Fictionationality - Equestria

by Spirit Guide

First published 8th of May, 2014

After over fifteen successful recruitment missions, a new world opens to the Republic.

613 the prophet had been on many adventures with his best friend Avi, visiting new worlds, befriending the people there and offering them a place in the most amazing multi-universal community ever. Now, with the knowledge of Equestria's existence, the two friends travel to the pony-populated world, where they make new friends and discover new things. But, like before, something is out to stop them. A dark force, one which has been plaguing them since they met, has followed the prophet and his friend into Equestria. Their objective: disrupt 613's mission and proceed to strew entropy and destruction of every kind throughout Equestria.
With their new friends, new forms and new identities, Spirit and Fang are going to see if they have what it takes to protect what they care about most. Will the combined power of the two Republicans and the Mane Six be enough to repel the forces of darkness? Or will they have to tap into an old resource to help them out?

Prolouge

Author's Notes:

If you're going to try understanding anything, you should probably read this first. I've actually been planning this story for years but never had the inspiration to write it down. Thanks to Friendship is Magic for finally pulling me out and getting me onto this.

It all started nearly half a year ago, when a group of terrorists killed Six-Thirteen's family, leaving him alone in this world. After mourning his family for a week, a tradition that was developed nearly 5000 years ago, the Creator of the world revealed himself to 613 and gave him the powers of prophecy, along with a whole arsenal of abilities. G-d gave him the task of watching over and guiding the people, but after a group of thieves tried to break into his house, he decided that 613 would have a different job. He would assist and protect those he could, stopping those who would abuse others with their strengths rather then help and support them. Along with this mission, G-d also granted 613 his wish: permission to construct a world where fictional people, beings and creatures may live together in peace and harmony. 613 took to the project with gusto and, realizing he would need help, befriended a boy named Avraham, an autistic student with the same dreams. After a great deal of planning the two friends used their combined strengths and created an alternate dimension, designing every little detail of the land and deciding what purpose they would serve. Once they had completed their task, they began exploring the planet, seeking out people from popular media, who were hiding from the harsh reality that exists. Sometimes they would travel through time and space to get to a particular world, where they wandered the lands and befriended many amazing people. Slowly but surely, the Fictional Republic's population increased and many were happy knowing that so many others were just as awesome as they were.

This leads us to the day when 613 and Avraham discovered Equestria, and went on another thrilling adventure.

There is no 'Meet' in 'Meteor'

“I still think we should have taken a train,” Avi grumbled out loud.

Six-Thirteen sighed while his best friend continued to complain. He agreed there wasn't much space but then there wasn't really an alternative way to get to their destination.

“A train can’t cross dimensions, Avi,” he reminded.

“’Course it can: You just have to modify it, that’s all,” Avi shot back with a smirk.

613 smiled back and Avi continued, “And I’m sure that modifying a train to travel through space and time would have been a lot easier than trying to fly in a rock.” He said this in a casual way, as if he simply said ‘Let's make a paper plane’.

The teenaged prophet let his eyes wander around the interior of the rock in question. It was rather dark except for the pulsing orb of light he had conjured in the center of the meteor. It was a pleasant blackish brown color with bands and flecks of iridium stuck to the walls, floor and ceiling. Although the meteor was travelling at high speed to reach their destination, the two boys inside felt nothing, thanks to 613's pressure adjusting. They had been planning this mission for a while, studied as much as they could and had no idea when or where they would end up. A perfectly normal position for them.

He himself was an interesting person, just about 5’4, with long black hair and shining blue eyes. He wore his usual outfit of midnight-black shirt, pants and skullcap, topping all this with his favorite cloak the color of obsidian. On the floor beside him was a backpack with a variety of items he brought along.

613 looked across the light orb at his companion. Avi was a boy of average height for his age, with dark brown hair and green eyes that seemed more opened than they should be. He was dressed in black pants and a dark green shirt that matched his eyes, his head covered with a skullcap with swirls of colored threads. The teenager was slightly autistic, which was sometimes really helpful, as much as it doesn't sound that way.

Avi pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and began leafing through them. The back of each card was a mixture of black and blue overlapping lines with the letters ‘FR’ in the middle. The cards had been a gift from 613 after they completed their first project together. After every mission, more cards would materialize in the deck.

"Come on, 613," he called to his meteor-mate. "Let's play."

The prophet grinned and pulled an identical deck out of thin-air, these cards containing the numbers '613' on the back in black and blue. The game worked like war except these cards made the whole thing more fun.

613 went first, drawing the top card and laying it on the floor in front of him. On the card was a picture of a humanoid figure garbed in a red outfit, crescents of red energy seemingly generating from its fingers.

"Blades of Blood," announced 613. "Let's hope your luck is running hot."

Smiling, ever smiling, Avi drew his top card and laid it in front. His card had a picture of a large humanoid in a black and green uniform, its body composed of green crystals.

Avi's smile changed to a comedic smirk. "Sorry. No damage here."

Sighing, 613 drew his next card. They continued with their crazy game for a nice period of time, each one getting their chance on occasion to be the victor in the short 1-on-1 card clashes. At one point, when Avi had won 15 duals in a row, 613 gave a loud warcry and started shooting his cards in every direction, causing an explosion with each impact. Avi started laughing and contributed his own cards, adding to the combustion and detonation but, unlike 613's cards, his deck would rematerialize in his pocket later.

Finally, they ran out of cards to shoot. Laughing, Avi waved his hands in a series of wild gestures until 613 noticed. Avi then asked him, “I know I’m usually the one to know, but when do you think we’ll arrive?”

Straightening his cloak, the prophet took a minute to calm his mind and answer. "We've been traveling for a few hours now. I expect we'll arrive soon."

"What?" Avi moaned dramatically. "Only soon? But I wanna be there NOW!"

"Let's go over the details we have of our journey and try to come to a conclusion of when we'll reach our destination."

“Well, let's see,” Avi began with a thoughtful look. “The two of us are wandering through space and time inside a meteor without any idea how to steer it, we don’t know how long the mission is gonna be but we don’t have to worry about that because of the whole time-world-dimension-grid thingy you’re always going on about, I’m hungry and we’re picking up speed.” He took a minute to take everything he just said into account. “Wait, ‘picking up speed’?” he repeated.

Sure enough, despite the pressure control, the two boys felt their ‘space craft’ going faster and faster. Adrenaline and excitement began boiling within them as they realized they were nearing their destination.

“Looks like we finished our jump,” said 613.

Suddenly, the light orb in the center of the meteor turned red and a voice called out from inside it. “DANGER, DANGER. OUT OF CONTROL, OUT OF CONTROL.” Indeed, the meteor the two friends were in was going faster and faster and the heat was becoming unbearable.

Avi stood up and whistled loudly, “Wowie, we’re gonna make such a big hole!”

“Yeah, save your excitement for when we land,” 613 called over to his friend.

A thought came to Avi. “Aren't we going to crash-land? Like, really hard?”

613 nodded, “Yeah, but I think I've got enough juice to heal us both.”

Reassured, Avi sat down again, resting his hands on his knees and his head on the wall. “Ok, if you say so. Let’s just enjoy the rest of the ride down.”

613 nodded once more. The heat was rising and he wondered how long it would take to get through the atmosphere. He laid his head on the inside of the meteor, soon to be a meteorite. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable landing.

*

“Not again!’ Twilight groaned when her 17th quill broke.

It was a quiet evening in Ponyville. All the different ponies who lived in the small town where finishing their work and were going home. The shops were already closed and everypony was settling down for a nice quite evening.

Everyone except for Twilight, that is.

Twilight Sparkle was a purple unicorn mare. She had a long dark-purple mane with two streaks in it, one pink and the other a dark purple. Her tail was colored the same as her mane and on her flank was a pink star with five smaller stars around it, her cutie mark. She was the top student of princess Celestia’s school of magic and was currently engrossed in writing a letter on her recent discovery of Hardening Spells. Unfortunately she had decided to test the spell on her stock of quills and made them all brittle.

Spike, her dragon friend, called from across the room. “Is everything okay over there, Twilight?” he asked with a mixture of sympathy and curiosity.

“No!” Twilight shouted back. “I practiced the Hardening Spell on my quills and it worked and now I’m trying to write a letter on how it came out but the quills keep snapping and breaking!” She stopped to catch her breath.

Spike walked over to her and patted Twilight on the shoulder. “Come on now, Twilight. You've been working super hard all day, don’t get all worked up now.”

Twilight sighed and let her thoughts wander. Recently she and her friends had faced a difficult mission from the Princess: a dragon was sleeping on a mountain near Ponyville and was snoring huge amounts of black smoke. The six mares climbed the mountain, ran through an avalanche and, thanks to her friend Fluttershy’s overcoming her fear of dragons, succeeded in convincing the dragon to go sleep somewhere else. Since then it was just nice normal schedules just the way they were planned.

Until now.

Twilight liked things to be perfect, especially if it has something to do with learning new things. If something, even the smallest detail isn't okay she’ll have a hard time keeping calm about it. She really wanted to write this letter but things just weren't turning out right.

“Let me write the letter for you,” Spike offered. “I saw how you did the spell and you can check the letter when I’m done.”

“Thanks Spike,” Twilight said gratefully

“No problem,” Spike said as he picked up the 18th quill and began to write. "Why don’t you check out the stars with your telescope?” he suggested.

“Good idea,” Twilight replied happily. She loved stargazing and hurried up the stairs to her room where the telescope was. She unbolted her bedroom window and positioned her telescope so that she could look at the sky. She stuck her head out the window and looked up. The sun just set and a loose ray still poked out from behind the horizon in the distance. The first star was appearing in the darkening sky and the air began to cool.

Twilight smiled. It was going to be a good night for stargazing. She returned to her telescope and peered through it. Already she could see some of the constellations and stars she knew by name. She was about to get a quill and parchment when she noticed something twinkling in the sky. She focused the telescope on it and saw that the thing was a meteor.

“Spike,” she called. “Come look at this.”

The small purple dragon hurried up the stairs and to the window before asking, “What’s going on, Twilight?”

“There’s a meteor in the sky tonight!” she answered excitedly.

“What’s a meteor?” asked Spike, scratching his head.

Twilight was happy to get a chance to explain. “A meteor is a piece of rock and metal from space that entered our planet’s gravitational field and begins flying through the atmosphere at about 25 kilometers a second.”

Spike was impressed, “Not even Rainbow Dash could go that fast.”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but yes, a meteor traveling through the atmosphere could go very fast. And when they hit the ground they make huge holes called craters.”

“Wait,” Spike interrupted, “Did you say ‘hit the ground’?”

“Yes, is something wrong with that?”

“It is if it lands on Ponyville” shouted Spike, his panic level rising at a dangerous pace.

"Calm down, Spike," Twilight begged, although she herself was slightly worried. There was a possibility that the meteor was moving in the direction of Ponyville, and the results of such an impact would be devastating. She went downstairs into the library and began rummaging through the many books that lined the shelves. She muttered to herself while she searched for a particular book.

"Dazzling Diamond and Dangerous Dragons, Way of the Warhorse, The Art of Being Organized?" She took a second to consider. "I'll read that later. Ah, found it!" She ran back upstairs to the window where Spike was waiting, levitating a book with a greyish cover beside her.

“What book is that?” Spike asked.

“Space Artifacts and How to Deal with them,” Twilight answered, opening the book at the index. “Meteors, meteors, here we go!” she cried out when she found the part of the book she was looking for. After reading a significant part of the chapter, she turned her eyes to the sky and lit her horn to begin a spell. The meteor was encased in a brilliant raspberry-colored aura, but didn't seem to slow down. Spike was beginning to worry that Twilight's magic wouldn't be able to stop the rock in time when all at once she released her magical hold on the meteor, which continued its travel downwards.

"What happened? Are you okay? Why didn't it work? Will we be okay? Are we doomed? Should I—" Spike's stream of questions were halted when Twilight put her hoof over his mouth.

“Hush, Spike," she said, panting with exhaustion. “The spell did work. It wasn't a slowing spell, it was a destination seeker."

"Oh," the dragon said. Then, "Huh?"

Twilight sighed disappointingly and explained. "The spell tells me things about the target it's used on."

"I get it. What did you find out?"

“Well, two things." Twilight declared. "One: the meteor isn't going to land on Ponyville.”

“Great,” Spike said. “What’s the second thing?”

“It’s going to crash right outside of Ponyville.”

*

Waking up in a place you don’t recognize is an interesting thing. Sometimes it’s nice to feel your new location affecting you differently while other times it’s freaky and scary. Some places are light, others are dark, and some are just plain weird.

That’s a feeling that 613 got a lot.

He found himself in a large empty dreamscape, a blinding white in color. All around him was bright clear nothingness as far as the eyes could see. He found this happening to him a lot. Now all he had to do was figure out what he was doing here.

“Over here,” a voice whispered behind him.

613 turned around, looked for the being that called to him. Standing behind him was a humanoid figure in a white robe. The prophet could feel the divine energy vibrating around him.

“Hello, Gabriel,” 613 said pleasantly, recognizing his angel friend.

The Angel of Strength nodded in acknowledgement. “Hello again, 613. You’re probably wondering what the two of us are doing here.”

“True.”

“Very well, right to the point.” Gabriel began. “You and Avraham are traveling, once again on a quest to seek out more friends in a faraway world. But this time you’ll find yourselves near the start of the story and slowly you’ll come to see the bigger picture behind it.”

613 nodded along with everything he heard, “Okay, got it. Anything else?”

“Yes,” Gabriel replied. “Something’s messing with the fabrication.”

“Again?” The prophet groaned. He hated when people messed with things they didn't understand. He also hated when people messed with things they did understand. That usually meant they were after something, usually a chance to mess with him. “Do you know who it is?” he asked.

The angel shook his head. “No, but you'll want to keep your eyes peeled. You'll be separated from the Republic for some time.”

“It's always been that way, Gavriel. Avi and I are the only beings compatible with a new dimension until it's fitted onto the grid." The prophet sighed. "But we'll try our best. Anything else before we go our separate ways?”

“Yes,” his divine friend replied. “Brace yourself: the impact is going to hurt.”

Friends in low places

The meteor crashed right outside the Everfree forest. The sound was spectacular and woke up a lot of the sleeping Ponyvillians. Friends and neighbors opened their doors and windows, asking each other what was going on.

Twilight and Spike left the library and ran over to the crashed space rock where they were soon joined by other ponies, each one curious to find out what made the noise that woke them up. Twilight and Spike reached the crater and looked around. The meteor must have been nearly 10 feet in diamter and left a hole that was at least twice that, as well as being 15 feet deep. The space rock had melted and was hidden behind a veil of steam that hissed off the sides of the crater.

Spike picked up some dirt from the crater edge and sniffed it. “This stuff is burnt,” he called over to Twilight.

“That would make sense, considering the trip the meteor just made.” Twilight poked the blackened soil with her hoof. It was hot and steaming. She was just about to clear the smoke from the crater with a spell when a pink earth pony bounced up beside her.

“Wowie, look at this hole!” the earth pony shouted. “That rock must have been something special!”

Twilight sighed and turned to her friend. “Yes, Pinkie Pie. That rock was a meteorite from space, and by the look of the crater it's mostly intact. It might even be the first meteorite to land near Ponyville.”

“Ooh, really?” Pinkie asked, her eyes shining. “This calls for a party: a ‘First-Meteorite-near-Ponyville’ party!” She hopped away to find the necessary party items despite most of the shops being closed at this hour.

Twilight shook her head at her overexcited friend. “Spike, what are you looking so worried about?”

Spike was peering over the edge of the crater, looking like something might jump out any moment. “There might be aliens inside that hole,” he said, his whole form shaking. “They may have traveled here from another world to take over Equestria!”

“Oh, Spike, that’s just silly," Twilight said, shaking her head in response to Spike's ridiculous fear. "There's nothing alive in here."

And that's when something reached out of the crater and grabbed Twilight's left front hoof.

"AAAAAAAAH!!!" she screamed, stumbling backwards and landing on Spike. The small dragon screamed with equal volume, causing Twilight to jump off him, and the two of them began shouting and running around in circle around the crater until they crashed into each other, ending the brief fear episode.

Spike immediately began asking questions. "What was it? Did you see it? I told you there was something—" Twilight shoved a hoof into his mouth again.

"Stop it, Spike. We don't even know what 'it' is," she whispered hurriedly before taking her hoof back.

"Can I please have some help down here?" a voice floated up from the crater.

Twilight immediately went into curiosity mode. "Hold on, I'm coming!" she called before clambering into the steep hole. She carefully scaled the sides and found herself surrounded by steam at the bottom of the crater. She cast a spell and the wisps of steam around her dispersed.

"Oh, that's much better," the voice said in response to the atmospheric change. "Can you help me now?"

"I'd like to, but I can't see you," Twilight replied, searching left and right. "Could you tell me where you are?"

"Well," the voice began, surprisingly close. "I'm not sure about this, but you might be standing on my left arm."

"Oh, sorry," Twilight apologized as she scrambled a bit away from where she was standing and looked at the spot. Indeed, there appeared to be a light-brown limb wedged into the ground. She followed the wider end of the arm until she found herself staring into a pair of large green eyes.

"Looks like you found me," the voice came from beneath the eyes.

Twilight intensified her dispersing spell until she could see the creature's whole body. It was roughly similar to Spike's, with the exception of it having light-brown soft skin and a dark-brown mane that didn't rest flat on its head. Deciding the creature was a male of its species she continued to examine it. Instead of claws, the digits on his arms were rounded off and his ears were round too. The lower half of his body was stuck in the ground.

Twilight made an awkward face as she tried taking in everything she was seeing. "Wow, you really are funny-looking," she said at last, trying to keep a calm demeanor.

The creature smiled back. "Thanks," he replied. "Everyone often tells me I make too many weird and scary faces." His eyebrows suddenly sunk down over his eyes, his mane stuck up and his mouth changed from happy to unnaturally intimidating.

"Yikes!" Twilight shouted, pulling back a bit.

"Twilight, are you okay?" Spike called from above.

"I'm fine Spike!" she called up to him. "Come on down, you should probably see this."

The young dragon made his way down into the crater, using his claws and tail to scale the side carefully. He walked over to where Twilight was standing beside the male creature, who followed Spike's movement with large green eyes.

"Are you an alien?" Spike asked nervously.

The creature rolled his eyes. "To you, maybe," he said, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Well then, what are you?" Twilight asked curiously.

The being began checking off on his fingers. "Stuck, autistic, cool, intelligent, hungry and in pain," he finished, throwing his hands on the ground.

The two Ponyville residents stared at him with their mouths opened, until Twilight spoke up. "I'm sorry about all that—"

"Don't be," he interrupted. "Autism is my strong point."

"—but maybe I can start by getting you un-stuck."

"That would be very much appreciated." He replied with a smile. "But before we continues, formalities."

"Ooh," Twilight exclaimed, happy that someone shared in her love for good manners. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, unicorn student of Princess Celestia, and this is Spike, my dragon friend."

"What's up?" Spike said, getting used to the weirdo in front of him.

"Nice to meet you both," the creature replied. "My name is Avraham, autistic student and part time dimension-jumper. But my friends call my Avi." He stopped himself suddenly, "Like the friend I traveled with."

“There are more of you?” Twilight asked, excitement building up like a powerful spell.

“Yep, just me and my buddy,” Avi answered, searching the crater with his eyes. He pushed the ground with his front limbs, but his body didn’t move. He twisted one way, then the other, and once more tried pushing himself out of the ground. He strained, groaned and grunted but still could not free himself.

Finally he gave up, falling to the ground in a pile of tired, tan body parts. “Dang it. I can’t budge and my power cards are in my pocket.”

“Power cards?” Spike asked curiously. “What are those?”

“They’re a gift from my friend when we completed are first project together. He gave me the cards so that I could help him with any missions we had to do. The cards grant me various skills and abilities and I also use them for identifying different creatures, although I know most of the ones we run into. Whenever we completed a mission, more cards would materialize in the deck, increasing the amount of powers I’d have.”

“Wow, that sound like a pretty special magical weapon,” Twilight commented.

“It’s more of an arsenal that I carry around with me all the time,” explained Avi. “Even if it was taken from me, the deck just reappears in my pocket.” He tried to pull himself out again, but stopped when he realized that it wasn’t going to work.

“Could I have some help getting out of here?” he asked the two in front of him. “I’d do it myself but I can’t get my cards out.”

“How do we know you won’t try to steal our brains when you get out?” Spike questioned warily.

“Spike!” Twilight groaned at the dragon’s comical way of thinking, but Avi nodded. “Good point. I guess that would be the first thing a creature from space would do.”

“So you’re not going to steal our brains?”

“Nope,” the boy replied. “Now could you help me?”

“I’m not sure what I should do,” admitted Twilight. “I don’t know how much of you is stuck beneath the ground.”

Avi looked down at his torso and thought before answering, "Right now, about half of me is above ground level." He glanced up at the lip of the crater fifteen feet above them. "Well, above current ground level anyway."

"Okay, that should do it." Twilight took a step back and prepared her spell. "Spike, step back. There might be some recoil." Spike scooted a few feet in reverse. Twilight then turned her attention to the newcomer. "Alright Avi, this spell should get you unstuck, but it might hurt quite a bit."

The human rolled his eyes. "Don't worry Twilight. I've taken immense amounts of pain before and besides, I can just heal myself with my power cards."

"Okay, here goes." Twilight charged her magic power up another notch and released the spell. A spectral rope shot out of her horn and wrapped itself around Avi's waist several time. It then began dragging itself upwards, its tail end attached to Twilight's glowing horn. The conjured cable continued to pull the earthbound human up and out, while Spike watched the spectacle unfold. The rope hauled on Avi's body for a whole minute, the boy at the wrapped-up end groaning in time with the stretching line of magic. All at once, the rope wrenched Avi out of the ground, dematerializing as the teenager flew through the air and fell down hard on the crater floor.

"OOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!!" he screamed as he made contact with the slightly charred Equestrian soil. The sound of things cracking and shattering filled the deep crater and some of the ponies nearby decided that it was time to go back to sleep or, better yet, to go hide in the safety of their homes.

"Oh, Avi. I'm so sorry," Twilight cried out, rushing to his side. "I didn't think it would be so painful!"

"It's okay, Twilight," he said smiling, which was not so reassuring because he had dirt and some dark-red stuff on his teeth. "I'll be fine." He rolled over onto his back, reached into his pocket and pulled out his deck of power cards. He was just about to pull out the appropriate card out when he noticed something. Something really bad.

"Uh-oh," said Avi. "They're blank."

"Blank?" Spike repeated in disbelief. "Is it really that bad?"

"It's worse than bad Spike. Without my cards I can't do anything beyond my physical bodily functions which, as useful as they can be, are of no use at present with half of my body in need of serious attention." Avi tried to get up but this merely resulted in him rolling flat on the ground, his face buried in the dirt.

"Spike, help me get him up!" instructed Twilight, rushing over to Avi's side and levitated him so that he was floating a few inches of the ground. Spike hurried over and carefully rolled the hovering human so that he was facing the sky and Twilight nudged him over so that he was resting upright against the crater side.

Avi raised his head. "Thanks, guys. If you weren't here, I'd have been in serious trouble." He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Twilight smiled but then remembered. "What about that other friend you were talking about? Where is he?

The boy's eyes shot open at the mentioning of his mate. "I'd imagine he's somewhere in the crater, but since we didn't see him on the surface, he's most likely underground."

"Can he breath underground?" asked Spike.

"He can do more than breath underground. He can breath underwater and even in a vacuum where there isn't even any oxygen." Avi glanced around the crater again. "I guess the only reason he's not here right now is because he's unconscious."

"Is there anything we could do to help him?" Twilight asked.

"You can use magic?"

Twilight nodded in reply.

"Then you should be able to find him with a homing spell of sorts. I don't know how unicorn magic works here, but my friend gives off a very powerful aura when he's not trying to mask it. Give the crater a scan and tell me if you find anything."

Twilight went to work immediately. Bending down towards the ground, she cast a seeker spell and began to examine the soil beneath her hooves. She went all the way around the almost-circular hole, then moved on to crossing the crater diagonally. After going around the pit several times, the purple unicorn mare found herself in the center, her horn glowing even brighter than before.

"Hey, Avi?" she called over her shoulder. "I think I found something."

Avi, who was being carefully watched over by Spike, whether for health or security purposes, pulled himself into a sitting position, his eyes focused on the spot that Twilight was standing in. Inhaling deeply, he answered "Only one creature in the universe gives of that kind of power. A mixture of divine energy and endless imagination, that's what it is. I'd know it anywhere. Now we just have to get him out."

"You can do it Twilight!" Spike encouraged. "Go for it. Pull him up."

Avi let his eyes wander towards the small dragon at his side before turning his attention back to Twilight. "You're the only one who can help him now, Twilight. My powers are out and even if they weren't, I'm in no condition to go digging. Please, save my friend."

Twilight nodded gently and turned her attention back to the patch of soil she was standing on. She took a step back and activated an excavation spell, channeling her energy into the earth. If Avi's friend was down there, the spell would find him and she'd be able to hoist him up out of the ground.

I hope it's not to late.

Author's Notes:

I hate having to think. It gets in the way of being awesome.
On the other hoof, it's the key to creativity.

Not Just a Dream

Six-Thirteen was having his favorite dream. He was sitting on the bank of Lake Anime back in the Fictional Republic, his family lounging around him. The pure air and the shade from the huge leafy tree above them made him happy and appreciative. He lay back and watched the sunlight bounce off the lake surface, filling the clear waters with a thousand colors. The sound of laughing and the wind rushing through the grass brought the best out of 613. Being with his family was the biggest bonus of them all. Together, they were whole, complete and most importantly, thankful. Together their faith was strong and they stood before any problem, no matter how big or difficult it was.

It's a shame that those times are gone.

All at once, the sky got dark. The leaves of the tree rustled menacingly and black storm clouds covered the sky. 613 sighed. Here it was happening again. Every time he has this dream, it always takes the dark detour. He turned away as his family disappeared from the fast-vanishing paradise the Republic usually was. The prophet stood up, his black cloak flying behind him in the wind.

"We've been through this!" he shouted up at the black sky. "What, you wanna try again?"

A funnel of dark cloudstuff shot down from above. It slammed into the ground and dispersed, leaving a black-shrouded creature standing before 613. The being straightened up and smiled an evil grin. 613 gave it a look of disgust, glancing left and right before talking.

"Okay, which one are you?"

The thing's smile just widened as the scene disappeared from sight, the whole area becoming a bleak nothingness. The prophet's stare bored right through the creature in front of him.

"Not cool," 613 stated simply. "Here's an idea: Hit the road."

The dark being turned-tail and ran, laughing like a madman. 613 was not easily shaken off and began pursuing him. There was nowhere and everywhere to go, the two of them were currently in a dreamscape that went on forever, as long as the universe existed. The creature kept pulling off insane stunts, using invisible and possibly non-existent objects to bounce, fly and leap off of to escape 613. The prophet, however, was not giving up and matched him for every trick, firing beams of bright-blue energy whenever he could. After what seemed to be several minutes of jumping, rolling, flying, blasting, maniacal laughing, warcrys and shouts, 613 succeeded in pinning the creepy dude to the ground. The dark creature didn't even struggle, it just lay there, its hood covering the top half of its face.

"Are we done here?" demanded 613, his body not showing a trace of fatigue.

The creature just chuckled before answering. "I hope you didn't think you could get away so easily," it said in a low, gruff voice.

613 rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm trying to talk sense with a manifestation of evil. You interrupted my dream just to screw around with me?"

"No stupid," it replied, "I'm just hear to inform you that you're about to be put through the most horrible experience you'll ever go through in your life."

"Sorry. Been there, felt that, can't be worse than losing my family. As you guys are constantly reminding me!"

The creature blew of its hood and revealed the rest of its face. Its nose was a short beak and its eyes were like coals with irises a forbidding red color. Its hair was jet black and fell down past its neck.

"Shut up and listen. This is going to sound stupid coming from me, but there's more trouble in Equestria than it seems."

613 cocked his head to one side in confusion. "Say what?"

"When you made the jump, the TDST was left open long enough for us to get through. In other words, you are responsible for letting us into this world."

"Go jump in a portal, why don't cha?" 613 suggested, climbing off of the manifestation and pushing it away from him. It rolled several times before halting and rising to its feet.

"I'll take your advice to my non-existent heart," it called over, "But first—" The manifestation discharged a black inky aura that wrapped around him, covering it from head to toe. Shining flashes of lighting erupted within the dark cloud, followed by the manifestation's groans. It seemed to be causing itself unnecessary pain.

At one point, the black mist started to vanish, revealing the manifestation in a new form. It had transformed itself into a black pegasus stallion, although its body seemed to be insubstantial and wisps of dark matter connected to its head fluttered in the air. Its cutie mark was an eye with a dilated silver iris.

The pegasus spread its wings and began hovering. "You have time, 613," it said, almost sympathetically, "A lot of time. My advice is to learn as much as you can before the rest of us get wind of your actions. Until then—"

FWOOOSH! A blast of midnight-blue energy fell out of the non-sky above, encasing the manifestation in a pillar of magic. When the energy dispersed, the being was gone.

613 couldn't quite believe what just happened. Almost nothing could get into his part of the dreamscape. And yet something had not only entered but also manipulated energy, probably their own. The thought was so alien he just couldn't find a word to express himself.

Worry not, a voice called out.

The prophet spun around, trying to find the speaker. "Who's there? Who are you? How did you get in here?"

I can enter anypony's dreams, the voice answered. It is part of my duty to watch over those who dream.

"I still don't know who you are," 613 continued. "I don't know if I can trust you."

A flash of light caught his attention. In front of 613 an orb of shining energy floated. The orb was seemingly pockmarked, like the moon, and inside it he could see a silhouette. A majestic looking equine, with wings, a horn and a flowing, floating mane.

We shall meet soon, young one, the voice replied, but now you must wake. You're friends need you. The other presence vanished and 613 found his subconscious floating off, back to the world.

Friends? the boy said to himself, trying to understand the implied fact the other being had laid before him.

*

"I've got something!"

"Quick! Bring him up!"

Twilight was overflowing with excitement and sparks. She increased the spell's power and mentally pulled on the other end. The ground before her shuddered as the magic flew out of the earth and back into her horn. Suddenly, when the spell had almost completely ended, the soil exploded in an eruption of pebbles, loose earth and something wrapped in black. All of these things hit the ground with equal force, shaking the ground once more. The black object unrolled, revealing a black figure, proportioned much like Avi.

Twilight ran over to it, eager to find out more about whoever it was she just rescued. She gently tapped the creature with her hoof before saying, "Hello? Sir, are you okay?"

"What's going on?" Avi called over, not moving from where he lay with Spike at his side. "Are his eyes still blue?"

Twilight gently lifted the human's eyelids, and found herself staring into a pair of beautiful sapphire-blue eyes, full of calm and understanding, both unmoving. "Yes they're still blue," she answered back, letting the lids drop over the boy's eyes, "But he's not moving."

At that moment, the second human popped up, both eyes shot open, glowing like searchlights, sending blue light across the crater. A combination of a teenager's shout, a child's scream and an adult's roar echoed around them, the odd sound issuing from the boy's mouth. When the unexpected cacophony ended, the figure fell back down upon the crater floor, as lifeless as a fallen tree.

Twilight approached warily and tried again. "Excuse me," she whispered softly into his ear, "But who are you?"

The boy opened his eyes again, slower this time, his gaze coming to rest upon the purple mare. "613," he answered, coughing up a cloud of dust.

When Avi heard this, he was overjoyed. So overjoyed he forgot he was badly injured. He stood up, and immediately fell down again, but not before he called over, "Thank G-d, you're alive. You feeling okay, 613?"

The prophet shook his arm. It rolled uselessly to the side. "No, not really. I'm in a really bad shape." He looked up at Twilight, who was looking rather disappointed, probably from being ignored. "Sorry about that," 613 said apologetically. "Might I know the name of the one who saved me."

Twilight was quick to continue. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and that's Spike," she said, pointing to herself and Spike. "What's your name?"

Spreading his arms, the answer came. "I am 613, prophet of G-d, father of Fictionationality and friend to all." He fell into a fit of coughing and wheezing. "Yet I can't imagine what went wrong. We weren't supposed to land so hard and my powers should have slowed us down."

"Uh, speaking of powers, 613," Avi announced, "My cards have shorted out."

The prophet's eyes went wide with surprise. "Since when?"

"Since I pulled them out of my pocket a few minutes ago, that's when. I would've made myself look more presentable by now, in and out, but all my cards are blank."

"Okay, okay, calm down." 613 cracked his fingers and rubbed his hands together. "Just how bad is your present condition? Please list."

Avi began his analysis. "Shattered ribs, fractured femur, splintered spine, cracked skull, flattened tarsals, punctured lung, mashed carpals, skin burns—" he started coughing and hacking violently, drops of red liquid splattering onto the ground from his mouth. He looked down at the dark stains on the floor and smiled in spite of himself. "Bit my tongue."

Twilight almost smiled when she caught herself. Now is not the time to be silly, she reminded herself.

"Looks like I'll be doing the clean-up this time around," 613 said matter-of-factly. "Again."

"Rubbish," scoffed Avi. "You love doing clean-ups."

"Fine, I'll get to it." He closed his eyes and slowly began to levitate. Twilight took a step backwards as rings of blue energy appeared around the prophet, giving off a serene sense of calm and understanding. 613 lifted his hands towards the heavens and the bands of energy began to hum, growing louder and louder with every passing second. Twilight could feel the power, the joy and happiness 613 was emitting. Spike watched the spectacle in awe, putting a claw on Avi's arm, who nodded in appreciation at his friend's abilities.

All these feeling disappeared when all at once, the blue rings vanished and 613 crashed to the ground, grunting in pain. Twilight hurried over and lifted his head off the ground, the boy's face a mask of surprise. "Prophets and plagues," he muttered. "This is really bad."

"What? What happened?" Spike asked desperately. "Why did it stop?"

"Only one thing," Avi said gravely.

613 nodded. "My powers are gone."

Twilight gasped. Carefully propping 613 up against the crater wall, she continued, "What do you mean? Your powers were working fine. I saw them all over the place."

The prophet smiled at the unicorn's observations. "Yes Twilight. My powers were working, but now it seems that I can't activate them. Even worse, I can't feel my divine spark."

"Not as worse," Avi piped up, "we're both in fading conditions!"

"What?" Spike blurted out. "Could somepony please talk normal?"

"The damage we've sustained is draining our life force," 613 explained. "We have no contacts from our world that can help us. Gabriel told me that they have no access to Equestria."

"Crud," Avi mumbled, then sighed. "Guess that means it's game over."

"Wait, you mean you're just going to die?" Twilight said in disbelief, tears starting to form. "You can't do that!"

"Twilight, believe me, I had plans," 613 said calmly. "I just wish I was going to pass away in the presence of G-d, with a death system I'm familiar with."

"613, that's just stinking thinking," Avi muttered. "There's no fun in knowing what comes afterwards." He glanced over at Spike, who was trying to stem a flow of liquid misery. "Don't worry, Spike. It's not so bad."

"I'm not going to let this happen!" Twilight shouted. "We have doctors. They can help you!"

Avi raised his hand. "Not wanting to sound like a downer, but one, they probably won't know what to do with us and two, we don't need that kind of help; we need an infusion, a power boost."

Twilight blinked the tears away. "A p-power boost?"

"Wait a second." 613 pointed at Twilight. "You used magic to get me out of the ground, right?"

Twilight nodded, finding it hard to speak.

613 continued. "Spike, you can breath fire, I assume?"

"Most of the time," the dragon admitted. "I'm still working on it."

The prophet slammed a fist into his palm, then winced in pain. "This could work, but we have to move quickly. Twilight, give me your hoof."

Feeling slightly odd, the unicorn mare placed her front right hoof in the boy's open hand. His fingers wrapped slowly around the hoof, tightening the connection.

613 called over to the other two. "Avi, Spike, hold hands."

The teen and the dragon did as they were told, claw in hand.

Turning back to his own partner, 613 explained the rest of his plan. "If you use your magic, Twilight, we might be able to convert it into a life energy. As long as we keep a connection between the four of us, Avi should gain some of Spike's firepower and I'll have enough energy to complete a healing. Don't worry," he added when he saw the confused looks he got. "It should only replicate your energy, not drain it."

Avi felt the need to mention something. "You might want to get started; I feel weak."

The prophet redirected his attention to Twilight. "Are you ready?"

Twilight looked into 613's eyes. Giving this creature access to her magic could help the two humans recover from their serious life-threatening injuries, but it could also put her and Spike at risk. She didn't know the full extent of the prophet's power or what he could do with magic. This decision was a dangerous one and the answer was obvious.

"Let's do this thing."

613 nodded contentedly. "Okay, let's begin. Miss Sparkle?"

"Right." Twilight let her magic flow through her, untamed, wild, possibly uncontrollable. She glanced at 613, his eyes closed, his arms seemingly directing the continuous stream of purple energy. A thick strand of magic leapt from their connection to the other pair on the opposite side of the crater, wrapping them in a magical bond. The two humans rose into the air, their companion's appendages falling from their grip. 613 put his right fist over his heart, praying with all his might. Avi was looking around, taking in the amazing sight. The purple glow encased them in magical cocoons and Twilight and Spike could only watch in admiration at 613's control over the magic she'd given him. The two boys drifted close together, the magic that cloaked them growing stronger as they merged into one. A bright blue flash emitted from the magic casing and temporarily blinded the pony and her dragon friend.

When they had blinked the last of the flashing spots from their eyes, a new scene came into view. The crater's sides had become smooth, any piece of rock or soil replaced by shiny iridium. But what was even more surprising were the two beings lying in the center. One was a dragon, slightly larger than Spike, with dark-green scales and brown spikes and a pair of wings folded against its back. The other was a dark-azure unicorn stallion, with a mane and tail two separate shades of blue. His cutie mark was a blue six-pointed star.

Twilight warily approached the new arrivals, trying to take in the most likely possibility. What did 613 do? she wondered. Did use the energy to transform himself and Avi? How did he know how to control magic? What's the significance of this pony's cutie mark?

The two bodies began to stir. The dragon sat up and flexed his claws, admiring the sharp appendages. The stallion shook his head and opened his eyes. They were a beautiful sapphire color, just like 613's.

Spike crept closer and stood by Twilight's side. "Is it them?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," was the mare's reply. She walked closer to the other pony and caught his attention.

The black stallion smiled. "Thank you," he whispered. His eyes rolled upwards and he fell to the ground unconscious , while the green dragon beside him fell into the same state.

Twilight rushed over and put her ear against the stallion's chest. "He's still breathing," she muttered thankfully. Levitating the dark-blue unicorn onto her back, she called to her loyal assistant. "Come on Spike. Let's take them to the hospital."

Spike grabbed the green dragon's arm and hoisted him up, half dragging half carrying him. They hurried past the remaining ponies that had come to check out the meteor's explosion and, once they saw Twilight Sparkle leaving the crash sight with an unconscious pony on her back, they decided it was time to follow in the steps of their neighbors and they all dispersed.

As soon as the last pony had gone home, Pinkie Pie showed up, saddlebags overflowing with streamers, balloons and a banner with a picture of a meteor on it. She stopped at the crater lip and looked around.

"Where is everpony?"

*

Together, Twilight and Spike took the two unconscious strangers to Ponyville Hospital, where they were rushed to a ward and laid in beds.

"Will they be alright, Doctor?" Twilight asked, having a hard time excepting the facts.

Doctor Stable raised his eyes from the printed information he had gleaned from his two patients. "I honestly can't say, Miss Sparkle. Their conditions are very strange. They appear to be healthy, their still breathing okay, but their bodies are silent. It's as if they're still alive, but they're locked up."

"What does that mean?" Spike asked. "What do we do?"

The doctor pinned his report onto the black stallion's bed. "We can only wait and hope for the best. In the meantime, I suggest you two return home and get some sleep."

Twilight looked at the clock on the wall. It was past sundown and neither she nor Spike had noticed because of all the excitement and their concern for the stallion and the dragon. Turning to the doctor, she asked, "Can we have a few more minutes, please?"

Doctor Stable looked at Twilight and Spike, then at his patients, then at the clock. "All right. Just let yourselves out when your done, okay?"

"Don't worry, we will."

The doctor nodded and left the room, the door swinging shut behind him. Twilight walked over to the stallion's bed while Spike made his way to the green dragon's side. They spent a while examining the two bedridden individuals, checking the doctor's notes and cleaning up the room.

Spike found himself at the dragon's bedside, fondly stroking the larger reptile's claw. He glanced sadly at the closed eyes, the still tail, the dark-green scales. Thinking that he won't ever get up again brought tears to Spike's eyes. All alone, thought Spike, Just him and his friend in a place neither of them saw before. It wouldn't be right if he didn't have a chance to see it. Opening the green dragon's claw, Spike breathed a small ember into it, closing the fingers around the glowing orb of dragonfire. There, now you have a piece of Equestria.

Twilight watched the actions of her dragon friend. It touched her heart the way Spike treated the unconscious dragon, like a friend he had known for a long time, not like someone he had just met. She looked at the unicorn stallion, the combined light- and dark-blue mane, the calm look on his unmoving face, the bright blue star on his flank. She wished she had more time to talk to him. He seemed to know so much. If he were awake we could talk about all kinds of things, about friends, magic and where he's from. There's so much I want to know from him. But now his life and the life of the green dragon were in the hooves of Fate.

There has to be something, anything that I can do to help, Twilight thought. Then an idea came to her. Wait a minute. As a unicorn, I do have something to share. Bending down over the resting pony, she lowered her horn until it came in contact with the stallion's horn. She then released a stream of magic through their connecting point, sending her energy into the black pony's system. She let the magic flow for a minute before stemming it, raising her horn and ending their connection.

Spike walked over to Twilight's side. "What did you give him?" he asked.

Twilight took her time before answering. "The one thing I could give him: hope. A chance."

Side by side, the two friends left the ward, stopping at the door to take one more look at the patients. Glancing sadly at one another, they departed the room their, hearts filled with shared grief.

The ward was dark. The only light came in through the window, where the moon was shining bright. Slowly, the green dragon closed his claw tight over Spike's ember, drawing in the warmth of the flame. Beneath the stallion's dark eyelids, a soft sapphire-blue light trickled.

The Pony and the Prophet

I'm sorry, Father. I have failed you.

"Failed? Stop talking trash and wake up!"

The stallion's eyelids fluttered and he peered through them into the semi-dark room. Above him was a scaly green face full of concern.

"I told you we should have taken a train," the face said.

The stallion smiled. "No, we should not have."

The dragon nodded. "Good. It's you."

Sitting up, the unicorn asked, "What's with the verbal test? Didn't you know it was me? Please explain how it helps to ask about the stupid train."

The dragon crossed his arms. "No, I didn't know it was you. In fact, I was worried you were a manifestation. Anyone else BUT you would have immediately agreed with me about the train, no questions asked."

"Good point." The black stallion rose up out of his bed and stepped onto the floor. He took a minute to examine their surroundings and his own body. "Where are we?"

"Ponyville Hospital, according to my blank I.D. bracelet," the dragon called over from a table at the other end of the ward. "Twilight and Spike must've brought us over here after we blacked out at the crater."

"That was kind of them." 613 made his way to the window and looked out upon the city in the night. "I want to be outside."

The dragon walked over to him, saying "I don't think we're supposed to be out of bed."

"What makes you think that?" 613 asked, looking around the room. There was a table beside their beds with a bowl of fruit. The walls were covered with patterns and colors, there was a clock on one of them and a hook on another.... Wait, a hook? Looking closer, he discovered that the 'hook' was actually an alarm of sorts, probably set to go off when the ward's inhabitants made an attempt to leave. "I see what you mean. That alarm is going to get us caught if we try to leave."

"Alarm? What alarm?" the dragon appeared at his side, holding a piece of paper. "I was talking about the medical information the doctor pulled out of us. Can you believe it? He thinks I'm diagnosed with ADHD!"

"He's not too far off."

"That's beside the point! How could he come up with such a stupid theory if I wasn't even awake?"

613 facehoofed. This dragon was certainly his friend. Only Avi would act so agitated. "So, back to the alarm: what do we do?"

"Well, duh." Not bothering to explain, Avi marched over to the wall the alarm was on. He looked up at it, noting the good four-and-a-half feet between himself and the device. He unfurled his wings, each one as long as he was tall, and leapt into the air, his wings holding him aloft with the alarm at eye-level. He took a deep breath a breathed a short stream of fire on to the buzzer, melting the plastic and effectively disabling it.

He lowered himself down beside his pony friend. "There we go. Now, lets get out of here." He rushed over to the window and opened it, poking his head out for a look around. "Come on, let go!"

613 gave the room another look-over, making sure he didn't miss anything important, before joining Avi at the window. They were in a ward on the ground floor so they didn't have to jump an extra 10 feet, which would have been the case had they been placed on the second floor. They leapt from the window and out into the night air of Ponyville.

613 started walking, without an exact destination, forcing Avi to follow him. "Come on," he said to his scaly friend, "We need a plan, an idea of somewhere to go."

Avi scratched his dragon head. "We don't know the area. Lets go to the crater. Maybe there's still something there."

613 nodded and the two friends began looking for the hole they had made hours before. After a while they found it, sliding down the sides to check it out.

Avi ran his claw over the smooth crater wall. "Pure iridium. This could make someone here rich."

"I think it's 'somepony'," the unicorn corrected, picking up the cloak that he had left earlier and draping it over his back.

"Oh, that's very funny. What are you looking for?"

613 raised his head from his search. "Where's my satchel?" He was referring to the bag that he carried around with him everywhere. It contained a variety of items he often found himself in need of, and had the habit of hiding it in a trans-dimensional hole when he needed the use of both his hands. Apparently, it had disappeared when the meteor crashed.

"Hmm, where indeed?" Avi mused, glancing left and right. All at once, an idea came to him. He crouched down on the crater floor and began running his claws along the smooth surface. Every now and then he'd stop and breath a small flame onto the spot he picked, melting the iridium and revealing the soil beneath. He repeated this process several times before finally striking gold. Or to be more precise, cloth.

Lying at the bottom of the hole he had burned out wasn't 613's satchel, though. The bag Avi had found was divided into two separate units, joined together by a set of straps. The bags were fastened shut with clasps in the shape of the black stallion's cutie mark: a blue six-pointed star.

"What are these?" Avi asked his 613, gesturing towards his find.

The prophet pony bent down and pulled the bags out with his teeth. He laid them on the ground and opened it up. Inside were two sets of small black leather boxes, each set wrapped inside a white shawl. There was also a deck of blue-and-black cards.

"Hey, my deck reappeared after all!" Avi bent down and pulled out the deck, quickly going through the cards. "Nope, still blank."

613 held up one of the boxes and unwrapped the leather straps around it, checking its length. "Looks like my satchel turned into a saddlebag for my own convenience." After he put the box back, he took the saddlebags and slung them over his back under his cloak, reworking his balance. "Nice. I like it." Turning to his friend, he asked, "What should we do now?"

Avi sniffed and then stuck out his tongue. "Away from here. The smell is starting to get to me.

*

The two friends wandered through Ponyville, discussing the events of earlier.

"It seems that Twilight's magic influenced your power over the healing spell and forced us to transform," Avi pointed out.

"That still doesn't explain why the manifestation was so informative. Why would he spill the beans on his allies?"

"Who knows? And less importantly, who cares? Maybe they're getting soft and they're starting to rebel. Whatever the case is, we need help."

"No help from the outside," 613 reminded. "The TDST closed behind us, giving only enough time for those who were intent on following us to get through."

Avi slammed a fist into his open claw. "Then we're going to have to learn what we can do. You're a unicorn, try using magic."

613 shrugged and then started to focus. A bright blue aura shimmered around his horn and a rock to his left flew into the air, also wrapped in a blue aura. He held the rock in the air for a minute before slowly letting it down. "It's not so different from my normal powers," he noted.

Avi nodded while biting into a large green apple. "Good work, 613."

Staring at his friend, 613 asked, "Where did you get that?"

"From the fruit bowl at the Hospital, duh." Avi tossed a second apple over to 613, who caught it in a magic aura and took a bite.

"This is really good, but we're getting off topic." A spark leapt off of 613's horn. He watched it fizzle out before continuing. "We are currently in an alternate world with limited resources and no contacts."

"Yeah, that's what you told me Gabriel said. Did he say anything else?"

"The usual: no help from the celestial brigade and advising us to change our names. Speaking of which, what are we going to call ourselves now?"

The dragon looked at him and grinned, showing off his sharp fangs. "We'll think of something."

"Good. Now that that's settled, who do we turn to for assistance?"

*

"I just can't help but worry about 613. He probably doesn't even know what happened to Avi and himself."

Spike sighed wistfully. Twilight wasn't the only one who was concerned about the new arrivals' well-being. Thoughts of the two humans and green dragon filled his mind, leaving him with an empty feeling.

"There's nothing more we can do," he told Twilight. "The doctor said we can only wait and hope that they'll get better."

"I know, Spike, but I'm not sure if waiting's going to help them. I just wish—"

Knock! Knock! Knock! Someone was at the library door, hammering at it in a wild frenzy. Twilight walked over and opened it, finding none other than Doctor Stable on the doorstep. He looked worried.

"What happened, doctor,?" Twilight asked, trying to keep calm.

"Miss Sparkle, it's awful. They've disappeared!"

"What?" gasped Twilight. "What do you mean they disappeared?"

"Well, the nurse went into the ward about fifteen minutes ago and found their beds empty and the window open. They must have melted the alarm which we use, in case a slightly dangerous patient tries to leave."

Ignoring the 'slightly dangerous' comment, Twilight continued to question the doctor." Have you done anything to try and find them?"

"We have nearly our entire staff out in Ponyville, including most of our security ponies. We've been searching ever since we've found out they'd gone."

"Thank you, doctor. If you find them, please let me know."

"I will. Goodnight." The doctor left the library, leaving a cold air behind.

"So now what?" Spike asked, his eyes betraying his fear.

"We can't really do anything but wait. We don't know where they've gone." Suddenly, Twilight's horn began to shine, casting its shimmering glow on the bookshelves.

"What's going on?" Twilight spluttered. She certainly didn't cast any spell, but her horn was clearly being affected by magic. All at once, she found herself being dragged towards the door by her horn. She tried to stop, but ended up colliding with the door, her face getting flattened dramatically. Spike quickly opened it and Twilight went flying out of the library. She dug her hooves into the ground, attempting to slow down and stop, but only managed to make furrows in the earth. Spike ran after Twilight, shutting the library door behind him, trying to keep up with the out-of-control mare. She bucked and struggled with all her might but no matter what she did she couldn't slow herself down.

Finally she stopped at the foot of a cliff. Her horn stopped glowing and Twilight looked up at the bluff above her head. The full moon hung at the peak, almost as if it were attracted to it. In the light of the moon, at the very top of the cliff, stood a figure shrouded in black.

Spike caught up and, gasping for breath, pointed up. "Who's that?"

"I don't know Spike; whoever it is, they're wearing a cloak."

"Maybe we should just go up there and see if we can spot those guys we found earlier." Spike was just about to start climbing when something slammed down in front of him, frightening the young dragon and forcing him backwards, where he crashed into Twilight. Twilight quickly turned towards the figure, squinting through the darkness. Standing in front of them was none other than the green dragon.

The dragon breathed a glowing ember into an open claw, casting a warm soft light on the surrounding area. "Come with me," he said, waving the two over.

Twilight and Spike exchanged looks. They had discussed the possibility of the green dragon being Avi, but had very little evidence to prove it. But considering everything that's been going on, Twilight figured that even though it might be risky, they could use a lead.

The green dragon began to walk up the path that lead to the peak, Twilight and Spike following behind him. Twilight decided to try to talk to their guide, even though it was a long shot, "Excuse me, but where are you leading us to?"

The dragon stopped and slowly turned around, a smile on his scaly face. "You were looking for us, weren't you?"

Spike beamed when he heard this. "Yes we were," he said, and then added, "How are you feeling?"

"Just fine. I owe you my life, Spike. Without that ember I may not have made it through the night. Giving me a piece of your firepower with barely a second thought shows your willingness to trust another dragon. Yes Twilight?" he added when he noticed the purple mare's patient look.

"Would you mind telling us your name?" she asked.

"Before, my name was Avraham," the dragon said, giving Twilight the necessary information to answer her other questions. "But now, you can call me Fang."

"Cool," Spike said, hurrying forwards so he could walk beside the taller dragon.

"I've had to change my name a lot of times before," Fang continued. "Me and my buddy, we would take on so many different forms that sometimes we'd just stick with a separate form and keep it for longer than we had to."

"You must be pretty powerful to sustain transformations for so long," Twilight said.

"Yes, those were the days." Fang sighed. "Oh well, no use crying over spilt milk. 'Whatever Works', as our friends would say."

They continued to climb up to the top of the cliff in silence, Twilight and Spike thinking about the encounter they would have at the peak. When they arrived at the top, the figure on it came into view. It was the black unicorn stallion from the crater, wearing 613's obsidian cloak. He was looking down at Ponyville, watching small glowing lights run around the town.

"Looks like the Hospital ponies are still on our tails," he said calmly. "You'd think we did something wrong."

"Yeah right," Fang scoffed. "The only thing we may have done wrong was take apples out of a fruit bowl."

The stallion turned around to face the three behind him. His bright blue eyes were filled with wonder and amazement, as if they couldn't believe what they saw. "But it looks like the credit of finding us goes to you two."

Fang, still holding the warm ember, walked over and stood by the stallion's side. "As always, he finds himself looking at the problems, and then goes on to ignoring them at our own peril."

Nudging the green dragon playfully, the black pony continued. "Enough of this fruitless talk. I think reintroductions are in order. After all, I'm not exactly the same as I was before."

"Fang mentioned you've done shape-shifting before," Twilight said, "and changed your names as well."

"True enough, if not lacking in details," he replied, shooting a disappointing look at Fang, who merely shrugged. "I was indeed 613, but now you should call me by my new name, Spirit Guide."

"Spirit Guide?" Spike said, scrunching his nose. "How did you even come up with that?"

"I'll tell you," Spirit replied. "About a year ago, I was in mourning for my parents and siblings who were killed in a terrorist attack."

Twilight gasped in horror. Spike looked like he was done hearing the story. Spirit paused for a moment and then continued. "I have a tradition of staying at home during the first week of mourning. When the week was over, He who created the universes as we know them gave me a mission: to protect his nation and lead them to redemption. He also granted me my wish: to create a world where beings of every kind can live together in peace and harmony."

Twilight was in awe. "So much I don't understand. It's amazing."

Spirit nodded. "That's how me and Fang got into the habit of visiting other worlds and befriending the people—or ponies, as it were—who lived there and offering them a place in the alternate dimension me and Fang created."

"You created an alternate dimension?" To a knowledgeable and studious pony like Twilight, this seemed impossible. "Do you know how much energy is required to do that?"

"Yes we do," Fang chimed in. "We had to take a break because somepony fell unconscious for a few days."

Spike's eyes went wide. "Really?"

Rubbing the back of his head, Spirit answered, "Yeah, but it was worth it. After I woke up, I found myself in the most beautiful place I could imagine."

"Which is funny," added Fang, "because we did imagine it. Literally created with imagination."

"I'd like to see that place one day," Twilight said wistfully.

"I'd like everypony here to see it," Spirit said. "But until I can figure out how to open the Time-Dimension-Space-Tunnel, me and Fang are stuck here."

"Well, why don't you come over to the library so we can work some thing out?"

Now it was Spirit and Fang who exchanged looks. Being invited into the house of a magical creature and her talking dragon friend who they'd only met tonight? The answer was obvious and the two friends said it together.

"Sure. Thanks."

Beaming, Twilight and Spike led their new friends down the cliff and towards the library, stopping only when they bumped into Doctor Stable and the hospital staff. After Spirit and Twilight explained what had happened, the doctor and his team left and the two unicorns and their dragon friends made their way to Twilight's and Spike's home.

Spirit and Fang stared at the tree-house library in admiration. "You actually live here?" Fang asked.

"Yep," answered Spike, "Ever since we came to Ponyville."

Fang gave a crazy grin. "Wicked."

"Come on in," Twilight beckoned, opening the door. The interior of the library was well lit, books littered the floor as well as the table. A fresh sheet of parchment lay on a raised desk, several sets of quills and ink bottles sitting beside it. The whole place felt cozy and snug.

"Wow," exclaimed Fang. "You've got quite a thing going on in here."

Spike frowned. "The only thing that usually goes on down here is reading and writing."

"Awesome!" Fang leapt into the air, snagged a book off the highest shelf, landed on the floor with barely a bump and started reading.

"I'm glad someone here likes books besides me," Twilight said happily.

"Fang tries to do as much as he can whenever he's not doing anything else," Spirit explained. "He just won't sit still."

The two unicorns walked over to the table and sat down. Spike came over with four cups of water and seated himself beside Twilight. "So," she began. "The two of you came to Equestria in a meteor from another dimension?"

"That's right," Spirit said. "We were trying to decide the best way to get here, although all Fang wanted was to take a train." He stopped for a minute because the residents of the library were trying to hold back their laughter. Spirit glared at the green dragon while Twilight and Spike burst out laughing. "I told you they'd find that funny!"

Fang looked up from his book and shrugged. "Whatever. We still should have taken a train."

Shaking his head, Spirit returned his attention to Twilight. "Don't get me wrong, I did have enough power to be able to enchant a train engine to the point where it could travel through dimensions. It just seemed really, really unnecessary."

"Tell me more about the dimension you came from," Twilight begged. "The one you created."

"It's a beautiful place. Grassy plains as far as the eye can see, all centered around a single body of freshwater contained inside a huge space surrounded by cliffs. The drop from the top to the water below is about 100 feet, and then it's about another 250 feet to the seafloor, but the water is so clear you can see for miles in every direction. We have an establishment inside the cliff, after me and Fang dug out the whole place, and every friend we made was given a room to stay in. There is also a second group on the opposite cliff." At this, Spirit made a scary face, dropping his eyebrows over his eyes which narrowed dangerously and stretching his smile in a most unpleasant way.

Spike shuddered. "What kind of things live there?"

"I'll tell you another time," Spirit promised, returning his face to its former, pleasant state.

"Wow, you've done some amazing things," Twilight said in awe, "If you really did all that."

"One day, Twilight, you will see the Fictional Republic in person."

Fang got up from his spot by the bookshelf, put his book away and walked over to the table. "It's kind of late. We should get some sleep."

Spirit nodded, then realized something. "We were so busy trying to find our way around that we didn't even bother considering where we're going to stay while we're here."

"You can stay in the library with us," Twilight said. "There's a spare bed upstairs and I've got a basket that Fang might like."

"That sounds great," Fang said happily. "What say you, Spirit?"

The black pony looked at Twilight, Spike and then at Fang. His eyes wandered around the library as he debated. On the one hand(or was it 'hoof'?), they were new to Equestria and didn't really know how things worked. On the other hoof, they didn't have anywhere else to go and it would be a good thing to have somewhere they can always turn to when they needed something. The answer was clear.

"Thank you."

"YES!" Fang fist bumped the smaller dragon, who then led him upstairs.

Twilight slowly approached Spirit. "I hope you'll enjoy your time in Ponyville," she said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing just what it has to offer," Spirit replied. The two ponies walked upstairs to the second floor, where they found Spike tossing Fang a large basket, a blanket and a pillow. "Looks like these two are already settled in."

Twilight pointed at one of the beds in the room. "You can have that one, unless you have a preference for sleeping on the floor."

"No, this should do just fine." Spirit dropped his saddlebags beside the bed and ran his hoof over the sheets, checking the mattress and pillow before finally laying down on the bed. "It's quite comfy."

Fang plonked his load down beside Spirit's bed, placing the blanket and pillow inside the basket. "Never thought I'd find myself sleeping in a basket." He jumped into the woven container, curling up like a cat.

Twilight went downstairs and locked the door, putting out the lights in the library before joining her friends in the bedroom. "We should probably get some sleep now."

"No arguments here," Fang said in agreement, closing his eyes. "Night, everyone."

Spirit, Twilight and Spike climbed into their beds and made themselves comfortable. "Tomorrow, I'll introduce you to my friends," Twilight told Spirit.

Spirit punched his pillow with his hoof. "I'm looking forward to meeting them. There's just so much more to tell you."

"Save it for the morning," Spike murmured, already drifting off.

"Goodnight, Spike."

"Night, Fang."

"Goodnight, Twilight."

"Goodnight, Spirit."

The library's four occupants wished each other a peaceful night's sleep and laid their heads down on their pillows. Spirit stared out the window, watching the moon and stars shining in the night sky. He felt someone poke his shoulder and rolled over to the other side of his bed.

It was Fang. "So, what have you got to say for yourself, about everything up until now?"

Spirit stared at the ceiling. "We are never truly beyond the reach of G-d," he said mysteriously.

The dragon nodded in agreement. "True, so true." He fell back on to his bed. "Night, Spirit."

"Goodnight." Spirit continued to stare at the ceiling, thinking about the day's events. He wondered how all his other friends back in the Republic were doing. Although the time zones of the two world wouldn't be synced until he fixed them together on the grid, he often pondered what was going on while he was away from the place he had shaped with his own power, together with his best friend's imagination. Were the others keeping the dark forces at bay? Was the balance still maintained? And what about the Inn? Were they okay? All these troubling thoughts were not helping Spirit sleep so he pushed them all away with an ancient epigram.

"This too is for the best."

Author's Notes:

Identification has been revealed
But what will tomorrow bring? And the day after that?

Bean Spills

The next morning, Twilight awoke to an odd humming sound coming from the first floor of the library. She looked across the bedroom to find Spirit's bed and Fang's basket empty.

They must already be downstairs, she figured, carefully climbing out of her own bed without waking Spike. She walked down the stairs and into the library's main room, where she found the weirdest thing she had ever seen. Spirit Guide was standing by the table with all four hooves together, facing east, wearing the oddest set of accessories: a white shawl over his head and back, a black box strapped to his left front leg and another box sitting on his head just below his horn. Spirit was swaying side to side, muttering and chanting under his breath.

Twilight was about to approach the stallion when she heard a hiss from behind her. Turning around, she found Fang, also wearing a white shawl. The dragon was in the middle of wrapping a black strap around one of two black boxes next to him. Twilight waited patiently until Fang had wrapped up both boxes and pulled the shawl off his back, which he folded up and placed inside Spirit's saddlebags along with the pair of boxes.

"Sorry about that," Fang said apologetically.

"No problem," Twilight replied, then added, "What were you doing?"

"Back where we come from, we have a tradition where we pray to our Creator, thanking Him for everything He does. The boxes and shawl are worn as a reminder of His existence and the laws He has given us. Although," he added sadly, "my prayers feels different when my usual connections to the other worlds are cut off."

Spirit took three steps backwards, bowed left, right and front, then took three steps forwards. He turned around to face the others. "Don't worry, Fang," he said encouragingly. "We always manage. By the way, good morning Twilight."

"Morning, Spirit. Shall we get something to eat?"

"Without Spike?" Fang inquired.

"He'll join us later. Let's get to work."

"You guys start without me," said Spirit, carefully wrapping the black boxes. "I'll join in when I'm done here."

"Wow," Twilight whispered to Fang as they set to work. "He really is serious when it comes to praying."

"I've been friends with him for ages," replied Fang. "We try to fulfill the wishes of our Creator as best we can."

While they continued their conversation, Twilight and Fang cleared the table in the library and began making breakfast. By the time Spirit had finished and joined them, most of the food was already set out. With all three of them working together, breakfast was prepared in no time, so they sat down and started to eat. In between mouthfuls and hasty swallows, Twilight and Spirit shared each others history and experiences.

"That's when the Elements reformed themselves into artifacts, each one with a gem in the shape of mine and my friends' cutie marks, and we used them to transform Nightmare Moon back into her former self." Twilight recounted her first day in Ponyville. "Later Princess Celestia said that I would continue my study of the magic of friendship here in Ponyville, and I've been here ever since."

"That quite something," Spirit said in admiration. "What do you think, Fang?"

Fang picked up a piece of toast and shoved it into his mouth, barely chewing it before he swallowed. "Just one question: where are the Elements now?"

"Princess Celestia said she'd keep them in Canterlot," Twilight replied. "I'm sure that wherever she put them, they're safe."

Spirit took a swig from his glass of juice. "I know a lot of teams that rely on the power of enchanted artifacts, but nothing like this. It seems that the Elements work because of you and your friends' friendship, rather then just requiring somepony to activate them."

"Now, that is something impressive," Fang said admiringly.

It was then that Spike appeared on the stairs, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "What did I miss?" he asked sleepily.

"Good morning Spike," Twilight called cheerily. "Don't worry, we were just talking."

"If it was book stuff, please leave me out of it." Spike walked over to the table and sat down between Twilight and Fang. "Do we have any gemstones, Twilight?"

"Yes we do. I made sure we got some after that incident at the cafe." Turning around, she levitated a small box off of a bookshelf and brought it down to the table. Twilight opened it, revealing a pile of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds and other gems.

Fang stared at the pile in amazement. "That's a lot of gemstones."

Spike licked his lips in anticipation. "They look great. And they probably taste great too."

Spirit studied the scene, trying to make sense of it. "I'll hazard a guess and say that in Equestria, gemstones are a common find and dragons have the necessary body functions to consume them. Am I right?"

Twilight was impressed. "Right as rain. You must be pretty smart to come up with that so quickly."

The dark-blue pony shrugged. "It comes in time."

Spike selected a large emerald and bit into it. Seeing Fang watching him intently, Spike pushed the box of gemstones towards the green dragon. "Go on, try one."

Fang stared at the pile of minerals, a cautious look on his face. "Spirit, what are the laws concerning gemstones?" he asked.

Spirit rolled his eyes and said, "Gemstones are not treif, Fang. Dig in. By the way, the blessing is shehakol."

Fang reached into the box and pulled out an amethyst quartz. He recited a short prayer and took a bite out of the purple crystal. He chewed slowly, then swallowed. His face split into a grin. "Awesome. These taste great!"

"I'm glad you like them." Spike smiled, reaching into the box for another. "I've been trying to find somepony else who'll try them, but nopony's interested."

"That's because we can't digest gemstones, Spike!" Twilight retorted, giving the baby dragon a playful noogie. After releasing Spike, she turned her attention back to Spirit. "Before going out, I thought maybe I could teach you a bit about magic, you know, since you're new here and all."

The expression Spirit was wearing made her regret saying anything: a blank, do-you-think-I'm-stupid face, which was quickly replaced with a dazzling smile. "I'd be happy to. I haven't really learned anything for a while and I'd hate to have to figure out how to use unicorn magic by myself at a moment's notice."

Twilight clopped her hooves together happily. "Great! Now I can finally use this book I got." She turned her head towards one of the bookshelves, levitated a large dark-orange book off the top, and plonked it on the table.

Spirit stared at the book and tilted his head in bewilderment. "What is this?" he asked.

"'The Magic Instructor'," Twilight replied. "It's a guide book for teaching unicorn magic to or with another pony. Since I usually learn by myself, I never really used it."

"Well, looks like you're going to be using it after all. Let's have a look." Opening the book, the two unicorns pored over the pages, Twilight explaining the tricky parts and Spirit making comparisons between the different types of energy he'd used in the past. While the ponies learned their magic together, Fang decided to poke around Spirit's saddlebags. He didn't have much to do and quickly found what he was after: his deck of power cards.

Spike noticed his new friend leafing through the stack of blue and black cards. He ambled over to him and said "I thought you said the cards went blank. Why are you going through them?"

Fang answered without looking up from his sorting. "On some missions, after we've been through certain experiences, a number of my cards would recharge, you could say, gaining new content. Mostly, these cards would simply be identification cards, but even that's helpful when you..." He stopped talking when he noticed something: a few of the cards had powered back up. Not one, not two, but—

"Spirit! Twilight!"

Fang's shouts disrupted the unicorns' learning, and the two equines turned their attention towards the enthusiastic dragon. "What is it, Fang?" Spirit asked, slightly miffed at the disturbance, "and it better not be something about your feet, cause we both know what they're like."

"It's got nothing to do with my feet," Fang shot back, "although I will get back to you on that."

Twilight spoke up before they got too off topic. "What is it, Fang?"

"Five power cards have gained subjects."

"Let's see them." The ponies and the dragons gathered around the wooden table and Fang laid out the five cards on top. Each card depicted one of the four friends, and the last card had a picture of the library. Every card had the subject's name on it, as well as a short description that was pretty accurate.

"Wow," Spike exclaimed. "This is really cool!" he read his card out loud. "Spike. A young dragon who lives with the unicorn Twilight Sparkle. Spike likes gemstones, helping and sleeping. Sleeping?" He gaped in disbelief. "How did it know that?"

"It is rather detailed," said Twilight, trying to sound sympathetic. "Here's mine. Twilight Sparkle, unicorn student of Princess Celestia, bearer of the Element of Magic. Currently resides in Ponyville, where she studies the magic of friendship. That's amazing!"

"Mine doesn't have much to say for itself," Fang announced. "Fang. A dragon with a knack for knowing. He enjoys a good joke as well as making as many different friends as possible. As always, it nails me down." He noticed that somepony was not making himself heard. "What about you, Spirit? What's your card say?"

Clearing his throat, the blue stallion recited, "Spirit Guide. A prophet from another world, Spirit is always ready to learn something new. While he is sometimes secretive, there isn't much this pony won't do for his friends."

Twilight and Spike were speechless. The card had divulged information about Spirit that they didn't know before, although not specifying. The just hoped he didn't think of them as too private for them to know about, whatever it is he was keeping to himself.

"Well done, you," Fang said, patting Spirit on the back. "You've barely been here a day and the deck already has you figured out." He held up the pile of cards before his friend. "I can never thank you enough for this gift.

"As unbelievable as it may seem, it's all true." Spirit levitated the magic guide book back on to the shelf with the spell he had just learned with Twilight. "And while I think about it, there's a lot to do." Turning to Twilight, he asked, "So, what are we going to do today?"

Twilight beamed when she heard this. She had actually planned a list for the day. She walked over to her work table and picked up the checklist she had made earlier. She laid it down on the center table beside the power cards.

Spirit read the list out loud. "Tidy the library. Show Spirit and Fang around Ponyville. Introduce them to Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, not necessarily in that order, and invite them all to a picnic lunch. Eat lunch with everypony. Write a letter to the Princess about the day's and previous day's events." His face fell slightly as he combined the listed items with what he knew. He turned to face the others. "As much as I'd like to say that's a great and well-organized schedule, there's something in the way."

Twilight was curious. "What's the matter? Didn't I cover everything?"

"Everything you know," Spirit pointed out. "There's something I have to tell you and it might get in the way of things."

"Don't hold your breath," Spike advised. "Twilight's not one for changing plans."

Fang nudged the smaller dragon. "That's not a very nice thing to say, Spike."

"No, it's all right, Fang," Twilight said. "He's right. I like it when things are laid out and done by the book, but it's also important to listen to what your friends have to say." Then she asked, "What did you have to add, Spirit?"

"I may not have told you, but before you pulled me out of the ground last night, I was present in my dreamscape, a place I can access when I'm asleep. There I had an encounter with a manifestation, one of the dark creatures that roam the Republic. Apparently they got into Equestria when they followed us through the Time-Dimension-Space-Tunnel that we use to travel between the different worlds. After failing to get anything out of it, it just started telling me about big trouble happening in Equestria. It told me that a horde of manifestation managed to get through the TDST and were probably going to set to work right away."

"What kind of manifestations are there?" Twilight asked.

"And what do they do?" Spike added, accidentally knocking over a bowl of beans that was sitting on the breakfast table with his fearful shuddering.

"There are three basic types of manifestations. The first kind are merely accumulated wisps of dark energy, like the one I found in my dreamscape—those are relatively harmless and can only manipulate objects basically, although all manifestations get more powerful as time goes on. There are hex manifestations, which are slightly more powerful and have the ability to lay hindering effects on the victim, although they're usually just bothersome pranks. And then there are cursed manifestations—a truly dominant creature. A cursed manifestation can force inconvenient, awkward, and sometimes embarrassing, spells and jinxes on a group of targets. Unlike the others, cursed manifestations are unnecessarily smart and tend to work together. Its happened before when everyone in the Republic would suffer under a curse laid by a horde of these dark entities. We make it our mission to fight these creatures whenever they appear, or else they would storm other worlds and spread chaos and confusion across the multiverse."

Spirit took a break from his speech to examine the reactions of his audience. Fang was wearing his thanks-for-sharing-that-with-everypony face, Spike stood there looking horrified, but it was Twilight's response that intrigued him the most. The mulberry-colored mare had been listening to him with a deep sense of understanding, and was now watching him with wide purple eyes.

Twilight found the lull in the conversation and jumped in. "So you think that the manifestations are here in Equestria?"

"I'm almost certain," Spirit replied.

"Where would they go?" Spike asked nervously.

"They can disguise themselves as anything," Fang informed, gathering up the spilled beans in his claw before shoving them into his mouth. "Even inanimate objects. They probably took on pony forms, though."

Spirit looked around the room. Where just a few minutes ago were smiling, laughing faces now were fearful, concerned and thoughtful looks. He decided to bottle up this problem and open it up some other time. "How about we start the list and improvise as we go along?"

"That's a great idea," Fang said. "What say you, Twilight?"

"I'm all for going by the list, even for just a while."

"Fine," agreed Spike. "Let's just do something already."

The four friends laughed and made their way to the door, opened it and stepped out into the fresh morning air.

Lunch Invitations

It was mid-morning when the four friends stepped out of the library, eager to start the day. Ponies were already out in the streets, going about their daily business. Twilight and Spike led their new friends around Ponyville, telling them about the many events that took place, taking them all over town and pointing out all the interesting sights.

Fang stopped beside a dry patch of mud. It was piquing his interest in a most obnoxious way. "Would somepony please tell me why this mud hole is so eye-catching?"

Twilight looks over the green dragon's shoulder. "I remember this spot," she recalled. "This is where I met Rainbow Dash, on my first day in Ponyville." She smirked at the memory of that encounter. "She really wasn't looking where she was going, was she?"

"Probably not," agreed Spike.

"While we're still on topic," Spirit said, "where is this Rainbow Dash?"

Spike pointed up at the sky. "Right there." Spirit and Fang craned their heads and glanced up at the cloud-filled sky. A cyan-colored pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail was flying around, clearing the clouds away by slamming into them.

"How does she do that?" Fang asked. "I mean, affect the clouds? They're just water vapor."

"Pegasi like Rainbow Dash have a special kind of magic that lets them manipulate weather," Twilight explained. "She's part of the Ponyville Weather team."

"How do we get her attention?" Spirit wondered aloud. "She looks kinda busy."

"I've got this." Fang spread his wings and leapt into the sky, leaving his friends to gasp at his sudden take-off. A feeling of elation filled his soul as he flew, and his heart felt like it was soaring too. It had been a while since he had last flown, back in the Republic with his friends, and he had almost forgotten the joy it brings. Fang climbed and gathered speed, then flipped over and began hurtling toward the ground, pulling up at the last second and startling several ponies. He soared back up into the sky, trying to find the cyan pegasus Spike had pointed out, he had lost track of her while he was getting his love of flying back.

It was her yelling that gave her away eventually. She was twenty feet away, busting the last few clouds in the area, leaving clear skies over Ponyville. Fang glided silently behind the rainbow-maned pony, being careful not to be noticed. The second she stopped her wild activity, he shot past her, leaving the pegasus mare spinning in his wake.

Shaking herself, Rainbow Dash watched the flying green streak disappear around a house. "Oh, no you don't," she said, revving her wings up for a chase. "I'm the fastest pony around here." She dashed after the emerald trail, making her way around the corner in under ten seconds. She stopped and hovered when she realized there was nopony around. She glanced left and right, but aside from three Earth ponies walking by she was alone. She was about to turn back when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Whizzing around, she jabbed toward whatever it was that touched her, only to come up with empty hooves.

"Whoa, you really are fast," a voice said behind her.

Swinging around, Rainbow braced herself for whatever was coming. When no blow came, she lowered her hooves and peeked out. She was surprised to find a green dragon hovering in the air before her. Dragons weren't exactly common in Ponyville, Spike being the only one she knew of.

"A dragon?" she spluttered in disbelief, realizing who it was that zoomed past her. "And a winged dragon at that. Who are you?"

The green dragon grinned, his wings flapping in a prefect rhythm that kept him aloft. "I'm Fang. I'm new in Ponyville, staying with my friends at the Golden Oak Library."

"You're staying with Twilight?" Rainbow inquired. "Does she make you read all her books?"

"Nah, I do that myself."

Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her ears. Here was a dragon who liked reading the same books that Twilight did. Rainbow decided to move on before she caught the Egghead Disease. "So, you roaming Ponyville on your own today, Fang?"

"Nope. Me, Twilight, Spike and my friend Spirit were just looking for you. When we saw you up in the sky kicking clouds I decided to try flying again. I haven't flown for a while, you see, and it just feels so good to be able to soar again."

"I know what you mean," Rainbow said, remembering the day she discovered racing. Flight was truly a blessing to those who understood it. "So, where are they now?"

Rainbow's question was answered by a familiar voice from below. "Hey Rainbow Dash, come on down!" It was Twilight. Rainbow looked down to see her unicorn friend standing beside Spike and a dark-azure unicorn stallion she had never seen before. That must be Fang's buddy, she figured. The cyan pegasus flew down towards them, closely followed by the green dragon. The two airborne landed in front of the ground trio.

"Good morning, Rainbow," Twilight greeted.

"Hey, Twilight," Rainbow replied. She glanced at the stallion standing beside Twilight, who immediately noticed Rainbow's magenta eyes staring at him.

"Hi, I'm Spirit Guide," the black pony said. "You must be Rainbow Dash. Twilight's told me about you."

Fang rolled his eyes. "Dude, that sounded like you've been preparing it all morning."

Spirit laughed. "Yeah, while I was reviewing magic with Twilight."

Rainbow chuckled. She was beginning to like this new pony. "So, you were trying to find me just to say hi?"

"Actually, Rainbow," Spike said in a droning narrator's voice, obnoxiously waving the checklist under Twilight's muzzle. "According to Twilight's checklist, we would like to invite you to lunch later today."

Fang covered his mouth, trying to prevent himself from exploding, but it was to late. He rolled on the floor laughing, tears of merriment sliding down his face. The contagious fit quickly broke out among them and soon all five friends were roaring with laughter, getting odd looks from passing ponies. Eventually they dragged themselves to their feet, still snorting and chuckling.

"What was that all about?" Spirit chuckled accusingly at Spike.

"Sorry," the dragon apologized, still snickering. "I just thought I could make things interesting. I didn't think it would have such an impact on everypony."

Fang shook his head. "So, you coming, Rainbow?" he asked the pegasus.

"Yeah sure," Rainbow Dash said. "I'll be there. Where's it gonna be?"

"I think we'll have a picnic, in the park," Twilight replied.

"Okay. See you there." Then she added, "And you too Fang."

Fang stared at her speechlessly as the pegasus launched herself into the sky. He turn to Twilight and asked, "Did Rainbow Dash just do what I think she did? Because if she did, I'm gonna start freaking out."

Twilight shook her head. "Don't worry, Fang. Rainbow just likes your flying. She doesn't get much competition around here, you know, so she's always keeping an eye out for a fast flyer."

"Ah, I get it now."

"Alright then, Twilight," said Spirit. "Should we get a move on?"

"Yes, of course," she replied happily. "Next stop, Sweet Apple Acres."

*

"So, the Apple family is the main supplier of apples in Equestria?" Spirit couldn't help but admire the big strong apple trees that made up the enormous orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. He and the others were doing their best to find Applejack among the broad fruit-bearing trees.

"They sure are, Spirit," Twilight confirmed. "They have relatives all over Equestria, each one with their own orchard. At least, that's what Applejack told me last applebuck season."

"Where is Applejack," Fang asked, searching left and right. "This place is huge!"

"Easy," Spike said. "Just follow the sound of bucking."

"The what?"

"Bucking, put simply, is a kick with the back legs," Spirit informed. "Mostly executed by equines."

"Oh, right," Fang nodded in understanding. "So she's over there."

Twilight, Spike and Spirit followed the green dragon's claw and listened. Sure enough, the sound of hitting bark and shaking trees could be heard in the direction Fang was pointing. They trekked on through the orchard in the designated route until they reached a tree who's base was littered with baskets full of apples. Beside the tree was an orange Earth pony wearing a stetson, who was repetitively kicking the tree, causing apples to fall from its branches and land in the already brimming baskets.

Twilight waited patiently for the mare to stop before approaching. "Morning, Applejack," she called cheerfully.

Applejack pushed her hat back up. "Howdy, Twi. Nice of you to drop by the farm. Anything I can do for ya?"

Spirit stepped up alongside Twilight and said, "Actually, we just wanted to know if you would join us for a picnic lunch later today."

Applejack raised an eyebrow at the stallion's sudden appearance. "Well, who's this fine fella? Ah ain't never seen him around before."

Twilight put a friendly hoof over Spirit's shoulders. "This is Spirit Guide. He's staying with me and Spike at the library."

"Where'd he come from?" Applejack asked curiously, then added, "unless you'd rather not."

Spike and Fang walked over to the ponies. "We're not from Equestria," Fang declared, "but we promise to tell the whole story at the picnic."

Applejack's eyes widened to the size of the apples she was bucking. "Oh, now ah'm really lookin' forward to lunch. But right now, ah got a bit of a problem."

"What's wrong, AJ?" asked Spike.

"Seems that there's a bunch of apples that refuse to come down. Ah've been kickin' away at this tree and a few others long after most of the apples fell, tryin' to get those last ones. Ah just don't know what to do now."

"Tricky apple trees, huh?" mused Spirit, walking over to the apple tree. He gave it a once-over and looked up at the few, but still plentiful, apples still stuck to the branches. The black pony leaned in close to the trunk, examining the wood carefully before bringing up his hoof and jabbing a knot in the wood. The tree shivered, from its roots to its crown, and all at once every last apple came tumbling down into Applejack's baskets, not one of them missing.

Applejack tipped her hat up and whistled loudly. "Yee-haw, that was downright impressive, Spirit. And it got the job done lickety-split."

"No problem, Applejack," Spirit said, looking around at the baskets of ripe apples, and then at the few other tree around them, their bases ringed with baskets and their branches still loaded with apples. He went around the grove, poking each tree in a specific place, causing the trees to release their unnatural hold on their fruit. In no time at all, the trees were devoid of apples.

Applejack was standing beside the first tree, her mouth hanging open. "That there was incredible! How'd ya know what to do?"

Shrugging, Spirit replied, "The places that me and Fang have been to have taught us many a strange thing. We've learned how to solve perplexing problems of this sort."

"Well, thank ya kindly. Now ah can finish harvestin' the rest of the apples. You'd best be on your way too. Ah'm sure ya still got some thing to do."

"If I'm understanding the list correctly," Fang read over Spike's shoulder, "we've still got to meet Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie."

Applejack gave the tree another strong kick with her hind legs. "Well, don't let me slow you down."

"Alright, Applejack," Twilight said, "we'll leave you to it. By the way, would you mind bringing some of your amazing baked goods to the picnic? Even Pinkie Pie has her limits."

"Oh, ah wouldn't count on that." Applejack flapped her hoof around. "But sure, I'll bring somethin'."

Spirit nodded in response. "Great, we'll be off then. See you at the picnic, Applejack."

Applejack waved. "You too, Spirit." The farm pony turned around and went back to kicking the apple trees.

Twilight and the others began to make their way out of the orchard. Once they were out of earshot, Spirit announced, "A hard worker. That's something to be admired."

"You've been saying that a lot," observed Spike.

"That's because it's true. I simply can't get myself to fake it."

"That's interesting," Twilight brought up, "because Applejack is the bearer of the Element of Honesty."

"Maybe her connection to the Element is what compelled me to speak up how I felt just now."

"You learn something new everyday," Fang said, as the group reached the edge of the apple orchard. "Where to now?" the dragon asked Twilight.

"Rarity's."

*

"Do you ponies believe in basic decor?" Fang questioned as they approached the brightly-colored boutique.

"Of course, Fang," Twilight replied. "Rarity just likes things to be fabulous. Being a fashion designer, I guess that makes a lot of sense."

"And since when did you care for overdecorating, Fang?" asked Spirit curiously. "You're always the one making everything extreme!"

Really, thought Twilight. Then maybe when...

The dragon scratched his head thoughtfully, knitting his brows as he tried to come up with an answer. "Okay, fine," he said at last. "I usually am the one who riles things up, but that's only when it's boring."

"Like now," Spike butted in, almost eagerly. "Can we go inside already?"

Twilight sighed. "Okay, Casanova, we're going in."

"Yes!" Spike ran to the door so fast he kicked up a cloud of dust.

Spirit raised an eyebrow quizzically at Twilight. The mare leaned over and whispered into the his ear, "I think he's got a crush on Rarity."

"If you were whispering to keep me in the dark," piped up Fang, popping up between the two ponies, "don't bother. I heard everything. And besides, I'm older than I look."

"You're my age," Spirit pointed out. "But we're getting off topic. Let's go see Rarity before Spike does something silly."

Spirit trotted over to the dressmaker's shop, closely followed by Twilight and Fang. By the time they go there, Spike was already feverishly ringing the doorbell, his eyes wide and hopeful. Twilight rolled her eyes at the young dragon's antics.

The door was opened by a white unicorn mare with a curly royal-purple mane. She was wearing a pair of red glasses. "Why, hello Twilight," the pony said graciously. "What are you doing here this fine morning?"

"Good morning, Rarity," Twilight replied. "I wanted to introduce you to my new friends." She gestured towards them with her hoof.

Rarity regarded Spirit with interest. "And who might you be?" she asked him gently

"My name is Spirit Guide," he said, bowing his head politely, "And this is Fang."

"A pleasure to meet you, Rarity," Fang said casually, which actually sounded kind of cool.

"Oh my," she exclaimed. "You two certainly are something special. When did you meet Twilight, if I may ask?"

"Just last night," answered Spirit.

"Just last night, you say?" Rarity thought for a moment. "Did any of you happen to feel that tremor yesterday? It knocked over all my mannequins."

"I'll say we noticed it," Fang said, knowing exactly where to go from there. "In fact, if it wasn't for that earthquake, we would never have met Twilight and Spike."

Spike stirred slightly from his dreamy state beside Twilight when he heard his name, but before he could say anything, Rarity spoke up. "Really? That is quite remarkable. Would you care to tell me more?"

"We'd be more than happy to," Spirit confirmed. "In fact, we would like to tell you and all our friends the whole story at the picnic lunch we're having later today. Would you be so kind as to join us?"

Rarity's smile fell. "Oh, a picnic you say?" She clopped the ground nervously and slowly turned to reenter the boutique, closely followed by Twilight and the others. The seamstress pony began scanning her shop in a desperate search. "I would love to, really I would. It's just that I have an outfit to complete and I've lost both the thread I was using and the small chest full of amethyst crystals that the client requested I use. I simply cannot leave until I've finished."

"Wait, did you say amethyst?" Fang looked around Carousel Boutique's interior, tapping a claw against his chin. "Spike, come here," he called to the smaller dragon. Spike walked over obediently and Fang whispered something to him. Spike nodded furiously and the two dragons suddenly zipped into opposite directions, each one scouring a part of Rarity's shop.

Twilight tapped Spirit to get his attention. "What are they doing?" she asked her friend.

"Isn't it obvious?" Spirit waved towards Fang, who was sniffing the area underneath a table. "Fang's recently developed partiality for amethyst have a given him a nose for the purple quartz. While he tries to sniff out the chest, Spike's going to find the thread."

"I found it!" Spike's voice called out from behind a curtain. He ran towards the group, holding a spool of black-and-sliver thread and looking very pleased with himself.

"Oh Spike," Rarity cried out, wrapping the little dragon in a hug and the spool in a light-blue magic aura. "Thank you so much! I just don't know how I can thank you enough."

"Aw, it was nothing," Spike said. He looked at the spool of thread Rarity was levitating and remembered. "Where's Fang? He went to look for your chest of amethyst."

"Right here!" The green dragon popped up from beneath a heap of fabrics, a small purple and yellow chest in his claws. He leapt out of the pile of cloth, buttons and thread and joined the others, laying the chest on the desk. "I believe this is what you lost, Rarity?"

Rarity was speechless. Not only had Twilight introduced her to some new friends, they had also helped her out of a jam. Breathing deeply, she reached for the latch and flicked the small box opened. Inside was a cluster of amethyst crystals, their soft purple glow reflecting off of the ponies' and the dragons' faces.

"Bedazzled by minerals," Fang muttered slowly. "Again."

"Wow, Rarity," Twilight exclaimed. "Where did you find this?"

"In the mountains just outside Ponyville," answered Rarity. "On our way back from that red dragon's cave, I noticed quite a few gem deposits he must've missed. I found this outcrop of amethyst right by the path and couldn't help myself. I pulled it out of the ground and dragged it all the way back to Ponyville. I was lucky I did, for when I returned home I discovered that somepony had placed an order for a bejeweled garment, but requested that I only use amethyst on it."

"What a stroke of luck," Spirit said, amazed. "You'll be able to finish the outfit now?"

Yes, I will. And of course, I'll be able to come to the picnic."

"Yes!" Spike and Fang cried out together. The three unicorns stared bizarrely at the reptilian duo, surprised by their sudden outburst, but their questioning looks were replaced by smiles once they realized what the dragons were so glad about.

"So, we'll leave you to our work, Rarity," Spirit said. "It's been nice meeting you."

"Yeah," agreed Fang. "It was a blast."

"Wait," Rarity called as the four of them headed for the door. They watched as Rarity carefully chipped the lump of amethyst, causing two sizable shards to detach from the mass. She trotted over to her friends, levitating the purple quartz towards Spike and Fang. "I believe you two deserve a reward for the help you gave me. Don't worry, I have more than enough amethyst left for that outfit."

Spike held the crystal in his hand, staring at it as if he had been handed the most beautiful object in the world. Fang smelled his reward with a far-off look that Spirit hadn't seen in a while before dropping it into his mouth, crunching the crystal loudly.

"Thanks Rarity," Spirit said in Fang and Spike's place, both dragons clearly incapable of saying it themselves. "I hope your customer is satisfied with your work."

"Me too," Twilight added, half-dragging Spike towards the door. "Well, we'd best be off now. We've still got to find Pinkie and Fluttershy. Bye Rarity"

"Toodle-oo, Twilight." Rarity waved from the doorway as Spirit and Fang followed the purple unicorn out the door. "And you too Spirit. See you all at the picnic."

"Bye Rarity," Fang called after he'd swallowed his mouthful of amethyst. Rarity smiled and went back into her shop, the door closing gently behind her. "Wow, she is something. I can see why you like her, Spike." Fang turned around. "Spike?"

"Oh great," Twilight groaned. "He's out of it." She nudged the dragon lightly and he fell over, the hard crash not even snapping out of his stupor.

"I'll carry him," offered Spirit, levitating the prostrate dragon on to his back. "Come on. Where do we go to from here?"

*

"I do hope that Fluttershy is home," Twilight said as they neared the grass-covered cottage.

Fang bent down next to a hole in the ground, lightly knocking on the entrance. A small grey bunny popped out of the hole, closely followed by a brown one. The two rabbits proceeded to sniff the green dragon curiously, much to his obvious delight.

"She takes care of animals, right?" he asked Twilight, gently stroking the bunnies, who nuzzled him in return.

As Twilight and Spirit crossed the small bridge spanning the stream, a ferret climbed up beside them. Spirit looked down at the long, slender animal. "All kinds of animals, by the looks of it."

"Fluttershy is really good with animals," said Twilight. "She loves caring for animals and uses her special talent of being able to speak with them to help her.

Fang took interest in that last bit. "Fluttershy can talk to animals?"

"That is truly remarkable," Spirit said admiringly. "The ability to communicate with animals is a talent that only a few of my other friends actually have."

"Did you have to drag it out like that?" complained Fang, rolling his eyes.

"I for one like Spirit's long definitions," Twilight defended, giving the stallion a pat on the shoulder.

"I've stood in the presence of very powerful beings," Spirit said memorably. "I guess I got into a habit of using big words."

"Yeah yeah," Fang waved his claw . "Poisonous demons don't change their weapons. What say we drop the big talk and go say hi to Fluttershy?"

"Don't you think we should try to resurrect Spike before we go in?" Spirit asked, motioning to the unconscious dragon on his back. Spike hadn't budged since he'd passed out at Rarity's house.

"Hmm." Fang slapped Spike's cheek, first lightly, then harder, with no success. He thought for a minute, while the two unicorns watched the green dragon optimistically. "Twilight, do you have Spike's amethyst present from Rarity?" Fang asked her.

"I picked it up the moment he collapsed," Twilight replied, happy she had thought of holding on to it. She levitated the purple crystal into Fang's open claw. The winged dragon walked over to Spirit's back, where Spike still lay senseless. He grabbed both the purple dragon's nostrils and held them open, holding the amethyst under Spike's nose.

"His love of gemstones boosted his sense of smell, " Fang explained when Twilight scrunched up her face at the sight of his actions, "even though minerals typically have no scent. If he breathes in enough of it, he should wake up." He stopped his speech and took a whiff of the quartz he was holding. "It does smell good."

"No Fang," Spirit said sternly. "First of all, that's not yours. Second, we need it to wake up Spike."

"I know, I know." Fang shook the amethyst crystal beneath the purple dragon's snout, almost jamming it up his nose. Soon, Spike was stirring on Spirit's back, and slowly sat up, whereupon he slipped of of the black pony and landed firmly on his feet.

"What did I miss?" he asked groggily, wildly glancing left and right.

"Not much, buddy," said Fang, handing the dragon his reward.

Spike grasped the amethyst tightly, giving it a good long look. "You guys held onto it for me while I was out?" His three friends nodded, a smile on everyone's face. Spike sniffed. "Thank you."

"All right, that's enough," Spirit said in a very final way. "We've still got to go see Fluttershy."

"Yes, yes, come on." Twilight and Spike led the way up the path to the door of the cottage. Fang was hopping up and down, his feet had fallen asleep on the bridge. Spirit merely looked up at Fluttershy's home in silent wonderment. Twilight gently knocked on the door. "Fluttershy?" she called. "Are you there?"

A light clopping sound could be heard inside the cottage, and the door swung open. A white bunny stood behind it, looking up curiously at the visitors.

"Hey Angel," Twilight called down to the bunny. "Is Fluttershy home?"

Angel nodded, kicking the door open to welcome the ponies and the dragons into the cottage. Inside the house it was warm and cosy, almost as if it were trying to make the visitors feel at home. On a couch at the end of the room lay a long emerald snake, being tended to by a yellow pegasus mare with a long pink mane.

Angel hopped over to the yellow pony and tapped her on the hoof to get her attention. The pegasus turned and looked down at the bunny. "Yes Angel, what is it?" she asked quietly.

The white rabbit pointed at the group that had just entered the cottage and Fluttershy gasped slightly at the sight of them. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were coming, Twilight."

"That's okay, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "I just wanted you to meet some new friends."

Spirit stepped towards the pegasus mare. "Hello, my name is Spirit Guide."

Fluttershy looked at the deep-azure unicorn before her with a somewhat fearful look. From her perspective he looked rather scary, with his dark-colored coat and deep blue eyes that were focused on her. She glanced back at the snake on the couch and was considering making a run for her room when Angel jumped on her back, in an unyielding manner. She looked at the bunny and knew then and there that he wasn't going to let her wriggle out of this one.

The shy pegasus stared at the unicorn stallion out of the corner of her eye and whispered, "I'm Fluttershy."

"Nice to meet you, Fluttershy," Spirit said cheerfully.

Twilight's jaw dropped so low it whacked Spike on the head. Could it be that Spirit Guide heard Fluttershy's barely-audible introduction? She herself had to repeat the exchange three times and couldn't even get Fluttershy's name. It wasn't until she saw Spike that she'd even begun to speak clearly. While Twilight was trying to glue the facts together in a way that made sense, Fang walked over and stood beside Spirit. "Hi Fluttershy. I'm Fang."

Fluttershy's eyes lit up and a smile appreared on her face. "A dragon! Oh my, I didn't know you met another dragon, Twilight." She stroked the dragon's scaly head with her hoof. " You're so cute. It's nice to see another little dragon around here."

Fang giggled. He was usually not ticklish but this shy pony had just discovered a nerve point. He held still as Fluttershy began tickleing his chin. "Nice to meet you too, Fluttershy."

"Where did you both come from?" she asked inquisitively, something she didn't do often.

"We'd like to tell you Fluttershy," Spirit promised. "In fact, we're going to tell everypony at the picnic we're having later today. Will you come?"

A loud hiss from behind her cut off anything that Fluttershy was going to say and made them all jump. The snake reared its head and hissed again, only to lay back down on the couch. Now that they were looking, Twilight, Spirit and the dragons could see that the snake was tied in a knot near its middle. Who could have done such a thing and how it was done they didn't know, but the snake was certainly not going anywhere in its present condition.

Twilight approached the couch and squinted at the reptile upon it. "Fluttershy, that's an Everfree Tree Boa. I've read about them. How did it get here?"

"I don't know," the pegasus replied softly. "I was just feeding my animals when I heard a hissing at the edge of the forest. Normally I don't go near the it but whatever had made the sound was clearly in trouble. You don't have to be able to speak to animals to know that. Me and Angel followed the sound and found the poor boa lying under a tree, exhausted and tied in a knot. I calmed it down and Angel helped me get him into the cottage where I immediately set to work trying to untie him, but," Her eyes started to water and tears began to form in her eyes. "I've tried everything that I know and nothing works and now the poor thing is going to stay knotted forever!" She started to cry, holding her head in her hooves as large tears streamed down her face. Twilight and Spike watched in sad silence, neither of them knowing what to do. Fang was wearing a thoughtful face, massaging the sides of his head, trying to come up with a solution.

A gentle hoof stroked Fluttershy's mane. Raising her head, she found Spirit Guide standing beside her, a comforting look of understanding on his face. "Don't cry," he asked of her, levitating a tissue from the table on the other side of the room. Taking the tissue in his hoof, Spirit carefully wiped the tears from Fluttershy's eyes, leaving them slightly red but otherwise dry.

"Thank you," she sniffed. "Is there something you can do?"

"As a matter of fact, I think there is." He called Fang over and the two friends slowly settled beside the couch upon which the snake was resting. The green serpent reared again and hissed, showing it's forked tongue and small but sharp fangs. Spirit merely looked it in the eyes, his round blue ones stared into the snake's slit pupils. Gradually, the boa lowered itself back onto the couch, seemingly calmer.

Spirit nodded to Fang. "Right, that's a start. Let's continue." Spirit opened his mouth and hissed. It was a blood-chilling sound that shouldn't come from a pony. Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike were so startled that they jumped and fell onto the floor. "Sorry," Spirit whispered, and then added mysteriously, "it's been a while." Returning his attention to the boa, he emitted a number of whistles and chirps, also sounds that ponies don't usually make. The snake seemed to like this, however, and relaxed even further. "Okay, Fang," the black unicorn breathed. "Go."

Giving his mate a thumbs-up, Fang knelt beside the couch and gently laid his claws on the snake's back. It shuddered at his touch, but a few soothing hisses from Spirit soon put it at ease. Working carefully so as not to hurt the boa, Fang pushed the two parts of the knot in opposite directions, slowly loosening the tangled coils. He gently grasped the boa's tail and pushed it through the knot's large hole, freeing the snake from its entanglement.

The serpent rose up from the couch, flexing its freed coils. It flicked its tail and climbed onto Spirit, wrapping itself around his neck. Fluttershy sighed happily. She walked over to Spirit and stroked the boa's smooth green scales. "There there, everything's all right now." The snake locked eyes with the pegasus and loosened its grip on Spirit, carefully climbing off of the black pony's neck and crossing over to Fluttershy's, where it curled up in an unmistakable hug.

Fluttershy was so happy her eyes watered, this time with joy and relief. The new friends she'd made had helped a fellow creature in need when she couldn't. It really was too much. She threw her hooves around Spirit and Fang and her tears trailed down their backs, but they didn't mind.

Stepping back, Fluttershy wiped her eyes with Spirit's tissue. "Thank you so much," she cried. "Thanks to you, this little guy can return home safely. And know I can even come to the picnic."

"Oh right," Twilight said, slapping her head. During all the excitement, she had almost forgotten the picnic lunch. "We've still got to see Pinkie Pie."

"I bet she's just waiting for something to happen," Spike said.

"Not Pinkie," argued Twilight. "She'd probably make something happen if nothing's going on."

"We'd better go find her then," Spirit said. Before making his way to the door, he turned to Fluttershy and said, "It's been nice meeting you, Fluttershy.

Fluttershy didn't respond. Instead, she threw herself onto Spirit, wrapping him in yet another hug. The boa sensed the embrace and added its own coils to the tangled mess of equine and serpent. Twilight, Spike and Fang watched events unfold from the doorway, secretly wishing they could join in the hug. Fang didn't wait for an invitation. Throwing his arms around Twilight and Spike, they started their own embrace by the door. The air was filled with positive feelings and happy sounds.

Slowly releasing her friend-hold on Spirit, Fluttershy took a step back, the boa obligingly unwrapping itself from Spirit's neck. "Thanks again," she said, blushing slightly, and then to everyone, "See you all at the picnic."

Spirit put a friendly hoof on her shoulder. "It's always a pleasure to help a kind soul like yourself." Turning to the boa, he said, "And you. We'll see each other again, I hope."

The boa blinked once and nodded slowly, stretching its face into what could only be a snake's version of a smile.

Spirit followed his friends out the door, after saying goodbye toy Fluttershy, Angel and the boa, and immediately shared his thoughts. "What a nice pony," he sighed. "Is she always this kind?"

"Yes," Twilight replied, also rather dreamily. "She's so careful and gentle."

"And quiet," Fang said with a slight frown.

"Don't be like that, Fang," complained Spike, nudging the winged dragon. "Fluttershy's just a bit timid. She has her moments though."

"We all do," Spirit announced sagely. "Everypony is special in their own way, and that gives them their hour to shine. Just like the night of Nightmare Moon's return," he added, looking pointedly at Twilight, "when you and your friends discovered each of your special qualities, and thus were able to wield the Elements of Harmony."

"You talk too much, Spirit," Fang said, patting the pony on the flank.

"At least what I say makes sense," Spirit shot back. "Unlike you."

"Well, hold on to your senses," Twilight announced, "because we're off to Sugarcube Corner!"

*

Spirit and Fang were awestruck by the sight of the bakery, its gingerbread house-appearance something even they've never seen before in all their adventures.

"Wow," Fang gasped. "That is one heck-of-a bakery."

"I think we've arrived at that conclusion already," muttered Spirit, who was engrossed in counting the cookie-like roof tiles.

"Sugarcube Corner is where Pinkie works," Twilight told them, "but it's also where she lives. We're most likely to find her here. Shall we go in?"

"Wait." Fang raised a claw, as if checking for wind. He glanced left, then right, then stared directly at the bakery's left wall. Without warning, he rushed off to the wall, flexing his claws. "Go in without me!" he called to the others, who watched him with a mixture of confusion and surprise. "I'll join you soon, promise!" He turned the corner of the bakery and disappeared from view.

Spirit began to wonder what Fang was after, but his eagerness to meet the last pony which Twilight had told him much about had left him temporarily unsuspecting of what the green dragon might be on to. "Let's go. Fang is always true to his word. I'd trust him with my life."

"That was a bit excessive." Twilight pushed open the door and the three friends walked into Sugarcube Corner. The interior of the bakery was filled with tables and chairs, with a counter at one end. Behind the counter was a male Earth pony with a light amber coat and orange mane setting up some baked goods for customers.

"Hello, Mr. Cake," Twilight called to the stallion.

Mr. Cake looked up from his work. "Oh, hello there Twilight. It's good to see you. What can I do for you?"

"Would you please tell us where we can find Pinkie Pie?" asked Spirit, sidling up to the counter.

Not surprised by the appearance of another pony in the shop, Mr. Cake greeted him like any other customer. "Good morning to you, sir. Are you new in Ponyville? I've never seen you around before."

Spirit inclined his head. "Yeah, I'm new. The name's Spirit Guide."

The Earth pony held out a hoof. "Nice to meet you, Spirit," he said, as the unicorn stallion shook his hoof. "I'm Carrot Cake. My wife Cup Cake and I own Sugarcube Corner. And let me tell you, ever since Pinkie joined us business has been booming."

"Is she good?" Spirit asked.

"Good?" Spike laughed, pulling up beside Spirit. "She's the best! She's so quick but her skills are amazing. I bet she could make a batch of any kind of treat in no time at all."

Spirit whistled. "That is good."

Carrot Cake nodded, then asked, "When did you arrive in Ponyville, just out of curiosity."

Some might consider that nosy, Spirit said to himself, and then smugly, but it was a fairly innocent question. "Just last night. Me and my dragon friend Fang came to Ponyville, but we hadn't planned ahead, so Twilight jumped in and helped us out.

He's crediting me an awful lot, Twilight thought. I really didn't do that much.

You think too much, you know that? a voice sounded inside her head. And yes, you did.

Twilight gasped, but went unnoticed by the others, who were still chatting loudly over the cookies. She looked around the store, but nopony else was there. Confused and slightly tense, she walked over to the table next to the counter and sat down in the chair beside it, her head in her hooves and her mind going through all the possibilities. A loud crashing sound sent her eyes rolling towards the ceiling. The noise also caught the attention of Spirit, Carrot Cake and Spike, who had changed the topic of their conversation to fit the situation.

"What was that?" Twilight asked Carrot Cake, trotting back to the counter.

"I'd imagine it's Pinkie," the baker pony answered. "She often does noisy things up in her room. Although, maybe I should check on her. Wait here please." Carrot Cake walked around the counter and up the staircase in the corner of the store.

"Well that's just great," grumbled Spike. "What do we do now?"

"Wait," Spirit answered simply. "Surely you can wait a minute or two, Spike."

"He's still young," Twilight put in. "It makes sense that he has a short attention span."

"Hey!"

"Just kidding, Spike."

Another loud crashing sound echoed through the bakery, this time originating outside the store. Twilight and Spirit rushed to the window and looked out. A large bush beside the house was shaking violently, snarling and hissing emitting from it. Fang tumbled out of the bush, jumped to his feet and growled at the shrub. The plant stopped shaking and went silent.

Fang started brushing the dust off his scales. "Darn it," he muttered. "So close."

"Hey Fang!" Spirit called to the dragon. "Get over here."

Fang obediently shuffled over to the window, resting his claws on the sill. "What's up?"

"What happened out there?" Twilight inquired. "What was in the bush? How did you know there was something there? When did—"

The purple pony's stream of question were blocked by Spirit's hoof, which he laid firmly but gently over her muzzle. "That's enough, Twilight. I'm sure Fang is going to tell us everything, aren't you?"

"Yeah." Fang peered into Sugarcube Corner through the window. "Hey, where's Pinkie Pie? You guys are the only ones in there."

"Twilight! Spike! Spirit! We're back!" It was Carrot Cake.

"Coming!" Twilight called back.

Spirit lowered his head down to Fang's ear. "Come on in, but use the front door, okay?"

Fang gave him a clawed thumbs-up. "You got it."

Nodding, Spirit retracted his head and returned to the counter, where Twilight and Spike were already waiting. Carrot Cake had returned to his spot behind the counter, but standing on the end of it was a bright-pink Earth pony with a poofy mane of a darker shade of pink. On the pony's face was a big smile and she appeared to be trembling with anticipation.

The moment the pink pony saw Spirit, she bounced up to him and launched into a talking-don't-try-to-stop-me mode that the he had seen before among his other friends. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie. Mr. Cake told me you came to Ponyville last night and your staying with Twilight, so I decided to come over and say hi, but then he told me that you were here looking for me, probably wanting to say hi too, so I came down as fast as I could 'cause I love making new friends as well as baking and throwing parties for them, so hi!" Pinkie stood there, staring at Spirit with big blue eyes, while he stared back at her, trying to choose the best reaction.

Spike needed no further instruction. He fell on the floor laughing, clutching his sides as tears of laughter streamed down his face. Twilight remembered getting the same kind of speech from Pinkie when they first met, and now that she was listening and watching from the sidelines, she too saw the humor in it. Spirit, however, remained silent, although a small smile appeared on his face. He had just found somepony who could rival the absurdity of—

"What's going on in here?" Fang asked as he entered Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie Pie turned like a turret, her eyes now aimed at the winged dragon who stood in the doorway. Fang caught sight of the light-blue optical organs staring at him and returned the gaze with his dark-green eyes. The pony and the dragon held their gaze, their eyes growing wider every second, their mouths slightly agape. A strange aura appeared to be filling the interior of the shop, tension charging the cupcake-scented air.

Without warning, Pinkie and Fang exploded into peals of laughter, their lighthearted snickers and giggles forcing everyone in the bakery into a state of uncontrollable mirth. Twilight and Spirit fell onto one another in a failed attempt to stay upright. Spike, who had just climbed to his feet, toppled to the floor again, laughing harder than he did before. Carrot Cake had covered his mouth and nose with both hooves, but couldn't hold it in and collapsed onto the counter. Fang and Pinkie grasped each others shoulders for support, both of them laughing so hard that Sugarcube Corner shook to its very foundations. The merry outburst was even louder and longer than the brief one they had pulled off earlier with Rainbow Dash.

Spirit dragged himself upright, helping Twilight get back on her hooves. Still chuckling, he asked the two who started it all, "What was that all about?"

Pinkie had gotten hiccups from laughing so hard and her speech was a bit garbled and slurred. "I-ahaha-I couldn't help it. He-he was looking at me like a-ha-ha-ha, like a haHAHA!" Whatever she was going to say was knocked away by another fit of giggles.

"You're one to talk," Fang cackled. "You and your crazy stare. I thought I was going to, to, to-ahaHAHA!" He fell apart again, losing whatever was on his mind.

"Right, that's enough," Spirit declared authoritatively after he had calmed down sufficiently. His black horn sparkled with blue magic and a wave of energy spread out over the ponies and the dragons. Everyone's laughing fits ended as they suddenly came to their senses and regained their composure, Pinkie and Fang lying on the floor, still smiling but with a hint of disappointment. Twilight couldn't help but admire the spell that Spirit had improvised on the spot. "That was pretty good," she complimented.

Spirit gave her a warm smile. "Thanks."

Shaking his head, Fang offered Pinkie a claw. "Sorry about that. You're Pinkie Pie, right?"

Pinkie held his claw in both her front hooves and shook it energetically. "Yuppers. I'm sorry too. It was mostly my fault. I can't help it, but whenever I meet somepony new I just find myself launching into a really, really quick 'n' cheery introduction that sometimes they don't even notice I'm saying hi to them. I guess I'm just a bit too fast for some ponies."

Fang regarded this for a moment. "Me too," he admitted.

Pinkie perked up when she hear this. "You mean you like over-the-top super-hyper antics too?" she practically screamed in his face.

"Oh yeah!" he shouted in hers. "Ever since I was little, No one understood me. I thought differently, I acted differently, I even walked differently. Every one kept telling me that there was a way that things should be and that I had to change the way I was and did things, but I never listened to them. Instead, I guarded and protected myself from the harshness of reality and advanced, never forgetting the things I'd learned and the friends I'd made. And that's how I ended up where I am now."

Spirit clopped his hooves together, Twilight and Carrot Cake joining in. Spike looked a bit disoriented, having not quite understood most of what his friend had said. Pinkie, on the other hoof, was smiling so brightly it was blinding. She threw her hooves around Fang, wrapping him in a hug. Fang responded appropriately, reaching behind Pinkie for a hold on her bouncy mane and returning her smile. Carrot Cake stepped over to the two unicorns and asked, "What did you want from Pinkie that we had to interrupt her?"

"Interrupt you from what?" Fang whispered into Pinkie's ear.

"Tell ya later," she whispered back.

"We wanted to ask if you would like to join us and the rest of our friends for a picnic lunch in the park later," Spirit said.

"A picnic?" Pinkie whooped. "I'd love to! What a silly question, who wouldn't want to go on a picnic? I mean come on, it's like one of the most-fun-funnest-of-fun things to do, like, EVER! Of course I'm gonna come!" She began hopping in circles around Spirit and Twilight. "Should I bring something? I know how much everypony loves my baking but if you don't need anymore that's okay too, just remember that I'm always ready to help with anything you might need especially if it has to do with baking but also if it doesn't, I'd just be happy to be able to help my friends."

Spirit was dumbfounded this time. Pinkie was obviously a pony who could out-talk most of the people he knew in the Republic, and maybe even out-psych most of them as well. While he stood there pondering this, Twilight stepped forwards and said, "We were hoping you'd be able to help us with dessert, Pinkie. You make some pretty good cupcakes."

Carrot Cake rapped on the counter top, getting everypony's attention. "You go right on ahead, Pinkie. The first picnic with a new friend is an important event. Only the very best treats should be there."

Pinkie's smile got wider. "You mean I can use everything in the kitchen?"

"Yep, down to the last sprinkle," he said nodding, then added, "just try not to finish everything."

"Okey-dokey-lokey! I'll get right to it."

Spirit felt someone tapping his shoulder and turned. It was Fang. "What is it? he asked the dragon.

"Um, Spirit," he started to say, then hesitated. Fang looked down at the floor, then up at the ceiling before returning his gaze to Spirit. "Could I, maybe, stay here to, you know, help Pinkie make cupcakes and stuff?"

The black unicorn stared at his best friend with a blank expression. No one in Sugarcube Corner managed to read his face, not even Pinkie Pie, who looked at Spirit with a puzzled but happy face. Fang looked a bit disappointed, probably with himself, beginning to wonder what it was his friend was thinking.

Do they often get into situations like this? Twilight wondered.

Not usually, the voice from before replied to her first, rhetorical question. Fang's just not sure what the final decision is and whether or not he'll get permission to stay when maybe there were other plans for him.

Twilight was not as easily surprised as before to hear another voice in her head. Who are you? she thought as loudly as she could.

Later.

Still confused, Twilight snapped back into reality, at the same time that Spirit gave his answer. "Of course you can."

Fang shot into the air and zoomed around the room, Pinkie mirroring his actions hopping around on the floor in the opposite direction, both of them shouting happily. Carrot Cake sighed contentedly and went to prepare the kitchen for the two energetic baking partners. Spike just gawked at the circles Fang and Pinkie were drawing around them.

Twilight pulled Spirit out of Pinkie's path before the pink mare collided with the obsidian-colored stallion, who was just standing in her way watching her, knowing full well where he was standing. "Are you sure it's safe to leave two of our over-excitable friends in a room full of cooking utensils and ingredients without supervision?" Twilight's eyebrow established a meeting with her maneline.

"I trust Fang. He's an outstanding cook, but he also knows when to stop. You're saying that Pinkie often doesn't clean up after herself?"

"No, of course not. Pinkie never leaves a mess. I'm just a little concerned that maybe—"

Once more, Spirit's hoof ended Twilight's speech. "Let's not worry about it. There are other things for us to do." He trotted back to his previous spot in Pinkie's path. When the hyper-active mare reached him again, she screeched to a stop right in front of him. Fang noticed Pinkie's pause and landed beside her. The two friends beamed crazily at the unicorn before them.

"Alright, you two," Spirit said, as if he were talking to a pair of troublemakers, which was a possibility. "Me, Twilight and Spike are going back to the library now. You two are going to stay here and make the cupcakes for the picnic, am I right?"

"Uh-huh," Fang and Pinkie answered in unison.

"Good. Then we'll see you both in the park in a few hours."

"Uh-huh."

Spirit walked towards the door, closely followed by Twilight and Spike. They turned around and saw Pinkie and Fang standing beside the doorway to the kitchen, waving frantically at their friends. "See ya later!" they called across the room.

"Bye." The three friends waved back and left Sugarcube Corner, feeling somewhat relieved. They had spent the whole morning running around Ponyville introducing new friends to old friends, but now they had completed their set task and were feeling elated. Twilight led their party back to the Golden Oak Library, where they sat down around the table to discuss the morning's events. Fang's five power cards were still on the tabletop.

"Well, Spirit," Twilight began. "I'd like to hear your thought on my friends, now your friends as well of course."

Spirit stroked his chin thoughtfully. "They all seem very special. You don't have to be smart to know that, just a good friend. It seems that they all know their place here in Ponyville and their work keeps them busy as well as happy. And of course, having you as a friend is definitely a good thing, Twilight."

"Aw, thanks."

Spike looked at Twilight, then across the table at Spirit. "Shouldn't we bring something to the picnic too?" he asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from where he figured it was going.

He's concerned, Twilight thought. But he really doesn't have to worry about that happening.

I'll say he doesn't, the voice echoed inside her head again. Watch this.

"Good idea, Spike," Spirit said suddenly. "Why don't you start making some sandwiches? We'll just wrap things up here."

The baby dragon looked shocked at the stallion's suggestion. He glanced helplessly at Twilight, but the mare just waved him out. "Go on, Spike. We'll be along in a minute to help."

Not reassured, Spike waddled out of the room, muttering about daisies and gemstones. When the door had closed behind him, the two ponies at the table locked eyes, purple looking into blue.

"Spirit, what gives?!" Twilight moaned without warning.

Spirit frowned, slightly taken aback by Twilight's sudden outburst. "I don't get it, Twilight. What's wrong?"

Regaining her composure, Twilight began again. "Ever since we've left the library this morning, whenever I'd think to myself I'd hear another voice in my head. I don't know what it is or if it's bad and I'm really worried about this. Do you know of any circumstances, maybe from your travels or in the Republic, where somepony started hearing voices inside their heads?"

Spirit stared at Twilight, his blue eyes glinting in the light. Twilight could see herself reflected in the glassy orbs. "You're in luck," he said at last. "I've had my fair share of experiences with this particular occurrence. Thought-speech is a form of communication, usually used by creatures who lack mouths and other sound-producing organs. Among the Republicans, there are those who can use thought-speech to communicate privately within the minds of others, so no one else can hear them."

"So you know who or what's been talking to me?" Twilight asked hopefully, eager to learn that which has been troubling her.

"Yes I do," Spirit replied.

"It was me."

Twilight grew silent. Her friend's answer was so unexpected that her train of thought was lost among the folds of her mind. So many questions exploded into being to replace the previous one, Twilight couldn't decide what to ask first. "Why?" she gasped. "How do you do it?"

Spirit walked around the table and placed a firm hoof on her shoulder. "Among the abilities I had gained during my divine promotion—for want a better word for it—was thought speech. It took a while to develop, but it was worth it. Projecting my thoughts telepathically instead of opening my mouth allowed me to share information with allies in times of strife and, sometimes, imprisonment."

"Okay, that's a start," Twilight said. "But how did you know what I was thinking? And why didn't you just mention it to me right then and there?"

"If I want to, I can see into the minds of others. I usually don't allow myself this view, though, as most would find it rude and undesirable for somepony else to be peering into their minds, knowing exactly how they feel and what their thinking. As to why I didn't simply talk to you after I heard your thoughts, I didn't think it was something that needed to be shared with everypony else at the time. I'm sure you'll agree with me on that."

"Yeah, it was kind of private." Twilight stared at the tabletop uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you it was me," Spirit said gently. "I usually keep some of my skills a secret, even the Republicans don't know the full extent of my powers. Truth be told, I'm not sure even Fang and I know everything about me."

Twilight laughed. The very thought of somepony not knowing themselves seemed rather funny. "Thanks Spirit," she said quietly, "for sharing what you know with me. It makes me feel like you trust us already."

"How could I not?" the stallion asked rhetorically. "With the kindness you ponies show, added to our knack for making friends, we create an unbreakable bond representing our friendship, no matter when, where or how. This is one of the things the Republic stands for: peace and harmony between all. We believe that no matter what you are, what you do or where you come from, everyone should feel at home and safe. Also," he added, "I needed some friends."

Smiling, Twilight took Spirit's hoof in her own. "You have friends, Spirit Guide. Even here in Equestria, away from your homeland, you will always have somepony to help you."

A tear appeared in the corner of Spirit's sapphire-blue eye, slowly building up and sliding down his face. It splashed against their hooves, spreading across the blue and purple surfaces, darkening the hairs. Twilight shivered, but Spirit's warm smile drove out the cold feeling, almost like magic, which it probably was.

"We should go," Spirit whispered, lowering his hoof, "or Spike will start getting worried that we're doing something stupid."

"Did you ever?" Twilight asked without thinking.

"No," Spirit replied, as if she hadn't asked such a private, possibly dangerous question. "There are laws I follow, one of them instructing not to get involved in such a way until you know that pony properly."

"Oh. Sorry."

"That's okay."

"Hey!" Spike shouted. "What are you two doing in there?" He sounded more concerned than angry.

"Nothing, Spike!" Twilight called back, almost sniggering at what the dragon must have been thinking. "We're coming!"

"About time too," the dragon muttered. "For a minute there, I thought you were going to—"

"Is he really thinking that?" Twilight whispered to Spirit as they got up from the table.

The black unicorn closed his eyes, walking beside Twilight as if he could see where he was going. "No," he answered. "He doesn't have the knowledge to visualize such a thing, although he has a very basic and inaccurate idea of how."

"Good. The last thing he needs to know at his age is how it works."

"What do you think the others are doing right now?" Spirit asked her, changing topics.

"I imagine they're all getting ready for the picnic. Rainbow Dash is napping somewhere, Applejack is storing her apples, Rarity is trying to decide what to wear for lunch, Fluttershy's probably saying goodbye to the boa and Pinkie and Fang are making more cupcakes than all of us can eat."

"So they're all doing fine, then?"

"Better than fine."

"Seriously, what are you guys doing!?" Spike called again. "If you don't come here right now, I'm gonna—"

"ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, WE'RE COMING!" Spirit roared.

They heard something crash against the floor and rushed into the next room. Spike was so startled by Spirit's thundering reply he had fallen onto the floor, along with half a dozen empty sandwich trays. The dragon lay on the floor, his face contorted with fear. "Sorry, sorry sorry!" he mumbled hurriedly, hoping not to anger the black pony again.

Laughing, Spirit and Twilight levitated the dragon to his feet. "Come on, Spike," Spirit said. "Let's get cooking."

The brief exchange was quickly forgotten as the three friends began preparing their take-out lunch. Ingredients were flung carelessly through the air, often followed by dishes or cutlery, always landing in a neat pile softly on a counter, a unicorn's magic field or a dragon's claw. Excitement and joy began to build as they eagerly looked forward to their picnic in the park. So much, in fact, that Spirit had temporarily forgotten about the dark forces that were probably roaming the peaceful world he was now in. Oh well, he thought, haphazardly tossing a daffodil and daisy sandwich over his shoulder, where it landed on a plate Twilight was levitating. Not even I can fight evil on an empty stomach.

Author's Notes:

Yeah yeah, title stinks. I couldn't think of anything with some hidden meaning, so I went outright.
Sorry about the length, though. Possibilities led to opportunities and the list just got longer and longer.

Picnic in the Park

Twilight finished wiping the counter-top. "Okay, the kitchen's tidy. Do we have everything?"

"Let's see," Spike said, consulting the picnic checklist. "Nine daisy sandwiches, three bottles of juice, four trays of hay fries, five plates of cookies, a couple of gemstones backup supplies, two books to read when bored, picnic blanket, cups and plates."

Spirit nodded. "Sounds like everything."

"Are you sure?" Twilight looked at the supplies in the wheelbarrow, eying the three-foot stack skeptically. "Maybe we should double-check the inventory, or get some more cookies, or how about—"

"Enough Twilight," Spirit begged, placing a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "Really, you have to take things down a notch. We have everything, and even if we don't, it's okay."

"But this picnic is so important! Your first lunch with new friends. Everything has to be perfect."

"You want proof?" Spike asked, waving the checklist at her. "We've got it all checked off. Twice."

Twilight took the long sheet of parchment from the dragon and carefully checked each item. Finally she looked satisfied. "Alright, we're good to go."

"Great. Spike, grab the cart. It's picnic time!" Spirit trotted over to the door, waiting patiently for Twilight and Spike before opening the door.

"You're really good with your hooves for somepony who's had them for exactly one day," Twilight noted as he shut the door behind them.

"Oh, I didn't seem to notice. It's not the weirdest transformation I've been through, although not having fingers does get confusing sometimes." They left the library behind and began the walk to the park. On the way they took a detour and stopped beside the crater Spirit and Fang had made the other night. It was roped off at its lip and ponies in various uniforms were running up and down the sides, armed with brushes and picks.

"What's going on here?" Spike wondered.

"Meteorologists," Twilight and Spirit said together, then stared at each other in surprise. They laughed a bit and Spirit explained further. "Meteorologists are people, or ponies, who study things in the atmosphere. They watch the skies for interesting weather patterns and flying objects and try to figure things out through their careful analysis."

They walked over to the crater lip, where a brown stallion in a tan coat looked over his notes on a folding table. "Excuse me, sir," Twilight said. "We couldn't help but notice your examining the crater and we were just wondering-"

"Did you find anything of interest?" Spirit finished for her.

The pony turned around. His face was full of excitement. "That's just it. This crater is unlike anything I've ever seen before! Most of the meteorite has melted into the crater walls, leaving only traces of iridium buried in the floor." The stallion shook his head, dirt flying off his hat. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Clay Mine."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spirit Guide and Spike. We're residents here in Ponyville."

"Pleasure to meet you. I myself am from Hoofington, though my team is a collection of ponies from all over Equestria. We get together whenever something big pops up."

"So your work is what brings you together," Spirit mused. "I like that."

"Me too." Twilight looked into the crater. "Is everything okay?"

Clay scratched his head. "Well, here's the thing: the meteor crashed into the ground, gaining the scientific title of 'meteorite', then simply vanished. Like I said before, there's still iridium, but it's too far down for us to reach just by digging."

"What's so great about iridium?" Spike asked quizzically.

A pegasus mare in a dusty jacket poked her head over the rim of the crater. "It's the second densest element and won't corrode even under temperatures of 2000 °C. Very little of it is found on the planet's surface, but its always found in meteors, which is why they're so valued."

"This is my assistant, Terra Firm," Clay explained, offering her a hoof-up. "We've known each other since we were foals."

Terra nodded. "Our parents took us to a fossil dig, if I recall correctly. Anyway Clay, we found something down there and I think you're very much going to like it."

"Be right there." Terra leapt back into the crater. "Sorry about that," Clay apologized. "Terra's a bit flighty and is easily excited. I wouldn't be surprised if she found a rusty horseshoe or something."

"Who knows?" Spirit said. "We'd best be off too. We have a picnic planned."

"Well don't let me stop you. maybe we'll see each other again. I like ponies with an eye for learning."

"Bye, Clay." The three friends took their wagon and left the crater as the meteorologist jumped inside. "He's crazy," Spike exclaimed.

Twilight shook her head. "He's just curious, Spike. He's interested in what makes these thing happen."

"Too bad we already know what happened." Spirit grinned. "Am I right?"

Spike chuckled. "Yeah, he'll never guess. Not in a thousand years."

"I'm sure they'll come up with some explanation," Twilight said. They crossed the bridge and walked into the park. Other ponies were already there, enjoying a sunny afternoon either running around or in the shade of blossoming trees. The trio quickly found a nice spot underneath a large mulberry tree.

"I know this kind of tree," Spirit exclaimed, putting a hoof against the trunk. "They had these in the Wohl Rose Park."

"You have an entire park just for roses?" Twilight asked, spreading out the picnic blanket. "There are a lot of different species."

"I know, and they were grown in so many ways: climbing walls, trimmed and sculpted shrubs, roses with decorative fruit and entire bushes of roses. But the thing I liked best about that garden were the mulberry trees. While the rest of my friends were stuffing their faces on whatever we brought, I climbed up and spend the entire time eating ripe mulberries." Spirit sighed. "I sure do miss that place."

"Maybe you could relive the past and climb up this tree," Spike suggested, laying down a juice pitcher. "It's nice and strong, and there are a lot of hoofholds that'll make it easier to climb."

Spirit perked up and beamed at the dragon. "Idea with merit. Thanks, Spike." He carefully checked the trunk all over for a direct path of knots and branches and began to climb. Twilight was impressed by his skill: Spirit didn't falter and not a twig snapped as he made his way to a wide branch. He pulled himself up the last few inches and lay down on the bough. "Just like I remember," Spirit sighed, taking in the sweet scent of the ripe fruit around him.

"Don't come down yet," Twilight suggested. "You should enjoy yourself up there. Beside, you could just use your magic to help with lunch."

"Okay, thanks." Spirit lit his horn and levitated the plates of cookies out of the wagon and scattered them around the blanket. Spike plucked out the gems and Twilight magicked the cutlery out.

"That didn't take very long," Spike noted, reaching out for a cookie, only for Twilight to bat his claw away.

"Spike, we need to wait for everypony to get here first!"

"Sorry."

"Teamwork is an amazing thing," Spirit said, looking for a good place to start picking. "It makes long, tedious jobs fly by faster than—"

WOOSH! The branches of the tree shook violently as a colorful blur shot past and Spirit held on tight to keep himself from falling. Rainbow Dash looped into the air, did a few barrel rolls and busted a cloud before coming in for a landing beside the tree, blowing away several cups and surprising Twilight and Spike.

"Omigosh, did you see how fast I was? That tree could barely stand up to me, and then I was like nnneeaoowww, and then I was all wooooo, and then it all just went—"

Bonk!

Something hit Rainbow on the head, cutting her off. "What the hay?" She rubbed her head and felt something sticky. There was bright-red juice in her mane. "What is this?" she asked Twilight.

"I think you made the tree angry," Twilight said, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, real funny Twi. Now seriously, what's going on here?"

"Why-ha-ha, why don't you let the tr-tree answer tha-ha-hat for you?" Spike chuckled.

"Come on, Spike. Trees can't talk."

Splat! Another overripe mulberry nailed Dashie on the head, soaking her multicolored mane. She fumed openly, not holding her anger back one bit, and kicked the trunk as hard as she could, screaming, "Take that, tree!"

The entire tree shuddered from its root to the crown, shaking the unicorn in its branches like a soda bottle. He quickly looked for more rotten ammo, plucking them off the tree and dropping them on the unsuspecting mare below. With every bulls-eye he scored on her head, she'd give the tree he was in another fierce buck. At one point, Rainbow delivered a barrage of blows against the trunk, knocking her hooves sore. She braced herself for another squishy mulberry to plop down on her but felt nothing. She eyed the tree trunk suspiciously, then made the mistake of looking up. A shower of overripe, putrid fruit rained down on the cyan pegasus who sat in its shade, staining her coat with their sweet juices. Spike burst out laughing at the sight of the drenched mare. Twilight regarded Rainbow Dash sympathetically, but smiled all the same.

Rainbow stumbled away from the tree, looking over her shoulder fearfully. "What was that?" she gasped at Twilight. "Angry tree spirits?"

"Nope, just a holy pony spirit," Twilight replied, looking up into the branches.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash spun around to face the tree. She heard a rustling above and looked up as well. Spirit dropped down from the high branch, landing on the ground with a light thud. In his mouth was a basket of fresh mulberries.

"Hey Rainbow," he said through the basket's handle. "Nishe timing. Wan' a muwberry?"

The pegasus just gaped at Spirit and slowly started pacing around him. He didn't look a bit worried and walked over to the picnic blanket, laying the basket down amongst the things they'd put out. He sat down, Twilight and Spike following his example. "You could just sit down and relax," Spirit called over to Rainbow. She gave him a wary look, glanced back at the tree, then joined them, sitting down beside the stallion.

"So," Rainbow began, "that was you up there?"

"Yep. I like mulberry trees. They bring back memories."

"Uh, sure. And also, sorry for almost knocking you out of the tree. I didn't know you were there and I wouldn't have flown by like that if I knew."

"Apology accepted."

Spike was getting impatient. "Where is everypony?"

"Right over there, Spike." Twilight pointed to the other side of the park, where Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Fang were just crossing the bridge. Applejack was pulling a cart loaded with a variety of apple snacks and foods, and Fang and Pinkie were each carrying baskets of freshly baked cupcakes. They all hurried over to the mulberry tree and quickly settled down, adding their own grub to the picnic.

"Now can we eat?" Spike whined. "Please."

Fang laid out the last cupcake on the blanket. "Yes Spike. Let's eat."

They started their picnic, taking whatever pleased them the most. After demolishing several apple fritters and at least a dozen cupcakes, Fang's eyes fell upon the basket of mulberries. His eyes sparkled and his arms fell freely to his sides. Spirit noticed his friend's focused gaze and nudged the fruit towards the dragon with his magic. "Go on, Fang. Your favorite."

Fang continued to stare at the mulberries, causing Twilight and the others to stop eating and watch him. Without warning, Fang slammed his face into the basket, scarfing down the fruit as fast as he can. When the basket was empty except for a small amount of pulp, juice and seeds, the green dragon shot into the air, flew around the picnicking ponies and crashed down next to Spirit . His eyes were spinning and his tongue hung out of his mouth. "Where," he said slowly, "did you find those?"

Spirit glanced worriedly at Twilight, who shrugged back at him. The other mares were eyeing Fang curiously but Spike was watching the older dragon with a look of admiration. Oh well, Spirit figured, what the hell. "In the tree, of course." He pointed up.

Fang's bright-green eyes followed the black hoof towards the tree they were sheltering under. He jumped to his feet, took to the air and sped up the tree, the others losing sight of him among the leaves. They began to hear loud chewing coming from inside the tree while seeds and juice littered the grass near its base.

"His class used to have picnics in the Wohl Rose Park too," Spirit explained to the bewildered-looking ponies and the fascinated dragon. "He's even more mulberry-crazy than me."

"Let's not spoil his fun, all right?" Rarity asked of the others, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I'm more interested in hearing more about you, Spirit," Rainbow Dash said, fanning herself with her wings.

"It sure would be nice if ya could tell us a little more about yourself," Applejack agreed.

"I wanna know how you met Fang!" Pinkie exclaimed. "He's a great cook!"

"I really liked how you calmed down the boa," Fluttershy said quietly from beside the stallion. "Maybe you could tell me how you did it?"

"Whoa, slow down everypony," Spirit cried, raising his hooves in front of him, the universal sign for 'stop'. "Let's take it slow. Rainbow Dash, you want to know where I'm from, and Applejack," he added, "I did promise I'd tell you all. Sit back, this could take a while."

The ponies settled down, each of them eager to hear his story. Fang was still feasting in the tree, but Spike had found a spot next to Twilight, who was giving Spirit her undivided attention as he began to reveal.

"Twilight and Spike, you already know we came from another world, that we're part of a huge ever-growing community and that we fight evil manifestations, but there's more. Back when I was a perfectly normal human being, just trying to live my life the way I should, I always tried to make the best of things and help others with their problems. I excelled in my studies and was popular among the other students, but what I yearned for was service. Morning, afternoon and evening, I'd join the others of my age to pray, to give thanks to the one who made us all. We believe that the universe was created by a single, all-powerful all-knowing entity who gives us all that is good in the world. My life continued without a hitch, everything was just fine..." His voice drifted off, the formerly cheery picnic atmosphere disappearing and being replaced by a cold feeling. "Until my family was killed."

Everypony gasped. Fluttershy was trembling so violently that Rarity had to hold her tight. Twilight was shocked. "Spirit," she whispered, "you never told us that."

"I've decided to tell you only now. At first I wasn't going to share it, but now I feel like you girls deserve the truth."

"You mean to tell us that you have no family left whatsoever?" Rarity said quietly.

"Nothing."

"Oy!" came a shout from the mulberry tree above them. Fang tumbled out of the branches and landed on Spirit's back, who didn't even turn a hair at the sudden contact. "What does that make me? What does that make the rest of the Republicans? What does that make Dad?"

"I meant 'blood family'," Spirit said calmly. "I'm sorry if you got offended by that, Fang, and I definitely meant no offense to our friends or our Father." He laid his head down on his hooves. "Do you know what it's like not to have a home to go to when something goes wrong? Not to have someone waiting with open arms for you when you come through the door?"

"No I don't, and neither do you." He clambered off Spirit's back and turned the pony's head so that he was looking him in the eye. "It's true that the terrorists killed you parents and siblings, but you can't forget me. After your training, you ran into me, we learned about each other in familiar territory and you relived moments of your previous life. Since that moment, we were family. And it only got better! We started a new family, a group of amazing people and beings from countless other universes. We played, we laughed, we cried, we fought, yet no matter what we did, we did it together. We're your family Spirit, and we always will be."

Spirit looked at his dragon friend in silence. His head rotated slowly as he looked at his other friends around him. Fluttershy and Rarity were moved by Fang's words and tears were streaming down their smiling, relieved faces. Applejack and Pinkie were not quite as affected, but they too shed a tear. Rainbow was doing her best to hide her feelings, but couldn't help but sniff sadly. Twilight, on the other hoof, had embraced the green dragon's speech completely, having taken in the information and adding it to what she already knew of her new friends, finally understanding. Spike, however, just gaped at Fang in confusion.

"Thanks, Fang," Spirit said at last, "for reminding me. I'd forgotten about the importance of one's view and what it could mean, and because of that, I reverted back to my mourning mind."

"That cannot be good for your mental well-being," Rarity commented.

Fang shrugged. "True, but we all have our moments where we just can't help but sink into misery."

"Okaaay," Rainbow exclaimed, "not that this isn't the greatest story ever, do you think maybe you could keep going?"

"Yeah, sorry." Spirit cleared his throat and continued. "After the funeral, I mourned my family for a week. Typically, our tradition states that one who mourns a family member stays at home for a week, friends coming over to visit, and spends the rest of the year not attending birthdays, wedding or any kind of joyous celebration."

"That sounds really really hard and sad," Pinkie said, frowning.

"It's not easy," Spirit admitted. "I myself almost went insane on the last day of the week. But then an amazing thing happened. I was approached by the One who created all that exists, all that we know."

"You mean a god?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, that is exactly right. In my world, there are many different groups who believe in a creator. They believe in different commandments and laws, usually opposing each others' beliefs. But let's steer away from what might become a religious argument and get back to my story. G-d revealed himself to me, granting me powers beyond that of any mortal creature. Since the dawn of creation there has always been a prophet, a holy individual who may speak with G-d at most any time, to learn what has to be done to help the nation. Up until about 2000 years ago there was always a prophet around, but then they just stopped."

Applejack was puzzled. "What d'ya mean by 'just stopped.'"

"People no longer had the power of prophecy and couldn't commune with the Lord," Fang explained.

"Ah."

"The world was full of sinners and nopony was worthy of taking up the position. Yet for some reason, G-d chose me, out of all the modern-day living people, to take up the mantle of the prophets of old. Along with my powers, he gave me a mission and a wish. My job would be to watch the world and protect those in need and oppose those who would control the weak."

"What about the wish?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

"Ah, the wish." Spirit closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards. A breeze blew through the mulberry tree, blowing the sweet scent of ripe fruit around the ponies and the dragons. "Ever since I was young, I had a dream. A seemingly impossible fantasy. I wished to create a community made up of all the special people and beings I knew and heard of. For a normal teen, this was impossible. But with my new-found powers, I realized that my dream would finally come true."

"And that's when he met me!" Fang declared happily.

"Not exactly," Spirit corrected. "It was one week before I saw Fang for the first time, back when he was just an ordinary kid. I was lucky enough to stumble across him, for he had the same dreams as me."

"And that made us an unstoppable team!"

"That doesn't really make any sense," Rainbow pointed out. "I mean, how does having the same dreams make you guys stronger?"

Spirit raised an eyebrow at the pegasus. "Come now Rainbow Dash. You and the others have wielded the Elements of Harmony. You should know that like-minded ponies can increase their strength. We in the Republic have proven this time and time again, foiling all attempts to destroy us."

"Sounds like you go through that kind of thing every day," Pinkie cried cheerfully.

"Not quite every day," Fang admitted, reaching for another cupcake, "but we certainly wish they'd try to kill us less."

"So let me get this straight," Applejack said. "You spend yer time fightin' dark evil things that go around causin' trouble, and travel to other worlds in giant rocks, like the one that crashed outside o' Ponyville?"

"It wasn't my idea to use meteors," Spirit muttered, looking pointedly at Fang.

The dragon shrugged. "Hey, we got here, didn't we?"

"Yes," Spirit agreed, "but it cost us our human forms." Using his magic, he conjured a revolving 3D image of his human body in the middle of the picnic blanket. The sudden appearance of the tall figure in its black cloak frightened the ponies. Even Rainbow Dash cringed.

"Whoa Nelly!" yelled Applejack, falling backwards. "What the hay is that?"

"That is what I once looked like." Spirit shut off his magic and the image vanished. The other ponies calmed down and resumed their sitting positions. "Most of the Republicans are human, but we have a variety of members: we've got animals, celestials, infernals, demons, aliens, monsters—"

"M-monsters?" Fluttershy squeaked fearfully beside him.

Spirit looked down at the butter-yellow pegasus. He ran a gentle hoof along her back. "Don't worry Fluttershy. They're called monsters, but they're all different. Some are scary. Some are odd. But a lot of them are really cute, like this guy." He conjured another image, this time a smaller one. It was a chubby yellow rodent with a lightning bolt-shaped tail. On its cheeks were two red circles and the tips of its ears were black.

Fluttershy gasped, this time with joy. "Oh, it's just so cute!" She reached for the image, but her hoof went right through it. "Oh." She pulled back sadly.

"It's just an illusion, Fluttershy," Twilight informed her, "but you're right. it is cute."

"Simply adorable," Rarity sighed.

"Mighty cute indeed," agreed Applejack.

"EEEEEEEEEEEH!" Pinkie squealed. "That's one of the most cutorable things I've ever seen!"

"It's a mouse," Spike noted.

"An electric mouse," Fang corrected him. "This is just one of the monsters who visit and live in the Fictional Republic. Although I really don't know why they call them 'monsters'." He groped around the bottom of the cupcake basket, as he had been for the last few minutes.

"Eew, Fang," Rarity chided, taking notice of his actions. "Take one, don't touch them all. Nopony wants to eat a cupcake someone else has touched."

"I can't," he told her, suddenly realizing something. "My claw is stuck."

"How could it get stuck at the bottom of a pile of cupcakes?" Twilight and Spirit asked together incredulously.

"How should I know?"

"Lemme help," Spike offered. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Fang's waist and pulled. The two dragons tugged as hard as they could, grunting all the while, but Fang's claw remained stuck.

Suddenly, Pinkie had an idea. "Why don't we just eat around Fang's claw?" Without asking anypony's opinion, the pink mare shoved her head into the basket, wolfing down the remaining cupcakes. She licked the icing off the sides and inhaled any sprinkles that fell off, leaving the basket clean and shiny and freeing Fang's claw.

"Thanks Pinkie," he said, flexing his fingers. Turning around, he grasped Spike's shoulder and said "Thanks for the help."

"I didn't really do anything," Spike mumbled softly.

Fang bent down so that their eyes were level. "Sometimes, what's more important is the effort and willingness rather than the results." He looked back at the cupcake basket, noticing something new. "So that's what I got stuck on," he called out to everypony, pointing downwards. They all leaned in and looked into the basket. On the bottom was a black smear.

"What is that?" Applejack asked.

"Whatever it is, it looks filthy!" Rarity cried.

Spirit frowned. He dismissed the mirage mouse with a wave of his hoof. "It doesn't look like much, but maybe..." He gasped and took a step back, firing a sphere of condensed air from his horn over the basket where it exploded, sending the six mares and both dragons scooting backwards.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Rainbow yelled at Spirit.

"Don't go near that thing," the stallion warned. "It's not what you think it is."

Twilight squinted at the basket, trying to get another look at the smear without getting too close. "Well, what is it? And why is whatever it is just sitting there?"

"Methinks it needs a little persuasion," Fang snickered, his sharp teeth showing through his grin. He inched closer to the basket, opened his mouth and blasted the woven container with searing flames. The thin strips of wood lit instantly, and the entire basket burned to ashes in no time at all. The small pile of black dust quivered as if it were being blown by the wind.

"Do piles of ashes usually move by themselves?" Spike asked Twilight, shaking slightly.

"No." She glanced over at Spirit, who was watching the fiery powder intensely. "Spirit, what is that?"

The stallion didn't move, but his eyes rolled in their sockets until they were looking directly at Twilight.

"A manifestation."

Evil in Horseshoes

The ash pile exploded outwards, sending clouds of black smoke everywhere and obscuring the ponies' and dragons' vision. The darkest of the clouds hovered in the middle, standing out among its brethren. It started taking shape: wisps of smoke curled up on the floor, rising upwards and forming dark stems. On top of the four slim pillars settled a bulky cloud, which attached itself to them. Another stalk rose out of the front of the large cloud, being thicker than the other four. A roundish cloud stuck itself atop the new stem from which came a deep, laughing sound.

The smoke dissipated, and Twilight and the others got their first look at a manifestation. It was in the form of a pitch-black stallion, with glowing red eyes, inky feathered wings and pointy teeth. A smoky grey mane and tail floated in the air behind it. Four dark hooves were shod with crude, iron horseshoes.

The creature looked around at the ponies and the dragons. It laughed again. "I do like the smell of fear," it said in a surprisingly young teenage voice. "No matter where you go, there will always be fear in some form or another."

"Pfft, fathead" Fang muttered.

The manifestation turned to face the dragon with a frown. "You're not scared." It quickly looked around again. Rarity and Applejack were holding onto each other. Fluttershy had dived into a bush and was looking out through a hole. Pinkie Pie had a hoof over her mouth in an attempt to hold something back, but nopony knew what. Rainbow Dash was standing firm, but her face betrayed her nervousness. Spike had fallen over while backing up and was now staring at the smoky pony with a look of pure terror. Twilight didn't try to hide her fear, she was more curious then frightened. "Why aren't you scared?" the manifestation asked Fang. "They're all scared!"

"Give me one reason why I should be scared," he challenged, looking the stallion right in the eye.

"A reason?" the manifestation spluttered. It wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. "I'm a freaking embodiment of evil! The very essence of darkness! You should all be shaking like a buncha leaves. You've got—" It was cut off by a beam of blue energy, which caught it on the shoulder and spun the manifestation around like a top. It groaned and turned in the direction of the attack. "Who did that?"

"I think we both know the answer to that," Spirit Guide said firmly, his horn glowing brightly, "so quit playing dumb and confess."

"Confess? This is no court. And who are you?"

Spirit stared at the stallion with his deep-blue eyes. He raised his horn, pointing it at the clear sky above. A magic aura spread around his horn, slowly wrapping his lower body. A black cloak materialized around his neck and covered his back. A single magical spark leapt off the tip of his horn, closely followed by more sparks. The twinkling column swirled around like a mini-cyclone, spinning and twisting while rising into the air and rotating onto its side. The sparks flickered out, revealing a long wooden staff approximately four feet tall, held in Spirit's magic grasp. He turned to the side, displaying his cutie mark, which shone against his dark-blue coat.

The ponies were amazed. "Nice stick," exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

The manifestation gasped. "Six-Thirteen. It's you."

The unicorn smiled knowingly. "Surprise. I'm rather disappointed you took so long, but then again, you're not supposed to be here anyway."

"Ah, but you have yourself to blame for that," it reminded him.

"No!" Twilight cried. She trotted over to Spirit's side and glared at the manifestation angrily. "Spirit's intentions are good and pure. He's come all the way here, risking his own life in the process, just to befriend us."

"A shame the same can't be said about you," Spirit added.

Flapping his wings, the manifestation began to hover, sending empty plates and cups everywhere. "What do I care what you say? All I know is that we're going to put a stop to your universal gathering of friends. We won't stand for it any longer. You are an obstacle in the way of our goal, an obstacle that needs to be removed no matter what."

Rainbow Dash had had enough. She zipped over to the black pegasus and stared him down. "Cut the chatter, smokey," she ordered, "or I'm gonna give you a tornado special."

"You think that a little twister could get rid of me just because I'm physically comprised of gases?" it said tauntingly. "Don't waste your energy, it won't work." He floated towards Rarity and Applejack, who were watching the approaching pegasus with worry and anticipation.

Spirit and Twilight approached Rainbow Dash, who slowly landed on the ruffled checked blanket. "He's right, Rainbow," Spirit told her. "Manifestations are accumulations of wicked deeds, dark thought and negative feelings. They're filled with so much malevolence that they can hold their bodies together in any shape, no matter how hard you blow. Trust me, we've tried blowing them away."

"You two!" the manifestation cried out, pointing at Applejack and Rarity. "You are right to fear me. Is evil not something to be afraid of?"

Rarity looked up in horror at the dark beast hovering over her and spread herself lower on the grass, covering her eyes. Applejack was doing her best to stand firm, but the manifestation kept coming closer until she had to lean backwards on the ground to keep away. Evidently pleased, the manifestation turned towards Pinkie Pie, who was zooming back and forth between the windblown baking baskets, searching for leftovers. He flew over to her, landing on top of a basket Pinkie was looking into, crushing it. "And you. You're scared, aren't you?"

"Nopey-dopey!" Pinkie replied happily, otherwise completely ignoring him. She saw another plate with a few cookies left and dashed over.

Frowning, the manifestation soared after her. "What do you mean, 'nopey-dopey'?" he asked angrily, grabbing her head. "Are you saying I'm stupid."

Pinkie laughed. "Of course not, silly! It's just how I say no."

"Oh. Okay." The manifestation let go of her and stood there dumbfounded, while Pinkie started munching the cookies she'd found. "Wait a minute!" he shouted as he finally realized. "You're saying you're not scared of me!"

"Nopey-dopey!" Pinkie said again.

"Grrrrrrrr, FINE!" He turned around and stormed away from her. "You're starting to bug me anyways."

Pinkie swung her head around and smiled. "Okey-dokey-lokey!"

"Grarh!" With a snarl, the smoky pegasus galloped away from the pink pony as if she were radioactive. He looked around, remembering that there was another pony somewhere, a yellow one. He scanned the park with his red eyes, finding only the ponies he'd already spoken to. Where did she go? he wondered. Suddenly, he noticed a small pink tuft sticking out of a bush. The leafy shrub was shivering as if it were cold. Ah ha. The manifestation crept towards the bush like a predator, snaking around it until he was behind where the tuft was. He noticed a crack in between the leaves and twigs and peeked inside. His vision was taken up by a pale yellow trembling thing. Whatever it was, it was scared. Perfect. He took one more look at the bush, parted the leaves at the top and—

"BRAAAAHAAAHAAAAA!"

"EEEEEEEEEE!"

The black pegasus almost got his smoky head blown off when the butter-yellow pegasus shot out of the bush, shrieking loudly. She flew around the picnic site until she crashed into Rainbow Dash's open hooves. The freaked embodiment of evil got over his moment of alarm and flew up towards the two pegasi. "You crazy horse!" he shouted at her. "Why I oughta—"

ZAAAAAAM! A blue bolt of energy knocked him out of the air and onto the ground below. From where he lay, the manifestation could see the scowl on Rainbow's face and the tears in the yellow pony's eyes. That made him feel better and he smiled with satisfaction. "That felt good."

"Then it will probably be the last thing you feel for a while," Spirit Guide said from above the manifestation. He had rushed over to the dark creature the minute it crashed and now held his staff over its head. The tip of the wooden shaft was glowing blue.

The manifestation smiled. "What're you gonna do?" it asked with a smirk. "You can't send me back to where I came from. The tunnel is closed. Looks like you're all stuck with me."

Spirit hesitated, and the manifestation took it as an opening. It rushed headlong into Spirit's legs, knocking the unicorn to the ground. The two black ponies tussled, rolling this way and that, kicking and shoving. Twilight watched them fight and was soon joined by her friends, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy know calmed down, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash still cool. Spike stood beside Fang. "What can we do to help Spirit?" he asked the bigger dragon.

Fang spread his wings. "Attack!" he cried, leaping into the fray. He wrapped his arms around the smoky pony's neck and pulled. Both of them snarled at each other as they fought. The manifestation kicked Spirit and sent the unicorn flying. He landed hard on the ground in front of the six mares.

"Are you okay, Spirit?" Twilight asked concernedly, bending down to check the hoofmarks on his side.

Spirit looked at the purple pony. "I'm fine Twilight." He climbed to his feet, but his legs buckled beneath him. He would've fallen if Twilight didn't catch him. "Guess not."

"You better rest up, Spirit," Applejack told him. "We'll go help Fang."

"You bet we will!" Rainbow Dash agreed, flying in front of the group.

"Just be careful," Spirit warned. "Manifestations don't give up easily, if at all. They can fight for long periods of time without exhausting, since they're not much more then destructive clouds."

"Okay! Let's do this thing!" And with that, Rainbow zoomed off to fight.

"Wait up, RD!" Applejack called, galloping to catch up. The two mares jumped into the combat with equal force, bouncing the black stallion up and down between earth and sky. The manifestation groaned as he was methodically knocked out of the air by Rainbow Dash, then bucked back up by Applejack. In between the two friends, Fang blasted the manifestation with gouts of flame, slowly degrading its strength.

Twilight, Spirit, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie and Fluttershy watched their friends brawl. "That looks like fun!" Pinkie squealed. "I wanna try it!"

"Pinkie, stop!" Rarity called, but there was no stopping the pink Earth pony. She bounced over to the battlers and, while the black pony was falling towards the ground, she jumped up and knocked him out of its original course. They rolled onto the grass and collided with the trunk of the mulberry tree, knocking several fruit loose.

"Wheee, that was fun!" Pinkie chuckled, slightly giddy.

Raising its pitch-black head, the dark pegasus shouted. "Get off me!" He shook his body, dislodging Pinkie Pie from her perch on his back. "All of you are going to feel my wrath!"

"What wrath?" Fang asked. "You're not dangerous enough for that. You're just a mere wisp."

The creature rose to its feet, eyeing the green dragon curiously. "Oh, it's you. Of course, how could the prophet manage without his right-hand servant."

"You're all talk and no truth," Fang muttered, he and Rainbow Dash landing several feet away from the tree which it stood beneath. "Spirit's my friend and we treat each other as equals. Don't," he added as the manifestation opened its mouth to speak, "even try manipulating me. It won't work."

Snarling, the manifestation looked around at its opponents. Fang and Rainbow Dash stood to its right, while Applejack and Pinkie had it cornered on the left. Its barely solid mane was smoking from Fang's dragon breath and its wings were hurt from all those beatings. Looking up, it noticed that nopony was covering the way up. Flaring his slightly-beaten wings, he took to the air... Only to be met by a ball of tightly-packed mushy mulberries held in a light azure aura.

"Oh, no you don't!" cried Rarity, coming out from behind the tree. "You are not getting away that easily!"

Shaking its head, the manifestation growled at the white unicorn. He glanced back at the others who were flanking him, searching for a hole in their blockade. Finding itself completely surrounded, the dark pony began to reverse slowly, trying to get past the side of the tree Rarity wasn't standing by, all the while keeping an eye on his oncoming foes. He took another step backwards and tripped over something, his head slamming into the ground hard, knocking him unconscious.

"I'm sorry!" Fluttershy cried, one hoof sticking out among the tree roots, her other hoof covering her eyes. A moment of silence followed as the other mares hurried over to the prone stallion, carefully watching for any signs of movement. Fang gently removed Fluttershy's hoof from her face. She flashed a glance at the pony she tripped, then poked him tentatively. "Did I do this?"

"Yes, you did. Well done Fluttershy," Fang replied.

Twilight gave Spirit a nudge, pushing him to his hooves. The two unicorns, with Spike at their side, walked slowly over to the out-cold manifestation. Spirit rolled his levitating staff through the air. "This is what we're up against. Accumulations of dark matter, their sub-minds bent on plunging the world into a state of confusion, torment and unrest. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of these things roam the multiverse, searching for potential targets."

"Which, by the way, is everything," Fang added.

Spirit nodded. "They are ruthless, ready to give up their own short, pointless existence for a group cause. We were lucky enough to get a still-developing manifestation, one that still hasn't learned the full extent of its powers. Those can lob orbs of darkness and fire tendrils of entropy, no matter what form they take. But he's right. Since the tunnel is closed, we won't be able to send him back to the Republic to be properly banished."

"So, what do we do?" Applejack asked.

The wooden staff flared, momentarily taking on the hue and texture of sapphire. 'We can lock it away. Back in the Republic, we cross our endowments and technologies, creating new energies and devices. Among them is the Seal, a part magic part-nature item that can be used to trap manifestations. The Seals take the form of familiar objects, though clearly discernible from normal everyday objects so that you don't confuse a Seal with a magic lamp."

"Could you make a Seal right now?" Twilight asked.

"I'll try. Stand back." Spirit spread his legs out slightly and raised his staff towards the heavens. A bright-blue pulse exploded from the top, followed by a pulsing orb of multicolored energy. The sphere floated off the staff and spiraled down it, ending its descent in front of Spirit's face. It started to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster, glowing brighter with each revolution until it was blinding. Spirit wrapped a thread of magic around the orb, feeding it more energy. On the ground, the manifestation stirred but was knocked back unconscious thanks to a swift buck from Applejack, allowing Spirit to finish his spell. Cutting off his magic, he levitated the complete object over their heads. It was a small ball-shaped capsule, with a red top, a white bottom and a black ring circling it. In the middile of the ball, where the three colors met, was a small round button.

"Sweet Arceus," Fang muttered. "A Poké Seal."

"A what?" Rainbow asked quizzically.

Spirit caught the ball in his hooves. "This seal is modeled after the Pokéball, an item commonly used in one of the other worlds of the Fictional Republic. There, the Pokéball is used to capture wild creatures so that they can be raised as partners, companions and friends. They hold huge competitions to test each others partner's strengths and powers. But this Pokéball has a different target." Spirit raised the capsule over the manifestation. He was about to toss it when the dark pony's eyes shot open and his wings blasted outwards, throwing everypony and dragon backwards.

"You're not gonna lock me up!" the manifestation shouted, flaring his wings and taking to the air.

"Stop him!" Spirit yelled as the manifestation flew away. "Rainbow, Fluttershy, Fang! You guys are the only ones that can follow it. Tail it, catch it and bring it down. We'll try to keep up on the ground."

"On it!" Rainbow replied. "Come on, Fluttershy!"

"Um, please no," she whispered quietly.

"You go on ahead, Rainbow," Fang told the cyan pegasus. "We'll catch up."

"Alrighty." Rainbow Dash flew up after the manifestation, which had flown off towards Ponyville. Leaving the park behind, the two pegasi dashed in, out and around the streets, surprising passerby ponies and shocking colts and fillies. Rainbow tried her best to catch up, reaching out to grab the smoky stallion's tail, only to come up with empty hooves.

The manifestation laughed evilly. He looked over his shoulder and called "You did not seriously try to grab my tail, did you?"

Gritting her teeth, Dash remembered what Spirit had said earlier when she threatened to blow the pegasus to shreds. I can't really touch his tail, it's just smoke. Even though I'm a pegasus and can control weather, this guy's made out of bad stuff, not like normal clouds. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Rainbow lashed out and and struck the manifestation in the flank.

"Oof!" it groaned as Rainbow's blow sent it careening. Struggling to remain airborne, it drifted towards the Ponyville marketplace closely followed by Rainbow Dash. The marketplace was full of bustling ponies, noisy foals, shopkeepers and customers arguing over overpricing. A typical marketplace.

"It just had to be Market Day," Rainbow groaned. She watched the manifestation duck behind the roof of the joke shop, grinning madly. She landed on the next door stall, waiting for the black pegasus to make its move. She didn't have to wait long.

"What have we here?" the manifestation mused. Directly below it, two Earth ponies were just leaving the joke shop, each carrying a basket of horseplay items, mostly fireworks. Giggling, the manifestation raised one hoof above the other, moving it in circular motions. As Rainbow continued to watch, a ball of dark crackling energy appeared between the stallion's hooves, growing larger every second.

"Oh great. That must be the developing-powers thing Spirit was talking about."

The manifestation raised the pulsing dark orb, carefully aiming it at the Earth ponies below. Rainbow Dash was just about to dive in and push the two ponies out of the way when two blurs, one green and one yellow, shot out of the air and crashed into the manifestation, knocking it to the ground. Rainbow hurried to the other side of the joke shop, where the black pegasus was tangling with Fang and Fluttershy, Fang doing most of the work while Fluttershy hung back trying to avoid getting hurt.

"I just got my new powers and you have to butt in!" the manifestation growled, beating the green dragon with its wings.

Ignoring the assault, Fang drew back a clenched claw and rammed it against the pony's forehead, knocking him out-cold for the second time that day. "Just reached puberty. Sad way to go."

Fluttershy looked up from her crouched position and carefully approached the manifestation. "Sorry for not helping," she said quietly. "I'm not really good at fighting."

"That's okay Fluttershy," Fang replied reassuringly. He looked up at the roof. "Hey Rainbow! You comin' down?"

Rainbow Dash dropped from the roof, landing silently beside Fang. "Nice job. I was just about to jump in and tackle him, but you beat me to it."

"Yeah, sorry. I saw him readying his dark sphere and hurried to stop him. Kill steal."

"What?" Before Rainbow could inquire further, Twilight, Spike and the others appeared from within the shopping crowd. Spirit, still holding the Poké Seal with his magic, was wearing a blank unsurprised look, as if he knew the manifestation would go to the marketplace. Fang shuffled over beside Fluttershy as the black unicorn stepped forwards.

"Well done, you two," he said, bending low over the dark pegasus.

Rainbow looked away. "Uh, I didn't really do anything so..."

Spirit raised an eyebrow at her. "What d'you mean? You followed the manifestation as soon as it fled, not losing sight of it for a second. If you hadn't done that, Fang and Fluttershy wouldn't have been able to find it."

She perked up at this. "Really?"

"Really."

Fang kicked the manifestation's head. "Could we please get this guy under lock and ball? He's more trouble than I thought. He'd just gained his matter-flinger powers."

"Right. On it." Spirit stood over the manifestation. "The rest of you, take a step back but stay close. He might get up again." Releasing the Seal from his magic grip, he caught it in his left hoof and pressed the button with his right. The Seal made a weird humming sound and grew bigger. "Okay. Here we go." Spirit dropped the Seal right on top of the manifestation. The ball opened and a bolt of red lightning came out, wrapping itself around the prone pegasus, making it glow red. The manifestation's features faded into red energy, which then got sucked up into the open Poké Seal.

When the last of the energy disappeared inside the ball closed, falling on the ground where the manifestation lay. The Seal rocked back and forth, glowing slightly and whirring all the while. Fang stared at it helplessly, gritting his teeth and wringing his claws. Applejack noticed this, leaned in and whispered to Spirit "What's up with Fang?"

"The Poké Seal works the same as its original counterpart," he explained. "When you throw a Pokéball, it transforms the target into red energy that could fit inside the capsule. However, if the target isn't weakened sufficiently, it can fight to try to escape. Fang's into the habit of, well, doing what he's doing now, in hopes of the target not escaping. Not that it does anything, really," he added with a smirk, "it's more of a comfort thing."

Applejack nodded in understanding, then turned her attention back to the Seal. It continued to roll around on the ground, humming until it finally came to a stop at Spike's feet. There, it shuddered, dimmed and stopped moving. It finished with a sound ding. Everypony sighed in relief, but Fang threw his fist into the air and cheered. "Woohoo!" he shouted happily. "Manifestation was caught!"

"Very clever," Spirit said. He trotted over to the Seal and picked it up in his magic aura. "But you're right. We've successfully captured one of the manifestations we've accidentally let into Equestria."

"It's only one, but it's a start," Twilight reminded.

"Where're you gonna put that one?" Rainbow asked, pointing at the capsule.

"I'll be keeping them in my saddlebags until we can figure out a better way to store them." Spirit looked around the marketplace. Ponies were going about their business as if nothing had happened. "It would appear," he whispered to the others, "that our little encounter went unnoticed."

"Market Day isn't really a time when ponies keep an eye out for abnormalities," Rarity said. "They just come for what they need."

"Well, we came for what we needed," Pinkie said, "so 'let's go back to the park and finish our picnic!" Without even waiting for confirmation she ran off, leaving her friends standing in the road dumbstruck.

"No point in being left behind, right?" Fang asked the others before taking to the air.

"Hey, wait up Fang!" Rainbow Dash called, following him.

Twilight looked around at her remaining friends. Rarity was watching the others leave with a slightly irritated look. Fluttershy was staring happily at a passing butterfly. Applejack saw her brother Big Macintosh running an apple stall and went to talk to him. Spike was glancing this way and that, wondering if there were more manifestations hiding. Spirit was examining the Poké Seal, but he seemed the most available so Twilight went to him. "What are you thinking about Spirit?" she asked, careful so as not to surprise him.

The stallion raised his eyes from the capsule before him. "It just dawned on me just how great the threat of the manifestations really is. They could be anywhere in Equestria, looking like anything and anypony, and it's not just me and Fang they're after. They're most likely to start sabotaging facilities and businesses, maybe even attack random ponies. We have to move fast to contain them quickly and efficiently."

"Tell you what," Twilight said soothingly. "Let's go to the park, finish the picnic, and when we get back to the library I'll pen a letter to the Princess along with yesterday's friendship report. I'm sure she'll look into it."

Spirit thought about this for a moment, cradling the Seal in his magic. "Alright. Let's round up the others and wrap up lunch." He galloped over to the Apple stand, where Applejack and Big Mac were selling a bushel to a pegasus shopper.

Twilight sighed contently. "Perfect. Just like the checklist said." Smiling, she went to snap Spike out of his lookout duty.

*

"Ooh, I'm stuffed!" Rainbow groaned, patting her swollen belly.

"Ah know what ya mean," Applejack mumbled. "Ah packed one too many fritters there."

"I told you not to go stuffing your faces," Rarity scolded, "but did you listen? No."

Pinkie Pie, although having eaten just as much as the others, was bouncing around the mulberry tree, laughing merrily. "Don't be so hard on them, Rarity!" she sang out. "It's not a crime to enjoy good food!"

Spirit and Fang were sitting back-to-back, reciting Grace after meals "... may G-d give strength to our people, may G-d bless our people with peace." Spirit rose up and began levitating the empty plates back into the wagon. "Twilight, please get your head out of the book and help clean up before those two start eating the cutlery."

Twilight looked up from her book. She glanced over at Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who were both lying against each other moaning over their stuffed stomachs. "Can I just finish the chapter?" she begged. One look at Spirit's face gave her the answer. "Oh alright," she muttered, bookmarking the page she was on with a mulberry leaf. She clambered to her hooves and picked up the pitchers, her smile slowly returning to her face. The others started chipping in, first Rarity, then Fluttershy, Spike, Fang, Pinkie, then finally Rainbow and Applejack. Soon enough, the grassy area under the tree was free of picnic items. Even the blanket had been folded and laid on top of the wagon, which sat beside the bakery baskets and the Sweet Apple Acres cart, also loaded with plates and dishes.

Spirit looked around once more, making sure they hadn't missed anything. When he was content with their clean-up job, he turned to the others and said "Okay everypony. Our first meal together has come to an end and I have to ask you all something."

"Yes?" they all said in unison.

The stallion shot a glance at Fang, who was holding his face in his claws. The dragon nodded. "Me and Fang are gonna need a place to stay while we're not hunting manifestations. Think you could tolerate us hanging around?"

Pinkie squeed loudly. "You mean you'll be staying here in Ponyville with us?"

Fang nodded. "Only if it's alright with you guys."

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow walked over to Fang and gave him a playful noogie. "You guys are amazing! With you around, every day is gonna be so awesome!"

"I quite agree," Rarity announced. "I have a feeling you could easily inspire me to start a new line of fashion."

"You could be a big help down on tha' farm if anythin' goes wrong," Applejack put in. "It'd be nice to have somepony you could turn to in times of need."

"I'd be happy to spend some time together," Fluttershy said, then added quietly "If you want to, that is..."

Spike looked at Fang admiringly. "Will you really be staying in Ponyville?" he asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

The bigger dragon smiled. "Of course. That is, if it's all right with Twilight that we take up residence in the library for an indefinite amount of time."

"You and Spirit are more than welcome to stay with us for as long as you need," Twilight confirmed.

"Okay then, it's settled: Fang and I will take up residence here in Ponyville while we learn about Equestria and track down the manifestations."

Twilight and the others cheered, overjoyed that their new friends would be staying with them. A beaming Spike threw his arms around a slightly surprised Fang. Pinkie had somehow produced balloons and streamers from absolutely nowhere and was throwing them all over the place. Rainbow Dash flew around the mulberry tree over and over again, causing leaves and ripe berries to rain down on her friends below. Fluttershy was beside herself with joy, zooming this way and that with more speed and agility than she'd displayed earlier. Rarity was doing her best to maintain her composure but was swept up in the excitement, joining Applejack in a jubilant eight-legged dance.

But Twilight showed the most emotion, embracing Spirit and crying at the same time. This left Spirit thoroughly confused as he was trying to figure out why Twilight was so thrilled by the news that tears were forming in her eyes while simultaneously attempting to avoid looking into her mind to learn the truth. He felt that such an invasion of privacy would be abusive and unpleasant if she found out so he merely returned the hug, trying to enjoy the moment.

After a minute, they had all calmed down, although Pinkie's grin was still easily the brightest thing in the area. "Well, this has been a mighty fine picnic," Applejack said, "but ah really have to get back to work. Me an' Big Mac still have to get through the south fields before the day is out. Be seeing you, everypony!" She started to hook herself up to her cart

Rarity cleared her throat. "I too shall take my leave. I must return to my shop. Somepony else may come with an outfit in need of repair and I wouldn't want them to wait. Have a fabulous day!" With that, she and Applejack made there way out of the park.

Rainbow Dash stretched and yawned. "Guess I'll be going too. I've got storm duty in a few minutes. You comin', Fluttershy?"

"Oh, okay." Fluttershy turned to the unicorn stallion. "Bye Spirit. I hope you and Fang enjoy your time in Ponyville." Waving goodbye, she following Rainbow into the air.

Pinkie gathered up the baskets onto her back. "Well, I'm off. Mr. Cake is probably gonna want his baskets back and I've got a whole lot more things to bake. See ya later!" She dashed away, startling several ponies who were wandering around.

Twilight looked around. With just her, Spike, Spirit and Fang, the small area under the mulberry tree seemed a little empty. She sat down on the grass and sighed. This didn't go unnoticed by Spirit who, tired of listening to Fang and Spike bickering over who had to drag the wagon home, took the opportunity to leave the argument and go find out what was bothering the purple unicorn. "What's wrong now, Twilight?" he asked her.

"I dunno, Spirit," she confessed. "Everything just seems so... Mixed up."

Spirit blinked. "Explain please."

"Oh boy, where to start..." Twilight scratched her head and thought until sparks began to fly from her horn. "You and Fang coming here from another world, evil monsters running around Equestria, the existence of other magic users besides unicorns. It's just so much to take in for me and so confusing. I feel like I want the whole thing to just be a dream, yet at the same time I want it to stay like this and learn more about the worlds beyond what I know."

"Hmm." Spirit sat down beside her. "I understand. You're used to your day being organized, everything being set ahead of time. You want to know what will happen so nothing will go wrong. The only question I have is why."

"Why what?"

"Why do you wish things to be predictable and obvious? What is preventing you from wanting change?"

Twilight lay down on her back. She sighed again. "Ever since I was a filly, all I liked to do was read and study magic. That's it. All I ever wanted to do was learn. I never made time for making friends and never bothered to try. But when Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville, I ended up learning the value of friendship. I discovered how wonderful having friends really is and how much we could accomplish together."

Spirit glanced over at Spike and Fang. The argument had turned into a playful brawl where the two dragon had started to jump on each other, pulling each others spines and tail. Deciding that they'd be okay, Spirit lay down on the grass next to Twilight. "When I was younger, I always wished the world could be different. That fiction would be reality and dreams would come true." Spirit lit his horn and his staff appeared in a flash of light. He slowly began to spin it over their heads. "Now my life is different. I have new and amazing friends, new worlds are within my reach and new discoveries abound. Every day is filled with fun and adventure, never is it boring. But when I look back on it, I realize it wasn't just me. Everyone I know brings something special into my life, changing what I know and preparing me for what's out there." He dropped his staff on the grass between them. "Don't you sometimes feel like any change you've undergone in your life makes it better?

"I guess you're right," Twilight said. "Ever since I've moved here to Ponyville, my anti-social life has pretty much disappeared. I spend more time with my friends than I used to, considering I had no friends before other than Spike."

"Change is good," Spirit stated, "but you have to monitor it, otherwise it could get out of hoof."

"Speaking of which, what's that noise?"

Spirit and Twilight sat up and looked back towards the wagon. The play-fight had evolved into a full-out dragon battle. Spike was uprooting rocks from the ground and throwing them at Fang, who shielded himself with his wings or blasted them with his fire breath consecutively.

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Spirit shouted.

Spike dropped his latest projectile. "Oh, uh, hey Spirit, hey Twilight. What's up?" he stammered.

Twilight frowned. She glanced over at Fang, who was smiling crazily for some obscure reason. "Hiya!" he called cheerfully. "We were trying to decide who drags the wagon home."

"Forget it," Spirit replied. "I'll take it." He lobbed the Seal into the wagon and grabbed the handle with his magic.

"Yes, let's go," agreed Twilight. She and the two previously battling dragons joined him and together, with the heavily-laden wagon, they left the park and returned to the library. The minute they stepped through the door, Spirit's saddlebags started to glow.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked worriedly.

Fang's eyes glinted. "I think my deck just got updated." He ran over to the saddlebag and opened it up, reaching in and pulling out his power cards. The entire deck was shining brilliantly.

"Updates!" Fang shouted excitedly. Hurrying over to the table, Spirit, Twilight and Spike watched as the green dragon gently placed the glowing deck on the tabletop, then flicked the top five cards off. His final act was to flip the cards face-up.

"No way!" Spike cried.

Fang put his elbows on the table, resting his head on his fists. "Yeah way. Seems that picnic connected us in more ways than one."

Twilight picked up one of the cards. The picture was a familiar yellow pegasus. "Fluttershy. This quiet but kind pegasus enjoys tending to animals. While she's timid, Fluttershy is a great friend and always tries to do her best. Wow, these cards just keep getting more amazing every time! They can summarize a pony in just a few sentences."

"So much we didn't know before," Spirit murmured, shaking his head and looking at another card. "Some thing are better kept secret, but the deck tries to avoid revealing really personal information." He read the card out loud. "Applejack. Diligent and honest, this pony and her family keep Sweet Apple Acres up and running. Whether its bucking apples or hanging out, Applejack is ready to roll. Rather to-the-point as expected, but accurate."

"Hmm." Spike picked up a card and frowned. "Rarity. Runs her own boutique in her home, Rarity likes things to be clean, pretty and proper. While she can be fussy at times, this unicorn is happy to help with a friend's problems." A dreamy look appeared on Spike's face. "Sooo true."

"They all seemed more 'filled-in' than ours," Fang noted, ignoring the other dragon's odd behavior. "Rainbow Dash. One of the fastest pegasi in Equestria, Rainbow likes to fly, fast, faster, fastest. That pretty much covers it, although she's competitive, loves winning and on occasion impulsive. Rainbow Dash puts the 'awe' in AWESOME. Hmph, card thinks its funny."

"Guess I'll read Pinkies card," Spirit said, leaning over to read it. "Pinkie Pie, full name Pinkamena Diane Pie. She is very excitable and has a love for fun and parties unmatched by anyone in the Republic. Even though she can be overly silly, Pinkie is very open and welcoming, ready to make a new friend at the drop of a horseshoe." Spirit sat down. His eyes had a faraway look to them. "So, we've advanced further."

"What do you mean, Spirit?" Twilight asked him while Fang gathered up the cards.

Spirit levitated the Poké Seal and placed it in the center of the table. "The deck has already singled out the ponies who we can relate to."

"That or it's reaching into our memories and plucking out the ponies we've interacted with the most," Fang said with a grin.

"Very clever." Spirit signaled for Twilight and Spike to sit down. "Somehow, for unknown reasons, there are always a select number of individuals in every world we go to who we seem to spend the most time with. They help us in our mission and introduce us to the workings of their world. Earth-shaking events are often centered around them too."

"You mean things like Nightmare Moon's return?" Spike asked.

"Exactly. It's these beings who stick with us through thick and thin. And it would seem that here in Equestria, those individuals are you and your friends."

Twilight's eyes sparkled. "Do you really think so?"

"I'm positive," Spirit confirmed. "The manifestations, while they enjoy causing trouble to just about anypony, seem to have a preference for those who are closest to me and Fang. The picnic was the beginning of our friendship and the manifestation we caught took it as a sign to intervene. For some reason though, it decided to talk first and fight second."

"Just like the manifestation in your vision!" Twilight remembered.

"It's not like these guys to get all chatty," Fang reminded. "Something must have happened to them to change their tactics, even ever so slightly."

"Maybe we could get the Princess's help on this," Spike suggested.

"The Princess!" Spirit and Twilight shouted together, shocking the two dragons into falling flat on their backs.

"We need to write to Princess Celestia about everything that's happened!" Twilight yelled, grabbing the stallion by the shoulders. "She must know about the threat of the manifestations. And I still haven't sent her my friendship report from yesterday!"

Spirit gently grasped Twilight's hooves. "I completely agree with you, Twilight, but you need to calm down." The purple unicorn slowly settled back onto the floor. She leaned back against the table. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you if I could send a letter along with your report, a message to the Princess from me."

Twilight thought for a moment. "Well, I guess we could send both scrolls together. What are you going to tell the Princess?"

"Everything. The manifestations, me and Fang, the Republic, all she'll need to know to help us out." He picked up the Seal and passed it between his hooves. "I don't think we should try sending the Seal along. It might open on the way."

"I'm not even sure that would even work," Twilight said.

"Why not?" Fang asked, confused. "How do you send your letters?"

Spike stepped forward proudly. "Princess Celestia enchanted my fire breath so that whenever Twilight needs to send her a friendship report, I burn the scroll with my dragon fire, then the ashes rematerialize wherever Princess Celestia is. Also, if the Princess has a message for Twilight, she can send it over with her magic."

"And where does it appear then?" Fang asked, more interested in that part for some reason.

"Oh..." Spike suddenly lost his confidence. "I, uh... belch it out."

Fang stared astounded in to space. He turned his gaze on Spirit and Twilight, the former eyeing him disinterestedly and the later staring unimpressed. "That is," he said, trying to hold back his mirth, "rather unique. And unusual. And hilarious."

"Well, I'm glad you had the decency not to crack up about it like you would usually do," Spirit said. "Now Twilight, how about those letters."

"Oh, right. Come on over here, Spirit." The two unicorns went over to the writing desk beside the window where two pieces of parchment were already laid out. "Spike, did you prepare everything ahead of time again?" Twilight questioned.

The purple dragon shrugged. "Thought you'd need it eventually, so I took care of it beforehand."

Twilight smiled. "Aww, thanks Spike." She levitated two quills and laid one by her parchment and one by Spirit's. "The inkwell's right there, so let's get started."

"This isn't a race," Spirit reminded her, "so no need to hurry. Take your time to fine-tune your message."

"You're right, but these letters to Celestia have to be written tonight."

Spirit levitated his quill. "Then let's get started."

Without another word, the two unicorns bent over their parchments and began to write. The only sound in the library was the scritching and scratching of the quills and the soft humming of the ponies as they wrote, each one engrossed in their own letter. Spike whispered to Fang so as not to disturb their friends. "This is gonna take forever, isn't it."

"Rubbish. They're just trying to make sure they mention everything and anything important. And that could take some time." The dragons waited patiently for Spirit and Twilight to finish penning their messages.

"Done!" the two unicorns cried out several minutes later, pulling away from the writing desk each with a piece of parchment. Twilight picked up her friendship report from the previous day and wrapped it inside her new letter.

"Feels good to be writing with quills again," Spirit said, carefully reviewing his letter. "It's been a while since I last did."

"What kind of things did you write?" Spike asked

"Big, heavy scrolls that needed to be wrapped around two separate wooden rods because each one is about one-hundred forty feet long."

"Not to mention they often get carried around a lot and 140 feet of parchment plus two wooden poles are, as Spirit said, very heavy," Fang added.

Twilight was amazed. "How many of these scrolls exist?"

"Hundreds. Communities worldwide use them, sometimes having more than one." Spirit looked out the window at Ponyville. "Maybe I'll start writing one here in Equestria. It'll be a good pastime."

"I'd sure like to see how you work," Twilight said, "but we should probably get our letter to the Princess."

Spirit gave Twilight his message. "Okay Spike," Twilight called as she sealed the two finished scrolls, one extra inside her own. "It's time to show Spirit and Fang what you can do." She hoofed over the scrolls to Spike.

"Let's do this thing." Spike held the scrolls in front of him and blew a jet of green flame. The parchment instantly caught fire and disintegrated, the ashes flying out the window Twilight just opened. Spirit and Fang hurried over to the window and watched as the trail of smoke and paper bits flew off towards a city on the side of a mountain.

Fang gazed at the far-off mountain in awe. "What is that?"

"That's Canterlot," Twilight replied, slowly closing the window as the three of them returned to the table. "That's where Princess Celestia lives. It's also where I used to live and study magic until she asked I continue here in Ponyville."

"Do you regret agreeing to her decision?" Spirit asked with a hint of concern. "Living far from your family and friends?"

Twilight stared back, slightly shocked at his unexpected question. "Like I said, I never really had any friends back in Canterlot or in school, and I definitely never thought of disagreeing with the Princess. Anyways, I know she wouldn't make me do something that would make me feel uncomfortable. Besides, me, my parents and my brother are still in contact, even if it is mostly via letters."

"Of course," agreed Spirit, though there was still a thoughtful look in his eye.

"Okay, moving on!" Fang shouted. "What are we gonna do about the manifestations? They could be anywhere by now!"

"We can't do anything until they come out into the open. We need a lead so let's wait." Spirit went over to the bookshelf and got down 'The Magic Instructor'. "Also, I'd like to get a move on in my own studies."

Twilight immediately became excited. "Yay, back to learning!"

"Can unicorns teleport?" Spirit asked her as she joined him by the book, which he lay on the table and opened it to the spot they had stopped at. "Teleportation is something I understand and I was wondering—"

"Yes, to answer your question, unicorns can teleport." Twilight flipped several pages. "We can always go back to those later. Ah, here it is." With the right page open, Twilight and Spirit began a conversation discussing the transfer of matter from one place to another instantaneously, each one with their own sources.

Spike stumbled clumsily over to the two ponies, faceplanting on the table. "I don't know about you guys," Spike mumbled through the wood, "but I'm exhausted."

Spirit pulled the dragon's face of the table and held Spike out in front of him. "Fang," Spirit called over to him, "could you go put Spike to sleep? Try the BNSG Sleep Wave."

Fang rubbed his claws together. "Been a while since I tried, but it should work fine." He threw the prostrate but still-conscious dragon over his shoulder and marched upstairs.

"What's he going to do to Spike?" Twilight asked Spirit.

"Just a little sleeping trick we learned when we were younger. Come on, let's go watch."

Shrugging, Twilight followed Spirit up to the bedroom, where Fang was setting Spike up in front of his basket bed. The purple dragon's eyes were droopy, but still very much open. "Alright, we're all set," Fang told the ponies. "Let's see if I still remember how to do this." He raised his claw and pushed it in front of Spike's face, waving it back and forth as he counted. "One. Two. Three." On three, Spike's eyes shut and he fell backwards, landing softly on his bed where he began to snore.

Twilight and Spirit stomped their hooves as quietly as they could. "That was amazing, Fang!" Twilight whispered so as not to wake Spike. "How did you do it?"

Fang just smiled. "Science." Then he gave Spirit a fist-hoof bump.

"We should get back to our studies, Twilight," Spirit reminded her.

"You guys think I can join you?" Fang pleaded. "I haven't had a good magic discussion since we got here and that's far too long to be going without it."

"I agree," Twilight said. "Come on. We've got some modes of instantaneous transportation to talk about!"

"Yay!"

"Let's do this!"

The three friends proceeded down the library steps to continue where Spirit and Twilight left off, Spike sleeping soundly above them. With the memories of recent events and thoughts of possible outcomes, they spent the rest of the day conversing about the many different types of magic available to unicorns in Equestria. Only one thing kept nagging at the back of their heads.

I wonder what the Princess will think of all this.

Coming Clean through Closed Doors

Equestria's capital, the grand city of Canterlot, was built on the side of a mountain in the center of the land. The royal castle sat at the very edge of the city, in a place most ponies would think it leaning dangerously over the mountainside but was in fact perfectly safe. In the throne room, Princess Celestia was looking over the latest reports from the surrounding pony settlements.

Manehatten is in need of road repairs, Saddle Arabia's reporting of dragon sightings and swarms of unidentified insect-like creatures were found a few miles from Fillydelphia. What to do, what to do...

For the last one thousand years, Celestia has been ruling Equestria all on her own, since her sister Luna was trapped in the moon along with a very powerful fit of jealousy she accidentally created in her attempt to gain respect for her work. Only recently had she returned but Luna no longer felt she was fit to govern Equestria at all anymore. So Celestia continued to carry out the royal duties, listening and helping the various pony settlements in need and raising the sun and moon at dawn and dusk. It was never too taxing but now that Luna was back to her old self, Celestia was really wishing they'd be able to rule together again but ever since they got back to the castle, Luna had shut herself in her room, not even coming out for dinner. The only ones who ever saw her nowadays were her personal guards who stood outside her door, keeping everypony and anypony from entering without her permission. It saddened Celestia to see her sister like this but she knew Luna would come out of it eventually.

Oh well, there's no point in trying to hurry her along, Celestia reasoned. She'll come out whenever she's ready. She glanced again at the town reports and sighed. Although I do wish she were here to help me. Luna did enjoy this kind of work for some reason. Probably because she always has a solution. Celestia looked to her right, the very place Luna used to stand beside her. I'll never understand why she preferred standing. If she'd like one now, I'll gladly get her a throne of her own. She's more than deserving of one. The white alicorn groaned. All this thinking about her sister was not going to help the Manehatten ponies fix the potholes in the city streets, but she couldn't help but worry. When Nightmare Moon was defeated, she'd left Luna in a weak state. So weak that she had to revert to a younger stage of her life. Stripped of her former age and size, Luna no longer felt she could face the ponies of Equestria again. All this worrying was keeping Celestia from her duties. Okay, as soon as I'm done here, I'll go see Luna. No more waiting. I must speak with her.

The Princess was just about to calculate how many bits Manehatten would need when the doors of the throne room burst open. Standing in the entrance was one of Luna's guards. Celestia immediately straightened up. Why would the guard leave Luna? She cleared her throat and called over to the guard. "What happened? Is something wrong?"

The stallion galloped forwards, stopping before the throne. He kneeled and removed his helmet, as was the guard's custom. "Your Highness. It's your sister. She requests that you come at once."

Celestia threw the scroll aside and and stood up. "Lead the way!" she commanded the guard.

Donning his helmet, the bat-winged stallion turned tail and began to run, Celestia close behind him. Countless thoughts were running through her head. Was Luna okay? What did she see? Why was she willing to speak with her now? None of these were putting her at ease as she and the guard galloped through the castle corridors on their way to Luna's private chamber. Upon arrival, Celestia immediately noticed the difference. The usually calm and unmoving bat-pony guards were disturbed and agitated, walking back and forth in front of the door instead of standing stoically beside it. The guard that reported to Celestia stepped forwards and the other guards let him pass, standing in two lines and making a path towards the door. The guard walked over to the door and gently tapped on it with an armored hoof.

"Yes?" called a quiet voice from inside. There was no doubting it was Luna.

"Your sister, Princess Celestia, is here your Highness" replied the guard.

"Thank you. You may return to your post now."

The guard backed away from the door with his head bowed, he and the other bat ponies taking positions throughout the hall. Celestia stepped forwards nervously and rapped lightly on the door. "Luna?" she called. "Are you in there?"

"Yes Tia," came the reply.

Tia. It's been a long time since anypony called Celestia by that name. At least a thousand years. "You wanted to speak with me?" Celestia continued.

There was a short silence before Luna answered. "Yes."

"May I come in?" she asked hopefully.

Luna's pause was longer this time, during which Celestia glanced at the guards on both sides of her. They had regained their impassive composure, standing stock-still but some couldn't hide a concerned frown at the thought of their charge. Finally Luna replied. "Alright."

Sighing gratefully, Celestia slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. Luna's room was well kept in her absence and with her return was restored to be liveable again. The books were ordered on the shelves, the wardrobe and side-table as good as the day they were made, the fourposter bed tidy and made. And that was were Luna lay. Her coat was a grayish blue and her mane, now a light azure, was shorted and no longer flowed like it once did. Her crown and collar were left on her bedside table, her shoes right beneath them. Luna's expression was troubled, her eyes sad and her head laid down against the covers of her bed.

Celestia didn't like seeing her sister like this. Stepping over to the bed she asked gently, "What did you want to see me about, Luna?"

Luna raised her head and looked Celestia in the eye. "Have you been watching the dreamscape in my absence?" she asked quietly.

Crouching beside the bed, Celestia replied. "Every evening, as soon as I'd finished raising the moon, I'd peer into the dreamscape just as you would have."

"And nothing seemed out of place? No disturbances for a thousand years?"

"Not a thing."

The smaller pony frowned and laid her head back down. "That's strange. Very strange." Luna's expression was now one of unease.

"Why is that, Luna?" Celestia inquired.

"Because last night, I decided to visit the dreamscape myself. And there was something there."

Celestia's heart sank. She was sure she was more than capable of watching over the dreamscape in Luna's 1000 year absence but she'd relaxed too soon. The minute she let her guard down things started going wrong. "What was it?"

"I'm not so sure, everything was so confusing," Luna admitted. "When I entered the dreamscape, I immediately felt a presence. Two separate ones actually. Something was going on between them and it was causing a disturbance in the dreamscape, so I went to check it out. There was a fight going on between two beings, the likes of which I've never seen before, in Equestria or the dreamscape."

"What did they look like?" Celestia asked.

"They were both bipedal. One was made up of black smoke, the other had pale brown skin and was wrapped in a cloak. I couldn't hear what they were saying at first and then they started fighting. By the time I'd gotten close enough to listen, the smaller cloaked one had pinned the smokey guy to the ground. Most of what they said made no sense but from what I understood, the smoke being was just one of many creatures of its kind now roaming Equestria. It then turned into a pegasus, its body still made up of smoke. That's when I decided to stop it and I blasted the pegasus."

Celestia draped a white wing over her sister. "That kind of attack requires a lot of energy. You shouldn't be overexerting yourself while you're still recovering."

Luna shrugged. "It worked though. The pegasus vanished. And I was close enough to see the other guy better. I guessed it was a male of its species, but like I said he was very powerful. He had more energy inside him than he should have been able to hold."

"Did he speak?"

"Yes. He was suspicious of me. He seemed to think that he was the only one who knew of the dreamscape and how to enter it."

"I'm already surprised he could get in," Celestia remarked. "Whoever he is."

"Like I said, he's strong. I didn't know what to do from there so I carefully replayed his last memories as best as I could without him noticing. His mind was almost impenetrable and whatever I found was blurry. But what I manged to gather was this: his body is in Ponyville."

Celestia began to pace Luna's room. Everything her sister had seen in the dreamscape must be important. The dreamscape, also called the lunar plane, was a trans-dimensional layer connected to Equestria. In the past, Luna used the dreamscape to watch over their subjects, making sure their dreams didn't trouble them. Yet here was someone who could access the dreamscape seemingly at will for an unknown purpose. All of a sudden Celestia felt her horn starting up by itself.

"What's going on?" Luna cried, unfamiliar with this new spell.

"Homing-teleportation spell," Celestia explained. "It was developed a while ago. The spell is used on two separate targets, which then allows objects to be sent between the two. This spell happens to connect my horn with my student's assistant's fire breath." Celestia gasped, her horn flared and two scrolls appeared out of thin air.

Luna stared at the floating scrolls. "Nice magic," she said admirably.

"Thank you." Celestia opened the larger of the two scrolls, which had a second message attached to it. "It's from Twilight Sparkle. Would you like to hear it?" she asked Luna.

"Okay," the Night Princess replied.

Celestia cleared her throat and read. "Dear Princess Celestia. A lot has been going on in Ponyville lately. You probably heard about the meteor that crashed just outside of town? Well, you won't believe it, but there were humans inside the meteor! They are taller than most ponies, but probably shorter than you. Their skin is light brown and their manes are darker and shorter."

The two royal sisters exchanged looks. Could these humans be the same type of being as the person in the dreamscape? Celestia read on. "They have interesting names though. One of them is called Avi, the other calls himself Six-Thirteen. Definitely not of pony origin. When they crashed, they'd received some serious wounds and asked for me and Spike to help them out. The one named 613 somehow used my magic to weave a spell of his own. I didn't think that was possible! The results were spectacular, beyond most things I'd ever seen. But he's probably written about that in his letter, which was sent alongside this one, so in order to save you the bother of reading the same story twice, I'll stop mine early.
Hope you're doing well and please give my regards to your sister Princess Luna.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle."

Celestia looked up from Twilight's letter. She's already made contact with these humans who came in the meteor. Her friendship studies must have contributed to her social skills.

Luna climbed off the bed and walked around to stand by Celestia. "Look, there's a PS beside the second message!"

"P.S: Attached to this letter is my friendship report from yesterday. I apologize that it's late. There's been a barnload of crazy things going on around here." Celestia unrolled the second parchment and scanned it quickly. "A very valuable lesson," she exclaimed. "Wouldn't you agree Luna?"

"Yes. Remembering to never lose faith in your friends is always important." Her eyes fell upon the second scroll. Luna activated her magic and lifted the scroll to their eye-level. "Do you think this one is from the human 613?"

"It would seem so," Celestia answered, then added, "Why don't you read it?"

Luna smiled at her older sister. "I'd be glad to." She opened the scroll and started to read.

"To Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.
You don't know me and I don't know you, but I hope we might be able to change that in the near future. As Twilight may have told you in her letter, my companion and I have traveled to Equestria inside a meteor, which crashed right outside of Ponyville. While no ponies were hurt, the two of us were fatally injured and it might have been the end of us had it not been for your amazing student and her faithful dragon friend. They lent me the resources I required to preform a transformation which restored our strength and healed us by turning me into a unicorn and my friend into a dragon. Don't worry, we've taken stranger forms than these.
The reason we came to Equestria is this: we come from another world, another dimension, one of many that exist in the universe. In our world we formed a community of all kinds of beings, all living together in harmony. We travel to other worlds in search of people, or ponies, who would like to join us. On most every occasion, we had successfully made new friends wherever we went. Unfortunately, all that good has some bad as well.
Where we come from, evil and sin manifests itself into conscious collections of dark matter which then go around wreaking havoc and strewing chaos wherever they go. Part of our community's mission is to track down these manifestations and expel them from the worlds they enter. Apparently, when my friend Fang and I entered Equestria, an unknown number of manifestations followed us through and are now spread out across the land. Fang and I intend to stay in Ponyville with your student Twilight and her friends while we capture the manifestations until we can find a way to send them back to our world, where they'll cause considerably less trouble then they would in Equestria.
One thing I believe we could both benefit from is a meeting with each other. Whenever you feel like you could spare some time for speaking with me, I would very much appreciate knowing of it.
I look forward to a reply at your convenience.

Spirit Guide."

Luna showed Celestia the letter, her eyes wide. "Well," she said, trying to keep a calm tone, "that was quite a lot of information."

"Yes it was," agreed Celestia. "This Spirit Guide may very well be the being from the dreamscape. Adding this to Twilight's letter, I think we can conclude that he is—or at least was—a human."

"And the black creature?" Luna said. "Could it be one of these manifestations he mentioned?"

"It is possible." Celestia took another look at the letter. "He would like to speak with us. Do you think you're ready to come out?"

Luna looked away. Her unsure expression returned as she climbed back onto her bed. "I've been gone for a thousand years, Tia. Before that, me and my guards were shunned, rejected and feared. I don't know if any of that will have changed."

"Spirit Guide is probably not like anypony native to Equestria," Celestia recalled. "I'm sure he'll see your bright side and the importance of your role."

The smaller alicorn rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know. I just don't know...."

We're not getting anywhere, Celestia realized. Maybe I should just leave her a bit longer to consider. "I've got to get back to work now, Luna. Apparently, Manehatten just got more potholes during the last few hundred years," she added with a smirk.

Luna gave a small smile. Celestia pushed on. "Promise me you'll give it some thought?"

"I'll think about it." Luna twisted around so that she was facing her pillow. "Just another thing I'll be pondering, here all by my lonesome."

"I'll leave you to it then." Celestia levitated the two letters and made for the door. She stopped and turned around. "Luna?" she asked.

Luna turned her head so that one cerulean eye was fixed upon her sister's visible magenta one. "Yes?"

Celestia smiled. Her smile seemed to warm up the room. "It was nice talking with you."

The Night Princess smiled genuinely this time. "You too."

Celestia stepped outside of the room and closed the door behind her. She was feeling much better now that she'd finally spoken with Luna as well as cleared up a few other mysteries. She began to make her way back to the throne room, Luna's bat-pony guards shifting into their posts behind her, sturdy and expressionless as ever. When she arrived at the throne room, she found her secretary Raven waiting there.

Raven jumped to her feet when Celestia appeared at the door. "Your Majesty!" she called, running towards her as fast as she could. "I'm so glad to see you're all right. I was worried when I came in here and you weren't around, I was beginning to think maybe—"

"Don't worry, Raven," Celestia said softly. Raven was a bit over-concerned at times, but she made up for it with her quick organizing skills that were rivaled only by Twilight herself. "I was merely visiting my sister.

"Oh. I see....." She seemed to be at a loss for words. "Well, I-um, I just wanted to, uh..... how is she?"

"Much better, thank you for asking."

"Does that mean she's finally come to her senses and has decided to—"

"I'm afraid not, Raven," Celestia said gravelly, interrupting her secretary's stream of words again. "She still does not feel prepared."

Raven sighed. "I guess we'll have to consider the need for smooth Manehatten roads without her. She did like this kind of work, she did...."

"Wait a minute, Raven." Celestia levitated the two scrolls she'd got from Ponyville. "Before we attend to the needs of Manehatten, tell me: did you hear of the meteorite impact from yesterday?"

The white unicorn looked up at Celestia. "Yes, I did. In fact, I'd received word that a group of renowned archaeologists went there to study and examine the crater."

Celestia seated herself upon her throne, opening the letters again. "Then we have much to discuss."

Raven seized a writing desk from behind the raised dais the throne was built on. "Ready whenever you are, your Highness."

Author's Notes:

Sorry about the relatively short-in-comparison chapter. I've taken on way too many fimfics right now. The ideas just come to me then I file them away to work on later

You Snooze, You Lose

"Okay Spirit. One more time."

Spirit's face was drenched in sweat. He wasn't used to using so much magic yet, but he pushed on and gave it another burst. His crooked staff, which he was levitating between himself and Twilight, spun around in endless circles, the glowing sphere near the top drawing a ring inside the loop.

Twilight clopped her hooves together. "Good job Spirit!" She turned around to an open book on the table and checked the last box on the page. "That's all the levitation practices aced."

The black unicorn sat down on the floor, massaging his slightly heated horn. He'd only been in Equestria a week but he'd already learned so much from Twilight. He glanced over at the table where Princess Celestia's reply was laid out. Her letter back to them was brief and to-the-point, congratulating Twilight on her friendship report and welcoming Spirit and Fang to Equestria. She'd acknowledged the threat of the manifestations and granted the two newcomers permission to continue searching for them and doing their best to protect as many ponies as possible. Concerning an audience, the Princess explained that Luna was not yet ready to see anypony, let alone meet with them, but she would notify them when her sister was willing. Since then, Spirit had spent the last few days reading up on everything he could, hanging out with his new pony friends and practicing magic with Twilight.

"Keep this up and you'll be using your magic as if it were second-nature to you!" Twilight announced happily.

"It'll certainly help if I'm able to use my unicorn magic like my old powers," Spirit replied. "I'll need every bit of experience I can get if I'm going to start catching manifestations."

Twilight shrugged. "There's nothing we can really do about it," she pointed out. "Like you said, we have no way of tracking manifestations down. So instead of worrying, let's move onto our next lesson." She levitated a number of books of one of the shelves and plopped them down in front of Spirit.

The stallion sized up the stack of tomes and began reading the titles. "Basic Transformation Spells, Elemental Magic for Starters, Mastering Hooves and the Art of Mouth Writing. Wait, what?" Spirit squinted at the title of the book. He lifted his head and stared blankly at Twilight. "Seriously?"

"All ponies start learning to write at a very young age," Twilight replied sincerely. "Even us unicorns learn. It's a useful skill to have when you're multitasking, which I find myself doing a lot. As for hoofwork, you might want to hone your skills a bit further, just in case."

"Sound right. Better safe than sorry." Spirit peered out the window at the slowly-darkening sky. "Is there any reason the pegasi are unusually active today, filling the sky with rainclouds?"

"They were supposed to give us a sprinkle last week," Twilight said, putting the levitation books back on the shelf, "so they're making up for it with a nice shower now."

"He causes the wind to blow and the rain to descend," Spirit recited. "Dew and rain for blessing. That's what we would say during the winter, when we asked the Lord for the blessing of rain. But in Equestria, that blessing comes through the pegasi in His stead."

"You've got quite an interesting way to look at the world," Twilight commented.

Spirit shrugged. "To me, it's the only way to look at the world." His eyes did a quick scan of the library interior. "Where are Spike and Fang?" he asked Twilight.

"Spike told me the two of them were going out for some 'dragon time' or something like that," Twilight replied. "He's never really had another dragon to talk to, especially one close to his own age. The only other dragon we've had anywhere near Ponyville was huge and snored copious amounts of smoke which were causing us some distress."

"I'm glad Spike finds a close companion in Fang," Spirit said.

"Close companion?" Twilight chuckled. "Fang's like a role model to him!"

Spirit grinned and shook his head. "Let's just hope he doesn't get too much from him. Fang has a tendency to go over the top with things." He left the window and poked at his saddlebags, which lay by the stairs. Inside was the Seal containing the manifestation they'd caught a few days ago. "I do wish the Princesses would agree to meet with us. I feel the need to tell them like an itch I can't scratch."

"I know that feeling," Twilight said, sympathizing with her friend, "but we can't rush Princess Luna. When she's ready to meet you, Celestia will tell us and you'll be able to tell them all about the manifestations and your world."

"And in the meantime," Spirit announced brightly, "I'm going to go down to Sweet Apple Acres so I can give their produce a kosher approval." When he saw Twilight's confused face, he explained. "As the Republic's mashgiach, or supervisor, it's my job to make sure all and any food we have follows our standards and customs. I fully trust the Apple family, but laws are laws and I gotta follow them. Also, it means I'll be able to stop worrying about the stuff I put in my mouth."

Twilight nodded. "Alright then. We're done studying for today anyway, but try and be back before the storm blows. I don't want you getting caught out in the rain."

"It shouldn't take long," Spirit promised. "Applejack is out cleaning up the park but her brother Big Mainctosh has agreed to show me around."

"You'd best be off then," Twilight said, walking him to the door. "Have a great time!" she called out as he left the library.

"Don't work to hard Twilight!" Spirit called back. Once he'd gone ten feet and Twilight had closed the door behind him, he trotted off towards Sweet Apple Acres, whistling his favorite tune.

*

"Check, check and check. You've got quite a setup here, Big Mac. And Apple Bloom, thanks for helping out"

Big Macintosh smiled. He'd been working on the farm since he was a little colt and knew every inch of the place. Normally Applejack handled visits from other ponies who came to inspect but since she was out preparing Ponyville for the downpour, he'd offered to give Spirit a tour of the place, showing him how they tended and harvested their orchards and gardens. "Eeyup," he said.

"Your welcome," Apple Bloom said happily. When the youngest Apple family member heard that her brother was showing somepony around, she'd thought it to be the perfect opportunity to try and earn her cutie mark, which had she did not yet have. Apple Bloom had joined Big Mac and Spirit around the farm, helping her brother explain some of the workings. She turned her head and looked at her flank expectantly. "Ah man," she sighed when she saw only her smooth yellow flank. "Nothin' from that."

Spirit smiled at the filly. "Don't worry, Apple Bloom. It'll come in time." Turning to Big Macintosh, he said, "Well, I'm content." He pulled a sheet of parchment form his clipboard and stuck it on a wooden board. "Sweet Apple Acres has passed the Republic's Approval Inspection. Now there's no problem for us to buy and eat your products."

"Thanks," Big Macintosh said leisurely.

Spirit smiled. "My pleasure. You might not understand the importance of the approval, but rest assured it will make things easier for others."

"Eeyup."

"Right then," Spirit said, giving the certificate to the red stallion. "I'd best be off now. Twilight wants me back before the storm hits." He started for the gate, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom waving goodbye, and was about to open it when something fuzzy and cyan slammed into him at a ridiculously high speed. Spirit was sent flying until a tree ended his short flight and showered the ground with nuts. The dark-blue unicorn shook his head, lights flashing before his eyes. "Rainbow Dash," he scowled. "What was that all about?"

The cyan pegasus on the ground in front of him grinned and shook her wings free of leaves. "Oops, sorry Spirit. I was just spreading the last few clouds over Sweet Apple Acres for the big storm. My team was a bit put-upon and we still didn't get any cover around here, so I instructed them to keep working and hurried here as fast as I could. Guess I was going too fast."

"You guessed right." Spirit pulled Rainbow up and Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom came galloping over to see what had happened.

"You okay?" Big Mac asked.

"Nothing broken," Spirit replied. "How about you, Rainbow?"

Puffing up her chest, Rainbow Dash said, "It'll take more than bumping into somepony like that to bruise me." And she took off, flying several time around the three ponies and the nut tree before coming in to land in the same spot. "See?"

"Point made. I guess you're made of tougher stuff. Back in the Republic, almost everyone has a resistance of sorts, ranging from—what is it, Apple Bloom?" he asked when the filly nudged him lightly.

"Uh, Ah don't me to interrupt you an' all, Spirit, but—" She pointed at the sky.

All three ponies looked up. The clouds that filled the sky overhead where darkening and the wind began to blow. Within seconds, drops began to fall, growing larger and larger. A minute later, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

"Mother of the Ten Plagues!" Spirit hollered over the roar of the wind. "This is one heck of a storm!"

"We gotta get out of the rain!" Rainbow yelled.

"Inside!" Big Macintosh shouted. He ran for the farmhouse, Spirit, Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom right behind him. They rushed inside and slammed the door behind them, everypony soaking wet.

Granny Smith, who had been asleep in the rocking chair when Big Mac and Apple Bloom were showing Spirit the farm, was now awake and frowning at the weather. "Them pegasi sure outdid themselves this time, eh?" she chuckled.

"That ain't funny Granny," Apple Bloom whined. "Applejack hasn't come back yet."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't 't come back at all," Spirit said, pulling back the curtains and looking out the window. In one minute, droplets had become buckets and the rain was now so intense it formed huge pools of water on the ground. "She probably took shelter in somepony's home, like we did."

"Ugh!" Rainbow groaned. "Does this mean we're stuck here for the night?"

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said plainly.

Apple Bloom cheered. "Alright! We've got guests!" She started hopping around the group, crying out happily.

"The two of ya can sleep down here tonight," Granny Smith said to Rainbow and Spirit. "We kin pull out a couple of them old mattresses we got lying around. Nopony uses them nowadays."

"Thank you for agreeing to hosting us on such short notice," Spirit said appreciatively while Big Macintosh went to get the mattresses.

Rainbow glanced out the window glumly. "You know, I can probably fly home in this, it's just a little rain," she said confidently. Over-confidently. And Spirit picked up on that immediately. Also her inching towards the door made it all too obvious.

"Oh, no you don't," the black unicorn said, clutching her many-hued tail in his magical blue grasp and reeling her in beside him. "I'm not gonna have one of my friends go out in this downpour. The wind's too strong and you can't see far enough to get your bearings. You're staying here and that's final, even if I have to shackle you to the couch."

"Hey, chill Spirit," Rainbow said defensively, flicking her freed tail at him. "I was just kidding."

"Flying out in the rain isn't something to kid about." Spirit was silent as he listened to the sound of the storm raging outside. "I just hope Spike and Fang are alright."

"They probably ducked into somepony's home, just like we did," Rainbow quoted him. "Don't worry too much about it, Spirit. They're fine."

Apple Bloom flung herself between the two ponies. "Does this mean we get to stay up late and have fun?" she asked hopefully.

"Nnope," came Big Macintosh's answer from the stairway. Dragging on the stairs behind him were two large mattresses, clearly underused but in prime condition. "Already past your bedtime. Off you go."

"Aww." Apple Bloom pouted and looked at her brother with large doe-eyes. The red stallion didn't even twitch. "Fine," she said. Admitting defeat, the Apple filly said goodnight to the other ponies and went upstairs.

Big Macintosh laid the mattresses on the floor, throwing blankets and pillows on top of them. "That oughta keep you nice an' cozy tonight," Granny said, moving to pull the curtains over the window. "We should all turn in, get some nice shuteye, then in the morni—" She stopped and looked out the window, frozen in place.

"Hey, Ganny Smith," Rainbow yelled, wondering if the old mare was a bit deaf.

Big Macintosh joined Granny at the window and looked out as well. His eyes flew open. "Uh oh," he said, staring out at the rain.

"What's going on?" Spirit asked, stepping towards the window with Rainbow. The two ponies peered outside and gasped. Running around the edge of the farm, right behind the fence, was a shadowy black form. The rain distorted what they saw but the shape was roughly that of a pony. However, speculation on which pony it was ended the moment the figure glanced at the weather-vane atop the farmhouse, revealing its glowing red eyes and bright fangs.

"A manifestation!" Rainbow Dash whispered.

"A whut now?" Granny whispered back. "An' why you being so quiet?" Big Macintosh leaned in and told her what Spirit had explained about the manifestations to him while showing the unicorn around the farm. Granny Smith looked a bit alarmed as the facts were laid out. "Ya don't say? Maybe we should stay inside an' hope whoever that is'll just be on his way."

"That would probably be for the best," Spirit agreed. He'd noticed something off about the creature in the distance. He'd only seen two manifestations in pony form, but he saw something in this one's eyes he did not expect to see in a manifestation: shame. And its eyes stopped glowing for a second as they suddenly changed from red to grey. A sparkling, silvery grey.

Before Spirit could further address this strange sight, Rainbow said, "Look! It's leaving!"

The ponies looked out at the dark equine figure beside the gate, which suddenly took off and galloped towards the Everfree Forest. Within seconds, it was swallowed up by the deluge and the darkness pervading the woods.

Big Macintosh and Granny Smith sighed with relief. "Well, that's that!" Rainbow Dash said cheerily. "Let's get some shuteye." She turned towards the beds laid out for her and Spirit and was about to plonk herself down on one of them when she saw the black unicorn trot past her in the direction of the door. "Oy Spirit!" she yelled. "Where're you off to?"

Spirit turned. Rainbow had gotten the attention of Granny Smith and Big Mac and all three ponies were now staring at him. He sighed. "I'm going after the manifestation," he said simply.

"What?!" Rainbow demanded, flying right up to his face. "You told me off for trying to leave in the rain and now you're going out yourself? And into the Everfree Forest on top of that?!"

"Listen! That manifestation is up to something and I need to know what. I've already told Princess Celestia about them and I can't let them run around causing trouble if I can stop them, even if there's a storm outside." Ignoring the rest of Rainbow Dash's ranting, Spirit unlocked the door and peered out at the edge of the woods through the rain. He could barely make out where the forest started. "Don't come after me!" he added, and he leapt through the doorway and into the storm.

The rain was coming down so fast and hard, it was difficult for Spirit to move. He looked around for some cover and saw a couple of old boards, which were splintered and no good for being part of the barn wall but perfect for his needs, so he picked them up with his magic and held them over his head to keep the rain off, allowing him to see farther ahead. Lightning flashed again, closely followed by the rumbling thunder. It's a good thing I got in some practice with Twilight, he thought, silently thanking her. Otherwise I may not have been able to even hold these boards over my head.

With the boards protecting him, Spirit quickly made his way to the Everfree Forest. He stood at the entrance to the dark woods, throwing the thoroughly-soaked boards aside, no longer needing them because the trees were so big they blocked out almost all the rain. Now, where did it go? Spirit wondered. The Everfree was huge from what he'd seen on the maps in the library and there wasn't any real path marked on them either. Guess I'll just go straight and hope to run into something.

Spirit began to walk through the forest. At first he felt like a trespasser, a stranger in a land he was unfamiliar with. But after a while, he got used to the bizarre plants that made up the woods. Once or twice, he could've sworn he heard something rustling in the distance or saw twinkling eyes through the bushes, but nothing harassed him.

"Come on, come on, where are you?" Spirit mumbled to himself. If he stayed out here any longer, he'd be sure to catch a cold. "Man, I wish I knew how to create fire with magic." He continued through the Everfree Forest, admiring a patch of of blue flowers, when he heard a low chuckle.

"Let's see," he said comically. "Who in their right mind would produce such an evil sound?" Smirking in spite of himself, Spirit plowed through the foliage in the direction of the noise. After pushing past numerous shrubs, he found himself on the edge of a clearing. On one side of the glade was a dark unicorn manifestation. His mane and tail, like the other one, were long, inky black and flowing. His red eyes glinted with a malice the pegasus manifestation couldn't have hoped to display. His cutie mark was a crack between two cliffs. This was clearly a force to be reckoned with but it wasn't the manifestation from the farm.

On the other side of the clearing was a...... well, Spirit couldn't tell what it was because of the cloak it was wearing, much like his own except it was brown instead of black. But he could tell it was a pony, or something like a pony. It had four hooves tucked away beneath the folds of its cloak and wore a number of gold bangles on its front right leg. What little he could see of its coat was light gray.

"So," the manifestation said to the cloaked pony. Its voice sounded adult, even if the manifestation itself was anywhere between five days to five centuries old. "You probably know the workings of this land far better than those ponies do."

The pony didn't react. The manifestation didn't seem bothered by that. "Oh, I get it. You resent them. They shun you merely because you are different. I completely understand."

"If that is what you believe, than you are a fool. That I would give in to you like an inanimate tool." The pony, who was undoubtedly a mare, spoke with a foreign accent Spirit couldn't quite recognize, but its rhyme was flawless which was something he admired.

"Don't get fancy with me, stripes," the manifestation growled. "I don't have time for your shenanigans. Now you're going to tell me what I want to know or I'll have no choice but to teach you who's the boss."

"Your plans are clearly to cause others trouble. I will not assist and make it double," the pony rhymed.

"Quit horsing around!" the unicorn snarled. The storm seemed the strengthen as he spoke "I'm getting sick and tired of your couplets. Now out with it!"

Instead of replying, the mare turned away from the manifestation and prepared to leave the glade. Roaring like an angry beast, the manifestation leapt after her. Spirit summoned his staff and was about to jump into the fray when a second manifestation, this one he recognized instantly as the one they saw at the farm, leapt past him and tackled the unicorn, sending the both of them tumbling around the clearing.

Spirit gasped and the mare turned. Her eyes glowed yellow in the darkness and a confused frown decorated her muzzle. Spirit stared silently back at her while the manifestations fought a few feet away. Then, without another word, the mare turned-tail and fled into the forest. Spirit had half a mind to chase after her, but his mission was to catch the manifestations. "Soon," he said to himself, watching the mare's grey-and-white tail vanish between the trees. "Very soon." Then he turned towards the fight.

His first reaction was stunned silence. Spirit had never seen anything like it before. The two manifestations were bounding back and forth, biting and kicking each other. The unicorn kept lobbing crackling balls of dark energy while the other manifestation, a pegasus, used his wings to dodge his attacks in the air.

"Traitor!" the unicorn manifestation snarled. "You aren't fit to serve your purpose!"

"Our mission is to thwart the prophet!" the pegasus yelled back. "Leave the rest alone."

"Why should we? There's nothing to gain from being merciful to anything that gets in our way. You should know that by now, youngling."

The pegasus looked disappointed. "If battering down any being that blocks a straight line to our goal is our way," he said sadly, eyeing the pitch-black unicorn below with sorrow, "then I don't want any part of it anymore." He landed in the middle of the clearing, not five feet away from where Spirit was hiding.

The unicorn manifestation contemplated what the pegasus had just said. "So," he said with a smirk. "You think you can throw away your very existence and hope to live out a normal life? Just do away with all that makes you up? All that evil and villainy that gives you life?"

The pegasus was silent. He let his wings fall to his sides and sighed. Spirit couldn't believe what he was seeing. How can it possibly even think of abandoning evil? he wondered. It's entire being is composed of sin. Nevertheless, here it was, happening before his eyes. He carefully began to consider his options.

"Yes," the pegasus said, raising its head confidently. "I'm done spending my days chasing down what we deem a threat. The prophet isn't a problem, he's a part of the solution. But it's monsters like you who make this world and other worlds bad places. Creatures like us," he added sadly, looking down at his dark hooves.

"Well then," the unicorn said, his voice dripping with venom. "If you're not going to fulfill your purpose of spreading darkness, then I guess there's no need for your existence." He reared, his head raised high and his horn flashing, whinnied angrily and sent a funnel of crackling dark energy towards the pegasus.

Spirit had seen and heard enough. Jumping into the glade, he positioned himself in front of the pegasus, swung his staff at the funnel like a baseball bat and deflected it at a tree, which dissolved into black dust.

The unicorn's eyes went wide. "Who—" he stammered. But Spirit didn't give him time to talk. Mustering as much of his magic as he could, he fired a bolt of blue energy from his horn, up along the side of his staff, and into the manifestation's chest. The inky unicorn went flying into a tree at the edge of the glade, where he broke up into black wisps.

The disaster averted, Spirit turned to face the pegasus. It had been curiously watching the affair unfold from the moment Spirit leapt forward to take the attack. Now it regarded him with awe. "Are you...." he tried to ask but couldn't force himself to say. "Are you...... "

Leaning his staff against the back of his head, Spirit nodded. "Yes I am."

The pegasus seemed to relax. "Thank you for saving me." His expression suddenly changed to one of shame, the same expression he wore as he stood on the boundaries of Sweet Apple Acres. "I don't thing I deserved it though. I'm a creature of the dark, a demon who's sole purpose is to cause others grief. You may as well take me prisoner like you did that other one." The manifestation closed his eyes and raised his fore-hooves, only to fall over from the loss of balance.

Spirit gave the clumsy, hesitant manifestation a good long look. This was a new experience for him. Never before had a manifestation rebelled against its destructive nature, fought against its brethren or surrendered willingly. What could possibly have happened to this one that would make it different? "If you think I'd Seal away a compiled soul such as yourself," he said calmly, "then you're sadly mistaken." Spirit bent down and offered the pegasus a hoof up.

At first, the manifestation was stunned. He had expected a harsh imprisonment, but instead he was being offered something else. Warily, he accepted Spirit's hoof and was pulled upright. "What do you mean?" he asked Spirit, confused. "Compiled soul? I'm just a collection of dark deeds."

"If you were like all other manifestations, an accumulation of past evil doings, there would have been no way you'd be able to do what you just did." Spirit levitated his staff and gently tapped the pegasus on his head. "Standing up for the innocent is out of character for a manifestation. You must have something inside you that allowed you to choose between good and evil."

"What do you think it was?" the pegasus asked.

Spirit thought for a minute. "It may have been an act of virtue. It mixed with your normal build of sins and gave you the ability to decide for yourself and no longer be led blindly with the crowd." He looked the manifestation in the eye, his blue ones staring into the pegasus's red eyes. "You have great potential, but you need to guard it, lest it be taken from you."

"Too right!"

A fat bolt of dark magic blasted the ground behind the two ponies and they sprang back. The unicorn manifestation had pulled itself back together and was now steamed, its horn crackling menacingly. "You're both gonna get it now!" He swung his head around, causing a blade of black energy to curve out of his horn towards Spirit and the pegasus.

Crossing his staff in front of him, Spirit blocked the spiraling blade. "When will you learn?" he sighed impatiently. "Again and again you follow me, trying to hinder my mission progress, yet you never succeed."

"You're like a wall," the manifestation sneered. "All we have to do is batter away until you crumble."

"That's it, we're done here." Spirit raised his staff and channeled his magic through it in an attempt to create another Seal. Both manifestations watched curiously as blue streams of magic coiled out of Spirit's horn and along the length of his staff, collecting at its crook. However, as much as Spirit allowed his magic to flow, nothing happened. Even worse, he couldn't end the flow.

The unicorn manifestation grinned evilly. "Looks like you're stuck. Shame." Cackling, the black pony shot another funnel of black magic out of his horn, aimed at Spirit's exposed chest. Just before it struck, the pegasus dashed in front of Spirit and raised his wings like a shield. The funnel crashed and disintegrated against his black feathers, which had begun to glow silver along with the rest of his body, his eyes shining like twin beacons.

Both unicorns stumbled backwards in surprise, Spirit still channeling his magic and the manifestation shocked. "How did you block my attack?" he fumed, his rage making him forget about striking again.

Parting his wings, the shimmering pegasus smiled. "Because I chose to."

As the pegasus spoke, Spirit felt something inside of him. With a grunt, he pushed a bright ball of magic out of his horn, shoving it along his staff where it joined the rest of his accumulated power. The large wad of Equestrian energy glowed brightly then dimmed, revealing a large locket of sorts hanging at the end of Spirit's staff. In the center of the locket was an ornate letter 'H', while the rest of the pendant was taken up by animals: a lion, a serpent, a raven and a badger.

The unicorn manifestation cringed at the sight. "Dang it."

Spirit floated the locket off the end of his staff, admiring the details. "Makes sense," he muttered, more to himself than to the manifestations. "It was our second project."

The pegasus shifted aside, creating some distance between himself and the locket. "Nice Seal," he said admirably.

"Thanks, but it's really not up to me." Spirit glared at the cloudy unicorn with distaste. "Let's hope it's effective as it is detailed." Raising the locket before him, he threw his head back and the most incredible sound emerged from his mouth: a mixture of roar, hiss, caw and bark. The sound echoed throughout the Everfree Forest and spooked a manticore, which was resting near the clearing. The frightened beast quickly got up and went to find a quieter place to snooze for the night.

But it had done the trick. Responding to the call, the locket opened up. Inside was a picture of a castle, in front of which stood hundreds of boys, girls, men, women and children, almost all dressed the same. "Almighty darkness, no!" the unicorn manifestation shrieked.

"Blessed Light, yes," Spirit replied with a grin. He recoiled slightly as the Seal began to power up, humming in his magical grip and glowing brightly. A long red-and-gold chain sprung from within the locket and wrapped itself around the manifestation's front legs. A silver-and-green chain followed it and grabbed the unicorn's back legs.

"Argh!" it growled, trying to pull free. It started to summon a ball of dark matter, but a black-and-blue chain shot out of the pendant and cloaked itself around the manifestation's horn, blocking off its magic. The unicorn began to buck and struggle violently in an attempt to escape, but to no avail. Spirit held the Seal firmly in his magic field and the three transparent chains kept it from leaving the glade.

"Wow," the pegasus exclaimed in wonder. Then he frowned in confusion. "Shouldn't there be four chains?"

As if it heard him, the locket released one last chain, this one gold-and-black. It coiled itself around the unicorn manifestation's body and together, the four chains began to reel him in towards the locket. The shadowy creature screamed and cursed as he neared the dark-blue unicorn prophet and his Seal. With a great heave from Spirit, the unicorn was flung into the pendant and sucked in with a woosh. The doors of the locket clicked shut.

The pegasus gave a deep sigh of relief. "That's him taken care of."

Spirit regarded the Seal carefully, then slipped it around his neck, confident that unlike its counterpart, the manifestation wouldn't be able to affect him through the Seal. "He'll be joining the other one in my saddlebag until we figure out a way to send them back to the Republic." Spirit made his way to the edge of the glade, stopping when he heard only his own hoofsteps. He turned around to find the pegasus manifestation sitting in the center of the clearing, looking distracted. "Why're you just sitting there?" Spirit asked him, as if it were obvious what he should have been doing.

"I've got nowhere else to go," the pegasus reminded him. "Not to mention my attack on another manifestation has pretty much warranted my immediate removal should I show my face around them again. My life is over before it began."

"Wait, how long have you existed?" Spirit asked, turning around to better communicate.

The pegasus pouted. "Three weeks. Three depressing, lonely weeks."

"I guess when you're part of a group made up of angry plotting wraiths, it doesn't feel like company," Spirit suggested, sitting down in front of the black pegasus.

"That's pretty much how I felt."

"Than why don't you come with me?"

The pegasus's silvery eyes glinted. "Thanks for the offer, but what good would it do? I wouldn't be accepted, not among the ponies, not among the Republicans. Evil isn't something that everyone is okay with." He lowered his dark head, shaking his flowing mane sadly.

Spirit hooked his hoof under the manifestation's chin and tilted his head so he could look him in the eye. "If you keep telling yourself that, then that's how it will be. Only you can change how others look at you. No other manifestation has ever been given such an option. Please," Spirit begged. "Come."

The winged pony was silent once more, this time deep in thought. Finally, he got up with a sigh. "Alright, I'll join you. But don't be surprised if the others start pointing and screaming."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Spirit and the pegasus left the clearing and began to search for a way out of the Everfree Forest. Above them, the rain still beat against the close-growing trees, thunder and lightning crashing and flashing through the leaves. They stepped out of the dark woods and swiftly made their way back to the Apple family farmhouse. Spirit rapped on the door. "Is anypony there?" he yelled over the shrill sound of the wind.

The door burst open and light flooded out, revealing a shocked but relieved Rainbow Dash. "You took your sweet time, Spirit!" She sounded angry, but she looked content. "Get in here."

She stepped aside, allowing Spirit to enter but he shuffled beside her and held the door open further, giving time for the pegasus manifestation to walk inside. The black pony looked around in amazement at the farmhouse interior. "Whoa," he exclaimed, his silver eyes trying to take in as much as he could.

Rainbow Dash took one look at the manifestation and her eyes went wide. She turned to Spirit, trying to keep a calm composure. "What's that thing doing here?" she whispered. Unfortunately, the manifestation here her. He turned his head and gave Spirit a sad look that said I told you so.

Undeterred, Spirit replied calmly, "It might be better to explain to as many ponies at once. Who else is awake?"

"Who do you think? We all stayed up after you ran off on your own." Rainbow didn't sound very upset about it. "Even Apple Bloom is up."

"I thought she was sent to bed," the manifestation said knowingly. When Rainbow Dash and Spirit looked at him he quickly added, "I saw the light on in her room and assumed she was going to sleep, alright? I wasn't doing anything else."

"I believe you." Ignoring Rainbow Dash's disbelieving expression, Spirit said, "Come on Rainbow. We need to tell the Apples that we've got an extra guest for them."

*

Spirit, Rainbow Dash, Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and the manifestation sat around the fire as Spirit recounted what had happened in the Everfree Forest. While he spoke, everypony else was silent, only interrupting with relevant questions. The manifestation didn't speak at all until Apple Bloom asked him, "An' how are you feelin' now?"

The black pegasus looked at the filly's bright, curious face. He couldn't help but smile. "Much better, thank you." He glanced at Spirit, who nodded in agreement. "I wasn't sure you'd accept me so quickly," he continued. "Heck, I was positive you wouldn't accept me at all. Up until now, my short life has been nothing but darkness and fear, my own fear. I couldn't make out right from wrong. When we were sending our forces into Equestria after Spirit and Fang, I was chosen among the many hundreds of manifestations who were gathered for the sinful cause. After we arrived, we were split up by a temporal gust. I got stuck with a particularly temperamental manifestation—" He gestured to the locket, recently dubbed the Hogwarts Seal, which was lying beside Spirit "—who's strength granted him the power of the unicorns. By the way, I was the one who you met in the dreamscape, Spirit."

Spirit nodded again. "I thought so. Your cutie mark matches, although your eyes have changed since then. Probably on account of your change of heart."

"Which, I am glad to say, now exists," the pegasus said proudly. "After I saw the way my comrade-in-form was treating that mare back in the forest, I realized that it was wrong what he was doing and what we planned to do."

"Sounds like you've had a hard life," Rainbow acknowledged, taking a sip from her mug of hot cocoa.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said in agreement.

Spirit put a hoof around the manifestation. "But the important thing is that you're with us now and we'll help you learn how things should be and how you can help them."

"Thanks Spirit," the pegasus said.

"Jus' one more thing," Apple Bloom announced. Everypony stopped talking, waiting for her request.

"What is it, Apple Bloom?" Granny Smith asked. "Please make it snappy, Ah gots to git some sleep."

The yellow filly turned towards the manifestation. "What's your name?" she asked, as if it were a simple yes-or-no question.

The black pegasus gave Spirit a humored look, but the dark-blue unicorn shrugged. Raising his hoof for patience, the manifestation took a moment to come up with his answer. "We don't usually go by names, but..." He twisted his head and looked at his cutie mark. "If I'll be known as anything other than a manifestation, it should be... Silver Shade."

Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash oohed and Big Mac nodded. "You've chosen a good name for yourself," Spirit said, impressed. "We'll call you Silver for short."

"Sure."

Granny Smith got up from the rocking chair with several loud creaks. "That's enough excitement fer one night. Off to bed with y'all, you 'specially Apple Bloom."

"Ah ain't tired," Apple Bloom yawned. "Ah just—" She didn't get any farther, owing to the fact that she'd fallen asleep.

Big Macintosh shook his head and scooped her up onto his back. He and Granny Smith left the room and went upstairs." You best get some sleep too," he called to the three ponies below.

"We will," Spirit replied.

After the Apples had disappeared upstairs, Rainbow said, "The night's been fun and all, but I'm tired from trying to follow you into the Everfree, Spirit."

"You what now?" the unicorn inquired, a disapproving expression stealing over his face.

"When you left, I tried to go after you, but a bolt of lightning struck some ten feet in front of me, right in the middle of the air, no conductors whatsoever," Rainbow explained with a huff as she settled on her bed.

"Must've been fate," Spirit said with a grin.

"Or just bad luck," Silver put in.

"Whatever it was, it convinced me to stay here," the mare complained. "You had me worried, Spirit. Don't do that again."

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash. Just try to get some sleep."

Rainbow lay down and threw the blanket over her. "Alright. 'Night, Spirit. 'Night, Silver."

"'Night, Rainbow," the two stallions replied.

Within minutes, Rainbow Dash was snuffling in her sleep. Silver climbed onto the couch as Spirit curled on his own mattress. "Do you really think I have a chance, Spirit?" Silver asked him. "Fitting in and all?"

"There's always a chance, Silver," he answered. "When the Princess agrees to see us, we'll see what we can do for you. Until then, you'll stick with me."

Silver folded in his wings. "I never had somepony looking out for me," he admitted sadly. "It feels good."

"That's what friendship is: looking out for one another."

"Hmm." Silver turned over to look Spirit as the fire behind the grate gradually burned down. "How do you think everypony else is doing?" he wondered.

Spirit shrugged beneath the covers. "I honestly have no idea. "I imagine they all took shelter somewhere in Ponyville."

"Hmm." Silver curled up on the couch and closed his grey, sparkling eyes. "Goodnight, Spirit."

"Goodnight, Silver."

With both pegasi asleep, Spirit began to ponder his thoughts in peace. But he couldn't focus with his thoughts always going bringing up concern for his friends around town. They're fine, he reassured himself, reciting one last prayer before drifting off. Just think of the nice, quiet things they did this evening.

*

Rarity frowned as Applejack prepared to buck the log in Twilight's window. Applejack looked over apologetically, lifted the log in her mouth, then dropped it out the window. Content, Rarity looked down at herself and trembled. "I look awful," she muttered frightfully. Her struggle to help remove the tree from Twilight's bedroom had left her coat thoroughly muddied.

Applejack stroked her chin thoughtfully. Then an idea came to her. She collected a pair of sliced cucumbers from the table and slipped them onto Rarity's eyes. "Better?" she asked.

The white unicorn was slightly taken-aback by the farmpony's actions, but smiled. "Thanks." The two mares embraced, each one happy to have been able to assist in fixing the mess they'd inadvertently caused together.

Twilight looked up from her book-search for a way to get rid of the tree that was no longer there. "Oh, pretty!" she exclaimed as she beheld the topiary Rarity had made from the tree. "Where did these come from?" Then she gasped. "They're not in the book either."

*

"Come on, Mr. Bear. It's time to go to sleep."

"Angel, come back here!"

"Now you just get nice and warm in you beds, little birds. The storm won't hurt you."

Fluttershy was bursting with joy. At first, the storm had frightened her more than her animal friends, but then when she found Spike, Fang and Pinkie wandering around outside in the rain, she'd quickly welcomed them in. They'd spent the evening comforting one another, telling stories and basically having a great time. Now they were helping her put all the animals to sleep, as it was way passed their bedtime.

Mr. Bear complained, but Pinkie was persistent. "No arguing, it's late and you need your rest," the earth pony said sternly. Mr. Bear gave in and curled up by the fire.

Spike tried in vain to catch Angel, who was hopping wildly back and forth around the cottage, finally causing the dragon to slam into the table. Angel thought he'd escaped, but was instantly caught by Fang, who had finished putting the birds to sleep. "Come now, Angel," he said soothingly to the bunny. "You need your shuteye if you want to be ready for tomorrow. I head Fluttershy was taking you all on a picnic." He glanced over at the shy pegasus, who nodded in confirmation. "You don't want to be tired for a picnic, now do you?"

Angel didn't need anymore encouragement. He hopped into his indoor bed and was soon snoring. Spike rose to his feet and frowned at the bunny. "That little furball has it in for me," Spike grumbled.

Fang squeezed the younger dragon's shoulder. "Moping about it won't change the facts. C'mon Spike. Fluttershy and Pinkie are going to bed and you need your rest as much as anyone here."

"Okay." The two dragons climbed the stairs to the next floor of the cottage, where the ponies were already preparing beds for the guests. But Fang couldn't help but wonder what Spirit and Twilight must have been doing that evening. I bet they both had a blast.

Author's Notes:

Oops
This came out a bit longer than I expected

Bridle Schmoozing

"Aaaaah."

"Whoa, Spirit. Not so loud and not so close."

"Don't exaggerate, Fang. It was a just sigh of appreciation."

"I agree with Silver; it's a beautiful day today."

"But Silver didn't say it was a beautiful day. He was only correcting Fang."

Spirit smiled as his friends continued to converse. The five of them had shared a relatively quiet breakfast and were now out enjoying the sunlight. The last few days had been a bit wild, introducing Silver to Twilight and the others. Like Rainbow Dash, if not more so, Applejack was a bit suspicious of Silver's new motives but soon came to accept him. Rarity had little to no argument on the topic whereas Fluttershy welcomed him in like a cute critter she'd just found. Pinkie Pie went through the roof with excitement and Spike spent a while hiding in his bed. But Twilight had insisted on studying Silver, from his gaseous body to his vaporous mane and tail to his slitted namesake eyes. Silver, wanting to please Twilight as much as he could, agreed to all her examinations with little argument and found he enjoyed the other ponies' company more than he expected.

"Yes. Sorry Fang. I didn't mean to bother you. You're right Silver, it was a sigh of appreciation because yes, Twilight, it is a beautiful day and thanks, Spike, I find correcting Fang tiresome as he denies anything and everything I say on more than one occasion."

Twilight and Fang burst out laughing, Silver smiled and Spike just looked confused. "I don't get it," he said blankly.

"When you're older, Spike," Fang told him, sidling up beside the smaller dragon. "When you're older."

They arrived at town hall and Silver looked around. "Guys," he asked. "Don't you think it's strange that on the exact same day you ask me to come out into the open that everypony in town is gone?"

Spirit stopped. A quick scan around the center of Ponyville confirmed Silver's statement: there was nopony in sight. The fillies and colts weren't playing in the streets, the older ponies weren't going about their business. The whole place seemed empty.

"Is it some kind of pony holiday?" Fang asked, dropping a rock he had been searching under.

"Not that I know of," Twilight replied.

"Does my breath stink?" Spike wondered. He belched a gout of fire and sniffed.

"Not more than usual," Silver commented, covering his nose and turning away. "Although that probably wouldn't be why anyway."

Spirit squinted down one street and saw a filly standing on a doorstep. The young pony looked up and down the street before a mare pulled her inside the house by the tail. "That's odd," Spirit muttered. "You'd think they were expecting something bad."

Spike blanched. "Is it....... zombies!?" he yelped, not hiding the fear in his voice.

"Ah, hell no, not zombies!" Fang groaned. "I hate zombies. They smell, they don't stay down when you kill 'em and they always hunt in packs."

"Uh... not very likely," Twilight said reassuringly.

"Not likely," Spike repeated, "but possible?"

"It's not zombies, Spike," Spirit guaranteed. "I could smell undead creatures a mile away."

"Whatever it is, it's got all of Ponyville spooked," Silver added.

They walked around town square, Spirit and Twilight using their magic trying to find out anything useful while Spike, Fang and Silver kept their eyes peeled. The quintet gathered together to report their findings, but were interrupted when they heard an ineffectively loud whisper coming from behind them, from a dark and previously quiet Sugarcube Corner.

Pinkie's head was framed in the open top-half of the bakery door. For one second, before disappearing out of sight behind the door. "Twilight!" she hissed in a voice loud enough for them all to hear, popping her head up again and pulling it back in an instant. "Spirit! Spike! Fang! Silver!" Pinkie whispered loudly. She dropped out of sight and gestured with her hoof at them. "Come here!"

The five friends stared at the now-empty doorway in befuddlement. Pinkie opened the bottom half of the door, stuck her head and neck all the way outside and hissed aloud, "Come here! Hurry! Before she gets you!"

Twilight, with Spike on her back, followed Pinkie inside without question, closely followed by Silver and Spirit, who was similarly saddled by Fang. Once inside, they found the entire bakery pitch black. A light shined on the friends' faces, emitting from a flashlight held by Pinkie.

"Who?" Spike asked, gripping Twilight as hard as he could. "The zombie pony?"

"Zooombie pony?" Pinkie uttered dramatically, pointing the flashlight at her face.

Spike cringed and gripped Twilight harder. Spirit groaned and Fang slid of his back. "Spike, there are no zombie ponies," Spirit said reassuringly.

"Why are you alone in the dark, Pinkie?" Silver asked, trying to steer the conversation.

"I'm not alone in the dark," Pinkie said. The bakery lights turned on, revealing the place to be positively occupied. Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and, even more unexpectedly, Apple Bloom were all in Sugarcube Corner, everypony looking tense.

"Okay," Silver said, quickly getting over this surprise. "What are you all doing here in the dark?"

Applejack pointed through the curtained windows. "We're hidin' from...... her," she said tensely.

The others joined her and looked out onto the empty streets. Standing in the middle of the dirt road, pawing at the ground with a hoof, was a cloaked equine figure. Its brown, sackcloth-like cloak made it impossible to tell what kind of creature it was, but Spirit recognized the bangles on the figure's leg.

The figure suddenly stopped digging and turned in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. Its eyes flashed yellow. The other ponies and Spike quickly ducked behind the walls and windowsill, leaving Spirit, Twilight, Silver and Fang standing alone.

"Gee, what's gotten into all of you?" Fang asked, pulling Pinkie off the wall.

Silver sniffed the air disgustedly. "Fear. That's all I can smell. A whole lot of fear."

"You can smell emotion?" Twilight exclaimed, her eyes glinting.

"Later Twi," Spirit cut in. "Later."

"Oh right. Sorry."

Apple Bloom leapt in between the two unicorns. "Did ya see her?" she asked, looking first at Spirit then at Twilight. "Did you see Zecora?"

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack scolded. "I told you never to say that name."

Twilight and Spirit exchanged looks. "All she did was look this way—" Spirit began to say.

"Look evilly this way!" Pinkie interrupted, leaning in.

"And you all flip out for no good reason," Twilight finished for him.

"No good reason?" Applejack cried indignantly, throwing a hoof over Apple Bloom's back. "You call protectin' yer kin no good reason? Why, as soon as mah sister saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her lil' horseshoes." At this point, Applejack was shaking her Apple Bloom to help emphasize her point.

"Di-i-id no-o-ot," Apple Bloom managed to say.

Applejack ignored this and threw the filly onto her back. "So ah swept her up and brought her here."

"I walked here mahself!" Apple Bloom objected.

"For safe keepin'," Applejack finished.

Apple Bloom jumped off her sister's back. "Applejack, ah'm not a baby! I can take care of mahself!"

"Not from that creepy Zecora," Applejack retorted.

"She's mysterious," Fluttershy said.

"Sinister," Rainbow Dash agreed.

"And spoooooky!" Pinkie hooted.

Ai yai yai Spirit thought to himself. He peered out the window, only for everypony to pile themselves on top and around him to get a good look too. The figure in the street reached up for its hood and flipped it off, revealing a grey-and-white mohawk and huge gold earrings. Everypony else gasped, even Silver.

"Will you cut that out?" Twilight demanded, unimpressed and confused with her friends' overreacting.

"Just look at those stripes!" Rarity complained, diving into something she actually knew about. "So garish."

"What's the biggie?" Fang asked, not seeing the problem. "She's a zebra."

"A WHAT?" This question was magnified by everyone who asked it, being Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie.

"A zebra," Twilight told them, then added, "and her stripes aren't a fashion choice Rarity, they're what she was born with."

When Rarity heard this, she gasped shakily and fell to the floor in an over-melodramatic faint.

Fang tsked loudly. "Spike," he called to the other dragon. "Help me out here."

"Born where?" Applejack asked while the dragons lifted Rarity to her hooves. "I've never seen a pony like that in these parts, 'cept... her!"

"Well, she's probably not from here," Twilight replied. "And she's not a pony. My books say that zebras come from a far away land. But I've never seen her in Ponyville."

"I've seen her before," Spirit declared.

More gasps, this time surprised ones. "Where?" Twilight asked, happy that somepony was supplying crucial information.

"In the Everfree Forest."

CRASH! A loud clatter echoed around the bakery, shaking the floor and scaring everypony. Twilight swung her head in the direction of the kitchen. "Spike!" she yelled angrily. After he had helped Fang with Rarity, the small dragon had sneaked into the kitchen to grab a few treats and knocked over a couple of dishes.

"Uh, sorry," Spike said apologetically, a cupcake in one claw and a candy cane in the other.

"Yeah," Spirit continued, as though nothing had happened. "I saw Zecora in the Everfree on the night of the storm. The manifestation that's now in the Hogwarts Seal was causing her trouble when Silver stepped in." He patted the shadowy pony on the back and Silver smiled. "Then she took off."

"You never mentioned that to us," Rarity said in surprise.

Spirit shrugged. "It didn't seem important at the time. I thought she was just somepony wandering about the forest."

"And anyways, what's the big deal with the Everfree anyways?" Fang inquired. "Whenever I hear somepony talking about it, you'd think it was something a lot worse."

"The Everfree Forest just ain't natural," Applejack explained with deadly seriousness. "The plants grow..."

"Animals care for themselves..." Fluttershy said frighteningly.

"And the clouds move..." Rainbow Dash put in, landing between the other two.

"All on their own!" the three mares chorused.

It was too much for Rarity. She sighed loudly again and fell backwards, this time landing on Silver's back.

"And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil... stuff!" Pinkie declared, while Silver seated Rarity in a chair. "She's so evil I even wrote a song about her!"

"Here we go," Rainbow sighed, but Fang leaned forward in anticipation as Pinkie began to sing and jump around the room.

She's an evil enchantress
She does evil dances
And if you look deep in her eyes
She'll put you in trances
Then what will she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew
Then she'll gobble you up
In a big tasty stew
Soooo... Watch out!

Pinkie stood on top of one of the bakery tables, breathing so heavily or stomach rose up and down. The others just stared at her. "Wow," Twilight finally said. "Catchy."

"Interesting composition," Spirit commented.

"It's a work in progress," Pinkie admitted, climbing down from the table.

"What I don't get is what's got you all worried," Spirit went on. "All I've understood is that she's from the Everfree Forest and that's it."

"This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors," Twilight added. "Now tell me; what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?"

"Well..." Rainbow Dash said thoughtfully. "Once a month, she comes into Ponyville."

"Oooooh," Fang exclaimed dramatically, clutching his tail for no particular reason.

"Then, she lurks by the stores," Rarity continued.

"No way," Silver whispered, his vaporous mane swirling in two directions

"And then, she digs at the ground," Fluttershy finished.

"Good gracious!" Twilight uttered. She shot a look at Fang, who's face split into a silly smile. "Okay, I'm sorry," Twilight announced, shaking her head, "but how is any of this bad? Maybe she comes to town to visit?"

"Visiting is good," Fang agreed

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom seconded. "Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly."

"As for lurking by the stores," Spirit said, now standing beside the window, "I'm sure we could put that down as going to them, non-lurking. Maybe for some shopping."

"Yeah! Everypony likes to shop," Apple Bloom remarked. "You know what I think?"

"Apple Bloom! Hush an' let the big ponies talk!" Applejack chided.

Apple Bloom walked off. "Ah am a big pony," she said to herself, the sound not escaping Spirit's ears.

"What about digging at the ground?" Rainbow reminded. "You got to admit that's weird."

"Itchy hooves?" Fang offered, still not entirely in.

"What if she's digging for innocent creatures?" Fluttershy wondered.

"That's ridiculous," Silver said. "What would a zebra want with something that lives underground?" Behind them, Pinkie started singing her song again.

"I am sure there is an explanation for everything Zecora does," Twilight declared. "And if anypony here were actually brave enough to approach her, she would find out the truth."

"Buuuuut," Spirit said, his eyes trained on the streets, "nopony has the guts to even attempt such a thing for no other reason than Zecora being different."

"She's more than different," Rainbow Dash shot back. "She's freaky!"

"You ponies are being ridiculous!" Twilight criticized.

"Well," Pinkie said in an undertone, "I heard that Zecora eats hay.

That did it. Fang fell to the ground, laughing so hard smoke was coming out of his nostrils and getting caught in Silver's mane, who had to put a hoof over his muzzle not to join the dragon.

"Pinkie, I eat hay," Spirit pointed out, paying little attention to the conversation. "Twilight eats hay. You eat hay."

"Yeah, but I heard it's the evil way she eats hay."

"There's an evil way to eat hay?" Silver asked incredulously.

Fang shrugged. "Must be how the other manifestations eat."

"Excuse me."

Spirit's words were drowned out by the other ponies and Fang, who had somehow gotten into a deep discussion over the many (and there were many) ways of eating hay. Sighing, he raised his horn and fired a magical outburst of sound, magnified by the room's acoustics. The arguers were immediately silenced and began to rub their aching ears.

"What was that for, Spirit?" Rainbow Dash complained, her head ringing from the noise.

"I really don't mean to interrupt your important discussion," Spirit began, "but we appear to be one pony short."

Applejack looked frantically around the room. "Hey! Where's Apple Bloom?"

Spirit pointed. "Through the open door, most likely."

"She went outside!" Rarity gasped.

"And Zecora's still out there," Rainbow Dash said worriedly.

"That silly lil' filly!" Applejacks sighed. "Ah told her to stay put!"

"C'mon, everypony!" Silver yelled, bounding to the door. "Let's go after her."

Everypony quickly followed him out the door, save for Spirit and Twilight. "Spike," Twilight said to the dragon. "You and Fang stay here in case Apple Bloom comes back."

"Will do!" Spike said dutifully, raising a claw to his cooking pot-helmet in a salute.

"Keep him from raiding the Cakes' kitchen, will you?" Spirit whispered to Fang as he hurried to catch up.

Fang nodded and watched his friend gallop away. He went to the window and caught sight of the eight ponies running off towards the Everfree. "There is evil afoot," he said to Spike, who was cleaning up the mess he'd made as best as he could, "and it's not the zebra."

*

Applejack and Silver led the way into the Everfree Forest, carefully looking for signs of Apple Bloom's passage. The other ponies followed behind them, but Spirit hung back just a bit, his eyes scanning the foliage on either side.

Twilight slowed down a bit to gallop beside him. "What's going on?" she asked Spirit.

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "Something feels wrong."

"You mean aside from us chasing Apple Bloom who's gone after Zecora?" Twilight wondered sarcastically.

"I'm just telling you what I felt," Spirit explained, peering through the fog. He shook his head, turned back to the trail and resumed a quick pace with Twilight. "Must've been my imagination."

And that's when a manifestation burst out of the woods and onto the path.

From the brief appearance it made directly in front of the unicorns, Twilight and Spirit distinguished it as a female earth pony manifestation. It cackled and ran towards the others, who dived aside as the black equine ran past them. Silver reacted quickly, stretching out his neck and chomping down on the manifestation's tail. She grunted and picked up speed, dragging Silver along behind her.

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow Dash yelled, flying after the manifestations. "Hold on, Silver!"

"Hurry up!" Spirit called, galloping past Rainbow. "I don't know how long Silver can stay with it, but that manifestation may know where Apple Bloom is."

That spurred Applejack instantly. She quickly caught up to Spirit and the other mares followed. They made an interesting procession running though the Everfree. Twilight hurried past the other ponies the run in time with Spirit and Applejack. "What kind of manifestation is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," the dark blue stallion replied. "I can't focus too well with my energy being spent on running, but maybe if we could get it to stop—"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Silver yelled as the new manifestation skidded to a sudden halt, whipping her tail around and sending him into a patch of bright blue flowers. Silver slid through the pretty plants like a lawnmower, sending petals and stalks everywhere.

"That'll teach you not to tail me!" the mare manifestation shrieked at Silver.

The other ponies caught up to Twilight, Spirit and Applejack. "Now's our chance!" Rainbow Dash whispered.

"Let's get her!" Applejack muttered in agreement. The two ponies dived at the black equine, Applejack spinning round for a buck and Rainbow Dash kicking in the air, and slammed her aside. Spirit rushed forward while the manifestation was dazed, summoning his staff and charging his magic. When his horn glowed with power, he released it into the staff and conjured a new Seal.

Not pausing to examine the Seal or even wait for it to stop glowing, Spirit flung it at the manifestation. A cloud of bright spots flew towards the earth pony's neck, materializing around it as a rosary of dark beads and teeth with a round pinkish gem. The manifestation rose, snarling angrily. "You," she hissed when she saw Spirit.

"Me," he replied, then smugly said, "Sit!"

The necklace flashed blue and the manifestation crashed suddenly into the ground, creating a nice little indent in the soft forest floor. Spirit walked around the fallen pony as the other mares joined him. "That was awesome," Rainbow cheered. "What is that thing?"

"The Shikon Jewel and the Beads of Subjugation," Spirit explained. He approached the manifestation and poked the necklace. "Although this is more of a Shikon Seal."

"You seem to have a lot of exotic names for objects," Twilight commented.

"As do you." Spirit levitated the manifestation by the Shikon Seal. "This one is tricky. I can't tell what kind of manifestation it is, normal, hex or cursed. Either way, it's caught." He lit his horn and the Seal reacted, quickly and silently sucking the manifestation into the Jewel. The pearl glowed a dark purple momentarily before returning to its original pink color.

"Well, that's that," Rarity sighed contentedly as Spirit slid the Seal over his head and onto his neck.

"But where's Apple Bloom?" Applejack inquired.

"Over here!"

The seven ponies turned. Silver was standing in the patch of flowers, waving at something on the other side. They hurried over to him and saw Apple Bloom a little way past the flowers, carefully following Zecora.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack yelled.

Zecora swung her hooded head around, as did Apple Bloom in surprise and shock.

"You git back her right now!" Applejack demanded.

"Beware! Beware, you pony folk!" Zecora called, slowly stepping backwards into a fog-bank. "Those leaves of blue are not a joke!"

Spirit glanced down at the flowers they were all standing on, but couldn't sense anything particularly strange about them. He'd seen weirder growth than these. Applejack scampered forwards, scooped Apple Bloom onto her back, then retreated towards the other ponies. "Y-you keep your creepy mumbo-jumbo to yourself, ya hear?" she shouted at Zecora.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie joined her in yelling at the slowly-vanishing Zecora (although Pinkie's were just words she plucked out of her song). It made quite a dissonance, not including the fact that everything they were saying was negative. "Remind me," Spirit whispered to Twilight. "What did Zecora do again?"

"Nothing," Twilight sighed as Zecora shouted another warning. "They're all getting worked up about something that doesn't exist."

"Curses?" Silver trotted over to the two unicorns. "Hate to break it to you Twilight, but curses exist." He squinted at the fog-bank, which Zecora had disappeared behind. "Whether that zebra can induce them or not is another matter."

Twilight couldn't begin arguing with Silver over the existence of curses because Applejack chose that moment to scold Apple Bloom. "And you!" she said to the filly on her back. "Why couldn't you just listen to yer big sister?"

"I...I...," Apple Bloom stammered.

"Who knows what kind of nasty curse Zecora could have just put on you?" Applejack went on.

"Just like in my song!" Pinkie realized, then started singing snatches of her song, leaping around in the blue flowers.

"You guys, there's no such thing as curses!" Twilight declared.

"Objection!" Spirit announced, dramatically raising his hoof to the heavens. "Curses are either one of seven spell types, unnatural afflictions passed down in various ways, or one of the three kinds of manifestation. They are not tools of the uncommon zebra living in the woods!"

Rainbow Dash flapped through the flowers towards him and tapped his and Twilight's horns. "While that's interesting and all, it made less sense than what Miss Magic Pants here said," Rainbow teased. "You guys practically live on magic."

Twilight didn't look the least bit deterred. "Our unicorn magic, real magic, comes from within," she explained. "It's a skill your born with. Curses are artificial, fake magic."

"Aah, no," Spirit contradicted. "Curses are very, very real."

"I'm trying to wrap this up," Twilight argued. "Can you at least help?"

"Not if it means lying," the dark-blue unicorn replied. He turned to the other ponies. "If I were to misinform you, that would be wrong so I'll be honest with you: curses exist, but you're all worrying about the wrong pony. Zecora's just an average equine who takes regular walks into town and looks around."

"It's conjured with potions and incantations!" Twilight objected. "All smoke and mirrors meant to scare."

"We came for Apple Bloom," Silver cut in, gently booping the filly. Apple Bloom jumped onto his wispy-looking but solid back. "And we've done just that. I vote we go back to Ponyville and forget about all this. All those in favor, say 'yay'."

"Yay!" came the reply from Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack. They all turned-tail and followed Silver towards the edge of the forest.

"No point being left behind," Spirit said to Twilight. He took one more look at the fog-bank then took off after the others.

Twilight followed him. "But curses have no real power," she insisted once they'd caught up. "They're just an old pony tale.

Applejack looked at Twilight with deadly seriousness. "Just you wait, Twilight," the orange earth pony said. "You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true."

*

That night was not an easy one for either unicorn residents of the Golden Oak Library. Out of concern, Spirit cast a mental link to Twilight so as to gain a share of what she was thinking. As they lay in their beds, Twilight's mind began leafing through everything that had happened that day: Applejack's last words, the other ponies' shouting, bits of Pinkie's song (more often that not), Zecora's warnings and an evil laugh neither of them could remember hearing. These thoughts kept Twilight and, unknown to her, Spirit, stirring in their sleep for a good part of the night, while their dragon friends slept soundly with no crazy events to disturb them.

Twilight felt almost relieved when sunlight poked through the window and woke her. "Ugh... what a dream..." she groaned groggily. "Curses, schmurses."

She got up from bed and Spirit's eyelids fluttered. "Morning Spirit," Twilight called over when she noticed him stirring.

The stallion nodded dreamily in reply. He yawned, stretched, then recited, "I thank you, living and enduring king, for You have graciously returned my soul within me. Great is your faithfulness." Then he opened his eyes and smiled. "You didn't sleep well last night, did you?"

"Nope. How did you know?" Twilight asked.

Spirit tapped his horn. "Mind link. I thought the past day's events might affect you're subconsciousness." he shifted under the sheets as though scratching an itch he couldn't reach. "I was right."

"Our friends are getting freaked out by make-believe curses," Twilight complained, looking in the mirror. She had horrible bedmane. "The only thing Zecora may have cursed is my hair," she chuckled, levitating her brush to straighten out her mane.

"Yeah," Spirit laughed. "Maybe." His chest was still itching and he flipped over under the blankets.

Twilight eyes widened as she parted her built-up mane. She stuttered and slowly turned around.

"What's up, Twi?" Spirit asked concernedly, sitting up in bed to see. "Found a blue hair in your mane? Is your muzzle too long? Has—"

He stopped short when he saw what was troubling his friend. Twilight's horn was flecked with blue spots and the whole thing flopped over like a rubber willow tree, wiggling when she moved. "What's happening?" she cried, staring up at her flimsy horn.

"Let's have a look." Spirit threw off the covers and started to get out of bed, but overbalanced and flopped onto the floor with a loud crash, waking up Spike and Fang.

"Wuzzgoingon?" Fang muttered, still half-asleep. "Are we under attack?"

"Twilight, I thought I was gonna sleep in today," Spike grumbled, buried under his blanket.

Now Twilight was focused solely on Spirit. Or rather, his torso. Or, to be more precise, where his torso had once been.

"What's going on?" she gasped disbelievingly.

Spirit glanced down at his body, barely raising an eyebrow. From his horn to his front hooves he was still normal, his coat the same dark-blue that pleased him, but beyond that his body had stretched out to three times its length and covered with tiny scales of the same color, the scales on the underside paler than those on top and around. His back hooves and tail were completely gone, his body ending instead with a pointed serpent tail. His cutie mark sat halfway down his elongated body on either side.

Fang shook his head and grinned. "Dude, you look like someone who slipped away from the Inn!" he laughed.

"A what from the where?" Spike questioned, eyeing Spirit's strange form.

"How did this happen?" Twilight asked, sitting down beside her friend and poking his scaly torso. It was warm and muscly like a real snake.

"I could ask you the same question," Spirit said, flicking Twilight's wobbly horn.

Hey guys?" a voice floated up from the library's first floor. It was Silver. "Is everything okay up there?"

"No," replied Spirit plainly and Twilight loudly.

"Should I come up?"

"Yes," Fang called down, still grinning.

Silver's hoofsteps could be heard as he climbed the stairs. When he pushed the door open, both Twilight and Spirit gasped. The manifestation pony's black smoky body had gained the color and texture of butterscotch ice-cream, complete with brown lines running along his sides. His mane still flowed but it looked more like whipped cream than the smoke it once was. His silver eyes showed boredom and a lack of amusement.

"Same boat, huh?" Silver remarked once he saw Twilight's and Spirit's afflictions.

"Yep." Spirit reared up on his scaly torso, doubling his height and slowly regaining his balance.

"There's got to be a reasonable explanation for all this," Twilight mumbled hurriedly.

"Okay," Fang said bemusedly. "What?"

"I don't now yet! Let's go down and see if we can find a book or something." With that, Twilight trotted down the stairs, her speckled horn bouncing to and fro. Spike followed wordlessly and Fang was trying to straighten out his face. Silver slipped down the stairs after them, looking more like a melted sundae slopping down the side of a table. Spirit took a minute to figure out how to move his body.

"There we go," he muttered triumphantly once he had gotten the hang of the scutes on his underside. It had been a while since he'd last had coils. Carefully sliding his right scutes forward and then his left ones, he smoothly slid down the stairs. The others were already picking through the library.

"No no no no no!" Twilight shouted, books strewn all over the floor and table. "None of these books have a cure!"

"'A cure to what?' is the question we should be asking," Fang announced from his perch on the fourth shelf.

"There has to be a real reason for this!" Twilight declared, awkwardly poking her flabby horn. "An illness? An allergy?!"

Spike looked up from the book he was going through. "A curse!"

Twilight frowned. "I said a real reason. Something that points to something real."

"Curses are real!" Silver shouted from underneath the biggest book pile. "Do not underestimate them!"

"Quit it," Spirit muttered, tapping the top of the leather-bound heap where a white wisp poked out. "This is serious and unless you want to look like a tasty dessert forever Silver, I suggest you stop messing and start helping."

Silver poked his head out of the mound. "I am helping," he said smugly.

Spirit shook his head. "Hey, what's that you've got there, Spike?" he asked the dragon.

"This book?" Spike said. "I dunno. Just picked it up when we came down to look for a cure." He handed the book to Spirit.

"Wanna give it a try, Twi?" the stallion asked.

Twilight read the cover. "Supernaturals? Spirit, the word 'supernatural' refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses."

"Ghosts, spirits and zombies are real toooooo!" Silver howled.

"This book is just a bunch of hooey!" Twilight finished, ignoring the pegasus' comment.

Spirit shook his head again. When will she come to understand? Spike took the book back from the half-serpent stallion and looked at it again. "But what if you're wrong, Twilight?" he wondered. "What if this really is a—"

"Ah pfurse!" Pinkie yelled, appearing with an unpronounced, unclear entrance.

Spike cocked his head. "A purse? How could it be a purse?"

The others stared at Pinkie in horror. The pink pony was completely normal except for one thing: her tongue hung out of her mouth, no longer able to fit inside on account of being swollen several items its normal size. The slimy pink organ was flecked with the same blue spots that were on Twilight's horn and saliva constantly dripped from the end.

"Pinkie!" Twilight said in shock. "What happened?"

"Pee pah Zthecora!" Pinkie spat, spraying spittle everywhere including all over Spike. "Sthe put a cursthe on me!"

"Hey, say it, don't spray it, Pinkie!" Spike said in disgust, wiping the drool from his arms.

Fang flapped down from the shelf to help clean up the smaller dragon. "This is slowly turning into a very interesting day," he said mildly.

"By interesting, you must mean problematic for everypony," Spirit corrected him dryly.

"Uh huh. Can't wait to see what's next. By the way," Fang added, "did anyone catch what Pinkie said?"

Twilight, Silver and Spirit were about to get to analyzing their friend's words when a loud crash shook the tree. They all turned to look at the window, which was empty for a second before being filled with Rainbow Dash's squashed face. She looked as though she had just flown into the glass.

Rainbow Dash flew backwards and zoomed back into the window, talking the whole time. "Ow!" she yelled. "She's — thud — trying to say — ow! — Zecora thud — oh! — crash!" The pegasus smashed down the door and whizzed by — "She slapped us all with a — ow!" — And smashed into a bookshelf, getting herself tangled in the ladder.

"Curse!" Rainbow finished.

Spirit scuted over. Rainbow Dash wasn't flying so great because her wings had flipped over and repositioned themselves on her sides. "And more of this," he said dismally, lifting her up.

"I'm afraid I have to agree," came a voice from the busted doorway, followed by a ffffff of somepony blowing.

Thanks to Rainbow Dash's loud entrance, Rarity, Fluttershy and Apple Bloom had entered the Golden Oak Library unnoticed. Out of the trio, Rarity looked to be in the worse predicament: her mane, tail and even her coat had become frizzy, looking horribly unnatural and obscuring her vision.

Spike cringed at the sight of the white unicorn. Fang, who had finished wiping Spike down, raised his eyebrows. Twilight was slowly looked more and more freaked out by the minute but if Spirit was feeling the same way, he wasn't showing it. Silver seemed to be eyeing Pinkie shrewdly, as if worried the earth pony might try to lick him.

"Aren't we one short?" Fang asked after making a silent headcount.

"Short?" came an high-pitched indignant shout from Apple Bloom. Or rather, behind her. "Was that supposed to be funny?!"

Apple Bloom turned ninety degrees, showing everyone what she was...... carrying. On the filly's back was an apple-sized pony, looking very annoyed yet still formidable. Orange coat, blonde man, Stetson.

"Lemme tell ya: it wasn't!" Applejack yelled, shouting as loud as she could to make up for her tiny stature.

Fang stared at the miniature pony with a mixture of amusement and amazement. Then without warning, smoke gushed out of his nostrils and he fell over backwards, unconscious.

"You," Spirit said slowly, "have got to be kidding me." Rolling his middle coils, he pushed the green dragon back up and sat him down in a chair.

"What happened to Fang?" Rainbow asked, the ladder still stuck around her lower body.

"Nothing to worry about," Spirit promised. "Just a habit of his."

"Whatever could that be?" Rarity asked.

"A cuUUUuuuuUUUUUrse!" Silver moaned, floating around the room like a cloud.

"See, Twilight?" Applejack squeaked, pointed a tiny hoof at the manifestation pony. "Even Silver admits it. It's a curse, Ah tells ya!"

Twilight glanced hastily around the room. "But Fluttershy... seems just fine!" she pointed out.

"Yes, there doesn't seem to be a thing wrong with her," Rarity agreed.

Spirit slid over to Fluttershy, curling his long body in a circle around her. Although she looked to be the same and was speaking less than normal, there was something off about the yellow pegasus. "Fluttershy, are you okay?" Twilight asked her. Fluttershy closed her eyes and turned her head in reply.

Silver landed outside the ring of dark-blue scales. "Is there something wrong with you?" he asked. This time, a nod.

"Would you care to tell us?" Spirit coaxed gently. With her eyes screwed shut, Fluttershy attempted to hide herself further.

Twilight frowned. This wasn't going anywhere. "So... you're not going to tell us?" she asked. A short nod from Fluttershy. "Yes you're not, or yes you will?" Twilight tried to understand. Head shake.

Applejack had grown tired of the half-conversation going on so, jumping off Apple Bloom's back and onto the table, she got as close as she could to Fluttershy and yelled, "Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with you?!"

Fluttershy stared in shock at the tiny pony. "I don't want to talk about it," she said softly. In a voice that was low, deep and, above all, male. It reminded Spirit of Erebyss.

The moment Fluttershy spoke in her new voice, the world seemed to crack. Well, for the dragons at least. Spike burst out laughing and Fang snapped back into reality and he too roared with mirth. Twilight and the other ponies, who were likewise afflicted, didn't see much to laugh about.

"This is hilarious!" Spike laughed.

"You're telling me!" Fang snorted, holding his sides. "Let's see what we've got: Hairity—"

"—Rainbow Crash—"

"—Spitty Pie—"

"—Apple Teeny—"

"—Flutterguy—"

"—Silver Sundae—"

"—Slither Guide—"

"—and......" Spike stopped, stared at Twilight's horn and gave up. "I got nothing. 'Twilight Sparkle'. I mean seriously, I can't even work with that."

"We'll think of something," Fang said.

"Aha ha ha," Twilight laughed sarcastically. "Both of you, stop it. Now start looking for more books so I can find a cure!"

Spike groaned. Fang draped a wing around him. "C'mon Spike. Let's go look for a 'cure'."

Rainbow Dash succeeded in pulling herself out of the ladder and flew into the air. "I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!" she said surely, hovering awkwardly.

"It's not a curse!" Twilight shouted at her. Rainbow zipped backwards and crashed again.

"I agree with Dash!" Applejack announced from the table. "We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!"

"Make up your mind please," Silver requested, holding his sprinkled head in his hooves. "There is a difference, you know."

"It's not a hex either!" Twilight argued.

The ponies all began to argue on what they should do next, Spirit trying not to get involved but eventually got swept up into the discussion. Apple Bloom watched the older ponies bicker. "This is all mah fault," she said to herself sadly. "If Ah hadn't followed Zecora in the first place, none of this woulda happened. Ah just gotta fix this." She turned towards the door and began to walk out.

Applejack had just squeaked her opinion at Silver when she saw Apple Bloom leaving out of the corner of her eye. "Now where does she think she's goin' this time?" Applejack wondered. Leaving her argument behind, the tiny mare leapt over several books and into her little sister's tail, out of sight.

The others were so busy quarreling and 'reading', they'd failed to notice both Apples disappearing on them. "I don't care what you say, Twilight!" Rainbow shouted, hovering with her back legs sticking outwards. "It's time to pony up and confront Zecora."

"Who said it was Zecora?" Spirit challenged.

"Well, who else could it be?" Rarity asked.

"The manifestation we caught the other day." The unicorn stallion leaned back and rested on his coils. "I didn't have time to check it but it may have been a manifestation of a higher level: either hex or cursed. If that's the case, then Zecora can be ruled out."

"But pfwe paptured it, plike oo sthaid!" Pinkie reminded.

"Yeah, it didn't have time to do anything," Rainbow Dash agreed. "We stopped it quick. Zecora's the one behind this!" She turned to the others. "Come on, girls. Are you with me?"

"Ah am-pft!" Pinkie replied.

"And I as well," Rarity said from behind her curtain of dreadlocks.

Fluttershy looked down. "Uh, I don't know. Seems awfully dangerous," she said shyly, which sounded pretty ridiculous in her changed voice. So much in fact that the dragons could barely hold back their giggles.

"How about you Applejack?" Rainbow continued. She looked at the table where the farmpony had been standing. "Applejack?"

"Pf-she's gone-pft!" Pinkie stated obviously, sending everypony into panic-mode.

Rarity screamed. "Or somepony stepped on her!" She lifted her hoof to check, as did everypony else, although Spirit could only check his existing front legs.

Twilight flinched. "Or sat on her?" That got everypony checking their flanks, which received a barely stifled laugh from Fang.

Rainbow Dash looked up from staring at her cutie mark. "Rarity's hair!" she cried, designating another possible locating for the missing mare.

Pinkie took to the task with gusto, pushing the fashionista's frizzy mane and fur around. Needless to say, Rarity did not enjoy being handled so. "Pinkie, what are you doing?" she cried as the pink pony poked around. "You ever hear of personal space?"

"Nopthe."

"Apple Bloom is gone too!" Twilight noticed.

"I bet they went after Zecora," Rainbow said.

"I don't," Spirit replied. "But they've probably gone to the same place: the Everfree Forest."

Twilight stepped towards the door. "Well we better go find them. Come on everypony, let's go." She walked outside, closely followed by Spirit, Fluttershy and Silver, who were the only ponies not being delayed. Rarity was stuck because Pinkie was standing on one of her mop-like coat hairs and Rainbow Dash was flying upside-down on the floor with her mane sweeping the floor in an acceptable imitation of a low-ground hovercraft.

"Hey, a little help here?" the cyan pegasus yelled.

"Oopsie," Fluttershy uttered. She and Pinkie stopped to help her up. "Sorry."

Rainbow Dash buzzed her wings and zipped headlong into the wall, missing the doorway and leaving a pony imprint on the inside of the tree. She righted herself, smiled apologetically at the two mares who'd helped her up and flew out the door. Fluttershy looked over at the table, where the dragons were looking over Supernaturals. Uh... Spike? Fang? Are you guys coming?"

Resisting the hilarity of her voice, Fang replied without looking up, "Nope. We're gonna... um...."

"Keep looking for a cure!" Spike spoke up.

"Yes, a cure!" Fang agreed, nodding furiously.

Fluttershy exchanged looks with Pinkie Pie, shrugged, and the two ponies left. Once they were alone, Fang sighed. "That was a close one."

"Tell me about it," Spike said. He scratched his chin with his quill. "So, you got something yet?"

Fang cricked his neck. "How about 'Twilight Flopple'?"

*

Twilight, Spirit and the other affected ponies ran as fast as they could, ignoring the Ponyvillians going about and eyeing them, towards the Everfree. They galloped into the dark woods, keeping their eyes open for any sign of Applejack or Apple Bloom.

"Okay Spirit," Twilight said. "If we find Zecora before we find the others, what should we do?" She waited a minute before realizing there was no reply. "Spirit?" Twilight looked around and found that the unicorn stallion was no longer running beside her. In fact, he was nowhere in sight. "Where did Spirit go?" she called back to the other ponies.

"He went down the other path when we passed that fork," Silver told her, catching up. "He said something about our chances being better of finding Applejack and Apple Bloom if we split up. And speaking of which," he added as they neared another fork.

"Shouldn't we all stick together?" Rarity asked, tripping over her coat for the 4th time.

"Only if you feel uncomfortable going alone," Silver replied. "I'm actually used to it. You girls keep going, I'll go this way." And he flared his chocolate-syrup wings and zoomed down the other trail.

"I hope he's right," Twilight said, watching the manifestation disappear into the forest. "But then again, if we do spread out, our chances of running into them are higher."

Hairity nodded in agreement. "The faster we find Applejack and her sister, the sooner we can find a solution to all our..... mishaps."

"I'm telling you," Rainbow said, struggling to hover straight, "it's Zecora! We oughta go right to her and—"

"Whatever we do, it should be after we find the others," Twilight said sternly. "And I'm still doubtful over this whole curse thing."

"We'l phsettle eveweypshing onpshe phwe find plem," Pinkie yelped, her tongue trailing behind her like a dog as she ran.

"We'd better hurry then," Flutterguy agreed

"Come on, girls," Twilight said to them. The five mares went back to running, glancing here and there for a speck of orange or a sight of yellow among the trees and bushes. Rarity kept falling over and Rainbow Dash could barely control her flight, yet she refused to trot like the others.

"Hey, wait for me!" she yelled as she whizzed off the path again. Rainbow soared through the trees, grunting in pain as the branches pulled at her. When she made it through, she found herself flying along a different path with nopony on it. She looked right and saw Apple Bloom hurrying along.

"Hey! AB!" Rainbow Dash called. But the filly didn't reply; she just kept of running. While Rainbow tried to figure out why Apple Bloom didn't hear her, she zoomed through a bush and crashed into yet another tree, knocking the top half down and falling onto the rather plush leafy foliage.

Rainbow groaned. Well she tried, but something in her mouth prevented her from making a sound. The thing inside shifted and a saliva-sodden Applejack poked out between her lips.

"Rainbow!" she squeaked, sounding relieved. "Thank Celestia!"

Rainbow Dash was about to ask her to get the hay out when she heard a slithering nearby. She turned her head, her mouth still full of Applejack, and watched the forest apprehensively. Applejack caught on and she too turned as much as she could, balancing her hooves on Dashie's teeth. With barely a sound, Slither Guide slipped out of the darkness, his eyes shining like blue flashlights. He turned his gaze on the two ponies, one normal and the other tiny, and a look of surprised amusement appeared on his face.

"No way," he mumbled, a wry smile playing on his face. Spirit chuckled, shook his head and quickly slid towards them. Then, leaning in close, he asked, "Whatcha up to, Applejack?"

"What am Ah up to?" the tiny pony repeated. "Ah'm up to mah flank in Dashie's drool, that's what!" She shook, trying to get free of Rainbow's mouth.

"Here, let me help you." Spirit curled his body for balance and reached out a hoof. Applejack grabbed it with her forelegs and Spirit tugged her out of Rainbow's maw, placing her gently on his shoulder.

Rainbow Dash hovered off of the bush and spat. "I hope that never happens again," she mumbled.

"Who're you to complain?" Applejack grumbled. "You're not the one who was—"

"Girls, quit it," Spirit cut in. "Fighting about it will not change our situation."

"Yeah," Rainbow agreed. "Finding Zecora will, though."

Spirit sighed. "You're probably right."

Applejack and Rainbow stared at him. "Really?" Applejack wondered. "Ah thought you said that the manifestation was the one who did it."

"Yes, I did say that. But while we were in the library, I discovered that the manifestation we caught was too weak to put lingering effects on ponies, especially not ones such as these." He gestured to their conditions. "I've been taught not to seek out or allow witchcraft and although I've encountered many types of unnatural talents, this is the kind which the laws I follow forbid."

"Does this mean we're going after Zecora?"

Spirit nodded. "With any luck, we'll find Apple Bloom on the way or Silver will."

"Aw yeah! Then let's go." Rainbow Crash flapped her misplaced wings and flew on ahead of them, just missing another tree, closely followed by Apple Teeny and Slither Guide.

Applejack snagged a creeper, some leaves and a branch and fashioned a makeshift bit and reins which she stuck onto Spirit's muzzle. Then, mounting his head, she pulled on the reins and yelled, "Come on, Spirit! We gotta get to Zecora's. Giddyup pony!"

Spirit sighed. "I should've known."

Applejack, sensing noncooperation, jabbed her back leg into Spirit's ear, causing him to rear suddenly on his snake body and quickly zip forwards. "YEEE-HAW!"

*

Twilight, Flutterguy, Hairity and Spitty Pie had arrived in a clearing where a large tree dominated. It was hollowed out and planted all around it were strange masks. Colored bottles hung from its branches and the whole place gave off an aura of mystery and other-worldliness.

"Oh," Rarity whimpered. "I look horrible!" While they were running, leaves and twigs had caught in her locks and she looked overly bedraggled.

Pinkie pushed the unicorn's obscuring hair out of her eyes. "Plis place plooks horrible!" she dribbled.

Oh my," Rarity mumbled in agreement. "That place really does look horrible."

Twilight sneaked over to the window, followed by the others, and they peaked in. The inside of the tree was filled with even more bottles and masks, hanging from the walls and sitting on shelves. In the middle of the room sat a large boiling cauldron full of a bubbling green liquid. "Nice decorations," Rarity commented sarcastically. "if you like creepy!"

Suddenly, the door opened. Zecora walked in, no longer wearing her cloak, with a small jar in her mouth. She looked even more alien with her gold bangles and earrings, strangely braided tail and mohawk. The ponies quickly ducked out of sight (all except Pinkie) as the zebra stepped towards the cauldron, tipped her jar and poured in a number of small purple particles. Then she began to chant over the steaming concoction.

Pinkie zipped from the window. "Sthe sthtole my sthong! Shthe shtole mm mm!" she spewed.

"She stole your song?" Hairty inquired.

"Oh Pinkie," Twilight said. "It doesn't sound anything like your song."

"Ah. Hmm..." Pinkie struggled to say, but failed. She slid along the ground towards Fluttershy and grabbed her leg. "Pbth!" she whimpered, looking up at the pegasus with big sad eyes.

Flutterguy sighed. She knew what her friend wanted. So, while Pinkie made up for her lack of voice with a dance, she sang,

She's an evil enchantress
And she does evil dances
And if you look deep in her eyes
She will put you in trances
Then what would she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew
Then she'll gobble you up
In a big tasty stew
Soooo... Watch out.

Rarity pointed her hoof at the window. "You saw those terrible things. Now do you believe us Twilight?"

Twilight frowned unsurely and listed the signs. "Scary looking masks, confusing incantations, and a great big bubbling cauldron?" She sighed in defeat. "Everything is pointing to Zecora being... bad. Or..." she said suddenly, "what if Zecora is just making soup?"

And that's when the zebra licked the concoction, 'mmm'd contentedly and said, "The perfect temperature for ponies, I presume. Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?"

"Or..." Twilight said, fearing the worst, "what if she's making Apple Bloom soup?!"

The four ponies glanced at each other in horror and simultaneously burst out screaming, Fluttershy's bass voice sounding strangely odd mixed in with the wails of the other mares.

"I'm comin' for ya, Apple Bloom!"

Without warning, the door to Zecora's hut crashed open and Rainbow Crash soared through, closely followed by a Slither Guide-mounted Apple Teeny. Rainbow flew around the hut like a mad firefly, bumping into walls and knocking things over. Zecora shouted in her native language as Applejack steered Spirit behind the zebra, using her reins to make him rear.

Twilight and the other ponies charged through the door. "What have you done with Apple Bloom?" Twilight demanded.

"No! No!" Zecora yelled, ignoring the new arrivals. She babbled in her native tongue as Rainbow Crash continued to tear about the room. Applejack twisted her reins and Spirit wrapped his middle coils around the zebra, holding her in place. Then the tiny pony threw a lasso and slipped it over Zecora's ear, which she jumped on and began to wrestle with, much to both Zecora's and Spirit's surprise.

Zecora turned her head to the mares in the doorway, as the rest of her body was caught. "Ponies! What is this you—" But she stopped when Rainbow crashed into the cauldron, sending the contents across the floor.

"No!" the zebra cried out. "You know not what you do! You've gone and spilled my precious brew!"

"We're onto you Zecora," Twilight said indignantly. "I didn't want to believe that you cursed us, but the evidence is overwhelming!"

"You made me look ridiculous," Hairty whined.

"You made me sound ridiculous!" Flutterguy stated.

"Pthou pade me ptheak plidicpulous!" Spitty Pie sprayed.

"You ruined my horn!" Twilight Flopple accused.

"You altered my form!" Slither Guide complained.

"You made me miniscule!" Apple Teeny grumped.

"You messed up my flying!" Rainbow Crash yelled.

Zecora stood up. "How dare you! You destroy my home, destroy my work. Then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?" Indeed, when she put it that way, it made the ponies seem like the wrongdoers.

But Rainbow Dash heard none of this. "You put this curse on us, now you're gonna uncurse us."

"It is unwise to venture down this road," Zecora said dangerously, stomping a hoof. "Your actions will make my anger explode!"

"Where is Apple Bloom!?" Twilight demanded again, leaning towards the zebra. The otehr ponies were about to join in when they heard voices from outside.

"So, that's how it happened?" came a male voice

"Uh huh. It's all just a big misunderstandin'," said a younger, more feminine voice.

"Well, this should fix everything up."

"An' here we are." Acting as though everything was perfect, Apple Bloom and Silver stepped into the hut, the later bearing saddlebags that looked more suited for the filly. "Zecora!" Apple Bloom called. "I think I found all the things ya asked for." She stopped and looked around at the general chaos. "What in Ponyville is goin' on here?"

"What a mess," Silver Sundae said blandly.

Applejack gasped. "Apple Bloom!" she cried from her perch on Zecora's head. "You're okay!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" the filly asked innocently.

Twilight dashed in front of her protectively. "Because Zecora is an evil enchantress who cursed us and was gonna cook you up into soup!"

Apple Bloom and Silver stared wide-eyed across the room at Zecora, who stared back with equal astonishment. Then all three started to laugh. "Oh Twilight," Apple Bloom giggled. "Did those silly fillies finally git in yer head? Sure, there are curses, but this isn't one of 'em."

Twilight smiled kindly. "Apple Bloom, sweetie. You can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse." She pointed at the other ponies.

Apple Bloom walked past the seven affected equines towards Zecora and said, "This isn't a curse."

"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact," Zecora said mysteriously. "I advised you to beware but you did not take great care."

"It was a warnin'," Apple Bloom explained. "About that blue plant. It's called Poison Joke."

"It's a bit like poison oak," Silver offered, "but has another way of working."

"What in the hay does that mean?" Apple Teeny questioned.

Zecora looked up at the tiny mare. "It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead this plant just wants a laugh."

Applejack deadpanned. "Will somepony please talk normal?"

"I think what she's saying is that when we ran in to save Apple Bloom, we ran into the Poison Joke," Twilight figured.

"No wonder I felt something weird about those plants," Spirit said.

"All our problems are just little jokes it played on us," Silver announced.

"Little jokes?!" Applejack cried out. "Very funny."

Rainbow Crash still looked skeptical. "But what about the cauldron?"

"And the chanting?" Flutterguy added.

"And the creepy decor?" Hairity felt the need to ask.

"Treasures of the native land where I am from," Zecora informed, pointing to the different masks. "This one speaks 'hello', and this 'welcome'."

"Now, that's a language I've got to learn," Spirit said wistfully.

"Not welcoming at all, if you ask me," Rarity muttered nonchalantly.

"The words I chanted were from olden times," Zecora went on. "Something you call a nursery rhyme."

"Is that really what we think of old sayings?" Silver wondered.

"Uh uh," Spirit replied.

"But the cauldron," Twilight remembered. "The Apple Bloom soup?"

Silver looked amazed. "Did she really say that?"

"Well," Flutterguy said slowly. "Sort of... not exactly."

"Looky here, Twilight." Apple Bloom pointed at an open book on Zecra's still-standing table. "That pot of water wasn't for me, it was for all these herbal ingredients. The cure for poison joke is a simple old-natural remedy." She held out her hoof and helped her sister off Zecora's head. "You just gotta take a bubble bath!"

Spirit peered over Twilight's shoulder. "Too simple to be real," he muttered, "but here it is."

"But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything," Twilight said. "What book has this natural remedy?"

Zecora closed the book and showed them its cover. It was Supernaturals. "Here is the book, you see? Sad that you lack it in your library."

Twilight and Spirit exchanged looks. "The answer was under our noses the whole time," Spirit said bitterly. "I'm disappointed with myself."

"We do have this book," Twilight recalled, "but I didn't look inside because the title was so... Weird." She read from the book. "Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-alls That Are Simply Super."

"We messed up," Spirit informed the other ponies.

"I'm so sorry, Zecora," Twilight apologized, lowering her head. Spirit wrapped her in a comfort hug. "We had the answer the whole time, if only we had bothered to look inside."

The zebra smiled and chuckled. "Maybe next time you will take a second look," she said to the ashamed ponies before her, "and not judge the cover of the book." Apple Bloom laughed at the funny-sounding message.

"Zecora, would you be kind enough to mix up another batch of the herbal bath?" Twilight asked.

"Mix it up I certainly will. Yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville."

"But whenever Zecora comes to town, all the shops are mysteriously closed," Apple Bloom reported.

"Can't imagine why," Rainbow Dash seriously.

"What do you think, Twilight?" Spirit asked, loosening his coils. "Think we can solve this?"

Twilight looked at their friends. "I think we can come up with something."

*

Daisy, Rose and Lily were setting up bouquets outside the flower shop for the customers. Suddenly, Daisy saw a group of ponies coming up the road, all of them looking very strange. And between them was—

"Look, Rose! How awful!" she cried.

Rose looked. "The wicked enchantress has cursed them all."

"The horror, the horror!" Lily screamed, throwing Ponyville into panic mode. Ponies ran hither and dither, rushing to get to the safety of their homes. Within seconds, the town was deserted. Again.

Sighing, Twilight led the party to the flower shop and Spirit knocked on the door. A frightened Daisy opened the door a crack.

"Find any snakes in the flower beds?" Spirit joked, twirling his long body behind him.

Twilight slapped him lightly. "Daisy, we need to talk."

*

With a little coaxing and a lot of explaining, the news of Zecora's true colors spread quickly throughout the town. The desired herbs were brought to the spa, which had the only bath big enough for eight ponies in need of a remedy. A separation was placed in the bath to divide the mares from the stallions. Spirit, however, refused to wash off the effects of the Poison Joke until after he had said his morning prayers, which, in their rush to the Everfree, he had forgotten to do and was very upset about it. Once he had completed his service, he slipped in and joined the others.

"Aaah," he sighed peacefully as he slipped the last of his coils into the water. "Lord, bless us all."

Silver dunked and when he resurfaced, he had regained his black smoky form. His mane, not being wet at all, resumed its flowing habit. Pinkie belly-flopped into the water, splashing everypony and reducing her tongue to its normal but still obnoxious size. Twilight's horn straightened and strengthened, losing its spots. Rarity's hair curled back into place. Fluttershy's voice became soft. Rainbow's wings slid back to her shoulders and she whizzed around the room before landing gently in the bath. On the edge, Apple Bloom and Zecora continued to pour in various herbs and ingredients.

Lotus, one of the spa ponies, walked over. "Miss Zecora," she said politely, "I would love to get the recipe for this bath. It's simply luxurious!"

Suddenly, Apple Bloom cried out. "Hey, where's Applejack?!"

That sent the mares into a panic. They splashed around, hoping that they didn't accidentally squash the farmpony. Spirit watched them for a moment more before announcing, "Calm down, girls." He lit his horn and levitated a small tub full of water. Applejack was jammed into it, full sized and smug.

"Ah'm right here, little sis," she said. " I ain't tiny no more!"

Spirit tipped the tub, spilling Applejack into the bath and sending water everywhere. Spirit grinned and started laughing. The others joined in, happy to be back to normal. "I know what I'm going to be writing to Celestia about today," Twilight said contentedly.

"I'm glad your happy, Twilight," Spirit replied, his thoughts wandering as he laughed with the others. "But I do hope Luna will feel up to seeing me."

Don't worry, Spirit," Twilight said comfortingly, reaching across the separation. "I'm sure it will be soon."

Spirit smiled. "Me too. Thanks."

Their quiet exchange was interrupted by a sudden wave of water. Fang stood on the edge of the tub, a now-empty bucket poised in his claws. Spike stood next to him, also holding a bucket, this one full. "Are you ready?" Fang asked rhetorically, for in his mind, the decision was made.

Twilight and Spirit exchanged looks, smiled and started up their magic together. The dragons' buckets whipped around, knocking them into the water. Everypony laughed as Spike and Fang squirted water and shook themselves from the surprise sneak-attack.

Author's Notes:

I can see the rest of the show-based chapters are gonna be draaaaaaaagged out so I'm going to apologize now to all those who don't like reading a lot of words.

Plague of Locust Revisited

Fluttershy picked up another flower, adding it to the basket strapped to her back. She loved gathering beautiful flowers and today there was a special purpose for it: Princess Celestia would be visiting Ponyville tomorrow and Fluttershy had been asked to help with the decorating of the town as the three Flowers Ponies were slightly put-upon. She'd happily accepted the job and took to it with enthusiasm with her animal friend to help her.

"La, la la, la la, la la, la la," Fluttershy sang as she cantered over to another patch of flowers. She turned her head as a gust of wind blew through the field she and her animal friend were in. "Um, Fang?" she called over to the dragon, who was flying a kite beside a tree. "Do you want to come and help a bit? If you want to, that is."

Fang didn't reply right away, as he was in the middle of singing a song.

Little kite tell me, for I cannot fly
Can you see distant oceans and mountains so high
But most of all tell me, for I cannot see
Is there a G-d in heaven, does he know of me?

Fluttershy trotted over to Fang and looked up at his kite. "That's a pretty song," she said kindly. "Did you make it up yourself?"

Fang smiled and began to reel the kite in. "No. It's not even one of my favorite songs, but it's appropriate for what I'm doing, even if I can fly."

"It's very nice."

"Thanks." Fang rolled up his kite line and tucked it and the kite behind his back, attaching it to his spines. He reached down and plucked a clawful of dandelions. "Will these do?"

"They're very pretty," Fluttershy admitted, "but the flowers we're picking now are for Princess Celestia. We should get the prettiest ones we can find."

Another breeze blew through the field, blowing the dandelion clocks off the stems. "Valid point," Fang said nonchalantly, throwing the stalks over his shoulder.

Fluttershy and Fang walked up a small hill, where a basket of apples was sitting on a stump. They were merrily picking more flowers when a rock on the ground beside them chirped suddenly, shocking Fluttershy into dropping her flower basket and hiding behind the apple one.

Fang's eyes grew suspicious as he approached the guilty stone. He prodded it hard. At once, a small creature hopped onto the rock. Its body was round and blue. It had four insect-like legs and four large transparent wings. Two large green eyes took up most of its face. The critter looked at Fang and chirped adorably.

Curious but still wary, Fang stuck out a finger. The creature leapt onto his finger and purred contentedly. "Hey Fluttershy, lookie here!" he called.

Fluttershy crept out from behind the stump and approached. "Oh my," she said, watching the critter with increasing delight. "What is it?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it before. I was hoping you would know."

The little creature sniffed at an apple that had fallen from the basket. "Oh, it must be hungry," Fluttershy figured. She crushed the apple into smaller pieces with her hoof and Fang lowered the creature down beside the fruit. But instead of feasting on the crushed apple, it whizzed over to the basket and quickly consumed every apple in it, despite every fruit being bigger than itself.

Fang stared in amazement. "That thing packs away as much as Pinkie Pie," he commented.

"He must've been really hungry," Fluttershy guessed. The creature hovered gently towards them, nestled itself in Fluttershy mane and purred cutely.

"He's the most adorable thing ever!" Fluttershy exclaimed, gently nuzzling it. "We should go show it to the others." Without another word, she started back towards Ponyville.

Fang glanced at the empty apple basket on the ground. That thing sure knows how to pig out, he said to himself. Better not team it up with Pinkie or the Princess's welcome banquet won't be a banquet for very long. Gathering up Fluttershy's dropped flowers and putting them back into her forgotten basket, he heaved them on top of his own flowers and followed the pegasus.

*

Twilight ran her feather duster over the desk. "Hurry up, Spike! This place isn't gonna clean itself."

"It also didn't mess itself up," the dragon said under his breath.

Spirit swung by on the rolling ladder, beaming with joy. "Enough doom and gloom!" he insisted. "Princess Celestia is coming tomorrow!"

After over two weeks, the Princesses had finally agreed to meet with Spirit and Fang. This came in the form of a letter that Fang spat out with a loud flaming belch. Neither Twilight nor Spirit had any explanation for how this happened but the moment they saw the contents of the letter, they both stopped caring about that. The letter was from Princess Celestia, announcing that she was intending to visit Ponyville and, with Princess Luna's approval, was going to use this as an opportunity to meet with Twilight's new friends. This had put Spirit in the highest of..... well, spirits. After informing the rest of Ponyville of Celestia's visit, he quickly took off to do some of the tasks himself. The preparations were almost done and right on time too.

"I thought this was just an unofficial casual visit," Spike said innocently.

"There's nothing casual about a visit from royalty," Twilight protested. "I want this place to be spotless, and you've barely made a dent in the clutter."

Spirit stopped his ladder behind her. "Take it down a notch," he asked of Twilight, pouting. "You're making a dent in the mood."

Spike picked up a stack of books and climbed up the ladder Spirit had abandoned. "Maybe you should start reading them one at a time—"

"If we read like that, we'd fall behind in our studies!" Twilight said dramatically as Spike toppled from the ladder, closely followed by the books he was carrying.

"It's a good thing it's not a requirement for me," Spirit added cheerily, levitating a few books off of the baby dragon and back onto their shelves. He was still smiling, ever since he'd gotten the letter. "Just a helpful literal enhancement."

Come on Spike!" Twilight said, brushing the book on Spike's head. "Everything's got to be perfect. No time for fooling around."

"You know," Spike began, "this would be an awful lot easier if there weren't two of us here getting under each other's feet."

Twilight eyes sparkled as the idea clicked. "Great idea." She wrapped her magic around Spirit's tail and pulled him towards the door. "You clean, we'll go see how everyone else's preparations are coming."

"You wanna let me walk there myself?" Spirit asked, tapping his hoof patiently on the floor.

"Oops! Sorry." Twilight released her magic and the two unicorns stepped out.

Spike groaned as the door closed behind them. "Man, I wish Fang was here."

Spirit and Twilight trotted towards Sugarcube Corner, looking back and forth between everypony and their work. Some ponies were organizing flower arrangements while others cleaned up the streets. Streamers and bells were hung on the trees and Ponyville was looking absolutely festive. Twilight and Spirit stopped to watch a banner being raised by Carrot Top and Berry Punch, but then Twilight noticed something troubling. "What happened to the rest of her name?" she asked. For the banner read Welcome Princess Celest.

"We couldn't fit it all in," Carrot Top explained.

"You can't hang a banner that says Welcome Princess Celest," Twilight informed. "Take it down and try again."

Spirit looked up at the banner, then at the pile of materials beside it. Still smiling, he lit his horn and floated some paper and colors up to the edge of the banner and shot a wave of energy up at it. A cloud of smoke obscured the end of the banner and when it cleared, it revealed the banner now bearing Celestia's name properly. "There, that should do it," Spirit said contentedly.

Carrot and Berry were amazed. "Thanks a lot, Spirit Guide!" Berry Punch cheered.

"You saved us some time," Carrot said happily. "Now we can go help hang more streamers." The two earth ponies dashed off.

"Nice work," Twilight complimented, looking up at the fixed banner. "I probably wouldn't have been able to do that myself. Sorry if I sounded a bit harsh with Berry and Carrot Top."

"It's quite understandable," Spirit said kindly as they passed Bon Bon watering flowers. "Nice work," he complimented to the earth pony. Then to Twilight, he said, "You're stressed and you want to please your mentor. Let's not dwell on it too much."

They entered the bakery. Inside, Carrot Cake and Cup Cake were busy setting a long table with food and rolling out dough for more. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," Twilight greeted them. "How's the banquet coming?"

Mrs. Cake frowned unsurely. "Uh...it would be coming a little better if..." She pointed at the seemingly quiet banquet table.

The two unicorns turned to see what was troubling Mrs. Cake. Taking a second glance at the table, they found that most of the food had big chunks missing from. A large fancy cake topped with a crown sat in the center of the table, but suddenly it exploded in waves of chocolate and frosting, revealing a certain pink pony now wearing the crown and a cake-beard. Pinkie Pie licked the cake off her face and smiled contentedly.

Twilight looked like she might flip out. "Pinkie!" she yelped. "What are you doing? Those sweets are supposed to be for the Princess."

"We are asking ponies to make more food than she could probably eat though," Spirit added thoughtfully.

Pinkie looked around at the foods she'd already been through. "I know. That's why I'm tasting them," she said hurriedly without missing a beat. "Somepony needs to make sure that everything is tasty enough to touch the royal tongue." She zipped towards the counter, where another cake stood untouched. "And I, Pinkie Pie, declare that these treats are fit for a king, or a queen, or a princess."

She was about to chow down when Spirit grasped her fluffy tail and held her several inches away from the dessert. Twilight moved towards Pinkie to tell her to stop when a voice from outside said, "Twilight, Spirit, Pinkie, you won't believe... " With a short skip, Fluttershy leapt into the bakery but when she saw the three ponies in their awkward position, she stopped herself and ended up sliding the rest of the way in. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "Am I interrupting?"

Fang walked in casually and stood beside her. "I hope were not interrupting anything important," Fang said, his tone rolling back and forth between serious, silly and suspicious.

"No, not at all," Pinkie told her, eyeing the cake just out of her reach. "Come on in and make yourself at home." She opened her mouth and wrapped her tongue around the cake, dragging it into her maw and swallowing it whole before either of the unicorns could stop her.

Twilight glared at Pinkie, but let the issue slide. "What's gotten you so excited, Fluttershy?" Spirit asked, for he had never seen Fluttershy skip so energetically, although he had seen Fang make the same face he was now wearing.

"You won't believe what Fang and I found at the edge of the Everfree Forest," Fluttershy said. She looked at the end of her mane hanging at her side. "Come on out, little guy. It's okay."

The small blue creature poked out of her mane and hovered out, closely followed by two similar creatures colored yellow and brown. Fluttershy gasped. "Three?"

Fang scratched his head. "No way were there three before. I remember, there was exactly one."

"Well, there are three now," Spirit said, he and Twilight trotting over to inspect. "Although—"

"They're amazing," Twilight finished for him. "What are they?"

"I'm not sure," Fluttershy replied as the critters flew about over their heads. "I'm also not sure where these other two came from."

"I'll take one off your hooves," Twilight offered as the yellow one drew circles around her and landed on her leg. "I've never seen anything so... adorable." She leaned in and gently hugged the creature, but stopped and blushed when she caught the others staring at her. "Besides, it'll be nice to have a companion for Spike so he won't bother Spirit and me so much while we're studying."

"Hey Pinkie!" Spirit called over. "How about you? You want the third one?"

"UGH!" Pinkie exclaimed disgustedly. "A parasprite? Are you kidding?" She clopped off towards the door.

"Ugh?" Fluttershy repeated in disbelief.

"A para-what?" Twilight inquired.

"What's the big deal, Pinkie?" Spirit asked as the pink pony stopped in the doorway.

Pinkie groaned. "Now I gotta go find a trombone."

The three ponies stared at her. "Say again?" Fang requested attentively.

"A trombone," Pinkie repeated. "You know—" She mimed blowing the brass instrument and imitated its sound. Then she pointed a hoof at Fang. "Fang, think you can help me?"

The green dragon took one more look at the parasprites and scowled. "I'm in," he replied, walking over to Pinkie.

"Great!" she said, wrapping him in a quick hug. "Now let's go!" She leapt out of Sugarcube Corner and down the street, Fang flying close behind her.

Twilight sighed. "Typical Pinkie." Her yellow parasprite purred and she smiled. "Come on, Spirit," she said to the stallion. "We'd better go see how Rarity's doing with her outfits for Celestia's visit."

Spirit watched the brown parasprite float in front of his face, finally coming to sit on his muzzle. "Guess I may as well take this guy along with us," he said, staring down his nose at the little insect-like creature. He had never seen anything quite like the parasprites before and was more than curious about them. "Even if Fang doesn't want him, it just means Spike will get two new buddies."

"Alright then. We'll see you later, Fluttershy."

"Bye guys."

*

When Spirit and Twilight walked into Carousel Boutique, they found Rainbow Dash sitting on Rarity's dressing table, decked in a most un-Rainbow Dash outfit which Rarity was adjusting. Behind her, clothed in a flashy jacket, stood Silver Shade who looked not nearly as unhappy as Rainbow Dash, but still bored. Scattered around the boutique were more fancy clothes, set up on Rarity's mannequins, all made specially for Celestia's visit. "Stand still, Rainbow Dash," Rarity demanded, her mouth full of pins.

"I can't," Rainbow whined. "I need to fly!" She flapped her wings and tried to get away, but Rarity held her tail down and forced the pegasus to land. "This is waaay too boring for me."

"You don't see me complaining," Silver argued, "and I'm the one who looks like a filly's art project."

"At least you don't have a wig," Rainbow shot back.

Rarity spat the pins out onto the table. "Do you want to look nice for Princess Celestia or not?" she challenged. Rainbow Dash didn't argue with that and sat down obediently so Rarity could continue her work.

"You look smashing, Silver," Spirit announced, walking further into the boutique with Twilight.

"Wow," Twilight exclaimed as she beheld the ensembles. "Rarity, those outfits are gorgeous."

"Thank you both," Rarity replied gratefully. "Nice to know someone appreciates my talents." She glanced pointedly at Rainbow Dash, who just sat there looking glum.

Spirit trotted over and put his hooves on the table. "Feeling alright, Dashie?" he asked rather smugly.

"Ugh," Rainbow groaned, pulling on her eyelids. "Sooo boooring."

Twilight's yellow parasprite chirped from within her mane and Spirit's did the same from his bangs, attracting the attention of the other ponies. "Huh? Rarity uttered.

Rainbow Dash flew from the table and landed behind the unicorns. "What's that sound, Twilight?" she asked.

With a chirp, a pink parasprite hopped out of Twilight's mane and onto her back, where her yellow one and an extra blue one came into view. Likewise, Spirit's brown parasprite floated onto his horn, closely followed by a purple parasprite and a red one. "What in the world?" Silver exclaimed, staring at the six creatures.

"Wow, what are they?" Rainbow asked.

"More like 'where did they come from?'" Spirit suggested. "We each only had one before."

"I'll take one!" Rainbow scooped up the pink parasprite and snuggled it.

"Me too," Rarity cried, holding out a hoof and accepting two of Spirit's parasprites. "They're perfect!"

Silver watched as the red parasprite flew around his head and through his cloudy mane. "I dunno," he said unsurely. "They seem a bit.... Off."

"Oh, do lighten up Silver," Rarity chuckled. "They're just fine. Better than fine even."

"You may as well give it a try," Spirit offered.

The parasprite perched itself on the manifestation pony's ear and purred. Silver smiled. "Alright, fine. They are kind of cute."

Pinkie appeared in the open doorway looking frantic. "Does anypony know where I can find an accordion?" she called in. She was met by the sound of the ponies inside playing with their parasprites and making ridiculous noises. Even Spirit was tapping his gently back and forth.

"Hellooo!" Pinkie yelled, trying to get their attention. "Anypony? This is important!" When nopony replied, she grunted again. "Thanks a lot!"

Fang dashed to her side from who knows where, gripping an accordion. "Here Pinkie, I found one!" he reported, holding up the odd instrument.

"Great, Fang!" she replied. "We'd better go find a harmonica now. We'll need it." The two friends rushed away from the pony-and parasprite-filled boutique, with an accordion in tow.

*

Later that evening, Twilight surveyed the library. The walls were clean, the floor sparkled and every book was back in its place. The day was a tricky one but they'd made it through. "Oh, the decorations, the banquet," she said, still uneasy about Celestia's visit. "I really hope everything comes together in time for tomorrow."

"You need to relax Twilight," Spirit told her, wrapping a hoof comfortingly around the purple unicorn. "Freaking out when you're so close to your goal isn't good."

Twilight quickly pulled Spirit into a close embrace, hugging him back. Spirit showed little surprise in reply to her sudden reaction. This was a favorable way to calm down. "Thanks Spirit," Twilight whispered into his ear. "You always know what to say when I'm feeling stressed."

"Hey, if anypony should be stressed, it should be me," he argued. "I'm going to meet Princess Celestia for the first time in my life. If she's anything like what I've heard from you and the others, then I'm going to need all the relaxation I can get."

"Guess we'd better get some shuteye then." They each went over to their beds and got under the covers. Next to Twilight's bed, Spike was happily snoozing with two parasprites sleeping next to him. Just below them, on the second level of the upper floor of the library, Silver hovered in a trance-like state, his body even more gaseous than normal, with a parasprites nestled in a thicker swatch of his form. Fang, however, had returned home from his hunt with Pinkie, looking a little concerned and very tired. He now lay in his bed with his eyebrows slanted across his forehead, as if he was angry at something.

"Everything is ready," Spirit muttered sleepily.

"Nothing to worry about," Twilight yawned.

Both unicorns dropped onto their pillows, immersed in peaceful thoughts and blissfully unaware of any troubles.

*

Twilight awoke the next morning with a start. While the parasprites did make rather audible sleeping sounds, it had now become almost deafening. Twilight opened her eyes to find her bed covered in parasprites. She shot up out of bed, causing the little creatures to fly everywhere. "Spirit! Spike! Fang!" she yelled, falling out of bed.

The boys got up with a start. Spirit's hair was mussed-up and full of colorful parasprites, which he waved away. "Oh my holy Lord in Heaven," he uttered, staring in disbelief at the numerous critters.

Spike stirred slightly, then screamed when he found his vision blocked by two parasprites on his face, which he quickly removed. Fang, somehow, had escaped his bed's being infested by parasprites and looked around. A lopsided-smirk slipped onto his face. "So that's it," he said quietly.

"Why are there so many?!" Silver roared from downstairs. He swooped up into the second floor of the library, bumping parasprites left and right, and flew around the room before whizzing back down the staircase.

"I don't know!" Spike admitted to the others. "The little guy got hungry in the night, so I gave him a snack, but... I have no idea where these others came from." The parasprites had begun to fly about the room, knocking over the books and scrolls Spike had so carefully organized."Oh no! They're messing up all my hard work!" the dragon grumbled.

"We don't have much time before the Princess is suppose to come!" Spirit reminded, batting at a parasprite with his hoof. "We've got to stop them."

Fang looked around at the general chaos of the usually-tidy bedroom. "No offense to cleaning up, but I've got a previous engagement that's absolutely mandatory before Celesta arrives. Adios." He shot off down the stairs. The others heard the door open and slam shut as Fang left the library.

"Forget it," Twilight declared. "Let's just get to work."

The four friends did their best to stop the parasprites' destruction. Twilight ran after them armed with her feather duster, Spirit was slapping them with an unfinished letter, Silver tried to confuse them by trapping them in his mane and Spike went around gathering them into a basket, which eventually crashed down on top of the dragon, burying him in parasprites.

Spike looked up at the three unamused ponies standing around and staring down at him. "I know, I know," he said collectedly. "'Stop fooling around'."

*

While the remaining residents of Golden Oak Library were facing off with the parasprite infestation, Rarity was having the time of her life. Well, since her last sale anyway. When she'd woken up, she'd discovered that there were now more cute little critters fluttering around her home. And if that wasn't good enough, they even helped her with her work.

"Not only are you adorable," she told the parasprites, "but you're also quite useful."

The yellow parasprite Rarity was stroking purred happily but then gagged and grunted as though there was something in its mouth. "Oh!" Rarity exclaimed in alarm. "Are you okay?"

The parasprite replied by opening its mouth and coughing up a large brown lump straight into Rarity's eye. The white unicorn peered in disgust at the slimy ball on her face and pulled it off, exclaiming distastefully. But then the brown lump in her hoof shook, sprouted wings and legs and turned into.... a brown parasprite, cute and smiling.

"Aaah! Gross gross gross!" Rarity yelped, waving away the new critter. "No creature that behaves so revoltingly is allowed in my boutique!" The parasprite ignored her, instead coughing up another lump, pink this time, which became another parasprite.

The sickening sight was too much for Rarity. She screeched and hurried to work. After some considerable amount of chasing, she'd successfully packed all the parasprites inside the boutique into her saddlebags and shut them in. "And you'll stay in there until I know what to do with you," she told the still-smiling bugs. Popping the stuffed bags onto her back, Rarity left the boutique, immediately encountering Fang, who was looking quite pleased.

"Hey there, Rarity," he greeted. Fang showed her what he was holding. "I went over to Applejack's and she lent me a harmonica. I think it'll do the trick." He put the harmonica to his lips and played a short tune on it. "I hope Pinkie think so," he added.

The parasprites in Rarity's saddlebags chirped and pushed at the straps holding them in. Fang looked over as Rarity quickly pushed them back down. "Oh boy, nice timing too," the dragon muttered in relief.

"Fang darling, I'm a little busy right now," Rarity stated.

The dragon threw up his arms. "Who isn't? You know, there's a reason I'm here on my own to tell you this. Pinkie said we should split up in order to find the instruments. Do you know how many we still have to get? I'll let you in on it: a lot. And that's more than a few." Fang pulled Rarity into a huddle. "If you help out and take a share of the instruments, we'll hopefully be able to gather them all in time."

"Please Fang," Rarity implored. "I don't have time for some silly scavenger hunt. I've got a real problem." She trotted off to find Twilight and Spirit.

Fang watched her leave. "A problem? No kidding." He suddenly slammed a fist into his palm. "And there's only one solution: a balalaika!"

Rarity rolled her eyes as Fang shot into the air and vanished from sight. Her trot became a gallop as she searched for her unicorn friends. She turned a corner and, to her surprise, found Twilight, Silver and Spirit running in her direction, Silver laden with Twilight's saddlebags.

"What a coincidence," Spirit said, noting Rarity's parasprite-filled bags. "We were wondering how you fared."

"Not too well, if that's what you mean," Rarity replied.

"Me neither!" came a shout from above. Rainbow Dash zoomed by, a small swarm of parasprite close behind her. She too had found her home infested with more than what she had that morning and realized that too many parasprites were far too huggy and attached for Rainbow Dash's taste.

"It took way too much time to get all of ours into my saddlebags," Twilight explained. "We couldn't use Spirit's because they're holding the Seals and who knows what else, but Silver was kind enough to carry mine." The manifestation pony smiled

"There's gotta be a way to get rid of them," Spirit pondered. "And we'd better find it quick before the Princess gets here."

Silver rolled his shoulders. "We should ask Fluttershy. She's knowledgeable about animals, she's bound to have a solution."

The other ponies agreed and they all galloped off the Fluttershy's cottage. Their hopes were dashed, however, when they opened the cottage door and a huge swarm of parasprites burst out. "Darn it!" Silver groaned, rushing into the cottage.

Twilight, Spirit, Rarity and Rainbow Dash followed him inside, shocked by what they found. Parasprites were everywhere, filling the air and waving utensils. Fluttershy was in the center of all this, hopping back and forth through the overhanging swarm.

"Do something Fluttershy!" Twilight pleaded. "Can't you control them?"

"I've tried everything I know," Fluttershy explained, running this way and that. "I've tried begging, and pleading, and beseeching, and asking politely and... "

Everypony stood there, taking in the news. If Fluttershy can't stop the parasprites, who can? Twilight thought about Princess Celestia and how she would react to all this. The worst thing that came to mind was the thought of the parasprites assaulting the Princess on her arrival and carrying her off. As her mind conjured up this image, Twilight glanced sideways at Spirit, who caught her gaze and uncovered her thoughts through her expression. "Clam down, Twilight," Spirit said soothingly. "You can't let yourself fall to this obstacle. This concerns more the just the two of us. We need to stand strong and continue searching for an answer, for everypony's sake."

Depression and submission were gnawing at Twilight's heart, but her friend's words brought back her confident attitude and dispelled her mental scenario. She led the others outside, where the parasprites continued to cough each other up, increasing their numbers. "We have to get control over them before the Princess arrives," Twilight said in a concerned but calm voice. "Otherwise it'll be a total disaster."

Rarity watched in disgust as a yellow parasprite barfed up a brown one. "Ew!" she squealed as the two critters snuggled. "If you ask me it's already a total disaster."

Right then, Applejack came over the way, harnessed to a cart full of apples. "Here's all those apples you wanted, Fluttershy," the farm pony called over, "but Ah still can't figure why y'need so many." Before she could say another word, several parasprites zipped over and dove into her cart, devouring the apples in seconds. "Hey!" Applejack yelled indignantly as the parasprites flew off, leaving the wagon empty.

Fluttershy looked morose. "What do we do?"

Twilight gasped delightedly as an idea came to her. "I got it! No pony can herd like Applejack."

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash agreed. "We can drive 'em back into the forest."

"Hopefully they'll stay there," Silver added.

Applejack made a disgruntled sound, but looked willing. "I'll rastle 'em up, but I'll need everypony's help to do it." She took a step towards the swarming parapsrites and thought out her plan. "Twilight, you, Spirit and Rarity wait over there. I'll herd the little critters straight at ya like a funnel." She waited until the three unicorns had taken their positions all around the trail. "Rainbow Dash, you, Silver and Fluttershy stay on top of 'em, don't let 'em fly away."

"Aye aye," Rainbow Dash replied, saluting. The three flying ponies hovered into the air above the parasprites.

"Yeeeeeee-haw!" Applejack yelled joyously, and the chase began. She ran right at the parasprites, driving them down the path but whenever they veered off, there escape was blocked by either Twilight, Rarity or Spirit, forcing them to huddle together. Some parasprites tried to evade the ponies by flying away, but Rainbow, Fluttershy and Silver kept them in check. Slowly but surely, all the parasprites were assembled into one spot, forming a loose sphere.

"Alright y'all," Applejack announced, "here goes nothin'."

She set the ball of parasprites rolling along the path and ran after it. Twilight, Spirit and Rarity ran alongside the ball, watching for escaping parasprites and leading them back in. Fluttershy, Silver and Rainbow Dash did likewise from above, flying over the balled-up bothers and chasing back any who made bids for freedom. Spirit was loving it. Running with friends while putting a stop to a catastrophe. This was the kind of stuff he took pleasure in being a part of. The chase even had its own music: a western-sounding tune played on a harmonica.

Wait a second, Spirit thought. Real life doesn't have theme music. He turned his head and found Pinkie Pie running alongside him and Twilight, Fang on her back playing the harmonica masterfully in synch with the moment. "Pinkie?"

Twilight heard this and turned as well, everypony still keeping the pace with the rolling parasprites. "Pinkie!"

"Guys, we don't have much time," Pinkie warned them, Fang's harmonica sliding back and forth in his claws to continue the music .

"You're telling us," Twilight said in desperate agreement. "The Princess could arrive at any moment."

"Exactly," Pinkie recognized. "That's why I need you all to drop what you're doing and help me find some maracas."

"Maracas?" Spirit repeated awkwardly. "Pinkie, you do know that this isn't the best time to be looking for maracas?"

Fang gasped and stopped playing, though the music echoed in the air. "Of course!" he exclaimed brightly. "We need a tuba! We gotta have a tuba. Let's go, Pinkie!"

"Right," Pinkie replied, nodding in agreement. Then to the others, she said, "Okay, follow me!" And she dashed off, Fang resuming his harmonica playing. Twilight and the others watched them go but otherwise ignored the pink pony and the green dragon on her back. When Pinkie noticed this, she scrambled back to the front. "I said 'follow me'!" she repeated.

"Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash said, lowering herself beside the unicorns as she flew, "you are so random."

"You're all just stubborn!" Fang declared. "Come on, Pinks. We've got a tuba to find." He put the harmonica back in his mouth and blew as he and Pinkie rushed away from the parasprites and the ponies leading them.

"Forget them, everypony," Applejack told the others as she returned her attention to the orb of parasprites in front of her. "Focus. Head 'em up and move 'em out." They guided the parasprites along the path away from Ponyville and towards the Everfree, whereupon reaching its entrance they let the ball roll on its own, taking the troublesome critters right into the forest.

"All right!" Rainbow Dash cheered, slamming her hoof down on Fluttershy's outstretched hooves.

"Ouch," the yellow pegasus muttered, looking at her sore hooves. She'd forgotten Rainbow was a little rough.

"We did it," Twilight announced, relishing in their success.

"You did well, Applejack," Spirit said warmly.

Applejack smiled at her friends. "Couldn't a'done it without y'all."

Twilight turned around. "Now let's get back and clean up the mess they made before the Princess arrives." The seven ponies left the Everfree Forest and returned to Fluttershy's cottage, Twilight going through all the preparations they now had to deal with. "Okay, everypony knows what to do, right?" she asked them all as they approached the cottage. "We gotta work extra hard to make up for lost time."

Fluttershy landed in front of her door and opened it. A storm of parasprites zoomed out of her house, their numbers so great it was frightening even Silver. Everypony stood aghast as the small creatures whizzed around them and whipped up wind as they escaped Fluttershy's house. "Where did they come from?" Twilight said in disbelief.

"Well," Fluttershy replied, shrinking back a bit. "I may have kept just one." A yellowish-orange parasprite came up from behind her and landed on Fluttershy's back, looking quite pleased with itself.

Reactions were upsetting. Both Rarity and Twilight glared, Silver faceplanted onto the ground, Rainbow Dash flew off somewhere, Spirit groaned exasperatedly and Applejack literally flipped her lid as two parasprites knocked off her hat.

"I couldn't help myself," Fluttershy said defensively, nuzzling the parasprite as it flew away. "They're just so cute."

"We can't go on like this!" Spirit yelled as the parasprites continued to fly around them. "We need an idea now."

Rainbow Dash touched down beside them, a pair of goggles perched on her head. "We call in the weather patrol," she said confidently. "Silver, I'm gonna need a wingpony."

Silver grinned and his sharp teeth glinted. "I'm in."

"Great." Rainbow Dash soared into the air and Silver flew after her. They flew high above the pandemonium, where the other ponies were either chasing after the parasprites or being chased by them. Rainbow pulled her goggles over her eyes and glanced over at Silver. "Time to take out the adorable trash." With a loud battle-cry, she shot down towards the parasprites, surprising the little critters.

Silver smiled and shook his head. "Let's see if I can't follow suit." He dove down and followed the cyan pegasus as she zoomed back and forth, the two flying ponies circling in the clearing in front of Fluttershy's cottage. Their quick loops began to create a small tornado, which blew even harder than the parasprites. The tornado blended Rainbow and Silver's mane colors, combining her multicolored mane perfectly with his dark shimmering hair. The powerful gusts from their whirlwind blew everypony off their hooves, forcing them to grab whatever was nearby. The parasprites didn't stand a chance against the concentrated wind and, one by one, they got sucked up into it until every parasprite in the area was inside the colorful tornado.

"Way to go, Rainbow and Silver!" Twilight cheered.

"And good riddance to that annoyance," Spirit snorted

"Looks like our problems are solved," Applejack concluded.

"Thanks to these cymbals, they will be!"

CRASH! Pinkie Pie pranced into the windblown clearing, a pair of cymbals hung around her neck. The wind from the tornado slammed the two metal plates over and over again. Fang marched beside her, also holding a set of cymbals, which he crashed together in time with Pinkie's to create a rather rhythmical beat. But Rainbow and Silver's tornado was blowing so hard that it pulled the cymbals out of fang's claws and off of Pinkie's neck.

"Oy, give those back!" Fang shouted angrily at.... the weather.

But, obviously, the tornado ignored them and the four brass cymbals zoomed into it. Rainbow Dash was busy flying in circles to keep the tornado going when she heard a strange tinny sound. The cymbals came zooming at her and she swerved to avoid them.

"Look out, Silver!" she called to the manifestation pony.

Silver glanced around, his powerful eyes quickly scanning the gusts of the tornado and caught sight of the cymbals, flying around like brass shuriken. Silver dodged the metal instruments as they came at him but at the cost of speed. Speed that was sustaining the tornado they were in.

Rainbow Dash preformed a neat barrel roll as the cymbals came at her again, but ended up going against the wind and crashing into Silver. The two flying ponies tumbled about the tornado with no control of their own. "There's not much left spin in this twister" Silver growled over the wind.

"She's breaking up!"Rainbow yelped.

The tornado danced and jerked and spat out Rainbow and Silver, sending them both flying into a tree with an unpleasant splat. The other ponies cringed at the sight and watched in horror as the tornado dissipated and the parasprites escaped, heading straight for Ponyville.

Pinkie watched the aggravating critters fly off, then proceeded to look around. "Ugh, great!" she huffed. "Now I can't even find them."

Twilight rounded on the two. "Pinkie Pie, Fang, what have you done?" she said in a dangerous voice.

"Lost two brand new pairs of cymbals is what we've done!" Fang replied grumpily as Applejack and the others came forward.

"Seriously, you two," Spirit warned, "you need to quit it. All this silly instrument business of yours is ruining all that we've been trying to do to save Ponyville."

"What did we do?" Fang demanded.

"We're not the ruiners!" Pinkie objected. "We are the ruin-ee!" She paused. "Or is it ruiness?"

Fang sat down beside her and stroked his chin. "No, I think you'd be the ruinette and I'd be the ruinator."

Applejack galloped past them. "Come on, y'all. There's no reasoning with 'em right now. They're a few apples short of a bushel," she said as they ran off towards Ponyville.

"I'd forgotten how ridiculous Fang could be sometimes," Spirit muttered. "I had no idea he'd get this crazy over things."

Fang spun around to face Pinkie. "Did he just call us crazy?"

"Are we?" Pinkie asked seriously.

The dragon shrugged. "Possibly. Maybe. Does that really matter?" He turned and shouted at Twilight and their friends, "You're getting waaaay too sidetracked over this ruining thing!"

"If you'd just slow down and listen to us!" Pinkie added.

*

The citizens of Ponyville were quite surprise by the sudden rain of small, adorable-looking creatures that appeared out of nowhere. Everypony stopped where they stood and looked up as the parasprites drifted down into Ponyville. Lyra Heartstrings and her friend Bon Bon, who had been settling down to enjoy some dessert, beheld a blue one descending right in front of them. Bon Bon offered it her hoof and the parasprite chirped happily. But as the two mares beamed at it, the blue parasprite cranked its jaws open and gulped down Bon Bon's cake and Lyra's pie.

And that was only with Lyra and Bon Bon. There were parasprites everywhere and everywhere there were parasprites, there was trouble. They were eating everything. Ponies tending to gardens watched in horror as their crops were devoured before their eyes. The food stalls set out for Celestia's visit were overrun by parasprites.

Twilight, Spirit, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Silver and Fluttershy arrived in Ponyville right in the middle of the infestation. "What do we do?" Fluttershy wondered fearfully. "They're eating all the food in town.

"I don't think there's been a bug situation this bad since the Eighth Plague!" Silver commented.

"I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow," Spirit recited. "While not accurate, it sure brings back some memories."

Applejack gasped. "Mah apples!" With thoughts of Sweet Apple Acres being attacked by the hungry parasprites, she dashed home to help her family protect the orchard.

"We've got to do something!" Twilight said desperately. She watched a brown parasprite holding a cupcake hover in front of her and smiled delightedly. "I got it! I'll cast a spell to make them stop eating all the food."

Spirit looked at her awkwardly but then nodded. "That's really the only problem with the parasprites." He stood beside her and lit his horn. "I'll help out."

"Thank, Spirit." Twilight lowered her head and sparked up her own magic. "Let's do this."

Together, the two unicorns fired up their magic and shot expanding rings of purple-and-blue energy across Ponyville. The moment the rings passed over the parasprites, they stopped eating and hung in mid-air, blank looks on their little faces. Some drifted rather aimlessly about.

Twilight, Spirit and the others looked about at the still critters, who only moments ago were the terror of town. They were so absorbed in the sight that they didn't notice Fang zooming across the street behind them, his wings hung with—

"Tambourines!" he cried enthusiastically. "Just like the ones they had at the Red Sea! Okay guys, now if we all just..." He stopped and stared at his pony friends and his expression changed to one of displeasure. "Grrrrrrrr!" he growled dragon-like, shaking his wings and causing the tambourines on them to jangle before he sped off.

Twilight and Spirit watched a yellow parasprite fly towards a bucket with a single apple in it. Twilight bit her lip as the parasprite sniffed at the fruit, hoping that their spell had worked. When the parasprite turned its nose up at the apple, the two unicorns sighed with relief. And then the parasprite stretched its mouth open and gobbled up the apple with the bucket, but spat out the apple whole and clean.

The other parasprites reacted likewise, now eating every non-edible object in sight: shop signs, lamps, roofs and tarpaulins. When a swarm of parasprites descended upon an apple cart, they completely devoured the cart and left the apples lying in the road. Rainbow Dash watched an apple bounce towards her. "Hey, it worked," she said sarcastically to the embarrassed unicorns. "They're not eating the food anymore."

"They will devour what little you have left," Spirit continued reciting, his mind buzzing with thoughts of huge locust storming a country and consuming everything in sight, edible or not. "They'll eat anything," he resolved. "Anything and everything."

"Oh no... " Rarity uttered as she watched two parasprites chomp on a decorative horseshoe. "If they get inside my store... Everypony for herself!" she screamed and zoomed off to save Carousel Boutique. But by the time she'd arrived, the parasprites had already entered and were feasting on her ensembles for the Princess's visit.

"My outfits!" Rarity cried as the parasprites bolted down the clothes straight off her mannequins. "Go on, shoo!" she yelled at one parasprite chewing on a box. "Get out of here, you naughty! Naughty!"

The parasprite coughed up a brown blob which became another parasprite. Rarity, still disgusted by the sight and frightened by their numbers, retreated to a stool and shrieked in fear as the parasprites continued to wreck havoc on her boutique. She was roused from her wailing by a strong shout from the doorway.

"I'll save you!"

Rarity turned to find Pinkie Pie framed in the entrance with Fang sitting on her back, the two friends posing like a knight astride his steed. Rarity and the parasprites went silent as Pinkie and Fang trotted inside... and headed straight for a recorder sitting on Rarity's worktable. Pinkie picked up and blew the instrument.

"Perfect," Fang told her. The pink pony tossed the recorder over her head and Fang caught it. "Just what I needed." Without another word, the duo left the boutique, leaving Rarity to resume her screaming and the parasprites to resume their dining.

*

Applejack stood between Big Macintosh and Granny Smith behind their barricade of wagons, carts and an overturned table. "No woodland creature's gonna eat the Apple Family's crop!" Applejack declared confidently.

A buzzing mass of parasprites came tumbling down the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. Big Macintosh raised his shovel and Granny Smith swung her pitchfork. Applejack picked up a spray gun and pointed it at the approaching swarm. "Brace yourself, y'all, here they come!"

The parasprites whizzed down the trail, growing louder and louder. When they reached the the blocked entrance to the orchard, they ignored the barricade and bustled on down the road towards the farmhouse. They swarmed over the red building and, with the sound of several buzz saws, the parasprites demolished the farmhouse, consuming every plank of painted wood and leaving only the frame, which collapsed in a heap. The parasprites then flew away from the broken wood pile as though nothing had happened.

Applejack and her family dropped their weapons in shock. "Didn't see that one comin'," the orange mare said simply.

*

While their friends were fighting for their livelihood, Twilight, Spirit, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Silver were doing their best to stop the parasprites.

"This isn't working!" Rainbow moaned, flying circles around a swarm until they were all dizzy.

"We need to get them organized!" Spirit yelled, beating at several parasprites mercilessly with a hat he found.

Silver frowned. This whole thing was just wrong. The parasprites were mostly going around doing whatever they pleased, but some were actually flying toward shops and buildings, damaging wares and furniture. He approached a joke shop to investigate. When he looked in through the window, he saw a number of parasprites flying in an arrow shape. At the front of this little swarm was a black parasprite.

That's odd, Silver thought to himself. Haven't seen black ones yet. From the broken window, he peered closely at the black parasprite. Its wings were pointed at the tips, unlike the other parasprites' rounded ones, and its eyes were a glowing red. It also had small pointed teeth poking out of its mouth. The more Silver looked at it, the more concerned and angry he became.

With a hateful roar, Silver leapt at the leading parasprite and pinned it the the floor. The other parasprites blinked, shook their heads and bustled off as though nothing had happened, but Silver noted that they were no longer focused on ruining the shop.

"Let me go!" the black parasprite beneath his hoof snarled.

"I thought so," Silver mumbled. With a swift movement, he scooped up the parasprite in his wing and caught its own wings between his teeth. Then, ignoring the parasprite's swearing, Silver trotted off towards his friends. "Hey guysh," he said through his teeth, "I got shumthin' you might wanna shee."

The other ponies turned to look. "What is it?" Fluttershy asked curiously.

Silver spat out the parasprite in the middle of the circle they formed. At once, Spirit threw a force field around it to keep it from escaping. The black parasprite beat at the magic wall, screaming, "Lemme out! I've got stuff to wreck and stuff to eat!"

"A black parasprite?" Twilight wondered aloud. "What does it mean?"

Spirit stared intently at their captive. "Oh," he exclaimed suddenly. "How clever. How utterly, horribly, awfully clever."

"I don't get it," Rainbow huffed. "Care to let us in on it?"

Twilight levitated Spirit's force-field and took a good look. "I don't believe it," she said in amazement. "It's a manifestation!"

"What? No way."

"Yes way, Rainbow Dash." Spirit shook the magic cage and rattled the parasprite inside it. "Just as they can take the forms of ponies, so too can they take the form of other creatures." He scowled and looked around at the destructive parasprites attacking Ponyville. "There must be several manifestations in the area, directing the parasprite infestation at ponies' homes and businesses."

"Maybe they led parasprite assaults our friends' businesses as well," Twilight concluded.

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy cried out. "We'd better go help them."

"Hold up," Spirit asked, raising a hoof for attention. "In their parasprite form, the manifestations aren't really more than smart parasprites intent on damaging livelihoods. Which is still pretty bad," he admitted. "But because of this, we can stop them without immediately needing Seals. Here's the plan: we split up and help our friends track them down. Sliver and Fluttershy, you'll go help Rarity. The parasprites are sure to be after her clothes."

"Okay," Fluttershy said.

Silver nodded. "We're off!" The two ponies hurried off towards Carousel Boutique.

"Rainbow Dash," Spirit continued, "you'll head on down to Sweet Apple Acres. I'm sure Applejack will appreciate some speedy assistance."

"You got it!" In a streak of color, Rainbow soared away to help the Apples.

"And that leaves us with the library," Twilight said happily.

"Sure does. Let's go." With the manifestation parasprites' cage hovering beside them, Twilight and Spirit made their way toward the library. Inside, they found the parasprites happily throwing books around and terrorizing Spike, who had taken refuge under a basket.

"Help!" the young dragon cried out as a parasprite dropped a book on his basket.

The two unicorns looked around the library. Thanks to their spell, the parasprites had found a new item on their menu: written words. They licked them off the pages and sucked up sentences like noodles. Twilight found that the pests were targeting the more important books rather than the novels. "We'd better hurry," she told Spirit.

"Mmm hmm."

"Spike, we need your help." Spike crawled out from under his basket and Twilight showed him the manifestation they'd caught. "We need to find more black parasprites, like this one."

"Black ones?" Spike thought for a moment. "You mean like the ones mucking around in your saddlebags, Spirit?"

Spirit jerked. He slowly turned to face his saddlebags, which wriggled as though there was something inside it. He carefully crept towards his bags and, with a shout, lobbed his magical cage inside. He stared into his bags and smiled contentedly. In a spray of sparks, Spirit's raised the force field out of his saddlebags. Inside the clear-blue orb, four red-eyed, fanged black parasprites bounced around. "Got 'em."

"RAARGRAAHFRAGRAAGGAAH!" the parasprites yowled and spat.

"They're not very polite parasprites," Spike noted.

"That's because they're actually manifestations," Twilight told him. Then she said, "Spirit, I just realized something."

"What, Twilight?" he asked as he strengthened the manifestations' prison with a steady stream of power from his horn.

"Even if we do catch all the manifestation parasprites, the other parasprites will still be running amok eating everything in sight. They may not be aiming to destroy the shops and market, but we still need a way to stop them all."

Spirit frowned and a thoughtful look crossed his face. "Do we know somepony who may possibly have a way to stop the parasprites?"

"I don't know about somepony," Twilight said thoughtfully, "but there's always Zecora."

"Of course!" Spirit threw his magical cage at Twilight, who deftly caught it. "Zecora's bound to have something that can help us."

"Then let's go see her," Twilight said.

"Hold on, I'm just gonna grab..." Spirit leapt into the air. "One of..." He jumped up again and closed his teeth over a red parasprite's wings, dragging it down to the ground. "Theshe. Okay, ret'sh go!"

Nodding, Twilight ran out of the library and Spirit followed, dragging their captured parasprites along with them. The two unicorns ran out of Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest, heading straight for Zecora's hut. The zebra was meditating when they arrived, balancing atop a stick of bamboo. When they banged the door open, Zecora lost her concentration and toppled onto the floor.

"Have you gone mad?" the zebra wondered, a bit miffed.

"Zecora," Twilight began, "these little guys are devouring Ponyville, and the Princess is on her way." Spirit spat out the parasprite and it flew over to their zebra friend. "Can you help us, please?"

Zecora watched the parasprite land on her muzzle. "Oh, monster of so little size. Is that a parasprite before my eyes?"

"We think so," Spirit replied unsurely. Twilight hovered the cage of manifestation parasprites so that Zecora could see them. "Several manifestations have changed into parasprites and are leading the others to purposely attack ponies' businesses."

The parasprite flew off her nose and back towards the unicorns. Zecora stepped towards her cauldron. "Tales of crops and harvests consumed," she said in an eerie voice. "If these creatures are in Ponyville..." The red parasprite coughed up a pink one. Zecora leaned in close to Twilight and Spirit. "You're doomed."

Fear filled Twilight heart and ate away at Spirit's confidence. If Zecora confirmed something, it was more than likely to be true. With a quick farewell, the two unicorns left the Everfree Forest as fast as they could. When they got out, they whipped at the two normal parasprites with their tails and chased them off. Then Twilight noticed something in the sky. "Spirit, look!"

Spirit looked up. A dark shape departed from the city of Canterlot. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the shape. It was a chariot drawn by four white pegasi in armor. Sitting in the flying chariot was Princess Celestia herself. Flying beside her was another dark shape, but Spirit couldn't see what it was.

"The Princess is coming!" Spirit said worriedly. He doubted that Celestia would be pleased with the condition Ponyville was in. When he and Twilight entered Ponyville, they found it even more ravaged. The parasprites had torn apart the houses. Ponies were running scared and refuse even the parasprites wouldn't eat lay in the streets. The entire town was wrecked.

That's when Twilight snapped. She always looked up to the Princess. As her mentor, she saw Celestia as an even more important figure than most other ponies did. If the Princess saw Ponyville in this condition.... Twilight didn't even want to think about it.

Gotta take action. she thought to herself. "Okay Spirit, here's the plan," Twilight said to the unicorn stallion. "We get Rainbow Dash to distract them, then get everypony else to build an exact copy of Ponyville over there." She gestured wildly to the side. "Come on," she squeaked over-confidently. "We've got less than a minute!"

Looking at Twilight and feeling the manifestation parasprites buzzing between his hooves, Spirit felt beaten. Today was the day he was supposed to meet the ruler of Equestria and now it was going to be a complete fiasco. It didn't help him that the parasprite invasion indeed felt like the Eight Plague his Master had inflicted upon Egypt in ancient times back in his world. Although he hadn't been present at the time before the great Exodus, his powerful connection to his nation's past allowed him to see exactly how it was. And it was not helping him think.

"Twilight," he said quietly, "I don't know what to do."

Twilight's face lost its hasty-assured look and her eyes focused on Spirit. She nodded slowly. "Zecora was right," she said with sorrow in her voice. "We're doomed."

A sharp trumpeting sound broke through the audible chaos. "Oh no," Twilight muttered. "The Princess's procession is here. It's all over!"

She and Spirit turned and peered down the road, expecting Princess Celestia's chariot to come cruising towards them. Instead, they observed two of the strangest sights they'd ever seen. Twilight had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things and Spirit actually recited a psalm. But they couldn't deny what their eyes beheld.

Pinkie Pie was marching down the street, bearing a load of instruments including a tuba and an accordion on her back, a banjo and a harmonica in front and cymbals attached to her front legs. She was playing all these simultaneously, a perfect one-pony band. Fang paraded beside her, also playing multiple instruments, some of which Twilight had never seen before. There was a recorder, a banjo-like stringed instrument, another pair of cymbals on his wings and a strange, curved, brown horn, which when he blew let out a long mournful bellowing sound that somehow blended perfectly with Pinkie's playing.

"What in the world are those two doing?" Spirit asked in disbelief. "And where did Fang even find those instruments?"

"Pinkie, Fang, we're in the middle of a crisis here," Twilight reminded them as they marched past the two unicorns. "This is no time for your....." Her voice drifted off as she saw yet another astonishing sight. "...nonsense?" she managed to finish before being shocked silent.

All over Ponyville, parasprites stopped what they were doing. They all turned towards the pony and the dragon, who's music coincided with each other in harmony and even sounded nice. As one, the parasprites rocked back and forth in time with the tune and, inch by inch, drifted closer towards the musicians, each one clearly enjoying the music. The bounced after Pinkie in single file, turning and keeping in line behind her, acting as though hypnotized by the pink pony's playing.

Fluttershy and Silver flew into the marketplace with Rarity close behind. "We managed to catch a hoofful of manifestations," Silver announced, dropping a wad of ribbons on the ground. Black parasprites pushed and raged inside it. "It was all of them so we...." He stared open-mouthed at the passing procession, as did Rarity and Fluttershy.

"What in Equestria?" Rarity exclaimed.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack showed up as well, rolling along a sealed barrel. "Got 'em all, every last one," Rainbow said proudly, tapping the vibrating barrel with a hoof. But when she saw the line of parasprites hopping after their friends, she and Applejack could only gape in surprise.

Twilight and Spirit approached their friends. Applejack looked at them expectantly, but both unicorns shrugged. Neither Twilight nor Spirit had an explanation for what was going on. Moreover, Spirit felt his magic cage rattling as the manifestation parasprites inside struggled harder than before. The same thing was happening with the ribbon-bound parasprites and the barreled ones. They all seemed to be pushing themselves towards the procession.

Spirit, Silver and Rainbow Dash held them down, but then Fang blew his horn and sent its echoing cry bouncing across town. Immediately, the black parasprites pushed up against the sides of their prisons, but they were no longer doing so in an angry manner, but rather a calm and determined one. Spirit realized that they must be hypnotized by Fang's music. "Let them out," he told the others.

"Say what?" Silver gasped in disbelief.

"After everything we went through to catch them?" Rainbow added.

"Don't worry," Spirit assured them. "It'll be okay." I hope.

Spirit dismissed his magical orb. Nervously, Silver tore away the ribbons and Rainbow popped off the lid of the barrel. At first, the black shape-shifting creatures just sat there, their red eyes big and unfocused, but then they jumped up and hopped away to catch up to Pinkie and Fang, quickly forming a second line behind the dragon.

"Come on, let's follow them," Spirit suggested.

Nopony argued so they joined the parade, walking leisurely behind the last parasprite in line. Pinkie and Fang led the small critters to the Everfree Forest. Halfway towards the woods, Twilight pointed up into the sky. "Look!"

Everypony did. Princess Celestia's chariot was slowly descending and landed on the side of the road. The other dark shape that had flown beside Celestia's chariot also touched down on the trail. Eager to see her mentor, Twilight galloped out of line and hurried past the parasprites. Spirit, Fluttershy and the other ponies quickly followed suit, all of them running or flying towards the Princess.

Celestia's chariot trundled to a stop when the ponies drew near. Twilight and the other mares quickly kneeled before the Princess as she climbed out of her chariot. Silver saw this and bent low too but Spirit remained upright, respectfully bowing only his head.

"Twilight Sparkle, my prized pupil," she greeted.

Twilight stood up. "Hello, Princess," she replied, trying to keep her voice calm.

The other ponies got up too as Celestia continued. "So lovely to see you again, as well as your friends. Both old and new," she added, eyeing Spirit and Silver. But before she could say another word, Pinkie's and Fang's cymbals crashed together and the two friends marched by, the parasprites following dutifully behind them. Twilight and Spirit focused on the Princess. She seemed a little surprised by the procession of little critters skipping down the road.

"So..." Twilight said in an attempt to turn the Princess's attention away from the parasprites, "how was the trip? Hit much traffic?"

Really smooth, Twilight, was all Spirit could think. Air-traffic. He peered over Celestia's chariot at the dark shape behind her. It was another pegasi-drawn chariot, open-backed and slightly smaller than Celestia's. Did Luna come? Spirit leaned further and found that the second chariot was empty. Why did Celestia have a second chariot brought with nopony in it?

"What is this?" Celestia finally asked. A yellow parasprite landed on her wing and chirped. Celestia raised her wing and chuckled as the parasprite flew off to join its companions. "These creatures are adorable."

"They're not that adorable," Rainbow grumbled quietly, receiving smiles from Rarity and Silver.

"I'm terribly honored that you and the good citizens of Ponyville have organized a parade in honor of my visit," Celestia said kindly.

"Parade?" Twilight repeated. She glanced at Spirit, who bobbed his eyes up and down furiously in agreement. "Oh. Yes, the parade."

"Unfortunately," Celestia added apologetically, "that visit is going to have to wait for another time. Some part of it, at least."

"Huh?" the ponies said together.

Celestia gestured with her hoof at Spirit. "Could you please come forward?"

Spirit stepped towards the Princess. He looked up at the tall white alicorn. She seemed about as regal as a four legged mythological creature could be, adorned with very little regalia for a sovereign. She radiated a powerful but calming aura, much like the sun symbolized by her cutie mark. Spirit also sensed regret, the feeling mixed with an ancient pain the kind of which he knew from personal experiences. Celestia had been through some rough times. He decided to pursue for answers at a later date.

"You must be Spirit Guide," Celestia deduced.

"Yes, you're Majesty," Spirit replied coolly. Then, in a respectful voice, he recited the blessing upon seeing a monarch. "Blessed are You, lord our G-d, King of the universe, Who has given of His glory to flesh and blood."

The white alicorn studied the unicorn stallion closely, then she smiled gently. "How courteous," Celestia remarked. "You didn't tell me your new friend was so regarding, Twilight."

"I still have a lot to learn from him myself, Princess," Twilight admitted, sharing a smile with Spirit.

"And I'm sure you all will," Celestia agreed, "but now I must tell you something. It is mine and Luna's wish that you, Spirit, and your companions come to Canterlot for a while."

Applejack's, Twilight's and Rainbow Dash's jaws dropped open. Fluttershy squeaked and Rarity squealed with joy. Silver turned his head away and grimaced. Spirit, however, did none of these. "I see," he said in a final sort of way. "I'll have to ask Fang and Silver if they're okay with it, then I'll be happy to."

"Luna especially wishes to see you, Spirit Guide," Celestia went on. "She has shown great anticipation towards meeting you."

Spirit looked back at Silver, who was shimmying further back to hide behind Fluttershy. Spirit tapped him on the shoulder and the manifestation pony turned around ashamedly. With a sigh, Silver walked forwards and stood beside Spirit. "Greetings, Princess Celestia," Silver addressed as formally as he could.

Celestia eyed Silver with interest, her expression quickly changing to one of sympathy. She took in his vaporous mane, much like her own, his pointed teeth and overall shadowy appearance. She lowered her head to his eye level and said kindly, "I look forward to hearing from you, Silver."

Silver's body relaxed and a smile appeared on his face. A loud crash sounded and everypony turned to see what it was. Pinkie and Fang had taken positions on both sides of the path near the entrance of the Everfree and were still playing their instruments. The line of normal parasprites hopped between them into the forest, but all the manifestation parasprites had grouped together in front of Fang, waiting expectantly. The winged dragon raised his horn and blew it once more, its mystical sound reverberating across the landscape. With a flick of his wings, Fang tossed a large sack over his head and on top of the black parasprites. He tightened the rope around the bag and slammed his banjo-like instrument into it like a baseball bat, sending the sack flying towards the other ponies, where it skidded to a halt at Celestia's side.

Spirit levitated the bag towards himself. "Your Highness, do you remember the manifestations I mentioned in my letter?"

Princess Celestia nodded. "Yes."

In a flash of light, Spirit summoned his staff. "I am now going to show you how I trap these creatures." Spirit's horn glowed blue as he charged the staff with his magic. A shape began to form at the end of the staff, coming into focus as Spirit let the stream of energy die down. The object looked like a digital watch without a strap.

"What's that?" Twilight couldn't help but ask.

"A Seal in the shape of a Digivice," Spirit replied, catching the object in his levitation field. "Some of my other friends had the ability to change form when their power was activated through these. Fang also has one."

"A most impressive spell, considering what little you have learned of Equestrian magic so far," Celestia acknowledged. "You must be proud to have come up with it."

"I pride myself on thinking up ways to help others," Spirit disclosed. "Fang's ingenuity combined with my power tends to yield suitable and favorable results. I needed a way to control the manifestations so I made one."

"Ya have to admit, though," Applejack said, sidling up, "it was a good job on your part."

"It really is an impressive bit of magic," Rarity complimented.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash agreed. "If you hadn't come up with it, we'd be up to our flanks in manifestations."

"Your Seals have kept Ponyville safe these last few weeks," Fluttershy reminded.

Twilight patted Spirit on the back. "Every time a manifestation showed up, you would quickly step in and capture it. We owe a lot to you already Spirit, and you're a great friend to boot."

"Thanks everypony," Spirit said happily, gratitude filling his soul. "All the recognition you give motivates me to do the best I can to foil the manifestations at every turn. And now," he declared, nudging the bag , "let's see how willing they'll be."

With his permission, Applejack whipped the rope off of the bag's neck and it collapsed around the manifestations. For a moment, the black parasprites blinked in the sunlight, then their expressions grew angry and, as one, they buzzed into the air and hovered over the ponies. Rainbow Dash fired up her wings and rose to their level, preparing for a chase if necessary. Princess Celestia regarded the dark creatures and activated her own magic, conjuring a golden net over their heads which kept the parasprites from fleeing.

"Thanks, Princess," Spirit said appreciatively. It would be easier to capture them when they couldn't escape. "Here we go!" Spirit raised the Digi Seal up to his face and activated it. The screen of the device lit up and a clear vortex began to suck the black parasprites toward the Digi Seal, stripping away their transformations and revealing their true tornado-like forms. The manifestations continued to struggle but they couldn't fight the powerful force and were all pulled into the device. Spirit clicked a button on its side and the screen flashed, now displaying four triangles surrounding a solitary circle.

"Marked with the Digital Hazard," Spirit noted with amusement. "That is surprisingly appropriate."

"That was most impressive, Spirit Guide," Princess Celestia commended. "I now see that you are more than capable of handling the situation you mentioned. Are you ready?"

"Just give me a minute please." Spirit turned toward the Everfree and everypony followed his gaze. Pinkie was still playing her instruments but Fang had his hung around him and was making an assortment of claw-signs, which Pinkie nodded at and smiled through her tuba's mouthpiece. Fang smiled back and ran over to the others. "Okay, I'm ready when you're ready," he announced.

"Wait, you heard everything from over there?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Fang shrugged. "What's the problem? You're only standing fifty feet from the Everfree." Then to Celestia and Spirit, he said, "I'm just gonna go return the instruments I borrowed, grab Spirit's saddlebags and I'll be right back." With that, he zoomed off towards Ponyville.

Princess Celestia chucked. "My, your newest dragon friend is quite entertaining, Twilight."

Twilight watched the green dragon disappear into town. "Yeah, he's fun to have around." She glanced over at Pinkie, who was still guiding parasprites into the forest. "Just like Pinkie."

"As for the other reason that my visit has to be postponed," Celestia continued, "an emergency has come up in Fillydelphia. Apparently there's been some sort of infestation."

"An... infestation?" Twilight inquired.

"Yes," Celestia confirmed. "A swarm of incredibly bothersome creatures has invaded the poor town. I'm sorry Twilight, to have to put you all through so much trouble."

"Trouble?" Twilight said, laughing lightly. "What trouble?"

"Everything turned out okay," Spirit stated. Thanks to Pinkie, anyway, he said privately to Twilight through their mind link.

Fang returned, Spirit's saddlebags bouncing on his back and Spike running at his side. "Okay, I'm all set!" the green dragon declared, then added, "Spike wanted to say goodbye to all of three of us so I brought him along."

Celestia nodded. "The pegasi will take you to Canterlot whenever you're ready." She waved at the second chariot. "And Twilight, before I have to go," the Princess added, preparing to climb back into her chariot, "would you care to give me your latest report on the magic of friendship in person?"

"My... report?" Twilight said perplexedly.

"Haven't you learned anything about friendship?" Celestia asked.

Twilight looked over at Pinkie, the entranced parasprites following her music into the forest where they hopefully wouldn't return from. She thought about how she and Fang had worked so hard to solve the parasprite problem while she and the others ignored them. "Actually, I have," Twilight informed as the other ponies and the dragons gathered around her. "I've learned that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it. It's a good idea to stop and listen to your friends' opinions and perspectives..." Everyone cringed as Pinkie's cymbals crashed again. "Even when they don't always seem to make sense," Twilight finished.

"I'm so proud of you, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia told her, "and I'm very impressed with your friends as well. It sounds like you're all learning so much from each other."

"Thank you, Princess," Twilight said gratefully.

Celestia nodded to the pegasi pulling her chariot. "I hope to see you three in Canterlot," the Princess said, gesturing to Spirit, Fang and Silver. The four pegasi guards reared up, trotted down the road and took off into the sky.

The ponies and the dragons watched the Princess's chariot fly away. "She seems really nice," Silver commented.

"She's the best," Twilight confirmed.

"We should go talk to Pinkie before we leave," Spirit decided. He waved over to the pegasi pulling the second chariot. "Please follow us."

"At once, sir!" the lead pegasus barked, saluting smartly.

The guards trotted alongside Spirit and the others towards Pinkie. The last parasprite skipped into the forest and Pinkie stopped playing. "Hey, what happened to the Princess?" she asked, looking about.

"Emergency in Fillydelphia," Twilight told her.

"Pretty sure it was something about an infestation," Silver informed.

"Oh no! Have they got parasprites too?" Pinkie wondered. "Well, have tuba, will travel." She blew on her tuba to emphasize.

"I wouldn't worry, Pinkie," Spirit said sensibly. "Princess Celestia seems more than capable of handling parasprites. And I'd be surprised if she hasn't dealt with them in the past."

"So you knew what those critters were all along, huh Pinkie Pie?" Applejack inquired.

Fang leapt onto the orange mare's back. "Obviously. That's why we were rushing about gathering all those instruments."

"Speaking of those instruments, Fang, what were those instruments you were playing?" Twilight asked curiously.

"A recorder, two cymbals, a balalaika and a shofar," Fang replied. "I managed to find the first two and even the balalaika quite easily. I eventually got the horn from a friendly ram we ran into and crafted a shofar out of it."

"That was some quick work on your part," Spirit noted, impressed. Then his expression grew discontented. "I guess we owe you both an apology."

"You tried to tell us what was going on and only Fang stopped to help," Twilight said morosely. "We're sorry we didn't listen."

The other ponies apologized to Pinkie and Fang as well. "You're both great friends," Twilight continued. "Even if we don't always understand you."

"Thanks guys," Pinkie said with a big smile you're all great friends too, even when I don't understand me."

"And me myself," Fang agreed.

"You saved Twilight's reputation with Princess Celestia, and also my own," Spirit reminded. "And even more importantly, you saved Ponyville."

Everyone turned in time to see a section of roof fall off of one of the many ruined houses scattered among the trashed streets of the previously festively-decorated town. "More or less," Spirit corrected himself with a sigh.

Fang scanned the wreckage and dusted off his claws. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but some of us have got someplace else to be."

"Fang, we can't leave Ponyville now!" Silver objected, dropping a hoof onto the dragon's tail as he tried to walk towards the chariot. "The whole town needs rebuilding and we're gonna help."

Spirit's soul glowed within him. Silver's wanting to stay and assist the ponies in repairing Ponyville was a sign that he was already changing from the dark being he was born as. It was a big step for the manifestation. But Twilight raised a hoof. "No Silver. You must go to Canterlot like the Princesses asked," she insisted.

"B-but how will you all manage?" Silver stammered, looking from pony to pony.

"Don't you go worryin' about us none," Applejack told him. "We're strong folk. In all the years Ah've lived in Ponyville, anytime the place fell into disrepair one way or another, everypony came together to put it right again."

"You needn't fear, Silver darling," Rarity reassured, soothingly stroking the stallion's mane. "We'll take care of everything. Ponyville will be just like new when you return."

Spirit looked around at his friends. He didn't want to leave them after spending so little time, even if they would be gone for only a short period. There was still so much he wanted to do. But he knew that Celestia and Luna had as much a right to know about the manifestations as anypony. "Are you sure everything will be alright?" he asked Twilight.

"It'll be okay," she replied comfortingly, pulling Spirit into a hug. "You just go to Canterlot and tell the Princesses everything you told us."

Spirit hugged Twilight back. "We'll do it then. For you and our friends. Equestria must be defended."

They separated, Twilight stepped back and Spirit clambered into the chariot. Fang untangled himself from Pinkie's octopus embrace, fist-bumped Spike and tackled-hugged Rainbow Dash on his way to the chariot. Silver said a friendly goodbye and wished good luck to Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack and joined the other boys. "We'll keep in touch," Spirit promised.

"I know we will," Twilight agreed.

Spirit turned towards the four pegasi puling the chariot. "We're ready. Let's be on our way."

"Yes sir!" they responded, rearing up and starting to trot down the road.

The other ponies, Spike seated on Twilight's back, galloped alongside the chariot, shouting out goodbye wishes. "Have a wonderful time!" Rarity called.

"Don' eat too much!" Applejack hollered.

"Be careful!" Fluttershy cried out.

"HAVE FUN!" Pinkie whooped above the rest.

"Learn something new for me!" Twilight shouted.

Spirit hung over the side of the chariot and lit his horn. A spray of sparkling blue cords loosened from his horn and weaved themselves into elegant letters that floated in the sky.

You are all my very best friends <3

The six mares and the baby dragon smiled up and waved at their ascending friends, even when they'd become nothing more than a pegasi-flown speck on its way to Canterlot. "They're going to be fine," Twilight said aloud, dropping her hoof at her side.

"Course they will," Applejack agreed.

"They'll keep Canterlot safe just like they did Ponyville," Rainbow Dash added.

Spike was about to share his feelings toward Fang when he suddenly heaved and belched out a scroll in a spout of fire. Rarity picked up the scroll. "That's odd," she muttered, offering it to Twilight. "Why would the Princess send you a letter so soon?"

"I'd be more surprised if she had writing supplies tucked into her chariot," Rainbow commented.

Twilight unfurled the scroll, furrowing her brow at what she found.

"What's Princess Celestia saying now?" Spike asked.

"Well, that's just it," Twilight replied vaguely, showing her friends the scroll. Or rather, half a scroll. The piece of parchment the message was written on seemed to be ripped in half.

Twilight had gotten the second piece, upon which a lone moon dominated the bottom of the scroll.

*

"Off to Canterlot!" Fang cheered, leaning on the front of the chariot.

"What do you think we're going to be doing while we're there?" Silver asked Spirit.

The unicorn looked over the chariot's side at the beautiful landscape beneath them. "We need to warn Celestia and Luna about the manifestations. That may involve teaching the guards how to handle them. In return, they might want to share some helpful information with us so that we could better prepare ourselves for anything Equestria will throw at us."

Fang looked back at the two stallions. "Are you done pondering?" he asked rhetorically. "Good, then back to enjoying the r—" His cheeks puffed out and he put a claw over his mouth.

"Fang, are you okay?" Spirit asked concernedly.

In reply, Fang opened his mouth and a long loud burp escaped, joined by a tongue of flame and a scroll. "Yeah," he replied hoarsely. "Nothing like coughing up paper to make you feel better."

Spirit levitated the scroll and looked it over. "This is the second time you've expelled a scroll like Spike. What does it mean?"

"Maybe Celestia gave Fang the ability to send messages through his fire-breath," Silver suggested.

"When would she have done it?" Spirit questioned. "Fang did the same thing just yesterday, before we'd even seen the Princess. She couldn't have done anything then."

"Just goes to show how little we know about Equestrian magic," Fang pointed out. "We might want to ask the Princesses and Twilight for a little more insight. In the meantime, let's see what the message is."

"Yes, let's," agreed Silver.

Spirit nodded. He moved to the front of the chariot and called out to the lead pegasus. "How much longer before we arrive?"

"It won't be much longer, sir," the pegasus called back. "If you want, we can fly faster and get there sooner."

"No," Spirit objected politely. "Keep your current pace. We're in no hurry."

"Yes, sir."

Spirit turned about and sat down with the scroll gripped in his magic aura. "Right then. Let's see what's in here."

Silver stood quietly, waiting to hear the message. Fang, however, burst out into song. "We just got a letter, we just got a letter, we just got a letter-"

"But it's only half," Spirit finished for him.

Fang and Silver stared. "Say what?"

"What you heard." Spirit waved the scroll in front of his friends. It was cleanly torn at the bottom. "Something must have happened in the transaction."

"Well, at least we have the message," Fang said optimistically.

"Yeah, but we don't know who it's from," Silver responded.

Spirit pushed his back up against the front of the chariot and held the parchment in his hooves. On the top half of the scroll were three words, written in an ancient-looking script.

I await you.

Author's Notes:

Man, I do hope the other chapters don't end up being this long

Vassal in the Castle

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"....... Are we there yet?"

"No."

"................. Arewethereyet?"

"Saying it faster doesn't get us any closer."

"Aaaaare weeeee theeeeere yeeeeet?"

"Sweet shacharit, put a lid on it, Fang!"

"But I'm sooooooo bored!"

Spirit elected to ignore his dragon friend's complaints. They'd only been flying for a short while and were nearing their destination, but Fang hated wasting time. He'd freak out the moment he found he wasn't doing anything, useful or otherwise. Silver was having troubles of a different sort: staying calm while Fang whines. Not an easy thing to do.

"Fang, if you're really so bored and want to find out when we arrive, just ask."

The green dragon was at Spirit's side instantly. "Great idea!" He leaned over the front of the chariot. "Hey, Storm! How much longer 'til we get to Canterlot?"

Storm Runner was the leader of the pegasi pulling the chariot. His coat was white and he wore a bright set of armor, just like the three other pegasi he was tethered alongside. "We're almost there, young dragon," he called over his shoulder.

"Well, that's informative," Fang muttered, crossing his arms and sitting down.

"If you really want though, we can always pick up the pace," offered the pegasus flying to Storm's left.

"I could use a little workout," declared the pegasus directly behind Storm. "I ate too much for breakfast."

"C'mon, Storm," urged the last pegasus. "Let's go faster."

"Okay, fine." Storm turned his head. "Spirit Guide, would you like us to go faster?"

Spirit tapped his chin thoughtfully. "What say you guys?" he asked his two friends.

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes, pleeeeease!" Fang chanted.

"Mm, yeah," Silver replied plainly.

"Alrighty, Storm. Full speed ahead."

"You got it." Storm tipped himself upwards and the pegasi started to climb. "Put your backs into it, boys! You want to fly so badly? Let's do this thing, chop-chop!"

The four pegasus ponies flapped their wings harder and harder, taking the chariot higher into the sky. As they ascended, they went slower and slower. Fang looked disappointed but Spirit knew better. It was just like the roller coaster they'd ridden on once. The climb slows the whole ride down, but when it reaches the top—

VOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!! The pegasi arced over a cloud and angled themselves downward, letting gravity do its thing. Fang had gone from backseat-moaning to seat-grip-thrill-screaming in seconds. Silver was having less fun, deciding to vaporize himself and spend the fall inside Spirit's saddlebag. Spirit just hung on, listening to the joyful screams of his companion and the pegasi flying their chariot.

Finally, they busted through a cloud and saw the city below them. Canterlot was even more elegant, more intricate, and more shiny than what he'd understood from everything Twilight had told him about it. The graceful white towers, the spotless streets, the way the waterfall from the mountain ran through it, everything about the city boasted class and abundance. The castle sat at the edge of the city and the cliff, higher than any of the buildings nearby.

Storm Runner and his team pulled up and slowed their plunge, sharply turning towards the castle and the long expanse of grass that made up the courtyard. They descended further so that their hooves touched the ground and the chariot wheels bumped lightly. The four pegasi trotted for several feet until the friction of the grass brought the chariot to a stop.

Storm Runner whinnied and the other pegasi cheered. "There... you go," Storm panted. "We're.... here."

Spirit strapped on his saddlebags, leapt off the chariot and looked about. All around them was the castle: walls, gates, doors, windows, turrets, ponies. Much like very other castle he'd seen, aside from the unique architecture.

Silver spewed himself out of Spirit's saddlebags, solidifying in a black heap on the grass. "Earth!" he moaned, jamming his muzzle into the ground. "Sweet, sweet Equestrian earth."

Fang patted him on the flank. "There there. The ride is over." He turned towards Storm Runner. "So what do we do now?"

"Princess Celestia may not return from Fillydelphia for a few hours," the pegasus informed, "so you've got some time to relax. Maybe get a bite to eat, settle down, train a bit—"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold your horses right there!" Fang ordered, raising his hands in a 'time-out'. "Isn't there another princess? Maybe we could meet her already."

"Yeah," Silver replied, remembering her name. "Princess Luna."

Storm sighed. "I'm afraid Princess Luna is preoccupied at the moment. She hasn't spoken to anypony other than Princess Celestia and her personal guards for two weeks."

"What's wrong?" Spirit asked.

"I don't know. Whatever's going on is being kept secret between the royal sisters. And if the night guards know anything, they've been ordered not to tell."

"Which is kind of irritating since we've been protecting Canterlot long before Princess Luna came back," one of the pegasi grumbled.

"They were protecting Equestria too, you know!" another guard retorted. "Just because they left when Nightmare Moon—"

"That's enough, all of you!" Storm shouted. The other three stallion stood at attention, locking their legs together. After several breaths, Storm continued more calmly. "You're dismissed. Go rest up."

The three pegasi exchanged grins and galloped off towards one of the towers. "I'm sorry about that," Storm apologized to Spirit, Fang and Silver. "Ever since Princess Luna returned, the night guard was reinstated and our relationship with our old companions became rocky."

"Why's that?" Spirit inquired.

Storm looked around, then started off towards the castle's main structure. "Come on," he requested, waving towards the newcomers. "I'll tell you on the way."

*

"It's like this. A thousand years ago, Luna was overcome by jealousy and transformed into Nightmare Moon, with the intent of plunging Equestria into an eternal night. Celestia sealed her away in the moon using the Elements of Harmony and took over all the royal duties, but what many ponies have forgotten in the past millennium was that there was another branch of royal guards, more commonly known as the night guard."

Storm Runner led Spirit and his friends through the castle. The hallways and rooms were large and grand, tapestries and paintings hanging on the walls and all manner of fascinating objects stood about. Yet although there was much joy and wonder felt throughout the castle, Spirit also sensed a great sadness much like the feeling that hung around Celestia when he first met her. This bothered him.

"Yeah," Fang muttered absently. His head swung back and forth as he tried to take in everything they passed. "If we're already talking about royal guards, how about you tell us where they are?"

"All over the place," Storm replied, waving a hoof all around. "We have many duties. Some of us are stationed to watch, protect and keep the peace, others work in the castle, some train young recruits, and then there are the ones with the great privilege of ferrying important ponies around, like myself."

"Flying the Princess's chariot is a high honor, I take it?" Silver said.

Storm smiled. "Indeed, it is. When the Princess comes over to you, asking you to fly her chariot... That is what the royal guard is for: serving the rulers of Equestria as best as we can."

"That's really noble," Silver complimented. Then he lowered his head and sighed. "And that's saying something, considering I don't know the meaning of noble."

"Hey, chin up," Storm said to the manifestation pony. "From what I've heard about you Silver, you've had a hard life up until now. You just need to get your head on straight and you'll be fine."

Silver looked up. "Really?"

"Really. In fact, if you want, I'll show you how the guards get through their various duties. That is, of course," Storm added, "after you meet the Princesses."

"I thought we couldn't meet Princess Luna," Spirit remembered. "You said she was preoccupied."

"I did say that, and I'm sure you won't. Until Princess Celestia comes back to talk to her first, there's little to no way that Princess Luna will—"

Clang! A smashing sound echoed from a corridor to their left. Without a word and with barely a sound, Spirit, Fang, Silver and Storm glided down the corridor looking for the source of the noise. When they turned the corner, they saw a shattered vase lying at the other end, while a dark figure hastily picked it up in a light-blue magical aura.

"Halt!" Storm called, running towards the figure. "Identify yourself!"

The shadowy figure gave a soft 'Eep!" and bolted down the left hallway and up a flight of stairs. Storm and the others followed after her, but when they'd reached the top the figure was nowhere in sight.

"Fan out," Storm instructed. "We'll corner whoever that is."

Fang raised one arm. "Uh, Storm?" he said tentatively.

"Yes?"

"We, um, don't exactly know the.... layout of Canterlot Castle, sooooo..."

"Oh yes. Right." Storm tapped his head as he thought. "Okay, here's what we do. Silver, you go towards the armory. It won't be too hard to find, just listen out for the sound of hammer on steel. Fang, you go out the nearest window and fly around the castle looking for anything suspicious. I'll take the left hallway and Spirit, you'll take the right. If anypony asks you what you're doing, say you're under my orders. Remember, we need to find out who that was and catch them before they do who-knows-what."

Silver nodded. "Understood." He vaporized himself and drifted away.

"Right. I'm on it." Fang flared his wings and zipped back down the stairs.

Storm Runner gave Spirit a hopeful look. "Good luck, Spirit Guide." And he dashed off down the left hall.

Spirit walked to the end of the corridor and looked down the right hallway. Whoever that was used magic, so either they're a unicorn or some other creature I'm as of yet unfamiliar with. But if it is a unicorn... Oh man, I wish Fang was here, then we could probably use his power cards to track the—

Something cut off Spirit's train of thought. It was a light tingling sound, the kind he'd become used to hearing, as it was the sound that came from one thing: magic. It must be the being who broke the vase, Spirit reasoned, instinctively activating his own magic, but where are they?

The answer came quite quickly. The wall next to Spirit shuddered, momentarily glowing blue. With a spluttering sound, the invisibility spell fizzled out and the perpetrator tumbled out onto the floor. But when Spirit saw who it was, he gasped.

It was a pony, a unicorn mare, wrapped in a black cloak much like his own. Her coat was a grayish blue and her mane was a light azure. Her flank displayed a silvery moon on an inky cloud-like background. And when she looked up at Spirit, her eyes showed fear.

The unicorn backed up against the wall, trying to keep her distance from Spirit. She eyed his glowing horn fearfully. "Please don't hurt me," she whimpered. "I didn't mean to break the vase. I was just walking around the castle when I saw you and—"

"Stop."

The blue mare was silent immediately, still looking worried but now a little confused as well. Spirit stepped closer to her, leaving only a foot between them. Something shuddered beneath the mare's cloak.

"What's that?" Spirit inquired, gesturing towards the bulge in her mantle.

The mare shuffled uncertainly. "They're.... my wings." She undid the clasp on her neck and her cloak fell away. Two wings lay flat across her back, the same color as her coat.

Spirit was even more shocked now. Twilight had taught him about the different kinds of ponies including the alicorns, the unicorn-horned pegasus-winged race of which Celestia was a member, but he was not expecting this pony to be one. She was barely his height, yet she was an alicorn just like Celestia.

"Who are you?" Spirit asked.

"I'm—"

"Under arrest!" With a thundering clack of armored hooves, Storm appeared at the end of the hallway. He rushed forward, yelling out charges. "For breaking into Canterlot Castle and damaging castle property, I hereby—" Then he stopped. Storm's eyes went wide as he contemplated the alicorn. "Oh stars."

"Storm, what's the matter?" Spirit asked the guard.

Storm Runner suddenly knelt, bowing his head before the alicorn. "My deepest apologies, your Highness," he said regretfully. "I didn't know it was you."

"That's quite all right, Storm Runner," the mare said shyly. "It was a misunderstanding."

Spirit looked from Storm to the alicorn, trying to make sense of things. "Storm, what's going on?" he asked the pegasus again. He pointed a hoof at the alicorn. "And who is this pony?"

Storm glanced nervously at the alicorn, who nodded slowly. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Spirit Guide, this is Princess Luna, one of the rulers of Equestria and the younger sister of Princess Celestia."

Trumpets and rams' horns blew inside Spirit's head. He took another look at the alicorn mare. She didn't seem like royalty. Small, cautious, wary, hidden. These were not the traits of a ruler. She looks more like a child, Spirit thought. Then again, this pony isn't the strangest monarch I've ever encountered. But still... "Are you really Princess Luna?"

"Mm hmm," the alicorn replied with a nod, her worried frown gradually turning upwards. "That's me."

"Then..." Spirit took a moment to add everything up. "If that's the case...."

"Yoohoo!"

Fang's voice bounced off the walls as the green dragon zipped down the corridor and landed directly beside Spirit. "Flew a few laps around the castle. They've got some nutso architecture here. I saw the banquet hall, the gardens, the guest rooms. This place is great! Staying here is gonna be so much fun, and I haven't even seen the training arena and the armory yet."

"That's enough, Fang," Spirit hushed. "Now if you're done rambling, prepare yourself to meet somepony."

Fang gave his unicorn friend a baffled look. "You might want to expand on that a little. Telling me to prepare for a meeting is pretty vague, although you did say 'sompony' so I can only assume whoever it'll be is equine, but that's still leaving so much detail out so I won't be able to prepare properly."

Luna leaned over and tapped Fang on the shoulder. "Excuse me," she said, "but are you Fang the dragon?"

"Ye-e-e-es," Fang dragged out his answer, flopping his head to look at the alicorn. "Can I help you?"

"If by 'help' you mean 'meet', then yes, you can help me."

Fang looked Luna in the eye, which wasn't so difficult as he was just about the same height. He paced around the blue alicorn, looking her up and down as Luna followed him with her gaze. Fang came to a stop before her, lightly bowed his head and flourished his hand. "Greetings, your Highness. It's a pleasure to meet you at last."

Spirit smiled at his companion. Fang may be a riot on his own, but he knew when to act respectfully. "And you," Luna said, a genuine smile on her face. "I've been waiting for you for quite some time now."

"Really?" Spirit inquired. "I thought you were busy with something that prevented you from meeting with anypony but Celestia and the night guards. Isn't that still the case?"

Luna closed her eyes and smiled gently. "Storm Runner, would you be so kind as to give us some time alone?" she asked the pegasus.

"Of course, your Highness," Storm said, crossing a hoof over his chest. "I'll leave at once." He turned around and trotted down the hallway out of sight.

"He's a good soldier," Spirit concluded. Then he asked, "What's his rank?"

"Storm Runner is a lieutenant. He answers only to me, Celestia and the Captain of the guard," Luna replied. She walked towards the staircase, a childish skip in her step, stood at the bottom and faced Spirit and Fang. "Well, come along. You're probably curious about a whole load of things."

"Knowledge starving," Fang admitted, he and Spirit following after the alicorn.

Luna led Fang and Spirit up the staircase and into a grand hall that reminded them of the Entrance Hall in Hogwarts. As they walked, Luna spoke. "The branch of the royal guard that Storm Runner mentioned was, and is, my personal guard. They served me a thousand years ago and still do today."

"Obviously, it's just the ponies in the position of the royal guard, not the same guards over the last millennium, right?" Fang said.

"That's right," Luna confirmed. The princess took them up the stairs in the hall and through the step-inlaid corridor at the top. "In my absence, the night guards left the castle and took up positions all over Equestria, some in the woods, others in the mountains, some even among other ponies. But they did so in a hidden manner, unwilling to reveal their true identities to the ponies of Equestria."

"Why?" Spirit asked. "Why would they hide themselves?"

"Because," Luna said, turning the corner "they're not like other ponies."

The three of them found themselves in another corridor, this one near the top of the castle. Near the center of the corridor was a single door, emblazoned with a crescent moon like the one on Luna's flank. The end of the corridor dropped down another fight of stairs, leading to another part of the castle.

But the most interesting aspect of the hallway were the guards. Two ponies stood opposite each other at each end of the corridor and two more stood on either side of the door. All six were different from any pony Spirit and Fang had seen before. For the most they resembled pegasi, but their wings were leathery, their pupils were vertical reptilian slits and their ears had furry tufts. The armor they wore was a grayish indigo and displayed a bright blue eye-like piece on the breastplate. Unlike the other guards plumes, the helmets of these guards were topped with scaly-looking fins.

When the ponies at their end of the corridor saw Luna, they both knelt respectfully. "Welcome back, your Highness," the pony on the right greeted.

"Thank you, Overcast," Luna said. Then she continued. "My guards, the night guard, are all bat ponies. They came to us early in our reign, offering themselves as protectors. Celestia decided they should be my personal guards as they worked better at night, under the cover of darkness, although the bat ponies have trained so that they would be prepared to operate during the day too."

"Now I understand what you meant," Spirit said. "They must be strong to have survived while you were gone. Protecting without something to protect sounds difficult."

"They are strong, both in strength and will. They protected the citizens of Equestria without them even knowing. That's how they liked it."

"That's..... actually surprising," Fang murmured. "Usually, people want to be recognized for the things they do."

"Not so the bat ponies," Luna replied. "They fought against dragons, manticores and all kinds of creatures who wanted to cause trouble."

"Yet nopony knew nor wondered why their lives were so peaceful," Spirit said quietly.

Luna nodded sadly. "We've talked about it before, but they keep insisting it was how they preferred it."

They had arrived at the door. Luna lit her horn, enveloping the doorknob in a cobalt-blue aura. The moon on the door glowed, a lock clicked and the door swung open. "This is my room," Luna explained, walking inside. "Come on in."

Fang took one more peek down the hallway before following Luna. Spirit held back a bit longer, looking at the bat pony sentries by the door. When they noticed him looking at them, they turned their eyes on the blue unicorn stallion, the rest of their bodies unmoving. Like any well-trained guards, they didn't budge. Spirit admired them for that. Not many could hold their gaze against his own century-seeing eyes. He ended the staring and turned to enter Luna's room, noticing the two bat ponies relaxing as he stepped past them.

Luna's room was not quite what he'd expected. There were no huge windows with silk curtains, wall-to-wall wardrobes or enormous self-portraits, Instead, the walls were painted blue with white clouds patterns, decorated with banners and scenic paintings. Several bookshelves stood against the walls, stocked with various reading material. The bed was a decent-sized four poster and in the center of the room was a huge round mattress (possibly another bed) with a long pillow on one end. A particularly large telescope was set up on a balcony outside.

Spirit walked into the middle of the room and looked around. He was impressed by Luna's modest sleeping chamber, wondering if Celestia's was the same way. If so, the rulers of Equestria had just gained another point in his respect book.

Luna had curled up on the round mattress. Fang was seated on a pillow beside her. She levitated a second cushion to her side. "Come and sit, Spirit. We have a lot to talk about."

Spirit took off his saddlebags and sat down on the offered pillow. He watched Luna carefully. The alicorn was smiling like an excited child, much like Pinkie sometimes acted.

"Well, what do you think?" Luna asked.

"Very modest," Spirit admitted. "Not quite what I'm used to seeing in castles."

"Because most of the castles we've been in hosted rich, uptight, aristocratic jerks," Fang said brusquely.

"Ooh," Luna exclaimed. "Then you might want to be careful. Most of the Canterlot ponies are uptight dolts, only looking out for the very best to further themselves and increase what they already have so much of."

Fang looked disgusted. "How do you tolerate that? Can't you change them?"

"Me and Tia have tried, doing so carefully without upsetting them, but they're as stubborn in changing as they are in their ways."

"That's really unfortunate," Spirit sighed. "We were given this wonderful world, yet there are those among us who are never content with what they've been given. Maybe I should see if there's anything I can do about it."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance, Spirit," Luna said, "but why don't we discuss something else, maybe more relevant."

"Relevant to what?" Fang asked.

"How about dreams?"

Dreams. The word seemed to charge the air with mysticism as it left Spirit's mouth. When Luna heard it, her expression became shocked and amazed at the same time. "You would want to know more about dreams," she said shyly. "Especially after everything that happened to you."

"I recognize it now," Spirit realized, tapping the ground. "The aura surrounding you. It's the same as the one I felt in the dreamscape!"

"Come again?" Fang requested.

"When I was in the dreamscape on our first night in Equestria, I was chasing Silver, back when he was still misguided and confused. Something blasted him with a shaft of light and a voice called out to me. A shimmering orb appeared, like the moon only smaller, and inside it was an alicorn." Spirit stopped. "Now that I think about it, that alicorn I saw didn't look like Celestia. Heck, it didn't sound like Celestia. And Luna," he said to the Night Princess, "the aura you have is the same as the one I felt in the dreamscape, a powerful lunar energy. Buuuut you're too small, no offense. The alicorn I saw in the dreamscape was larger than you, but smaller than Celestia. Do you know anypony like that with a lunar-like aura?"

Luna stared into Spirit's eyes, her own eyes glowing like the moon she used to raise a thousand years ago. She turned her head away, hiding herself behind her mane, almost as though she were trying to avoid his gaze and for a moment. Spirit was worried he may have hurt her somehow but then Luna faced him again, her mouth split into a warm smile.

"Yes. I know the pony you're talking about."

Fang grinned. "Great! Who is it?"

"Me."

The green dragon made a choking sound and gaped. Spirit's reaction was much less emphatic but he was actually surprised at this, which wasn't something that happened to him a lot. He looked again at Princess Luna, comparing her to the pony from the dreamscape. They were nothing alike, aside from being alicorns and giving off lunar energy. The prophet just couldn't see how it was possible. "How?" he asked the Princess. "If what you're saying is true, then you entered the dreamscape, fired a beam of energy and grew a size. How did you do it?"

"I'm the Princess of the Night," Luna reminded. "As well as my task of raising and lowering the moon, I had the duty of helping the ponies of Equestria through their dreams. My magic gave me access to the dreamscape, and through it I could enter anypony's dream."

Fang nodded. "Mm hmm, that's how it works for us too."

"The dreamscape, or lunar plane as we sometimes called it, was my territory. I could draw on vast amounts of energy inside it, which is how I grew and blasted the manifestation."

"That's really impressive," Spirit commended.

"When I was banished to the moon, my sister Celestia took over my duties in the dreamscape, but since she had to do everything with me gone, the sun, the moon and the kingdom, she only had time for a peek into the lunar plane every night. Fortunately, nothing bad happened in the dreamscape all through my being gone. Until you guys showed up."

"Wuh oh," Fang uttered.

"The manifestation got into the dreamscape, not even suffering from the attempt," Luna went on. "This makes me worried. If these nasty monsters can get into the dreamscape, they'll be able to terrorize ponies in their sleep!"

"I understand why this makes you uneasy," Spirit said calmly, in hopes of relieving the Princess of her fears. "I've faced manifestations in the dreamscape before; I'm just not used to fighting them with unicorn magic. Entering the dreamscape requires a lot of strength so most manifestations can't do it. Silver is one of these exceptions, but now I'm beginning to wonder if there was something else to it other than his power."

"Speaking of Silver, where is he?" Fang asked.

Luna tilted her head. "Silver?"

"Oh right," Spirit muttered, remembering that Luna had never properly seen nor met their manifestation friend. "While we were in Ponyville, we found the manifestation that was in the dreamscape, along with another one who was harassing a passerby. They got into a fight, the first manifestation deciding he was through with causing others strife. That's when I stepped in and captured the second manifestation. I brought the first manifestation back to Ponyville, helped him with an identity crisis and offered him my friendship."

The alicorn princess was fascinated. "Is he all right?" she wondered. "I mean, is he all good or still a bit bad."

Fang looked at Spirit. "If you ask me, I'd say he's afraid of being bad, that he might revert back to his original state of evil," the dragon replied

Luna stood up. "Then we'd best do everything we can to make him feel safe. Where is he?"

"We all split up when we tried to look for you after the vase smashed," Spirit said. "Storm Runner told Silver to head for the armory."

"Got it." Luna walked to the door, poked her head out and tapped one of the bat pony guards. "Echo, take Overcast and go down to the armory. If you see a black pegasus with a red eye cutie mark, bring him up here."

"Yes, your Highness," the guard responded. "At once."

"Oh, and try not to sound like you're arresting him," Luna added, giggling at the thought.

"Of course, you Highness." Echo trotted down the hall, whispered a few words to Overcast and the two bat ponies disappeared down the stairs.

Luna reentered her room and sat back down on her cushion. "That should do the trick," she said to Spirit and Fang. "All we have to do now is wait."

"I do hope Silver didn't get into trouble with the guard," Fang mumbled. "Even if Storm did tell him what to say if he was seen by other ponies."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Spirit said confidently.

"Don't worry, guys," Luna assured them. "Echo Barrage is a great Captain. He's been the leader of the bat ponies since before my return and they trust him with their lives."

Fang scrunched up his face in confusion. "Echo Barrage is Captain of the guard? How do the other ponies feel about that?"

"No no, he's only the Captain of the night guard," Luna explained with a laugh. "The Captain of the Canterlot guard is Shining Armor."

"Haven't seen him yet."

"You'll get your chance."

Spirit got up from his cushion and walked to the entrance of the balcony. He looked up at at the sun, then at Luna's bedroom door. "How long do you think Echo and Overcast are going to be? Also, when will Celestia return?"

"The armory is below the ground floor, so they may take some time. As for my sister—"

FWOOOOOOSH!

A ray of sunlight, brighter than normal, poked out of the clouds and touched down in the castle grounds. From between the clouds, Spirit could see a tiny chariot emerge and begin rumbling down the unnatural shaft of light towards Canterlot Castle.

Luna rolled her eyes and grinned. "Yep, she's on her way now."

"How do you know?" Fang asked. "Ooh ooh, do you have some kind of psychic connection? PLEASE say yes, I want it to be something I can comprehend."

"Fang, you comprehend more things than any other Republican," Spirit teased.

"I can sense Celestia's presence," Luna said. "Can't you?"

The dragon tilted his head. "Ee-chu what?"

"Come, I'll show you." Luna got up and led Fang to the balcony, where Spirit was already standing. "There, see her coming?"

Fang squinted. "What am I looking at? Other than a whole new world that I have yet to explore."

Luna pointed at the ray of sunlight. "Look, over there. Can't you see it?"

"See what?"

Sighing, Luna turned to Spirit. "Is he messing with me? I'm finding it hard to tell."

Spirit took a minute. "It's possible that Fang can't see the ray of light because it's hidden. Celestia probably doesn't want ponies seeing her mode of transportation and freaking out, so she shields it with her magic."

"Either that or you're both on the Over-Powered level," Fang muttered humorously. "Only excuse for seeing other stuff."

"Now that was sarcasm," Luna declared happily.

"Yep."

The three of them watched as Celestia's chariot came into focus, to the point where even Fang could see it. When the chariot's wheels touched down in the castle grounds, Luna turned away. "Come along, then."

"Where are we going?" Fang wondered, following the alicorn inside.

"To my sister's chambers." Luna opened her bedroom door and waited until Fang and Spirit were outside. "That's where she'll be heading after she comes back from whatever she encountered in Fillydelphia. We'll meet her there."

Spirit frowned. "What if Echo and Overcast come back with Silver and we're not here?" he asked as they hurried down the hallway, past the bat ponies guarding Luna's chambers.

"The other guards will tell them where we've gone," Luna assured. "Now come, let's hurry!"

She shot down the stairs, leaving Spirit and Fang to catch up as best as they could. They ran back into the entrance hall, but instead of going down the stairs they went up the corridor leading to the left, which was much like the one leading to Luna's chambers. They dashed through a number of corridors and hurried up several flights of stairs before coming upon a hallway dotted with guards. In the middle of the hallway was a door bearing a large sun.

Luna walked up to one of the guards standing by the door. "Is my sister here?"

"Yes, your Highness," the pegasus replied, gesturing with his head. "Will you go see her?"

"Yes. And these two are coming with me." She pointed at Spirit and Fang. "Also, if any of my guards come by with a black pegasus, please tell us."

"Of course, your Highness."

Luna stood in front of the door, Fang and Spirit on either side of her. She took a deep breath, then knocked on the door. "Celestia?" she called out.

A silence followed, interrupted only by series of light clacks coming from behind the door. Then the knob jiggled and the door opened, revealing the white alicorn princess, tall and impressive just as she was earlier.

"Good afternoon, Spirit Guide, Fang," she greeted when she saw the two friends. "It seems you both got here just..." Then her eyes came to rest on the middle figure and her mouth closed. Celestia focused on Luna and Luna on Celestia. The Princesses locked their eyes on each other and blinked very little. Spirit twitched his horn through the air and felt a very solid connection existing between the two alicorns, the kind of which he only saw between the very best of friends.

Finally, Celestia spoke. "Welcome back, Luna."

What followed was something beyond Spirit's expectations, but within Fang's. Luna threw herself at Celestia, wrapping her hooves around the larger alicorn's neck at they both tumbled into Celestia's bedchambers. "I'm so happy you're back!" Luna squealed, rolling around on the floor with Celestia. "It was so hard to get myself to leave my room, but when you left the whole place just felt so empty, even with the guards all over the place."

Spirit raised an eyebrow at Fang, but the dragon just smiled and walked inside. Still taken aback, Spirit followed and shut the door. Inside, Celestia and Luna had untangled themselves and were now seated beside each other on a mattress exactly like the one in Luna's room. In design and decor, Celestia's room was much like that of her sister's, featuring a bed, sky-like walls, various weaving and artwork, books and astronomy equipment on a balcony. Very much like Luna's room indeed.

"Right, it's official," Spirit announced as he took the cushion Celestia had levitated to him. "You and Luna are two of the most modest rulers of flesh and blood I have ever encountered."

"Thank you, Spirit," Luna replied, leaning her head against Celestia's neck. "We try to make sure the ponies of Equestria have all they need, and we happily sacrifice our own desires for their needs."

"Yes yes, very admirable," Fang said nonchalantly. "Should we start talking now? We did come all the way from Ponyville, after all."

Spirit felt no need to chastise Fang over his informality, and right he was. Celestia reacted with the utmost calmness, another thing he admired. "Of course. We shall speak of many thing concerning preset situations."

Fang waved his arms in front of him. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge your being together. I myself can't get enough time with my own companions, but the fate of Equestria and many lives are at stake as long as you are ignorant of the threat."

"He's right, Tia," Luna said. "We need to exchange what knowledge we have so that we can fight whatever it is we're facing and so that they—" She waved to Spirit and Fang. "—will better understand the workings of Equestria."

"You're right, Luna." Celestia gave their two guests a long look. "I'm sure you both have much to tell us."

"More than might be possible to remember," Fang commented. "Shall we begin?"

Before anypony could reply, there was a knocking at the door. "Your Highness?" the guard called. "Two night guards are here with the black pegasus you mentioned."

"Oh, that'll be Silver." Spirit stood up. "Shall I let him in?"

The two alicorn sisters nodded. "Yes."

Spirit walked to Celestia's bedroom door and opened it. Standing in the hallway were the two bat ponies Echo Barrage and Overcast, and standing between them, beaming his sharp teeth, was Silver. He gave the bat ponies grateful smiles. "Thanks guys. I would never have been able to find this place on my own."

Echo grinned and gave the manifestation a hard pat on the flank. "You behave now, Silver. Hope to see you again."

"Mmm," Overcast hummed, his expression stoic as any royal guard. Then the two night guards turned and trotted down the hall to resume their posts.

Silver followed Spirit into Celestia's room. "Whoa. You've got a nice setup here, your Highness," Silver complimented.

Celestia smiled. "Thank you, Silver Shade. Come, we were just about to begin."

"Oh right. Disasters and evil." Silver came to a stop between Spirit and Fang, facing the two sisters, picked his hooves off the floor and started to hover. "I'll have much to contribute to the conversation ahead."

"We all do," Luna said.

Fang linked his fingers together. "With all due respect, your Highnesses, we should probably tell you about ourselves before we discuss anything else."

Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, then nodded together. "As you wish, Fang," Celestia said.

And so for several hours, Spirit and Fang recounted their tale, their travels through the dimensions, their many encounters with every living being imaginable, the countless battles they had partaken in. Whenever manifestations were mentioned, Silver joined in the conversation, offering every detail of his kind that was related. The Princesses were good listeners. Celestia nodded from time to time, but Luna kept asking questions, particularly ones concerning the dreamscape and what the two Republicans and the manifestation knew of it.

It wasn't until Celestia rose that Spirit and Fang stemmed their flow of information. "You have shared much with us," she told them, "but evening falls and Luna and I must fulfill our most important duties: lowering the sun and raising the moon."

Luna looked crestfallen. "I don't think... I'm still not comfortable with raising the moon, Tia," she confessed to her sister.

"I thought you always raised the moon," Fang said, spreading his arms aimlessly.

Celestia shook her head. "Ever since her return, Luna has felt incapable of resuming her old responsibility. Although she still enters the dreamscape, she still refuses to take charge of the moon."

"I just don't have the strength anymore, sis!" Luna cried, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Nightmare Moon was defeated, but she left me with nothing. Less than nothing! I've been reduced to a wailing child. My magic's about as strong as the average unicorn on the street. I only just managed to help Spirit in the dreamscape and that was with the lunar plane lending me its power. I just can't do it!" Luna lowered her head and the tears flowed freely, dampening the plush mattress beneath her.

Spirit watched the previously sprightly alicorn princess descend into sobs. The sight was so disheartening he had to look away, which allowed him to see how the others were handling the situation. Celestia looked saddened by her sister's condition, but at the same time prevented herself from comforting Luna. Fang was twitching uncomfortably, the whole scene making him feel skittish. Silver had abandoned it completely, curling up into a cloud of smoke with only his eyes and front hooves peeking out.

Luna will never overcome her fears and doubt if nobody assists her, Spirit reasoned, but Celestia fears too, of upsetting her further.

A strong feeling suddenly overcame Spirit. A need to protect, to help, to guide the troubled alicorn princess. He rose up from his cushion, shifted forwards and pulled Luna into a hug. The sudden action shocked everyone, including the blue pony who's head now rested on Spirit's shoulder. "Wh-wha?" Luna stammered. "What is?..."

"You've been through so much, faced unimaginable hardships, and were left in the darkness, ironic as it was, with no way out," Spirit murmured in his most calming voice. "Yet even now, you have succumbed to your most dominant feeling, this time being your fear. Fear of failure. You don't want to upset anypony and you fear that with Nightmare Moon's draining you of your former strength, you're only chance is to fail. But that's not the case."

Luna sniffed. "Ever since I came back, ever since I was in Ponyville, I never showed myself to the public. I hid myself away, barely seeing my own sister. In those lonely hours I would think to myself how good life used to be for us all, before I gave in to my jealousy." She lowered her head against Spirit's back. "But would they accept me now, even after all I've done?"

Spirit held Luna in front of him, his blue eyes full of passion and understanding. "Everyone around you wants you to be the best that you can be. Your subjects, your guards, even your own sister. They care for you, Luna. For a thousand years, you were only a legend to them, a memory long gone. Your absence has given some ponies a false image. Celestia may have raised the moon in your place, but she never truly wanted it."

"It's true." Celestia drew close to the two ponies, barely holding back her own tears. "Each night as I raised the moon, all I could think about was you, Luna, and how we would stand side by side as we each did our own task." She raised one wing and Spirit stepped back, allowing the white alicorn to embrace her sister. "Whenever I would enter the dreamscape, an image of you would assail me, reminding me of the good times we had, before allowing me to do my duty. Even the bat ponies remembered you, visiting our old home and sending me letters annually."

"So weak," Luna whispered, leaning against Celestia's chest. "I don't have the strength to continue."

"You do have the strength," Silver insisted, pulling himself together into a solid form. "It's just not how you would think you do."

"True strength comes from the heart," Fang said sincerely. "It doesn't matter how much power one has; without heart and something to fight for, they will always be weak."

Luna raised her head, just in time to meet Spirit's gaze. The two ponies locked eyes. "You have been hiding yourself from nothing but your fears, Princess Luna. Overcoming them is the only way you'll get your strength back." As Spirit spoke, stars shimmered around his eyes, giving a new and more-accurate definition to the idiom 'starry-eyed'. "And I'll be here to help you face your fears."

"I will, as well," Celestia promised.

"Me too," Fang agreed.

"Friends help each other," Silver declared.

For a moment Luna just sat there, eyeing the four beings offering their support in her personal inner battle. She couldn't fully remember how she had felt the day she'd given in to the darkness that made her Nightmare Moon, but she was quite sure that it was the opposite of what she was feeling now. Feelings of belonging, confidence and safety filled her. The relationship she shared with the bat ponies, she realized, was more than just one of allegiance. It was a bond of trust and companionship, the bright side of the dark.

"You're right," Luna said at last. "I can't keep hiding away and shirking my responsibilities. Equestria has been going for a long time without me, but now it's time to change that." She stood up on her hind legs and yelled out in a voice that shook the room. "WITH OUR FRIENDS BY OUR SIDE, WE SHALL REMAIN FAITHFUL AND DO OUR BEST TO BECOME THE PONY WE ONCE WERE, WITHOUT THE DARKNESS!"

Spirit, Fang and Silver were all blown over by the strength of Luna's voice. Celestia smiled at her sister. "Your Royal Canterlot Voice is already reimproving," she noted. "That's a good start."

"Was it absolutely necessary to end your sentence with ear-perforating volume?" Fang inquired, rubbing his head unsurely.

"And that medieval-ish speech," Silver added, peeling himself off the floor

Celestia chuckled. "The Royal Canterlot Voice was an old tradition of ours, which we used whenever speaking to our subjects. Luna here was unnaturally good at it. But as time wore on the Voice got old and, like some traditions, was shelved."

"Definitely some traditions," Spirit emphasized.

"You mean you don't use the Canterlot Voice anymore, Tia?" Luna asked. She did sound a bit sad.

"Well..." Celestia said, suppressing a guilty smile. "Only when meeting very stubborn ponies who needed some sense shouted into them."

Luna laughed at this. The sound was so contagious that everyone else started laughing too. Once everypony had calmed down, Celestia stood up. "We have yet to lower the sun and raise the moon. Afterwards we'll have dinner together. How does that sound?"

"Did somepony say 'dinner'?" Fang asked energetically. "Cause I haven't eaten most of the day. I barely had a snack on the run."

Spirit heard his stomach growl, as well as two others grumbling in agreement. "Food sounds like a good idea, but I would like to see how the sun and moon are moved."

"It'll certainly be different than what we're used to," Silver said.

Celestia nodded. "Then it's settled. We shall tend to the sun and the moon, then we will all have dinner together."

"All of us together," Luna said.

Celestia walked to the door and spoke to the guards, who rushed down the hallway. Then she returned and said, "Come out onto the balcony, everyone. Will you try to raise the moon tonight, Luna."

The younger alicorn smiled sadly and shook her head. "Not tonight, Tia. I may be reassured that I'll get stronger, but I'm not ready to take the moon again yet."

"Whatever you wish, dear sister." Celestia hugged Luna, then made her way to the balcony.

Fang leapt up and followed the white alicorn to the balcony. "C'mon, guys," he called to the three ponies in the room. "It's time to watch the moonrise!"

At the Dinner Table

The four ponies and the dragon gathered on Celestia's balcony and looked up at the sun in the sky. With the night approaching, the sun seemed to darken and cast an orange glow on the sky, mixing in with the usual blue. It was quite stunning.

"So you raise and lower the sun every day?" Fang asked Celestia.

The white alicorn nodded. "Yes, Fang. I've been raising and lowering the sun for over a millennia."

Fang looked up at the bright ball of gas floating through space. "How much magic does it take to move the sun and moon? Aren't they really really big?"

"The sun and moon are humongous," Luna confirmed, "but Celestia's magic is so great that she can do it with ease. Also, her talent is pretty much moving the sun so she's extremely good at it."

"Not as good as you were with the moon," Celestia commented, giving her sister a little nudge with her wing.

Luna absentmindedly brushed her mane. "Well, that was a long time ago."

"Don't worry so much about it, Luna," Spirit insisted gently. "You'll get your magic back someday. Then you'll be raising the moon as though you were a thousand years younger."

"I'm already that," Luna pointed out with a smile.

"Yes, you are," Celestia agreed. She returned her attention to her cosmic charge. "All right, everyone. Prepare yourselves, for this will be the first time most of you watch the sun setting from its source."

Fang pulled out a pair of black glasses and put them on. "Prepared."

"Ready," Silver declared.

"Whenever you're ready, Princess," Spirit said.

"Good luck, sis."

Celestia moved towards the edge of the balcony, putting a hoof on the railing. She raised her horn and a light gold aura appeared around it. Then, with a short twitch of her horn, the bright burning sun began to drop in the sky.

Spirit stared in amazement at the slowly falling orb. He reached out with his own magic and felt a tremendous amount of power flowing between Celestia and the sun, the likes of which he himself had once commanded. It was quite remarkable to see the sun drop steadily through the sky, giving 'sunset' a while new definition in Spirit's mind.

The sun ducked behind the horizon, letting the blackness of space take over the sky. Stars poked out of the empty gloom, filling the inky backdrop with twinkling points. Luna tapped Spirit's shoulder. "After the sun was down, I would step in to bring the moon into the picture. Nowadays though, Tia does it. Watch."

The two ponies returned their attention to the white alicorn, who shifted a bit on the balcony. Celestia took a deep breath and as she let the air escape her lungs, Spirit felt another rush of energy and a two-toned silvery orb rose up from behind the mountains: the moon, in all its reflecting glory, appearing as a crescent from partial denial of the sun's light. Celestia moved the moon up among the stars, putting it as high as the sun was.

"Oooh," Fang gasped, staring up at the white rock. "The moon is beautiful in Equestria."

"I'm glad someone thinks so," Luna said gratefully. "A long time ago, I got sour over the fact that ponies would sleep at night and miss out playing in the moonlight. Thankfully, I'm over that now."

Celestia gave the moon one final nudge and Spirit felt the immense amount of magic release the lunar body and return to her horn. The alicorn princess turned to face the prophet. "Well, what did you think?"

"Astounding," Spirit declared. "For a being of flesh and blood, that was impressive. Only in my own nation's history have there been individuals capable of controlling the sun and moon."

"When compared to your power, Princess, darkness really isn't as strong as the other manifestations made it seem," Silver concluded, grinning and shaking his head. "Too bad I didn't know that before."

"That's in the past, Silver," Luna said, turning the black pony around to face her. "From here on out, you can change the way you see things to the right way, just like I plan to do."

Fang leaned in towards Spirit and Celestia. "I think you're starting to rub off on her, mate," the dragon hissed.

"One would find that is my goal," Spirit replied smugly.

Celestia looked at everyone. "Now that my duties are completed, how do the rest of you feel about dinner?"

"Oooh, yes!" Luna squealed. She rushed into Celestia's bedroom and bounced by the door. "Come on, everyone. To the dining hall!"

Spirit stopped to grab his saddlebags, then he, Fang and Silver galloped after the blue alicorn, Celestia following at a slower long-legged stride. Luna led the motley crew back through the hallway, down the stairs and into the entrance hall. From there, they took a left-side corridor out of the entrance hall, lined with equine suits of armor. Fang just had to backtrack and ask about them.

"Do you ever use the armor or are these just decorative?"

Celestia eyed the old metal suits. "Yes, we did. Back when war was frequent and battles broke out, the guard would mobilize into a bigger military force to protect Equestria. Nowadays, the guard's armor is stronger and lighter, making them much more beneficial for combat."

The armor hallway ended in a set of large wooden double doors. Luna stopped in front of them and waited until everyone had caught up. "In here is the dining hall," she announced. "Sometimes we host dinners for nobles and other important ponies, but tonight it'll be just the five of us."

"Great," Fang said thankfully. "I can't stand snooty uppity nobles when I eat. They give me indigestion."

"Rest assured, it will be only us, Fang," Celestia guaranteed, stepping past the dragon towards her sister. She knocked once with her golden-shoed hoof and the doors swung open. "Come along."

Silver was quick to follow Luna in after Celestia. Spirit and Fang walked in slowly. The dining hall wasn't big but it was long, the center taken up by an equally long table with plates and cutlery set up in front of each chair. The walls were lined with banners and standards bearing Equestrian symbols. Just like a normal dining room, just bigger.

Celestia sat at the head of the table. Luna took the seat on her right and Spirit sat on Celestia's left. Silver seated himself beside Luna and Fang took the chair on Spirit's other side. Ponies in white uniforms then entered the hall through a side door, bearing silver dishes with a variety of foods.

"Thank you," Celestia said to cooks once they had laid down their platters.

They all bowed their heads respectively and returned from whence they came. "A pleasure to serve, Princess," one of the ponies answered politely before leaving.

Spirit eyed the food in front of him. There were salads, loaves of bread, soup tureens, sandwiches ranging from single spreads to far-too-many, pitchers of water and juice, assorted cakes and platters of fruit. After he gave everything the once-over, he decided to comment. "Why is it that no matter where you go, the royals always get served more than what they can eat?"

"Is that really so?" Luna asked in amazement, levitating a few sandwiches onto her plate. "You learn something new every day, I guess."

"The cooks probably think it's an honor to make as much food as possible for the monarchs," Silver mumbled. "Kind of a silly notion, if you ask me."

The alicorn sisters chuckled. "Well, maybe we should do our best, even if we can't finish it all," Celestia suggested.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Spirit commented, washing his hooves in a bowl of water and reciting two blessing before taking a bite of bread.

"Is washing your hooves before a meal one of your customs, Spirit?" Luna asked curiously. "You sure have a lot of them."

The blue unicorn looked at his hooves. "When you change form as much as I do, Luna, you begin to wonder whether you need to follow all the laws you'd been given when your current state doesn't quite meet the necessities. But I believe that no matter what shape you take, one should always stay true to his roots." Spirit suddenly realized that he hadn't heard Fang reply to his blessing, as was his friend's habit. He turned to see what the cause of this was.

Fang was up to his elbows in spaghetti and cheese, which dominated his plate and then some. Luna and Celestia looked over as well, inquisitive as ever towards their guests' mannerisms. "Does Fang normally descend into an eating frenzy?" Luna inquired, staring intensely at the dragon.

"Nah. He just really likes pasta, in any of its many shapes," Spirit replied.

Fang looked up from his meal and wiped his tomato-stained claws on a napkin. "That I do." He put his arms behind his head. "Why, is there something you'd like to say?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Celestia said. "As long as you're free to speak, I would like to discuss something rather important."

Spirit folded his legs in front of him. "What is it, Princess?"

Celestia took a sip from her goblet before speaking "As you remember from our brief meeting in Ponyville, Luna and I wished for you all to come to Canterlot, but I hadn't specified as to why."

"I'll admit, I was a bit concerned about the hidden reasons behind it," Silver put in.

"None of the reasons are something to fear," Celestia promised. The manifestation pony relaxed and the Princess continued. "I'm sure you have much to tell us, Spirit. More than can be explained in a single afternoon. You've shared much with me and my sister, but I would like you to remain in Canterlot for a few weeks."

Spirit leaned back in his chair, never taking his eyes off of the white alicorn as he considered the request. "Are there other reasons for your wanting us to stay?"

"Of course!" Luna cried out, leaping up from her seat. The young alicorn realized what she'd done and quickly sank back into her chair. "Sorry."

"It's all right, Luna," Celestia said calmly. "And yes, there is more to our request than merely exchanging information. While you are here, Spirit, I would like to take you into personal tuition, just as I had with Twilight Sparkle. From what I understood from the things I've heard about you, you're accustomed to using huge amount of energy to complete the tasks you set out to do. I intend to assist you in learning to further control your magic so that you will be more capable of containing the threat of the manifestations."

"That's a pretty tall order," Fang noted, twirling a fork in his spaghetti.

"I would be honored to learn from you, Princess," Spirit said gratefully. "After these last few encounters, I'm getting the idea that the manifestations are leeching off Equestria to strengthen themselves. That could explain how the last ones managed to turn themselves into parasprites."

Spirit looked at Luna. The blue alicorn looked hesitant, as though she was trying to say something but couldn't bring herself to do it. From the moment Celestia had made her proposal, Luna had been acting as though the whole idea bothered her, making small sudden jumps in Spirit's direction and glancing hurriedly between him and Celestia. "So you'll do it?" Luna asked slowly. "You'll stay?"

"I will."

Celestia nodded appreciatively, but Luna sighed and slumped back in her chair. Spirit couldn't understand why; Celestia's training would keep him in Canterlot for a while. Luna had previously expressed great excitement toward seeing him. Why did she seem both relived and disappointed now?

"Errrrrrm," Fang droned. "What does that mean for me and Silver? Did we come all this way just to part ways now?"

"Of course not, silly!" Luna giggled, flicking a cookie at the dragon. "You can stay too. Hang around the castle, maybe wander the streets of Canterlot. There are some really interesting things excluding all the prissy high-class ponies."

Fang caught the cookie and chomped it down. "Works for me. What about Silver?"

The manifestation pony looked up from his watermelon at the mention of his name. "Oh. I was actually hoping that... maybe there was a chance I could..." He was clearly having a hard time getting his words out. "The thing is, I became acquainted with the two bat ponies, Overcast and Echo Barrage, while we were on our way to your chambers, Princess. I found there presence reassuring and I feel at home with them. If Spirit and Fang are to stay here in Canterlot, could I maybe bunk with the bat ponies?"

Spirit felt like applauding Silver for speaking his mind. It was quite a step up for the manifestation, who was slowly getting used to interacting with others without fear. Princess Celestia glanced at Luna, who smiled in reply. "I approve of this, but it really is up to Luna and the night guard whether or not you could stay with them."

"Are you kidding?" Luna cried out emphatically. "I haven't seen the bat ponies ever get along with anypony so well before. Silver, what were you guys talking about on the way up?"

"Nothing much. Just told them a bit about myself, they shared some of their history with me, small talk mostly. Now that I think about it, the two of them were kind of normal while I was with them, not as stiff as the other guards."

"You put them at ease, make them feel at home," Fang guessed, folding his hands under his chin. "I can completely see you guys becoming roommates."

"We'll go see the bat ponies after dinner together," Luna said to the manifestation, barely able to contain her excitement. "You're all going to get along so well."

Spirit took another bite of bread. "That's all fine and dandy. Silver really needed a place with ponies like himself, and I really can't think of anypony who would better appeal to an ex-sin-being than nocturnal equines. But that still leaves us with the question of where Fang and I will be sleeping while we're here."

"Don't worry, Spirit Guide," Princess Celestia consoled. She activated her magic and pulled a scroll out of thin air. "This came to me as I was returning to Fillydelphia. It's from Twilight Sparkle."

"A letter from Twilight?" Spirit repeated, eyes growing wide.

"Indeed. Evidently, she had thought ahead." Celestia unrolled the parchment and began to read. "Dear Princess Celestia. After Spirit and the others had left for Canterlot, I'd started wondering what you had planned for them. At the time, all I knew was that whatever was going to happen, they would need a place to sleep. I know Silver could manage just about anywhere with his innate ability to vaporize, but Spirit and Fang would need real beds.
That is why Spike and I wish for our friends to stay in our room at the School for Gifted Unicorns."

"Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?!" Fang yelled out, flailing his arms and falling backwards onto the floor, still yammering. "Holy yes yes yes, oh man, I thought there were tests and stuff to get into that place, Twilight and Spike want us to stay in their room, Lord Almighty thank you, my mind is now at ease!"

Spirit contemplated the news while Fang continued to yak, remaining silent until an appropriate response came to him. "Now I owe them another thank-you hug. But really, I can't think of anything else to say; I'm just so grateful for this offer. Is that all?"

"I know how much Spirit likes to learn and my room at the school is pretty much the next best thing after the Golden Oak Library and the Canterlot Archives. I'm sure he and Fang will love it there, as they will everything they do in Canterlot.

Your faithful student
Twilight Sparkle."

Princess Celestia rolled up the scroll and teleported it away. "That settles things. You and Fang will be allowed to sleep in Twilight's old room at the school."

"Twilight's room," Spirit mused, finishing the last of his sandwich. "When she told me of her studies here in the capital, I could completely see her sitting at a table in a spacious area, engrossed in learning, friendless besides Spike. I really am amazed she was sunk so deep in studying that she had no time for friends."

"She was sure at the time that learning was the key to understanding magic, although there was something more than just books that kept her busy when she lived in Canterlot," Celestia explained, taking a spoonful of soup.

Fang mashed a fist into his claw. "Ooooh, backstories."

The Princess smiled. "Not tonight, Fang. Now we are going to finish our meal, and then it's off to bed. We all have to get up early tomorrow."

The green dragon pouting comically. "You sound like my mom. Only Spirit's allowed to sound like my mom."

Everypony laughed at Fang's expression and statement. "Why do we have to get up early?" Silver wondered.

"You don't," Luna told him, taking a cake from the platter. "If you bunk with the bat ponies, you'll be following most of their schedule, which includes sleeping in."

"Oh."

"If that's the case, then it might be best to wrap up for the evening." Spirit turned to Celestia. "That is, if you decide we've done enough."

Celestia ruffled her majestic wings and spread her hooves out. "You've given us more than what I'd originally expected. So much to think about, so much more to learn. Perhaps it would be best if we end things for now and continue them tomorrow."

"I'm all for that," Fang declared. "Come on, Spirit. Let's bentch."

The two friends closed their eyes, lowered their heads and began to murmur fervently. Silver got up from his seat and walked to the space between Celestia and Luna to explain. "Another custom they have. In addition to thanking G-d for food before the meal, they also give praise after eating."

"That's kinda confusing," Luna admitted, rubbing her head.

Celestia watched the praying guests inquisitively. "I think I understand. The first blessing is asking permission from the Creator to eat the food, and the later blessing is thanking Him for causing and allowing it all to happen."

"Right on, Princess," Fang assured, having finished his Grace After Meals, "although bentching is more of a whole prayer than just a single blessing."

Spirit opened his eyes as he recited the final lines. "A short blessing of gratitude is just as special as a long prayer," he said sagely. "That and more was given to us centuries ago, and we've held onto them ever since. Through exile, poverty and war, our traditions and customs survived."

The alicorn sisters nodded at the unicorn's words. "Unreal," Luna breathed. "It's amazing how faithful some ponies can be."

Equestrian vernacular will be my downfall, Spirit thought to himself. Then he replied. "Anypony can be faithful, if only they try."

"I don't know about the rest of you, but the only thing I wanna try is to get to sleep," Fang declared, laying his claws on the table and pushing himself up.

"Perhaps we should get you all settled in," Celestia agreed, beginning to rise from her seat. The others followed suit, each having something to say.

"Yes let's, Princess."

"I'm kinda sleepy, Tia."

"Can't wait to see the bat ponies again."

Celestia led the group back through the corridor and into the entrance hall. It was here that Luna split from the group and stood opposite them. "This is where we part. I'll lead Silver to the bat-ponies quarters from here. Spirit, you and Fang will go with my sister to Twilight and Spike's room."

"Aw bummer," Fang groaned. "I wanted both of you with us."

Luna smiled and patted the green dragon on the head. "Don't think too much on it. We'll have plenty of time to be together during your stay."

That's what I thought, Spirit concluded in his head. That still doesn't explain her hesitance at Celestia's offer.

"We hope to see you both soon, whenever it shall be," Celestia said. "I hope you find the bat ponies quarters pleasant, Silver Shade."

"Hope so too, Princess."

"Come on, Silver!" Luna cried, tapping the black pony's shoulder and zipping across the hall. "We've got night guards to visit."

Silver glanced back at the unicorn who'd given him his second chance. "Goodnight, Spirit."

"Goodnight, Silver," Spirit replied.

Fang waved a claw. "Now get on out. Shoo, go make some FRIENDS!"

"Yes yes yes!" Silver looped-a-loop and flew off in Luna's direction, following the blue alicorn through another door, down a corridor and out of sight.

Spirit rubbed his leg self-consciously. "Silver's had a hard time, even in Ponyville. He barely left the library and when he did, he was always wary, watching for other ponies looking at him. I only hope the bat-ponies don't stare at him."

"From what I've seen, they'll give him more than he's ever dreamed off," Celestia replied, draping a comforting wing over the stallion's back. "No offense to the acceptance and hospitality you've shown him."

"It's a temporary thing, just like rearing children," Fang said. "You give them what you can, but it sometimes happens that others end up giving more."

"I'm confident Silver won't forget us," Spirit stated. "I've been the centerpiece of his existence from before his adjustment."

"Anything is possible. Especially when you take everything that has happened into account." Princess Celestia straightened up and walked in front of Spirit and Fang. "I intend to teleport the three of us to Twilight's room at the School for Gifted Unicorns. It would be better than walking through the streets at night as—"

"The public believes it's dishonorable for their Majesties to walk around like commoners," Fang finished for her, grabbing his face and gaping in mock horror. "We all know what's expected of you as a monarch. Who'd have thought ponies would expect high-level dignity from their rulers?"

"We can't expect everypony to understand that leaders and sovereigns, while being very powerful, are just like us on the inside," Spirit reminded. "Unless you think otherwise, Princess."

The white alicorn was silent as she looked about the grand entrance hall. "I've ruled Equestria for over one thousand years. I've always done what was best for its citizens, even if it meant becoming what they wanted me to become: a proud, regal figure. Many other monarchs may see this as an easy way to gain trust and power, but Luna and I were not so keen at first. We tried discreetly to make our subjects realize that, but they were stubborn. So we complied with their wishes and became typical rulers."

Fang whistled. "Harsh, Princess. You put yourself through so much."

"I can understand your willingness to give what ponies wanted at the price of your own comfort," Spirit said, "but you shouldn't surrender yourself entirely to the wishes of others; that would make you a machine. I'm certain there's something in your life other than governing Equestria that you care about."

Celestia glanced down the hallway her sister had disappeared into. "Luna." A smile stole across the alicorn's muzzle. "I sometimes feel as though I had wasted these last thousand years without Luna," she said with a hint of regret, "and although she still hides her true thoughts and fears, I'm sure she is just as eager as I to make up for the time we have missed together."

Spirit and Fang stood side-by-side, looking up at the white alicorn with admiration. "I hope the two of you spend plenty of much-needed time together," Spirit said wishfully.

"Me too. Now can we go check out Twilight and Spike's room?"

"Of course." Celestia straightened herself and looked up at a high window. Her horn began to glow. She gestured to the two friends with her wings, bringing them into a close triangle. "Spirit, would you mind contributing some of your magic?" she asked, her eyes still focused on the window. "It would be very helpful if I didn't have to focus so much on supplying energy for the spell."

"Sure thing, Princess." Spirit raised his head and started up his own magic, blue tendrils shooting out of his horn and mixing with Celestia's golden bands. The two forces twisted into a single shining strip of magic which looped around the ponies and the dragon, slowly growing into a dome.

Princes Celestia spread her majestic wings. "Here we go!"

Her horn released a blinding flash of light and Spirit felt displacement take place. All at once, he felt every single piece of himself being picked up and moved, but he wasn't in control. The only thing he could feel was the tugging on his horn as Celestia used his magic to fuel the teleportation spell.

Another flash, and then Spirit could see again. Noticing Celestia and Fang, he quickly did a 360 to see where they were. The architecture suggested they were still in Canterlot, which was confirmed when he saw the castle wall just a short way away. Further inspection revealed the tower at who's foot they were standing, not as tall as the castle turrets but still pretty high. White steps wound all the way around the tower, first hitting two round porches before climbing to higher floors.

"Nice place," Fang commented, his sharp reptilian eyes taking in as much as he could. "And within walking distance of the castle, too."

"If you think it's nice now, wait until you see it in daylight," Celestia told him. She turned around and mounted the steps of the tower. "Come. Twilight's room is at the top."

Spirit and Fang followed the Princess up the stairs and began to climb, Fang tracing the gold and purple patterns on the wall with his finger as they went. They passed the first two floors where the windows were dark, the occupants already asleep. At the top, they came to a pair of blue double doors.

"Are they locked?" Fang asked.

Princess Celestia smiled. "In a sense." She laid a hoof on the doors and gently pushed them open.

Fang darted on in and zipped about, looking at everything that was inside. Spirit followed more slowly. The room contained an assortment of everyday objects and furnishing, much like the Golden Oak Library, just without the books. He trotted over to a wide window, from which he could see the brightly lit streets of Canterlot and, in the distance, Ponyville. Even from the top of the mountain, Spirit could see the tiny specks of light from the houses.

"Everything has been prepared for your stay," Celestia explained. "When I had gotten the letter from Twilight, I made sure her apartment would be ready for when you arrived here."

Spirit walked toward Celestia. "Thank you, Princess."

"This is where Twilight spent much of her time during her studies," Celestia went on, she and Spirit beginning to walk around the room. "When she wasn't at the Canterlot Archives looking up historic events or learning magic with me, she was here, reading books and taking notes."

"She never made time for friends," Spirit recalled, thinking about what Twilight had told him back in Ponyville. "She just wanted to learn, to be the best student she could. It wasn't until you had her go to Ponyville and she discovered the Elements of Harmony that Twilight became social. She still spends a lot of time reading and writing, but now she's ready to drop everything to help a friend."

The sun princess smiled contentedly. "I'm glad she's doing so well. Twilight has grown a lot since she became my student."

"Yes, she has."

"Holy horse scholars!"

There was a scuffling, then a yelp, followed by a loud WHUMP. Spirit and Celestia turned suddenly at the sound, pinpointing it near the staircase in the room. Fang poked his head out from the second floor, beaming smile present.

"Spirit, you will not believe what there is up here," the green dragon said before retreating.

Princess Celestia lowered her head to Spirit's ear. "Prepare yourself for a surprise. Go on up."

Tentatively, Spirit stepped away from the Princess and walked towards the stairs. He turned his head and looked back at Celestia, but the white alicorn only stared back at him, her magical mane flowing beside her. With a shrug, Spirit began to climb the stairs. Twilight's apartment has a second floor? Wonder what's in it. He arrived at the topmost floor of the tower and looked about. What he found was mind-blowing, even for him.

Books. Books everywhere. Enough books for a small library, arranged on huge shelves and spread out across multiple levels. Heck, this place was a library. Spirit now understood how Twilight had spent so much time away from other ponies. All the reading material she could want was right above her. I myself could probably spend hours and hours in here. So much knowledge.

Fang rolled by on a ladder, despite it having no wheels. "Sweet place, huh?"

"Indeed, it is." Celestia had joined them on the top floor. "When Twilight began her studies with me, I issued for the top apartment of this school building to be for her and Spike. Twilight was very appreciative of it, but she requested that books be brought up for her to read. As time went by, a pile of books became a shelf, and a shelf became several shelves, until this—" She gestured around them, "—was formed."

"I would not use the word 'formed'," Fang declared. "'Assembled', maybe. Also 'organized' and 'created'."

"Choice of wording aside, this really is incredible. It explains what Twilight mentioned in her letter." Spirit walked over to a large hourglass situated beside a tall ceiling-to-floor window, from which he could see the castle. "I don't know many who would want their own private library in their dwelling."

"Except for Hermione, Annabeth, Cleo, Raven, Bridget..... a few other friends we haven't met yet."

Celestia walked towards a furnace sitting in the corner. "It was from here Twilight would send me questions and requests. She would come up with lists of topics we had covered and still more with subjects we had yet to learn. She was more prepared than I was," the Princess added with a giggle.

Spirit looked up at the kind and regal alicorn. "I hope you're prepared for tutoring us, Princess."

"I hope so too."

"Well," Fang announced, walking towards the ponies and stretching his arms out, "it really is late and I think we would all benefit from a good night's rest. We've all learned much today and it would be best to sleep on it."

"Yeah," Spirit said, stifling a yawn. "That's sounding really good now."

"Then I shall wish you both goodnight," Celestia said. She looked down at her two guests, both clearly exhausted from a long exciting day. "I look forward to tomorrow."

"Me too."

"Yeah."

Spirit and Fang walked with Celestia to the door of Twilight's tower apartment. Before she left, the Princess turned around and said, "I will send you a letter informing you when I'm ready for you to come to the castle. Do you think you'll be able to entertain yourselves from whenever you wake up until then?"

"As long as it's not five in the morning, I hate waking up then," Fang grumped, scrunching his nose at the very thought of getting up early.

"We'll manage," Spirit assured. "Thanks for everything, Princess."

"Thanks, Princess. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Fang. Goodnight, Spirit."

Princes Celestia turned, her floating mane and tail curling around her. She raised her horn and it glowed, reaching into her immense store of magic. A bright flash of light encased the white alicorn and when it faded, Celestia was gone. Spirit and Fang quickly looked to the castle. Light trickled through the large windows of the entrance hall, the location Princess Celestia had teleported to.

Fang turned to go back inside and Spirit followed. "Well, that was fun," the dragon said merrily. "I say we do evening service and turn in. Sound good?"

"In a hurry to sleep, Fang?" Spirit asked curiously

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll just unpack my stuff." Spirit dropped his saddlebags on the bed and started emptying them out onto the sheets. His and Fang's prayer shawls and phylacteries found their place on the bedside table, while the Seals were laid out on the bed in a row. Spirit studied the four unique objects, each one a symbol representing of the Republic's connected worlds; the Poké Seal, holding the manifestation inside it like the capsule it was formed after; the Hogwarts Seal, the four animals on the coat-of-arms containing the dark being within; the Shikon Seal, forcing its prisoner down whenever it attempts to escape; the Digi Seal, using powerful input codes to restrain the swarm of evil inside it.

We've captured only a small amount of the manifestations now in Equestria, Spirit decided, sitting down on the bed. How many more are out there, hiding among ponies with no knowledge of them? These thoughts swirled around inside his head, the answers evading him, making the prophet uneasy.

Fang saw his friend's troubled expression and sidled up beside him. "Worrying about the manifestations?" he asked, picking up the Shikon Seal and dangling it from his fingers.

"Yep," Spirit said with a sigh.

"You always put the mission before your own well-being. While that is admirable, it's not desired by those around you. This is just like what we told Celestia. You may sometimes think you're a tool, a weapon existing only to protect, but you're not. You have as much right to live normally as anybody or anypony in the multiverse and I won't have you thinking only of what you're told to do."

Spirit smiled and threw a hoof around the dragon. "You are the best friend a prophet could ask for," he said warmly, pulling Fang in for a quick hug.

"Yeah, I do that," Fang replied casually.

"You're right, though: I can't give myself up like that. Like you mentioned, we said the same thing to Princess Celestia, though I still have a hard time telling myself that."

"Well, maybe living among peaceful colorful ponies will do just that."

"Maybe."

Knock knock knock.

Spirit and Fang spun around at the sound of somepony banging on the tower door. The two friends exchanged looks. "Who?" Fang wondered aloud, not even bothering to string together a proper sentence.

"Twily! You there?" a voice called from outside. "I saw the light in your room from the barracks and came as fast as I could. Why didn't you tell me you were visiting?"

Fang's face contorted into his supreme-befuddlement expression, which looked unnaturally silly on his scaly visage. "Whoever that is thinks Twilight is in here," he muttered quietly to Spirit. "Should we keep him thinking that?"

"No," Spirit said, shaking his head. "Go open the door. I'm curious as to who this is. He speaks as though he knows Twilight well."

"Probably an ex-boyfriend or something." Rolling his shoulders, Fang walked to the door and opened it. Standing on the doorstep was a white unicorn stallion, a bit larger than the ones he'd seen in Ponyville, with a sleek shiny mane of cerulean and sapphire blue. He wore a set of armor like every other guard in Canterlot, but his was decorated with purple designs and the front bore a familiar pink star instead of the usual blue one.

When the stallion saw Fang, he looked confounded, which Fang had expected. "Is that you, Spike?" the unicorn asked, tilting his head a bit. "You've grown since I last saw you. Not to mention your scale color."

Fang stared at the pony in the doorway for a few seconds before replying. "Sorry to disappoint you, sir," he said in a calm, polite voice. "I'm not Spike the dragon and Twilight Sparkle isn't here."

"Eh, what?" A look of confusion crossed the unicorn's face. "Who are.... where is..... uh..... Sorry to have wasted your time," he apologized, making a quarter turn towards the stairs. "I was sure I had the right place."

"You probably do," Spirit confirmed, deciding to intervene. He got up from the bed and joined Fang at the door. "This is Twilight's school apartment, but she's still in Ponyville."

The white stallion stared at Spirit. "Then you must be..... friends of hers."

"Recent acquaintances," Fang said, holding his arms behind his head. "The Princesses invited us to Canterlot for a while and Twilight and Spike generously offered their rooms to us."

"It's nice to hear she's making friends," the unicorn guard disclosed, turning his head to look at Ponyville. "Her antisocial habits sometimes worried me."

"Well, why don't you come on in and we'll tell you what we know," Spirit suggested, gesturing to the interior. "I'm sure we'll be able to clear some things up together."

The taller unicorn glanced back at the castle. "I guess I could spend a minute or two here."

The dragon and the two ponies walked into the tower apartment and started towards the blue couch in the corner. The white stallion watched Spirit curiously as he removed his helmet and unstrapped his armor. "So, how did you come to meet Twily?" he asked.

"We came to Equestria in a meteorite, which crashed outside of Ponyville, Twilight and Spike came to investigate, found us lying stuck in the dirt, broken from the fall and unable to use our powers, Twilight helped Spirit weave a spell, turning us into pony and dragon respectively, fell unconscious from transformation fatigue, taken to hospital, woke up alone, escaped, rejoined Twilight and Spike, offer to stay at library, end of meeting."

Fang, who had draped himself over the armrest, whipped his head around and looked up awkwardly at the guard pony, who's eyes grew wider the more he stared back at the dragon. Spirit chose to step in and be more helpful. "That's how we met in a nutshell. Maybe we should try for some introductions to help things along." He put a hoof to his chest. "My name is Spirit Guide, I'm new to Equestria."

"By 'new', he means a few weeks," Fang clarified, "and by 'to Equestria', he means we're inter-dimensional travelers. I should know because I'm Fang, soul friend to Spirit."

"Cool." The white stallion didn't seem fazed by what he was just told. "I'm Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot royal guard."

Spirit raised an eyebrow in surprise, but Fang somehow twisted himself around and fell backwards off the armrest. "So you're the pony in command," Spirit said, fascinated by this sudden reveal. "We were brought here by your lieutenant, Storm Runner."

"Yeah. He told me about his latest mission to Ponyville, where Princess Celestia had him bring back two ponies and a dragon who were new arrivals," Shining Armor admitted. "I'll admit I didn't understand Storm when he reported it to me and, to be honest, I'm still having a hard time believing you guys came from another world."

"Believe it, Captain," Fang advised. "Things will only become more outlandish from here on out. When you've see all that we've been through, nothing seems impossible. Except for some things."

Shining Armor laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Don't worry, I'm not always."

"Because that's my job," Spirit said. "But I do have a question, Captain."

"Please, just call me Shining. I'm not on duty right now, not until I get back anyway."

Friendly and welcoming. I hope he is indeed as charismatic as he seems. "When you were at the door, thinking Twilight was here, you kept calling out 'Twily'. I'm assuming that's a nickname and that you've used it for Twilight before, but with all due respect: who are you to use a nickname for Twilight Sparkle?"

Shining looked genuinely surprised. "Guess she didn't get around to that yet. I'm Twilight's older brother."

Most unexpected. Spirit did not see this coming and stiffened at the Captain's words. Twilight has a brother and she never told me? he speculated. Were we so focused on each other and our activities that simple things such as family were pushed aside?

This thought made him uneasy at first, but Spirit calmed himself by remembering everything that he and Twilight had been through; chaotic accumulations of darkness, after all, were very distracting. Also, it was far easier for him to speak of his family, he'd done it so many times in the past. Maybe Twilight didn't think discussing her own family was important at the time, rather than her forgetting.

Fang, however, was not surprised. "I've got a brother in military service too," he said, his reptilian eyes wandering, "but I don't bring him up much. He's a swell guy, but never really relevant to whatever situation or conversation I'm taking part in."

"Your family is okay with your inter-dimensional traveling?" Shining asked.

"To be honest, they know nothing about it whatsoever. They believe I'm on an educational and spiritual journey superior to my previous school program. Which is sort of true."

"Yeah, he's learned all the basic skills," Spirit said. "History, science, several fighting styles, simple quantum physics. Everything a normal student could ask for."

Fang and Shining grinned. Spirit found himself smiling right along with them. "Sounds like fun," Shining Armor said at last. "So you guys really do travel to different worlds?"

"I completely understand your disbelief, Shining Armor," Spirit assured. "Not all of us were fortunate as to see the Lord's miracles performed before their eyes and unlock true faith in His existence. Until such a time as He sees fit to return us to Him, we have no choice but to trust in His judgment and trot on."

The Captain of the guard listened intently to the prophet's words. "You've got quite an understanding there, Spirit," he remarked. "Pretty big for a younger colt."

"There's more where that came from, Shining," Fang promised, "but that'll have to wait for another time. It's really late and we have yet to wrap up the day."

"Okay." The white stallion got up and redonned his armor. Spirit and Fang then escorted Shining to the door. "This has been an interesting evening, boys," he said, facing them. "I hope you can lighten things up around Canterlot."

"Are you saying that the capital of Equestria is boring?" Fang asked, almost feigning shock.

"Let's just say it's a city of mismatched surprises."

"I look forward to meeting all of them head on," Spirit said.

"Then I'll wish you look with that. Goodnight, boys."

"Goodnight, Captain!"

Shining Armor started down the tower, picking up speed so that by the time he was at the bottom, he was almost flying over the ground on his way back to the castle. Spirit and Fang watched the white pony reach the gates and walk into the grounds before turning to reenter Twilight's apartment.

"That was unexpected," Fang said, breaking the silence.

"What, finding out the Captain of the Canterlot guard is also Twilight's brother?" Spirit asked.

"Maybe."

Spirit shook his head. Getting a straight answer out of Fang was like trying to get water from a rock. "We'd better finish up for today. Are you ready for ma'ariv?"

"Almost. Just wanna check out some more of the—" He jabbed a thumb towards the second floor, "—'inventory'."

"You really should do that after praying," Spirit reminded. "You know that, right?"

Fang shrugged. "Wanna see." And without another word, he ran upstairs.

No point arguing, the unicorn thought. Best get on with my own service. Spirit closed his eyes, locked his legs together and began shaking back and forth, reciting the evening prayer. He pushed away all thoughts of the events that had transpired these last few weeks to put all that he could into his prayer, but as he finished the chapters of Shema and slipped into the silence of the Amidah, his mind began to wander and bring up the many affairs that he and Fang had been through since arriving in Equestria.

"Well, that could have been more satisfying," Spirit said aloud, making another bow to conclude the service. He was never content with a prayer where he hadn't poured his soul into. It made him feel undeserving of his position and power. Maybe it's the strange and unfamiliar feel of this world. I don't usually have prayer problems when I travel to a new universe. Maybe I just need some time for everyday Equestrian affairs to become normal in my eyes. "Now, where did that dragon get to?"

Spirit mounted the stairs and entered the second floor, where he found Fang fervently scanning the bookshelves, sliding the ladder this way and that as he grabbed books and tossed them haphazardly over his shoulder into an ever-growing pile on one of the tables.

"No, no, no, interesting but no, no no, not really, no and no." The dragon slumped, fell off the ladder and caught himself with his wings before hitting the floor, gliding over and landing in front of Spirit. "Not a single Bible book in this whole library. How am I supposed to learn the weekly Torah portion without a Torah to learn from?"

Spirit slowly walked past Fang and over to the table. "I was pretty sure from the start that there's no library in Equestria with anything from Scripture," he said, looking up at the mountain of books. "I think I'll keep that assumption."

"Then what do we do?" Fang asked with a frown.

"We could always write them ourselves."

Fang burst out laughing. "PFFFFFFT, AHA HA HA HA HA HA, HEEEEEEEE....." He caught Spirit staring at him, then continued with sudden earnestness. "That could work."

"We already know most of Scripture by heart," Spirit went on, "and what you don't know, I have etched into my mind. We could easily write our own wing of books, start publishing the Bible here in Equestria."

"That sounds really appealing. Shall we get started on it tonight?"

"No, because I'm going to bed and you're going to pray."

The green dragon folded his arms and blew non-existent hair out of his eyes. "Fine."

The two friends went back downstairs. Spirit collected the Seals from the bed and scooped them back into his saddlebags. He washed up, clambered into the bed that Twilight once slept in and put his hooves behind his head. So ends another day in Equestria, Spirit thought. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Fang pushed a basket to the foot of the bed. "Looking forward to tomorrow?" he asked, noticing his friend's deep-thinking expression.

"I'm not going to expect anything. I'm going to wait for it to come."

"You do that. Goodnight, Spirit."

"Goodnight, Fang."

Fang turned and began to murmur under his breath, beginning his service. Spirit closed his eyes and rolled over, allowing his body to rest as his mind relived the memories of time spent with his new friends in Ponyville. The last image that came to him before falling asleep was looking down at Twilight and the others from the pegasus-drawn chariot, casting his wordy spell as he slowly rose from a ruined Ponyville, his friends waving and smiling up at him.

Author's Notes:

Phoo, these aren't getting any shorter

Meeting under the Moon

Spirit was standing on a hill. All around him was a once-lush carpet of green grass, now nothing more than a field of burnt thorns. The skies were an angry orange, clouds floating like smoke through the atmosphere. The air was thick and hard to breath, yet the landscape still felt familiar.

What is this place?

The prophet pony looked around, taking in his surroundings. Nothing looked recognizable until he noticed the large chasm and the vague outline of a building on the other side of it.

Is that..... the Inn?

His heart pounding, Spirit galloped towards the chasm and looked out across it. The building on the other side came into focus. It was an immense structure, but had dozens of cracks in the walls and windows. A large forest stood near the building, the treetops ablaze.

No.

A wave of darkness suddenly swept up around Spirit, concealing everything from him. When it rolled away again, he found himself in a huge underground room with openings leading into halls and corridors on all sides. But despite the room's familiar feel, there was too much Spirit dismayed to find new: huge black marks scarring the walls, fissures lining the stone floor and, worst of all, bodies lying unmoving all about the place.

"No!"

Spirit ran over to the nearest body, a tall male human. His hair was black and a pair of round glasses sat askew on his face. On his forehead was a scar in the shape of a bolt of lightning. A thin wooden stick stuck out loosely from his hand.

"Harry?"

The human's eyelids fluttered, revealing two green almond-shaped eyes. "Six-Thirteen?" he muttered.

"Yes, Harry. It's me."

Harry's half-closed eyes moved up and down Spirit's body. "You've gotten a new form, I see—" He started coughing, laying down flat on the floor.

Spirit quickly lowered himself beside the wheezing wizard. "Harry, what happened here? Why is everyone....."

It took a few seconds before Harry's coughing fit ended and he replied. "Manifestations. I'd never seen so many. And so powerful too.... They came from all directions: sky, ground, horizons. You couldn't breath without there being a manifestation in your face. And the Republicans...." Harry's voice died down.

"What happened?"

"Each and every one of us was overpowered, even our strongest: Inuyasha, Eragon, Percy, Susan... Not even the children were spared. It was just as we always knew.... The manifestations allowed nothing, no one to see through to the end." Harry lifted his gaze to meet Spirit's concerned eyes. "We needed you, 613. You and Avi. Maybe then, the manifestations...." The wizard's eyelids fell shut and his arms went slack.

"No!"

Spirit put his ear to Harry's chest, but heard nothing. He galloped back and forth between the still forms scattered around the chamber, but not a single one had their heart still beating. The Republic was wiped out.

"No... no...."

Everyone he knew. Every friend he had made, every leader of every team, every ally he'd fought alongside. All gone.

No.

Darkness crept into the chamber. It flooded through the doors, leaked out of the walls, it even curled off of the forever-sleeping Republicans. The thick black cloud spread like an everlasting shadow, slowly overtaking Spirit's vision and plunging him into nothingness.

Wait... Nothingness.

Spirit ignited his horn and released a pulse of energy. In an instant, he vanished from the dreamscape and sat bolt upright in Twilight's old bed, a bead of sweat sliding down his face. He quickly looked over at Fang; the dragon was happily snoozing in the basket beside him, mumbling in his sleep.

"No, Pinkie. That's not candy; it's my Pendant, zzzzzzzzz..... Here, take my Digivice instead......."

The prophet smiled. Even in sleep, Fang was in ridiculous situations and dealing with them in equally ridiculous ways. Too bad my problems aren't that simple. Indeed, his dream was strange. Stranger than usual, even. Why in the universes would he envision the Republic being defeated?

Is it an omen? A foreshadowing of things to come? Is it happening right now? Spirit shook off the covers and walked over to the large window overlooking Canterlot. At night, the city shone as brightly as Ponyville did far below, perhaps even more so. Normally, I'd consult with the older Republicans. The ones with knowledge on the matter. But here..... who do I turn to?

A sudden flash of white caught Spirit's attention. He looked toward the castle and saw light flooding out through one of the highest windows out onto a porch. That's Princess Luna's room. What is going on up there?

Spirit suddenly felt a strong force nearby. He waved his horn like a torch and scanned the room, but there was nopony there. What is this presence? he wondered. It feels familiar. Powerful and ancient. Maybe if I reached out...

As though he were baiting a fish, Spirit sent out his magic and grasped for the presence. In an instant, he felt something pull him inwards and Spirit teleported. When the displacement flash faded from his vision, he found himself on a porch overlooking the castle courtyard.

"Target teleport?" he exclaimed. "Who in the worlds could do that?"

"Spirit Guide."

The unicorn spun around at his name and almost bumped into the telescope set up on the balcony. Standing on the inside of the deck, eyes shining in the moonlight, was Princess Luna.

"Princess!" Spirit inclined his head respectfully. "What's going on? How did I get here? I didn't mean to intrude."

Luna held up a hoof. "Hush, Spirit Guide." Her tone wasn't cheery and excitable as it had been earlier. She sounded more serious and stoic. "You must remain calm."

Spirit forced himself still, then took in a breath of the night air. It was surprisingly refreshing and soothed his just-jostled nerves. "Sorry about that, Princess. I get a little... well, disturbed when things happen that I can't make sense of."

"Quite understandable. But I'm afraid you'll have to hold off your confusion and any questions you have, at least for the time being." She turned to reenter her chamber. "Please come in."

Spirit was finding the situation mighty strange, but being the pony he was, he dutifully followed Princess Luna inside. Nothing had changed in the room since his visit earlier that day. Also, she was wearing regalia similar to that of Celestia's, though hers had a more night-based theme. I didn't know she even had anything of that sort, Spirit thought. Why would she be wearing it now?

Luna stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face Spirit. Her expression was calm but grim. "You're wondering why I brought you here at such a late hour, aren't you?" she said.

"Well, it's like this Princess." And he told her about his dream, in rich and painful detail, and how he woke from it to find lights flashing from Luna's chamber.

The Princess frowned slightly. "I'm sorry your dream was the cause of your waking. I often encourage Celestia to get a proper night's sleep myself. The lights, as you may have figured it out, were my attempts to bring you here. And I'm glad that they worked."

"But why do you need me at this late hour, your Highness?" Spirit asked, doing his best not to sound pushy.

Luna walked about and stood parallel to Spirit, looking out at the night sky. "Because I need your help."

Any impatience Spirit had evaporated like rain on hot asphalt. "What is it, Princess?"

The young alicorn was silent for a moment, looking as though she were considering the best way to say what was on her mind. "There is no simple way to say this. It concerns my duties as the Princess of the Night and, by extension, the dream you had."

"Really?"

"As you already know, I have the duty of overseeing the night, which includes raising and lowering the moon. But I also have another duty, one that most ponies no nothing about."

"What is it?"

"Overseeing the dreamscape."

Spirit's eyes widened . "You know about the dreamscape too?"

"Too?" Luna's eyes mirrored Spirit's in size. "Do you mean to say that both of us are familiar with the dreamscape?"

"If we're talking about the same dreamscape, the second world layered on top of reality where the subconscious roosts, then yes."

Princess Luna looked genuinely happy when she heard this. "This is truly good news," she declared, her voice containing some of her daytime joy as well as the grim strength she showed thus far.

"Is it the dreamscape what you need my help for, Princess?" Spirit inquired, curious as to the alicorn's strange mood swings.

"It is indeed, Spirit. And it is there that we shall explain further." Luna turned to face Spirit and lit her horn. "I take it you know how to enter the dreamscape?"

Spirit rubbed his leg. "Well, I did. At least, before I came to Equestria. But back then I had significantly more power and-" He glanced up at his own unicorn horn "-an implement I was more proficient with. I can still summon my staff, but I'm not so sure I could split open a planar doorway with it right now."

"Very well. Then I shall bring you along." Luna raised her horn, which spouted trails of sparks that wound around them. The hum of energy grew louder and louder, the bright sparks filling Spirit's vision. With each flash, he felt his body become lighter, sort of like displacement but on a much more focused level.

She is truly a powerful being, regardless of appearance, Spirit decided.

Raising his own horn, Spirit added what energy he had to the bright aura around himself and Luna. With that extra burst, the Princess's spell was complete. She pointed her horn straight up, fired off a geyser of sparks, and she and Spirit vanished from her chamber with a light ringing sound.

*

When Spirit came to in the dreamscape, he found himself in a scene far different from the one he'd appeared in the first time he came to it in Equestria. A bluish-black expanse was all around him, entire patches varying from sky-blue to obsidian black. Everywhere, stars twinkled like an army of diamonds, sometimes shifting and twinkling but never blinking out. Higher up, hanging like a giant lamp, was the moon.

The sight was so unexpected, Spirit was momentarily lost for words. "Wow."

"You like it?"

Luna's voice echoed from above. Spirit looked up and watched as the blue alicorn emerged from the moon as though it were a doorway. Luna floated down and landed beside him.

"It's beautiful," Spirit answered in awe.

"Thank you. This is what I tried to make Equestria see: the true beauty of the night sky. But only a few found the time in the late hours to look up in wonderment at my work."

"But it wasn't enough to rid you of your jealousy towards Celestia."

"Mmm." Luna began to walk. Spirit followed, staying just a few steps behind the princess. They walked through the starry space for a while before Luna spoke. "So. The manifestations."

"Yes, Princess."

"Does it not surprise you that one had happened into the dreamscape?"

Spirit let the alicorn's words sink in. "Now that you mention it, Princess, the manifestations back in the Republic rarely used the dreamscape at all. After we link a world to us, most of the manifestations appear in the Republic directly, where they're quickly dealt with."

"I see. So they don't use the dreamscape for quick travel. Or anything else."

"What else could they use it for?" Spirit asked, raising a brow.

Luna turned her large eyes on the unicorn. "Disturbing the sleep of every pony in Equestria."

With a loud rush of air, the scenery around them shifted as though they were on a train, blurred colors whooshing past them. When it all stopped, Spirit and Princess Luna found themselves surrounded by doors in every color and style. They stood at the sides and hung in the air, hundreds upon thousands of doorways to G-d knows where.

"What are these, Princess?" Spirit looked about, taking in the change of scenery. "What are all these doors for?"

"These, Spirit Guide, are the entrances to dreams."

"Entrances?" he repeated.

"Yes. As I've told you, I watch and protect the dreams of our subjects. It is with these doorways that I do so. Each one leads to the dreams of an individual pony, and thus I can keep them safe during the hours of my night."

Spirit regarded the alicorn princess, feeling a new appreciation for her and her work. "Overseeing the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria, it must be immensely tiring."

"It is not as difficult as it seems. I don't actually have to walk to each door. But we're getting off topic." Luna led Spirit past dozens of doorways, walking on until they came out into the open expanse of the dreamscape. Spirit turned around to look at the forest of doors.

"Princess Luna," he said, his calm tone wavering "could the manifestations be using the dreamscape to assault ponies through their dreams?"

Luna closed her eyes and nodded. "That appears to be the case. For the last few weeks, since your arrival, I've been noticing their attempts: tears left in the fabrication of the dreamscape, doors to personal dreams literally left open, even scattered pieces of darkness. I'm afraid, Spirit Guide, that they will break into the dreamscape en masse."

Spirit sat down on the star-spangled path, trying to process the thoughts swirling around in his head. "I've been learning about and fighting against the manifestations for as long as I've been the prophet. They keep their basic abilities through their interdimensional travels, things like phasing and flight. More powerful manifestations pose a larger threat, as they can manipulate objects and even living creatures. If they gained the power to get into dreams, I can understand your concern."

"These are enemies that I'm not familiar with, Spirit," Luna said, standing above him and staring out into the distance. "If I am to thwart the manifestations and their attempts to harm ponies through their dreams, I will need assistance."

The Princess gazed down at Spirit, who looked up at her when he realized what it was Luna was asking for. "You mean you want me to help you fight them?" he inquired, making sure he was on the ball. "Here in the dreamscape?"

Luna nodded in confirmation. "Yes. I may be powerful, but I lack the knowledge of our foe. You could certainly help with that."

Spirit stood up and looked around at the endless plane, then back at the dream doors that guarded countless subconscious sanctums. He reached out and probed their vicinity with his magic and was met by a powerful force very much like that of the Time Dimension Space Tunnel, the interdimensional route he knew so well. In fact, if he thought about it just right, the dreamscape felt like home turf. He could do this.

"I guess I can help out," Spirit said at last. "We'll have to start with—"

CRASH

A shattering noise startled Spirit and Luna. They turned towards the source of the sound and saw a two meter purple crevice, free-floating in the air. Directly beneath the crevice was a dark prone form. It lifted its head and two red eyes reflected the light from the dreamscape stars.

A manifestation.

Spirit's pulse went from easygoing to explosive in point-zero seconds. He leapt up and, without a moment's hesitation, fired a beam of magic at the manifestation, catching it in the face. The black pony creature dropped like a bag of rocks.

"Quickly, Princess!" Spirit yelled, already running toward the manifestation. He summoned his staff and floated it at his side, already channeling magic to its crook. Luna was close behind him, flying on her graceful wings. Spirit approached the manifestation and prodded it with the butt of his staff. It didn't move; he had taken it out good and proper.

"Please hold it up, Princess."

Luna levitated the manifestation gingerly, doing her best to hold the creature together. Flecks of darkness dripped off of it. "This beast is one of the most malevolent things I have ever had the displeasure to feel!" Luna exclaimed, hovering the manifestation away.

"I understand how you feel," Spirit said. "I remember the first time I felt a manifestation. It was probably one of the most painful moments of my life back then."

"Then we must get rid of it as soon as possible."

"On it." Spirit looked to the tip of his staff, where his magic had accumulated sufficiently and formed a Seal. This one was in the shape of a gold coin, a drachma. One side was stamped with a tall building topped with a spire, the other bore a horseshoe and the words The Heroes of Olympus.

"The camps would have been the next choice," Spirit murmured.

"Is that one of your Seals, Spirit?" Princess Luna asked, staring at the coin curiously.

"Yes. Although," he added, flipping the coin, "I'm not entirely sure how a coin could contain a spirit of darkness."

"Then... what do we do?"

"Hmm." Spirit's eyes bore into the manifestation in Princess Luna's magical grasp. "Lay him down."

Luna lowered the manifestation onto the 'ground'. Spirit then dropped the drachma on the black creature's head. At once, glowing bronze cables shot impossibly out of the coin and wrapped around the manifestation, turning it into a shining mummy. Luna watched, her eyes wide with amazement, while Spirit fed the Seal with his magic to keep up its work. When the manifestation was completely encased in bronze, Spirit touched his hoof against its wrapped forehead. The cables retracted into the coin, but the manifestation was gone.

"Where'd it go?" Luna wondered, still in awe from the Sealing.

Spirit hefted the drachma. He could feel a muffled aura of darkness radiating from the Seal. "It's in here, all right. Impossibly, but without a doubt."

"Amazing. It's just like you described at dinner."

"Not a very appropriate thing to be talking about at the table, though: Sealing away manifestations of sin. It's bound to give somepony indigestion."

Luna stifled a giggle. The prophet gave her a stony look and the princess burst out laughing, causing Spirit to chuckle along with her. The sound echoed across the dreamscape, as though it were bouncing off high cliffs. Their carefree laughter continued until pulsating slash in the fabrication flared suddenly and caught their attention, at which they both became serious. "What do we do about this?" Luna asked, gesturing to the purple crevice.

"We should be able to close it," Spirit guessed. "Let's see if combining our magic and pushing against the sides works."

"Okay."

The prophet and the princess lit their horns and each took one side of the rift, and then they began to push. At first nothing happened, but gradually the rift began to close, the two sides drawing closer to each other as Spirit and Luna shoved the full weight of their magical might against them. When at last the sides were just a few inches apart, strands of glowing purple energy slipped out of the crevice and, much like a needle and thread, pulled the sides together and sealed the rift.

Spirit sighed and collapsed from exhaustion. He had used a great deal of magic altogether, in Sealing the manifestation and closing the rift it had opened. Luna looked better, though she too seemed droopier than she was earlier. "Well, it worked," Spirit gasped, his chest rising and falling with his ragged breathing. "Wow. I don't remember ever being this tired from overexertion."

Luna lit her horn and walked a full circle around Spirit, her gaze focused on the starry horizons. "I don't sense any more of them," she declared, nudging the stallion into a sitting position. "I should be able to perceive them, now that I've had a taste of what they feel like. This is going to be a night without anymore manifestations."

"That is good to hear." Spirit looked around at the dreamscape, at the nebula-patterned sky and the doors of the subconscious behind them. "What of tomorrow night? And every night after that?"

The Princess sat down before him, crossing her front hooves. "We'll worry about that tomorrow. For now, you should return to sleep. I'm sure we can discuss some details during the day."

"Won't you be too tired for that?"

Luna turned her head away and looked at him from the side. "Believe me, I'm not using as much of my strength as I let on. You, however, must be exhausted after that last feat."

Spirit yawned widely, not attempting to hide it. "I guess."

"Then we'd best return you to Equestria." Luna bowed her head and drew a circle in the air with her horn. A bright white portal opened to her left. "This will take you back to the Twilight's tower, where you should be able to fall back asleep peacefully."

"Much appreciated, Princess."

"It's the least I can do for all the help you're giving me, Spirit Guide."

Spirit picked up the drachma Seal and walked toward the portal, stopping just before it and turning around to look at the Princess of the Night. Luna watched him with her luminous eyes, her smile honest and bright. Thanks to him, she now had the power and the knowledge to safeguard the dreamscape, the domain over which she holds sway, for the good of all Equestria.

It was a good feeling to have had a hoof in it all.

"Goodnight, Princess Luna."

"Goodnight and sleep well, Spirit Guide."

Spirit turned back to the portal and walked through it unchallenged. He felt as though he were falling, first down, then sideways, then as though on an updraft. Finally, he fell down normally into the physical world of Equestria, in the center of the library floor in Twilight's tower. Spirit fell ungracefully on his face.

"Ouch." He sat up and rubbed his muzzle. "That was unfortunate."

Dazed and a bit bruised, Spirit stumbled down the stairs and back to his bed. Fang was still dreaming in the basket bed, now mumbling about washing out the entire Republic by flooding it. With his overnight dreamscape visit with the Princess still fresh in his mind and his closest friend talking as he snoozed, Spirit climbed back into bed and willed himself to sleep.

Author's Notes:

There are some things in this story I've been planning for a while and was looking forward to writing. The dreamscape sequence was one of them.
All the dream-related episodes contributed much to my headcanon and all lore relating to the dreamscape I already had. It was a nice addition

Hour of the Museum

The next morning, Spirit awoke to the rising sun, which he felt was as good a time as any to rise. The bright rays shone through the large window at the other end of Twilight's apartment. So much for sunrise in the east, Spirit said to himself. He looked over the side of the bed and found the basket bed empty.

Looks like Fang is up. Spirit recited the first morning prayer, thanking G-d for returning his soul to him, and climbed out of bed. Immediately, an appetizing aroma assailed his equine nose. Yep. Fang is definitely up.

Fang was indeed up and had just finished making breakfast. Spirit joined him at the table near the tower kitchen. "Goood morning, Spirit," the dragon greeted.

"Good morning to you too, Fang." Spirit looked at the food his friend had made. "You outdo yourself every meal."

"Ah, it's nothing. Just one of my talents."

"One of your many talents," Spirit clarified. "You're a jack of.... well, a drake of all trades, at least now."

"I suppose." Fang helped himself to the jam. "Y'know, I had the craziest dream last night. It was really like several dreams, one after the other, none of them any less crazy."

My night wasn't exactly normal-free either, Spirit thought as Fang launched into a detailed account of his nighttime visions.

They finished their breakfast and moved on to morning service. The two friends got quite a surprise at the end, though, for while they were wrapping their phylactery straps, Fang's cheeks ballooned outwards and he belched out a thick-looking ball of fire.

"Gesundheit," Spirit responded.

"A dank," Fang replied, putting away his phylactery before wiping his nose. His eyes settled on the cloud of ash swirling in the air he had just ignited. "What is that?"

Spirit waved his leg and the ash blew away. A sealed scroll dropped from the dissipating cloud and into his hoof. "This is all really looking like Princess Celestia's scroll-sending magic. Though how, I can't say."

"Enchanting without consent, most likely," Fang guessed, sounding quite miffed. "I don't mind magic, even the kind that affects me, but I'm gonna have a word with that magical sun-wielding horse."

"No need to be rude, Fang," Spirit insisted, putting a hoof on the dragon's shoulder. "I'm sure there's an explanation for it. Princess Celestia was planning on meeting us today. We can ask her when we see her."

Fang pulled out one of his cards and made a face at it. "What about that scroll I coughed up? Who sent it?"

Spirit unfurled the scroll. "Dear Spirit Guide. I hope your first night in Canterlot was a pleasant one. I can just imagine how it must feel to be sleeping in different places all the time. I hope Luna had a hoof in any comfort you felt from the night.
If you are prepared by then, would you be able to come by the castle at eleven o'clock today? I would like to advance you in Equestria’s magic studies, as well as explain the reasons behind Fang's recent scroll-belching, which I'm sure at least one of you would like to know.
After that, I'm sure you would enjoy a visit to the city, having been flown straight in to the castle when you first arrived. There are many amazing sites to see, including the library, racetrack and museum. The guards have even reported about a street performer that recently arrived in Canterlot. That could be fun to watch.
Please send back a reply via Fang's firebreath as soon as possible. I have set it up so that it would work the other way this once.

Hope to see you soon.
Princess Celestia."

"Joy," Fang exclaimed. "So you're going to write a reply, I'm going to burn it and then it'll appear in front of the princess?"

"That's what seems to be implied in her letter, so yeah."

"All right then. Let’s get to it."

While Fang cleared breakfast, Spirit went upstairs to the library floor. He sat at the writing desk, pulled over a blank parchment and began to write. Dear Princess Celestia. Fang's night appears to have gone without a hitch. My own slumber, however, was interrupted by a disturbance in the lunar plane. I'm sure we will have much to discuss when we get together at eleven.

See you soon.
Spirit Guide.

Spirit rolled up the parchment, returned downstairs and gave it to Fang. The dragon ran his fingers over the sealed scroll, then tossed it into the air and torched it into fine ash. The black powder sparkled and flew out the open window, snaking toward the castle.

"It's on its way," Fang said, watching the snaky cloud slip behind a tower.

"That means we've got a window of time between now and our meeting with Princess Celestia." Spirit turned and looked at his friend. "What do you say, Fang? Shall we take a look around town?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

They tidied up and left the tower, getting onto the main street right outside the school grounds. The style of the buildings in Canterlot was far different from those in Ponyville. The houses were pale shades, most commonly white or blue, and decorated with grand and flowing designs. There were many stores lining the streets, as well as huge structures including an art gallery and a theater. Just as Celestia had said, it was even nicer in daylight.

The ponies only added to the sight. In Ponyville, the residents were all typical easygoing and cheery, whereas the ponies of Canterlot seemed split into the commoners and the high-society. These two types of ponies stood out, with the upper-class individuals habitually looked up and away from the simpler citizens.

"Those well-dressed walnuts sure add to the sight," Fang murmured. "Not for the better, though."

Spirit understood where his friend was coming from. The elite crowd clearly had no respect for the rest of the populace, keeping an obvious distance from anypony less important-looking. "It is unfortunate to see how materialistic some beings can be, and how much importance they put into wealth and rank."

"They are rank," the dragon agreed, wafting invisible fumes. "They reek of uppitiness ‎and jerkiness and everything that makes a person unpleasant to be around."

"Just try and ignore them, and keep an eye out for things that you do like.”

Fang grimaced, but his expression softened the more he looked. He pointed across the street. "There's a museum over there. I like museums."

"There we are," Spirit said contentedly, following his friend's finger to the impressive stone building. Fang liked examining artifacts from ancient times and different cultures. He had a habit of discovering them, too. "Maybe we could go visit later today."

While looking at the museum, Spirit noticed one pony by the entrance who looked strangely familiar. He peered closer, but the pony suddenly turned and walked into the shadow of the museum, disappearing from view. Who was that? Spirit wondered briefly.

"Why later and not now?" Fang asked. "We've got plenty of time before we have to meet with the princess. Besides, I've got that hunger for knowledge, the likes of which I can only satisfy through examining stuff."

Spirit did his best to weigh the possibilities and make a quick decision. Maybe this way I'll be able to find that pony. If I've seen them before, I'd very much like to see them again. "Fine. Let's go."

They walked up the steps and into the museum. The interior was huge, consisting of one huge room divided into smaller wings by subject. At first glance it looked just like any other museum, but the two dimension travelers knew that each museum's dusty contents were unique. Fang's eyes glimmered as he took in the display cases, spread manuscripts and unearthed treasures.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy." He zoomed over to a mounted display bearing a set of quadrupedal armor, not unlike the decorative ones in Canterlot Castle. "Man, those things look clunky."

"Not unlike human armor," Spirit added thoughtfully.

Fang grinned at him "Hey, when do you think Equestria will invent Kevlar?"

Before Spirit could devise an obvious answer he heard a voice call out, as loud as one could be permitted in a museum. "Well, fancy meeting you here."

The prophet turned around slowly. Standing by a gemstone display was a tan stallion in a rather dusty hat and jacket, the kind of dust one picks up when poking through dirt often. Spirit recognized the first Equestrian stallion he spoke to. "Clay Mine. Nice to see you again."

"It certainly is," the meteorologist agreed. "Is this inquisitive dragon with you?"

Fang's frills stood up. "Somepony mention me?"

Spirit pulled Fang over. "Clay, this is my best friend, Fang. Fang, this is Clay Mine. He's a meteorologist who checked on that rock that fell in Ponyville that night." He gave the dragon a nudge.

Clay grinned. “Actually, I’m not super knowledgeable in comets and metoers as the title implies. As a matter-of-fact, I’m more of a geologist. My team is made up of researchers and scientists from different branches of the trade. It gives the team strength, in a way.”

“More and more amazing,” Fang stated, earning a smile from the earth pony.

"Quite. Though speaking of that rock that fell in Ponyville, I'd like to show you something if you'd be so kind as to come and see."

"We'd love to," Spirit replied. "Fang loves museums."

"Didn't we already establish that?"

"Great. This way." Clay walked around the armor display and past a wall covered in manuscripts. Spirit and Fang followed close behind him, the latter turning his head this way and that so as not to miss a single display.

Clay stopped in front of another case, this one displaying chunks of shiny silvery-white rocks. The geologist pony looked excited. "I wonder if you know what this right here is."

Fang's eyes grew even larger in amazement. "Iridium, second densest element, can resist high temperatures. I love this stuff."

"You've got quite the eye there, young dragon," Clay complimented, nodding appreciatively. "This is indeed iridium. We found it in the crater near Ponyville, several feet below the crater floor. It must have come from the meteorite that made that hole. I am surprised the iridium punched that far down but, when it comes to meteors, nothing is too amazing."

"You've procured quite a bit of it," Spirit noted. Indeed, there was more iridium behind the glass casing than the amount humans tended to find in meteorites back on Earth, and the pieces were far larger. It was as though the meteorite were made mostly of iridium.

That would be our fault entirely, Spirit figured. With all of Fang's talking while we traveled, not to mention our game of cards, I wouldn't be surprised if he caused the iridium percentage to increase dramatically. The prophet's eyes strayed to the information plaque on the iridium display. "Contains high levels of an unknown energy." Spirit turned to the geologist. "Clay, what does this mean over here?"

Clay looked at the line Spirit was referring to. "One of my workmates, a unicorn chemist, examined the iridium with his magic. He's talented in reading contents of elements in minerals, which is quite useful to us. But he was flummoxed by whatever it is inside the iridium. First time he was ever stumped by a rock."

"Unknown trace elements, huh?" Fang looked over his shoulder at Spirit. "What do you think?"

Spirit let his gaze wander to the iridium display and slowly approached it, placing a hoof against the glass. He ignited his magic and gingerly reached out to the rare mineral, feeling for any ill-fitting energy. What he found did more than disturb him.

"Hit the deck!"

Fang, Clay and a number of the ponies within earshot threw themselves flat on the stone tiles as an explosion rocked the museum. A cry echoed through the room, a distressed sound of pain. Spirit looked around, doing his best to locate the crier, but couldn't see anything through the cloud of dust that filled the room.

"Somebody with cloud control, please clear the dust!" he said in a commanding tone.

A moment later, Spirit heard a soft flapping sound and his vision began to clear. Through the rapidly-fading cloud he could see the dim shape of a pegasus, beating his wings to blow away the dust. The prophet made a mental note to find this pony's identity and thank him, as soon as he solved the current problem.

Standing out against the disappearing cover like the darkness it was, the manifestation hovered over the iridium display. Like all of its kind, it was comprised of a dark vapor that gave off a malevolent aura, held together in a basic pony shape. This one also had a cocky grin, which only the more powerful manifestations tended to wear.

"Just when you thought it was safe," Fang declared dramatically, "to go to the museum."

The manifestation shot him a dirty look, complete with flashing red eyes. Then it faced Spirit. "So, Six-Thirteen. Once more you travel far to attain allegiance with the mythical and the storied. As always, we will thwart your attempts."

"Your threats mean little to my companion and me," Spirit replied, his voice echoing powerfully through the museum. "Time and time again you set your single minds onto stopping us, yet not once have you succeeded. Just as your existence is meaningless, so is your goal."

The manifestation made a rumbling sound, thundering instead of laughing. "You simply have the advantage wherever you go. Not this time though. Here, you have chosen a land you know nothing of; populated by beings you know nothing about. Even your so-called all-knowing companion has no insight of them."

Fang, who had been leafing through his power cards from the moment he hit the floor, suddenly looked up. "Hey, how was I to know ponies could be so awesome? All my life, it was made out to me that magical ponies were silly and unreal, but Equestria has shown me otherwise.” He spread his arms and wings out, gesturing to the crowd who all nodded in gratitude.

“Also,” Fang went on, “you're a bit late. We had a speech that sounds really similar to yours from our first manifestation since we arrived, and we captured it weeks ago. In case your semi-brain couldn't process that, it means you're repeating."

The black pony creature scowled at the carefree dragon, gritting its pointed teeth. "I've waited all this time, for I knew you would return to examine what remained of your transport.”

"I told you, Spirit," Fang teased seriously, as much as one could. "I told you we should have taken a train."

The manifestation didn't even look up. It raised a hoof and Fang was smacked across the museum by an unseen force, smashing through a plaster separation wall and into the next wing. "Seriously, I can't understand how you can tolerate him, 613," it said. "He's one of the most annoying and talkative beings in the universes."

Spirit smiled at the manifestation's words. "That particular title is open for debate, but you’re wrong. It is those things exactly that make him a good friend and ally," the prophet replied surely. "Fang's imagination and quick-thinking is a gem among his behaviors."

"Ugh, typical 613. Always making light of the dark."

"Except in your case, Darkly Wynd." Fang clambered over a pile of rubble, standing at the top like a world conqueror, a card hanging at his side. "A level-2 manifestation, standard hex. You're just as mouthy as me, and one hundredth the danger rating."

In a Grade-A presentation of 'no anger management', the manifestation launched itself at Fang, red eyes burning with black fire. Fang flipped himself into the air, slapping his card against the manifestation's passing form.

"Red, black AND rage attack?" he chuckled, hovering in the middle of the museum. "You call that original?"

Fang flexed his claws back and forth, weaving them into vague shapes. He brought his claws together and the card on the manifestation exploded like a miniature bomb, sending the black pony crashing into the rubble below.

“That’s for the museum!” Fang declared, giving a huge thumbs-up to the ponies still in the building.

The manifestation rose into the air, glowering at Fang. "I'm not some common wisp of darkness!" Its hooves began to spin like personal mini tornadoes, spitting black powder at Fang. The dragon dropped like a rock, his entire body suddenly frozen. Clay leapt up and caught Fang before he crashed into a pottery display.

“Thanks, partner,” Fang said.

"No problem.” Clay lowered Fang down and looked up at the manifestation. “What are you?" he demanded.

"Oh, you don't know, do you? None of you do." The manifestation laughed a cliche evil laugh, spooking almost everypony still in the museum and causing most of those ponies to flee. "I am the spawn of yours sin, the final dooming result of your wrongdoings. The more you choose to follow your evil inclination, the more power you give to us, and the more we can influence you further. We—"

"Talk too much."

Spirit jumped, his staff glowing with charged power, and bodily whacked it against the manifestation, knocking it to the ground. Clay, Fang and a few other ponies watched him closely with a mixture of expressions. "You hex manifestations are demanding in your own ways," he announced. "You can talk straight, perform slight tricks and induce various conditions against one's state. But, overall, I find you far simpler to defeat than the basic manifestations. At least they only have enough of a conscious to follow their mission, however evil it may be."

The prophet raised his staff overhead. In its crook sat a huge pearl, hung on a long chord strung with beads and fangs. Spirit held his staff over the manifestation like a pan over a fire and the jewel began to glow. A crack appeared on the pearl’s round surface and a beam of light shone out of it directly onto the manifestation. Like ghost-busting, the beam sucked the sinful beast into the pearl and sealed the crack, the pearl itself shimmering darkly for a moment before returning to its previous pink luster.

I thought I'd only be able to make one of this type, Spirit said to himself. Maybe this one is drawn from its recreation. He removed the pearly Seal from his staff and examined it closely. “What a beautiful likeness. Kikyo, be proud.”

Fang leapt up athletically, the manifestation’s stunning flushed from his system. “A perfect execution, Spirit,” he said, picking through the rubble. "That makes six Sealed manifestations in total."

"Sealing them away won't discourage the rest," Spirit muttered, slipping the pearl Seal over his head. "This manifestation may have been lying in wait for us but some of them may still be in pursuit, we being their sole target. I don't know how many manifestations will turn to harass the rest of Equestria and how many will focus on us. It makes me restless and uneasy."

"You're always restless and uneasy. That's why we're together. We balance each other out." Fang flicked the Seal around Spirit's neck. "I wouldn't worry about the manifestations so much, though. They may be a semi-prime objective but even they need to take things slow, despite having nothing else to do with their existences besides causing trouble."

Spirit sunk into contemplation for a moment. "Guess we just have to wait until they come to us."

"What a nice simple conclusion."

Clay leapt over a pile of fallen stanchions. "That was... that was just... I have no words!" His eyes spread as wide as Equestrian anatomy naturally allowed. "That, that thing, it was beyond anything I've ever come across in all my travels and studies." Clay looked at Spirit curiously. "It seemed to know you. Called you 'Six Thirteen'."

Fang stepped in protectively. "Clay, there are a lot of things going around; Things ponies haven't seen probably ever. We're doing our best to keep it that way for as long as possible."

The geologist opened his mouth to speak, but a pegasus appearing at his side interrupted him. Spirit recognized that this was both Terra Firm, Clay's archaeology assistant from the crater examination, and the pegasus who had cleared the smoke caused by the manifestation. "There's no point questioning, Clay," she said, putting a hoof on his shoulder. "These boys look to me like they know a whole lot more than we know and that's the way it's got to stay."

"She's right," Spirit said. "What you and the others brave or stupid enough to have witnessed is a very recent development in Equestria, one that is mostly, if not entirely, our responsibility. We intend to deal with it as fast as possible but we prefer as little knowledge of it as possible among the masses.”

Clay nodded at once. “Understood. Besides, this is beginning to look like more than we should be looking into.”

Fang whistled. “You have no idea.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say no idea.” Terra gestured around them to the ruined museum. Columns and arches were so much strewn rubble among the stanchions and barriers. Numerous displays lay shattered among the dirt, pottery and mosaics mixed unrecognizably with it. Four pegasi were struggling to lift a rather large armor plate which was pinning down a couple of visitors.

“Oh my.”

Fang sunk to his knees and tenderly picked up a pile of white bones, pieces of a now-unknown skeleton. “Don’t look at my face,” he requested when Terra bent down to check on him. “I’m not very expressive when it comes to sadness like this anyway.”

“He’s not the only one.” Clay rounded on Spirit, his face pained as though he were punched. “Can you fix this?”

Spirit let his eyes wander about the blown museum. It reminded him painfully of bombed buildings, a sight which unfortunately he’d seen many times. “On horsepower alone, strength and magic accounted for, it would take several weeks. Even so, some of the displays are hopelessly beyond repair.”

“No.”

Fang rose up. A flick of his wrist swapped the bones for a clawful of cards. “Enough power has been restored to my deck to return this shrine of knowledge to its former glory.” He held up his cards, each one meaningless-looking imagery and colorful pictures.

“Nopony blames you for what happened, Fang,” Terra said soothingly, while at the same time eager to see what else the dragon could do.

“Terra, it’s not a question of blame.” Fang turned and gave her his pointy grin. “It’s a question of ability… and generosity.”

In a single flap, Fang’s wings flung him into the air like a stone from a sling. He hovered in the very center of the museum and gave the whole place a once-over, noting the destruction and the visitors still around. He curled and flexed in midair, moving in seemingly random directions until each and every two claws, on both hand and foot, had a card wedged between them.

“Now,” he said with the utmost drama, “it’s cleanup time.”

Fang swooped down over the rubble, fanning cards out like airplane flaps. As he passed over, a wave of green light spewed from the cards and licked at the stones like fire. But instead of burning or disintegrating, the rubble stood up in the green aura and slowly floated back into place like magic. Fang did a lap of the museum, making sure the walls, columns and roof were all repaired. The freed ponies clambered out of the rising metal and they all looked up at the dragon in awe, though one once well-dressed mare continued to sob over her ruined dress.

“He’s something else, isn’t he?” Spirit asked a gaping Clay.

“Uh huh,” Terra exclaimed quietly, not wanting to disturb those at work.

The museum structure fixed, Fang turned his attention to the ruined displays. With his cards hanging like throwing knives, he dove down and circled the mixtures of glass, pottery, metal and bone until it looked like an emerald whirlwind had encased them. The dusted pile of shattered display pieces swirled together, slowly reconstructing into their original forms. The fixed vases, weapons and skeletons whizzed back to their appropriate places, followed by their glass coverings which hinged back on perfectly.

“Back where you all belong.”

Fang drifted back down to his friend and the scientists, his job done. The walls and floors were bright and clean, the stanchions shining like the day they were made. Glass cases gleamed, while behind them their assortments of scripts, jewelry and other unearthed historical treasures sat proudly. The entire museum looked good as new, as though the manifestation's destruction had never wrecked the place.

Clay spun around, mouth open and eyes wide as he struggled to take in the sight. “I-I-I, this is, this… Ohhh!”

“Now that’s what I call having no words,” Fang said with a hint of smugness.

Terra smiled. “You and Clay share a fiery passion for museums and what they stand for, literally in your case. Seeing the museum in shambles left him broken, but seeing it returned to the way it was… for him, that’s better than any gift imaginable.”

“Thank you!” Clay grabbed the dragon in a vigorous hug. “Thank you, Fang.”

Fang patted the stallion’s shoulder. “There there, it’s all right.”

“It almost wasn’t,” Spirit said. “The museum would be in a very bad way, if you hadn’t offered to give your cards for the cause.”

“Give is only so accurate.” Fang pulled out his deck. Every card, while before was illegible, was now blank as fresh paper. “I released all the power the deck’s gathered since we crashed into Equestria. It’ll be a while before I can use them again.”

“Wait, crashed?”

“Also, Spirit,” Fang continued, ignoring Clay’s statement and Terra’s waving her hoof in front of the geologist’s face, “we really should make our way up to the castle. That hour we were spending on the town is almost quite over, we spent so much time in here.”

“Though for good reasons aplenty. And Terra,” Spirit added, “thank you for blowing away the dust back there. It gave me a few spare moments to gather myself against the manifestation.”

Terra smiled proudly. “No prob. Thought the dust had to go, so I improvised. Glad it helped.”

“If you have an audience at the castle, you’d best hurry,” Clay said, getting over his initial shock. “It’ll take a few minutes to travel across town from here. Hopefully, nothing will hold you up.”

“Nothing had better.” Fang‘s pupils narrowed drastically and he cracked his knuckles loudly. “Or I’ll have to resort to my other ‘cleanup’ methods.”

Spirit steered the glaring dragon toward the exit, Clay and Terra escorting them. “It’s been a pleasure seeing you two again. Maybe we’ll get more opportunities to speak in the future.”

“Oh yes, I’d like that,” Terra said excitedly. “Maybe then you’ll be able to tell us why somepony as young as yourself acts so differently.”

It’s more than just being a young pony, Spirit thought privately to Fang, who grinned in reply.

“But really, I do hope we see you some time,” Clay said earnestly as they walked out of the museum and descended the stairs. “You’ve left Terra and myself hungry for knowledge.”

“Great, my appetite is contagious,” Fang joked.

The three ponies laughed. “This has been an enlightening encounter,” Spirit said, inclining his head at Terra and Clay. “Though we may not be able to satiate your hunger ourselves, I wish you luck in your endeavors.”

Clay tilted his hat. “Thank you for the time, Spirit. I hope your business up at the castle goes well.”

Terra nodded in agreement. “Mhm.”

“Farewell, my siblings in science!” Fang concluded, waving back at the pair as he and Spirit headed down the road to the castle. When they rounded the corner, he hissed at the prophet, “Gotta go fast. Ten minutes to eleven.”

“How time flies when you’re meeting old acquaintances,” Spirit murmured in his thoughtful manner. He stuck out his back left leg and jiggled it a few times before suddenly breaking into a fast gallop, zooming down the street with the clatter of his hooves.

Fang cricked his neck, unfurled his wings and launched himself into the air after Spirit, quickly catching up to his comrade. “Clay and Terra are becoming more like friends, if you ask me.”

“Even if I didn’t ask you,” Spirit insisted, sharply turning onto a street that led straight to the castle, “they most certainly are.”

The two friends flew down the street, Fang literally, weaving past ponies and never losing sight of their target. As they zipped past a plaza, Spirit noticed something going on and braked with a sharp twist of his body, digging his hooves into the stones. Fang didn’t stop quite as quick and loop-de-looped several feet away, turning through the air and landing smoothly beside the prophet.

“Very little makes you stop, Spirit,” the dragon remarked, shifting into a casual stance. “So what is it?”

“Over there.”

Spirit’s hoof was pointed at the plaza. A wooden trailer covered in brightly-colored scribbles was parked close to the center. A unicorn mare stood close by, dressed in a cloak and pointy hat patterned with stars, performing for a number of onlookers.

“She must be the street performer the princess mentioned in her letter,” Fang said, watching as the mare caused a rope to weave itself into impressive shapes. “A magician. She looks pretty good at it.” The dragon looked up at Spirit. “Why did you stop? There’s nothing suspicious about her.”

“That’s just it,” Spirit pressed. “Look.”

As the both of them continued to view, a change could be felt in the air. With a loud insulting shout, one of the audience members suddenly tossed a clearly overripe tomato at the magician, who ducked as the juicy projectile whizzed overhead. The craze passed through the onlookers like wildfire, all of them joining in with insults and ammo.

"Go back home, faker!"

"You call that magic?"

"Boo!"

Fang frowned awkwardly. “How rude.”

“That’s barely adequate,” Spirit chided, now upset. “Those ponies are being downright disgusting. What did that mare ever do to deserve such poor treatment?”

“Could be a local habit concerning all street performers. Wouldn’t put it past them.” Fang glanced down at his wrist, then remembered he wasn’t wearing a watch. Shrugging exasperatedly, he said, “Whatever it is, we’ll have to figure it out later. We’ve got an audience with the princess.”

Spirit watched on as the heavy rain of rejection forced the mare to flee for her wagon, where she quickly shut all the windows and the door. Taking in a deep breath, Spirit turned back to the castle, muttered “Let’s be off,” and resumed his trot.

I have not forgotten you, he promised himself, as he and Fang raced for the gates of Canterlot Castle. Spirit directed his thoughts at the sealed caravan, which was still being pelted with not-so fresh produce. Hang on, talented one. I shall return to assist you.

Author's Notes:

Nothing like publishing a decently-lengthened chapter after giving it one last check.

Time off to Teach and Tour

Using the princess’s letter as identification, Spirit and Fang passed through the gates and into the castle courtyard. Their presence was made known to Celestia before they set foot in the castle, if the princess and Raven’s emerging from the throne room was anything to judge by.

“Good morning, Spirit Guide. Good morning, Fang,” Celestia greeted as the towering doors closed behind her.

Fang scratched his head. “Bit late to call it that, no?”

Raven giggled, then quickly regained her composure. “I take it that you got her Highness’s message?” she asked.

“Yes, we did,” Spirit replied, holding up the letter. “Though the method of arrival has become something of an enigma to us.

“An Enigma we want to harvest before it becomes more firmly rooted in the boiling soil of disapproval,” Fang added with a hint of attitude.

Princess Celestia eyed the dragon quietly. “You’ll get your answers soon, Fang. I’ve cancelled all other meetings today, so you have me for as long as you need.”

Fang’s jaw slipped sideways so he pushed it back into place. “I just need an answer to this scroll-breathing business. Then you and Spirit can go spill otherworldly magic beans for each other, for the greater good."

Spirit and Celestia smiled good-naturedly, while Raven looked on, aghast. “Very well, then,” Princess Celestia said. “Raven, you’re dismissed. Why don’t you go get a drink from the kitchen?”

“I-I-I, um…” The white unicorn looked down, blushing. “Th-thank you, Your Highness.” Raven gave a quick nod to Spirit and Fang, then bustled down the hallway.

“She’s a very good secretary,” Celestia told the boys as she led them the other way. “Although she gets a little caught up in her work sometimes.”

“A loyalty of another kind,” Spirit gathered. “To the throne.”

“How do you sit on that thing anyway?” Fang asked the princess as they climbed the stairs to Celestia’s chamber.

“Comfortably.”

Celestia, Spirit and Fang entered the princess’s room and took up their positions as they did yesterday, the only difference being Luna’s absence, which a certain dragon found he needed to point out.

“Where’s Luna?”

“Last night, my sister had experienced a night like no other; at least, that’s what she told me as I came out to raise the sun. Because of whatever that happened, Luna explained she was going to rest so she would be bright and vigilant for the day.”

“And this is behavior Luna doesn’t normally exhibit?” Spirit inquired, believing he knew what experience was being touched on.

“I can’t say I recall anything like it,” Celestia replied thoughtfully. “Luna was always a bit reserved in the past. This excitement she's showing for the day is more than just a mood switch.”

“And it’s not because she’s the princess of the night and would have certain feelings toward daytime,” Fang put in.

Celestia gave a gentle smile. “No, it was never that. The aversion to day was her feelings of jealousy, and certainly not something that would lead to her wanting to be up after her night hours.”

“Maybe I could talk to her when she’s up,” Spirit offered. “I bet I could determine what’s gotten her so cheerful.”

Fang gave a fake cough. “I bet you’re the cause of it.”

“Be as that may.” Spirit turned to Celestia. “So what will it be, Princess? You’ve requested we come and come we have. What shall we do now that we’re together?”

“I’d originally planned to instruct you in magic,” Celestia said, “as I did for Twilight Sparkle. But perhaps there’s something else you would like to learn?”

Spirit shook his head, the sidelocks of his mane swinging. “No, I believe extra tutelage in the magic I now possess would be ideal.”

“Very well, then-“

“Oy, oy. Wait, wait wait wait wait wait.”

“Yes, Fang?”

Instead of a reply, a column of fire erupted in between Spirit and the princess, accompanied by a loud belch. “I would like an explanation for this morning’s letter and yesterday’s,” Fang insisted, his voice level but hard, “and I want it now, please.”

Celestia looked amusedly at Spirit, who made a simple gesture back to Fang. “If you wish it. Though I must ask, Fang, what do you mean by ‘yesterday’s letter’?”

Fang and Spirit exchanged looks. “We didn’t tell her,” the prophet said quietly. “All that talk yesterday about the Republic and our travels, and we didn’t tell the princesses about that letter.”

“Knuckleheads, the both of us.” Fang faced the princess. “That letter you sent to Twilight yesterday? It came through me.”

Celestia looked surprised at this. “This makes everything all the more interesting and clears up quite a bit,” she said.

“Yes, though we already knew we were knuckleheads. But as you were saying, Princess.”

“All right then. To comply with your request, Fang, I really can’t say how the spell I constructed is linked to your fire breath. I only ever used it to make a link between myself and Twilight through Spike’s fire. Unless you somehow possess the knowledge to reverse-engineer a spell, I’m afraid I won’t be able to satisfy you enough.”

Fang nodded respectfully all throughout Celestia’s explanation, listening for anything he could work with. “It must have been Spike’s ember,” Fang concluded at last, snapping his fingers. “Along with draconic life essence, it must have granted me the spell affixed to him.”

“Some of it may also be attributed to our previous actions in the crater,” Spirit added. “A copy of Spike’s essence, including the scroll sending spell, may have been transferred to you, along with the atomic blueprints for an Equestrian dragon.”

“Your observations are astonishing,” Celestia noted. “Whichever it may be, it seems the spell didn’t completely surface until recently. Somehow, Luna knew of its existence within Fang before I did, and I only revealed the nature of the spell to her the day we got your letter, Spirit.”

“Perhaps Luna took a gamble and, with the information garnered from what you told her, hypothesized that Fang would receive the letter, or she could have thought we would be with Spike and receive it anyway.”

Fang’s mouth slid to form a grim line. “Jolly gamble. Who knows what could have happened?”

“The Almighty,” Spirit replied at once.

“Rhetorical.”

“Either way. But Princess,” Spirit continued, addressing Celestia, “what does all this have to do with this morning’s letter?”

The white alicorn gestured to the door. “Luna informed me of her attempt at the spell last night, after I’d returned from seeing you to the tower. She gave me her opinions on the possibilities, just like you have now, and we came to the conclusion that whatever happened, the scroll sending spell within Fang was incomplete.”

“How incomplete are we talking here?” Fang asked.

“Judging by the vague, slightly torn note we got on our way here, most likely half,” Spirit guessed. “But it can’t be incomplete anymore, Princess; you sent the scroll this morning and it got through just fine. More so, we were able to answer back. If you got it, that is.”

“I did.” Princess Celestia activated her magic and retrieved a letter that Spirit recognized as the one he wrote earlier. “It is true that, prior to today, the spell was in an unfinished state when it was never even supposed to exist, and the letter I sent you today even exercised it enough to allow a reply. But something came up, also late yesterday, which helped support Luna’s opinion and clear things up.”

The princess pulled a thin-looking scroll out of the chest of drawers in her room. “Twilight sent this as I was returning to the castle. It was wrapped inside another letter, her own, expressing confusion towards a strange occurrence. It would seem that this letter here, of which there is only half, appeared before her and your friends just as you were leaving Ponyville.”

Spirit took the letter in his own levitation aura and opened it up. It was torn cleanly at the top end, and in the bottom right corner nestled an inked quarter moon. Spirit knew at once that this was the second half of the letter they’d received upon their departure from Ponyville.

Fang leaned over Spirit’s shoulder and looked at the half-letter. “I’ll hazard a guess and say that that moon is Luna’s signature.”

“Is it truly that obvious?”

“No point asking that question after a few thousand years of use, Princess.”

Celestia nodded. “Luna admitted that she had tried to send a message to you, Spirit, since we had already agreed on inviting you here. It was her attempt at a welcome, though it seems to have been only partly accepted.”

“And now it’s complete.” Spirit brought out the half of the letter they’d received on the ride to Canterlot. Holding both scraps of parchment, he slowly pushed them together and, using his magic, stuck them together into a seamless whole.

Fang rested his chin on a fist. “So now we know that it was Luna who was awaiting us. Twilight’s letter from last night confirms that mine and Spike’s firebreaths are somewhat connected which is what led to Luna’s letter getting torn apart. Since I had received all of your Highness’s invitation yesterday, you and Luna guessed—and correctly, too—that I would receive today’s letter in its entirety.” The green dragon took a deep breath.

“NOW WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO ABOUT IT?”

This last question was bellowed loudly, Fang flapping to Celestia’s eye level and belting it out. The princess’s multicolored floating sparkling mane was swept up behind her head as the dragon’s voice blew the magic-imbued strands back. Celestia herself remained unmoving, watching Fang with her same, soft expression.

“Is that all?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Fang landed back on the floor and crossed his legs. “Now, the answer.”

Celestia levitated a cup from a tea cart to the side and took a sip. “That is really up to you, Fang. If you want, I could remove the spell from you and you will unlikely receive letters in that manner. But if you wish, I could reinforce the strengthening traces of the spell within you and we will then be able to send messages back and forth at will.”

“Never thought I’d be offered the chance to be a magical, fire-breathing telegram machine,” Fang commented. “Sounds like it could be useful. Spirit?”

The prophet had been observing silently, letting chastising of Fang’s behavior before the princess slide. “We would benefit highly from such a communications system, wouldn’t we Fang? With it, we could contact Princess Celestia should something come up and we need to tell her about it.”

“Twilight uses it to inform me of her discoveries on the magic of friendship,” Celestia said. “You could do the same, so to speak, as well as report to us any attacks by manifestations so that we might keep track of them.”

“It all sounds good and helpful,” Fang concluded. “Two things I like being.”

“Then you both agree on your choice?”

“Yes.”

“Mhm.”

“Then it’s settled.” Princess Celestia stood up. “Fang, later this day, I shall summon you so that the homing-teleportation spell can be properly imbued on you. From then on, any letter I direct at you will come out on your fire breath, and any message you wish to send back, you need simply to set it aflame and I will receive it.”

Fang inhaled deeply and slowly let it out. “Well, I got what I came for. Now what?”

“We’re going to undergo a deeper study of Equestrian magic,” Spirit reminded him. “I have all this power and a limited knowledge of it; I need to know.”

“Mmph, I hear ya. So, Highness, what can you tell us?”

“Perhaps it would be best if I started with a question.” Celestia indicated to a chalkboard beside the tea cart and Fang went to get it. “Do you know any magic at all?”

“You mean other than what Twilight taught me while in Ponyville?” Spirit inquired. “Fang and I are practiced in otherworldly magical arts.”

Princess Celestia stood on the left side of the chalkboard; Spirit and Fang took the right side. “Otherworldly magic?” the princess repeated curiously. “How many kinds of magic have you learned?”

“Well, if you say ‘magic’ as in energy that exists within any number of individuals, energy that can be controlled, we’re talking dozens.” Fang took up a piece of chalk and began to scribble on the board. “We’ve drawn upon inner strengths, tapped into inherited gifts and built with technological forces. We’ve combated against mythological powers, demonic and infernal energies, ancient superpowerful artifacts and reality-warping beings.

“Of them all, I estimate about half a dozen ‘pure’ types of magic; energy and power that are actually called ‘magic’. They all originate within different universes that we’ve traveled to and, as such, we’ve learned to use and fight against them all.

“Among those magicks, I’ve sorted them into two categories: incantation and willpower.

“It’s straightforward enough: incantation magic works by uttering preordained words that activate inner or surrounding magic to do your bidding; and willpower magic requires the wielder’s thoughts to weave the spell. Although many users of incantation magic can cast spells without saying anything, they remain separate in my mind.”

By now, the chalkboard was completely covered in statements and symbols, many of which made little sense to Princess Celestia but were completely understood by the two dimension jumpers. Spirit also noticed that Fang looked a little smug about Celestia’s ignorance on the subject. He felt that this was going to become a thing between his friend and the Sun Princess.

“So you’re wondering whether Equestrian magic is incantation or willpower,” Celestia said after a short examination of the board.

“I was going to get to that,” Fang admitted, flipping the chalk end over end and catching it hypnotically, “but I’m a fan of getting ahead.”

Celestia wrapped the chalkboard in her golden magic aura. All the facts and figures slid and collapsed to the right side of the board, leaving the left side blank. “To answer your question, Equestrian magic falls into your willpower category.” She drew three symbols on the board: a star, a bolt of lightning and a horseshoe. “All kinds of ponies are born with magic and channel it in different ways: unicorns use their horns to cast spells, pegasi have natural weather control and the magic of earth ponies flows through their bodies as strength and endurance.”

“What about the bat ponies?” Spirit asked. “Do they have magic?”

“Even they.” Celestia drew an eye with a slit pupil. “Bat pony magic grants them keen night vision and echolocation, which serves them well at night when they tend to operate.”

“I dig that. Night is a great time for doing things.”

“That’s pretty much the basics of Equestria magic,” Celestia finished. “Does that answer your question?”

“More than a bit.” Spirit looked up at his horn. “All in all, it’s incredibly similar to my old power source: an energy that I can call upon in accordance with my thoughts.”

Spirit closed his eyes and his horn glowed with power; ribbons of light spring free from the built-in implement on his forehead, flying around the room like beautifully plumed birds. The aura grew and surrounded Spirit, lifting him into the air. The magic held him suspended there and an even brighter flash of light emitted from his shoulders, shooting out two single glowing feathers.

In that single moment, all Spirit’s power seemed to wane. He slowly sunk back to the floor, the glowing lights all dimming and dispersing as their power source was cut off. Spirit opened his eyes and smiled contentedly. “Just like I remember.”

“You are far from being a novice, Spirit,” Celestia said, impressed by the display he had shown. “Such magical control in as new an individual as yourself is nothing short of amazing.”

“He had a great teacher,” Fang added, finishing the last line on the star he was drawing on the board.

“It’s true; Twilight taught me much in the little time we shared. I still wish we had more time to study magic together.”

“And I’m sure you will spend many days pouring over magic upon your return,” Celestia promised. “For now, though, you will simply have to make do with my presence in the learning.”

Fang snickered gleefully. “You say that like it’s so horrible.”

The princess gave a polite nod. “Each teacher’s presence feels different to the student; surely Spirit will realize who he feels more comfortable with.”

“As long as I am, in fact, learning, I can give little attention to the differences in my teachers,” Spirit assured. “The very best thing we can do is get right to it.”

“Heh, not me,” Fang declared, throwing the chalk back against the board, now covered in the most obscure of sketches. “You can prattle away about magic all you want; I am going to take a look around this finely-crafted rock block. See if I can find something worthy of my attention.”

Spirit shook his head and Celestia chuckled. “As you wish, Fang; mind you don’t get into any trouble.”

“If trouble finds me, it’ll be getting more than it bargained for.” And with that, Fang strode to the chamber door, tugged it open and disappeared down the hallway.

“He’ll be fine,” Spirit confirmed. Then he added, “As long as there aren’t any oversized creatures wandering the castle unguarded.”

“Why such specifications?” Celestia inquired, beginning to erase the chalk scribbles from the blackboard in preparation of the magic session ahead.

The prophet looked at the princess with a blank yet knowledgeable gaze. ”Reasons, I cannot give you at present, your Highness. Yet one thing I can guarantee is that sometime in the future, you will find out. I don’t know if it will after a few days, weeks or even months but, one way or another, the reasons shall make themselves known.”

Celestia raised her eyebrows at Spirit’s queer speech. “I look forward to that day, be it for good or bad.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Princess,” Spirit warned in a teasing manner. “But enough of these fruitless foresights; let’s learn some stuff.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” Celestia said with a smile, using her magic to clear some space in her room as Spirit drew closer to the board. ”What spells has Twilight taught you since your arrival?”

“That’s an easy one; using her book, 'the Magic Instructor’, we went through things like levitation, basic transformation and elemental control. I advanced quickly through these, so fast that Twilight felt ready to teach me harder spells such as teleportation and offensive magical beams…”

*

Thus wore on the morning, the princess and the prophet learning and learning from each other. Two hours came and went but onward they worked and studied, drilling Spirit through more and more advanced magic in an attempt to make up for his lacking Equestrian education. After a brief lunch break, which included Spirit’s afternoon service, they decided to widen their studies to include other branches of Equestrian knowledge that, up until then, were unknown to the prophet.

Despite his otherworldly origins, Spirit worked hard to achieve the education of an average Equestrian citizen, and in some fields he even reached beyond average. Celestia was glad to be once again, personally instructing such a bright pony; Spirit was so much like Twilight, if not more astonishing.

When 3 o’clock in the afternoon passed them by, Celestia declared it to be enough for the day. “You have gained far more than I could have hoped in such a brief span of time,” she told the young prophet. “But stuffing you full of knowledge isn’t a key way to do it. You’re deserving of a break, but I hope we will be able to continue these learning sessions throughout your stay in Canterlot.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Spirit replied, beyond grateful for the attention Celestia was giving him; she must have been so busy yet she was giving so much of her time just for him. “I just hope that I’m not detracting from your services to Equestria.”

“If what you told Luna and I yesterday is true, this may very well be a service to Equestria.”

“Guess that’s checked off.” Spirit sat silently in thought while Celestia wiped the board clean of the many facts and theorems and phrases written on it. “What should I do now?”

“You have the rest of the day for yourself,” Celestia told him. “I’d suggest you rejoin with Fang and find out what he’s been up to.”

“That’s as good a place to start as any. Thank you for your time, Princess.”

Celestia laid a hoof over the stallion’s back. “Thank you, Spirit, for giving me another chance to directly impart my knowledge to another.”

“It’s always a pleasure to learn from a sage.”

After a few more parting words, Spirit departed from Celestia’s personal chambers. He wandered aimlessly through the castle halls, eyeing the décor and noting the differences and similarities the place bore to other castles he had visited. As he reached the bottom of the third right staircase, Spirit encountered Shining Armor and Storm Runner.

“Captain, Lieutenant!” he greeted, remembering to use their ranks as they were likely on duty.

“Hey, Spirit Guide,” Shining Armor replied; Storm Runner waved. “I didn’t think I’d be seeing you around the castle.”

“Got a personal invite from Princess Celestia with the interest of tutoring me; it was time well spent.”

“I’ll bet. What are you doing now?”

“Nothing specific, just admiring the palace.”

Storm spoke up. “If you’re looking for your dragon friend, Fang, he’s down in the barracks.”

“Barracks? What's he doing there?”

Shining and Storm exchanged grins. “Why don’t we escort you there so you could see for yourself?”

“I’d be all right with that, as long as I’m not taking you away from any assignments you have.”

“We’re not on anything at the moment,” Storm Runner clarified.

“If that’s the case, gentlecolts, then lead the way.”

The two soldier stallions led Spirit down to the entrance hall, then through the right-side hallway that led to a room with several doors leading in different directions. Shining and Storm took the far right door which opened to a short, wide stairway. The trio took the stairs down to a chamber filled with ponies, both dressed in armor and undressed, all going about their normal routines.

“Welcome to the barracks,” Shining Armor declared.

Upon noticing the captain, many of the ponies greeted him respectfully and then returned to their business. Some gave Spirit odd looks, ones of suspicion that came from lack of understanding. This idea humored the prophet, as it was one he was inclined to wherever he went.

“So where is my companion?” Spirit asked his escorts.

“He’s in the inside training ground, the practice arena,” Storm Runner said, pointing to a pair of heavy wooden double doors further along.

The pegasus and the two unicorns walked to the indicated entrance. As they drew nearer, they began to hear sounds coming from inside the room beyond: heavy footsteps, the clash of steel and shouts the likes of which are only uttered in combat.

“I know what to expect in there,” Spirit informed the captain and the lieutenant, “but I think I’m going to enjoy this all the same.”

To this, Shining and Storm grinned in unison.

Grasping the door handles with his magic, Spirit heaved the doors open and walked into the training ground. It was pretty much like any military practice field he’d seen, with training dummies and targets set up for spear or bow practice. A set of huts with linked piping in their tops stood to one side, the glow within them revealing their use as the armory, which was further shown by the racks of weapons and suits of armor beside them.

But the most interesting sight, and the source of the noise, came from the center of the room. A good 30 by 30 feet of ground was surrounded by a low wall, upon which several ponies were leaning, all cheering for the action going on inside: three royals guards, an earth pony with a mace in his mouth, a pegasus gripping a large shield and a unicorn waving a spear, were getting their flanks whipped by a solitary opponent.

Fang.

The little dragon dominated the center of the arena, wearing simple hard leather armor and bearing two short swords. He chased after his opponents, leaping into the air to cut them off, and slapping them with the flat of his blades each time a target was in reach. The guards tried to gang up on him together, but Fang moved too fast.

Spirit, Shining and Storm joined the crowd against the wall as Fang swung his swords under the earth pony, forcing the guard to jump and carrying him into the wall. The pegasus did a loop and rushed at Fang, but the dragon performed a half-winged cartwheel in evasion, resulting in the pegasus joining her companion groaning against the brick surface.

But it seemed like the unicorn had waited for this moment. Dropping his spear, he reached with his magic and pulled a large broadsword from outside the arena. Spirit wondered briefly why ponies would make swords when most of them couldn’t hold one properly, but changed his thoughts instead to think on this final stretch of the battle.

Fang noticed the unicorn’s change of weapon and charged, smoke issuing from his nostrils as he chuckled. The pony brought his sword down in a clumsy, overhead swing, but Fang locked the blade in place with his own swords in a scissor movement. They stood there for a moment, then Fang heaved upwards and forced the heavy broadsword up and over his foe’s head, knocking the pony off balance as he tried to keep his grip on the blade.

WHAM

The unicorn went flying into the opposite wall from Fang’s body slam, the sword clattering on the ground where he had stood. Fang marched over to fallen guard and planted one clawed foot over the pony’s heaving chest. He looked around at the breath-taken crowd who had been watching the battle and inhaled.

“Victory is a dish best served…. by me.”

The ponies erupted into wild cheers and Fang blew a ball of fire into the air. His opponents got on their hooves, approached him and commended him on his victory before gathering their equipment and leaving the arena. As the crowd dispersed and returned to their tasks, Fang went over to the prophet.

“Hey, Spirit.”

“That was one heck of a fight you put up in there, Fang,” Shining Armor said.

“It was insane!” Storm cheered. “The way you sent them all sprawling like you did.”

“He is one of the Republic’s top warriors,” Spirit remarked. “It’s completely within his abilities.”

“Aw, quit with the compliments, guys. You’ll make me blush puke yellah.”

The stallions just looked on. Fang continued. “So how did your studyXstudy go with the princess, Spirit?”

“Fantastically. We broached much and covered much, but there is still a lot more left to learn as well as teach.”

“I guess we’ll be staying in Canterlot for those few weeks in full. Whenever you go off to hit the books with Celestia, I’ll offer my sword arm to the royal guard members in practice. They’re in need of a challenge and it’s good for me to stay in combat shape.”

“Then our schedule is mostly set.”

“Yeah, but here comes the question.” Fang whipped around to face Shining Armor and Storm Runner. “Where’s Silver Shade?”

The captain tilted his head back toward the barracks main room. “Through the doors back there is the night guard sector of the barracks,” he explained. “The bat ponies of the night guard tend to sleep through the day, to better save their energy for their shift, but some of them are up at this time. Your friend may be, too.”

“Then that’s our next stop.”

They left the arena and headed for the opposing double doors. Storm parted with the group at the stairs, saying he had drilling to do, so Spirit, Fang and Shining proceeded to the doors while the pegasus lieutenant zoomed up the stairs and out of the barracks.

“I don’t know how you’ll feel about the bat ponies when you see them here,” Shining muttered, putting a hoof on the iron handle. “They’re not as warm to the rest of the guards as they are among themselves. Sometimes I think they only listen to me because I’m the captain.”

“We’ve seen some-powerful deities, monsters made out of input, giant extraterrestrials, demons and crossbreeds. Seeing part-bat equines in their natural crib won’t even curl my toes.” At this, Fang leaned back on his heels and curled his foot talons.

“If you say so.” Shining Armor slowly eased the doors open, allowing himself, Fang and Spirit to enter before quietly closing the doors behind them.

The room beyond the doors was like a huge aviary, round and tall with thick logs and planks stretching from wall to wall. From these wooden perched hung shadowy figures, made indistinct by the dimness of the room. Occasionally, a dark-haired head or a leathery wing would pop out from the upside-down figures before rejoining the hanging mass. Spirit and Fang stepped quietly to the middle of the room and looked around in awe.

“It’s like a giant bats’ cave,” Fang whispered, turning around and around while looking up. “With really big bats.”

“Are these all bat ponies?” Spirit asked Shining Armor.

The captain nodded. “This is where most of them spend the day, usually sleeping. Few bat ponies are on duty during daylight hours, except for Princes Luna’s chamber guards and entourage. When night comes and most of the day guards are dismissed, myself included, the bat ponies emerge to take our place during the dark hours. It’s a system with almost no flaws.”

“Almost?” Fang inquired.

“I’m afraid so.” Shining lowered his voice. “There’s a bit of tension going on between the day and night guards. My ponies have been wary of the bat ponies ever since they returned to the castle to resume their duty as the night guard.”

“The bat ponies left the castle originally when Luna—or Nightmare Moon—was banished,” Spirit said, remembering Celestia’s history teachings. “When did they come back?”

“Just as they left. After Twily and her friends changed Luna back and she returned to the castle, the bat ponies appeared the following night inside this very room, silent as a shadow.” Shining gestured around the room. “They’d even dusted the place, leaving every corner spotless, as their absence left no reason to care for the room and a great deal of cobwebs and dust bunnies had roomed in their place.”

“And the guards disapprove of their sudden return?”

“As far as I can tell. While nopony likes to admit it, I've gotten implications of suspicion from the guards; even Storm has some, though that may just be peer pressure. But there’s nothing we can do. The bat ponies are a part of the royal guard and a necessity to our prime objective: keeping the princesses and Canterlot safe.”

Spirit stood silently while Fang paced around the room, his gaze directed upwards. “That’s quite a predicament,” the prophet said. “With how things are the way you described, the guard could potentially fall apart at a moment’s notice.”

“I know,” Shining Armor sighed. “It gnaws on me day after day. All I want is for our two units to work together in harmony as a single, super-horsepower pony army.”

“That’ll be a praiseworthy trick,” Fang commented absently from the side. “And speaking of tricks, Spirit, come and look at this.”

Spirit and Shining quietly joined Fang and looked up. Hanging from one of the lower-wedged beams was a dark shape, different from the others. At a glance, the figure looked inconsistent; the edges of its body shifting and poofing back and forth like clouds. As the trio neared, a silver eye appeared on the lower part of the figure, its head, and examined the ponies and the dragon below.

“Hey, guys.”

In a twist of blackness, the figure dropped down beside Spirit and the others. Two swaths of darkness flapped out, revealing Silver Shade. But how different he looked: his ears had grown tufts of fluff-like smoke, and the shape of his wings had a clearer Chiroptera design.

“Good morning to you, Silver,” Spirit greeted.

“Morning?” Silver frowned. “I woke up early.”

“Only if you’re nocturnal,” Fang said. “Your body seems to think so; you look like a bat pony."

“I guess I am a bit of that, since I’m hanging with these guys now.” Silver spread his wings up at the bat ponies. “Though I’m sure I’ll never lose my structural features.”

“You mean not having to eat and sleep to replenish your energy.”

Silver nodded. “Ever since I met you, Spirit, I’ve found myself becoming inclined to needs of the flesh, which include keeping the body in peak condition through consumption and rest. It's strange, having to keep myself in a solid form for long periods of time, but I'm beginning yo feel stronger than ever before.”

Spirit put a hoof around the manifestation’s shoulder “As long as you’re okay, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Spirit. I owe what little I have to you.”

Shining Armor drew near and looked closely at Silver. “Excuse me if this sounds rude, but what kind of pony are you?”

“He’s a manifestation, Shining,” Fang explained. “His kind are born of the sins committed by other creatures. Their only instinct is to cause as much chaos and destruction across the worlds as they can, particularly where Spirit and I get involved.”

“Somehow, Silver managed to ignore his kind’s natural urge to wreck and rage, and has been living with us and Twilight since we found him,” Spirit continued. “When we came to Canterlot, he asked if he could hang with the bat ponies during our stay.”

“And here I am,” Silver finished brightly.

“I have to admit, you did give me a start when I first saw you,” Shining confessed, earning a frown from Silver, “but I’ve managed to learn that looks don’t make a pony what he is. As long as we’re fighting on the same front, we’ll get along just fine.”

Silver grinned. “Thank you, captain.”

“If you don’t mind, would you please take your conversation outside?”

A voice came from above, as they were all expecting it to. The closest hanging figure spread its wings, revealing the upside-down form of dark cornflower-blue bat pony Echo Barrage, captain of the night guard. His hooves were just touching the beam he hung from, with nothing else visibly holding him where he hung.

That must be an extension of bat pony magic: being able to hang using their hooves.

“We get only so much rest during daylight hours,” Echo went on, his voice flat. “The other ponies make an awful lot of noise, and my troops do a lot of complaining in response.”

“I’m sorry about that, Echo,” Shining apologized, trying to be friendly. “Stealth isn’t exactly what we’re trained for.”

“No, I suppose it’s not.” Echo fell from the beam and landed beside the guy group. “Can’t be helped.”

Fang looked back and forth between the two high-ranking ponies. “So the two captains meet face-to-face. What have you got to say for yourselves?”

Shining just looked at the dragon. “There’s nothing between us, Fang,” he said. “Echo and I get along fine. It’s our men who aren’t getting along.”

“The bat ponies keep telling me how the main guard are always giving them suspicious looks, like they’re not trustworthy,” Silver put in. “I’ll bet the other guards say something similar about the bat ponies.”

“You’re dead-on, Silver. There hasn’t been one week where Storm hasn’t brought in at least one complaint or rumor from a soldier.”

Echo looked at Spirit and Fang. “This is why we work in different shifts; not because of the unicorn, earth and pegasus guards being used to day and the bat ponies better suited for the night. The two just don’t get along. Until they get over their dislike for each other, they will never work as a cohesive whole.”

“That sucks,” Fang stated.

“It’s saddening,” Spirit remarked, shaking his head. “Both units are vital to the protection of the castle and the princesses, at all times. If they can’t get along with the other ponies who share the job, they’re not completing their task.”

“Spoken like a true posek.”

“Isn’t there anything you can do to help the troops bond?”

“We’ve tried everything we could think of, Spirit,” Shining affirmed. “We gave speeches, held friendly competitions, even organized missions consisting of members from both guards. Nothing we do is helping the day and night guards like each other.”

“Competitions, I can understand,” Fang said, “but how did speeches fail? Talking always saves the day.”

“Maybe we should just leave,” Echo said quietly, closing his slit-pupil eyes. “We can return to the mountainous regions, protect the nearby settlements as we have during Nightmare Moon’s banishment.”

“No, don’t say things like that,” Shining Armor insisted, putting a hoof against the bat pony’s chest. “You’re here now, as you should have been all those years, and now that Luna’s back you’re going to stay, regardless of what the guard thinks.”

“But what the guard thinks is exactly the issue. It’s detracting from the quality of the troops and I’m not willing to endanger the princesses just for petty sentiment.”

“Blast sentiment! You make up for whatever lack of fight there is in my ponies. Not one of them has the skill or training for night duties as you, not even me!”

Spirit watched the two captains bring their arguments, shooting whacky ideas at each other. “Is it really as bad as they’re treating it?” he whispered to Silver.

“I did some snooping,” the manifestation confessed. “Sorry, old evil habits. But the bat ponies really are considering leaving the castle. It’s causing them too much trouble and thinking of what the main guard thinks of them is distracting for most.”

“We got an inside look at the day guard’s feelings too,” Fang replied. “And with the lieutenant right there with them, too.”

“What we need is a plan,” Spirit stated, his eyes leaping back and forth as he strived for a solution. “Something that would require all the guards to work together and to accept one another. Something like…. Ugh, I was never good at this.”

“Like a manifestation?” Fang offered.

Silver raised a hoof. “Present.”

“You’re both being silly now.”

“No.” Fang grabbed Spirit’s head, turned and pointed. “Man-i-fest-ation.”

Spirit followed the dragon’s finger out the window and into the courtyard. The castle wall had been breached and a solid shadow was spilling through the crack into the courtyard. Armored ponies on the wall shouted and attacked, but it was clear that nothing was working. A siren sounded a moment later, and hundreds of wings spread and flapped as the sleeping bat ponies were aroused from their rest, all of them leaping from the rafters, donning their armor and grabbing their weapons.

Shining and Echo stopped their loud discussion and joined Spirit, Fang and Silver at the window. “What is that?” Echo blurted out, staring wide-eyed at the spreading inky creature.

“Manifestation,” Fang said again.

“It looks nothing like Silver,” was all Shining could say.

“That’s because it is nothing like Silver,” Spirit explained. “That thing down there is a typical manifestation, with no compassion for living creatures or the land they inhabit. If it could, it would tear down the city and detach it from the mountainside.”

“Not-so typical; It’s a lot bigger than normal,” Fang noted, crossing his arms on the windowsill and resting his chin on it. “Must be a conglomeration, like the parasprites.”

“Captain!”

The four ponies and the dragon spun around at the unintentionally unified addressing. Standing before them were an earth and a bat pony, both looking equally surprised at their timing. “Captain,” the bat pony said, mostly to Echo Barrage, “the shadow monster is approaching the castle.”

“What do we do, captain?” the earth pony asked Shining Armor.

Shining and Echo looked over at the interdimensional trio. “We have no experience with fighting manifestations,” he said, self-disappointment evident in his voice. “Only you have the knowledge on how to fight them. Will you lead the ponies of the royal guard into battle?”

Spirit shared a look with Fang and Silver. Silent consent was immediate and they all nodded together. "With our strength, strategy and intel, we shall lead you to victory this day,” the three of them announced.

KEEEEEEEEEEERAAAAAAAAAH

“And that leading business begins now,” Fang said, leaping onto the window. “See you on the field.”

“Come on, this way!” Echo ordered as the dragon tipped himself out. The rest of the guards ran out of the tower and along a new corridor. “This leads right out into the courtyard; it was built by our predecessors for such times.”

“Useful,” Spirit commented as they all galloped along to the battle on the royal doorstep.

United, We Kick Smoke

“I’ve seen worse.”

Echo and Shining could only gape at the green dragon's aloofness while the battle commenced between the manifestation and their troops. It was really quite unfair; parts of the enemy seemed to have a mind of their own, lashing back at the guards with no pattern to their moves.

“That’s not to say this isn’t bad,” Fang added.

Spirit nodded as he beheld the manifestation. It was clearly a conglomeration of several, all mashed together to destroy as much as possible in a short time. It looked like a bloated tornado, stuff to the point that it could only lay on the ground and ooze about, with numerous tentacles protruding all along its body. It was these tentacles that acted as the main combat factor, sparring and tussling with all the attacking ponies with little trouble.

“Can we please speed things up?” Echo pleaded. “Our men are getting thrashed.”

“All right, all right, we’re on it.” Fang spread his wings and flew up above the manifestation. The beast sensed him and three tentacles focused on the dragon, swinging their weighted tips at him. Fang headed them not, instead making a show of zigzagging and spinning through the air, not looking fazed or tried from his seemingly unconscious dodging.

“What’s he doing?” Shining wondered aghast, flinching as two more guards went flying.

“Gathering information in his own way. I’ll be doing the same.” Spirit casually trotted onto the field of battle, much to the captains’ shock. The manifestation beast turned its turbulent gaze on him and brought down one of its tentacles. Without breaking his stride, Spirit teleported four feet to the left and the tentacle crashed into his original location, carving a ditch in the soil.

They’re hopeless.

After dodging two more attacks, Spirit caught up with two guards, one bat pony and one pegasus. Both of them were trying to subdue a tentacle, working on opposite ends and arguing with each other all the while.

“Back off, night guard!” the pegasus hollered, wrapping his hooves around the tentacle’s end and shaking it. “This one is mine!”

“You couldn’t lower a flag with those hooves!” the bat pony yelled back, slamming his elbows onto the middle of the tentacle. “Did a snake bite swell them up?”

“Blood sucker!”

Spirit decided to intervene. “Excuse me.”

Both ponies stopped and stared at him; even the tentacle miraculously halted its movements. “Yes?” they both asked hesitantly.

“I don’t mean to interrupt any of your brawling, but I was just curious: why do you despise each other?”

The pegasus and the bat pony opened their mouths to answer, but the tentacle went back to its lashing. The two winged guards were swept up together, both forced to hold on to the end of the waving appendage for dear life.

Looks like I’ll have to intervene further if I’m going to get my answers.

Using his magic, Spirit choked the tentacle at its numerous joints, freezing the dark whipping arm and causing it to drop both ponies beside him. They stared in silent awe as Spirit wrapped the tentacle in magic and crammed it inside the manifestation’s smoky body.

Spirit knew he had some time to breathe before the monster caught on. He conjured a protective dome around himself and the guards, closing them off from the battle. “I’ll ask again: what drives you to distrust each other?”

Letting go of their amazement, both ponies began to speak loudly, but Spirit cut them off with a raised hoof. “No. I don’t want to hear any of that. In here, you will speak honestly and with no hate, just your bare opinion. That’s it.”

The guards were silent for a moment. They slowly turned their head and looked at each other, expressions shifting between suspicious and confused. Finally, the pegasus spoke. “Jealousy. After one thousand years, Princess Luna returned to Equestria. We of the royal guard have served twofold our duties, with the absence of the bat ponies in her banishment. We were never nearly as good as they had been, and envy grew into paranoia. Soon, we resented the bat ponies for leaving us, and that feeling only grew stronger when they came back, silent as the night they worked under, as though nothing had happened.”

“Confidence,” the bat pony said with a sigh. “With Princess Luna gone, half our purpose seemed to disappear with her; she was, after all, our foremost mistress. At first we were angry, enraged that Celestia had undertaken such a decision herself, but then we became concerned for ourselves. Fearing how we would be looked upon by the day guard and the clueless citizens, we fled the castle and continued to serve Equestria in secret. With Luna’s return, we sought to recreate the old guard ties, but our past decisions combined with the disapproving behaviors of the day guard undermined our morale.”

Spirit digested the testimonies, sieving through them for an answer. “Tell me, guards…”

“Daybreak, sir.”

“Nightfall, sir.”

Do not laugh. “Tell me, Daybreak and Nightfall, what is your duty as the guards of Canterlot Castle?”

“To serve and protect Their Highnesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” they replied in unison, much to their own surprise.

“Would you say that your jealousy or misgiving increases the quality of your service, or detracts from it?”

Daybreak’s eyes widened and Nightfall’s gaze wandered. “No.”

I knew that much. But now… “Tell me, Daybreak: do you truly feel envious of Nightfall here?”

“No.”

“And Nightfall, are you feeling shadowed by Daybreak?”

“No.”

Spirit drew himself up. “Then I can only suggest one thing for the two of you: put aside any and all concerns or quips you have with each other and focus on the one thing you both have in common: your duty to Equestria.”

Both guards’ faces seemed to glow at Spirit’s words and confident smiles quickly appeared. “We’ll do our best,” Daybreak announced proudly.

“More than that,” Nightfall added, “we’ll do it together.”

That’s more like it.

Fwwwwwwwwwww-BAM

With a shattering crash, Spirit’s protective dome disappeared and the tentacle responsible rose up for another attack. With synchronized motions, Nightfall and Daybreak shot up and looped around the offending tentacle, encasing it in a strange cloud.

“We’ve got this!” Daybreak called down to Spirit. “Just spread the word; help our comrades!”

Nightfall would likely have said something similar, had his fangs not been flashing in and out of the tentacle’s dark casing. “Ommmm nyomyomyomyom!”

Will do. In a flash, Spirit left the battlefield and returned to the sidelines, where Silver now stood alone, cocking his head to the sounds of combat. Shining and Echo and joined their troops and were leaping through the fray, trying to distract the manifestation beast from attacking the others.

“So what have you got, Silver?” Spirit asked him.

The manifestation pony shrugged. “There’s nothing new; it looks to be just a conglomeration. The ones in the parasprite swarm could have achieved the same, except they decided to work apart. These manifestations have chosen to merge, to become one seamless destruction machine.”

Spirit’s eyes lit up. “That fits perfectly with the reality of things. Any weak spots?”

“Nothing specific; just gotta hit it hard, then Seal it away.”

“Confirmed.” Fang glided out of the battle, dusting sin smoke from his shoulders. “The guards are wimps; they’ll get nowhere with how they’re going about things now. The biggest problem is their lack of synchronization, which leaves many places lightly touched and not nearly enough to damage.”

“Then it’s time to tip the scales. Silver, Fang, attend me.”

Spirit rushed into the fray with his friends close behind him. The manifestation sensed the unicorn prophet approaching and turned all its attention on him, accidentally brushing aside half the royal guard as it twisted. The rest of the armor-clad ponies rolled out of harm's way as the manifestation faced its newest foes.

“Here we go."

With the efficiency of veterans, the trio jumped into action. Fang shot cards at the massive monster, dousing each one in his dragon fire and sent flaming into the manifestation's gaseous bulk. While the drake outdid himself in the distraction department, Silver took Spirit into the air, rising above the manifestation.

"Are you sure you want me to let go?" Silver grunted. "It's a long way down, despite what you're using as landing gear."

"I wouldn't suggest this if I wasn't sure enough that it would work," Spirit replied.

"'Sure enough'? That's not reassuring in the least."

"Let go, Silver Shade."

And he did. Spirit dropped like a rock, falling toward the enraged and preoccupied abomination below. He held out his hoof and summoned his staff in a flash, twisting himself so that the crook aimed downwards. As he neared his target, Spirit charged the ancient implement with his magic, causing the whole thing to glow like the sapphires it was made of.

SHHHHWWWWWWWNNNG

The staff struck the manifestation beast and pierced its smokey hide, cutting all the way through to the ground. Even as Spirit sliced through it, the abomination split apart into pony-sized chunks which began to writhe helplessly. The members of the royal guard gaped, shocked at the prophet's precision and the damage he was causing the creature.

Spirit vaulted over the manifestation chunks on his staff, somersaulted through the air and stuck the landing. Standing upright on his back legs, he addressed the surrounding defenders. "Ponies of the royal guard, the time has come to turn the tables. For too long, the mistrust between your two factions have compromised the quality of your service. It's that same mistrust that's losing you this battle. The reason you can't overcome this monster is because you can't overcome your misgivings of your fellow ponies. You must put aside your differences and come together in your mission and fight as one!"

"In other words," Fang said, tired of the repeated use of speeches, "get up, get your act together and kick butt!"

It took a moment, one full of wide-eyed ooze-gazing mouth-gaping, but once it passed a collection of war cries rang out. The royal guard, in all its armored glory, rushed forward and fiercely attacked the struggling heaps of darkness. Unicorns, pegasi, earth and bat ponies alike joined together in pummeling the enemy, forgetting their feud in favor of their assignment.

By working together, the royal guard abolished the manifestation shreds within a few minutes, corralling them to the center of the courtyard under the direction of Fang, Shining Armor and Echo Barrage. Once the last piece of manifestation was herded in, Spirit stepped forward with his staff glowing. He waved the implement for effect and completion, summoning a new Seal in the shape of a tiny metal tree.

"The tree's control reaches as far as Reality itself," Spirit boomed. "It will be more than sufficient to control you."

Spirit threw the Foovian Seal over the clump of churning manifestations and started up his magic. The Seal glowed blue and a huge circle of magic spread out around it like a storm. A powerful vacuum centered on the Seal began to pull at the manifestations, its winds blowing across the courtyard. The guard ponies took cover as the Seal steadily sucked in the manifestations, trapping them inside its impossible void. With one final whoosh, the last wisp of darkness disappeared inside the Seal and the vacuum stopped.

Fang leapt forward and grabbed the Seal as it fell. "And thus ends another short reign of manifested terror," he proclaimed, holding the metal tree aloft.

Something in the dragon's words roused the royal guard and they all burst out cheering. Even with their mission completed, their feud had become water under the bridge as the different ponies now mingled freely among their ranks: Storm Runner high-hoofed Overcast; Daybreak and Nightfall lead introductions between their fellow guardsponies; and Echo and Shining Armor oversaw their factions amalgamate together.

"So that's it then," Spirit said, watching the royal guard in their victory revelries. "No more mistrust."

"It certainly looks that way," Shining confirmed. "And it's all thanks to you."

"Gimmie a break." Fang ambled out of the mingling crowd, still holding the Seal, which he handed to Spirit. "Their whole conflict could have easily been avoided if they'd just talked it out from the start. No magic, no battle, just talking."

"Be that as it may," Echo noted, "the important thing is that the royal guard is back to what it used to be. And that is the greatest thing I've seen today."

"I'll bet."

The four ponies and the dragon turned at the sound and beheld Princess Luna approaching from the castle. The blue alicorn wore her black-and-silver regalia, as well as her tiara. "The royal guard have finally accepted the night guard, something I'd hoped would happen since mine and their return to Canterlot. And I know who's responsible for it."

The two captains stepped aside, allowing Luna to walk right up to the the three foreigners. "Spirit Guide, Fang and Silver Shade. You have done what two princesses could not. You have ended the feud that could have torn our guard asunder and endanger many ponies. For this, I thank you."

"You're very welcome, Princess Luna," Spirit replied, bowing his head.

Silver smiled proudly, his smokey mane flowing to the side. "It was our pleasure."

"I've literally run out of words to answer with." Fang riffled-shuffled his deck. "How's it going, Princess?"

"Well enough. The good news just keeps coming in, though I wouldn't say no to more." Luna smiled pointedly at Spirit.

"We can go talk about it now that we're both awake."

"Hey, Silver!"

A grayish-gold bat pony waved at the small group, specifically at the manifestation. "Come on, the entire guard's going down to the barracks for festivities."

"Festivities?" Silver repeated. "But who'll protect the castle?"

Luna walked over and stood beside Spirit. "I think we'll take guard duty until further notice, right Spirit? Maybe we could fill in that hole the manifestations made while we're at it."

"Sure thing. Come on, Fang."

Fang looked at Silver with a stern face. "You go have fun, ya hear? You're gonna join your bat pals and all their new friends in military revelry while we take charge of the walls, got it?"

Silver nodded. "All right, I'll do my best."

"You'll do better."

Silver took off with the bat ponies and Fang hurried to catch up with Spirit and Luna. They climbed up the stairs on the inside of the wall and onto the battlements. Looking over the merlons, they could see the city of Canterlot and the ponies going about their business, blissfully unaware of the danger that had transpired on the other side of the castle wall.

"Look at them, bless them," Luna remarked. "Going on as though nothing's happened. They're always like this, no matter what appears to be going on at the castle."

"Does that bother you, them not taking interest in it?" Fang inquired.

"I can't really say. This could very well reflect on how they would act in a national disaster; then I would be bothered."

"For now, let's give them no reason to react and fill in the hole," Spirit suggested. Peering straight down over the edge, he could see the chink in the otherwise solid armor of the castle wall made by the abomination. Rubble littered both sides of the wall, as though the monster first ripped chunks from the outside and then barreled through the rest of the way. "This should be easy enough. May I, Princess?"

"Only if I help," Luna insisted, joining him and looking down as well. She activated her magic and began lifting the rubble into the rift. As Luna filled in the crack, Spirit used his own magic to meld it into the rest of the wall, recreating the white stone barrier as it once was. Working together, the prophet and the princess completed the job within five minutes, something which would have taken a team of builders several days of laying and cement drying.

"Good as new," Fang reported after flying along the wall on both sides. "You've outdone yourselves."

"It's been a while since I've worked in constructing walls," Luna admitted.

"My last time must have been at least a year ago," Spirit commented, "back when Fang and I were Creating and establishing our home base dimension. When was your last time?"

"Over a thousand years ago, when my sister and I helped in the construction of Canterlot."

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Fang grabbed his ear frills and leaned in close to Luna, snout bumping her muzzle. "Is there anything else I should be made aware of that makes you better than any other flesh-and-blood monarchs I've known up until now?!"

"Uhhh..." Luna gently pushed the rigid dragon back. "We accepted eighteen brunch invitations in celebration of Equestria's anniversary, all in the same week. We were thinking of doing it again, especially in this particularly peaceful millennium."

Fang inhaled deeply, slowly letting the air out through his nose as smoke. "I have no words left. I thought I'd said the last of it yesterday, but you insist on showing your great qualities time and time again. Should I ever face a flaw of yours, it will be flushed away by your strengths and good traits."

"Such an eloquent praise." Luna leaned over and kissed Fang on the cheek. "Thank you very much, Fang!"

Fang raised a claw to the tingling spot on his face, his expression melting into a stupid grin. "Nothing you didn't deserve, my princess. And now I shall take my leave."

"What?"

But he was already gone, draconic wings whisking him up off the castle wall and towards the castle proper. Fang circled the great white structure, rising up around the tallest tower and zooming into the Chamber of the Sun Princess.

"He must be going to Princess Celestia to have the homing-teleportation spell strengthened," Spirit guessed. "How long do you think he'll be away?"

"I don't know," Luna replied. "The spell is a new one on me and Celestia didn't get a chance to tell me how to do it myself."

"I'm sure you'll get a chance someday."

"Yeah, as long as it's not in another hundred years."

The two blue ponies laughed, just as they did in the dreamscape the previous night. "This only goes to show how unprepared we are for facing the manifestations," Luna began again. She and Spirit turned and descended the stairs as a dozen assorted guards exited the castle and climbed the wall, two of them stumbling a bit. "We'd need to put barriers everywhere to prevent such things from happening ever again."

"Back home, almost every Republican is capable of taking down a manifestation on their own and, even if they can't, there's always at least a dozen other Republicans within a fifty-foot radius to help them out."

"Would be nice if everypony could take down a bad guy in the street."

Luna and Spirit crossed the courtyard, now looking war-torn from the battle of the guards, and entered the castle. "But getting back onto the topic of fighting manifestations, more specifically between us, I hope you've considered what I mentioned last night."

"Hm?" Spirit exclaimed distractedly, watching a knot of guards gallop down the intersecting hallway, laughing heartily. "You mean about joining you in the dreamscape to safeguard ponies in their sleep, right?"

"Yep."

"What would it require of me?"

"Only your consciousness during the night hours. You'd appear in the dreamscape and I'd come to you. We'd then spend the night scouring the dreamscape for any sign of manifestation activity and use our powers to end it. We could be an invaluable source of protection for all of Equestria.

"So what do you say, Spirit Guide? Would you be willing to extend your power and wisdom to help me guard the dreamscape?"

The unicorn gave an affirming nod. "It would be my pleasure."

Sparks of magic leapt from Spirit's horn, zooming around the prophet and the princess. Luna's horn shot out magic of her own, joining the glittering dance. The sparks trailed around the ponies, forming a dome of bright blue rings. Spirit and Luna gazed into each other's eyes, blue-on-blue for all things between them, be it coat, mane, eyes or magic.

Then the lights ebbed and the strange connection bridging the two ponies faded out, though they could still feel it lingering between them. "Will everything we do as a team result in magical fireworks shows?" Spirit wondered.

Luna shrugged. "I feel.... different towards you now."

"What kind of different?"

"Not romantically or anything like that. I just feel..... more to you."

Spirit nodded. "Fang says stuff like that a lot. I understand; I feel that way too."

"Is it because you've accepted to help me protect the dreamscape?" the alicorn asked excitedly, holding her hooves together.

"I'm pretty sure, yeah."

Luna through her hooves around Spirit's neck, tightly hugging the prophet. "Oh boy, this is the best day ever!" She opened her eyes and looked out to the side. "At least, since yesterday."

"Every day is best day," Spirit stated. "Now let's go make it even better with Fang and your sister."

"Do you think they're done affixing the spell onto Fang?"

Spirit looked past the princess of the night and down the hallway. "We can always ask them."

Author's Notes:

Trying to incorporate two things into the story:
1. Making the chapters shorter
2. Possibly dividing them into arcs, making this one a Canterlot arc

Why?
It's easier on some, mostly including me

A Great and Powerful End to the Day

Celestia and Fang quickly traversed the rest of the corridor, their stride purposeful. Fang was beaming, his current form's namesakes so pronounced it was blinding, and Celestia seemed even more gladdened than before. Overall, they made for a glowing pair, literally giving off or reflecting some light.

"Someone mention us?" Celestia inquired.

"We were just finishing up with the homing-teleportation spell—I'm going to start calling it something else, by the way—when the Princess and I felt a surge of magic. Of course, in a world full of the stuff, that wouldn't seem to be out of place. But no, when we felt the surge, it felt blue."

"Don't ask how; it just did," Celestia added, following the dragon's vague speech pattern.

"So we located the hot spot and moseyed on down and, lo and behold, we find you." Fang approached the prophet. "You've got a habit of big flashy things going on in your general vicinity."

"You taught me everything I know," Spirit promised.

"Yeah, but you can't teach color."

"But we can teach magic," Celestia chimed in. "We can, we have and we will."

"I guess we have much more knowledge to impart onto each other," Spirit remarked.

"Without a doubt," Luna agreed, "though I think it'd be best to end our time together for today. We will have more time tomorrow to discuss magic, history and many other things besides."

"We certainly will." Celestia gestured down the hall with her wing. "Come, boys. We'll walk you to the gates."

"Um, uh... I think I'll say my farewells here," Luna stammered. "See you later, Spirit!" Her piece said, the princess ran back up the stairs and out of sight.

"Still lacking confidence and stature?" Fang wondered. "Gotta do something about that."

"I'm certain she will regain both her confidence and former form with time," Celestia said, "and I believe you two will be the key to that."

"I just hope she gets it back while we're here to help her out with it," Spirit commented.

The three of them walked out of the castle and across the courtyard, where dozens of guards milled about, many of them greeting the prophet and the dragon with the same reverence they showed the Princess. At the gates, Spirit and Fang passed through while Celestia waved from inside.

"I will see you tomorrow, the same time as today," she called, "or whenever you would rather come. Just send a note through Fang."

"Will do. Thank you, your Majesty."

"Yep. See you whenever, Princess."

After they'd crossed the bridge back into the city, Fang flapped his wings and flew alongside Spirit. "What a day! A whole lot of this, a huge load of that, and a little bit of these."

"Did I ever mention how tricky it is to talk to you?" Spirit said.

Fang stared at him, eyes bulging, as if he'd uttered a nasty word. "Is that what you want to comment about? We just spent a day in the presence of the coolest royal rulers in all the fictional lands! Fill in the blanks, starbutt!"

"No need for name-calling. But you're right; it has been an astounding day, as has every day since we've arrived in Equestria."

"Gee, that's putting it lightly." Fang reached down and plucked a weed growing in between the cobblestones. "Everything in this world is brimming with magic. I could probably fashion explosives out of the grass."

"Without cheating?"

"...... maybe. I'd have to now, what with my cards back to zero. I hate waiting for things recharge. Y'know that feeling, Spirit?

"Spirit?"

The prophet wasn't answering. They had arrived in the plaza where the magic show had taken place and Spirit was giving all his attention to the magician mare, who was now sitting in front of her wagon looking dejected, her hat sitting lopsided on her head. Her wagon was peppered with splotches of rotten fruit and though a mop and bucket stood beside the mess, they clearly hadn't been used very much to clean it up.

I can't stand thinking what she must have gone through, Spirit said to himself. I've got to help her. But how...

Then Spirit remembered the two bags of Equestrian currency, golden bits, in his bags; one given to him each by Twilight and Celestia as gifts. Normally, Spirit found very little to do with money, he and Fang normally using it for lodging and food or living off the land, but with all their expenses being paid off by their generous hosts, the bits were going unused.

Now, they will be used.

"Ooh ooh, lookie lookie lookie, ooh ah ah!"

Ignoring his friend's impeccable primate imitation, Spirit turned and followed Fang's eager pointing to the large building across the street from them. From its ornate design, the sign outside and the orchestral music coming from within, Spirit saw it to be a theater. But Fang was bouncing on the spot with excitement; C

"I can hear it all: winds, brass, strings, percussion, everything. Each individual instrument: the fourth trumpet, the twelfth violin, the third cello!" He fell to his knees and grabbed Spirit by the collar of his cloak. "I gotta go inside!"

Spirit knew what a big fan of music Fang was and saw this as the perfect opportunity to help out the ruined mare behind them. "All right. You go off for some fun, I'll just be out here."

"You're not coming in?"

"I may be able to play and appreciate it, but there are some things in life that... take precedence over the sound of music."

Fang looked at the prophet unamusedly, and then blew a raspberry. "Fine, whatevs. I'mma go find me a musician to sit with." With a hum in his scaly throat, the green drake skipped over to the theater and disappeared inside.

"That's one of us in good spirits," the stallion said. "Now to get this spirit to work."

Spirit walked over to the magician, who looked up to see the pony that was drawn to her. At first she flinched, her body seizing up as her eyes widened and beheld Spirit, but a moment later she relaxed. "What do you want?" the mare said in a somewhat haughty but pained voice, as though she wasn't expecting an answer but an attack.

"Many things, most of which are irrelevant at the moment," Spirit said rather weaselly, "though I wouldn't mind a little magic show, if you don't mind."

At the words 'magic show', the mare seemed to brighten. She looked around the plaza, registering the other ponies passing by and in their shops, before turning back to Spirit. "I suppose the Great and Powerful Trixie could perform for a small audience," she announced, speaking in the third person, a behavior which Spirit could never recall seeing in anyone or anything he'd ever known. "Watch in awe, my simple pony, for you are about to witness feats of magic the likes of which you have never seen before!"

I seriously doubt it, the prophet said to himself, taking a seat, but humor me.

While the magic show turned out to be less than what Spirit himself could have easily done, it was what it was meant to be: a magic show. Trixie pulled a bouquet of flowers out of her hat, skillfully bent a ray of sunlight into a rainbow which she then tied into an iridescent luminescence-bow, swung a lasso into the shape of a pony and pulled a bit from behind Spirit's ear, and although Spirit sensed a teleportation spell used during the trick, he was entertained by it all the same.

The show finished, Spirit clapped his hooves, using his magic to magnify the sound and making it seem as though a huge crowd were applauding. Trixie noticed the stallion's technique and didn't hide her look of fascination. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is pleased with the undivided attention you've been giving her," she said, walking towards Spirit. "As a reward for your admiration, Trixie will share a single feat of hers that you wish to hear, anything you know of Trixie which she will then recount for you."

Spirit looked at the waiting mare, then behind her at the splattered wagon. Looking more closely at Trixie, Spirit noticed a slight tenseness in her stance, a sign of suspect and concern as though she were on guard against something, and after seeing her wagon Spirit could already guess what and why.

Time to break the ice.

"Could you tell me why ponies treat you so badly, why they turn down your performance and chase you away? What did you do that tarnished your reputation as a unicorn magician?"

The look that crossed Trixie's face right then almost made Spirit regret making his request, but he fought on for his ulterior motive. The showmare's eyes turned downwards, refusing to look at Spirit. Her mouth became an upside-down curve that quivered slightly, as did her entire body beneath the purple star-spangled cloak she wore.

"You... you wish to hear Trixie's tale of woe? The story of her disgrace, of the pony who brought Trixie's reputation into ruin?"

Spirit gave a gentle nod. He wanted to know more so he could help Trixie out. "Yes."

Trixie sighed and turned away. "Then please, come into Trixie's wagon."

Spirit stood up and quickly followed the mare up the steps into her wagon. The inside was rather cramped, but there was room to move about the bed, desk, chest of drawers and curtain. Trixie sat down on the bed and gestured to the only chair, waiting for Spirit to sit. "Trixie is curious now," she admitted. "Who are you to want to hear Trixie's tragedy? And please, don't give Trixie a wormy answer like you did before."

"You want to know why I want to know, so I will tell you: I can't bear to see anypony being mistreated so badly, especially a pony whom I know nothing about. Without knowing the reason for the treatment, I can't make a decision of my own and may be led to following the crowd sheep-like, an act which I despise. For this reason, I wish to know what has transpired in your recent time that brought to you this misfortune and, furthermore, to try and help you."

Once the prophet began to voice his answer, Trixie sat relaxed on her bed, listening intently to his every word. When he'd finished, she nodded her head and said, "Then Trixie will tell you her tale."

*

"I've been in the magic show business for quite a while. I've traveled all around Equestria performing my tricks. Every unicorn has some degree of magic in the field of their special talent, but I specialized in illusions, conjurations and all manner of sleights-of-hoof, perfect for magic shows. It started out well enough; I went from town to town, from city to city, performing for ponies of all ages.

"But then..." Trixie levitated a pitcher of water and two cups onto the table. "The life of a lonely traveling magician left me with a lot of time to myself and not much with anypony else. I began to think that there was nopony like me, nopony as good at magic as me... I began to get conceited. So I started making up stories about supremely impressive feats that I'd accomplished."

"And then ponies began challenging the authenticity of these feats," Spirit guessed, filling the cups with water and pushing one towards the mare.

"No, actually. Things remained quite the same, although the audiences were more awestruck than before. It happened at one of my more recent performances." Trixie's gaze fell and she took a sip from her cup. "In Ponyville."

Spirit did his best not to spit-take. He did, however, get some water up his nose. "What happened?" he asked, keeping his voice level to hide his surprise.

"It started out all right. The ponies were in awe, of course, watching my tricks with a sense of amazement. But then the awesomeness of my magic was challenged, I gave in to my pride and delivered my made-up story: my vanquishing of an Ursa Major."

"Ursa Major?" The name rang familiar, but Spirit couldn't figure out the context.

"A huge bear-like creature that lives in the Everfree forest. Anyways, hearing the supposed tale didn't convince most of the crowd, so I challenged their disbelief with an 'Anything you can do, I can do better' contest. The takers were dealt with swiftly, each in their own area, my magic outstripping their sad little performance attempts.

"But then, two particularly devoted and dim colts got it into their heads to bring an Ursa into Ponyville, to see me vanquish it. The double dipsticks went into the Everfree Forest, woke the beast up and brought it lumbering back to town, where it began to rampage. Of course, being a magician, an illusionist, a showmare, I did not have the magic to 'vanquish' the monster."

"But obviously it was dealt with somehow," Spirit reasoned. "I've visited Ponyville recently and it seems in fine shape." Except for the hole I made myself.

Upon hearing this, Trixie eyed Spirit curiously, though the prophet had an inkling it was for a different reason than he guessed. "That's because it was dealt with. And the pony responsible for the dealing is also the one responsible for my disgrace."

"What kind of a pony could commit two acts so different from each other? Who did this to you, Trixie?"

Trixie looked out the window of her wagon at the Canterlot street, at the well-dressed ponies and the grand stone buildings. Her gaze returned into her substantially simpler travelling home, and then at the inquiring equine before her. She took in a deep breath, her face morphed into a mix of rage and sadness, and responded with two words.

"Twilight Sparkle."

A great weight changed shoulders in that moment. Trixie let out a huge sigh and fell back onto her bed, reaching underneath it for a jar of peanut butter and packet of crackers. Spirit remained glued to his seat, his own face a blank mask but his mind racing. Twilight never mentioned this to me: this clash with Trixie and the ruination of her work. Is that really how it happened, or did Trixie miss something?

With no answer, Spirit had no choice but to pursue. "So what happened after Twili... Twilight Sparkle vanquished the Ursa Major?"

"It's worse than that," Trixie said with a snort, dipping a cracker into the jar of spread. "It wasn't even an Ursa Major; those bumbling colts only found an Ursa Minor, a baby. Sparkle whistled it to sleep, fed it milk and floated it back into its cave. I was forced to leave Ponyville in shame, never looking back. I tried to continue my life as a traveling performer, being careful not to repeat my recounting of the Ursa-vanquishing, but..."

Crunch munch

"It didn't make a difference," Spirit guessed.

"Wowd off my shaming pwesheded me," Trixie said, swallowing her mouthful of cracker before continuing. "No matter where I went, ponies would scorn me and chase me away. Once, a unicorn even tried to hijack my show, declaring 'If a Ponyvillian can trump this second-rate magician, so can I!'" At this, Trixie sighed. "That was the most humiliating of my painful experiences following my shaming at the hooves of Twilight Sparkle. Everywhere I went, her victory over me was rubbed in my face.... and on my wagon."

Trixie twisted the curtain around with her magic, showing a not-so flattering stick figure scrawled onto it in green. No wonder she's so distressed, Spirit thought. All she's trying to do is her job as a performer and everything is crumbling around her. I'm not sure exactly what went on between these two, but I know who needs help because of it.

Without a word, Spirit got up from the chair and walked out of the wagon. Noticing her audience-guest getting up and leaving suddenly, Trixie leapt off the bed and rushed out after him. Standing on the wagon's steps, the showmare registered one of the most fantastic deeds she'd ever witnessed. Spirit levitated the bucket of water and gave the mop an experimental twirl, dripping water onto the plaza cobblestones. With long strong strokes, he began scrubbing the rotten stains off Trixie's wagon, the vegetated mess coming off like dust under a wet wipe. Taking up a brush, Spirit gave the curtains a vigorous scrape, effectively removing the green graffiti from Trixie's drapes.

Round and round the mop went, occasionally going down for a sopping soak before resurfacing and attacking the hate-induced defacement. Viewer became performer and performer became viewer as Trixie found herself taken in by Spirit's work, both appreciating and admiring what the stallion was taking upon himself to do. Passing ponies paid no attention to the cleanup taking place in the plaza, leaving Trixie the sole witness to the kindness taking place.

Within minutes, it was over. The wagon gleamed like polished oak, the curtains spotless as the day they were made. Spirit put the mop and bucket aside, taking a step back to review his work. But before he could give it a once-over, something barreled into his back and a head popped up past his shoulder.

"It's magnificent," Trixie whispered, eyes wide and dazzled. She slowly crept around Spirit and towards her sparkling wagon, taking in every inch of gleaming wood. "It's beautiful. I can scarcely remember the last time it looked this good."

"I'm not much of a cleaner, but I'll admit it's pretty spotless," Spirit said.

"Don't be ridiculous; it's downright amazing!" Trixie turned to Spirit, her face bright and beaming. "You... you're... I mean, I...." She stopped, giving her response some thought. "I guess.... thank you."

"You're welcome." Spirit looked back towards the theater, half-expecting to see Fang standing there, a satisfied grin on his face. But there was no sign of his scaly companion.

"No, it's more than that," Trixie decided. "You deserve more. Than my thanks, I mean. You've done me a monumental favor and shown me nothing but compassion since we met, despite everypony else treating me like trash. I wish I could do something for you, in return for all that you've done for me."

"Your gratitude is reward enough for me," Spirit insisted. "You've been through quite a few hardships recently and I don't want to impede you."

"No, you must...." Once more, Trixie cut herself off. "I'm sorry. This is new for me, these feelings of gratitude. Nopony's ever really given me a reason to feel thankful, whether they like my show or shower me with last week's groceries." She looked up at Spirit, smiling apologetically. "Look at me, the Great and Powerful Trixie, flustered and confused because she can't figure out how to thank a pony."

"Your words are thanks enough," Spirit guaranteed. "I only hope things will be better for you now."

"They won't," Trixie said in a bitter tone. "I'm grateful that you cleaned my home away from home, but ponies will still reject me and call me a fraud. My reputation has been tainted by my failure in Ponyville. I'll never be able to perform again." Tears welled up in the showmare's eyes and she lowered her head to hide them. Seeing Trixie still dispirited made Spirit feel like his work on the wagon was for naught. He needed to help her, entirely.

"Then take a break."

Trixie looked up, her eyes slightly reddened. "What?"

"Take a break from your performances. Stop putting on shows and take a week or two to get back your confidence."

"I... I can't do that," Trixie croaked. "I don't know what I would do. Show business has been my life for as long as I can remember. I can't just get up and leave it, not even to recuperate or wait for things to blow over. Besides, I don't have enough bits to last for a significant amount of time."

That's quite a predicament she's go.... wait. The only problem she has is financial? Spirit pulled at his saddlebags, having ignored its weight on his back most of the day, listening to the sound of clinking gold; the bit bags given to him by Twilight and Celestia. It seemed he'd be helping the needy as well as donating to the performer.

Spirit rummaged through his saddlebags with his magic, mixing the bits until he had counted a hundred into one bag, which he withdrew and bound tightly. He laid the bag of gold before Trixie. "Here. This should see you through for a spell."

Trixie gazed at the solitary bulging bag, not quite believing what she was seeing. The stallion who'd graciously watched her performance, politely heard her tale of woe and wordlessly cleaned her wagon was now giving her a generous amount of bits to leave her work behind. It was too much for the showmare and tears came to her eyes, this time from joy. "You're really giving all this to me?" she asked, unsure as to the reality of it all. "Don't you have something you'd rather spend it on?"

"There is nothing in this or any world worth more than helping a friend."

The prophet's deceleration brought on another surge of hope and assurance for the showmare. Great tears of joy splashed the plaza stones as Trixie gingerly picked up the bag of bits. "A friend," Trixie whispered, inaudible to all but the unicorn before her.

"Take the bits, Trixie, and take your well-deserved break. Maybe relocate to someplace quiet, a small village or a farm maybe."

"Yes... yes, that sounds like a very good idea." Trixie lit her horn and began folding up her wagon into its portable state. "I'll leave Canterlot right now, before somepony else can slander me."

With a little help from Spirit, Trixie was ready in minutes. All her things had been stowed away into the wagon, now hitched to her. Spirit was surprised to see the large wooden trailer roll along behind Trixie when she moved forwards, but was glad things were better now. "I wish you luck in your future endeavors, Trixie," he said, standing on the edge of the plaza.

Trixie released herself from her wagon's harness and approached the prophet. "I feel silly all of a sudden, but I never asked your name. I must know now, to properly thank you after everything you've done for me."

"Names are important." The prophet held out his hoof. "I'm Spirit Guide."

"You already know me, the Great and Powerful T......." The showmare stopped and slowly looked skyward, her eyes unfocused and distracted. "No. If I'm going to take a break from performing, then I will forego my stage name too." When she brought her gaze back down, it had become relaxed, as had her posture. "Thank you for helping me, Spirit Guide. Me, Trixie Lulamoon."

"A pleasure to help, Trixie Lulamoon."

The prophet and the magician shook hooves, a sign of gratitude and respect between the two. "Spirit Guide," Trixie said tentatively, "we may have only met a short while ago, through a seemingly trivial circumstance, but I feel as though we've grown close. I guess... I guess it's part of confiding in somepony, telling them things you don't normally share with other ponies."

"I suppose it is," Spirit agreed. "Well, this is goodbye then."

"Yes."

Trixie turned to her wagon but stopped and gave Spirit a quick hug, surprising both him and herself. Before either could say something in response, the light-blue mare had hitched herself back to her wagon and steadily cantered down the Canterlot street, her wagon jostling behind her. She mustered up one last burst of confidence and called over her shoulder. "Goodbye, Spirit Guide!"

"May you tread the path of the righteous, Trixie Lulamoon!" came the prophet's reply, echoing across the plaza.

The magician's wagon turned a corner and the sound of its wheels soon faded, replaced by the everyday bustle of the city. Spirit let out a sigh, reveling silently in his accomplishment as ponies began to stride across the plaza, as if Trixie had never been there taking up the space. All these ponies will act as though she never existed, but I'm not about to forget that unicorn in a hurry.

Indeed, Spirit was already pondering what Trixie would do. Would she take his advice in full and kick back in a small settlement, away from the bustling crowds and their judging glares? Travel into the mountains to rest, secluded from civilization? He had no way to be certain and hypotheses were all he had. Looks like I'll have to wait until I see her again, Spirit concluded. Of that, he was certain.

But for now, let's see where my scaly soul mate got to.

As he turned to the theater, Spirit realized it was getting late and the sun was beginning to set beyond the horizon under Celestia's watch. Shadows were cast long over the cobblestones. Ponies in neckties and bow ties started to walk out of the theater, some of them carrying cases of varying size and shape. Among the last to exit the grand structure was Fang, talking and walking abreast with a grey earth pony.

"And then he tells me 'You have half of them running around the place anyway," Fang was saying. "I mean, seriously, why the even?"

"It's certainly boggles the mind," the mare replied. At the plaza, she turned onto the road while Fang continued forward. "So I'll see you then?"

"Count on it. Until then, Octavia."

The earth pony Octavia strolled down the street, while Fang approached Spirit. "It's settled. I've got cello practice with the Canterlot Symphony cellist every afternoon after our time in the palace."

"It's been a while since you last played cello," Spirit reminded him.

"Heh, yeah." Fang tapped his chin. "I think the last time was, maybe, three days before we came to Equestria. Man, my music teacher would metaphorically kill me."

"You haven't had a music lesson in half a year; he'll never know."

"Even so, I'm sure Octavia will have something new to teach me while you're undergoing strenuous magic tutelage."

Spirit cracked a smile as he and Fang left the plaza and walked toward the School for Gifted Unicorns. "I'm sure it won't be too strenuous. The princess intends to get me up to the level of a unicorn student under her own watch. It will put me, at least, on par with Twilight."

"You've got waaay more raw power than her," Fang argued.

"All that power may not add up to much next to Twilight's lengthy learning. She's studied Equestrian magic far longer than I ever could and is better rooted in all things Equestrian."

"Surely you can catch up to her, right Spirit?"

"Sure I can. And don't call me Shirley."

Laughing at the easy joke, the pair entered the school campus and made their way to Twilight's old tower. The sun had set in the distance and only a few dim rays gave natural light to the land. Street lamps began to glow and lights went on in the homes of Canterlot. Spirit and Fang climbed up the tower and walked inside.

"We'd best wrap up with evening service, then get some rest," Fang suggested. "It's been a long day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

"I'm already looking forward to tonight," Spirit announced, laying down his saddlebags.

"Going for another moonlit midnight jaunt with nesikhat halevana?"

"I consented to helping Luna so as long as I'm nearby, to help protect the dreams of ponykind from the manifestations. It's serious, Fang; a person's mind is their safe haven, one of the few unavailable to almost anyone. But if the manifestations, the most hell-bent harm-intent creatures in the universes, gain access to it—"

"Yeah yeah, disaster of biblical proportions, burning hailstones coming down from the skies, rivers and seas splitting, three days of darkness, mortal sacrifices, wolves and lambs living together – mass hysteria." Fang poured himself a cup of water. "Seen it before, don't need to see it again. You have fun with that; I'll be sure to keep busy on the reality side of things."

"Glad to hear."

"Now let's end the day on a grateful note with some prayer."

With legs locked together as angels, the two travelers began the evening service to cap an exciting day. As they chanted and swayed, they thought of what else would grab them throughout their stay in the capital, what other adventures and dangers lay in store for them. Only time would tell.

Midnight Miracles

The weeks wore on and Spirit and Fang filled their time in Canterlot to the best of their abilities. As well as their daily visits to the castle, the pair spent many hours in the streets of the capital, watching, learning and enjoying Equestrian life.

Princess Celestia continued to tutor Spirit in the ways of Equestria, its magic, society and all things important. While the prophet was holed up with Her Highness, Fang put upon himself to whip the royal guard into shape, mercilessly having at them in combat to toughen them up for whatever was to come. If Celestia was ever called away on a royal duty, Spirit would meet with Shining Armor, with whom he learned and shared experience in the ways of defensive magic and shields.

Their city jaunts provided them with many views of Equestrian life too. From the maintenance ponies to the high-class residents to the casual tourists, Canterlot provided Spirit and Fang with peeks into all branches of life in the magical world of equines. Fang would spend most of his free time away with the cellist Octavia, enjoying the musical pastime of playing with a professional, while Spirit would wander the streets of Canterlot, savoring the many sights, smells and sounds.

At night, Spirit would release his consciousness into the dreamscape and join Princess Luna in her duties. He felt a special connection to the blue alicorn, one of those unexplainable connections that one feels toward others. Combining his knowledge with Luna's abilities, they would guard the realm of dreams night after night, ever on the lookout for more manifestations that might use the subconsciousness doors of sleeping ponies.

Spirit and Fang occasionally saw Silver hanging out with the night guard in the barracks or on the castle ramparts. The amended manfiestation seemed to enjoy the company of the bat ponies as well as their nightly watches. The three of them would come together to discuss arrangements for their eventual return to Ponyville, though Silver always seemed to be holding back and not saying all that was on his mind.

The decisive day was just around the corner and the final hours leading up to it were going to be unforgettable.

*

"And then Fang leapt aboard the Blade ship, riding the Space Unicorn like it was a flying packhorse, and made quick work of The One and everyone on board!"

After two weeks of dream watching and no manifestations, Spirit and Luna had become more relaxed in their nightly duty in the dreamscape. They would take turns each night telling stories from their past; Luna would reminisce of times before her dark transformation and banishment, and Spirit would recount his many adventures with Fang through the dimensions.

Spirit enhanced his retelling of Republic missions by using his magic to illustrate the unique scenes. Luna was always captivated by the detailed recountings and always insisted Spirit tell more but whenever the prophet asked that she then tell a story, the moon princess would go quiet and stare into the starry distance.

"Hearing about all the space travel the Rebpulic really does amazes me," Luna said as the magical imagery faded into the dreamscape sky. "I sometimes wonder when Equestria will reach a space age."

"I don't suppose your own visit to the moon counts for space travel," Spirit guessed.

"Hardly. Most of that millenium was confusion, my form melting and reforming in an endless storm of darkness. But occasionally, I would materialize on the moon's surface, sometimes as Nightmare Moon and sometimes as you see me now. Even more rarely would I materialize as myself, as I was before my corruption."

"What were you like back then, Luna?" the prophet asked eagerly.

Luna turned her head to the side and gazed upwards in thought. "I was taller," she said first. "Not quite as tall as my sister, but just about a head taller than your average mare. My mane flowed with magic, shimmering like an early night sky. I was an impressive figure and my subjects were filled with awe at the sight of me." Luna's gaze fell. "Or, at least, me and my sister both. We really were more connected back then, before my falling out."

"You can be that again. You have another chance, to reconnect and work together."

"It won't be the same, Spirit," Luna confessed. "My body is younger than before. It wouldn't feel right if I were to work beside my sister, who's only grown in the thousand years of my absence."

"Differences are all the more reason to try," Spirit insisted. "It's a new opportunity to try things over and get a different, perhaps better, outcome."

"We keep talking about it, but I really don't think it'll be so easy for me to change."

Spirit sat back on his haunches and sighed. Luna became like this every time the subject of self-improvement was broached and he couldn't understand it. She seemed perfectly comfortable talking about the past but whenever it came to acting for change, she'd avoid it. No matter how much Luna regretted what was done, it didn't make sense to discontinue any attempt for the better.

"What's wrong, Princess? Why do you refuse to take the reigns you once held, to take charge of the moon in the sky, to command that which guides the tides and the lunar months?

"What frightens you?"

At his last question, Luna tensed. Her wings stiffened against her sides and her eyes grew wide and fearful. "H-how did.... did you guess it?"

"That you were afraid of something?" Spirit shrugged. "Experience, mostly. It comes with the job. I've scrutinized dozens before; reading people becomes easier after that."

The blue alicorn lowered her gaze to the dreamscape 'ground'. "It's true, I am afraid. Afraid of retaking my old duties. Afraid that if I go back to them, I'll start comparing myself to my sister again. Afraid that I might let my jealousy get the better of me again. Afraid that.... I might...." Luna clenched her eyes shut and turned away.

"Afraid that you might become Nightmare Moon. Again."

"I can't do that," Luna whispered desperately, tears starting to come. "Everypony has worked so hard since I first tried to plunge Equestria into an eternal night, I can't risk threatening it all over again. I don't want to go back.... I don't want to lose myself .... I don't want to leave my sister again..."

Spirit was not fond of regretting his decisions but Luna was developing a talent for making him do so. At times like this, the prophet would attempt to act true and turn negative into positive. But how would I do that here? he wondered, eyes wandering the star-spangled faux sky.

Aha.

Luna wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, doing her best to keep a calm tone. "I just don't like thinking of going back. It makes me feel like nothing's changed."

"I understand, Princess," Spirit assured. "I understand and I think I know a way to bypass your fears. You're afraid that if you raise the moon as you did in the past, you will reawaken your past jealousy and relive history. What you need is to practice your old duty in a way that won't bring about a thousand year old envy.

"So why not try raising the dreamscape moon?"

The bright circle in the sky seemed to shimmer dramatically at Spirit's words. The two ponies looked up at the moon, a close replica of the actual orbiting rock in reality. Luna stared up at it for some time, her expression turning from doubtful to thoughtful. "Raise the dreamscape moon? I mean, it could work the same as it does in the physical world and there's no one else but us here, so maybe if I tried...."

Spirit nodded encouragingly. "Yes yes, go on."

"I really haven't done any raising of this sort since I was banished," Luna admitted, examining the bottom of her hoof, "so I don't honestly know my magical limits despite my body becoming youthful..." She clenched her hoof determinedly. "Okay. I'll do it."

The doing took a while, though. Luna wanted to be prepared for anything and took some time organizing precautions and actions with Spirit, to be certain he would be able to handle things should they get out of hoof. But once everything was settled, Luna was as ready as she would ever be. Standing on a bluff extending from a starry mound, her mane blew lightly in a dreamed-up wind from somepony's subconscious. Spirit stood some feet away, magic at the ready, eyes wide and watching the spectacle about to unfold.

"Come on, Luna," he said, not quite loud enough for her to hear. "Take your rightful place in Equestria."

Luna was doing a whole delaying bit, looking herself over and fidgeting around. She looked about the dreamscape, past Spirit and across the endless starry plane. In that moment, she found herself looking back at the past, before the dreaded day. Back when she would raise the moon and gather the stars into constellations, painting the night into a work of art that went unappreciated and led to her banishment. Can I really return to that?

But then more memories flooded in, more recent ones. The new memories showed Luna learning of the new modern Equestria, of the advancements in technology and magic alike. In the memories, she saw many different ponies: some of them studying, some of them writing, and others contemplating under the sky.

Under her night sky

In this new millennium, ponies spent time out at night almost as much as they did during the day. There was so much in the world to discover and they found that the best time to do what they do best was when it was dark out, when the stars shone bright and the moon cast its light over the land. It was a millennium where ponies appreciated the night.

I can do this. I can raise the moon in this new age, for these new generations. I will retake my duties and from this day onward, the ponies of Equestria shall regain their Princess of the Night and the night itself shall be renewed!

Magic burst out of Luna's being, supercharging the nearby vicinity until even Spirit's mane floated weightlessly. The alicorn's eyes glowed white with power and the prophet could almost see the magic reaching out to the dreamscape moon. The magic continued to come, drowning out almost everything else as Luna slowly and gradually began to raise the moon higher into the star-filled expanse above them.

<You're doing it, Luna,> Spirit thought, finding his mouth unmovable in the flood of magic. <Keep it up!>

Whether Luna heard the prophet's thought-speech wasn't clear, but she certainly didn't act further motivated. If anything, she seemed still cautious, squinting up at the slow-rising moon like a child carrying a heavy fragile object. The higher the moon rose, however, the more the hum of magic intensified; something Spirit worried slightly about.

With such an immense amount of magic activated, there's surely going to be some distortion in the dreamscape. For all we know, it could be opening portals into reality, giving free access to the collective subconscious of sentient Equestria. I must be constantly vigilant.

Vwwwwwwwwwsh

As he had told himself, Spirit reacted instantly to the purple trapezoid that suddenly dissolved into view. But he wasn't ready to see one black pony topple from the darkness within the dimensional quadrilateral, shaking his smoky mane out of his face and blinking his bright grey eyes.

"Silver!"

The manifestation pony looked up at Spirit, then at Princess Luna still focused on the moon, and finally at their magic-infused surroundings. "What's going on here?" he asked, having failed to put it all together.

"I'll tell you, but what happened out there?" Spirit countered. "How did you get into the dreamscape? Wouldn't you be with the bat ponies of the night guard right now?

"I was. Up on the wall standing watch, in fact. Summer and Overcast are probably panicking." When he noticed the prophet's blank look, Silver tried again. "It wasn't me, though! I was just looking down the mountain when, all of a sudden, I was pulled backwards and the next thing I knew I was here."

"Through the portal," Spirit added. His gaze flew to Luna, the moon appearing to almost touch her. "This isn't good."

"Aside from the bat ponies worrying about me, how else?" Silver asked.

"If you managed to get into the dreamscape, against your will, undoubtedly drawn by Princess Luna's magic, try to imagine how easy it would be for someone who wanted to get in."

The manifestation's slit pupils narrowed further. "Oh, heck."

Spirit directed his thoughts back to the alricorn. <Luna, stop!>

She heard him then, but it was too late. Luna flinched slightly and looked down toward Spirit, but the moon continued to move until it was right behind her. A burning purple aura ringed the silvery moon and darkness spread across its surface: the inky blackness of the shadows. A great writhing sound spilled out of the black purple-ringed moon, like one might imagine coming from under their bed at night.

<Luna, flee!"

Telepathy turned to verbal speech and the blue alicorn dove off the cliff, mere moments before a cloud of red-tinged darkness funneled out of the moon and spilled across the dreamscape surface like a desert flood. Individual manifestations popped out of the mass, red eyes glinting evilly. The essence of sin spread like oil, vanishing the starry 'ground' beneath a living blanket of pitch.

Spirit and Silver rushed over to where Luna had landed from her leap. "Princess, are you okay?" Silver asked, his eyes flashing with fear.

"Yes, I am all right." Luna glanced over at the endlessly oncoming manifestations. "We must stop them before they spread to the rest of the dreamscape."

"I got this." Spirit stepped forward, spread his legs and called on his magic. A steady stream of energy spouted from his horn, rising high overhead until it began to spread like an umbrella. The nearly-transparent sheet of magic careened outwards and downwards. Dozens of red-eyed manifestations peered up at it and picked up the pace of their flooding, desperate to avoid being trapped. Spirit's barrier touched down just in time and the manifestations on the run collided with it, splattering across it like paint. Spirit, Luna, Silver and the manifestations were now all under one roof, cut off from the rest of the dreamscape.

Silver whistled, blowing off some of his lower lip. "Cool trick."

"A little something I picked up from Shining Armor," Spirit said, steadying himself from the slight drain on his stamina. "Large-scale barrier spell; works surprisingly well for the amount of magic that goes into it."

"It's amazing," Luna whispered in awe.

The compliments were short lived as the manifestations, now with no where else to go, turned their attention to the three ponies within the barrier. They swirled upwards and surrounded the prophet, the princess and the reformed manifestation in a wall of smokey black vaguely-shaped beings.

Spirit drew his staff and held it at its full length. "Stay back," he warned, his tone calm but with an edge to it.

Several manifestations stopped in front of the staff and stepped away from the masses. One of them reached out and gingerly touched the head of the staff, only to be blasted back by a flash of light, knocking itself and its companions back into the churning storm of evil.

"What do you want with us?" Luna demanded, calling upon her own magic for trigger response.

You? What do we want with you? Nothing, to be sure, but you've barred our way so we need a new goal.

One particularly dark manifestation separated itself from the mass. It was in the shape of a large bulky unicorn, its flowing tattered mane streaked with as varying shades of black and grey can get and its eyes seemed particularly bright. Silver shrunk back at the sight of him, attempting to squeeze his being into a smaller size.

"You expect anything less? You come to sow fear and despair in the personal havens of ponykind. We could not allow that."

Even at the risk of your own lives? the manifestation rumbled, its mouth unneeded in its speech. After the darkness some of you have known and felt? His red eyes blinked laser dots on Luna's chest and Silver's nose. The reformed manifestation looked absolutely terrified, surrounded by his old kin and literally targeted by them.

"Leave them alone," Spirit demanded, pointing his staff at the unicorn's chest. "Your battle is, has and always will be with me alone."

The manifestation laughed. You forget, 613, that we exist only to motivate further sin and spread greater darkness. In truth, we have nothing for you. His eyes continued to bore holes into Luna and Silver. Not you, but those who have a darkness which can be recalled, they are worthy targets.

The manifestations swarmed upwards, turning their ring into a dome and blocking out the light. Spirit and Luna lit their horns, but found nothing but darkness beyond their cast auras. Worse than a herd of zebras, it was impossible to tell what was dark and what was manifestation.

"Cowards," Spirit hissed. "They won't confront us directly."

"What did they mean by that?" Silver asked, floating himself between the two blue ponies. "'Darkness which could be recalled.'"

Luna probed the impenetrable darkness, but with each look her light weakened. She'd understood what the manifestation had been referring to. At least, in her case. Could this sentient essence of evil really transform her again into what she feared to become? Would she be unable to stop herself as she once had?

I must be careful, she told herself, not to let negative emotions get the better of me. Jealousy fueled Nightmare before, but the manifestations may be able to recall her with any adverse feeling.

The trio continued to watch, waiting for the manifestations to make their move. While Luna focused on keeping calm and collected, Spirit had to be careful to maintain the barrier beyond the darkness. I can't let them escape and invade the rest of the dreamscape, otherwise all of Equestria would be at risk and will be powerless to stop them. The prophet stared hard at the manifestations all around them. Maybe if I released my magic at once, I could disperse them all and crumble the barrier with their essence.

The idea he had in mind was a risky one; Spirit only resorted to using it when there was much at stake, such as multiple worlds being threatened, as it would leave him drained of all power, rendering him incapable of further defending anyone. It's the only way I can prevent them from getting to Luna and Silver. I'm gonna have to—

"Aaaagh!"

Spirit bent his neck back as far as it would go and fired a bolt of magic, forcing a scream from the ring of writhing darkness, but he'd missed his target. One bold stupid manifestation had launched itself at the ponies, narrowly avoided Spirit's attack and slammed Luna in the shoulder, whereupon it dissolved into nothing. For one crucial distracted moment, Spirit turned himself to face Luna and check her condition, but then a multitude of manifestations jumped on the bandwagon and threw themselves at the moon princess, fading against her with each hit.

No! They're trying to invoke Nightmare Moon from the inside!

Spirit cast barrier after barrier, trying to separate Luna from the oncoming darkness and hopefully end their attempt, but the manifestations wouldn't let up and shattered every one, filling Luna's being with their essence. With his power sustaining the main barrier around them all, Spirit couldn't muster enough magic to strengthen the smaller ones and save Luna.

I can't let out what magic I have left, Spirit realized with sorrow. The barrier would break apart and I've already used too much to disperse them. I can't do it.

When the tables suddenly turned against them, Silver Shade found himself feeling something he couldn't remember ever feeling before or after his reformation: anger. Who were the manifestations, what he had once been a part of, attempting to force a being like Princess Luna to become a monster and terrorize the land she only recently had come back to? His mind overcome with rage, Silver roared and expanded himself, spreading around the blue alicorn and blocking the manifestations from reaching her. When they tried to creep around him from behind Luna, Silver spread himself further and protected that side as well.

Silver's head rolled to the top of his personal protection dome. "You will not touch Princess Luna," he said, voice reverberating within the manifested blackness. His eyes flashed brightly and a cloud of darkness began to fill the dome he'd wrought, hiding Luna from view.

"What are you doing?" Spirit called over the noise of the swooping evil.

The reformed manifestation turned his glowing eyes on the prophet. "I'm going to draw the manifestations out of Princess Luna. I'll draw every speck of evil they pumped into her and take it into myself, as well as anything left over from her time spent as Nightmare Moon. This way, even if they tried again, they will never be able to turn Luna back."

"But what about you?" Spirit protested. "You are the only manifestation of your kind. The Republic needs you. The universes need you!"

Silver smiled. "You do this all the time, don't you? Risk yourself for the good of all? If I'm really on your side, I'll have to show that I can do it too. I'll start, and finish, by saving Equestria from eternal night."

"Silver, wait!"

That was all the prophet managed to get out before his senses were overloaded by a huge flash, hammering his ears while weightlessness took over. The feeling of suspension lasted for what felt like mere seconds and Spirit came to lying on the floor, the dreamscape within his barrier seemingly filled with ash. The storm of manifestations was nowhere in sight, but Luna was on her feet, shaking like grass in a breeze.

"Princess!" Spirit hurried to the alicorn's side. She seemed unharmed on the outside. "Are you okay?"

Luna didn't answer at once. Her eyes were trained past the prophet at something else. "Silver."

Dreading what he would find, Spirit turned and beheld a heartbreaking sight. Standing alone to the side of his barrier was a tall black pony, a mane of pure darkness swirling around its head. Two huge sharply-cut wings stood against its sides and right below each one, splayed on either flank, was the cutie mark: a wide, slit-pupil, malevolent red eye.

<Silver.>

The pony turned, his main eyes reflecting his blood-colored cutie mark. "This is how fate would have it," he said, sounding simultaneously bitter and prideful. "I saved the world, and now I am to destroy it. But first, I will have to get through you."

Darkness seeped from the dreamscape itself, drawn to the creature that was once one-of-a-kind. The leftover essence of the manifestations swirled around the black pony like the tilted rings of a planet. The eyes of manifestations occasionally bubbled up inside the gathered maelstrom, eerie voices calling out from within. Without so much as a twitch from the dark pony, a beam of darkness shot out of the ring and zapped towards Spirit and Luna.

"I won't give up on you, Silver!" Spirit swung his staff at the beam like a baseball bat and deflected it toward the barrier. The black attack evaporated against the magic shield. "You're too important to me!"

"You should have Sealed me away back in the Everfree forest."

A vicious hail of light and darkness exploded within the prophet's barrier. Silver let loose a torrent of never-ending black beams, leaving Spirit little time to block them and simultaneously attack back. Black and blue darted back and forth in a deadly fireworks display.

During all of this, Luna was hidden behind Spirit's valiant defense, taking it all in and trying to come up with a plan. Since her return, she had hidden herself away behind the castle walls, the rooms inside it, her sister Celestia and now her midnight companion. At first, she had welcomed the uselessness to avoid facing the present, her future, but watching Spirit fight and protect her made Luna feel terrible about her choice.

All this time, hiding behind other ponies, and what do I have to show for it? I could have been working to better this new modern Equestria. I might have even been able to stop the manifestations from ever coming! And now here I am, cowering behind my friend as he fights for the world within the dimension linking all of Equestria; the realm I'm supposed to be protecting.

The Princess of the Night stood up, eyes narrowed determinedly. No more hiding. It's time I returned to Equestria, to my rightful place besides my sister as a ruler of our kingdom. Her eyes shone white and Luna leapt into the air, calling upon her alicorn magic. Neither Silver nor Spirit noticed the night princess until she was hovering ten feet overhead, drawing Silver's blood-red gaze upwards.

"What—"

"Silver Shade," Luna called, her voice magnified several times. "From the beginning of your existence, you have been confused as to your role in life. When the prophet found you and offered a choice, you accepted upon yourself good over evil. Since then, you have experienced and learned many things, even combating your original kin.

Silver blinked once, then unleashed a barrage of darkness toward Luna. With a rapid beating of her wings, the night princess brushed the black beams aside like paper, much to both the empowered manifestation and Spirit's surprise. Now you have been taken back by evil, sacrificed yourself, but you did so to save another; one of the highest of selfless acts. In doing so, you have reminded me of the great responsability that I have, to serve the ponies of Equestria.

"As the Princess of the Night."

Luna's magic once again filled the area like a flood, drowning Silver and Spirit in energy. Upon contact with the prophet's barrier, the magic sealed any cracks that had formed and reinforced it with a shining blue aura. The surge of magic tore off shreds of darkness from Silver's black halo, tossing aside the many manifestation like wet rags. Silver himself was forced onto his knees by the magical gale, any attack he made whipped away by pure energy.

"What. Is. This?!" he spluttered, squinting his eyes as he tried to focus on Luna.

The alicorn princess hovered without the use of her wings. Her hooves were spread out and her mane flowed like a cape behind her. Magic flowed from her horn in great blue sheets, enveloping Luna in a shining cocoon. The prophet and the manifestation gazed up in awe, everything else forgotten in the wake of Luna's accomplishment. A crack appeared in the magic plating and a second later, the whole thing split apart in a radiant explosion.

<Luna?> Spirit called out. <Luna, are you okay?>

<We are.>

The glare died down and Spirit dared to raise his eyes. Hovering overhead was a pony he was sure he had seen before. She was tall, not as much as Celestia but bigger than the average mare. She wore a shiny black chestplate marked with a crescent moon, silvery shoes and a small black tiara perched behind her horn. Her blue mane floated on its own, airborne by magic, and was enchantingly transparent on the edge. The new alicorn bore the same cutie mark as Luna: a crescent moon on a black background.

<Luna.>

The alicorn opened her eyes: intense cyan eyes full of shining life. When she spoke, her voice thundered like an echo in a deep cave. "NOW THAT WE ARE RETURNED TO OUR TRUE FORM, YOU, MANIFESTATION OF DARKNESS AND SIN, SHALL BE THE FIRST TO FEEL THE ULTIMATE POWER OF NIGHT."

Magic coiled around Princess Luna, gathering before her in a barely contained mass. Silver's pupils shrank and multiple manifestations formed from his mane, all of them with the same expression of shock. A few even tried to pull away from Silver, sensing imminent danger, but couldn't disconnect themselves from the empowered manifestation.

"THE LIGHT OF THE MOON!"

A beam of pure shining energy blasted out from before Luna. It struck Silver full on, forcing him to his knees and keeping him down as the light continued to burst against him. The intense light severed dozens of manifestations from him and they floated around in the lunar glare, helpless in the encompassing light. Through a visor of magic that protected his eyes, Spirit watched and concocted a plan.

I need to catch those manifestations before they reorient themselves and attack. I need Seals, but what do I have left? I've used almost half of the emblems and objects I can think of on a whim: Pocket, Wizarding, Feudal, Digital, Olympian, Foovian, Feuda..... Right then, Spirit realized something. Something of great importance.

I used the Shikon Seal to trap the manifestation that went into the Everfree forest after Apple Bloom. But then I used it again, no, another one to capture the hex manifestation in the museum. That means I should be able to replicate all those Seals as many times as I like!

So Spirit raised his staff and called upon his arcane equine power. Magic flowed around him, swirling in huge waves of mist-like substance. Nopony paid him any attention; Luna was too focused on keeping a steady flow of blinding light going; Silver was too overloaded with light to look anywhere else; and the rest of the manifestations were too groggy from being separated from their newly-designated nexus.

Here they come.

Points of light twinkled in the hook of the prophet's staff, growing brighter and larger and more defined, each one turning into a Seal. They were all copies of the ones Spirit had used already, but he had come to realized that it didn't matter, because that's all they were: copies. Still, they did the job.

Swinging his staff like a butterfly net, Spirit loosened the collection of Seals as he ran through the haze of frozen manifestations, the seals reacting to the contact with the dark beings. As they were activated, the Seals dropped from the staff and dragged the manifestation down into it, leaving room for more Seals to form and more stunned manifestations to take their place.

By then, Luna's mighty blast of moonlight was dying down, now coming out as a thin beam of light, but still she kept trickling power into the attack. Silver could not look away, the pupils in his burning red eyes reduced to thin slits. Each second of exposure to Luna's light released more manifestations from him, which were quickly caught by Spirit and his lot of Seals.

Within minutes, there were no manifestations left. Spirit came to a stop, Seals hovering around him in a magical grasp like giant dust motes. There were close to a hundred in all, one of the biggest number he'd ever caught at once.

All that's left is Silver. Spirit looked to his once friend. Silver seemed completely drained of life, completely still except for his barely moving eyes. His previously flowing mane hung lank, devoid of manifestation power to fuel its properties. His inky black coat and been bleached a dusty grayish-white from exposure to the intense light.

Luna's eyes stopped glowing and she slowly lowered herself gracefully to the non-ground. She approached Silver; he didn't react. "How the mighty have fallen," she said with a shred of bitterness, looking purposefully at the many Seals hanging around Spirit. "Tis only unfortunate that this victory came at a cost."

Spirit gathered the Seals into a large pile, set them down and stood by Luna's side. "Princess, you've regained your power," he said, barely containing his delight for her. "Your grown form, it's more than I expected and as great as you'd described."

"Hm." Luna smiled a little vainly and ran a hoof through her floating mane. "It does feel good to be back. I had forgotten what it was like to be at the height of one's power."

"Everyone will be overjoyed to hear of your return, your sister especially."

"I am in no hurry to reintroduce myself to our fair land," Luna said quickly, the shy demeanor Spirit had seen of her coming back. "We have been gone for one thousand years, a thousand years in which many have forgotten us. It will take a while before we are quite ready to reveal our renewed presence."

"As you wish," Spirit said with a polite little bow.

"Besides, there is a more pressing matter we must attend to at present."

Luna turned to look at Silver. The bleached manifestation still didn't move. "Silver Shade, you have been born, befriended, tricked and drained all in a short span of time. You have experienced more than most ponies, or even your own kin, would be expected to in that time. Despite everything, in the end, you were treated merely as a vessel for evil, through no fault of your own. Despite being born into it, you chose to embrace the bright side of the darkness. At the end of the day, you saved me.

"For that, I give you this gift."

The Night Princess strode over to the frozen manifestation and touched her horn to his white forehead. Silver's body began to glow with Luna's blue aura, his limbs twitching on their own accord. His red eyes jammed shut and his body curled up, hiding any recognizable equine features as he was engulfed in magic. Spirit shielded his eyes from the magical glare and watched, entranced.

<What are you doing, Princess?> he asked with his thoughts.

A familiar voice called into Spirit's head <Welcoming him.>

The magic surge faded and the light died down. Before them lay a male pegasus with a coat of dark-grey azure. His mane was as dark a blue as Spirit could imagine, with a single brighter stripe down the middle. Upon closer inspection, the prophet noted the leathery wings at the pony's side, as well as the furry tufts of his ears . The pony's flank was bare.

"Is this Silver?" Spirit asked.

"You will have to ask him that yourself," Princess Luna replied, gesturing to the grey form.

The grey pony opened his eyes and blinked, silvery slit-pupiled eyes adapting to the light of the dreamscape. "How am I still here?" he wondered aloud. The voice sounded like Silver's, but the prophet could not be sure. Reformed as he had been, Silver was still a manifestation and had an aura of one: a creeping sense of darkness. This pony's inner energy was all its own.

"Silver?" the prophet asked by name.

The response came without hesitation. "Yeah?"

"It is you!"

"Of course it's me," Silver said, standing up. "Who else would it be?"

"You just look.... different now. Again."

"Huh?" Silver checked out his hooves, then turned to look at the rest of himself. "How do I have a solid form? Even before, I only ever tweaked my shape, never actually becoming solid."

"That is because you now are substantial," Luna explained, approaching Silver. "Because of your brave act, we were spared from being overtaken by the manifestations and being turned into Nightmare Moon. For that, we owe you a great debt and have therefore decided to grant you this gift. You are now a true pony."

Silver was silent as he took it all in. "True?" he finally said. "Existing for real, not as a shadow of darkness? I never would've imagined it could happen."

"This changes so much," Spirit exclaimed excitedly. "If manifestations can be turned from their sinful path, we could spare Equestria from their classic evils!"

"No, Spirit Guide," Princess Luna cut him off. "This transformation is being gifted only to Silver. It will not be used merely to make the elimination of the manifestations' threat easy."

The prophet sighed in defeat. "You're right. But it really is amazing," he added, circling around Silver. "What you did here is amazing. How do you feel, Silver?"

"Honestly? Incomplete." He glanced sideways at his bare flank. "Even as a ponified manifestation, I still had a cutie mark. Over the time I've spent with you, Twilight and the others, I've come to realize just how important a cutie mark is. I feel bad without one."

"I noticed that too. It is strange." Spirit looked to the princess of the night. "Do you know, Princess?"

"The transformation will have stripped away Silver's previous talent and destiny, which would explain his lacking a cutie mark. As to how or whether he will get a new mark, I do not know."

The three ponies stood in silence, all of them thinking the same thoughts and sharing the same concerns. "Cutie mark aside, I'm a bat pony now," Silver declared with relish, breaking the silence.

"Yes, you certainly are," Luna said with a smile. "It gives me great pleasure seeing how happy you are with the form we have given you. We have always loved the bat ponies like our children, and they have been loyal to us for as long as we can remember. To have you among them is a great honor."

"Among them..." Spirit looked up at the barrier he had erected, and then at the pile of Seals. With a quick wave of his horn, he dispelled the giant dome of magic and built a smaller one around the pile. "Silver, what do you plan to do now?"

"Do? What do you mean? You and Fang will be going back to Ponyville soon; I'll come back with you."

"You want to stay with us?"

"What else would I do?" the manifestation asked. "Being with you, the prophet, that's what felt right when I realized the truth. If I could, I would stay by your side to fight for you."

Spirit smiled appreciatively. "That's great. More than that, really, but..."

"But what?"

"I think you should stay here, in Canterlot, with Luna and her guards."

The ex-manifestation gasped over-dramatically. "Do you mean you.... you don't..."

"Not at all," Spirit said quickly. "I enjoy your company and appreciate your loyalty too, but I believe you would do better here, being with those with whom you can relate to while protecting that which you have already protected."

"The prophet is right, Silver," Princess Luna said. "You are certainly not bound to it, but your being among the night guard would be a welcome addition to the ranks. You are already popular with the bat ponies and I hold you in the highest regard. We, no, I wish you would consider staying in Canterlot."

Silver sunk into silent thought as he weighed the options in his head. Luna and Spirit took a few steps back to give him space to consider without distraction. <Will you really take him in if he chooses to stay?> Spirit asked the princess in closed thought speech.

<We would welcome him as one of our own, which he now is. The only question is whether or not he would choose the life of a night guard, watching ever-vigilant over the capital of Equestria, over returning to a quiet lifestyle with you,> Luna replied in her mind.

<Hardly quiet. Manifestations never give me a break; not even on my day of rest.>

"Okay, I'll stay."

The princess and the prophet spun around at the answer. "Really?" Luna asked, a tone of joy not going unnoticed. "You will stay in Canterlot with us?"

"It's all I could think about as of late, to be honest," Silver admitted. "Hanging with the night guard filled my mind with only them, and by extension the thought of protecting the castle. And you."

Princess Luna smiled and the dreamscape stars twinkled high above. "We appreciate your decision."

"I'll miss you," Spirit said, putting a hoof on Silver's shoulder. "Fang will probably flood a bucket when he hears the news. But if you feel that this is the best choice for you, I'll back you up."

"It only makes sense," Silver explained. "I was born into an existence of destruction, so now I'm doing a one-eighty and working hard to protect it."

As he spoke those last words, a glow appeared on Silver's flank, drawing everyone's attention to it. A vague shape began to draw itself upon his side and then the glow faded, leaving behind a blue shield with a slit-pupiled silvery eye nestled in the center of it. Silver gaped at the symbol on his flank, mouthing several times before finally speaking.

"I got my cutie mark."

"A symbol of watching and protecting," Spirit noted. "It followed in with your new role."

"An appropriate mark for an exceptional pony," Princess Luna announced, her wings spreading majestically to match her proud, confident voice. "Your cutie mark reflects your vision in the decisions you have made, as well as the length you've gone to go to defend those you care about. Congratulations, Silver Shade."

All at once, Silver's body vaporized into black smoke, still keeping the general shape of the bat pony he had become. Spirit and Luna leapt back, magic flaring at their horns, but a moment later Silver's body reformed and the last wisps of smoke hardened back into hair. "Sorry," he said with a sigh. "I guess even Princess Luna's magic isn't enough to completley turn me from my past."

"No, I don't think that's it." Spirit drew his staff and gently touched it to Silver's chest. Using the staff's hook, Spirit teased away a few strands of Silver's grey mane, and charged the staff with his magic. The hair, still attached, turned to black smoke.

"Looks like you can revert to your manifestation form at will," Spirit declared, pulling back his staff, causing Silver's hair to turn back. "That could be useful in a chase that leads through brick walls."

Luna and Silver laughed, and Spirit found himself joining in. "Yes, so it would seem," the princess agreed, wiping away a tear of mirth. "So certainly not a shade, then how about.... Silver Sentinel?"

The manifestation-turned-bat pony seemed to glow at Luna's words, the energy of the dreamscape complying with the positivity and bending the light around him to shine. "Yes. A sentinel, I will become."

Princess Luna walked over to Silver's side and draped a wing over him. "I will enjoy having you on the night guard, Silver Sentinel," she said brightly. "I'm sure you will be a great asset to the throne, and my sister will be sure to agree."

"I sure hope so," Spirit said, already starting to plan the following day. The developments of that night had pushed his plans forward ahead of schedule, duly bringing both the positives and negatives. "Now that we've concluded the main event, I feel that we should continue our program of keeping the dreams of ponykind safeguarded."

"Though maybe not from manifestations anymore," Princess Luna said, waving a hoof at the barred pile of Seals. "I cannot sense a shred of their presence nearby."

"They might not all have gathered when these ones all swarmed us; we should make sure all the same and not take any chances," Spirit insisted, pulling his saddlebags into the dream realm and stowing the Seals impossibly into them. "Especially with tomorrow coming."

"Why? What's going on tomorrow? Did I miss something?" Silver asked.

"No, and don't worry. You'll find out." Spirit Guide, Princess Luna and Silver Shade departed from the temporary bluff setting, the fateful location where miracles had occurred, and began a determined midnight stroll to seek out and entrap any remaining darkness. "Also," Spirit continued, turning to the princess of the night, "Can you help me with something, Luna?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"There is a specific pony's subconscious that I need to contact. One I feel you will have no trouble leading me to."

Author's Notes:

Another one of those chapters planned mostly in advance

Live and Let Leave

It was minutes before dawn at Canterlot Castle, and it showed well. The royal guard, both day and night, stood in orderly rows across the courtyard and on the battlements, standing at attention. The two factions had been quickly organized for the special ceremony, which would be taking place momentously with the royal duty of the night making way for the day.

Princess Celestia stood in front of the main entrance to the castle. Spirit and Fang stood before her, their eye contact with the alicorn unwavering. Just a few hours earlier, Spirit had visited the Princess's personal dream realm and made the final arrangements to cap off his and Fang's visit to Canterlot. They were set to catch the morning train just a short while after the upcoming sunrise.

The castle doors swung open and out came Shining Armor and Echo Barrage. The two captains marched between the standing soldiers, around the dimensional duo and stood before the raised dais Celestia stood upon. At a signal from Shining, the royal guard as one stood at ease.

"A new threat has reared its head in our land," Shining began, his voice carrying through the courtyard. "Many of you have seen this for yourselves while others heard accounts, but you must all be aware and prepared to face this foe."

Shining gestured to Spirit and Fang. "These two gallant champions have traveled a long distance to Equestria and have shown us the way to defeat the manifestations of evil, which have no doubt spread throughout our land. With their valuable information and guidance, we shall combat the threat with efficiency the likes of which only the royal guard can employ."

"Spirit Guide has already given us a supply of imprisoning Seals designed to contain manifestations," Echo continued. "Patrols and scouting teams will be organized to search Equestria for manifestations and trap them before they do damage."

"And now," the two captains said in unison, "witness the power of our leaders, the Royal Alicorn Sisters!"

All eyes turned to Celestia, but the sun princess smiled and turned her head, her horn pointing instead to the balcony above. Princess Luna was hard to make out, but she looked quite regal in shiny black regalia, watching the crowd below turn to her. Taking in a breath, she looked at the moon shining above, reflecting its bright light in her eyes. Spirit projected his best positive feelings to the princess of the night, hoping she would receive them and act with confidence, but even before he started Luna went to work. Summoning her magic, she surrounded the moon in a bright blue aura and slowly began to draw it downwards. The stars in the sky brightened as the bright moon seemed to touch the balcony upon which Luna stood.

Princess Celestia made her move then, just as the moon was about to touch the horizon, summoning her own magic and lifting the sun into view behind her. The blinding circle of light brightned the sky, turning it from an enchanting dark blue night to a joyful cloudless dawn. The stars vanished in the brightness and the moon stepped down, giving way for the sun to begin the day anew.

The royal guard cheered and stomped their hooves. Fang breathed a column of fire fifteen feet into the air which released multicolored sparks like fireworks. Spirit held back and watched the spectacle, determined to have it imprinted in his mind forever along with the rest of his best memories collection. I guess not everyone's as fortunate as I, to get to see another who commands the sun and moon with ease.

When the sun was affixed in the heavens, Celestia gestured for Spirit to approach. The prophet walked toward the princess and turned to face the assembly. The ponies of the Canterlot royal guard looked at him with a mixture of expressions, mostly awe and anticipation but with a few concerned and disappointed looks too. That was to be expected; there would always be a few who would not be swayed, at least not immediately, by an outsider.

"Manifestations come in many forms, like subspecies of different animals. Some have different strengths which will go up against our own: brute strength against fortitude, deception against sheer will, illusions, trickery and many more. Only as a team will the best chance of success become apparent. A team allows individuals to combine their strengths and cover each others' weaknesses, creating one super efficient machine. I know that you, the royal guard, the greatest combat force of Equestria, can take these simple concepts and turn them into the greatest tools to victory.

"I have fought long and hard for worlds ranging in diversity and I will continue the fight here in Equestria. If we should cross paths on separate missions, Fang and I will not hesitate to help."

At the mentioning, Fang drew two cards, unsheathing them into long swords which he swung impressively in a show of skill. Several of the doubtful faces among the guard melted into admiration. The rest of the negative expressions were quelled when Spirit sprang into the air, spread his front legs majestically and fired a mixture of light streaks, flashing flares and glowing spirals, followed by a physical display of transforming all the shining non-tangible shapes into a rain of spears, which fell into perfect formation around him.

Spirit landed in the center of his creation: a six-pointed star comprised of point-down spears. At once, the weapons all vanished, seemingly scattering like dust in the wind. "Fear not, ponies of Equestria," the prophet commanded. "Together, we shall win the day!"

The Canterlot royal guard burst out into a fresh round of applauding stomps and warcries. Not a single frown was seen, the entire troop riled up into an absolute state of determination and confidence. Content with his speech, Spirit stepped down and joined Fang, the dragon grinning from spine to spine.

"You mob stirrer, you," the dragon mocked, giving Spirit a quick brohug.

"As long as it's an organized, orderly, government-issued mob, I don't mind stirring them up," Spirit said.

"Is it even a mob if it's government-issued?"

This enigma was shelved when Shining Armor came forward and picked up where he and Echo Barrage left off. "In a few moments, we will begin organizing you all in preparation for our campaign against the manifestations. But first, it's time to see off our new friends as they return to their base of operation, and to their friends, in Ponyville. ATTENTION!"

The sound of several hundred left hooves stomping the ground echoed off the castle walls as the royal guard brought their legs together.

"Unicorns, present ARMS!"

Dozens of horns pierced the air as the magic-wielding members of the guard leaned their heads back, their natural implements pointing skyward.

"Honor rounds, FIRE!"

A volley of magic beams, spanning the entire visible light spectrum, whistled into the sky, filling the blue vastness of the heavens with every color and pattern imaginable. In Spirit's eyes, what he had done on his own just a minute ago paled considerably beside this accumulated masterpiece. Everypony present certainly seemed to think so, their eyes glued to the sky while their legs remained locked together. Even Celestia herself looked upon the lightshow with a look of glowing praise.

When the last spark of magic faded, senior officers began at once to organize the royal guard, leading various-sized units throughout the castle grounds. Within moments, Spirit and Fang were alone in the center of the courtyard. Princess Celestia stepped down from her platform towards them and said, "You two had best be off. You wouldn't want to miss your train."

"I never miss a train," Fang declared, flexing a muscle. "I either catch it, or stop it and then catch it."

"It's true," Spirit admitted with a wink to the princess, "but you're right. We should be going."

He glanced up once more at the tower balcony. The distant figure of Princess Luna had turned away, preparing to go back inside, but she caught Spirit's gaze and gave him a long wink before disappearing out of view with a sweep of her large blue wings. Spirit smiled, knowing that the night princess would slowly start to retake an active role in Equestria.

"It'll do her a world of good," he said, mostly to himself, "to rejoin Equestrian life as she might once have."

"It'll do the world some good having another super-powerful pony monarch fighting alongside us," Fang said, coming up behind Spirit and grasping his shoulders. "Besides, you'll be seeing her every night now, won't you?

"Maybe not every night, maybe not for the entire night. But I'll certainly be watching the dreamscape as she does."

Celestia smiled. "It will certainly be good for everypony to have the two of you protecting the realm of dreams from harm."

Shining Armor approached the duo and the princess, leaving the team of pegasi and bat ponies he'd just organized to take to the skies. "Time to make the train, boys," he told them. "Storm Runner and I will be your honor guard to the station."

"Echo would've come," Storm chimed in, landing from his leap down the ramparts, "but he wants to oversee the final formulation of the scout teams. I think he's trying to ensure maximum diversity among the groups. You know, mixing as much of the royal guard and the night guard as he can."

"We do know," Fang said plainly.

"It's a good thing to want," Spirit added.

"Then I wish you two the best." Celestia spread her wings majestically. "You have brought a great many things to Canterlot in a considerably short amount of time, yet above all else you were quick to make sure measures were taken to ensure as much safeguarding of the public as you were able."

"Less than what we'd be able to do at full power," Fang argued with a raised finger, "but your every praising word is appreciated."

The Princess smiled again. "You, Fang, have forced everyone around you to stay light on their hooves, never yielding in the face of self-consciousness and fear. You drove the members of the royal guard to work and improve on themselves, and even helped my sister and I to repair the weakened bond between us."

Fang looked up at her nonchalantly, a lazy smile splayed across his face. "Spirit helped."

"Indeed." Celestia turned to the prophet and a calming aura erupted from their powerful connecting gazes, felt by those nearby and compelling them to glance over. "Spirit Guide, you came to Equestria intending to unite our world with your own laced-together realm, accidentally bringing with you what could be one of the most serious threats Equestria has seen in quite some time."

Spirit continued to gaze at the princess of the sun, his expression blank except for a slight thoughtfulness to it. "As I've already mentioned," Celestia went on, "you strove to alert us of the manifestations' presence, and prepare and arm us against them. Now the royal guard of Canterlot is ready to take on the threat of the manifestations and hopefully prevent them from harming Equestria."

The prophet nodded politely. "Along the way, we learned together, you and I. Just as I had taken Twilight Sparkle as my prodigy, so you came under my wing in the ways of Equestrian lifestyle and magic. I taught you what I knew and you did the same in return. Now, despite all our prior knowledge, we are both wiser than we were before."

"It is true."

"I will now wish you farewell." Celestia walked up to Spirit and held out one wing behind them. "I wish you well on your journey back to Ponyville, on your endeavors, on your studies and discoveries of Equestria, on your encounters with manifestations and, above all else, on the time you will spend with your friends."

Spirit couldn't help but smile. Here was a sovereign who understood the world she ruled over and knew the true values that improve the lives of her subjects. Every audience with Princess Celestia only heightened his incredibly positive opinion of her and made him feel as though he could never praise her enough.

"Thank you, Princess Celestia," he said with good grace, bowing his head. "In turn, I wish you the best in your own ventures. The best in your rulings of the land, in your duties of the sun, in the campaigns of your soldiers and, most importantly, your time with your sister."

Celestia nearly glowed with a beaming joy. As it was, her white coat seemed to gleam in the morning sunlight. Hers and Spirit's joined auras only strengthened with their hopeful wishing and everypony in the courtyard was treated to a sudden surge of positivity. They probably would have stood there all day, soaking in happy therapy, until a sharp clap broke the cheery silence.

"Okay, that's it, wrap it up," Fang demanded, clapping twice more. "The train will only wait for us if I'm grabbing the caboose, which I can't do from here."

"Then I will delay you no longer. Farewell, Spirit Guide and Fang."

"Until we meet again, Princess."

Celestia turned toward the castle door, two white pegasi guards flanking her dutifully. Spirit, Fang, Shining and Storm turned in the other direction and headed for the open gates. The guardsponies across the courtyard and ramparts broke into another round of applause, their pawing and ground-clopping echoing off the walls. To cheers of farewell and a great many waves and hoofshakes, Spirit and Fang departed Canterlot Castle.

"What an experience," Fang stated in amazement, once shot of the gate. "I am not easily impressed, but this last morning has taken my breath away somewhat."

"Me too," Storm Runner said. "The royal guard sure has changed since you came along. I don't think I've ever seen such a—"

"No offence, save it, please. The Princess already gave us a rundown anyway."

"Oh, right." The pegasus lieutenant looked away, slightly flushed, while on Fang's other side Shining Armor stifled a chuckle. "Well, it is true, after all."

"Indeed," Shining agreed, having regained his composure. "I look forward to seeing what else might come of the night guard's new openness to others."

Spirit glanced back once more at the slowly shrinking castle. "Only good things, I hope."

They arrived in the plaza where Spirit had encountered the magician Trixie and sent her away for some much-needed relaxation. The place now bustled with a sense of market day, common-folk Canterlot ponies going from store to store to get their needs, with a sprinkling of the high-society mixed among them. Being with the higher-ups of the Canterlot military force, Spirit and Fang managed to get through the moderately thick crowds with ease, shoppers quickly making way for Shining and Storm.

From the plaza they continued down the main street, waved at Clay Mine and Terra Firm greeting a tour group to the museum, and turned off at the edge of the city toward the Canterlot train station. The Friendship Express, a shiny pink engine with half a dozen brightly-colored cars behind it, had pulled in and ponies were climbing aboard. Spirit and Fang had already obtained tickets at the castle so they strode past the ticket booth and stopped on the platform.

"Well, this is goodbye for now," Spirit said, addressing the white stallions. "We thank you for everything that you've done for us."

"And that is everything, from arranging meetings and organizing troops to painstakingly escorting us across town to the train station," Fang added.

The Friendship Express let forth a mighty whistle and a uniformed pony began pacing the station, calling "All aboard for Ponyville! All aboard!"

"All Aboard is certainly working it today," Shining Armor remarked.

"His work's looking so good," Fang said, "we might miss the train if we don't hurry."

"We'd best get on board then." Spirit shifted his saddlebags on his shoulders and turned around to face their escort. "Thank you both very much again."

"You're quite welcome," Storm answered with a bright smile.

Shining clapped Spirit on the shoulder. "And we hope to see you again."

"Looking forward to it."

Spirit and Fang headed for the train car and were about to step on when they heard someone cry "WAIT!" Turning back around, they saw none other than Captain Echo Barrage himself, looking quite out of breath and being supported on both sides by Shining and Storm.

"What is it?" Spirit leapt away from the train and approached the bat pony, while Fang leaned against the door. "Is there an emergency back at the castle?"

"No," Echo panted. He held out a sealed scroll. "Unless this counts as an emergency. One final note from the Royal Sisters."

What could be so important that they send it at the last minute? Spirit wondered, levitating the scroll. On top of that, why not just send it to Fang through the fire-sending spell?

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The train screamed out its last whistle and the doors started to close. Fang grunted, holding his door open even though the train had started to move. "Read later! Get on board now!"

"Thanks again, everpony!" Spirit turned tail and pursued the train as it pulled out of the station. Fang held out his arm for the prophet but couldn't quite reach. Tucking the emergency scroll into his bag, Spirit teleported himself into the train car. Seeing his friend aboard, Fang shrugged, slammed the car door and stuck his head out the window.

"Good luck on your missions!" he shouted to the guard ponies. "Don't let the manifestations get to you!"

Spirit joined the dragon at the windows. "Trust in each other! Friendship is magic!"

"Good luck yourselves!" Storm hollered back.

"Say hi to Twily for me!"

"Godspeed!"

The train made its first turn and began its journey down Canterlot Mountain. Spirit and Fang found themselves some seats and settled down. "Aaah, love a good train," Fang sighed, leaning his head back on his arms. "We should travel like this all the time."

"Even up sheer cliffs?" Spirit challenged, looking out the window at the grey crags of the mountain.

Fang beat his chest toughly. "We could do it, no problem. Now how about that letter?"

"Yeah." Spirit pulled out the hastily-given scroll and opened it up. Inside was a script he now recognized as Luna's.

"Dear Spirit Guide
The comparably little time we had spent together has been some of the best in my life. Thanks to you, I am able to rejoin Equestria as I once had, with my duties as moon-raiser and dreamkeeper returned to me in confidence. No doubt you have been heaped with gratitude, but I would like to give mine as well.
My sister and I know that you have been staying at her student Twilight Sparkle's accommodation at the Ponyville Golden Oak Library. After everything we have experienced together, we believe you and Fang are deserving of your own home here in Equestria, to do with as you please. As such, by order of the Royal Alicorn Sisters, you are hereby granted lodging in Number 13 Stirrup Street.

"We get a house now too? Sweet!"

"Hold up, there's more."

"We feel this is a meager compensation for your many accomplishments, which are sure to increase and entitle you to even more. As for now, this letter has enclosed to it a gift for you and Fang.

“Does she mean these?” Fang asked, holding up two shiny golden sheets. “It says ’Grand Galloping Gala’. What’s that?”

”They are tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, an annual ball held in Canterlot Castle to celebrate the completion of the capital. It is our wish, mine and my sister’s, for you two to be present at this special event. Perhaps, we could even add something of yours to the celebration.

“Add what? Octavia’s probably going to be playing there already, so there’s no point in me joining the orchestra for the night.”

“I’m sure the Princess wouldn’t have penned that in if she didn’t have something in mind,” Spirit assured.

“All the same, now I’ll never be able to stop thinking about it!” Fang pulled on his spine frills in frustration. “Anything we do from now until then could have something to do with it!”

“Calm down, Fang. Let’s just finish the letter.”

”In conclusion, we hope that all this will enrich your time spent in Equestria, and once again, we thank you for everything you've done for us.

Your friend
Princess Luna🌙"

Fang rested his head on his arm. "How does one pronounce '🌙'?"

"I just did, and so did you," Spirit insisted, rolling up the scroll, smiling from ear to ear. "This is great news. Having a place to stay at Twilight's in the library was good, but having our own base of operations will be several times better."

"Yeah. We'll be able to decorate it to our tastes."

The letter from the Princess came down on the dragon's head. "Think bigger, Fang. If we have our own place, we could do more than just paint it. We could host events, house a collection, and even have—

"A synagogue."

Prayer services were important to Spirit and Fang; communal services held great significance in their lives and they would try to conduct as many as possible. No matter what world they ended up in, they were usually able to return to their synagogue in the Republic and had no need to establish a set position for prayer anywhere else. But now they were in a land they were still learning about, with no way of knowing when they would be able to return home.

"Having a special place to pray would certainly take a weight off of my shoulders," Fang said, clasping his hands together under his chin. "Now I'll really have to consider the decor."

"Just imagine it, Fang," Spirit proposed, shutting his eyes. "A home for prayer established in this magical land."

"Imagined it." Fang waved his hand once over the prophet's face, his eyes opening in response. "I don't know what kind of effect a synagogue could have on Equestria, but by golly, we're going to find out. After all!" he continued, leaning his head out the window to enjoy the breeze, "nearly everything in this world is magic, and it just wants to spill out of you!"

Spirit looked at his best friend and hearkened to his words. It was true, every part of Equestria they've been to felt permeated with magic. Every resident of Ponyville and Canterlot was consciously or unconsciously connected to it, and the magic could emerge from within them at a moment's notice. This was the power that turned common air into music, and a simple intercity locomotive ride into a dance number.

Each turn of the Friendship Express's wheels laid down the beat, the smoke coming out of the smokestack in even puffs. Spirit and Fang beat the table, feeling the music flowing around them, letting the words spill out of them as they came.

Come on and ride the train
Step on board, take your ticket
No two are the same
You'll soon be goin' for a ride
There's nowhere to run, no place to hide
You're riding, riding, riding on the train

Now you're looking at your ticket, overjoyed by what it means
On your way back to your friends, the thought is so serene
The trials that you've had to face have left you worn and beat
But the friendship that's inside you keeps you standing on your feet

The music began to fill the passenger car, everypony present lifting their heads to feel the song. Several ponies leapt up from their seats and joined Spirit and Fang in song, as the Friendship Express continued down Canterlot Mountain to Equestria below.

Come on and ride the train
The doors are closed, the whistle's blowin'
Now you must remain
The locomotive's on a roll
Just some things you can't control
You're riding, riding, riding on the train

Fang plopped himself down in a seat beside a stallion dressed for travel, who promptly returned the dragon's smile upon sighting him.

So you ask another passenger "How have things been for you?"
He says "Thank you, son. It's been nice. Hope you're doing well too
The journey we are taking is a lengthy one indeed
But if we stand together then we only can succeed"

The beat of the music only became more catchy, compelling half the passengers up from their seats to join. Spirit led most of them through the carriages, while Fang clambered onto the top and lead a team of daredevil passengers along the roofs of the cars.

Then you take a walk all through the train
Each boxcar one by one
Most are filled with ponies sayin', "this rides just for fun.
Why think about tomorrow when you've got today instead
Sit back, enjoy the view
There's miles and miles of rail ahead"

Ride the train, ohhh ride the train,
come on everypony, ride the train
Ride the train, ohhh ride the train,
come on everpony, ride the train

The song-enchanted ponies continued down the train to the very last car, the caboose, where several of the railway employees were resting.

But one car seems so different, inhabited by few
Who say there is no time to waste
We're only passing through
Our destination for today is the town of Ponyville

"And, unless I'm much mistaken, it's just over that hill!" Fang sang out, poking his head through the caboose window.

Spirit joined his friend, looking out the side of the end of the train into the distance. Indeed, as they crested a grassy hill, Ponyville came into view like a sunrise. Just as their friends had promised, but still much to Spirit's surprise, the town looked perfect and whole, as though the parasprite plague had never happened. Every thatched roof was complete, every wall in view unmarred. The entire town sparkled pleasantly in the early morning light, calling the interdimensional travelers home.

Home. Yes, that's what Ponyville will be for us.

Drop the sentiment. Let's finish the song.

Their longing dropped with their goal in view, Spirit and Fang led their entourage all through the train, the blessed magic that was music worming its way into the soul of every passenger, calling upon their collective voices to sing out as one. Even the train itself didn't go unaffected, the engine and cars bouncing to the beat up and down on the rails as they chugged on, on their way to Ponyville station.

COME ON AND RIDE THE TRAIN
STEP ON BOARD, TAKE YOUR TICKET
NO TWO ARE THE SAME
You'll soon be goin' for a ride
There's nowhere to run, no place to hide
You're riding, riding, riding on the—
You're riding, riding, riding on the—
YOU'RE RIDING, RIDING, RIDING ON THE TRAIN!

WOOOOOOOOO WOOOOOOOOO

"Next up, Ponyville station!"

The blaring train whistle and conductor's call became the last notes as the song ended, the music fading from everypony's hearing. The passengers bound for Ponyville headed for the doors, while the rest all returned to their seats, every face a bright smile. Fang and Spirit looked out the door windows as the train pulled into the station and already they could see more smiling faces, waiting for them.

The Princesses might have sent a letter. Twilight could have been keeping track of the dates. It was even likely that Pinkie felt them coming and planned it all in spare minutes. Whichever it was resulted in the welcoming committee that now stood at the train station. A "Welcome Home" banner with all the trimmings dominated in front of the station roof, balloons and streamers stretched from here to there festively. A trolley of cupcakes and other sweets, expanded into a full-size buffet table, stood in the center of the platform. And, of course, friends galore gathered to greet the homecomers.

When the doors first opened, it was hard to tell whether Pinkie rushed Fang, or the other way around, but the two besties collided and rolled around the platform in a tight hug. Once the crowds had parted enough, Twilight bounded ahead of the rest, enveloping Spirit in heartwarming physical friendship. Rainbow Dash, Big Macintosh and a whole host of others came forward, eager to welcome back to their returned friends with a wave, a word, a shake or a hug.

I've been to many worlds in my time in this role, Spirit said with his mind, directing his thoughts to the heavens, and I have made many, many friends. But for the first time on this long journey, I feel that I belong. It will be temporary, unlike the impression we will no doubt leave on the ponies and creatures of this land, but this is one of the greatest worlds we've ended up in, and it will no doubt continue to prove so time and time again.

Thank you