formality still in her voice. Laughter or not, this was still the Queen she was talking to.

"And what have you found?"

"Well, to be blunt, we've got a lot of work to do. Right now, everything is pretty theoretical. I mean, the engines we're talkin' about flyin' that thing with are just ideas, and even Apple Bloom isn't sure we can find a metal strong enough to withstand the heat. And then, even if we get it up there, we still don't have spells to send through it yet, and that's assuming the thing actually focuses as much power as we're assuming, which I personally have doubts on."

"So you don't believe it's possible?"

"Never said that, Ma'am. Just sayin' it's a lot to be worked out still. If anypony can do it though, my money'd definitely be on the ponies here." Babs' voice swelled with pride as she waved a hoof toward the ponies scattered around the yard, unloading the train, and peering surreptitiously from some of the doors and windows of the buildings. "You ain't never gonna find a more clever and resourceful bunch of ponies than the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

Celestia smiled warmly, the wrinkles around her eyes seeming to diminish slightly as she did so. "Of that, I have no doubt."

From any other pony, that would have been merely a polite formality. But from Celestia, the absolute sincerity shone through the words like the rays of sun itself. Babs stumbled in her next words as she realized the Queen of the Sun literally and honestly believed in the Crusaders as much as she herself did.

"Uhh, thanks, your majesty."

Apple Bloom frowned slightly at that, then Celestia responded, "No, thank you for doing such good things here, Ms. Seed," causing Apple Bloom to frown even more before unsubtly "coughing" the words "Apple Family" and nudging Celestia in the ribs.

"I mean, Babs..." Celestia corrected. "Thank you, Babs, for all you've done here."

A satisfied smile crossed Apple Bloom's muzzle and she stared at Babs for her response.

"Umm, glad to help... Celestia." The name felt weird on her tongue. Where she came from, the word was either something you yelled when hitting your head on a low beam, or an adjective to help illuminate just how stupid the builder of said beam must've been to put it there. It certainly wasn't the name of a pony one talked to in normal conversation.

"There," Apple Bloom said. "Ain't that better? Now we can all just act like friends."

Friends with Queen Celestia, Babs thought. This really must be a Thursday. This time though, she managed not to freeze up, and was even waving with the others as Celestia departed, leaving them to the task ahead.

----

CMC Headquarters.
2.2 Thursdays later.

The first week went by in a blur, as the ponies of the CMC poured over the engines and the designs, raided the city library researching magical theory, and generally brainstormed everything up to the radically impossible and down to just the insanely unlikely.

The work—if it could be called that—seemed to consist mostly of very dull, quiet periods of reading, calculations, and consultation, punctuated by frantic bouts of noisy debate, collaboration, and teamwork. Of course, most of those tended to end abruptly, usually when somepony realized they forgot to carry the one, seven hundred and nineteen steps ago.

Sometime in the second week, Apple Bloom was relaxing at the back of the main hall. Well, hall maybe wasn't the best word for it. It was, she felt, more like a warehouse crossed with a garage, but with seats and a podium. She suspected union meetings wouldn't look out of place in it.  And maybe relaxing wasn’t the best word for it, either.

While she took a break from her own work, Apple Bloom watched the ponies across the room try to figure out a better way to forge the high temperature alloys that would be needed if the Cauldrons were to run at anywhere near their theoretical output. She marveled at just how focused, enthusiastic—and perhaps even obsessed—the rag-tag group of blank flanks became once they started to attack the challenges before them. She thought back to her younger days, and wondered if that was how she and her friends had looked to the others in Ponyville as they sought their marks. Had they had that same, manic look in their eyes for each Crusade?

Not that it was all that bad, mind you. The driven focus was inspiring for the most part, and to see so many ponies working together was always wonderful. But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was this ragged edge to everything they did; this slight hint of desperation creeping in underneath the massive enthusiasm. Was she projecting her own feelings, her own sense of worry about the dire circumstances of the world? Or was it something else? For a moment, she thought maybe it was just this city itself. Everypony she'd met from Manehatten tended to be wound a few turns tighter than she was used to. Or maybe it was just the nature of being a blank flank. Apple Bloom knew "desperation" would've been a mild term for how hungrily she'd pursued her own Cutie Mark as a foal.

She was shaken from her reverie by the approach of Babs Seed.

"Hey cuz, how's it goin'?"

Apple Bloom looked down at the pencil covered blueprints on the table. "Not great," she said. "Without magical reinforcement, the structure has to be a lot stronger than the Teapots were. That means a heavier frame. But a heavier frame means less room for other things, so then the ship becomes bigger. When the ship becomes bigger, the drag through the atmosphere gets worse. That means more heat on the skin, especially without strong pegasus air shielding. More heat means thicker, heavier skin. That means more weight, which means bigger engines, thus bigger frame, etc. Wash, rinse, repeat."

"Well, we're working on stronger metals."

"True, but I think we're nearly hittin' the limits of metallurgy. We've got metals that are strong, and with a carefully designed honeycomb, might just be light enough for a frame. And we've almost got metals that can take the heat in the engine core, but they're extremely heavy. Thankfully, those core parts are small. But the skin of the thing... you can't have honeycomb holes in your heat shielding, and I can't figure out any other way to make it light enough."

Babs tapped her chin with a forehoof for a moment. "How hot are we talking here?"

"Over a thousand degrees."

"And it needs to be very light, right?"

"Yeah..." Apple Bloom was wondering where her cousin was going with this.

"Hmm..." Babs looked around the room, searching for somepony or something that apparently wasn't there. "Be right back, cuz." She trotted hurriedly out of the room.

A moment later, Babs Seed returned, followed by two blank flanked ponies Apple Bloom didn't recognize. "Apple Bloom, this is Flurried Heart," Babs nodded toward a light blue pegasus stallion, "and Burning Sky." She finished, indicating a teenage earth pony whose bright red mane stood out in eye-searing contrast to her black coat.

"Nice to meet ya," Apple Bloom said. "It seems mah cousin here thinks ya'll might be able to help me."

The two blank flanks looked apprehensively at the Boss, then back to Apple Bloom. "Umm," Flurried Heart ventured. "What kind of a problem is it?"

"Well, you might've heard we're trying to build this sort of flying ship sorta thing, and I'm trying to figure out how to insulate it from the heat of atmospheric reentry."

"Uh, I'm afraid I don't know much about that, ma'am." Flurried Heart said. "I'm just kind of a cook, not really into that engineering stuff."

Apple Bloom wrinkled her brow. Why'd Babs go and fetch a cook? She turned to look at the young filly.

"Hey, don't look at me," Burning Sky said, blowing her mane out of her eye in a way that reminded Apple Bloom of a much younger Babs. "I do art and stuff. I'm no brainiac!"

Babs rolled her eyes. "Yes, Sky, I know that. But what kind of art do you do?"

"Umm, the awesome kind? Duh!"

Sighing, Babs tried one more time. "Can you just humor me for a sec, okay?"

"Sure, why not."

"So why don't you tell Apple Bloom what you're working on."

"Well, it's this really cool glass sculpture thing. Only, I mean, you've seen glass works before, I'm sure, but like... I found that if you drop hot glass in water, it comes out with all these really awesome colors in it. But it always comes out in ugly shapes. So I've been working on trying to do that, but keep it in the shapes I want for a sculpture."

Apple Bloom was intrigued. She'd noticed that effect herself one time when she'd accidentally melted some lab equipment, but... "I'm not sure how that relates to the problem at hand, though it sure does sound interesting."

Babs took a breath, mentally stepping into her role as teacher. "Remind me, Sky, how hot does glass get when it's melted."

"Oh yeah, like, super hot. Actually, that's part of the problem. The hotter the glass is when I drop it in water, the more of the color effect I get. So I've been trying to build a better kiln to..." The youngster's eyes lit up as she realized the connection.

Apple Bloom leaned forward, her own mind now seeing the connection as well. "So what were you building your kiln outta?"

"Umm, bricks. All the kilns I've seen are bricks, but some of them crack and stuff when you get them that hot. So I've been having to work a lot to try and figure out what kind of clay makes the best bricks so I can make a kiln to go way hotter."

Could you cover a space ship in bricks? Apple Bloom wondered. It sounded crazy at first, but... technically bricks were lighter than metal, and certainly worked well in fireplaces and such. But any normal brick would still be far too heavy for insulation.

"How heavy are these bricks you've been testing?"

Sky quirked an eyebrow. "How'd you know the weight mattered?"

"Of course it matters. This thing has to fly."

"I mean, for me. I found that the lighter a brick is, the more heat it can take."

A smirk grew on Apple Bloom's face. "How light?"

"Umm, I guess the best ones were probably about..." Sky looked around, finding an empty mug and hefting it in her hoof. "About this heavy."

Apple Bloom took the mug and judged it's weight. "And how big were they?"

Sky mimed a rectangular space about the size of a typical fireplace brick. So, lighter, but still too heavy.

"How much lighter do you think you can get it?"

"That's the problem. I got to that point a few months ago, and I've been stuck ever since. Everything lighter I've tried to mix up for clay either turns to dust in the kiln or seems to sink down and compress by the time it comes out, like it's some kind of bad soufflé or something."

Now Flurried Heart's eyes lit up. "Like a soufflé, you say? Très bon! Maybe I can help after all."

Resisting the urge to laugh outright, Apple Bloom still couldn't help but smile. Babs had known exactly who to bring together for this problem, even if neither of the two had seen it themselves. It was, she reflected, eerily reminiscent of Celestia's own nearly-transparent meddling.

"You really think so?" Burning Sky said, excitement plain in her voice. "I've been so frustrated with this!"

"Well," Heart said. "I can't promise much, but I can at least promise you I know how to properly cook a soufflé. Maybe it'll help?"

"Why don't the two of ya go off and get started?" Babs said. "Keep in mind we need these bricks for a rocket now, not just a kiln, so the lighter the better, okay?"

"You got it, boss!" Flurried Heart said, while Burning Sky managed only a squee and a rapid nod before trotting off.

"So," Apple Bloom said, after the two had departed. "How'd ya know them two would be the ones ta talk to?"

"Honestly?" Babs began.

"Yeah, yer soundin' a bit like the Queen herself, if ya don't mind me sayin' so. How'd my dumb ol' cuz ever get that wise?"

Babs broke out in laughter. "I don't think anypony's ever stooped to call me 'wise' before, especially one that knows I ain't."

"Well, it's a mighty fine act yer pullin' off then."

"Ha, well... just so you know, all I did was think abouts it literally. Ya said it gots to be hot, and it gots to be light. So I just thought through all the projects I'd seen ponies workin' on, and figured melted glass was the hottest, and some of the cotton candy Heart makes must be the lightest. Figured I'd smash their heads together, see what came out."

"So we got lucky?"

"Nah, ain't no such thing as luck. You know that, AB. But when you spend time around so many ponies getting their marks, you realize there's kind of a pattern to it. It always seems like luck, or coincidence for that one single time, but if it happens for every single pony that ever gets her mark, and you see it happen time and time again, then... I don't know, but nothin' that predictable gets to be called 'luck', at least not the way I sees it."

"So it's, what, 'fate' or somethin'?"

"It's certainly somethin' alright, but I wouldn't say fate. I probably could've thrown a couple of darts at the roster, and no matter what ponies I got, they would've figured something out. If anything here's 'fate' then it's that I wanted a snack last week and ended up with some deliciously fluffy cotton candy, so that was on my mind when you said 'light'."

Looking at her cousin, Apple Bloom pondered what she'd just said. Though the tone was joking, she realized Babs actually meant every word literally. She honestly did believe that randomly picking from the roster would've resulted in just as good of a potential solution. That was... weird. And she said so.

"That's weird."

"You get used to it," Babs said, smirking. "But seriously, think about it. Have you ever heard a story about a pony getting their mark that was not full of seemingly impossible coincidence?"

There was Apple Bloom's own story, of course, so she dismissed it out of hoof, as her very existence was kind of an impossible coincidence to begin with. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were disqualified for the same reason. Then she thought back to the stories her sister and the other Elements had shared, and all six of them were not only impossible in their own rights, but also shared amazing coincidences as well. But they're the Elements of Harmony, they're kind of unique as well. Then there was Celestia, and Luna... but they're atypical too, being alicorns and all. Wait, did she even know any "normal" ponies?

Well, of course. Maybe not as well, but certainly as friends over the years. There was Bon Bon, and... well, it wasn't really impossible, but it was unlikely. Then Lyra, of course, but... okay, her's was downright impossible. In fact, Apple Bloom had assumed it was simply made up to try and support Lyra's other crazy theories. Octavia and Vinyl? No, their stories intertwined as well. Wow, Apple Bloom thought, Ponyville really is full of some odd characters.

Wait, her own family! Nothing was more down to earth than the Apple Family. Granny Smith got her mark with... Oh, right, and then that leads to lightning-based apples, sapient squash, and singing to watering cans. And Big Mac... well, that one actually seemed plausible enough, unless you actually knew Big McIntosh yourself, in which case it was even less plausible than the squash.

"Okay, I give up, ah can't."

Babs nodded knowingly. "So I gots this theory, see. Cutie marks are magic, yeah, and getting them is one of the more magical parts in a pony's life. But before that, this cutie mark magic is just kinda runnin' around in their veins, all wild and untamed, like electricity in a storm cloud. It's all creativity and ideas and inspiration, but with no focus. When a pony finds her mark though, it's because she finally latched on to some thread of that, and pinned it down, and held onto it long enough."

"Like a rodeo."

"Yeah, like that. So when she holds on strong enough, when she rides the lighting and finds some focus, the magic kinda snaps into place, like a bolt from a cloud that's been grounded. That first connection is made, and all the rest of the energy comes pouring down the same path. It burns a mark of whatever pattern it was when it hits, but that pattern is there because that's the thread the pony herself chose to hold on to."

"I guess that makes as much sense as anything else ah heard."

"Right, so the way I sees it, putting a bunch of blank flanks together is like gathering storm clouds. The energy builds and builds, and while one cloud maybe didn't have enough to reach the ground, together, sometimes it works, and these bolts form, and maybe it's together, or maybe one cloud borrows a bit from another for a moment, but still makes it on its own. Anyway, point is a place like the CMC, well, there ain't no place in the world with the raw creative energy like we gots here. So, it's real easy to set off a spark. The tiniest nudge, and the cutie mark magic finds its way through."

Apple Bloom nodded, beginning to appreciate the analogy.

"So yeah," Babs continued. "It always seems impossible, like it came out of nowhere when it happens. But so do bolts of lightning when you don't realize you're in the middle of a storm."

"Ya know," Apple Bloom said, a warm smile crossing her face. "In all our years of crusadin', I don't reckon I ever thought much about what a cutie mark actually was, just knew I had to get mine, an' soon. Hearin' ya explain now, well... I'd say that's a downright beautiful analogy, Babs."

"Aww, shucks..." Babs said, imitating her cousin's country accent.

Not to be outdone, Apple Bloom countered, "Hey, don't makes me take it back, ya schmuck."

With a menacing giggle, Babs stuck out her tongue and made a raspberry. "Oh, you'll regret that, blank flank!" Apple Bloom said, as fair warning before she dove for a tackle. "Bring it, ya stick in the mud!" Babs responded.

Apple Bloom froze just as she was about to pounce, and found herself chuckling. "Okay, that one was pretty clever, so I'll give you a two second—" Before she could finish, "head start," Babs had already leapt at her. Both ponies grinned like little fillies as the wrestling match commenced.

----

CMC Headquarters.
One Month(-ish) Later.

The Ponyville Crusaders were in a small classroom, chatting amiably amongst themselves after another long day of attempted problem solving. Sweetie had been working steadily with several of the more magically adept and/or inclined crusaders, trying to resolve the exact thaumaturgical parameters of the obelisk. Meanwhile, Scootaloo had been alternating between the mechanical design teams, and the more general (usually pegasi) groups, who were brainstorming some more unorthodox ways to fly a multi-ton stone into space, in case the purely scientific approach failed. Apple Bloom was... well, she was just glad to not be doing whatever she'd been doing for a couple of hours and just talk with her friends.

The trio were interrupted by the sound of clattering, sliding hooves in the hallway. Looking up, a bright red mane slid around the corner and the filly attached to it rushed into the room.

"We did it!" Burning Sky exclaimed, her smile bright enough that it threatened to outshine even her mane. "It worked!"

She was followed a moment later by a much more sedate, but still grinning, Flurried Heart.

Apple Bloom turned to the pair, optimistic. "What, the bricks?"

"No, better!" Sky declared, holding up what looked like a pink piece of tattered blanket.

"What's that?" Scootaloo asked, not really aware of the project. "I thought AB said you were working on some kind of space brick."

"Yeah, but... then this happened!"

Apple Bloom looked toward Flurried Heart, who was still smiling, but took the prompt. "It's something we came up with together," he explained. "It's spun fibers made of—"

"Just let me show 'em!" Sky interrupted. "You, unicorn," she said, pointing at Sweetie Belle. "Make a candle or fire or something!"

Eyes rolling suspiciously toward Apple Bloom, as she knew this was somehow the mud golem's fault, Sweetie none-the-less couldn't resist the young mare's enthusiasm. She lit her horn, making a small, candle sized flame a couple of paces in front of her.

Burning Sky rushed forward, and stretched the weird blanket over the fire, revealing an ice cube that'd been wadded up within. As the ponies watched, the bottom of the blanket took on a darker hue, soot building on the fibers there, yet it didn't catch fire. More impressively, the ice cube on top seemed to be unscathed as well, melting only as slightly as one might expect for the room's temperature.

The longer Sky held the blanket over the flame, the more rapt the attention of the others became. After nearly a minute, Scootaloo finally broke the silence. "Okay Sweetie," she said, standing and walking toward the demonstration. "Very funny, you really had me going. I almost thought that was a real fire for a—" Her speech was interrupted as she'd reached toward the flame, only to recoil at the heat she had known couldn't actually be there.

"I'm as surprised as you are," Sweetie Belle said. "I assure you, I'm not faking this for them. I don't know how, but that blanket is blocking all the heat, and without any magic I can sense."

Burning Sky turned toward Flurried Heart, "See, I told you they'd be totally surprised!"

"Okay," Apple Bloom said. "I'm impressed. Can I take a look?"

Sky hoofed her the blanket. "Careful, it'll still be hot on the underside for a minute."

Apple Bloom ran her hoof over the material. It was loose, like unpressed felt, yet it wasn't made of any fiber she'd seen before. "What is it?"

"Glass!" Sky responded, her uncontrollable grin leading now to mild pronking. "It's nothing but glass!"

Apple Bloom bent and flexed the blanket. It was amazingly pliable and really felt nothing like the cold, brittle nature of glass she was used to. As she examined the fibers more closely though, they did have a sheen to them and a bit of translucency that seemed to bely their origin.

"Okay, someone want to clue me in here?" Scootaloo said. "How'd you make a fuzzy blanket out of glass?"

"Well, we were discussing—" Flurried Heart started, but was cut off yet again by the young mare.

"Cotton candy!" she exclaimed, her joyful pronking now orbiting Flurried Heart. "Show 'em! Show 'em!" she squealed.

"Show us what?" Sweetie Belle asked, seeing nothing else the two had brought.

Landing firm, as though the ground had suddenly become covered in glue, Sky pointed at the hock of the pegasus. There, on his blue coat, was a mark, showing a fluffy pink heart.

"Oh, congratulations!" Apple Bloom said, and her friends echoed the sentiment. "So tell us what happened."

"Well..." he began, then paused, looking suspiciously toward Burning Sky.

"What?" she said. "I totally can be quiet sometimes, you know."

The pegasus just rolled his eyes at the dubious statement, but continued. "We spent several weeks trying to treat clay bricks like soufflés, and while we made some progress, it wasn't going all that well. Bricks don't rise quite the same way. But a few days ago, we were taking a break, and Sky followed me into the kitchens. I wanted something sweet, and pulled out the cotton candy machine, figuring it was time to restock the snack bar anyway."

"Ooh, and then—" Sky cut herself short at a stern look. "I, uh mean, why don't you tell it."

"As I was saying, I'd pulled out the machine, and then started preparing the sugar for it. Sky saw me pouring a bunch of sugar into the pot to melt things, and commented 'That looks just like the sand and shards that go into glass.'"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle both smirked, the dots connecting in their heads. Scootaloo though, said the literal thing. "But sugar isn't pink!"

"Heh," Flurried Heart chuckled. "Nor is glass. But a little coloring makes it more appetizing, so we dye it."

"Wait, why would you want glass to be appetizing?"

"No, I meant the sugar."

"But why's the glass pink then?"

Flurried Heart rubbed his temples. It was like another Sky in the same room, and he wasn't sure if his patience could take it. "Sky?" he prompted. After all, why not fight fire with fire.

"Oh, so yeah! It's pink because it makes it show up easy. We kept losing it when it was mostly kinda clear white-ish invisibleness."

"But why pink?" Scootaloo said.

"I just said, to make it show up!"

"But why not some other color."

"Oh! Umm, because that's what coloring I had lying around from my sculpture project. It was going to be a Princess Cadence, rampant, after she flew and caught the crystal heart and snatched it from Sombra. The heart was why I wanted the multi-color glass-dropped-in-water look, as it'd be all the colors."

"Oh, cool!" Scootaloo finished simply. The entire exchange had taken only a couple of seconds, both ponies talking earnestly and quickly in a way that few, save Pinkie Pie herself, could. The rest of the ponies in the room felt just a tad woozy, like they'd been trying to follow a tennis match at supernatural speeds.

"So," Sweetie Belle ventured, after proper silence had a moment to pervade the room. "Do you think it'll work?"

Apple Bloom rubbed the sample between her hooves one more time. "It ain't what I was expectin' in the slightest, but... I reckon it just might do."

A subdued, yet high pitched tone of glee came from somewhere inside the black and red filly, and she resumed her pronking.

----

Meeting Hall, CMC Headquarters.
Three days later.

The hall was nearly full, with ponies of all ages and types milling about, talking excitedly in small, rapidly changing groups. It was loud, but the excited, interesting kind of loud you find at charity rallies, certain outdoor music festivals, and really good faculty parties.

Putting a hoof in her mouth, Babs Seed whistled loudly from her place behind the podium. The fervor in the room calmed down, and the ponies turned to face her.

"Alright blank flanks, listen up!" Her words, while offensive on the surface, seemed to hold nothing but respect in the ears of those listening. "We've been at this nearly a full season, and it's time to shake things up. As the saying goes, 'If at first you don't succeed, skydiving's probably not for you.'"

A few of the younger Crusaders chuckled.

"Yes, it's mostly a joke, but one with a very real grounding. If you've been trying the same thing repeatedly and without result, then it's probably not your special talent. Likewise, if you've been at the same problem for the past few months here, then now is the time to ask for help, or to give up and move onto something else."

There was a murmur of assent in the crowd. Most all of them had heard this speech before, as the Boss gave it every time she seemed to think things had fallen into a rut. A few had found it frustrating, being kicked off projects they thought they were doing well enough on, but most tended to focus on how there was always an uptick of "graduations" in the weeks following a shake up.

"So today," Babs continued, walking back and forth on the "stage" in an almost military fashion. "As we have a single project for most all of us, we're doing things a bit differently. This is important. It's about more than just finding your marks. So, instead of simply telling you all to move on and try something new, you get one last chance to beg for help if you think you're close. Come up here, explain your problem, and let's see if it resonates with any other pony. Who knows, the answer could be just waiting in this crowd!"

Sitting in the back, Sweetie Belle had to admire the leadership skills. Babs seemed, at close range, like the same pony they'd always known. But seeing her stand up in front of these hundreds of other ponies, taking charge and inspiring them, well that was something else. Sweetie looked to her side, catching Apple Bloom's gaze, and knew she was thinking the same thing. Then Scootaloo caught her eye as well, and she could swear, even the less-than-introspective pegasus must be feeling it too. Babs and these other ponies really were the actual Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three of them, well... they just happened to get the ball rolling, but were no more than the snowflake that started the avalanche.

"Okay, who's first?" Babs shouted, as her speech ended. Despite the enthusiasm of the crowd however, there was no rush to admit defeat. "Anypony?" Babs finally said. "Come on, I know some of yous guys need help."

There was a sound of small hooves, and a unicorn colt walked up to the stage. He looked very young, even by CMC standards.

"Well, hello there Rolling Thunder," Babs said, as she helped him onto the stage. "Don't be shy." The colt climbed up, and then turned to face the crowd. He was really far too young to be in the CMC, but his older brother had been coming frequently, and no one had seen a reason to object to the little brother tagging along. No harm in letting him speak now. In fact, it'd be good to encourage the more shy of the older ponies to do so as well.

"I..." he began, faltering at the sound of his own voice in the now silent room.

"It's okay," Babs whispered, kneeling beside him. "Go on."

"I've, uh, been trying to, uh... make bubbles of water, so fish can fly."

A few glances were exchanged in the crowd, but no pony said a word.

"But it doesn't seem to work. The fish fall out of the bubble, and land on the floor, and then they have to go back in the tank and rest so they don't get too tired before next time."

"And that's the problem you need help with?"

The colt nodded rapidly.

"Okay, everypony... any ideas how to make fish fly safely in water bubbles?"

The room was silent, so Babs picked up the slack. "Are you sure the fish want to fly?" she asked.

"Umm," Rolling Thunder answered. "I don't know."

"Well, why are you trying to make them fly?"

"So I can be friends with them!" the colt responded eagerly. "They're so pretty and if they're flying then I can see them up close and be with them!"

Smiling, Babs put a hoof on the colt's shoulder. "Well, maybe if you want to visit your friends, you should try going to their home, instead of making them come to yours."

The young colt's eyes lit up. "You mean, like... like make air bubbles I could go in, and maybe go underwater and see all the fish that way?"

"If you think you'd want to, it does seem like it might be easier. After all, lots of ponies like swimming, but I've never seen a fish learn to fly."

Smiling, Rolling Thunder turned and hugged Babs. "Thanks miss boss lady!" he said, before trotting off the stage.

"Alright, who's next?" Babs asked the crowd. "Come on, there are no dumb problems, only dumb ponies who don't ask for help."

A somewhat older stallion walked up to the stage, and began explaining the problems he was having developing a navigation method that didn't rely on ground-based position. A number of hooves went up as he asked for help, and ideas started flowing. Babs Seed wandered away from the stage and toward the back of the crowd. Now that the ball was rolling, she figured to let things take their course.

As she sat in the back, she listened, and in her own mind started cataloging the problems they still had to overcome if they had any chance of success. Space was hard. Really hard. And there were a lot of things to overcome if they were going to get up there and attack Nemesis on his own turf, but hearing some of the ideas spawning even now, gave her infinite hope that it wasn't only possible, but that it would actually happen.

Then Sweetie Belle took the stage.

Most of the assembled ponies had seen her around, but there were still a few hushed whispers at the sight of her metal paw. For her part, Babs was more worried about what intractable problems the unicorn's team had run into than her appearance. Sweetie had been decidedly non-committal in their conversations, expressing uncertainty about the magical portions of the plan and the obelisk, but nothing either confirming or denying the feasibility of the plan.

"So I'm afraid I have bad news," Sweetie Belle said. "As many of you know, we've been studying the obelisk recovered from Saddle Arabia, intending to use it as a conduit through which to attack Nemesis and the Hole. The studies have proved exceedingly difficult, as the device itself absorbs and nullifies magic. We have, however, finally determined what we believe are outside limits to its power, range, and functionality."

Yeah, Babs thought, this didn't sound good at all.

"Bottom line," Sweetie paused, then hung her head. "It's simply not enough. Even if we channeled as much spell energy into it as possible before the device itself imploded—and keep in mind we're still unsure how or even if we can generate that kind of energy—the effective thaumaturgical energy reaching the sun would be at least a full order of magnitude below what we estimate is necessary to penetrate the corona and reach the horizon of the Hole itself with even the most simplistic and robust spell."

Hooves shot up around the room, and Sweetie pointed to a mare near the front.

"But if even some of the energy reaches it, couldn't we fire repeatedly?" The mare asked. "Wear it down?"

"Good thought, but unfortunately that won't work. We need to deliver a coherent spell inside the aura... the horizon, of the Hole so that..." Sweetie noticed confusion on the mare's face, along with the faces of many others. "Okay," she said, "let me back up."

"So a quick primer on magical combat, and spells in general. First, know that there are two main components to a spell, at least in general analogy, though there's a lot of crossover when you get into the finer details." Sweetie shook her head, trying to avoid the tangent. "There is the spell energy, which is a sort of carrier wave or conveyance. This is the energy you see when powerful magic is cast. The second, and more important part, is the spell itself. This is, technically the same sort of energy, but woven and wound together in a kind of self-sustaining form. This is the part that 'does the thing' the spell is designed to do. It's the virus inside the needle."

Sweetie Belle surveyed the crowd again. Many unicorns were nodding, but most of the earth ponies and pegasi still had furrowed brows and tilted heads.

"Think of it like this," she tried. "What we're trying to build is a poisoned spear. The spear is the huge energy we're using to send the spell all the way to the sun. The poison is the spell itself. It's tiny, but if it gets through the defenses, it can defeat the whole thing. But if it doesn't get through the armor, then no matter how many times we poke, it doesn't do any good."

More heads were nodding now, so she continued. "Actually, it's worse than that. If we don't get through, then any magic that does reach the horizon gets absorbed, and actually makes Nemesis stronger. That's what the obelisks have been doing all this time, basically feeding raw magic to the Hole."

Another hoof went up, and Sweetie called on the colt it belonged to.

"But I heard you think there are more obelisks out there. Can we combine them somehow?"

"Great question," Sweetie said, "that's actually what we've been trying to work on most recently. Ignoring for a moment that we don't even know for sure where the others are, we do estimate we'd need at least two more. The problem is that, at the distances these devices are meant to operate, the thaumic wavelengths are huge."

"And..."

"And that means that to have them operate in phase with the proper harmonics, they need to be separated from each other by exactly a powers-of-nine multiple of that wavelength and a ninth-root of the distance to the target."

"In non-unicorn please!" Apple Bloom shouted from the back.

"Heh, sorry," Sweetie Belle said, blushing slightly. "I do tend to get caught up in the math. Which is pretty hairy, let me tell you. But the least common denominator of all that is something around forty miles."

"Space is huge!" Scootaloo offered. "We can place them a hundred miles across, or even a thousand!"

"Not if we want to keep them in sync. To even attempt this, we'd need some very complex runic structures connecting all three devices. The timing has to be perfect—we're talking less than a thousandth of a second in tolerances or even tighter. It'd be almost impossible for three separate unicorns to cast spells identical enough in the first place. Having them do so with sub-milisecond timing really would be impossible. And that's assuming a single unicorn could even cast a spell powerful enough on their own."

"Not even you?" Scootaloo said earnestly. Her friend was the most powerful unicorn she knew.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Sweetie smiled as she said it. "But yes, that's quite beyond me. I suspect not even the Queen in the height of her power could cast a spell strong enough. No, this will have to be a ritual casting of some kind involving many, many ponies, and we'll need a runic structure channeling it through all the devices simultaneously."

An earth pony near the middle of the crowd spoke up. "How big do these 'structures' have to be? And what do they have to be made of? I'm thinking maybe we could string wires between them or something?"

Sweetie Belle did some quick math in her head. "If we want to carry enough energy to maximize the devices' output potential, then it'd need to be roughly the same thaumic inductance as the obelisks themselves. That means... well if it was something with high load capacity like pure platinum, maybe twenty feet in diameter. If it was more typical metals or the obsidian of the things themselves, then it'd need to be almost the same diameter as the obelisks in order to carry the same potential."

"Well, never mind then." The earth pony said. "Forty miles of platinum as wide as a hallway. That sure isn't flying."

"Forty miles times three," Scootaloo corrected. "So, more weight than every building in all of Manehatten combined."

Every pony pondered that number for a second, and there was a nearly palpable drop in enthusiasm.

"So," a cheerful voice piped up. "All we have to do is figure out how to fly Manehatten into space?"

Sweetie looked down and saw Burning Sky grinning like an idiot at her, but the smile was rather infectious.

"Well, that, and locate the other obelisks, and find a way to generate enough energy to power this whole idea in the first place. Oh, and then figure out what kind of actual spell can defeat our foe in the first place."

"Well, yeah, duh! Of course those things. But if we can put a city in orbit, then those should be like, super easy by comparison, yeah?"

Sweetie chuckled, as did a few others. "Yeah, by that standard, I suppose they are. So, how do we go about doing that first one then?"

Burning Sky made a show of thinking hard for a moment, her red mane falling away from her eyes as she tilted her head and scrunched her eyebrows in feigned thought. "No idea!" she cheerfully concluded. "But this time last week, I had no idea you could make an ice cube fireproof with cotton candy made out of glass either!"

Near the back of the room, Apple Bloom leaned over toward Scootaloo. "Her enthusiasm remind you of anypony?" she whispered, thinking back to how the pegasus always dragged her and Sweetie into the most ridiculous things, just with how excited she was to try them.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Scootaloo said. "She squeaks just like Sweetie Belle used to when she got excited."

"Or there's that."

Babs Seed, not too far away, overheard the two, and chuckled slightly. Apple Bloom herself had been known to be overly enthusiastic as well, plenty of times. She supposed every pony is just a bit blind to their own self in some ways. Still though, at least they were all smiling thanks to Sky's rather infectious enthusiasm.

The idea itself was even a bit comical, just imagining an island full of ponies floating in the black of space, rather than the blue of the ocean, the light of the moon showing confused faces as they struggled to figure out which way was up and which was down. The... Wait a minute.

Babs rewound her thoughts and the other problems she'd cataloged from the meeting. It really would all be pretty easy to solve if they could just put Manehatten in space. Building a 40-mile wide runic structure would be no more difficult than the typical city works project. Exact positioning would be as easy as surveying and grading a road or the cornerstone of a building. There'd be plenty of room for all the casters needed for any rituals, and even places for everypony to sleep and eat while working. It'd all be so easy if they just had a city in space. But flying an island into orbit would be impossible, no matter how big the engines they tried to make. And it's not like there was any land they could just stake a claim on and start building. Space was just that, space. Empty. Nothing up there but the stars, the sun, and...

Babs Seed felt her eyes go wide, as her mind ran a million miles an hour looking for the catch. No, it'd work. Well, it just might work, but... but... no... it could actually work! She dashed to the front of the room and up on stage.

"The moon!" Babs shouted, her face full of a manic excitement like few had ever seen. "We build it on the moon!" She dashed off stage and dragged a rolling chalkboard back with her, and started sketching. "We put the obelisks in formation on the far side of the moon, then we can connect them with whatever scale of runic structure we need to."

Sweetie, still on stage and a bit surprised, felt her own smile growing. "Yes, of course! Lunar basalt is actually a pretty decent substrate. Not quite obsidian, but I've worked with far worse!"

"And we can tunnel!" a voice shouted from the crowd. Eyes turned toward a red colt, and several saw a twinkle as a mark with a pickaxe appeared on his flank. "We can tunnel between them and put runes in the tunnels. It'll be hard work and take time, but we'll have air to work in that way."

"Yes!" Another voice shouted. "It'll be slow, but we can build all the stuff we need underground. We can even grow food there!" There was a twinkle, and a domed greenhouse appeared on her flank.

"Right," Babs said, rejoining the thread. "And then we tunnel though the moon!" She sketched tunnels going around the moon to the near, planet-facing side, and converging on another structure there. "To the receiver!"

There was another twinkle in the crowd, and a dark green unicorn mare spoke up. "The ritual! We can have it here on the ground, when the moon is right overhead. We can't hit the sun from the ground, but we can hit the moon! And then structures there will amplify and focus it into the sun!"

There were more flashes of light, and several ponies spoke up simultaneously.

"The runes could—"

"If we place lines between—"

"—then we just have to—"

Those involved quickly congregated and were soon talking hurriedly amongst themselves.

"But we're talking months if not years of work," Babs said to the remaining crowd, as more flashes of light pinged from the ponies talking rituals. "We'll be trying to live there."

"We'll need plumbing." A young mare said, her face set in a very determined grin. "Space plumbing!" A twinkle and then there was a pipe wrench with strange, floating rings hovering around its grip.

"And space toilets!" A colt said from not too far away. The two locked eyes, and there was a flash, resulting in what could only be described as a "space toilet" appearing on his flank. They dashed off to a corner where, a pony presumed, the pair proceeded to plan proper plumbing.

A few minutes later—which felt like either seconds or days, depending upon your perspective— Babs turned away from the chalkboard, and surveyed the room. The twinkles and flashes had slowed to one every few minutes now, and more and more ponies had joined into groups and started excitedly and earnestly discussing plans for building a city on the moon, or as it seemed many were already calling it, "The Manehatten Project."

Babs could feel the raw magic of creativity permeating the room. It was... well, it was more fantastic than her wildest dreams. It was like she'd told Apple Bloom, all this energy, pent up, seeking a way out, and then that slightest spark, and the storm began. It was a Cutie Mark Cascade, unlike anything the world had probably ever seen before. She estimated at least half the ponies in the room had gotten their marks in the past twenty minutes.

But it wasn't just numbers that had made it so amazing. Nor was it the sheer joy and excitement radiating from all the new graduates. It was more than that as well. It was the new marks. There were a lot of cutie marks in the world, but for some reason, a vast number of them tended to be shared, or at least share some common iconography. For example, there were a huge number of marks with musical notes in them, Sweetie Belle's included. There were also large numbers of hearts, plenty of gems, and almost all tools were represented strongly too. The number of tinkerers, repairponies, mechanics, and similar who had a screwdriver or maybe a slide rule in their marks was staggering. But to the best of her knowledge—and Babs conceded without ego that she may be the most knowledgeable pony ever on the subject—there'd never before been a mark with a rocket engine in it. Now there were at least three in this very room. Likewise, the odd "space wrench" mark she'd directly seen manifest, as well as at least a half dozen other genuinely new symbols and concepts she'd seen.

Lastly, and this was the most curious part of all, was that the marks seemed to pay no attention at all to tribe. There were pegasi now bearing runes, stars, flames or other magic symbols, as well as foods, flowers, and tools normally found with earth ponies. Then there were unicorns with wings and rainbows and other weather, as well as plants and even animals. And then there were earth ponies with any mix of the above.

Nowhere was this contrast more stark than with Burning Sky, whose mark seemed to embody all three traditions. On the earth filly's night-black flank was now emblazoned the chromatic form of a glass pony rising ascendant. The pose was one echoed frequently, being similar to Celestia's own silhouette during the Summer Sun celebration. This radiant figure rose not before the sun however, but before the crescent moon, and she did so on wings made of pure, bright flame.

Looking over the room again, Babs Seed sighed in contentment and put down her chalk. It'd probably take the next few weeks just to catalog and record all the breakthroughs happening around her, and even longer to chronicle the actual details of each mark. She noted a few ponies in particular she wanted to talk to first though, Sky included, before Apple Bloom sidled up next to her.

"Quite a show ya just put on there, cuz." Apple Bloom said. "It always this hectic?"

"Heh, I wish."

"I've never seen so many ponies get their marks before."

Apple Bloom noticed Babs glance subtly at her own flank. "I saw that," she said.

"What?"

"I'm sorry you still didn't get yours."

"Oh that..." Babs let out another sigh, and gave up the facade. "You know, just for a moment, I almost thought it might be possible again. That maybe, just maybe, I'd end up with some mark for a city on the moon, or at least, a mark for getting everypony else their marks." Babs put on a weak smile.

"I'm sorry, cuz. Ya know I'd do anything to help if I could."

"I know, AB. And for what it's worth, thanks."

Apple Bloom just nodded.

"You know," Babs said. "It's still pretty exciting, whether I got my own mark or not."

"Ah think you might be understatin' things a mite bit."

Turning to her cousin, Babs grinned and started laughing a bit. "Holy crap, AB, we're gonna build a friggin' city on the friggin' moon! How crazy is that!?"

"Well Babs, what can ah say?" Apple Bloom gave a lopsided grin. "Welcome to Thursdays at the CMC!"
> Chapter 8: Departures
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8: Departures

CEO Office, Rich Industries, Manehatten.
Six weeks after the Cutie Mark cascade.

Sweetie Belle stood nervously in the foyer. It was taking most of her willpower to avoid pacing, even though pacing—with the loud echo of hooves and the clink of her metal paw on marble—made things even more oppressive. The place was just so cold, she thought, with its high stone walls and ceilings, dark wood furniture and accents. The lighting didn't help either; yellowed glass lamps casting a sickly hue on everything inside, and no windows to be seen. It was, Sweetie felt, more like a mausoleum than a place of business. But, she chided herself, that metaphor was perhaps a bit too apt.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the secretary, whose quiet voice none-the-less echoed through the empty hall. "You can go in now." She nodded toward the massive double doors to the right of her desk. Sweetie went through.

Inside, the lighting was improved, if not the decor. Massive floor-to-ceiling windows lined the far wall of the office, providing views looking down upon the entire skyline of Manehatten, but the marble-and-mausoleum motif otherwise continued. Centered between the windows was a great oaken desk, belonging to the new CEO of the company.

"Sweetie, it's good to see you!" Diamond Tiara said, standing up and walking around her desk. "I'd heard you were in town, but..." The pink mare's eyes looked to the floor. "Well, I've been rather... busy."

Sweetie nodded in sympathy, "I was so sorry to hear about your father. He was..." She searched for the words.

"A good pony?" Diamond said with a bit of a sneer.

Sweetie nodded again, though that wasn't really all she wanted to say.

"Ha," Diamond snorted. "Lying doesn't look good on you, Sweetie."

Taken by surprise, Sweetie tried to recover. "Well, he was at least—"

"He was my father," Diamond cut her off. "That's enough, I think. At least, I tell myself it has to be."

"In any case, I truly am sorry," Sweetie Belle stepped forward and hugged Diamond Tiara.

"Thank you Sweetie," Diamond said, stepping out of the hug a moment later. "Sorry for snapping, it's just... just so many ponies have been saying those same platitudes, and none of them even had a clue who he was."

"I suppose I didn't really know him that well either, but I do know he loved you, at least in his own way."

"If that's true, he had a funny way of showing it."

"You mean spoiling you rotten as a filly?" Sweetie gave a soft smile.

Diamond thought back to when she was little and first received her cutie mark. Her father had thrown her the biggest party she could've asked for, with more sweets than could be eaten, and more presents than she knew what to do with. He really had tried so hard to make her happy on her special day, even if he didn't know how to do more than buy her things. She smiled remembering that father from years ago, so different than the bitter old stallion that she'd been fighting and arguing with until a few months ago.

"I guess he did love me once upon a time," Diamond admitted. "But somehow..." She began to sniffle. "Somehow it all went wrong."

"Oh Diamond, I'm so sorry."

"He used to be a good pony... I think. But something changed in him by the end. He didn't care about anything except profits and quarterly reports, and he was always yelling at everypony all the time."

"Even you?"

"Especially me!" Diamond shouted. "And apparently," she continued, before dropping the volume a notch "I got in the habit of yelling back."

Unsure what to say, Sweetie just gave a warm smile, hoping Diamond would find it reassuring. When the other mare met her eyes a moment later, she was glad to see Diamond smiling back, even though the corners of her eyes were glistening with the threat of tears. Before either could say anything further however, they were interrupted by the sound of hooves clacking on the marble behind them.

"Di, honey, is something wrong?" Silver Spoon asked, a note of worry in her voice as she entered the room.

Sighing, Diamond Tiara turned to face Silver. "No, it's fine. I just started talking about father again."

Silver Spoon trotted over to Diamond and leaned against her as she set a small pile of letters on the desk. "You have to stop letting him get to you, honey."

"I know, I know," Diamond said. "I just... I hate him for how he was, then I hate him for being gone, and now I hate me for hating him. I don't know how to stop."

"You'll figure it out," Silver said, giving Diamond a quick kiss on the cheek. "Because I know I didn't fall in love with a quitter."

"Thanks, babe," Diamond muttered, blushing. "I love you too."

"She's cute when she's flustered, isn't she?" Silver Spoon looked toward Sweetie Belle as she spoke, finally acknowledging the other pony's presence.

Sweetie wasn't quite sure how to respond, faced as she was by one blushing mare, and another grinning impishly. Yep, no good answer. Time for impressions. "As my good friend Apple Bloom would say, 'I ain't touchin' that one with a ten-foot polecat.'"

"Ha!" Silver let out a quick bark of a laugh. "You sound just like her."

"Thanks?"

"Seriously though," Silver said, going over to Sweetie and initiating a hug, "It's great to see you."

"You too. Just sorry it's not under better circumstances."

Silver Spoon nodded. "But we persevere." There was a moment of weighted silence, then Silver spoke again, with a more chipper note. "But how have you been? I don't think we've seen you since... well, since the wedding!"

"Has it really been that long?" Sweetie asked, frantically trying to remember something more recent and failing. "I guess it has."

"Time flies, doesn't it?" Silver said, then turned to wink at Diamond. "Especially when you're in love."

Diamond Tiara blushed yet again, and Sweetie felt the ghost of a smile on her own face, but it was short lived. "Well, I'm glad you two are so happy. Especially in spite of..." The smile faded. " ...things. I wanted to say I am so, so sorry! I'm sorry for... for..."

"It's not your fault," Silver assured her.

"But..."

Sweetie knew what she wanted to say. That it was her fault. She wanted to say she was sorry she'd let Filthy Rich die. She hadn't known at the time, of course, but it was still her fault. The fact was that she'd not been good enough, that she'd not been strong enough that day in Fillydelphia, and so many ponies had died because of it. But she couldn't get the words out. Or rather, she was afraid that if she did, then all the others would escape her mouth as well, her whole being exiting between her teeth as the guilt at so many lives lost ate her from the inside out.

"Rubbish!" Silver Spoon said. "We know you had other things to worry about. We'd all be dead if it wasn't for you and the others. At least you stopped Nemesis that day, even if you couldn't save every pony."

Logically, Sweetie Belle knew that was true. They'd done their best, and that's all anypony could expect; but in her heart, she felt the weight of all those lives the volcano and the other chaos had taken before she and the others had arrived. They could've flown faster, they could've left sooner, they could've been smarter... the list was endless.

"Stop it!" Silver Spoon said.

"What?" Sweetie asked, jolted out of her own thoughts.

"I can see you blaming yourself, even if you aren't saying it directly. So, like you told me all those years ago: Just stop it!"

Now Sweetie felt a genuinely warm smile growing on her muzzle as she realized her own advice was being turned back on her. She remembered when she'd been consoling Silver about her own mother's passing, and how the filly had kept blaming herself.

She'd heard of the technique from Fluttershy. Feeling afraid of something for no reason? "Stop it!" Worried about things you can't control? "Stop it!" Blaming yourself when it's not your fault? "Stop it!" So she'd yelled that at Silver one day, and it had jarred her enough that—when she recovered from the shock—she'd actually laughed for the first time in months. Now here was the grown mare, smiling and happy, trying to jar her out of her own spiral of blame. So she did her best, and just decided to stop it!

"Thanks, Silver," Sweetie said.

"Just paying it forward," Silver said. "But now... surely you didn't come here just to apologize for saving the world. What's up?"

Ah yes, that, Sweetie thought. How does one ask for something on that scale? She'd been trying to think how to phrase it for the better part of a week now, and still nothing eloquent had come to mind.

"Umm..." Sweetie hazarded. "I kinda need to borrow your company."

Diamond Tiara quirked an eyebrow, awaiting further explanation.

"I imagine," Silver Spoon said. "This has something to do with saving the world yet again?"

"Oh, yes, definitely!" Sweetie felt her voice squeak in a way it had rarely done since her childhood. "Totally a good cause here."

"Okay," Diamond Tiara said, motioning to some chairs around a low table in the far corner. "Let's hear it."

The three sat down, and Silver Spoon poured drinks from a crystal decanter set nearby. Sweetie Belle began to explain. "Well, we need to build an underground city on the moon by this time next year." 

As is the rule in such situations, this was uttered just as Diamond took her first sip. "You can't be serious," she finally managed a moment later as she wiped the spewed beverage off her chin.

Diamond looked at Sweetie, whose expression was uncharacteristically dour in the face of such shenanigans. Diamond sighed. "No," she sighed. "Of course you're serious."

"Very much so," Sweetie said. "We think it's the only way to fix the sun."

"Wait," Silver said. "First off, didn't you guys already save the world? I mean, sure, magic's a little weaker now, but... Well, far be it from me to criticize royalty, but the days and nights are actually rather more predictable than when the Queen and Princess were in charge."

She had a fair point, Sweetie thought. It seemed that Celestia and Luna did get involved in some sort of fiasco at least once every few years that completely disrupted the solar cycle for all the rest of the world. But Silver didn't know the full story.

"Sadly, that's only a temporary fix."

"But," Diamond said. "The news reports all said the orbital system was stable and we had nothing to worry about."

Sweetie simply gave her a look. Diamond knew better than to trust the official line.

"Okay, how bad is it?" Diamond finally asked.

"We've got a couple of years at best. Nemesis grows stronger, siphoning magic off the world. If he breaks free again, I doubt he'll be as foolish as he was last time, and will skip the taunting and toying in favor of direct annihilation."

Looking at each other, Silver and Diamond frowned, then turned back to Sweetie. "Okay," Silver said. "Second thing... Who's this 'we' you mentioned? You, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom?"

"And the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

Diamond gave Silver a knowing look. "Hey," Silver said. "I warned you what happens if you give a mouse a cookie."

The dots connected in Sweetie Belle's mind. "It was you!" she proclaimed. "You're the ones funding the CMC!"

Silver Spoon gave a mischievous grin and shrugged.

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes and shook her head at the feigned ignorance. "Yeah, it's us. I saw an article on what Babs had been doing for local foals, and started sending her some donations. When my... when I took over, one of the first things across my desk was a real estate liquidation for an old dockworks we'd had that was obsolete. We were just going to dump it at a loss, but I saw a picture, and remembered how much I would've loved to have a clubhouse like that as a filly. I figured Babs could put it to better use than any other pony that might buy it."

Grinning, Sweetie said, "You have no idea!"

She went on to explain about the Cutie Mark Cascade and the plan they'd concocted to build a base on the moon, recover the obelisks, and hit Nemesis where it hurt. The ponies spent an hour or more going over the details that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had figured out, as well as the giant gaps that they hadn't. When it was all done, Diamond leaned back from the table and the sketches they'd hastily made of things.

"So," she said. "All you need is for me to turn the entire might of Rich Industries' manufacturing capability toward building infrastructure for use on the moon. Infrastructure that is, for all intents and purposes, absolutely useless and commercially worthless anywhere on the actual ground."

"That's pretty much the size of it," Sweetie Belle said, then amended. "Oh, and I need a ship!"

"A ship?"

"For an arctic expedition. We need to retrieve the relic we believe is hidden somewhere in the tundra north of the Caribou nations."

"Sure! A ship as well. Why not! Take two while you're at it!" Diamond leaned back and rubbed her eyes. "You know this will basically bankrupt the entire company, right?"

Frowning grimly, Sweetie nodded. "The royal treasury is willing to pay what they can, but... yeah, switching all those factories over to produce things you can't sell. It's a big ask, I know."

Letting out a sigh, Diamond closed her eyes and rested her head in her forehooves.

"Come on, honey," Silver Spoon said, leaning in to nuzzle her wife encouragingly. "You know you're not going to say no, so just get on with it."

"I know!" Diamond said, a bit more forcefully than she intended. "But... Look, I just buried my father a few months ago, or what was left of him. I know he wasn't that great of a pony, but business—this business—was the one thing he did excel at. Destroying that... it's like... I don't know, burying him all over again." She stood up and started walking toward the desk across the room. "Just give me a few minutes, okay?"

While Diamond paced in the far reaches of the room, Sweetie and Silver watched the sun go down over Manehatten.

"Quite a view, isn't it?" Silver said after a moment of silence.

"It's lovely," Sweetie replied. "I can't believe I've never been up here before."

"Well, it took some years for that old plan to come to fruition. Rich Industries only bought this tower about two years ago. Mostly thanks to all the money your Equium deal brought them."

"And what about your part?"

"Oh, I've got the biggest candy cane company running! It's nothing compared to this, of course, but I'm happy to do my part. Thank you, by the way, for letting me."

"It was Apple Bloom really."

"I know, but... I know if you'd said no, she would've too. So thank you both... thank you all for trusting me and Diamond back then. It's hard for her to admit, but she really is grateful too, you know."

"I understand. It has to be a rough time for her."

"Very much so. She's really, for the most part, quite happy and cheerful, so please don't hold her current mood against her."

Sweetie gave a smile and nodded as she took a sip of her drink. The fizzy cucumber water was one of those small luxuries that only ever appeared in places like this; a grand office, a fancy ball, or, she smiled to think, her sister's boutique. No pony ever offered you cucumber water at a normal restaurant, and it certainly wasn't something one just kept around the house for when you were thirsty. Why was that? she thought. It's not like cucumbers—or fizzy water—were expensive, yet somehow the combination seemed reserved only for the rich. Strange.

Noticing the unicorn staring into her drink with an odd expression, Silver ventured "I know, I don't like it much either. Give me a good cup of coffee any day!"

"Coffee?" Sweetie said, always having pegged the earth pony for a good cuppa.

Silver Spoon nodded. "And not the fancy kind either. Just bottom-of-the-pot, cheap, train station cafe dregs! Nothing better!"

Sweetie chuckled. "You learn something new every day," she said. "Silver Spoon prefers the greasy spoon. Who would've thought?"

Silver leaned in. "Just don't go spreading it around," she said in a stage whisper. "Have to keep up appearances and all for the wife, ya know?"

Hoof moving across her mouth, Sweetie zipped her lip, just as Diamond returned.

"Hey babe, what's this?" she said, holding out a letter.

Turning to look, Silver explained, "Letters I picked up on the way over here."

"But this one's from Fillydelphia. And I've never heard of this pony." She pointed to the return address. "I told you to throw out all those stupid letters."

"What letters?" Sweetie asked.

Silver Spoon shook her head and explained. "Ever since Filthy Rich passed, the company has been inundated with letters for Diamond, all claiming to have known him, or be in a half-finished deal, that he owes money, or any other number of things."

"Vultures circling," Diamond added. "Hoping to get a piece of the carcass while things are still a bit chaotic. Which is why I told her to toss them all out." She gave Silver a strong glare, as if trying to bore through to her intent.

"But that one didn't come to the company," Silver said. "That's mail I picked up from home. Most ponies wouldn't know that address."

"Great!" Diamond threw her front hooves up in the air. "Now they've figured out our home address! Fan-bucking-tastic!" She moved to toss the letter into the trash, but Silver snagged it from her hoof.

"Hang on!" Silver Spoon said. "Let's just see what it says.”

Diamond just glared at her.

Ignoring her wife's burning gaze, Silver quickly skimmed the letter. "You're going to want to read this," she said after a moment. "Trust me."

Diamond Tiara huffed as she yanked the letter out of Silver's outstretched hoof, but turned away and began to read it, rather than bin it.

Sweetie couldn't help herself. She didn't want to interrupt, but... "What's it say?"

Diamond turned back, a tear in the corner of her eye, and she thrust the letter into Sweetie's hooves. "Here," she sniffled. "You read it. I can't."

Sweetie took the letter in her aura and straightened it out in front of her. She noticed that it was rather worn looking, with smudged spots on it, and some definite water damage. The envelope even had one of those postal service stickers that let you know they'd lost and then recovered it from who knows where. Still though, it seemed to be legible enough, so she cleared her throat, and read the letter aloud.

----

Dear Diamond Tiara,

You don't know me, but my name is Autumn Leaf. I was living in Fillydelphia with my two foals the day your father died, and was likely the last pony to see him alive.

It had been a day like most any other. While we'd heard about the other attacks by Nemesis, they were all so far away. Sometimes, I guess we get used to disaster in the news, as there's always some tragedy unfolding for ponies somewhere. You just never think it's going to be you. But that day it was.

I was home with my children that afternoon, thankfully. My youngest, Starshine, he was in his room coloring. My older daughter, New Leaf, was down the street at her friend's apartment. When the shaking started, we weren't really sure what to do. We're not exactly in a major earthquake zone. I rushed upstairs and grabbed Starshine, and got under the doorframe like they tell you. It stopped a moment later, and I wandered into the street to see what was going on.

That's when I saw it. Just on the edge of the city was a massive volcano, spewing lava into the sky. How something that large can just appear is... well, nothing is impossible with magic I suppose, but as an earth pony, it seemed like it must be impossible. I think I must've just stood there, transfixed for I don't know how long. Then one of the plumes of lava—or some sort of fireball anyway—well, it exploded out of the top of the thing and hurtled straight toward us. I didn't even realize it at first. Things that large, they seem so slow, and you think it can't possibly reach you. But then...

The end of the block just exploded. I was knocked off my hooves, and ponies closer were thrown past me even. There was debris everywhere, and just... just chaos. There's no other way to put it. What had been a nice day was suddenly this horrid landscape of fire and ash and smoke. I turned and saw that my little Starshine was safe, poking his head out of the front door of our apartment building. I yelled at him to stay there, and ran down the street, hoping that my daughter was safe.

I got to the building and it was right at the edge of things. The impact had flattened everything from the next building on down. Everything was on fire, and there was lava starting to ooze up out of the crater where it'd hit, setting more things on fire. I looked up toward the third floor balcony, where my daughter's friend lived. Normally I'd just shout up at her when it was time to come home for dinner, rather than go all the way up the stairs. Lots of shouting moms in that neighborhood around dinnertime, actually. I shouted, and saw two ponies lean over the railing, my daughter and her friend.

I was about to run into the building when the ground shook again. This time, I wasn't so lucky. The remnants of the building behind me collapsed, and it's not like it is in the stories. You don't have time to run. Bricks just rained down and I was half-buried before I could even take a breath. Miraculously though, I was still alive. I cried and I screamed out for help through the choking dust, hoping that somehow my children were still safe.

I don't know how long I screamed. It felt like ages, but couldn't have been more than a minute or two in reality. I heard scrabbling, and realized the crushing weight was getting lighter, though every movement of the stone was agony on my broken ribs. I couldn't do anything but scream. A moment later, I felt fresh air and saw the face of a pony, your father, digging me out. He got me clear a couple of minutes later, and once the pain subsided enough for me to get in more than the faintest gasp of breath I asked about my daughter.

He leaned in close, trying to hear me better, so I pointed up at the balcony with my hoof, and he looked and saw the two fillies, and the fear in their eyes. "My daughter," I gasped. "Save her. Please."

He nodded, and I saw him going into the building as I tried to stand. My back leg was crushed entirely, and my ribs were broken as well. I managed to get my other hooves under me, and started limping toward the building myself, but with my injuries, couldn't make it over the fallen bricks in the doorway before he returned.

When he did, he was burned very badly on one side of his body. The fur was gone entirely, and singed, red flesh was all that could be seen on half his flank. Still though, he had my daughter and her friend with him, and they only had a few bruises. He put his shoulder against the hock of my bad leg to take the weight, and helped me back to the safer end of the street.

"Thank you!" I cried. "Thank you so, so much! How can I ever repay you!"

He shook his head no, and just asked. "What're your daughters' names?"

"New Leaf," I said, nodding toward my child.

"And her?" Indicating the other filly.

"That's my daughter's friend..." I felt like such an awful mother at that point, as I'd forgotten the filly's name. She was one of New Leaf's newer friends, but still, a mother should know these things, and I didn't.

"My name is Tail Wind," she said, sniffling a bit, but trying to be polite.

"And where's your mother?" Filthy Rich asked.

The little one raised a shaky hoof and pointed back toward the building they'd come from.

Filthy Rich look forlorn as he stared back toward the destruction. Then he turned to me, handed me his wallet, and said "My own daughter is named Diamond Tiara. All the addresses and stuff are in here. Please let her know that I tried."

He turned and trotted—as much as he could with the seared pain on his flank—back toward the burning buildings to go search for Tail Wind's mother.

I saw him just enter the building through the thick smoke in the distance, and then everything exploded in another impact.

Starshine, who'd waited exactly where I told him for once, came running out the moment I called, and I took him and the two girls away from the destruction and into the city.

I'm very sorry I'm only writing to you now, nearly two weeks later, but I've been told the mail service won't resume until at least the end of the month anyway. We went back for the first time today, to see if there was anything to salvage from the apartment. Nothing much was left. The entire block was pretty much flattened, the only exception was the lower two floors of our building on the very far end, right where Starshine had been hiding. I count myself amazingly fortunate for that, but also for meeting your father. He saved my little girl, her friend, and me as well. I know that can never make up for the loss you must be feeling, but I hope it might at least bring you some comfort to know he didn't die in vain.

I've enclosed a photograph of the family he saved. Oh yes, did I mention, I'm working to adopt Tail Wind. There were... well, there are a lot of new orphans here lately, and while I know I can't replace her mother, at least she can start off with a friend close by.

As for the photo, I hope it might be some consolation for you to see it, but if it's heartbreak instead, feel free to destroy it. Either way, you have our eternal and heartfelt gratitude.

May your life be long, and full of joy,
--Autumn Leaf, Starshine, New Leaf, and Tail Wind

----

Finishing the letter, Sweetie Belle pulled the photograph out of the envelope behind it. There was an older earth pony mare in the center, with a pale red coat and orange mane. She had a cast on her back leg, and bandages around her middle. In front of her was a small red colt, a pink earth pony filly, and similarly aged, grey-coated filly. Sweetie looked from the photo to the two mares across from her, and couldn't help but wonder if Filthy had seen a bit of his own daughter and her friend when he'd looked up at the scared youngsters on that balcony.

Diamond Tiara had tears running down the fur of her cheeks as she pushed out of the tight hug Silver Spoon had been giving her. She turned toward Sweetie Belle with a fierceness in her eyes the unicorn would never forget. "Fuck the company," she said, her voice preternaturally calm.  "Take whatever you need and go get that bastard."
> Chapter 9: The Donner Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9: The Donner Party

Rich Industries Ship, Little Diamond, Great Eastern Sea.
Seven weeks later. (Eleven months after The Hole.)

The Rich Industries ship, Little Diamond, cut through the ice-pack like her name implied she would. The vessel was equipped with two of the latest Equuium fueled boilers, each driving a massive, steerable azipod/propeller combination, which could thrust independently in any direction. The bow of the ship, like most ice-breakers, was shaped to lift itself onto the ice, letting the weight of the ship crush downward to make a clear channel. There was one major improvement the Diamond had over typical ice-breakers though, and that was a trace amount of Equuium in the hull's alloy. It wasn't much, but it would keep the metal of the ship's exterior at least slightly above freezing, even in frigid arctic waters. This meant the Diamond could actually stop and anchor in the most hostile of conditions, and not be in danger of becoming ice-locked.

Sweetie Belle trotted to the port railing and scanned the horizon. Same as yesterday. She couldn't make out much of anything, save the white icebergs, gray sea, and even grayer sky. They were headed north, well into the arctic, and the weather was doing them no favors. Not that the pegasi had ever had much control over the great eastern sea even in the best of times, but since The Hole, the region was nearly uninhabitable... at least to anything living.

Sweetie shivered, less at the cold than at the thought of Windigoes and other malevolent spirits purported to roam the northern wastes. Now they were headed straight into it, and at the rate their progress had been slowing, she expected the captain to call it quits any day now, leaving their party to continue on hoof.

A voice sounded out through the wind, "Hey Sweetie!"

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. Of course it'd be Blitzen. The young Caribou seemed to always be talking, even when he didn't have anything to say. Sweetie turned and put on her best—if slightly tired—smile. "Hi Blitzen, what's up?"

"Donner told me you'd be out here!"

Of course she did, Sweetie thought. If there's one thing more predictable than Blitzen's ever-chattering nature, it was his sister's careful steering of it away from herself. "Well, I did say 'I'm going to get some fresh air', so it wasn't exactly a secret."

"Oh yeah, right! Well still, glad I found you!"

"Why's that?"

"The captain says the ice is thickening pretty quickly in the past few hours. He doesn't think we'll be able to go much further. He wants you and the others to come look at potential landfalls."

A helpful message? Sweetie thought. Maybe the colt—was that the right word for a Caribou? Well, maybe he wasn't entirely useless after all. Of course, she had to hope so. His participation in the expedition had been one of Gunnar's non-negotiable requirements. After the Little Diamond had docked in Hartholm, and they'd explained their mission, the Caribou Chieftain had taken Sweetie Belle aside and confided in her his concerns about his children.

It seemed that Donner, whom Gunnar had assumed his successor, well... she wanted no part in leadership of their people. Blitzen, however, was almost too eager. Not power hungry, but just "young and naive" in Gunnar's words. If his son was to take over as Chieftain, he wanted the boy to have some real—and dangerous—experience under his hooves. So while the Chieftain was happy to give the party everything he could in terms of support, including the (voluntary) assistance of Donner, it came with the caveat that they must take Blitzen as well.

Sweetie could see the logic in Gunnar's idea, and it was, frankly, a small request compared to the material and logistical assistance the Caribou were providing, but... well it didn't help that the kid still seemed to have a crush on her, despite the fact that they'd only been around each other for one Hearthwarming many years ago.

"Okay," Sweetie said to Blitzen. "I'll go round up the others. Tell the captain we'll be there in ten."

Blitzen gave a mock salute and flashed a smile her way before bounding off toward the bridge. When everyone else on board seemed so dour, the kid was at least cheerful, she thought. Though that naive enthusiasm was probably why she kept thinking of him as "the kid" in the first place, despite the fact that he was barely a year younger than herself.

Sweetie took one last glance at the gray horizon, then headed below decks to find the rest of the party.

She found most of them in the ship's small rec/dining room off the galley. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were playing chess across one of the tables, with Discord snuggled up next to Fluttershy, watching. Judging from the animated pieces, and the strained aura around Dash's horn, it seemed the game was doubling as another magic lesson for the two ponies as well. Fluttershy had been, unsurprisingly, reluctant to come on the trip, but with the uncertainty about what sort of magics they might be facing, Sweetie had convinced her to join. Very few things could counter the chaotic magic Discord had transferred to her. Dash, while not yet adept at magic, was still Dash, and well... no pony was going to convince her to miss out on an epic adventure.

Off against the far wall, Donner was curled up on the sofa, hooves tucked under herself as she read a book. She was always reading it seemed, and Sweetie found it hard to reconcile the quiet and reserved nature of the caribou with her massive size. While not as big as her father, Gunnar, Donner never-the-less stood a full head higher than anyone else on the trip, including her brother. Her antlers gave her another foot and a half above that, and meant she had to duck under nearly every door. Discord was technically "taller," Sweetie Belle supposed, but the draconequus seldom stood fully upright, and was always slouching, curling, or twisting in some way that belied his actual height. But even if he was taller, he was still smaller by all other counts. He certainly didn't make the couch bow when he sat on it... though he probably had made a couch into a bow at some point.

"Hi guys," Sweetie called, by way of announcing herself. "Seems we're about as far north as we can get to by boat." All eyes turned toward her as she continued. "The captain wants us up on the bridge in a few minutes to try and pick a spot for landfall."

"Oh," Fluttershy said. "Are we really going ashore already?"

"Seems like it," Sweetie said.

"But I thought we were going to be sailing for another week."

"Apparently the ice is getting too thick. The weather is even colder than we expected, so we're going to have to go the rest of the way on hoof."

The collective mood in the room chilled to match the weather outside. Nopony was thrilled by the daunting journey ahead of them, and the fact that they were now starting even further south than they'd planned was, well... disheartening to say the least.

Donner stood up from the couch, which groaned as it rebounded from her weight. Sweetie was surprised by how quiet the caribou's hoofsteps were in contrast, making only the slightest clink against the metal decking as she walked toward the door. "Shall we?" she said, as she set her book—a very practical arctic survival guide—by the chessboard and ducked into the hall.

"You heard her," Sweetie said. "Let's get up to the bridge." She turned and followed Donner out the door, feeling a bit like a foal following her parent, even though she was technically older by a week.

Fluttershy and Discord stood up, but Dash took one more moment to send one of her pieces charging into the row of pawns on the far side of the board. The errant and animated knight crashed though Fluttershy's now-inert pieces like bowling pins, before skewering the king on her long spear. "Ah ha!" Dash shouted in triumph. "I win!"

"I, um... I don't think that's a legal move." Fluttershy said, looking at her scattered pieces.

"No, it's an attack move," Dash responded. "She's a knight, not a lawyer!"

Discord quirked an eyebrow. Even after all these years around Fluttershy and her friends, he still found it hard to tell when Dash was being clever, or just very, very dense. He suspected it was often a bit of both, and found the thought amusing. Sure, all this time around ponies had certainly changed him, as their concepts of friendship and harmony rubbed off on him, but he'd come to notice in recent years that a few of his own chaotic ways were rubbing off on them as well. Breaking the rules and charging the ranks is exactly what he would've done before he'd learned to control himself—Fluttershy didn't think cheating was very nice, after all. But the fact that he could see a little glimmer of himself in Rainbow Dash made him smile in a way far warmer than he would've for most of his previous life. That her bad pun, intentional or not, was actually kind of funny was just icing on the cake.

Discord threw back his head and laughed. "Bravo, my multi-colored friend!"

Fluttershy, however, was frowning.

Well, he thought, can't have that. "What?" he said, turning toward Fluttershy. "You must admit, her logic seems quite unassailable on that count."

"Well, yes, but..."

"And it was certainly an efficacious tactic, was it not?"

"Well, I guess, but..." Fluttershy trailed off again.

"But...?" Discord prompted, smiling softly at her.

Fluttershy hung her head. "But... I really wanted to win." Her voice was even quieter than usual, and she blushed as she said it.

"Brilliant!" Discord cried. He did love it when Fluttershy's assertive side came out, even when it was timid. "Then win you shall!"

"Wait, what?" Rainbow Dash said. "But I already won!"

"Oh reeeally...?" Discord drawled, smirking. "Are you sure about that?"

"Um, yeah! I totally shish-ka-bobbed the king!"

Discord didn't respond, but instead leaned over to whisper in Fluttershy's ear. A lopsided grin formed slowly on her face as he explained his tactic.

"What?" Dash said, getting nervous—as any sane pony would when confronted by the living embodiment of chaos with that smile on her face. "What'd you say to her?"

"Two words," Discord said, as Fluttershy's antlers and horn started to glow. "Ghost. Army."

The fallen pieces on the board began to shake as Fluttershy concentrated her magic on them. 

Dash looked toward the board, and sure enough, pale, translucent forms rose from the previously scattered pawns and other pieces, and began galloping through the air in a circle. A larger ghost rose from the skewered king, joining the miniature whirlwind at its center, before leading the undead phalanx in a charge on Dash's already weakened forces. The ghosts tore through the remaining pieces, flickering through defenders before turning and slashing them down from behind. In seconds, only Dash's king was left, surrounded by the endlessly galloping enemy. The ghostly form of the king moved into position, lowered his lance, and charged.

"Checkmate." Fluttershy said calmly.

"But... but..." Dash stammered. "That's not fair!"

"Another piece of unassailable logic!" Discord declared. "But you must admit, it was, how did I put it before? A rather efficacious tactic?"

Rainbow Dash muttered something inaudible under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Okay, yeah... it was pretty awesome." Dash knew when she'd been beat, and was quick to rebound once she let go. She gave Fluttershy a smile, "How did you do that anyway? I can barely make one piece at a time move realistically!"

"Oh, well..." Fluttershy began, but was cut off by Sweetie Belle yelling from the door.

"Come on you three! What's taking so long?"

Thoughts of chess quickly forgotten, they all followed Sweetie up to the bridge.

----

"What?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "But that's more than two hundred miles from our search area!"

Captain North Wind sighed. "I know, but it's the best I can do, ya ken?" The earth pony turned his hooves upward in surrender. "The sea, she ain't been kind this past year, an' the icepack be further south than I ever seen."

Dash eyed the grey-coated stallion, not liking his answer, but seeing the truth in his eyes. It wasn't his fault; The Hole was wreaking havoc all over the world. Sea-ice was just one more part of it.

"But..." Eyes turned toward Fluttershy as she interjected. "I thought this was an ice breaker. Doesn't it go through ice?"

'Aye, that she does, lass." The captain gave her a sad nod. "But only so far and so fast. This ice here... it be driftin' south faster than we can break through it. An' I reckon with winter comin' on, we'll be on the losin' side o' this 'fore the end o' the week."

"So then, we have no choice," Donner said. "We have to set out from here." The tip of her cloven hoof touched on a small bay drawn on the map before them as she continued, "Ond Ulv Fjard."

The ponies all looked to her for translation. Only Sweetie Belle had learned some of the Caribou language, and even that was slight. Donner was obliging though.

"It means 'Bad Wolf Bay'," she said. "Legend says this is where Fenrir washed ashore after Jormungandr was thrown into the sea."

All the ponies, Sweetie included, looked confused.

"Nevermind," Donner said. "It's just a legend, and this is just a bay. One with a shoreline just shallow enough for us to disembark."

"Good enough for me!" Sweetie said, attempting to rally the troops. Dash wasn't far behind.

"Yeah," she said. "So what if we have to walk for another week! We'll conquer this stupid snowy land and get that obelisk anyway!"

"Well," Discord offered, twirling his beard. "Why give up immortality if I don't plan to take some risks?"

Fluttershy hesitated. Her first instinct demanded she apologize for taking Dizzy's powers, and for failing her friends, and for about three-hundred-and-forty-seven other minor slights, most of which the "offended" parties would never recall. But... she'd been learning in recent years, and knew Discord intended to inspire, not complain.

"I'm in," she said. It wasn't the boldest of statements, but for those who knew her, the change in the pegasus-turned-alicorn-turned-chaocorn was noticed.

All eyes turned to the remaining member of the party.

"What?" Blitzen said, all eyes on him. "I was here way before the rest of you. My stuff's already packed!"

----

Ond Ulv Fjard.
One day later, plus-or-minus breakfast.

"I really wish I hadn't skipped breakfast," Blitzen complained as the group watched the Little Diamond sailing out of the bay before she could be caught by low tide.

"It's your own fault for sleeping in." Donner had little sympathy for her lazy brother. "I told you last night we were leaving at high tide."

"But I thought that meant dawn or something! Not the middle of the night!"

"It's the middle of winter. Even you know the tide doesn't wait for the sun, only the moon."

Blitzen hung his head, but gamely trotted up the dark and wet sand to join the others. "So where do we go now?"

"North."

The ponies and caribou looked up and toward the north. There, the high volcanic peaks of the arctic stood in all their stark glory. Shattered cliffs of obsidian were halfway buried in glacier. Though it all, bitter winds whipped the highest peaks, creating an eternal layer of icy cloud-cover. It made even the road to the Crystal Empire seem inviting by comparison.

"Brrr!" Fluttershy pulled her front talon up from the wet and cold sand. "It's so much colder than I thought!"

"We'll be away from the sea soon enough," Donner assured her. "But the actual temperature will likely drop even further. I did warn you all to bring sufficient clothing." She and Blitzen had their own heavy fur, being born for cold climates, but brought their own extra clothing as well. The other ponies had brought at least some semblance of winter gear, with earmuffs, hats and the like. Even Discord was wearing a scarf. But Donner eyed Sweetie suspiciously. She was the only one who had brought no clothing at all.

Knowing she'd brought very little, Sweetie Belle nevertheless smirked. "Not a problem!"

She dipped her head and concentrated. Before The Hole this would've been trivial, but it seemed the use of magic was becoming more difficult every week since then, as Nemesis drained the wonderment from the world. Still, she'd been accused of being the most powerful unicorn ever. So, even if that wasn't technically true—she was a golem after all—she saw no reason not to show off every now and then.

Donner watched with a look of genuine surprise. Considering the stoic caribou usually registered little emotion at all, that was saying something, and Sweetie couldn't help but smile. She loved surprising ponies, and her metal paw usually did that well enough on its own. But after weeks together with this group on the ship, most had forgotten she had voluntary control over the rest of her body as well. As such, they were quite surprised when she grew nearly a foot in height (mostly in her legs, for navigating deep snow), sprouted fur nearly three times its normal length (for warmth) and split her hooves (and paw) into wide, snow-shoe-like platforms, even better for traction than Donner's.

"What?" she said, grinning as the others all gaped at her new appearance. "You've never seen a half-caribou unicorn with a metal wolf paw before?"

Rainbow Dash was the first to respond.

She laughed.

Heartily.

When she calmed down, she landed in front of Sweetie, still chuckling. "Alright," she said. "Somepony show me how to do that!"

"Umm," Fluttershy said. "I don't think it's that easy."

"What? I'm an alicorn! I'm sure I can do anything Sweetie can!"

Sweetie and Fluttershy gave each other sideways looks. Technically, Fluttershy lost by blinking first, but Sweetie was nothing if not conciliatory. So she took the task.

"Dash," she said. "I'm a golem. I don't even have blood in my veins."

"Yeah, and I'm an alicorn. I can probably raise the sun if it wasn't stuck with that stupid hole in it."

Sweetie just looked at her. Some habits die hard, she knew, but Dash was seeming impossibly dense lately, something she thought was far into the pegasus' past. "Really?"

Dash, for her part, actually thought the question though. No, she realized, she likely couldn't. She sucked at magic. She sucked at everything since The Hole. She could fly, like nopony else, but... even that was harder lately. And these other things were not her domain at all. But, and this was the big one... she was starting to realize that was okay.

"No," she said, hanging her head as her wings drooped. "Not really."

"Don't worry, Rainbow," Fluttershy spoke up. "I don't think I could raise the sun either."

Dash smiled a bit at that. "Thanks, Flutters."

"But we're still going to be rather cold if we don't do something."

"Don't worry," Discord said leaping into the literal middle of the group, "I told you I would take care of that."

Everypony expected him to whisper something to Fluttershy again, but instead, he simply put his talon to his mouth and whistled.

There was a loud splashing from the sea, and the ponies turned to see. What they saw was what looked like a large wooden trunk, emerging from the surf atop dozens of small, animated legs. The manifestation galloped toward the party.

"What the heck is that?" Rainbow Dash said, leaping into the air in a defensive posture.

"Oh, just the luggage," Discord said, as if it explained everything. He turned toward the trunk. "Down boy!"

The luggage obediently settled itself onto the sand, its legs disappearing beneath its bulk. The lid opened slightly of its own accord.

"Good boy," Discord said, as he reached down and patted the trunk on the lid.

"Where in the world did that come from?" Sweetie Belle asked, recognizing powerful wizardry when she saw it. "I thought you lost your magic!"

"Oh this?" Discord said, nonchalantly pointing at the luggage. "This isn't my magic. It's just something I won off a tourist in a game of Shibo Yangcong-San." He grinned and winked at her.

She wasn't exactly thrilled by the non-answer, but Sweetie knew when she'd been beat. Even without magic, Discord still managed to one-up her own surprise transformation.

While she decided to keep her mouth shut, Sweetie watched as Discord reached into the luggage and removed several large and hairy items, even one of which should never have been able to fit in the trunk. "Yes, these should do nicely!"

He handed one to Fluttershy, then tucked another under his arm. The third, he threw to Rainbow Dash, who reflexively caught it, then quickly held it at arm's length, unsure about the weird, furry thing in her hooves.

"Just put it on!" Discord said. "Or are you afraid of a coat?"

Dash landed and unfolded the bundle. She found it vaguely resembled clothing she'd worn before, but there were several straps and layers that she had no idea what to do with. Plus it was... fur. She looked up, and saw Fluttershy unfolding her own. If Fluttershy was okay with it, she supposed she must be wrong about the origins. But there still remained one problem.

"Okay," Dash said. "How am I supposed to get into this thing?

"Dear," Discord said to Fluttershy, as he held his arms out at his sides. "If you would be so kind?"

Fluttershy nodded, concentrated, and a spell formed quickly as she snapped two digits on a foretalon. It finished with a loud "pop" and both she and Discord—as well as Rainbow Dash—were wearing heavy furs in the style of Yak-yakistan.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash cried, suddenly feeling trapped in the weird garment. "No fair!"

"But it is rather efficacious, isn't it?" Discord offered with a grin.

For her part, Rainbow Dash had to agree. The furs—magically animal free, she assumed—were amazingly warm, if a bit heavy. Still though...

"Stop saying 'efficacious!'" she demanded.

Discord glared at her, about to ask why, before the pegasus concluded, "It sounds presumptuous and loquacious!"

Feeling a corner of his mouth turn up, Discord gave in to the full smirk, then the chuckle, then the laugh, and finally the guffaw. Oh yes, he'd been transformed by harmony, but chaos was still beautifully abloom!

----

Great White North.
Eight days later.

The trip was not going well. They'd expected to make one hundred miles in the first week, but had barely made fifty after doubling back from the wrong valley. By Donner's reckoning, things would only get worse as they were now headed uphill into the circum-arctic mountains. The formation completely circled the northern pole of the world, with peaks reaching to nearly 20,000 feet, and the lowest passes barely under 10,000. Regardless of how one approached it, the mountains were a force to be reckoned with.

Donner consulted her map. If her navigation was accurate, one of the lower passes—a mere 11,000 feet in altitude—should be found at the end of this valley. If she was wrong, of course, they'd reach a near-impassable ascent and be forced to turn back again, undoing several more days worth of travel, and bringing them even further toward the coming winter. Time was critical, but so was accuracy.

She looked up from the map, and saw her brother bouncing through the snow like a calf. Donner never understood where he got the energy, but Blitzen had always been amazingly carefree, even in the most dire of circumstances. The fact that he was pronking in circles, when almost everypony else was barely staying upright due to exhaustion, was incredible.

"Come on you guys!" Blitzen shouted. "I think that one there"—he pointed to a gap high atop the cliffs facing them—"goes through! Let's try it!"

High-stepping through the snow on her elongated legs, Sweetie Belle looked a fair bit less enthusiastic as she joined Donner. "Is that a pass we can get through?"

Donner stared at the map. Nothing matched what it should. If they were in the valley she thought, then the pass out would be on the far right side, and have a sort of slope leading up to it. But the only thing even resembling a pass was the crag on the left that Blitzen had pointed out. No slope or entry to be seen at all.

"No," she said. "I think we're in the wrong valley."

Sucking a cold breath through her teeth, Sweetie forced herself to remain calm. This was the second valley they'd entered already, and she wasn't sure how many more dead-ends they could face, both physically, and mentally. But it wasn't Donner's fault. She knew that.

"Okay. So which one next? West," she pointed at the map, "or East?"

Donner looked up at the ridgeline facing them, then back at the map. She repeated this several times, before turning to Sweetie.

"I don't know!" she said, her voice a mix of overt panic and hushed whisper. "They all look the same!"

Leaning in—and up—Sweetie Belle gave the distraught caribou a hug. "I know, but we'll figure it out." She looked down at the map, spread across Donner's saddlebags on the snow. The mountains were almost fractal in their nature, if the map was anywhere close to accurate. Each valley radiated outward, looking much like any other as they faced the range from the outside. It looked, Sweetie thought, a lot like somepony had dropped a rock in the pond right on the top of the world. And who could tell one ripple from the next?

"We went counterclockwise from the last one, right?" Sweetie asked.

"Yeah, I thought we were here." Donner pointed at the valley next over from her current markings. "But apparently I was wrong."

"So let's go counterclockwise again, then we're sure to catch it this time."

Donner glared at the map. "Yes, if we're not even further off, in which case we already missed our target entirely, and are here." She pointed further to the east.

"So we go back?"

"But if we were wrong on our first guess, then we might be only one off, and going west would leave us headed onto the outer shelf. A month by hoof before the next passable terrain inland."

Sweetie rubbed her head, the digits of her widened paw scratching the behind both her ears simultaneously. It wasn't just to shock others that she kept her metal appendage.

"So," she said. "What do we do?"

"I don't know. I just wish we knew where we were, then we'd know for sure which way to go."

"Hmmm..." Sweetie thought it through. "Dash!" she yelled. "Come over here a moment?"

Rainbow Dash looked up from the seat she'd carved out in the snow. Sweetie waved her over, and the pegasus-turned-alicorn trotted over.

"Yeah, what's up, Sweetie?"

"Do you think you can fly up and get a better view of these valleys? We're not quite sure which one of them we're in."

Looking down at the map, Dash saw the reason for the confusion. All of them were almost identical in width and shape, and only minor details differentiated one from the next.

"I can try," she said. "But this altitude and the cold..." her normally self-assured voice trailed off.

"I know," Sweetie Belle said. "It's harder to fly since The Hole."

Rainbow Dash nodded, but ended with her muzzle downcast. "That day you gave me a horn... Well, I'd never felt more powerful. I could fly twice as fast, hit things like an arrow, and barely ran out of breath. But... yeah, it's harder now. I think Snowflake could fly faster than me at this point. Well, I mean, him before The Hole. You know what I mean."

Sweetie nodded. She once sheared a three-story-tall timberwolf in two with barely more than a blink. Now, she found just starting a campfire took more focus. "But can you do it?"

Dash gave her a grin. "I'm Rainbow Dash."

"So," Donner said. "Is that a..."

"That's a 'yes'," Sweetie supplied, as Dash dropped her furs to free her wings and leapt into the air.

----

Great White North, sky.
Soon.

Her wings burned. Then they froze. Then that made the burning even worse. Still, Rainbow Dash forced her muscles to pull in, then out, then in again, flapping her wings in a forced rhythm she hadn't had to consciously think about since foalhood. She'd flown high before, very, very high. But even nearing the edge of space, she'd never felt cold like this. It was almost as if some evil force were sucking the heat right out of her... which it probably was.

She looked up, at the midday sun, marred as it was by the horrible black and writhing chasm in the center of it. She could still feel some warmth, but only in opposition to the cold abyss of the arctic below. To call this warmth was to call a drop of rain an oasis. But she couldn't make out the ground properly, so she flew higher.

Her primaries had lost feeling some time ago. The muscles at the end of her wings still responded though, so the rest was irrelevant. It was the bloodfeathers that stung; the new growth plumage on the underside of her wings wasn't fully in for the season. Normally, that'd be no issue. The still-growing feathers were more sensitive, but as long as they weren't deliberately pulled out, they were no more bothersome than newly grown guardhairs on her coat. But here, now, at this temperature, she could feel them beginning to freeze, and with them, the nerves they were connected to cried out in agony.

Still she pumped her wings and flew higher, as the valleys were still too difficult to resolve from here.

Finally, Rainbow Dash felt she was high enough to look down and try to match the valleys beneath her to the map Donner had showed her. She stretched her wings and went into a glide while looking down. Low clouds moved quickly across the peaks, and snow, blowing from the glaciers, obscured even more of the ground. Still though, she could make out just enough to see the neighboring valleys, and recognize the one with the pass they'd intended. It was just one more valley to the east. It'd take a few more days, but they'd be on the right path to the interior.

Dash angled her body down, tried to bring her wings in closer for a dive. She realized she had no feeling past the first joint on her left wing, and her right was nearly as bad. She needed to get down and get warm, soon.

----

Great White North, ground.
Not soon enough.

Rainbow Dash came in fast and hard, plowing a short furrow in the snow with her crash. Donner and Sweetie Belle rushed to her side.

"Are you okay?" Sweetie asked, as the they helped her out of the deep snow. "What happened?"

"I.. thi-think," Dash said, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. "It's to th-the ea-st." 

Fluttershy brought her fur coat over. "Here, put this on!"

Dash reached for the garment, but her leg was shaking so badly that she couldn't get it through the holes in the furs.

"Don't worry, let me help." Fluttershy reached out and guided Dash's forelegs into the coat. "Now fold your wings in."

The blue wings were shaking horribly, and stood out half extended from Dash's barrel.

"Come on Dash, just fold in your wings so we can get you warmed up."

Dash grunted. "I'm... trying..." she said through gritted teeth.

"It's okay, just keep trying." Reaching up gently with her talons, Fluttershy held Dash's right wing, and began easing it closed. Finishing, she asked Sweetie to help hold it against Dash's side. She moved to fold in the other wing. Reaching for the leading edge, she felt herself grab what felt like solid ice. "Oh dear."

"What was that?" Sweetie asked over the wind.

Fluttershy didn't want to worry any of the others, but she'd only seen a wingtip that cold once before, on a hawk she'd rescued one winter. It wasn't a good sign. But for now, she thought, best not to worry any of the others. "Nothing," she called back, and began folding in the wing.

"Ow! Ow!" Dash moaned and flinched in pain as her stiff wing was closed. The rest of the fur coat was pulled on quickly, and the others escorted her out of the wind and began to set up camp.

----

A modestly sized expedition tent.
Just after sunset the same day.

The party huddled around the fire in the middle of the enormous tent, enjoying the relative warmth after the day's trekking. The shelter had been yet another thing Discord had pulled from the luggage which had no business possibly fitting in such a space. It was mostly quiet, save for the constant moaning of the wind outside, and the occasional slurping sounds that came from consumption of a hearty soup.

"Oww..." Rainbow Dash moaned again as she flexed her wing. "Is it supposed to hurt worse when it gets warm?"

Fluttershy made eye contact with Donner and Sweetie Belle. All three of them knew enough about first aid and frostbite to be worried.

"Let's take another look," Fluttershy offered. Dash gently extended her wing toward the chaocorn.

"Hmm..." Fluttershy held the end of the wing and gently spread the plumage near the tip with her other talon, trying to peer at the skin below.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Dash closed her eyes, but managed to resist the urge to pull away.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow, but I have to check."

"I know... just... just do what you have to."

Looking closely, Fluttershy could see dark blotches on the skin. That wasn't a great sign, but at least the pain meant some of the nerves there were still working. She moved her examination further toward the tip of the wing. The discoloration got worse, with the last few inches being almost entirely blackened. Worse, the small tremors she'd felt as Dash flinched at each touched feather stopped.

"Does it still hurt when I touch here?"

Opening her eyes, Dash looked up. "Uh, not really. It still hurts all over kinda, but it's not sharp like... Ow!"

Fluttershy made a note of where the pain had started. As Dash had talked, she'd slowly worked her touch back down the wing. It seemed there was no feeling in the last four inches near the tip of the wing.

"Sorry," Fluttershy said. "I'm done now though."

"How bad is it?" Dash asked, as she slowly folded her wing back in.

Frowning, Fluttershy debated how to respond. The second she thought about sugar coating things though, she could practically hear Applejack in her head.

"I won't lie," she said. "It's pretty bad. You've got frostbite for sure."

Across the fire, Donner and Sweetie eyed each other, but kept their mouths shut.

"What's that mean?" Dash asked.

"It umm, depends on how deep it is. Right now, it looks like you at least lost some of the nerves near the surface. But if it's much deeper, then..." Fluttershy hung her head, unable to look Dash in the eyes.

"Then what?" Dash demanded. "What? I lose my wing? Tell me!"

Fluttershy turned away, afraid to answer.

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, then spoke up. "It means you might lose some of your wing."

Dash's voice rose to a nervous pitch as she turned to Sweetie. "Some? Some?!"

"Yes, if it's bad enough, some muscle there may have to be amputated to prevent infection. Hopefully not though. But even if that doesn't happen, some of the nerves and other tissue may be damaged badly enough that, even if it heals, you could still have trouble controlling the pinions on that wing, or they could be paralyzed entirely."

Eyes going wide, Rainbow Dash quickly extended her wing, turning her head to look at the outermost flight feathers. She concentrated and tried to move them. There was some slight twitching, but the normally agile feathers, so important to a pegasus' flight, refused to cooperate. Dash felt herself begin to panic.

"Stop it!" Fluttershy shouted quietly. "Don't panic, Rainbow. It won't help anything, and we don't know if it's even that bad yet."

"But... but I can't feel my pinions. I can't even move them!"

"You need to wait and see if things heal. But even if you can't fly as well, at least you're still alive!"

"Easy for you to say, you can barely fly as it is!"

Her eyes going watery, Fluttershy sniffled, and her lip began to quiver. Instead of collapsing into a ball of self pity though, she stood up, turned and pulled Rainbow Dash into a hug.

"I know you don't really mean that," she said, sniffling. "And you're just scared. But that's okay, we're here for you."

Leaning into the hug, Rainbow Dash found herself beginning to cry a bit as well. She really was scared. Losing the the use of her wingtip? Maybe even losing the ability to fly at all? This was, quite literally, the stuff her nightmares were made of. But even so, that was no excuse for making Fluttershy cry.

"I'm sorry, Flutters," Dash said between sniffles. "I could never mean something like that!"

"I know," Fluttershy murmured, patting her oldest friend on the back. "I know."

----

Same Tent, Bedroom #3.
A few hours later.

As dinner had worn down, Discord explained there were only three rooms, and apologized he'd been unable to book larger accommodations on such short notice, but assured everyone there was plenty of bedding for two in each. Splitting up, he'd been about to usher Fluttershy and himself into one of the rooms, but she had insisted on staying with Dash, in order to tend to her if needed. Being an honorable type (at least where Fluttershy was concerned) he had no option then but to room with Blitzen. He'd made a show of stuffing large marshmallows (also from the luggage) into each ear as the excitable young caribou had started yammering immediately to his new "roommate." That  had left Sweetie and Donner with the third sleeping area, and the two had proceeded to bury themselves under a mound of blankets and furs the luggage had somehow provided.

"Sweetie?" Donner said quietly, sometime later. "You awake?"

The pile of blankets on the far side the bed moved and wobbled for a moment before a shaggy face poked out. "Yeah, I can't sleep either."

Donner, careful to avoid snagging her antlers, slowly craned her neck around to face Sweetie. "Do you ever..."

When no further words were forthcoming, Sweetie prompted, "Do I ever what?"

"Worry," Donner sighed. "Worry this isn't going to work?"

Sweetie rolled over and dug her way a bit further out of the blankets to face the caribou. "Of course I do. I worry all the time."

"But... you never show it. You always seem so sure of yourself."

"Me?" Sweetie said, somewhat surprised. "I mean, yes, perhaps I like to show off a bit, but I'm scared as anypony that we'll fail at this."

"Hmm..."

"You know," Sweetie continued. "I thought you were the one that was so confident. You seem... well don't take this the wrong way, but very stoic. You're calm, collected; a leader like your father."

"But I'm not" Donner said, her voice cracking a bit with emotion. "I'm just trying my best, but... but everything is going wrong. We're not even halfway there, and already somepony is injured." Her rant continued, but became interspersed with small sobs. "I got us lost! I got us nearly frozen to death! Now Rainbow Dash might not even be able to fly because of my mistakes. Some leader I turned out to be!"

Sweetie Belle wormed her way through the bedding and gave Donner a hug. "You've done a great job as leader! This situation is just an impossible one. I'm sure anyone else would've given up before they even started, but you took it on, and we all know you're doing the best you can. The best anyone can."

"Thanks," Donner sniffled, and initiated a hug of her own, squeezing the unicorn(ish) pony tightly.  "Thank you for being so... well, so sweet."

"Heh," Sweetie said, blushing a bit as the hug ended. "It's what I do." Her faced moved into a slight smirk and she shrugged to cover the blush. "I mean, it's right there in my name and everything."

Donner smiled at her, then leaned in and planted a firm kiss on her lips.

It lasted several seconds.

Donner, pulling her face back slightly, opened her eyes, and found a stunned Sweetie Belle blushing furiously, even through her new, thicker fur.

"Donner, I... uh..." Sweetie found herself at a loss for words for the first time she could recall in years.

Seeing the shocked look on the pony's face, Donner panicked. "Oh no... I'm sorry!" she stammered, quickly distancing herself on the bed. "I... I thought that... I mean, that you were maybe... I'm sorry!"

"Donner, wait."

The caribou scrambled out from under the rest of the blankets and quickly got her legs under herself, standing up. "I should—"

"Donner," Sweetie Belle said, a bit louder this time.

" I should just go. I'll sleep out in the main room and—"

"Donner!" she whisper-shouted it this time, trying not to wake the others, but wanting to make sure she was heard.

It was enough to get Donner's attention finally, and she turned to look at Sweetie.

"Get back under the covers, it's freezing out there."

"But I... But..."

"It's okay. Don't worry, I'm not upset. Just stop being a dummy and freezing your tail off."

Donner stepped back over toward the bed, and lowered herself into it.

Sweetie used her aura to drape a few blankets back over the caribou. "There. Now we can talk."

Donner shivered, partly from the recent exposure to the cold, and partly from nervous panic. "I'm sorry," she said, putting on as calm of a demeanor as she could manage. "I guess I read that wrong."

Sweetie Belle smiled. "No, I'm sorry. I mean, I'm flattered, but I just, well, I'm not interested in mares."

"Really?" Donner said, genuinely surprised.

This brought a chuckle from Sweetie. "Yes, really, but I have to ask what made you think I was."

"Well, it's just... well I've heard it's pretty common for ponies."

"Well, I guess compared to caribou, yeah, we're a lot more open about things like that. A couple of my best friends are lesbians, and I know quite a few more besides. But that doesn't mean I am."

"But... you kept pushing away my brother, when he clearly has an interest in you."

Sweetie laughed out loud this time. "Don't take this the wrong way," she said. "But your brother is an annoying chatterbox. That’s why I'm not interested in him. Not because he's the wrong gender."

Knowing how annoyed she got with her brother, Donner realized the logic was pretty sound. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just an idiot. But then when you were snuggled up next to me, saying all those nice things, hugging me..." She trailed off, and Sweetie could see more small tears begin to form. "I thought you cared for me."

"Oh, Donner," Sweetie exclaimed. "I do care for you. As all your friends do." She punctuated her statement with another hug. "But that's not the same as romantic interest."

Donner hung her head. "I know. Really, I do. It's just no one has... I mean, I don't really..."

"You don't have many friends?" Sweetie prompted her.

Donner nodded.

"And you spend a lot of time alone, learning things from books, or in the wilds by yourself when you're mapping and researching."

Another nod.

"And it's hard to make friends, let alone find somepony to love, because the books aren't really great at explaining those things."

Donner looked up now. "How do you---?"

"Do you remember Twilight Sparkle? The purple alicorn that came with me and my friends when we visited that one Hearthwarming?"

"Yeah, somewhat, but what's that have to do with this?"

"Well, I'm just saying you and her probably have a lot in common. She's told me stories about what her life was like when she was younger. She'd been Celestia's personal student, you know."

Donner nodded again, not sure where this was going, but content to let Sweetie finish.

"But she spent so much time studying that she failed to make many friends. My sister's told me some of the stories from when Twilight had just moved to Ponyville; how awkward her lack of social experience made her at times, even the various disasters it caused."

"Disasters?"

"Seriously! Full scale disasters!" Sweetie said, her hoof and paw waving to encompass apparently big things. "She nearly destroyed Equestria because she thought she was going to fail a homework assignment!"

"That seems..." Donner paused as she thought. Sweetie was obviously sincere, yet the idea that "social anxiety" could end the world didn't seem likely.

"Impossible?" Sweetie Belle said, grinning as she held up her paw and made the digits roll like waves of grain in a breeze. "Stranger things have happened."

"I suppose." Donner smiled.

"I wish she was here, so she could explain it to you, but... suffice to say, it gets better. She did. A lot in fact. You know she's actually and literally the Princess of Friendship now?"

"I did, but I thought that was just a title. Like Jarl Trelägg. It has nothing to do with his personal appearance, but is just a title for the position."

Sweetie made a note to look up that word later, but conceded the point. "I guess we ponies are just a bit more literal about these things."

Donner smiled, and Sweetie smiled back. Both set in amiable silence for a few moments.

"So," Donner hazarded. "Are we okay then? I mean... are you okay with me?"

"More than okay, Donner," Sweetie said. "We're friends, and a little misunderstanding isn't going to change that, I promise!" There was another hug. "But the question is, are you okay?"

Taking a moment to actually think on things, Donner leaned her head back and used her antlers to scratch an itch on her side. "I think so, but... promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"About the kiss?"

Donner blushed a bit again at this. "Yeah, and that I'm..."

"Oh!" Sweetie's eyes lit up. "You haven't told anyone that you're gay?"

Donner shook her head.

"Not even your family?"

"No one. It's not like with ponies. Caribou are a lot more... 'traditional' about these things."

"You're afraid your family wouldn't approve then? Because I've met your family, and they love you a whole, whole lot. I can tell."

"It's not... well it's not exactly that. It'd be, well, awkward for them I think."

"And it's not awkward for you, trying to keep a secret like that?" Sweetie realized she said that last part with a little more force than she'd intended. "Sorry, but love and trust go together, and they need to go both ways. Secrets never help anypony in the long run. Trust me." Sweetie wiggled her toes, remembering the shock when that secret had been revealed.

"I know," Donner sighed. "But it's hard..."

"Being the strong one?" Sweetie finished for her.

Donner smiled at this. "Yes, I suppose that's the crux of it. I already dishonored my father by refusing to be his heir. If it comes out that I'm a lesbian, it'll be even worse for the family. So it's easier for me to take that burden, so he doesn't have to."

Pondering things, Sweetie took a moment to stretch. "I don't know about the rest of the caribou; what they would or wouldn't think. But I don't think your father, or the rest of your family for that matter, would balk for even a second at sharing such a burden with you. 'Many backs make for a light load', or something like that."

"I know, I know," Donner protested. "But it's so easy to say and so much harder to do anything. I'll try though, eventually. Just promise me you won't say anything for now?"

"Of course," Sweetie said. "It's your secret, not mine. But promise me something in return?"

Briefly the thought, "blackmail?" crossed her mind, but Donner shook it off immediately. Sweetie would never do such a thing, not in a million years. "Okay, if I can."

"Make more friends! Don't give up on other ponies just because it's difficult. Don't hide because things are weird or awkward. Heck, go kiss some more mares while you're at it! I may not be able to love you in that way, but I promise you someone out there will. But only if you keep looking!"

Pleased that Sweetie meant well, especially after her moment of doubt, Donner agreed. "I promise," she said, smiling.

"Nuh uh," Sweetie said. "This is important, you have to do it right."

"How so?"

"Like this." Sweetie threw off some of the covers to expose her paw, so the proper motions could be made. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

If Twilight ever got around to making her magically updating, crowd-sourced dictionary, the entry on "incredulity" now had a new image—in the form of Donner's expression—to go with it.

"I'm serious, Donner," Sweetie Belle said, no hint of prank or smirk on her face. "If you swear it, this is a promise you can't take back."

"Okay then." Donner freed her own forehooves, then did her best to imitate the motions as she repeated, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Good, now let's get some sleep," Sweetie said, tucking herself back under the blankets. "We've got a long day tomorrow."

"One last question."

"Yeah?"

"So, you're not into mares, but Rainbow Dash... Surely she..."

It started as a chuckle, then some snickering, and a few snorts as well. But by the end, the light-coated mare was rolling on her side, half out of breath, using the covers to muffle the uncontrollable bouts of laughter, which were only doubled every time she looked at Donner's face and saw that genuine look of puzzlement and sincerity.

----

Equestrian Space Corps Training Grounds (neé Sweet Apple Acres' North Orchard.)
Nine paragraphs earlier.

Pinkie Pie was rolling through the air above the barn in a lazy one-gee maneuver when she was taken by a spasm, looking momentarily as if she'd been electrocuted in mid-air.

"Oooh, that was a doozy," she said, shaking off the effects. "But not as big as th-aaa--a-aat one!" she stammered a moment later as she curled into a ball from the uncontrollable twitching of her Pinkie Sense.

She was worried for a moment that such a big promise might mean dire things for somepony, but then she found the thread of laughter coming from the same scene and smiled as she pulled out of the canonball dive just inches above the barn's weathervane.
> Chapter 10: Shadows in the Dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10: Shadows in the Dark

A strange place.
A weird time.

The dust in the road smelled faintly of ashes, with her hooves throwing up little puffs of the greyish stuff with every step and the sounds of her hooffalls muffled by it; like snow without the squeak. Mouth dry, she looked up and toward the horizon. Before her stood nothing but seemingly endless wastelands, devoid of water, of food, of anything more than rock and the ever present ash.

Trying to swallow, she felt her tonsils grate against her throat. Her tongue felt as dry as the ground on which she walked. She felt sunburned, even through her fur, and was certain she had never walked this far in her entire life. If only she could fly; leave this place behind in a moment and feel the cool, crisp air in her face; find a few wisps of cloud and squeeze a drink from them.

Yes! she thought. That was it. She unfurled her wings, and made a running start for the air. Before she could launch though, a searing pain grabbed at her wing. She fell, skidding in the dirt.

Looking back, her outstretched wing was caught in some sort of hideous, thorny vine, which tore into her flesh, ripping muscle and feather both. She struggled, but with every movement, the vine dug in further, sending sharp pains down the nerves and up her spine, the plant's venom searing like fire where it pierced.

She turned her face away and wept there, sprawled upon the dirt. But no tears came, the sweltering heat leaving no moisture to spare for sadness. Only the bitter grit of ashes was felt with each blink.

An eternal moment later, a voice spoke to her. "You look like you could use some help."

The mare lifted her head and craned her neck to see a dark blue unicorn approaching through the shimmering heat waves. "Yes," she said. "Please help. My wing is stuck!"

The unicorn approached, and examined the vines and the tangled wing. "Oh my," she said. "This looks bad."

"Yeah, it hurts like Tartarus too."

"I don't think I can untangle this," the unicorn said. "I may have to cut it loose."

The mare closed her eyes, nodding. "Yes, please! Thank you! Just get me free!"

"Well, if you insist!" The voice had changed somehow, and the mare opened her eyes to see a much larger, much darker pony standing over her. She was now using her aura to levitate a large war axe over the tangled, blue wing.

"No, wait!" Rainbow Dash cried out. "Not my wing! The vine!"

"Oh," the dark alicorn cooed. "I'm so sorry little pony, but your wing is already far too injured. Best we cut it off now."

Dash cried out. "No! There's got to be some other way!"

"Well..." the dark one said. "There might be something I can do."

"Oh, thank you!" Dash cried, her voice cracking with her dry throat.

"But I'll need a favor in return."

This sounded odd to Dash. Of course she'd be happy to return a favor, but this sounded like something... more.

"What kind of favor?" she said.

"Nothing much, I just need a ride out of... here."

At the mention of location, Dash found herself surveying her surroundings. Endless desert, with just rocks and dirt. But something felt off. She didn't remember how she got here, nor, now that she thought about it, where she was going.

"Wait," she said. "Where exactly are we?"

"Just a few steps away from being back with your friends. I know a shortcut."

Now that was getting even stranger, Dash thought. She stood up, and turned to face the dark alicorn. "Who are you?"

"Just a stranger, passing by in the night."

"But it's..." Dash paused, as the searingly yellow world around her morphed into an airless white landscape, with a dark and far-too-clear sky above. She hardly even noticed that the vines were gone and her wing free as well.

"Day?" The dark one prompted, her fangs protruding from a smirking countenance.

"I know you!" Dash shouted. "You're the thing that took over Princess Luna!"

"Oh yes, that," The Nightmare said. "But I can offer you so much more than she ever dreamed of!"

"Pffft! As if," Dash said, her tone dropping instantly into the dismissive now that she recognized her foe. "Like what? Let me join your stupid 'Shadowbolts'? You already tried that, you know."

The Nightmare rolled her neck, eliciting several loud pops. "Oh, that was just foal's play. You've come so far since then."

Dash moved into a hover, letting her cross her forelegs. "Yeah, so what is it this time then?"

"I can heal your wing," The Nightmare said.

There was a sense of weightlessness, as Dash felt the memories of the past day come rushing into the dream's reality. The flight, the cold, the frostbite; she remembered all of it, and the terror of never flying again. But this was The Nightmare. She couldn't trust it, so she opted for bravado. "Maybe my wing's gonna heal on its own!" 

Stepping forward, and dropping the pretentious airs, the dark alicorn looked Dash in the face and told her simply, "It will not."

"Yeah, well..." Dash foundered for words. "Says you!"

"Join me, Rainbow Dash. Not only will your wing be whole, but with the power I can give you, you can be faster than you've ever been, faster than any pony has ever been."

Keeping on her brave face, despite the now-closer evil, Dash was quivering on the inside. She really, desperately wanted to keep her wing, but... she could never betray her friends. Besides, it would break Scootaloo's heart if she took the "fastest pony" title back.

The thought of Scootaloo ended her debate in an instant. She'd never do anything to disappoint her number one fan, or the world's best sister. "Yeah right!" she said. "Have you even met Scootaloo? She'd beat the both of us, even with her wings tied behind her back!"

"Bah!" The Nightmare stomped, tired of playing coy. "Join me! Or I will destroy her and all you hold dear!" She let her fangs make themselves known.

Dash didn't flinch. "Oh really? Because it seems to me that if you could really do that, you'd have done it already. In fact, I think you probably need me way more than I need you."

"How dare you!"

"Ha!" Dash said. "I do dare! Because Dare is my middle name!" Technically, it was "Daring", at least according to the penciled-in modification she'd made to her birth certificate some years ago. But The Nightmare didn't need to know that.

"Fine, you insolent half-wit, I shall find another to share my glory with!"

There was a puff of black smoke, and the alicorn disappeared. "You ended that sentence with a preposition!" Dash shouted, grinning in triumph. Then there was a twinge of pain from her wing, and her grin was replaced by grimace.

----

Whistling a quiet tune, Fluttershy walked toward the market. It was a beautiful sunny day; the birds were singing, the breeze was soft and smelled of flowers, and there was a joy in the air she couldn't quite put of a hoof on.

A blue lump of pony fell from the sky and crashed in front of her.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy said, rushing toward her friend. "Rainbow Dash, are you okay?"

Dash moaned. "Ooouch... I think I zigged when I should have zagged, and now my wing hurts."

"Let's take a look," Fluttershy said. "Just take it slowly."

As Dash stood up, she looked toward her friend. "Fluttershy?"

"I'm here, Dashie," she said leaning over to examine her.

"Get away!" Dash said, scrambling backwards. "Get away from me, you freak!"

"But Dash, I'm your friend." She couldn't understand why Rainbow Dash had suddenly panicked at the sight of her.

"No, you're not.... you're some kind of monster! Get away!"

"But I—"

"No!" Dash turned and fled, her injured wing hanging half open at her side as she ran in fear.

Fluttershy fell to her rump, confusion overwhelming her ability to stand. What in the world would make Rainbow Dash so scared of her?

"Having trouble with your friend?" The new voice seemed to come from right behind her, causing Fluttershy to jump.

"Eeep!"

When she landed a few feet away, she saw a dark blue unicorn. "Some friend, to treat you like that," the newcomer said.

"I'm umm... I'm sure she had a good reason for running off."

"Yes, she made it quite clear she doesn't like you at all." The unicorn smiled in a way that never reached her eyes. "At least, not like this." She motioned toward Fluttershy, causing the pegasus to look down at her body. Where her hooves should be, she found a pair of leonine paws.

"Eeek!" Fluttershy tried to back away from her appendages, but they were, unfortunately, attached.

"Yes, how... disturbing." The voice didn't seem disturbed at all however.

"Who... umm... who are you?" Fluttershy ventured.

"Just a pony who's here to help."

This brought some relief. A kind stranger was always a welcome sight. But something was odd about this unicorn in Fluttershy's eyes. "Help with what?"

"I can return you to your old form. You can be a regular pegasus again, and everyone will stop staring at you. You can go back to caring for your animals and nopony will ever bother you again."

She had wanted that. At least, Fluttershy thought she had at some point. Right? Just get out of the spotlight and back to her nice, safe cottage with her friends, her animals, and Discord.

Discord.

Something snapped, and memories came flooding in. She wasn't deformed, some monster. No, Discord had given up his power to her, so she could save her friends. Rainbow Dash had even told her she looked "awesome," so she must have run away for some other reason.

"Umm," Fluttershy ventured. "Thank you very much, miss, but I think I'm okay the way I am now."

"Really?" The dark alicorn said.

"Yes, umm, I think so."

"But what about the future?"

"The future?"

"Oh yessss," The Nightmare's sultry voice cooed. "Maybe you can live as an outcast, a freak, but what about your foal?"

Confused, Fluttershy tilted her head. "But I don't have a foal."

"Perhaps not yet, but it is—how would you say—'in the works', yes?" The Nightmare winked at her.

Fluttershy blushed, then tried to hide behind her mane. This elicited a low chuckle from the alicorn which was almost, but not entirely, un-sinister in sound. "I'll take that as a confirmation then."

Fluttershy said nothing.

"But do you really want that child to be a freak like you? You know how much you were teased, you know the cruelty of children. Imagine your own child, standing out as a monster, never making friends, never having somewhere to belong. Do you really want to condemn your own foal to that?"

"I would never do such a thing!" Fluttershy said, indignant at the idea she would intentionally harm anything living, much less her own flesh and blood. "How dare you!"

"Then let me help. With my powers, I can ensure that your child grows up normal and healthy in every way. You'd never have to worry."

The thought was tempting, Fluttershy had to admit, but something about this stranger just didn't sit right. It felt a bit too much like the dark fairy tales she'd heard during her own foalhood. "So, ummm, if I said yes, what would you do?"

"Well," The Nightmare said, putting on her best attempt at a friendly smile. "I could use a favor in return."

Fluttershy took a few steps backwards. "I, umm, thought it might be something like that."

"Why whatever do you mean?"

Raising her head, Fluttershy did her best to recall her brief lessons with Iron Will, and took what she hoped was an assertive stance. "I recognize you now," she said. "And I'm sorry, but I won't be entering any binding pacts with forces of darkness."

"Darkness? Darkness?!" the alicorn spat. "My little pony, what you call 'Darkness' is only the shadow of something you cannot possibly comprehend!"

Ears flat against her head in fear, Fluttershy nevertheless stood firm. "Perhaps, but I know my friends would be hurt if I let you scare me into doing something foolish. So I am afraid I will have to ask you to leave."

"Hahaha!" The laugh was big, darkening the sky, and full of teeth. "What in all the worlds makes you think you can tell me what to do?"

"A dear friend of mine once told me that fear can have no power over you unless you let it. I refuse to be afraid of you, so I am telling you to leave. NOW!"

The Nightmare recoiled from the force of The Stare accompanying that last word. "You insolent little wretch!" she yelled. "My power is too precious a gift for you. I shall leave, but of my own accord. But when you see me next, then you shall know true fear!"

Fluttershy refused to blink.

"Fine!" And with that, the now-alicorn vanished in a wisp of dark magic.

It was several minutes before Fluttershy finally got her legs to move under their own power again.

----

Blitzen ran through the snow, then leapt down the slope, throwing the disc under himself as he landed. The slide down the rest of the hill was awesome!

At the bottom, after narrowly missing a few of the tall pines, he came to a stop. Standing up he saw a dark blue unicorn in front of him. "Hi!" he said, cheerful as ever. "I'm Blitzen. Who are you?"

"A visitor."

"Oh, cool!" Blitzen said, nodding to his friends on the slope behind him. "Want to try sledding with us?"

"Perhaps... Could you show me how it's done first?"

"Yeah, no problem!" He ran off to the top of the hill. "Watch this!" he yelled down, before making another running start.

As he slooshed through the turns on the slope, suddenly he found himself airborne, as a giant cliff had appeared where none had been before. Falling, he shouted with glee. "Whoo hoo!"

Then time came to a near stop.

"What?" The dark now-alicorn said, standing on mid-air beside him. "Why are you not afraid?"

"Of what?" Blitzen asked, smiling.

"Of falling!"

"Oh, my dad taught me how to fly years ago. I mean, it was really kind of impossible while that whole hole thing was happening, but now that the sun's back right," he pointed to the bright and intact sun, "it's no problem!"

"Ohhh," the alicorn said menacingly, "But it's not really fixed, is it?" The sun above grew a massive, black spot in its center, and the sky around darkened to a much more depressing hue.

Blitzen hung his head. "Yeah, I know, but my roommate says we're gonna fix it up real soon now!"

"Your 'roommate'?"

"Yeah, he's this really cool dragon-egg-quiche guy. He's like, super old, and knows everything!"

"Dragon, egg, quiche?" The Nightmare repeated. "Do you mean, 'draconequus'?"

"Yeah, that's totally it!" Blitzen smacked his forehead with a hoof. "My bad!"

"You," The Nightmare pointed, "are roommates, with Discord?"

"Woah, yeah dude. You know him too?"

"Really?"

"Well, like, for now anyway, like, while we're camping."

"Take me to him at once!" the alicorn demanded.

"Woah, chill out. I don't know where he is. Actually, I don't know where we are. Hey!" he said suddenly cheerful again. "Do you know where we are?"

The Nightmare found herself facehoofing. "Begone, fool! I shall find him myself." With that, she disappeared in a totally gnarly cloud of magic.

"Heh, awesome!" Blitzen said, his fall now continuing and turning into a flight over his waiting friends. "Who's up for a race?"

----

There was a knock at the door.

"Go away," Discord muttered from his position on the couch in the cottage. "It's nap time!"

The knock repeated, and this time he ignored it outright.

When it repeated again though, he knew he was dealing with a determined pony. Probably Twilight, as Rarity wouldn't knock nearly so hard, Dash would've just come in through the window, AJ would be yelling back, and Pinkie didn't really seem to need doors in the first place.

"Hold your horses!" Discord said, slinking off the couch and into a posture emphasizing the crick in his back. He moved to the door and opened it. "Oh."

"So it is you!" the alicorn across the threshold said.

"Ah yes, my dear sister, how long has it been?"

"Don't call me that," the dark form said.

"Why not?" Discord replied with feigned innocence. "We were both created by the same being."

"That does not make us siblings!"

"Suit yourself," Discord said, shrugging and turning away from the door. "So what are we calling you these days? Penumbra? Nyx? Nocturna?"

"It seems most of the contemporary mortals have given me the moniker of 'The Nightmare' for the time being."

"Pity," Discord said, tsking. "The old civilizations were so much more poetic with their names for our kind."

"Indeed. Whatever became of great Apophis?"

"Oh how sweet!" Discord practically squeaked. "You remember! But the ponies need their narrative symbolism I suppose, and 'Discord' fits in opposition to 'harmony' with far less explanation than 'Apophis'."

"So we let them take even our names?"

"Such is the way of our kind," Discord admitted. "But I confess, it has grown on me over the centuries. I kind of like it now. It suits me." There was a flash and he was wearing a bright purple suit, complete with green and orange plaid bow-tie, and an oversize top hat in an equally discordant shade of pink.

"Hmmph." The Nightmare didn't seem to be amused. "Enough smalltalk. You know why I'm here."

"Do I?" Discord said, striking a coquettish pose.

"Be serious, Apo... Discord!"

Blowing a raspberry, Discord snapped his claws and vanished the obnoxious suit. "Fine," he muttered. "Spoilsport."

"I almost overlooked you," the alicorn said. "Your magic seems to be... gone."

"Oh, not gone, dear Nixie."

"Don't call me that."

Discord made a frown that extended about twice the height of his face.

"Your emotional ploys won't distract me. Where is your magic?"

"In safe keeping elsewhere."

"Where?" The Nightmare demanded.

Putting on a baby bonnet and holding an oversized lollipop, Discord stuck out his tongue. "I'm not telling!" The alicorn seemed to be staring at something behind him however, and he quickly turned to look.

Behind him, the far side of the cottage had been replaced with a projection screen, showing the scene of the battle with Nemesis. It ran like a silent film, complete with intertitles for the dialog as he transferred his power to Fluttershy. The Nightmare grinned as she watched it.

"So," she said, still grinning. "Your gave up your power to save a mortal."

"Well shucks." The costume was now coveralls and a straw hat, with a stalk of hay in the mouth and accent to match. "Ya caught me well an' good right thar!"

Ignoring the shenanigans, The Nightmare continued. "Then you know I can return your power if you join me."

"Eeyup." Discord grinned. He'd heard Big McIntosh's signature phrase often enough that it was the one impression he had down pat.

"So," the alicorn said, confused. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a right kind offer there little miss, but..." The costume and accent vanished, and Discord advanced on The Nightmare. "I." he began, poking her with a claw for emphasis. "Am." Another poke. "Never. Going. To. Betray. My. Friends. Again."

The poking over, The Nightmare harrumphed. "Fine, then perhaps I shall go find this Fluttershy and destroy her; take your power for my own."

Discord just stared. "What? You expect that to scare me?"

"You seem to care for her deeply, so yes."

Discord laughed, slapping his various knees with joviality. "You wouldn't make it three steps if you tried to fight her."

The Nightmare didn't like being laughed aside like that. "Then I will take her for myself then. A frightened little mortal like that should be easy to bend to my will." The threat was hollow, as she'd already been rebuffed by Fluttershy, but perhaps she could try again.

"Oh, Nixie! Why do you think I gave my power to her in the first place?"

The Nightmare rolled her eyes. "Is this where you explain to me about the power of love or something?"

"You should look into that at some point anyway," Discord said, sounding sincere for once. "But no. I gave my power to her not just because I love her, but because, of all the creatures and beings I've ever met, she is the only one I am absolutely certain would never use it for anything even the slightest bit dishonorable."

"But she's practically afraid of her own shadow, never mind mine!"

"Everypony is afraid of something," Discord said. "You should know that better than anyone. But strength doesn't come from a lack of fear, but in how we face our fears."

"So are you really trying to tell me that that scared little pony—"

"Is one of the strongest I've ever known." Discord smiled warmly. "She should be, she's faced down more fears than maybe even you can imagine."

The Nightmare scrunched up her face in thought.

"If you doubt me, then by all means, go try! I shall be waiting here with cake" there was a pop "and champagne" another pop, along with a clink of two glass flutes "to celebrate your failure!"

Snarling, The Nightmare glared at Discord.

"Oh!" A lightbulb appeared over the draconequus' head. "You already did try, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"And found yourself defeated, in a nightmare of your own making, by that 'scared little pony', right?"

"Shut up, Discord!"

"Or what?"

"Fine!" the alicorn shouted, having no real answer. "If you won't join me, then I'll find someone who will. Then I will come back to crush you as well!"

There was a puff, and The Nightmare was gone.

Discord sighed, and a small raincloud appeared over his now-hung head. "Oh sister, does it always have to be like this?"

----

It was raining in Hartholm. The kind of rain that just seeped from the clouds continuously; not enough to really wash anything clean, but enough to keep it all damp and miserable. It was the kind of rain that got into your fur to make it smell all the time. Donner was sick of rain.

She trotted through it anyway though, her big hooves clacking on the cobblestones of the university as she sought out the cafeteria. A little soup would at least warm her up before rehearsal.

A few minutes later, nursing a hot bowl of barley stew, she thought about the play. It'd been the first really outgoing thing she'd tried for since starting university, and the director had told her she was perfect for the lead female role. Today was the first on set, and she'd been up most of the night practicing her lines.

On stage sometime later, she was surrounded by most of the cast and the director. They'd been taking turns reading against each other, and her big scene—the one with the first kiss—was up next.

"Okay," the director shouted, clapping his hooves as the previous scene finished. "That was good, but work on those expressions. Next up, I want..." he looked at a chart, "Birger and Donner."

Donner stepped to center stage, but no other caribou joined her.

"Where's Birger?" the director asked.

"Umm, I think he had to go to the bathroom," one of the other cast members said.

"Well, we're not waiting. Astrid," he addressed one of the previous performers. "You stay on and read his lines."

"Okay," Astrid said.

The scene started, and Donner focused intently on her role. As her lines were mostly memorized, she hardly referred to the script at all. She hoped that counted for something. Meanwhile, Astrid had to read nearly every one of her lines, and seemed far less focused on the scene because of it.

It only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like ages to Donner. As the two performers drew closer and moved about—the final scene would be a full ballroom dance—Donner concentrated on becoming her character. When the big moment arrived, the two were nose to nose, and, just as the script directed, Donner leaned in and kissed her knight.

"Oh, ew... gross!" Astrid shouted, wiping her lips with a hoof. "What are you doing!"

"I'm... I'm sorry," Donner stammered. "I was just..."

"Get away from me, you cowlicker!"

"What? No, it was just that the script said..."

"There's no gay stuff in the script!" Astrid said, as the others behind her snickered. "Just because you look like a bull doesn't mean I want anything to do with you!"

Donner, feeling tears well up in her eyes, turned, hoping to see some support from the director, but she found him only shaking his head in disappointment. She turned and ran from the theater.

Her antlers caught on the door on the way out, causing her to bash her face into the cobblestones outside. She hated her genes sometimes. While her mother was beautiful and svelte, she took after her massive father instead. She was already larger than most bulls, and was probably still growing. She had the shaggy hooves and stout build to match.

She ran through the rain, and everywhere the other students and faculty shouted at her. "Lesbo!" "Cowlicker!" "Gaywad!" "Dyke!"

The streets became a blur of tears and shame. Donner sought out the only place she could hide, back at the great hall with her family. Skidding around the corner and into the courtyard though, she saw her father standing in the door. He was the only caribou she knew larger than herself, and now he seemed to tower over her like he'd done when she was just a calf.

"Is true?" he bellowed, blocking the door as she approached. "You become disgrace for family?"

Donner, already crying, fell to her knees to beg. "Please father, just let me explain."

"Explain? You explain how you, my only daughter, dishonor me, dishonor entire family with pervert ways?"

"No, dad, please..."

"You go now," Gunnar said, turning his face away. "I have no daughter!"

Donner fell to the ground, eyes shut tightly, trapped with no way out. She heard the door to the hall close as she slowly sank into the infinitely deep puddle. In the far corner of her mind there was a whisper. "It gets better." But does it? she wondered.

"What's the matter, little one?"

The soft, feminine voice came out of nowhere, and Donner looked up. She saw a dark-coated caribou standing over her. "Everything," she said. "Or maybe just me."

"Oh, come now," the dark figure said. "It can't be that bad. But if it is, maybe I can help."

Donner, taking a proffered hoof, stood up. Looking around, she found herself in a nebulous void. The ground was solid, and nearby buildings seemed real, but the distance just kind of faded away. "Who are you?" Donner asked, starting to suspect she was in a dream. "Some sort of goddess?"

"I've been called such at times."

If this was a dream, Donner reasoned, then maybe this was Nótt herself. She quickly bowed.

The dark one chuckled. "Well well, it is good to find some respect still present."

"I am honored, great one." Donner had never been one to really believe in the gods, but her father—she shuddered at the recent memory—had instilled a deep respect for the old ways nevertheless, so she knew the protocol. "How may I help?"

"Oooh," the other cooed. "Such manners! Sssooo... willing!"

Not sure how to respond, Donner simply held the bow.

"Oh, get up from there," the other said after a moment. "You look ridiculous."

"Yes, Lady Nótt." Donner stood.

"Not?" The other said.

"My apologies, I had only presumed that with the setting," Donner motioned toward the strange horizon, "you were Nótt."

"Not what?"

"You're not Nótt?" Donner said.

"I'm afraid not."

"I'm not Nótt," Donner said, "I thought you were."

"That I was afraid?"

"No, that you were Nótt."

"Of course not!" The Nightmare shouted, all pretense at calm demeanor forgotten. "Why would I be afraid of a stupid mortal like you?"

Donner was taken aback, but only for a moment. "You're definitely not Nótt," she said, knowing now she was dealing with some form of Dökkálfar, who were notorious for their impatience, especially with riddles and wordplay. "What do you really want?"

The Nightmare calmed herself. "Only to help."

"For a cost, I'm sure."

"My my," The Nightmare said. "It seems all of you mortals are far more aware of me than I would've suspected."

Donner glared at her. "I find education to be quite useful, yes."

The dark caribou turned and walked to a nearby bench, sitting on it before waving a hoof and dismissing the rain and clouds. "Then let us talk as learned ones," she said, patting the seat next to her.

Donner looked at the small space. "I don't think I'd..." The bench expanded, making plenty of room for both. "Fine then," she said, and sat. "Talk."

"Perhaps I am not quite a goddess," The Nightmare admitted. "But I do have immense power. Power I can use to give you nearly anything your heart desires."

"Can you restore the sun?" Donner asked, cutting straight to the point.

"Ah, no, I'm afraid that is beyond even my ability."

"Then we have nothing to discuss." Donner made to stand up.

"Patience child, there are many things you may want which I could give you."

"Such as?"

"Oh," The Nightmare grinned. "Don't play coy with me. I've been here, watching your dreams unfold. I know the secret desires in your heart."

Donner turned away, blushing. A moment later, she felt a hoof gently turning her chin.

"Don't be like that," the dark caribou said. "Such a small problem to overcome."

Donner felt her legs twitching, eager to back away, but... she had to know. "How so?"

"With a single breath I could make any girl you wanted fall for you madly. You could live the rest of your life happy and in love."

"It wouldn't be real though," Donner said, though her thoughts had flashed immediately to Sweetie Belle. Perfect in every other way but that.

"Just as easily, I could change your own heart. You could like bulls, and be happy and normal for the rest of your life."

That one was harder to dismiss, Donner realized. When she was younger, she'd just always assumed she'd marry a nice bull someday. She'd imagined herself happy, with a family of her own. It was only as she'd become a teenager, and started to actually understand romance, that she realized she'd never be in love with a male. So maybe that wasn't so bad.

But then she remembered what she'd promised Sweetie. To keep trying. To kiss all those other mares until she found the right one. This wouldn't be trying. This would be giving up on her true self.

"No," she said. "Then I wouldn't be me."

"Fine," the other said. "No changes to your mind. I could turn you into a bull. You can love all the females you wish, and no one would bat an eye. I could even set a slight spell, so everyone would remember you always being such. You wouldn't have to answer even one awkward question."

Hooves unconsciously curling in, trying to make herself smaller, Donner pondered that. Yes, sure, she'd often wondered what it'd be like to be a male. With her large physique she was halfway there already, as years of teasing children would attest to. But... she was proud to be a female. She was proud to be strong as well. If Sweetie could walk around with a metal paw—heck, the pony loved to show it off even—then surely just looking a little bullish was nothing by comparison. But she wasn't a bull, and she didn't want to be.

"I'm sorry," Donner finally said. "But a friend made me promise to keep trying, and all of these would be giving up on who I am."

Catching a glimmer in Donner's eye, The Nightmare reached for the thread of memory, and pulled forth a simulacrum of Sweetie Belle.

"Oh," the impostor said. "Hi, Donner."

"Don't you dare!" Donner said, glaring icicles at The Nightmare. "You don't get to use her against me."

"What's wrong, Donner?" the impostor said, walking toward her friend.

Eyes darting between the two, Donner settled on The Nightmare. "Keep her away from me."

"It's your dream, darling."

"Come on, Donner. It's just me." The Sweetie Belle advanced to Donner's side as Donner stood off the bench. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"Wh-what?" Donner stammered. "What do you mean?"

"The kiss. You just surprised me is all. I..." Sweetie Belle moved close and nuzzled Donner, cheek to cheek. "I think I do love you, but I'm just scared."

Donner backed away frantically, hooves slipping on the once-again-wet cobblestones. "No, that's not what you said."

"I know," Sweetie said. "But I was wrong. Come here." Sweetie opened her hooves for a hug. "It's cold out here, and I need you to keep me warm."

Suddenly, Donner felt her tail bump against a stone wall. She couldn't back up any further as Sweetie approached. "Stay back!" she said as her legs quavered under her.

"Shhh..." Sweetie said, once again reaching the nervous caribou. "It's okay, I'm here now." She wrapped Donner in a tight hug. "Everything's going to be just fine."

Knees shaking, heart racing, Donner still cherished the hug. It felt real. It felt like Sweetie Belle, but with that extra desire underneath she'd always hoped to find, but never had. Tears fell from her eyes as she stood, nearly motionless, while the hug continued.

"Oh, I know it's hard," Sweetie said. "But we can get through it together. Just join me, and we can be together forever!"

Heart breaking, eyes burning, Donner screamed. "No! You're not her! You're some sort of evil trickster and I will not let you in! Go away!"

The white form of Sweetie Belle stepped back, tilted its head to the side and quirked an eyebrow at the tear-stained face of the caribou. A moment later, it suffused into a dark miasma of smoke. "You're too weak to waste my time on anyway," The Nightmare said, with far less fervor than Donner would've expected. The smoke then quickly disappeared into the ether.

Donner, glad that it was over, but having tasted just a tiny bit of what she knew she'd never have, slumped down against the rain-soaked wall, curled into a little ball, and cried.

----

The Nightmare reached out to the final thread, and pulled her way inside the dream.

Ah yes, she thought, this was a nightmare, ready to go. No need to try to darken other dreams as she had before. Judging by the setting, this one was primed for fear already. She took in her surroundings.

It was a sort of half cave, set aside some vast and grassy plain. Outside, a half moon shown, just enough to cast shadows in the darkness. In the center of the cave mouth was a massive spiderweb, larger than a house. In the center of that, an appropriately large spider-ish creature sat and waited, while around the floor and walls, other eight-legged things crawled. Some like crabs, some like lobsters, and others in ways that seemed to defy all natural law. It was horrifyingly perfect. Now she just needed to find the owner of the dream, observe, and strike at the height of fear. She took to her ethereal form, and drifted to hide in a small crevice, just inside the cave's ceiling. Her view wouldn't be perfect, but as long a she could hear it would suffice.

A short time later, she heard a pair of ponies gallop up to the front of the cave, slowing to a trot as they approached, seemingly winded. Ah yes, The Nightmare thought, this would be it.

"What are you doing here?" The spider said.

Yes, just perfect. The dreamer strays into the monster's den, and is questioned. A classic nightmare. Next would be the uncertain answer, the threat, and then... either the companion would turn on the dreamer, or they'd simply flee. Either way, she'd catch the dreamer right when reason was weakest.

But the pony outside didn't answer.

"I said," the spider repeated, sounding much louder "What are you doing here?"

The hoofsteps entered the cave, and The Nightmare couldn't resist a peek. Her mist-like form oozed out of the crevice slowly. As she looked down, she found the gaze of a half-pony, half-spider monstrosity staring back, as well as an eight legged horse, some dragon-ish things with multiple sets of wings, and several smaller creatures which could only be termed "crab-i-corns." All of them turned to track her gaze in unison, and all of them shared the same white unicorn face. The Nightmare knew she should be nearly invisible, especially in a dream, and she gave thought to just ignoring the odd behavior, but that notion quickly evaporated when they demanded as a choir, "One last time, what are you doing in my dream?"

Later, she would recall this as a moment of epiphany about the nature of fear in dreams; "So that's what it feels like!" But for now, she simply acted out of shocked reflex, the diffuse magical particles of her being slamming together into solid form. Unfortunately, she was near the ceiling of the cave as this happened.

"Ah," the horse-like one said, having caught her in its foremost appendages. "There you are."

Dignity momentarily forgotten, all The Nightmare could do was try to catch her breath, which came in loud ragged gasps, yet still barely covered the sound of her fast-beating heart.

Taking pity, Sweetie Belle gently set the intruder on the ground. "Sorry if I scared you. I'm just running some experiments."

Still gulping air, The Nightmare nonetheless made an attempt at reply. "Experiments? But you're just a dream."

"No, I'm me," Sweetie Belle said. "Well, one of me. All of us are me actually." The cave's ensemble of creatures all waved in unison.

"You're all the dreamer?"

"I guess that's one way to put it. It just makes the experiments go faster if I try a bunch of them at the same time."

The Nightmare was astonished. Sure, the normal rules of the world hardly applied in most dreams, but a pony's sense of self was usually the one unbreakable rule. Some ponies obviously dreamed about slightly changed versions of themselves—bigger muscles, better looks, stuff like that—but they were still just themselves at the core. She'd certainly never met a pony that literally fractured her sense of self deliberately in a dream.

"To what end are these abominations undertaken?"

Sweetie quirked an eyebrow at that, but decided not to take offense. "Oh, well, just playing around really. See, I'd been reading some of the caribou mythology before the trip, and I came across the legend of Sleipnir, an eight-legged pony that was supposed to be the fastest that ever was."

"And the spider?"

"Well, once I got going with eight legs, it turns out the mechanics of it are really awkward in pony form. A more primitive equine form" she motioned to her currently speaking body "fits them in a little better, especially if I keep the foremost for grasping paws, rather than hooves. But really, there are so many other options for eight legs, I figured I'd try them out, see if any really provide an advantage."

The Nightmare raised a hoof and rubbed her temples. This had been a long night, and now she was in a dream even weirder than Discord's for her last shot, and she'd completely blown her entrance.

"So," Sweetie said. "Enough about me. Who are you? I've never met another pony that could dreamwalk, save Princess Luna, and you clearly aren't her... Wait, are you? In disguise I mean?"

Oh, The Nightmare thought. Maybe she could use this. She'd been bound to Luna for a thousand years, and knew more about the Princess than any being, including perhaps even Luna herself. "Well spotted," she said. "My sister has sent me to check on you, but as you know, she doesn't want to seem intrusive, so she asked me to be discreet."

Squinting, Sweetie used a paw to rub her chin as she licked her lips a few times. "No, your magic isn't right. I mean, it's a good attempt, very few unicorns can even begin to disguise the signature of their aura, but you're not her."

The Nightmare sighed. So it wasn't going to be so easy after all.

"Wait," Sweetie said, ears perking up. "I think I do know you."

"You do?"

"You're not disguising your aura at all, are you?"

"Umm..." she was unsure how to answer that, not knowing what the guess was going to be.

"No, you're not. You're the entity that joined with Luna. The one they call The Nightmare. That's why your aura tastes so similar to hers!"

This was all going wrong, The Nightmare thought. Normally the reveal of her identity was the moment of terror for the dreamer. But now this pony—was it a pony?—before her didn't even look concerned in the slightest to have her dream invaded by what most feared as an ancient evil. In fact, the eight-legged proto-equine in front of her actually looked somewhat giddy about it.

"Soooo..." Sweetie said, grinning as she rubbed her foremost paws together in anticipation. "What are you here for?"

Sighing yet again, The Nightmare realized she was just ready to give up at this point. She'd try again with the others on a future night. Some of them had been just on the verge of cracking, she felt. Surely another night or three and one of them would. But she had to at least make the token attempt here, or she'd feel even worse about her failure.

"Fine," she said. "Here's the deal. If you know who I am, then you know I'm quite powerful."

"Oh yes," Sweetie said. "Quite powerful. It took the Elements of Harmony to stop you and Luna when you were joined."

That was, The Nightmare felt, a compliment. Odd. She pressed on.

"Yes, well, if you join with me, that power can be yours to share." She said it like a litany. "Fame, fortune, love, power... all yours for the taking. You'd have the world at your hooftips..."

"Okay," Sweetie said.

"...Your wildest dreams can become reality, subjects bowing before you, enemies trembling at your... Wait. What?"

"I said, 'okay.' Let's do it!"

"Really?" The Nightmare was flabbergasted. "Just like that?"

"Yeah, sure... I mean, unless your deal has something more to it. I'm not giving you my firstborn or anything like that."

"No..." The Nightmare wasn't sure what to make of this. "Just you. You must freely join with me, and then we share my power." She left out the bit about "as I slowly take over your will with my own."

"Sounds fair," Sweetie said, still looking for all the world like a genuinely excited and interested party to such a deal. "Then what? You move in here and set up shop?"

"Errr, something like that, yes. We would share your mind, commune within it, much as we are now."

"Okay, sounds great. How do we start?"

"Well, there's never really been a formal process or anything. You just have to welcome me in."

"Oh, easy enough!" Sweetie said cheerfully, then proceeded to wrap four legs around her new partner, hoisting her in the air and crushing her in a massive hug. "Welcome home!"

The Nightmare felt a pressure in her eyes that she'd never experienced before. Her lungs were about to burst as well.

Nearby, a very large spider-pony made a very girlish squee as a bunch of crab-i-corns danced a jig.

----

The Tent.
The Next Morning.

Fluttershy was up early, and had taken it upon herself to start breakfast. Rolled oats were simmering in the kettle as it hung over the fire in the main room of the tent. She took a deep whiff, the warm, earthy scent bringing some tiny semblance of home to this cold, distant place she found herself in.

Hearing the sounds of a pony stirring, Fluttershy's ears quickly swiveled and identified it as coming from Donner and Sweetie Belle's room. She'd heard a lot of hushed whispers, and even what sounded like a muted argument coming from the two during the night. She could tell Donner had a bit of a crush on Sweetie, though she was fairly certain Sweetie didn't swing that way, and she'd been briefly worried the two might have had a row over it, though that would be out of character for Sweetie Belle as well. Thankfully, the last she'd heard, there had been muffled giggles, so whatever had happened, it seemed to end on a cheerful note. Maybe Sweetie... No, it was none of her business.

Hoofsteps let her know that at least somepony was now fully awake, and she glanced up to see the shaggy white form of Sweetie Belle enter in her peripheral vision while she stirred the pot.

"The oats are just about ready, Sweetie." Fluttershy said. "Bowls are just over there on the table if you want to grab one."

"Why yes, that sounds delicious. Though I'm not—"

"You're not Sweetie Belle!" Fluttershy said, her attention shifting instantly at the eerily familiar voice coming from the interloper.

"As I was just saying," The Nightmare said casually.

Fluttershy froze as she examined the creature. It was almost Sweetie Belle. But where the golem pony was almost always smiling warmly, there was instead a cold neutrality. The eyes had a dim red glow in the now-slitted pupils, with faint wisps of some dark aura surrounding them. On top of that, each word the creature said revealed a set of fangs, not unlike Fluttershy's own.

"Who... Who are you?" Fluttershy stammered, backing away. 

The white form suddenly shook its head violently, and when it returned a moment later to meet her gaze, Fluttershy saw the pupils and teeth were still there, but the glow and aura was gone. More importantly, the warm smile was back.

"Fluttershy, it's okay. It's me, Sweetie!"

"You look like her, but... the eyes, the teeth! What did you do with Sweetie!?"

Sweetie tilted her head, confused. "Eyes? Teeth?"

Fluttershy, paw quivering, pointed to one of the shiny metal spoons set out on the table. Sweetie levitated one and examined her reflection.

"Oh, for the love of..." Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, then appeared to be having a conversation with the air a few feet to her left. "I thought I told you, no redecorating unless we both agreed on it!"

There was a... a change, some quick flash-that-wasn't and the creature before her was once again the other. "Sorry," it said. "I could hardly even speak correctly with such flat teeth."

Another blip. "Fine," Sweetie said. "We'll keep it for now, but nothing else unless we talk about it first, okay?"

"Agreed," The Nightmare said.

"Good," Sweetie said, then looked up and saw Fluttershy, who was now brandishing a not-particularly-threatening spatula from a defensive posture in the corner.

"Stay back!" the chaocorn shouted. "Or I'll... I'll..."

"Offer us some oatmeal?" Sweetie smiled. "Sorry, we—or at least I—didn't mean to scare you like that."

"What's going on?" Rainbow Dash muttered groggily as she walked into the room. Seeing Fluttershy in the corner, quivering in fear, Dash instinctively took a defensive posture, head lowering, wings opening slightly. "What's wrong, Flutters?"

Fluttershy just waved the spatula frantically at Sweetie Belle. Sweetie then turned to face Dash and explain, but before she could get a word out, Dash already saw the changed features. "You!" she growled, and began pawing the ground to charge.

"You're kidding, right?" The Nightmare barely finished her sentence before Dash body-checked her through the far wall of the tent.

----

The (Repaired) Tent.
Some minutes later.

Sweetie awoke to find herself lying on her side on the floor of the tent. Moving gingerly, she found her legs had been tied together. That didn't bode well. She had to give it to Dash though, very few ponies could've gotten the jump on her like that. She opened her eyes, and saw Discord place one last piece of tape over the tear where she had exited unexpectedly and abruptly due to a certain pegasus.

"Oh, you're back," Discord said, eying her as he tossed the tape to the luggage, which consumed it in one gulp.

Sweetie tried to roll over, and felt a pain in her ribs. "Ow..." she moaned. "Dash got me good."

"You bet I did!" The voice came from the other side of the tent, and Sweetie twisted her neck to try and see.

"It's not what you think," Sweetie said.

"Isn't it?" Dash said, approaching to stare down at her. "Because it seems like you've been possessed by The Nightmare."

"Well... Yeah," Sweetie admitted, "but by choice!"

"Wait," Fluttershy said, joining the conversation. "You let her take you?"

"It's not like that," Sweetie insisted. "She was trapped without a body, and she needed help, so I let her hitch a ride."

"Ha!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof down at her face. "You expect us to believe that? Sweetie Belle would never give in to evil!"

"Hey," Donner said, kneeling beside Sweetie's form. "Give her a chance. You already knocked her out and tied her up."

"Thanks, Donner." She gave a weak smile to the caribou, before turning back to Dash. "I am Sweetie Belle. Seriously Dash, it's me."

"Oh yeah? Prove it!"

"Umm..." Sweetie wasn't sure how to prove that. At least in the objective sense. Then she felt a poke in her hindbrain. "One second," she said, and closed her eyes.

Somewhere far inside her left temporal lobe, Sweetie Belle sat at a table. "I thought we agreed you'd let me handle this for now."

Across from her, The Nightmare drummed her hoof on the table. "Yes, that's going swimmingly so far. But I thought perhaps you'd like a suggestion."

"Which is?"

"Discord... he can vouch for me. More importantly, and by extension, he can vouch for you not being me."

"Discord? What does he have to do with this?"

"I thought you said you'd trust me."

"I said I'd try to trust you. Your reputation on that front isn't exactly stellar, you know."

"Just do it."

"Fine."

Opening her eyes, Sweetie nodded toward Discord. Here goes nothing, she thought. "He can tell you."

"Dizzy?" Fluttershy said, her voice a mix of both surprise and concern. "You know something about this?"

Discord sighed. "Alas, yes. My dear sister"—Sweetie felt a sharp poke in her mind at the word—"and I go way back."

"Sister?" The word was said in unison by all five of the others, including Sweetie Belle herself.

"Well," Discord waved a talon in a circle. "More or less. In as much as Nemesis is dear ol' dad, little miss Nightmare may as well be my sister. Though Stygian heredity is far more complex than that of mortals."

"The Nightmare is your sister?" Dash said.

"Really? I already told you the giant evil thing trying to destroy the world is my father. I myself tried to take over at least several times. Is it really that surprising that another ancient ne're do well is related?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound kind of logical."

"Logical?" Discord facepalmed. "Oh dearest me, how low we've sunk, if I'm the one explaining things logically!"

Sweetie couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hey, you're not off the hook," Dash shouted at her. "Sister or not, I don't like evil possessing my friend!"

"Dash," Sweetie said. "I told you, I'm not The Nightmare, I'm just letting her catch a ride."

"A likely story! Why I—"

"It's true," Discord said. "Even without my powers, I can still sense magic. My sister is in there, but she's not driving the coach, at least not at the moment."

"Thank you!" Sweetie Belle said. "So can we get rid of these ropes now?"

"Not so fast!" Dash said. "How do we know she's not going to take over the moment we release you."

Sweetie blinked and found herself looking over the table at The Nightmare again. "Again?" Sweetie said. "I'm trying to work the room out there."

"Oh hush," The Nightmare said. "You know our discussions here are just a fraction of a second out there."

"Fair enough. But if we're going to keep meeting here, we really should spruce up the place. Giant table floating in the void really isn't that inviting." She blinked, and the two now found themselves at a much smaller table, inside a small, but comfortable looking cottage kitchen.

The Nightmare harrumphed.

"It's my brain, I can do what I like. And I think it's more welcoming this way."

"Whatever," The Nightmare said. "Back to the point. You should let me talk to them."

"They're afraid of you."

"I can play nice. I'm quite good at it actually." She switched into a higher, sing song voice. "Oh dear, isn't this lovely. What a beautiful day. I love everypony!"

"You know they've heard of sarcasm in this century, right?"

"You get my point. I'll be gracious and humble. If I'm not, just take over yourself."

"Fine, but let me make an introduction first, so they don't freak out."

"Okay."

Sweetie finished her blink and looked at Dash. "Okay, leave them for a little bit longer and I'll let her come talk to you herself. You'll see, she's not that bad."

"I don't know," Fluttershy said. "Are you sure those ropes will hold her?"

"Just as surely as they're holding me," Sweetie said, mentally chiding herself for the almost-lie.

"Umm, okay I guess."

Sweetie went back into her mental cottage. "You're up," she said.

"Greetings, my little ponies," the Not-Sweetie said with a voice liked tinted glass.

"Yup, that's lil' sis!" Discord confirmed.

"I am not your sister!"

"Who are you then?" Donner said, speaking up softly.

"I am..." she was primed to make a haughty announcement, but realized that any moniker she choose would likely not help her cause. She foundered. "...not Sweetie Belle."

"Monocle, monocle!" Discord said under his breath, frantically miming a ring around his eye to Fluttershy. She rolled her eyes, but smiled and snapped her talons anyway. A jeweler's monocle appeared in his claw, and he quickly made a point of examining the "specimen." "Da! Ve can tell she ist not of ze same specie, due to ze indications of ze red glowing of ze eyes, und ze Stygian aura emanating from ze ocular regions."

Dash snorted. "Glowy red eyes equal evil. Duh!"

Donner glared at both of them. "Sweetie didn't seem to think she was evil."

"Thank you," The Nightmare said, nodding.

Donner looked into the glowing eyes. It was eerily like her dream. Here was Sweetie Belle, but not Sweetie Belle. Yet here, in the real world, it was less frightening. Especially as this version wasn't making advances on her. More importantly, the real Sweetie Belle seemed to be vouching for her. If Sweetie could give her a chance, then so could Donner. "Do you have a name?"

"Yes," Fluttershy said. "That would help, I think. We can't simply call you 'not Sweetie' if we're supposed to trust you."

The Nightmare grinned. It was too perfect. She was not Sweetie, but... "How about Nótt?"

Donner, kneeling close to Sweetie's body, looked at her as she said it, and saw just the faintest hints around those dark eyes which showed the smile was, at least in some small part, genuine.

Discord just snickered, but the other two opened their mouths to voice confusion. Donner quickly held up a hoof to silence them. "Nótt was the caribou goddess of the night. When... this one... came to me in a dream, I mistook her for that goddess. However, it seems as good of a name as any, and certainly less likely to cause disruption than introductions made as 'The Nightmare.'"

"Indeed," Nótt said. "This one—"

"Donner," Donner said.

"Donner, has named me."

Donner wondered to herself about other stories of the Dökkálfar, stories that said naming one granted you power over them. And then there were the darker stories, those which told of the twisted power of the Unnaming. Probably just more fairytales, she thought, but one could never be sure these days.

"So, the ropes?"

Donner looked over, and saw Sweetie had returned. She looked around the room, and the others nodded in assent, though Dash was obviously reluctant. She reached for the ropes to untie her friend.

"No need," Sweetie said, quickly flipping into the air and unknotting the ropes with her magic before landing firmly on all fours. The undamaged rope sailed into the luggage.

"Seriously," Sweetie said. "I know none of you were born unicorns, but you really need to remember that ropes don't stop magic."

"No," Discord said, feigning interest in a hangnail. "But she does."

Sweetie wheeled about as she heard Fluttershy snapping her talons. She felt strange pressure on her forehead, then a weird sense of vertigo and a loud pop. Reaching up to her head, she found her horn was gone.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie," Fluttershy said. "But while you were unconscious, we all decided that we couldn't trust The Nightmare—I mean, Nótt—with your magic. At least not right away."

Eyes flaring briefly, Nótt took over. "Why you insolent—"

"No," Sweetie said, gritting her teeth in her own anger. "You don't get to drive."

Sweetie was shocked, both by the physical sensations of being cut off from her magic, and that her supposed friends could do such a thing to her.

"But why?" she said, meekly. "Don't you trust me?"

Dash, ever resolute, spoke up. "Sweetie Belle, we trust you but not her. Luna herself couldn't resist Nótt's temptations, and that nearly destroyed Equestria."

"But this is different! I know what I'm doing! I—"

"Sweetie!" Dash said. "You think you do, but what if you're wrong? Just, think, for just a moment, have you ever been wrong about something?"

She wanted to object, to insist that she was right, obviously she was right, but... how could she? Of course she wasn't perfect, and neither was her judgment. She thought back to being trapped in the pit with the obelisk. She'd been so confident going into that place, so certain of her power. But she'd almost died there, and taken her two best friends down with her. Apple Bloom had saved her from her overconfidence by literally driving nails through her hooves and climbing out. She still woke some nights, hearing the cries of pain her friend had made during that ascent. The fact that she now felt equally removed from her magic now as she had then only emphasized the connection. She felt tears start to well up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," Sweetie Belle said, starting to sob. "I... I know I take risks. I do it all the time, but you're right. It's not fair of me to put you all at risk with something like this."

She felt a whoomph of heavy fur wrap around her, as Donner gave her a hug. "It's just for a little bit," the caribou said. "Until we know we can trust Nótt."

Sweetie wiped her eyes and nodded. "I understand. I'd probably do the same thing. But it's just scary, suddenly being without magic."

Donner chuckled, "And just last night, I was convinced you weren't afraid of anything at all!"

Sweetie Belle smiled, and leaned in for another hug. "Thanks," she said. "But now, I think I need to go calm Nótt down. She's about to give me a migraine with the tantrum she's throwing."

Sweetie sat back and closed her eyes for just a few seconds, and then they opened, the dark aura surrounded them. "I am," Nótt said. "here to apologize. I should not have interrupted Sweetie Belle earlier, nor insinuated that any of you were insolent."

Fluttershy spoke up first. "Thank you, Nótt. And I'm sorry we had to surprise both of you with that."

"Same here," Donner said. "We... well, we want to trust you, but that may take some time."

The others looked at Discord. "Hey, I'm not apologizing. I trust you about as far as I would trust me. Frankly I'm surprised these ponies give you any chance at all."

"Oh Dizzy, you don't mean that," Fluttershy chided.

Discord hung his head. "Okay, fine. Dearest Sis—Nótt—I really do hope you can be trusted, and I'm sorry if we've hurt those chances already." He looked at Fluttershy. "Better?"

"Much!" she chirped.

"Thank you all, I suppose," Nótt said. "I am uncertain how to proceed from here, however."

"I think I know how Sweetie would do it," Donner said, as she wrapped the Stygian in yet another hug. "Welcome, Nótt! I hope we can be friends."

The former Nightmare again felt a strange pressure in her eyes before she was returned to the ground. Then another caribou walked into the room.

"Oh, hey!" Blitzen said, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Guess I overslept. Did I miss anything?"

The rest of the tent's occupants all shared a look.

"What?" Blitzen said, oblivious. "And who's that?" he said, pointing to the one with glowing red eyes.

"I am Nótt," she said.

"Not who?" Blitzen dutifully replied.

Everyone, including Nótt, broke out in laughter.

Yup, Discord thought, that was never going to get old!

> Interlude: A Farewell to Armoires
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inner Slope, Circum-Arctic Mountains.
Eleven days later.

After a grueling week of hiking, the expedition had managed to find their way through the treacherous passes and arrived on the inner slope of the mountains circling the pole. Heading downhill again, the journey had become easier for a day or two, and even slightly warmer as the altitude decreased. Morale had been on the upswing until yesterday.

The team had been woken in the pre-dawn hours by the luggage. The magical chest had begun howling for no apparent reason, sounding like nothing so much as a sick or injured dog. Fluttershy had gone to check on it, and found it vomiting up seemingly random objects. By the end of the day, there was a pile of detritus nearly filling the main room of the tent. The luggage itself had moved on from howling to whimpering.

Fluttershy had insisted on staying with the poor thing through the night, doing what she could to comfort it, but whatever animated the creation bore little resemblance to any form of life or magic the ponies knew, and none had any idea how to help.

Now, in the faint, crepuscular light of another arctic morning, the expedition members stood around looking on in muted horror as the once vibrant Pearwood of the creature turned more and more to black rot. Discord laid a forepaw on the chest's lid, patting it reassuringly, but getting only a faint tremble of a few legs in response.

Fluttershy, kneeling nearby, stood and leaned into him. "Oh Dizzy, I just don't know what to do," she said.

Discord sighed. "Can you sense anything wrong with its magic?"

"I've been trying," Fluttershy said. "All I get is a sense of... of loss, and sadness. Like it's giving up."

Nodding solemnly, Discord reached out again to the now-rotted wood. "What happened to you?"

"Do you think it's the Hole?" Donner asked. "This is a magic creature after all, maybe it's... being drained like the rest of magic?"

"I don't think so," Discord responded. "The magic in the Sapient Pearwood isn't from this universe, so it follows its own rules, not ours."

Fluttershy looked up at Discord. "What do you know about where it's from? Is there something you know that could make it sick like this?"

Scratching his chin in a surprisingly genuine and non-comedic manner, the draconequus thought for a moment. "I think," he said. "It'd have to be connected to its roots... to its origin or creation."

"Like how a spell fades when its caster dies?" Sweetie Belle said.

Fluttershy let out a sniffle. "Or like a pet refusing to go on when its master dies."

The luggage made a small whimper and coughed up a few more objects. Discord picked up one of them, a book, and examined it. A knowing look suddenly spread across his face.

"What is that?" Sweetie asked, moving closer to look at it with him.

"Its roots."

The book was worn, the pages all dog-eared and ragged; a book well traveled and often read. The faded artwork on the cover showed four elephants, standing atop a seemingly gigantic turtle, and supporting on their backs a blue and green disc with mountains and seas on it, like some sort of flattened globe. Large gold letters at the top titled it "The Colour of Magic."

"I feel like I've seen that story before," Sweetie said. "But I can't quite place it."

Donner leaned in and looked. "Me too," she said. "It seems familiar, but... Who wrote it?"

Discord ran a claw lovingly over the cover. Where the author's name should be, the paper was worn through by time, like a memory faded with age.

"That's a shame," Donner said, seeing the worn paper.

"You know," Fluttershy added. "I feel like I know that story somehow as well. Are you sure you don't remember who created it?"

"Oh, I remember." Discord gave a sad smile, and Fluttershy could see there was even a tear in his eye. He leaned down and put his mouth close to where one might guess an "ear" should be on the luggage and whispered something the others couldn't hear.

The luggage let out one last whimper, one which almost sounded happy, like a lost puppy that'd finally been found, then went still.

Sensing the change, Fluttershy's eyes went wide with alarm. Before she could say anything though, Discord stood up, tears now running clearly down the fur of his cheeks. "I remember! I will always remember. As will millions and millions of others in countless universes across all of time and space. The guy that wrote that, he created something so wonderful, so powerful, that it will never be forgotten."

"The luggage?" Blitzen asked.

Discord laughed. "That, and so, so much more!" He turned to face Blitzen more directly. "Do you know what's so special about the luggage?"

Blitzen took a guess. "It can hold a lot of stuff?"

Discord laughed again. He liked the kid's matter of fact approach. "Well yes, that too, but more importantly, you can never lose it. No matter where you go, no matter what happens, if you call it, the luggage will come. It isn't stopped by physical barriers like walls or mountains or oceans or planets. It can't be restrained by armies or even armadas. And it doesn't even notice little details like being in the wrong universe or plane of existence. Absolutely nothing will stop it from coming when called."

Blitzen cocked his head in confusion. "So what does that mean?"

"My dear boy," Discord said. "The luggage simply got called home!"

"But..." Blitzen pointed at the rotting and now inanimate wood lying on the floor of the tent. "Isn't it dead?"

"Yes, exactly. Nothing will stop it."

> Chapter 11: Hunger
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Polar Plateau.
Nineteen days later, morning.

With the luggage gone, the expedition had become increasingly difficult. The ponies and caribou had to haul everything themselves. The massive tent was the first to go, and the team had salvaged what they could from the rest. They'd been reduced to bivouacking from here on out. In addition to shelter, food and fire were also major concerns. This far into the tundra, vegetation was difficult to find, and dry vegetation for fuel, harder still.

Rainbow Dash pawed at the ground. She'd found a thinner patch of snow on the windward side of a small hillock, and was scraping together a little bit of long-frozen grass. Her stomach grumbled as she sniffed at the mud-covered tufts. It was half-rotted before it'd been frozen, but they'd eaten the last of their proper supplies a week ago, and at this point she would've eaten mud itself if somepony told her it had calories.

"Any luck?" Donner shouted from another hillock nearby.

"Same muck as last time," Dash replied.

"Well, grab what you can and let's head back."

She pulled what clumps of grass she could, doing her best to knock the dirt from the roots, then followed Donner back toward that evening's campsite. The team had dug a trench in the snow, just big enough to fit all six(ish) of them, and then covered it with salvaged canvas. As a shelter, it was cramped, but adequate, the snow walls providing enough relative insulation to let them sleep through the night; at least as long as they kept their furs on. Nothing more positive could really be said for it however.

As the pair approached, Sweetie Belle poked her head up above the snowbank. "Hey guys, how'd it go?"

Dash levitated her four tufts of yellowed grass.

"Yeesh," Sweetie said. "That bad?"

"I found a couple of rodent burrows, and dug out a stash of seeds. I also found some thistle," Donner said. "At least we can make tea."

Fluttershy and Discord returned a short while later, their luck at finding sustenance not much better. Fluttershy laid a half-rotten wild onion, a few twigs, and some sort of bulbous root by the fire with the rest. Her stomach grumbled loudly, despite the meager fare in front of her, and Discord placed a paw worryingly on the side of her belly.

"We have to find you more to eat," he whispered to her. "You need more food than usual, not less."

Fluttershy turned away. He was right, of course, but reminding her of it didn't solve anything.

Discord felt his own stomach rumble as well. Being mortal was a real pain sometimes.

"Ugh," Blitzen said, looking at the scavenged tableau. The young caribou was stirring a small pot over their only fire. "Guess we might as well toss it all in. At least it'll be cooked." He bent over and snapped a few of the twigs before adding them to the fire, then proceeded to add the roots and grasses to the pot.

----

Later that evening, after the meager food had been shared, and everypony finished picking the dirt and other inedibles out of their teeth, Dash had an idea.

"Hey," she said, suddenly standing up. "Fluttershy! You have Discord's magic. Just snap your digits and make some food appear!"

Discord sighed and looked at Sweetie.

"Yeah," Sweetie said, shaking her head. "Nótt and I already asked that a couple of days ago."

"So?"

"Chaos magic can't make food," Discord said.

"Sure it can," Dash said. "You covered half of Ponyville with chocolate milk, and turned every cloud into cotton candy!"

"Did you eat any of it?" Discord asked.

"Well, no... I figured it might be poison. Wait!" Dash's eyes lit up. "It's not poison, is it?"

Discord gave a nod to Fluttershy, who snapped her talons, causing a cucumber sandwich, complete with plate, to appear.

"I promise it's not poison," she said, giving a weak smile to Dash. "But it's not real food either."

Dash looked around at the others, unsure.

"Go on," Sweetie said. "It's not bad, just... well, you'll see."

Stomach gurgling once again, Dash reached out and grabbed the sandwich. She took a large bite, and chewed. It tasted... plaid.

"So?"

"You're sure it's not poison?"

"No Dashie," Fluttershy said. "I promise."

Dash wolfed down the rest.

"How was it?"

"Kind of a weird taste, but not bad."

"Uh huh, and...?"

Another hungry gurgle from her stomach answered for her.

"Oh..."

"I'm sorry," Discord said. "But Chaos food is... well, real food is about order. Your body takes it apart and uses it to rebuild itself. That's a very orderly thing to do, essentially fighting entropy. Chaos magic doesn't make anything that your body can make sense of though; no little teensy bits to pull apart and build into pony parts."

"It's not real food," Sweetie summarized.

Dash had another idea. "So, what about—"

"No. Fluttershy can't teleport food in," Sweetie interrupted. "Or us out. She also can't magically locate food, at least not more than a mile or so away."

"But... I thought Chaos magic could do anything."

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said. "Discord could... he could maybe do that, but I just don't know how yet. I'm trying to learn, I really am, but—"

"She only ever saw me use my power for jokes or very local effects," Discord said, hanging his head. "And my power itself seems to be pulling the biggest joke of all in keeping her to just that." He lifted his chin and his tone. "But if anypony needs balloon animals or a hilarious costume change, we're your team!" Discord finished by giving a half-hearted fist-pump as if to say "go team!"

Looking dejected, Dash surveyed the room. Everypony hung their head as well. They were leagues and leagues from the nearest civilization, weeks at minimum, even if the weather cooperated. There was simply no way they could live on a few bits of rotted grass for that long, much less finish their mission.

"So how do we survive this?" Dash finally asked.

Nopony answered her, and as her eyes tracked from face to face, the others all turned to avoid her gaze. In turn, Dash hung her own head, and, realizing the sun was going down, suggested they all turn in before the worst of the cold got into their bones.

----

Camp.
Morning, such as it is in the North, three days later.

Rainbow Dash awoke to a sharp pain in her wing, as she had for the past several weeks. Open or closed, the frostbitten wing hurt. Though in recent days, it was closely rivaled by the pain in her stomach. She did her best to bite down on the curses, trying not to wake the others.

Stepping away from the other sleepers, she craned her head around to get a better look at her wing, lifting her fur cloak to do so. The tip of her wing was completely without feeling, and the feathers there were starting to fall out, giving her a clear view of blackened, dead skin. The pain itself came from much further down the wing, where black gave way to more healthy color between her feathers. She hadn't exactly been measuring, but it seemed a little bit was starting to heal, as the blackened area was no longer growing at least. But she hadn't been able to even twitch a pinion there for over a month now, so she was pretty sure at least some part of her wing was going to be lost.

"Dashie?" A murmur from a half-asleep Fluttershy. "Is everything okay?"

Quickly dropping the furs back into place, Dash played it off. "Yeah, just needed to stretch my legs." They all had enough to worry about without piling on concern for her as well. She felt her stomach growl with hunger, as if to emphasize the point.

As the others awoke in the ensuing minutes, and the fire was rekindled with the last of their scavenged fuel, Dash sat down in a circle with the rest and tried to warm her hooves.

Donner made tea with the last of the thistle, and the group sat in silence, savoring the small comfort of the warm beverage, finding it just enough to give the illusion that everything was okay, and nopony wanted to break the spell by talking.

"I..." Blitzen spoke up, and the rest sighed. But then he held out a small paper-wrapped bundle of sugar cubes. "I was saving these, for, you know, better times, but..."

He didn't have to say it. They all knew it was literally the last of the last in terms of anything edible.

"They might at least make this stuff taste okay," he finished.

Deep inside, a small part of Rainbow Dash wanted to yell at him for hoarding food when they were all starving, but... a half dozen sugar cubes would do little-to-nothing against that. At least with an act of kindness, they could all smile one last time.

Another few minutes passed, as all assembled sipped their tea. The sugar, while welcome to the tongue, unfortunately only served to remind their stomachs of the need for real nourishment. Bellies growled all around, and the thought of yet another day scraping in the snow for the tiniest of morsels felt hopeless. They burned far more calories gathering food than their meager finds could replenish.

It was, Dash reiterated in her mind, hopeless.

"So this is it," she finally said. "Isn't it?"

Sweetie looked up, her face gaunt. "It's what?"

"The end," Dash said quietly. "We're all thinking it, just nopony wants to say it."

"She's right, you know." Discord stood up. "This is pretty bleak. Shouldn't there have been some magic friendship rainbows by now or something?"

"Har har."

"No, seriously! You ponies always manage to get out of a jam at the last possible minute... or at least as soon as somepony learns an important lesson. Well, I've learned mine! The cold is awful and I want to go home!"

"Discord," Sweetie Belle said. "This isn't some lesson cooked up by Twilight or Celestia."

"But you all taught me that any problem can be solved if you're with your friends and work together! I thought you were just waiting for the narratively appropriate moment. Well, isn't that now? Isn't this when one of you comes up with some brilliant plan to get us out of this mess by just thinking outside the box?"

"Shut up, Discord!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "It's not funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny! I am cold, and tired, and hungry, and until fairly recently, I've never been any of those things before! So lesson learned: being mortal is a real pain in the butt! Now do your thing and make with the heartwarming lesson and then we can all write our 'Dear Princess Celestia...' letters!"

Dash advanced on Discord, "I told you, it's not funny and—"

Fluttershy interposed herself between the two. "I don't think he's joking, at least not on purpose." She turned to Discord. "You've... never been hungry before?"

Discord tried to avoid her gaze, before finally admitting, "no."

"Well," she said, trying to sound upbeat. "It can make a lot of ponies a bit angry, and short with each other. And if you get low blood sugar, it can even make you a bit... loopy." She looked over her shoulder towards Dash. "Isn't that right?"

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash calmed herself. She had to admit, she was on edge as well. "Yeah. Sorry."

After those involved had sat back down, Fluttershy asked. "Okay, now, what are we going to do about our situation?"

All assembled made a concerted effort to think.

"We have an idea," Sweetie Belle said, after a few minutes. "But you're not going to like it."

Discord cocked an eyebrow, and was disappointed at the lack of mechanical clicking sound. "See, just like I said, the narratively appropriate moment!"

"Quiet!" Dash said, snapping at Discord, then turning to Sweetie. "What is it?"

"Fluttershy," Nótt said, the Stygian aura settling over Sweetie's visage. "Did you notice the lemming burrows around yesterday?"

Fluttershy sat up straighter at the mention of animals. "Yes, I saw a few."

"Were they active?"

"I saw tracks leading to at least a couple."

"Do you think you could find them again?"

"Oh," Dash said. "They hoard food for winter, don't they?"

"Well, yes," Sweetie said, the ocular glow flickering. "But—"

"I mean," Dash interrupted. "I'm not a huge fan of seeds, but I'd eat practically anything at this point!"

Nótt ignored her, and looked back at Fluttershy. "Do you think you could catch them?"

"Wait," Dash said. "Don't we just have to dig up their holes and find their stashes?"

Fluttershy was ignoring Dash now as well, her soft eyes focused intently on the ground by her forepaws. She stood in silence for a moment, then looked up and met Nótt's gaze, despite the glimmer of tears in her eyes. "Yes," she said with as much determination as she could muster. "I can do that."

Sweetie returned and, leaning in, hugged Fluttershy. "Thank you."

"I don't get it," Dash said. "What are we going to do with a bunch of lemmings?"

----

Camp.
Lunch.

"Nuh uh," Dash said, waving her hoof in refusal. "I am not eating that!"

Fluttershy held the skewered lemming out in front of her. "I know it's strange, but lots of creatures eat meat, Dash."

"Yeah," Dash shook her head dismissively. "But not ponies!"

"We used to," Fluttershy said. "At least our ancestors did. That's why we have wolf teeth."

Dash's tongue subconsciously probed at the sharper teeth in her mouth. She'd never had hers pulled, though a lot of ponies did when they were young. She'd always hated the dentist, and her parents, after much whining on her part, had eventually given in and let her skip that particular process.

"You have to eat." Fluttershy waved the dead rodent in front of her again. "And this is what there is to eat!" She took a bite of the lemming and chewed for emphasis, even as she fought back her own natural disgust at the taste and texture of seared flesh.

Rainbow Dash felt her eyes start to water in some strange combination of fear and anger. "How can you eat that!"

"I know it tastes weird, but..."

"No!" Dash shouted, stamping her hooves in the snow. "How can you, of all ponies, eat that!" Dash pointed to the lemming; strung out, roasted, thin, hairless, eyes missing, and guts removed. "That was a living creature, Fluttershy! That was one of those same cute animals you always go on and on about saving and helping! How can you eat it?"

Shoving the skewer in the ground like a stake, Fluttershy advanced angrily toward Dash. "You think I don't know that?" She poked Dash in the chest with a paw. "You think I don't know that innocent creature had a family! And a life! And probably even something that passes for friends amongst lemmings?"

Dash looked away.

"Of course I know that!" Fluttershy was now in tears herself, even as she struggled to chew the meat. "But lots of things eat lemmings. And lots of lemmings die freezing to death in a long winter, especially when some big creatures like us come along and dig up their entire store of winter seeds!"

"I... I'm sorry, Flutters..."

"No! You don't get to be sorry. You get to eat. Because you know what? I have family too. And if the only way my family and my friends can stay alive is if that lemming and his family die, then that's the choice I make!"

"I..."

"You are my family, Dash! You and Discord and all the ponies I care about. And I care about that family more than anything else." Fluttershy plucked the skewer from the snow and thrust it at Dash. "Now eat, or so help me, I will mama-bird you this damn lemming!" She made a show of chewing even more loudly.

Dash looked at her friend, and knew she meant it too. She'd seen Fluttershy force feed a rhinoceros once, and that was before she'd gained the powers of Chaos, or even become an alicorn.

Dash lit her horn and levitated the skewer toward her mouth. She closed her eyes and finally, reluctantly, took a bite. It tasted... well... At least it wasn't plaid.

----

87th Parallel.
Another six days later, night.

Sweetie Belle was awakened in the middle of the night by a crackling, hissing sound. Lifting Donner's hoof and extracting herself from the rest of the be-furred ponies around her, she moved to find the source. It sounded tinny, like a buzzing insect scraping cloth or something. She tracked the sound to her pack, and dug within. Moments later, she found the source, a small rock with runes carved upon it. She placed it on the ground and tapped it.

"Hello?" she said. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Sweetie!" The voice from the Dragonstone was faint, but clearly belonged to Apple Bloom. "Is that you? Can you hear me?"

"Yes!" Sweetie shouted, leaning in as close as she could to the magical communication device. "I'm here!"

"Oh my gosh! It worked!"

"But how? I thought the Hole completely disabled the dragonfire magic in these things?"

"The eclipse!"

"What eclipse?"

Another voice cut in. "Umm, the whole 'sky is dark at noon' thing?"

Sweetie recognized it. "Uh, it's the middle of the night where I'm at, Scoots."

"Oh, right..."

"Look, Sweetie," Apple Bloom cut back in. "We've only got ourselves a few minutes here."

"Oh, right..." Sweetie sat down on the snow, forcing herself to calm down. "So what's up?"

"First, have you found the other obelisk yet?"

"No, though we're pretty sure it's near the pole, and we're getting close."

"Dang it. Well, we ain't got much of a shot then."

"Shot at what?"

"Well, this here eclipse, it's gonna happen again in twelve days. Well, eleven days and nineteen hours."

"And?"

"Well, it's blocking the Hole, and we thought we might have a path through totality—"

"That's the really dark part," Scootaloo added.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom continued. "The dark path of shadow goes across the pole in twelve days, and we think we might just be able to fly a Cauldron up there and help ya'll get home quicker."

"I thought the Cauldrons wouldn't be ready for almost another six months?"

"Not ready to fly without magic, but if we get a strong unicorn or two to hold it together and a pegasus airshell, we could pull it off with the prototype."

"Maybe pull it off," Scootaloo clarified. "If we can fly totally inside the umbra."

"But it doesn't matter," Apple Bloom said. "If you haven't found the obelisk yet..."

"When's the next eclipse after that?" Sweetie asked.

"Not for almost another year."

"So you're saying we've got twelve days to finish this mission?"

"Eyup... or ... got to... the thing ... by hoof." The transmission began to break up.

"I'm losing you guys."

"Sweetie, do you know where it is?"

"Close."

"Are you sure?"

"Does it matter?"

Sweetie heard the distant pair laughing through the last flickers of the magic flame. "We'll see you in twelve days." Apple Bloom said. "Sure hope ya got us a giant rock by then!"

The flame cut out before Sweetie could respond.

----

Same camp.
Dawn.

"Twelve days?" Dash said, incredulous. "We've been out here like a hundred times that long already, and haven't found squat!"

"That does seem awfully short," Fluttershy said.

"None-the-less, that's what we've got." Donner said. "So let's get to it."

"While I am all for the quixotic quest," Discord said. "What exactly do you propose we do to speed up our search?"

"Move," Sweetie said. "North."

"Umm," Blitzen spoke up. "Why is everyone so sure this ooblek thing is north?"

"Obelisk," Dash corrected. "But yeah, we've been inside the borders where the Northern Kingdoms used to be for weeks trying to find this thing. Why are you suddenly so sure now?"

Sweetie dipped her head. When it came back up, Nótt's eyes were emitting their now-familiar glow. "Because, I know where it is."

"Yeah, and you're totally not just leading us into some big trap I'm sure!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy admonished. "Shame on you. Nótt has been nothing but helpful!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, the lemmings have been delicious." Dash rolled her eyes. "But it's like none of you ever even read Daring Do."

Donner looked at her quizzically.

"It's like, exactly how every villain ever does it. It's the double-cross! Play all nice and friendly, and then when you least expect it, bam! Trap sprung." Dash waved a hoof at Discord. "Ask him, he knows."

The last part got an angry glare from Fluttershy, but Discord, for his part, merely shrugged. "The prismatic one has a point," he said. "Pretending to be reformed, and actually being reformed look rather the same from the outside."

Nótt shook her head and blinked as Sweetie returned. "I'm not on the outside, guys, I'm in here with her. Can you trust me on this?"

"I trust you." Donner said, stepping forward. "And Nótt too. I want to hear what she knows."

"Hey," Discord said, doing the same. "Draconeuqui in glass houses and all that..."

Sweetie blinked and Nótt returned.

"So?" Donner asked. "Where is it? The pole?"

Nótt grinned, her fangs barely showing. "Yes, it's obvious, isn't it? The true pole is exactly the sort of focal point Nemesis would choose. I'm certain it's there."

"True pole?" Dash said, suspicious.

"You ponies," Nótt explained. "You play with all sorts of things you do not comprehend. You spin this world now, based on your own maps of what was up and what was down, what was north and what was south. You put a pole on the world, based upon a map." Nótt's eyes glowed brighter, the red aura pulsing as she continued. "But did you ever wonder why your maps had a pole at all?"

The others sat, rapt with attention, but Donner spoke up. "It's where the magnetic field seems to center. All compasses point there."

"Yes, I'm sure they do. But did you ever wonder why?"

There were some nods, but nopony spoke up.

Discord was casually leaning against a tent pole as he pretended to clean a talon. "Don't keep them waiting, sister."

The red aura faded somewhat as Nótt rolled her eyes. But she continued anyway. "In ancient times, this world spun on its own, imparted with momentum during its formation. There, where the axis of that spin met the surface, was the old northern pole. And within the world, currents flowed and moved, causing the field you use today to find your north. But the fields and the old axis, they are not the same."

"So our maps are off by a bit, big whoop," Dash said.

Donner, for her part, was fascinated by this tale. She'd been exploring for most of her life, but had never once questioned why maps were oriented as they were, or why Celestia and Luna had chosen to move the sun and moon in the paths they did. Now, it started to seem far less of a coincidence that the obelisk was here in the far north.

"So," she asked Nótt as she unrolled a cloth map of the arctic and placed it over the packs and blankets they were using for a table. "If this obelisk is at the old northern pole, then where exactly is that?"

Nótt examined the map. The lines of longitude converged on a point near the top of the map, not too far from where they were currently camped, just north of the mountains they'd crossed. She drew a claw gently across the map, but slowed as she looked around and made eye contact with the rest of the party.

"Really?" she said. "Is it not obvious to you yet?"

Blitzen and Dash both shrugged, while Discord continued to play at nonchalance.

"Fine," Nótt huffed at a voice only she could hear. "I'll get to the point." She pointed to an empty region of tundra, some hundred or more miles from the map's illustrated pole.

At first, there didn't seem to be anything special about the location, then Donner saw it.

"The center!" she shouted. "It's the center of the circum-arctic range!"

"What?" Dash said, leaning in to examine the map. "That's just... kind of off to one side by the top."

"That's just this projection! This map isn't the best for it... hang on." Donner nosed into her pack and quickly dug out another map. This one had all the lines converging on the center, instead of the top edge. "There, this is a polar projection."

Donner quickly pointed out the same spot on the new map, and the others were quick to see that it sat almost exactly in the center of the circular mountain range.

"See," Nótt said, her grin returning. "As I said, it's obvious."

"So, lemme get this straight," Dash said. "You're saying that spot there, perfectly in the center of this really circular ring of mountains used to be the actual north pole, back when the world spun on its own? And that's where the big ancient evil rock tower is?"

"Exactly."

"Nope!" Dash said, throwing up her hooves. "Daring Do novel all over again! That is way too obvious to not one hundred percent be a trap! You really expect us to believe that the entire world just happened to spin exactly on the center of the mountains? Ha! Nice try!"

"Is she always this dense?" Nótt said, seeming to start a conversation with the air. "What? No, I didn't. I was? Out loud? Oh, I'm... I'm doing it again, aren't I? Okay, fine."

Sweetie blinked a few times as the wisps of red aura faded. "It's not a trick, Dash. She showed me what really happened."

"Yeah, some amazing coincidence, I'm sure."

"It's not a coincidence at all, actually."

Dash cocked her head, waiting for more.

"The mountains weren't always there, not in ancient times when the world was still spinning."

"Well then how'd they get there, and how's that not a coincidence?"

"Because," Sweetie continued, a tone of sadness seeping into her voice. "There used to be a fortress there."

"How's that explain it?"

Sweetie Belle sighed. "It became a target, Dash. They built it to fight Nemesis and he targeted them."

"Then how'd the mountains get there?"

Sweetie looked down at the map laying across the blankets, then raised a forehoof. In one smooth, swift motion, she stomped down on the cloth and twisted, the ripples and folds in the fabric around her hoof doing a fair imitation of the valleys and peaks drawn on the map itself.

"They lost."