> Synch
>  by sunnypack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1 - Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I miss the extranet feeds.

Instant updates on things that I liked, news that I wanted to keep an eye on, drama, interactions, videos and the various other minutiæ that made up the heartbeat of humanity.

It was an addiction that we couldn't escape, but I revelled in it.

After the inception of the extranet, humanity had locked itself in its slumbering cradle, bypassing the demand to expand and concentrating on the entertainment sparked from a collection of wanton authors.

Most of the new content that was created was garbage, but none really wanted to recognise it as so. Cliques had formed, groups had the community of tight-knit belonging that meshed them together and against all other outside criticisms and opinions.

What had started out as the sharing of information, then the centralising of such, became the drawing of social lines and the exclusive membership of those that thought similar things.

Where was innovation? Where was the desire to reach out and know more?

I think our passion was dying, like an appendage so forgotten that it became useless, a muscle never strained that it had grown soft.

We were the era's spoilt children.

We knew nothing of struggle or pain, fear or destruction, hunger or loss.

The quantum age was a curse disguised as a blessing.

But none were the wiser.

Even me.
> 2 - Synch - for lack of a better title (rev3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1: Synch


The stone felt immeasurably icy as I touched the sturdy, polished granite floor of my cell. I grimaced while stretching seized muscles and aching joints. My body was fresh with aches and pains, all of which would be foreign to me mere months ago. I glared at the rust covered bars, the simple physical barrier to my freedom. I reached out, feeling the rough texture against my fingers. I studied my finger curiously as the sunset orange filmed my fine appendages.

I was overcome with the urge to laugh.

It came slow, like a deep infectious disease spawned in my intestinal tract. The mirth sprang forth as a trickling chuckle, then a flowing giggle and finishing with torrential laughter that echoed around the small chamber.

Because I remembered.

I felt a wetness trickle down the hollow of my throat. My hand shot to it, expecting a cut and the trickle of blood. Once again, I found myself studying my finger. It was watery and slightly viscous. I realised they were tears.

Were I not already seated I would have collapsed, not having the strength to stand.

How had I gotten here, in this strange, strange land?

I heard a scraping sound and I turned my head to see a contingent of guards heading stoically towards me. I sighed. Yes, it would be now they would want me to move. Just when I was comfortable with not moving.

I struggled to my feet as they eyed me warily.

I felt palatable relief exude from the guards when I didn’t immediately lunge for their necks. I almost laughed inappropriately then.

My shin still hurt immensely and I limped along with the soldiers, they had to force themselves at a slower pace.
I was grateful, I guess, that they were so accommodating.
As I was led from the dungeons, I took a better look at my surroundings. The castle held a little of the characteristics and designs from the old castle I had stayed in, with rich tapestries hung here and there and chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and ornaments that lay on miscellaneous furniture that decorated the halls in somebody’s upper class taste.

I was led through a series of side passages, which I figured was to avoid the main populace who lived here, towards a set of grand double doors that seemed to be made of oak, but I wasn’t sure. A dim glow wrapped around the doors as they slowly creaked open and I couldn’t help but feel awed by the casual display of magic. Technology could do the same for sure but the scientist in me was ever so curious about new and wondrous phenomena.
Beyond the door, two baffling and strange creatures stood before me and I immediately recognised them.

To the left was a white winged unicorn with a flowing rainbow mane and tail that sparkled and shimmered to some unseen wind. It reminded me of the movement of a solar flare, majestic and powerful but existing with casual destructive ease. She was one of the depicted mythological creatures that I had seen in the faded tapestries of the old castle I had stayed in.

To the right was a midnight blue winged unicorn with a flowing dark blue, almost black mane and tail, scintillating with a mirage of dark hued colours that reflected a subdued light, that vaguely reminded me of starlight and the night sky, for some reason. She was the other that was depicted in the ancient tapestries strewn throughout the castle.

If before I was nervous, now I was petrified. Something about their aura exuded a calm clear authority. As expected from a being that had been in power for a long time. When Twilight had mentioned the Princesses before in the diamond dog caverns she had mentioned them with almost religious reverence. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t awe-inspired.

The guard to my right, who had so far been silent, hissed at me from the corner of his mouth as I was led within ten metres of the two thrones, where the diarchs sat. It seems like they had regained their composure in light of being present in front of the imposing diarchs.

“Kneel.”

I knelt, not wishing to cause any trouble. I did not bow my head though, keeping it proud and high as I regarded the two princesses. The guard, who was about to correct my posture in indignation, was dismissed by some unspoken signal between the white princess and the guard.

Their size, while seated, I estimated to be around my chest for the larger white one, whilst the size of the latter darker one at about half a head shorter. I noted automatically that the two winged unicorns were regarding me with different expressions.

The larger white one was regarding me with an expression of calm open curiosity tempered with slight caution. The smaller darker one was the antithesis to her partner, gazing at me with caution tempered with a slight curiosity.

My mind flew back to mangled thoughts about Taoism that my mother had relayed to me in fragments so long ago.

The world is in balance with opposites, I mused with a slight smirk. Neither counterpart was complete or pure.

It was the white one that spoke first, as I had expected.

“You may rise”, she commanded simply. I obeyed, favouring my left leg that currently didn’t hurt so much.

She looked at me concerned. My initial trepidation faded away and my expression cleared. 

Maybe this would not be such an ordeal.

“You are injured”, she stated, it was not a question but I chose to answer it anyway.

“It is nothing”, I answered stiffly, unable to meet those compassionate eyes.

“Your majesty”, the one on the right spoke up. I kept my guard up for that one.

Confused, I replied, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Your Majesty”, she repeated, irritated. “You should address us with the proper title and respect.”

“I apologise, your Majesty”, I offered, trying to inject as much sarcasm I could into those two words. I hated people who needed to reinforce their status and decorum. The dark one started from her seat but abruptly stopped as the white one swept out her wing out blocking the dark one’s advance. I inwardly whistled. That was one massive wingspan.

I didn’t want to be overly antagonistic, so I tried to relax.

“I mean, my apologies your Majesties. I’ve been somewhat stressed lately”, I sighed, suddenly feeling very weary.

The cold blue one called out frostily to me across the short distance.

“Does that have to do with the innocent guard you injured unduly?” her icy voice cut through to me. I tightened my fists but forced them open, slowly as I thought about how to respond without making a fool of myself in the process. I guess my temper flares when I’m under undue pressure.

Reason, I said to myself. Reason and logic guide my way.

I calmed down enough to give a reply, “Is that what your guard reported?”

The white winged unicorn gave me a hard stare.

“I trust my guards”, she responded confidently and a touch arrogantly.

“You may trust your guards to protect your life, but I wonder what they would protect more. Their pride… or the well-being of myself?”

They both drew shocked breaths but they considered my statement before responding.

“What would you have us believe?” the dark one asked with barely concealed menace.  “Somepony we know or something we don’t.”

I sighed, rubbing a hand across my face.

“I don’t have time for this”, I muttered below my breath.

“What could you possibly need time for?” the white one asked me.

I winced, seems like their hearing is much better than a human’s.

I paused to gather my thoughts. I had a small internal debate on whether I should tell them. I sagged. What harm could there be for telling the truth?

“It all began when the world was taken by storm… by a device named Synch and a knot named Synchrony.”

——

My parents were really into the wisdom philosophy and were not averse to tough love when it came to moulding the spoilt out of their children. By the age of five, when I was old enough to understand what birthday presents were, I was given a choice. One small present a year, or a gigantic present on my eighteenth birthday.

-----

"Your birthday?" a melodious tone asked. I glanced across the short distance to the winged unicorn sitting on the throne.

"My birthday", I repeated, tightening then relaxing my hands. I took a calming breath.

"It's a long story, you'll have to bear with me", I offered. I was happy to see her nod her head in acceptance.

-----

So you know, being a kid, I chose 'big giant present' when I couldn't really comprehend what thirteen years would be like waiting and being jealous of other children and their birthday presents. 

"Hey! Happy Birthday", I heard one of my friends yell.

I smiled thinly at him.

"Hey there, thanks", I replied automatically. His smile faltered but it soon came back when he shoved a small gift-wrapped box into my arms.

"Here you go, Happy Birthday again", he repeated, giving me a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

I opened it up, expecting to feel... something. The present was a bone carving from the indigenous Maori all the way from New Zealand or at least that was what the tag said.

"Thanks", I responded, giving him a weak appreciative smile. It felt as fake as it looked.

He looked at me sadly.

"Oh, well I hope you like it", he said lamely before drifting back into the crowd of my 'other friends'. 

They soon stopped, it felt too cheap, too hollow and they knew as well as I did that I was just making up for my own selfish reasons.

I became a drifter after that.

Honestly, I had a lot of dirty thoughts about my parents being too cheap to buy me a present but I wouldn't think that way for too long. They were strict but showed me love in other ways. Perhaps one day they would ask me if I needed new clothes. They would ask me whether or not I was hungry way more often than I was actually hungry. They gave genuine enquiries on how my life was or queried about my friends or school. Before, I felt a little annoyed when I thought they were digging into my life but I knew later that that was how they showed they cared.

It all came to crescendo on Saturday the 21st of June, 2038, when Grooble, a global technology company, announced they would release a new product called ‘Synch’. Synch was a device designed to unify all electronics interfaces. In short, it was a small metal headband that interfaced directly with the brain through magnetic pulses in order to relay information to the brain. It could overlay information similar to a heads-up display (HUD) that gamers were familiar with, it could interpret your need to buy pizza by ordering directly to the nearest pizza delivery store, every identification checkpoint was securely and safely passed via identification of your brain-print, a unique identifier similar to DNA but harder to fake.

-----

I could tell the two were confused.

"Okay, I really don't know how to explain it any better", I told them, sitting down cross legged, getting tired from kneeling. I shot the guards a glare as they started forward, but they were stopped by an outstretched wing. Surprisingly, it had come from the winged unicorn on the right. What was her name? Moona? Luna?

I shook my head to clear jumbled thoughts. Onwards.

-----

I was moderately excited. People didn't really interest me, but technology did. I dreamt of all the ways I could utilise Synch to my everyday life. I thought of all the possibilities that could be made real with this wondrous device. I felt a longing to get my hands on it that gave me motivation than anything else had ever given me before in my entire life. I was addicted, I fell in love but it was forever out of my reach with a ridiculous price tag that no teenager would be able to afford.

But my parents surprised me.

I remember walking through the door after a particularly hard day at school. I knew it was my birthday but I never really cared. I had forgotten that it was my eighteenth and I thought I was in for a small cake and a small song. The usual.

Trudging through the door I threw my school bag into my room and met my parents. They seemed happier than normal. My father was still a serious man but even he had a small curl of his mouth, as if for once in his life he was smiling.

"My son", he greeted me, pulling me into a stiff hug. I was surprised, he wasn't a touchy feely kind of person.

"Today, you become a man", he said, gesturing to my mother. My mother went to the next room, to fetch something.

I realised then that the day was my eighteenth birthday.

"A present?" I whispered softly, so that only I could hear. To be honest, I was nervous, intimidated even. My parents had meticulously waited eighteen years to give me my birthday gift, what was so important?

My mother brought into the room, the device I had been craving for almost two weeks I felt a shiver of anticipation. Were they really going to give me what I thought they were going to give me?

Smiling, both my parents had passed me the Synch gear headset. I felt a small recessed engraving on the inside of the headband, turning it over I saw in Chinese characters, my ancestors passed to my parents, now passed to my own, family name. 

Tears flowing down my cheeks as I pressed the gift between my arms briefly before setting it down on the table and flinging my arms around my parents. 

I had to admit for an early eighteenth birthday gift, it made me one of the happiest people alive. 

I had received a Synch gear Premium kit with top of the line features that were reserved for the highest tier customers that were there investing since development, right on the launch date! Needless to say I was flabbergasted. My parents had saved a small fortune getting me Synch and I felt guilty for all the times I held a petty grudge and misjudged them.

Not long after I had gotten my Synch I felt the drive to pay my parents back, sort of a debt that was upheld by the Confucian philosophy instilled within me. I decided that I would put my all into become a Quantum engineer, inspired by the wonders of the state of the art technology that now adorned my head. My studies were always decent but I now threw myself into the work with a fervour that consumed my soul. Articles from scientific journals, mathematics and modelling, physics and the sciences and any information on the Synch gear were all topics that were devoured in my pursuit of knowledge.

In my spare time I trawled the extranet, a unified more ordered version of the ‘internet’ that had plagued the last turn of the century. The extranet was powered by a central international database and contained what poets in these days called the repository of human knowledge. So many redundancies and precautions were in place to ensure the survival of the extranet that the central node of the extranet existed two hundred metres underground in a massive facility powered by geothermal heat. If you would believe it, a backup was made on the moon and updates every two weeks in concentrated laser bursts.

-----

A cough interrupted my narrative. I refocused on the blue winged unicorn. Blue was a little simple to describe that deep midnight navy that she sported but for simplicity I went with blue. I'm positive her name was Luna, sort of fits anyway.

My questioning gaze brought forth an uncomfortable expression from Luna.

"Your kind has been to the moon?" she asked, for voice seemingly strained for some reason.

I nodded my lips peeling back into an instinctual grin.

"To reach out and touch the stars has always been humanity's greatest wish. True peace may have been impossible for us, but unification towards a dreamy goal, was possible. And it was possible, we proved it."

Luna regarded me more curiously and with a lot less hostility than before. She pawed the ground with her hoof.

"Why go there? Why visit the stars?"

I gaped at her. Was she serious?

"Are you kidding? If I had any other ambitions other than my Synch, I would jump at the first chance to go to space! Would it not be wondrous to walk among the vastness of space? Could you not feel the novelty of viewing the breathtaking cosmic dance that was the universe in action? To be awed and humbled at the same time?"

I could help myself, I just rambled on.

"To float there in space and see the beautiful sapphire blue of the oceans, to see the emerald of the forests, the tan stretches of desert and the snow-white of the arctic and antarctic all at once?"

Luna nodded eagerly.

I sighed.

"Sights I'll probably never see at all..."

Anastasia? Selly? I can't remember her name, the white winged unicorn thing, gave me a sympathetic look before gesturing me to continue with my tale.

"Please", she called out to me. "Do go on."

I gathered my thoughts and launched back into the tale.

-----

The extranet contained all the information of the latest updates and developments for the Synch programs including firmware updates and new and exciting applications for the Synch gear and peripherals. The open source movement sped the development along with many programmers jumping on board to show what exactly what they've got. I was one of the programmers in my spare time.

Everyday, I would download new ‘knots’ to ‘tie’ to the central board of my Synch, knots being small self-contained programs that could be run on Synch. I became one of those fanboys that I so detested before. I kept up to date with all the news, even the bizarre ones where people would talk about their personal experiences with Synch.

I shudder as I recalled some of those loonies. Sometimes people go nuts over the weirdest things.

Since Synch directly interfaced with the brain, a lot of security and protection was built into Synch to prevent malicious attacks from interfering. Some people were scared, irrationally I might add, that the Synch could 'control your mind'. I had a good laugh at that. All knots had to be approved by Grooble and regulations were in place to prevent lethal or debilitating signals from being emitted from Synch. The technical details were released in a patent and scores of scientists and doctors had tested and retested the Synch. 

I knew it was one of the safest devices on the planet! 

So of course it came as a surprise that just six months after the launch of Synch, a mysterious knot appeared tied to everyone’s central board and rocked our world.
> 3 - Coming to Conclusions: Baby Steps (rev2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I looked around me, noticing there were more ponies in throne room whilst I had been recounting the events.

I rolled my eyes, beckoning them to come forward. It wouldn't hurt to have more peopl- ponies learn the truth. They came in as a small jumble. Hesitant, but intrigued.

Celestia, whose name was found out from a helpful pony in the crowd, cleared her throat. She was probably either amused or annoyed that I had kind of ordered her subjects around.

"I would actually like to hear more about your stay here", she said, waving her hoof in a dismissive gesture.

Her sister, as I had found out, glared at Celestia and addressed me while still looking at Celestia.

"I would like to hear about its world! We could find out something critical about- " she glanced at the ponies within the courtroom " -about what we discussed."

Celestia looked like she was having an internal debate and I coughed to get their attention.

"Perhaps I can break up the story into more manageable pieces", I proposed, looking at both of them in turn. "I could talk about my world and at the same time we can talk of my experiences in yours." 

I lifted an eyebrow.

"I don't think it will affect the narrative too much if I switch perspectives every now and then", I commented wryly.

Celestia nodded in approval, Luna followed suit.

I took a deep breath and recollected my first memories of arriving in this mysterious land.

-----

It’s not everyday that a guy (that would be me) wakes up in the middle of a deadly forest surrounded by wolves. Okay, later I would have known them as Timberwolves, but my point still stands.

A logical mind would immediately analyse this situation coming to the right conclusions.

1.	Assess the environment. Are there any immediate dangers?

Danger, what danger? Ha ha.

Okay, moving on.

I was in a forest, it was green, there were more leaves and greenery than I was usually comfortable with and there was wildlife that was definitely not comfortable with me. They would probably feel more comfortable eating me. So unless I was in their stomach, or whatever it was they digested with, they would probably try and rip me apart until I had become one with them. I used a few precious seconds shuddering over that. Okay. Fear over.

I made a quick assessment of the situation.

Danger level: Oh my God please no.

Which was roughly equivalent to what I felt during every final exam during high school. Excepting mortal danger present, of course.

2.	Eliminate these dangers, or make them irrelevant.

I tried. Really. But freaking out got in the way of calm reasoning, so I froze like an idiot trying to see if it would help. Of course that only gave time for the wolves to close in. I started hyperventilating, letting my 'flight' instinct drive me. 

Then I was running. 

Sweet glorious running. 

Away. 

From them. 

Yup.

3.	Assess other survival needs. Prioritise and address them.
Now that I thought about it, I was pretty hungry. The last thing I had eaten were dumplings, you know cause it’s a pretty staple diet for a teenage Asian kid. Jokes. I mean about the staple diet thing, I actually did have dumplings. Not something I eat everyday.

Where was I?

Oh yeah! Running for my life.

I would describe the experience (of running for my life I mean) as very fragmented. I remember going through a heap of branches and leaping over rocks but at the same time I remember getting unreasonably scared because in the few minutes I was running the sunlight was starting to fade and I knew from general principles that wolves could see pretty well in the dark and tasty humans didn’t.

So I kept running and my brain babbled about a few random tangents that had nothing to do with the situation.

Firstly, where the heck was I?

Secondly, how am I going to submit my report on spectroscopy?

Thirdly, how did my ancestors deal with wolves?

I had no immediate answers for the first two questions so I just chucked them out of my head. The last question did stick to my mind because it happened to be the more reasonable one of them all. I was conscious enough of the growls and barks to note that they were getting closer. In fact, it was amazing I made it so far without them catching up to me. My breathing was laboured, I would be able to keep this up much longer. I needed a plan and something workable relatively fast.

Trees.

I’m a monkey. Ape. Descendent. Nice one brain.

Laughing maniacally, which came out as more of a wheezing laughing fit, and with the biggest leap of my life, I swung myself at the nearest thickish tree branch I could see. I saw a wolf snarl and lunge at my foot as I tried to bring it up with the rest of my body to the safety of the elevated tree branch. It snagged my shoelace and almost pulled me down with it until I realised what it was doing and shook my own shoe off. Scrambling with the desperation of a teenage boy in mortal danger (which is about 7/10 on the desperato scale) I climbed further up the tree and dimly registered I was pretty high up off the ground, perhaps about five metres. This may not sound like much but it was a major achievement for me.

The other wolves by that time caught up to the lead wolf that was chasing me down and the lead wolf just flung my sneaker somewhere in the bushes.

Rude.

I wasn’t in the confrontational mood so I just sat there and took it using age-old Confucian patience drilled into me by my parents and squatted on the branch keeping vigilance on the wood-golem-things. Oh that felt good, heart slowing, less of a heart attack staccato and more of a slightly enthusiastic drummer.

After about two minutes I got cramps and eased myself into a sitting position from my previously held squat.

The wolves with timber creaking and growls of annoyance, paced around my tree for a little while before the leader, which I’m guessing is an Alpha or something, shook its head in what looked like disgust and padded off. 

What? Yellow human not good enough for you? 

Racist wolf.

I was still relieved. My pounding heart and death grip on the trunk and branches relaxed slightly.

Why, oh why was this happening to me?

I ended my ramblings there.

I had to think of survival first.

I thought I probably should wait in this tree until all the wolves were gone. 

Heck, daylight would be much nicer and friendlier. Safer.

So I waited, staying wide awake and listening for the strange sounds of the night.

-----

The situation had pretty much devolved into a relaxed storytelling sessions. I think I caught one of the ponies eating popcorn. Wah?

Celestia eyed me quizzically.

"Your narrative has changed", she pointed out, with a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh yes, I decided to spruce things up a bit with in-narrative commentary."

Luna cocked her head at that.

"You could use a little practice", she commented wryly.

"Oh just go along with it, princess", I shot back casually.

-----

I don’t know about you but for anyone trying to sleep in a tree, don’t do it.

I was exhausted and out of options so the tree was a good choice but my rear end didn’t agree with me.

I had kept vigilance through the course of the night but my weary body was unused to such heart-pounding exercise that it was telling me I needed to sleep, desperately. I told myself that if I went down I'd probably die from a fall or the wolves would get me, so I tried to settle into the trunk of the tree and sleep.

Unfortunately or fortunately, I had snapped out of a light doze multiple times because I was leaning too far forward or back and my self-preservation and quick blasts of adrenaline had woken me up and saved me from almost certain death about twenty or so times that night.

I was grateful but at the same time I got no sleep. You win some and lose some, I guess.

By the time daybreak shone through the gentle folds of the tree I was in, I was thoroughly in the ‘stoner’ stage of my sleep cycle. I mean my body had built a circadian cycle/rhythm that allowed me to function with six hours of solid sleep so the multiple interruptions made me a zombie. The closest feeling I had to this was when I pulled all nighters in order to finish some majorly important assignments. Yeah I wasn’t the most organised but I did pretty well on average so shut up. Cramming always worked for me.

My stomach was growling death threats at me and this time I took it seriously because there was a lack of actual modern available food in my information-age smart-fridge which didn't exist here on account of I didn't know where the heck I was.

The last part was thought to myself rather stressfully; because when I get stressed I tended to internal monologue. Sometimes I would dialogue with myself but I would cut that stuff out when I realised that would probably be the first signs of some sort of debilitating mental disorder.

You mean right now?

“Shut up, me”, I shot back, irritated.

I climbed down the tree in an awkward stomach turning series of branch-to-branch drops. At some points I paused when I realised it was a pretty far stretch and I was moderately impressed what my adrenaline-fueled self could accomplish in a terror-induced state. As I dropped to the ground with a thump and looked around, the first thing I noticed was the rapidly dampening sock I was wearing on my left foot which had left me with an overall impression of having no frigging shoe.

Those wolves. 

Man if I ever… nope I’d run. Still… If I ever meet you and I’m at a superior advantage in terms of firepower and physical strength I’d totally… Maybe, I thought to myself in a stew of unpleasant feelings.

I’m going to do so many things to that wolf that would make a gangster blush.

I was thinking these thoughts while rummaging around for my shoe in the bushes. Eventually, I found the shoe and put it back on. I wasn't pleased with the faint tearing on the sides and the squelchy wetness of my sock in the shoe, it was definitely more comfortable than limping around almost barefoot in an unknown forest.

I paused, my memories flashing back to the wood wolves.

What the heck were they?

Where the heck was I?

The inner scientist in me was kind of excited. I mean they were a new species right? I could name them after me!

My engineering side kicked in with find some shelter and build something because that’s what you were taught to do.

My emotional side was throwing a hissy fit. So I decided to ignore it and shut it down.

My rational part of my brain was reeling with implications. It tried to piece together a sequence of event that lead here but suddenly swamped with information which was not at all helpful, it decided to dump that stuff into backlog and deal with it later. It decided it agreed with the engineering side. 

Do something useful.

So I did. I gathered some loose sticks into a pile in the middle of the clearing and decided that later I would try to make fire… sometime later though, they looked damp and I didn't really have anything that could be used to start a fire. So with nothing else to do I dragged my feet to do some exploring, maybe I could find a lighter here? Nah, that would be too convenient. 

I didn't want to really think about the wood-golem-wolves, even though it would be an exciting discovery. Turns out when something tries to kill you, you quickly want to forget it and move on. Learn from it and be wary of it, but move on. I think I skipped a lot of steps of the grieving process (for my comfortable former life) in favour of survival. That was definitely was detrimental to my psychology. Could be worse. Post-traumatic amnesia? I'll take it.

The lay of the forest was strange and intimidating. There was a sort of track made by either animals or humans, I don't think it was humans because the height was a little short and I had to bend a bit to prevent branches and leaves from driving themselves up my nose and face. I decided to follow the track, keeping a wary eye and ear out for any out of place noise.

After some trekking some distance from my ‘hiding tree’ back some way, I came across a rickety bridge.

Now normally I would be very hesitant to cross a bridge like this. I’d probably outright refuse to unless it had been checked by the appropriate authorities and vetted by my trustworthy civil engineering buddies. As it was I was just glad that the bridge meant civilisation would be nearby so I happily crossed it (very cautiously though) and was glad nothing bad actually happened. Really. Nothing. 

I don't care if you don't believe me, nothing happened.

Okay... well... a breeze may have blown the bridge while yours truly was crossing and might’ve given me a fright that might've made me let loose an unmanly shriek but nobody will know of this! Nobody! NOBODY.

Across the bridge I was happy to find a path that was about two people wide. As I walked along it I thought for once to actually look ahead. 

I gasped.

I had found civilisation!

Or… what was left of it.

Oddly disturbed, I gazed at the ruins, trying (and failing) to hold back a sense of trepidation. I mean sure the ruins looked mysterious and in a way aged, proud and majestic but it still gave me the creeps.

Was it a hologram?

I tapped one of the stones. Yes still solid. Not less creepy.

I’m a rational person and considered myself a man of science but there were certain superstitious inducing events that would trigger my fanciful-creative persona to unleash a torrent of misgivings, hesitation and other delightful human responses to… haunted things. I'm not scared! I'm just cautious. Yeah... cautious.

The ruins were clearly once part of a great ancient castle, with two towers sticking proudly out of the dilapidated structure. As far as I could tell there was no ceiling left and the blocks showed twisting vines with mould and lichen reclaiming the castle to nature. Stray leaves strewn about the front paved entrance, danced about as idle winds blew them and I cast a critical eye about the structure. Above the slightly gothic-in-style archway were two four-faceted amethysts, which were frankly blinding in the right orientation to the sun. I glared at the crystals but got a retina searing for my troubles. Grumbling, I trudged past the amethysts. 

-----

Luna whispered something to Celestia who nodded in affirmation.

I paused, looked at them and shrugged, continuing with my recount.

-----

The abandoned castle still kind of gave me the creeps but I persevered and continued on pushing past the rough and ancient wooden doorway that lead into the castle. The doorway was stiff and creaky and did nothing to alleviate the sense of rising foreboding that was welling up from my stomach and lodging itself in my throat.

At this point I considered at least I should take a look around before forming an opinion on the creepy abandoned castle in the middle-of-freaking-nowhere. Whatever I find would have to be amazing and comfortable to sleep in if I’m going to overturn the forbidden ruins feeling though.

I sighed braced myself and stepped through the opening.
> 4 - I'm a Frayed Knot (rev1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I remember the first time I had heard about Synchrony, how it was plastered over the extranet feeds.

"A worrying new program has been circling the extranet community. Synch users should be aware that a potentially harmful illegal knot has been found on Synch devices", the newscaster intoned, giving a serious look at the camera.

I remember eating my breakfast then and dismissing it at first, until I hopped onto the extranet. My feeds were flooded with updates and notifications of the new illegal knot. The Synch community had exploded when they found out about the knot mysteriously tied to their device. Everyone connected to the extranet, which was pretty much the entire population, immediately downloaded and tied the knot into their personal Synch device. Unwillingly I might add. 

Of course I was no exception. I had tried deleting it, as many else had, but ultimately failed. 

"Dang it! Why won't you just go away?!" I had growled to the seemingly innocuous knot.

The knot just floated there in my virtual vision, tied snugly onto my central board.

"Just, ugh, how about this?" I had grumbled to myself, while trying a few other thought gestures and executing some thought-commands.

It didn't do much good. I hadn't known nearly enough to get rid of it without performing a full wipe. I combed through the extranet trying to find answers but they were all the same. Despite so many affected by the same knot, there weren't any solutions.

I need help with my Synch! 

What's this weird knot on my Synch? Is it the same one from the news? Anyone found a solution?

Frustrated, I eventually left it alone after trying to get rid of it via root access. I surmised that it was just a matter of time before Grooble released new firmware to fix the issue and I could have my personal Synch back to normal.

The extranet feed was alive with the latest developments of what this mysterious knot was and how it had come to be.

Several newscasts had many things to say about it, I listened to a few, interested in anything Synch-related. I wanted to know how it got on my device.

Reports have come in of a mysterious new knot that has infected Synch devices worldwide. Grooble has yet to announce how they plan to tackle the problem and this has raised concerns in the public as to how safe these Synch devices are really. More news coming in soon!

I remember looking at my Synch and toying with the idea of running that mysterious knot.

Emilia had warned me to stay the heck away from it. In fact, I was certain her words were: Stay away from it, I have a really bad feeling about it, just let the professionals handle it.

Emilia had been one of the only people who had cared enough to bring me out of my little shell. She was a good friend... I miss her...

I was a mess until she found me but I think that is a tale I'd rather recount later.

Where was I?

Ah yes, the illegal knot.

Some people who were as curious as I were, and certainly less lucky than me, had run the knot. Devastating consequences had ensued. I had found later, only a few days after I had decided not to run the knot, that there were disturbing side effects.

Upon waking the people would smile, and they would hug their loved ones, generally acting out of character as if their personalities had been altered. At this point Grooble was frantic and were on the verge of recalling back the Synch devices so they could safely disarm the illegal knot. The media had reported just under a hundred of these cases and I remember feeling the true depth of my mortal coil at the time. It still brings a chill feeling how close I was to being taken by Synchrony.

Then as suddenly as it had appeared, the knot had disappeared.

Confused, Grooble could only pledge a statement that it would find whomever was responsible for this outrage and (sic) take any and all actions legal or otherwise to rectify the situation. 

A couple of weeks had passed and more information came through about those who had activated the mystery knot. 

The media had callously labelled them as ‘Sunken’ patients and amusingly characterised the Synch as the Titanic. The Sunk patients however were reportedly, happier than ever having been through what they stated was the ‘best experience of my life’. Sunken patients reported to have subjectively experienced months to years of experience through the mysterious knot but they never seemed to regret it. 

The baffling reports of the sunken patients inflamed the curiosity of the community and a small group of extranet communities banded together to find or create the mystery Synch knot. The media had unofficially dubbed the program Ultimate Zero Day (as a solution was never found) but among the extranet circles it was named Synchrony, the pinnacle of human and machine fusion, among the more romantic of the followers.

But only after a month of silence, a familiar knot greeted Synch users.

Synchrony was back.
> 5 - Castle Crasher (rev1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I want to hear more about this 'Synchrony' that you mentioned, you mentioned it came back?" Luna asked.

I nodded.

"Synchrony just disappeared and reappeared, we couldn't find anything about it, we couldn't control it, it appeared on our Synchs mysteriously, like magic", I explained, frowning.

Celestia held up a wing to prevent her sister from pressing me any further.

"You mentioned the castle, I'm assuming that's where you met my little ponies", Celestia prompted, giving me a look of encouragement.

Okay...

-----

Upon entering the castle I felt a sudden chill, it could’ve been a draft or it could’ve been a spine chilling foreshadowing I felt. Either way, I could see the castle was bigger from within than it looked without. 

I surveyed the area, taking in the smooth stone rounded by no doubt hundreds of years of rain and wind. To the sides, I could see worn and tattered red and gold tapestries with faded metalwork and struts barely supporting the walls between white-rimmed archways. Torches affixed on the walls still lay dormant and I wondered how long they were there and how long since anyone had visited. 

Moving my gaze upwards and further I could see dilapidated steps above of which were two brilliant but faded tapestries depicting two winged unicorns. The left winged unicorn bearing the moon above in deep rich blue and the winged unicorn on the right bearing the run in golden brown hues. Somewhat awed, I stepped into the ceiling-less chamber and approached underneath the tapestries. 

I was excited. 

Civilisation definitely was nearby!

I scouted around, deciding to enter through one of the archways.

As I crept through the halls I spotted faded paintings. I suspected the paintings were a joke as they contained horses dressed in various military and dignitary outfits. They looked like horses but at the same time they did not. They were of various colours and shapes with wide almost disfigured eyes. It was… strange…

I continued down, getting a feeling that I knew exactly why this whole castle was abandoned. Whoever owned the castle beforehand had to be completely off their sugar. There were symbols of the former master’s (or maybe mistress') eccentricities everywhere I looked. In one room lay a grand organ with huge stretching pipes framed at the base with pegasi holding candles. Behind and around the aged structure were curtains, giving it an almost regal look, with the red carpet leading to the organ framed by whimsical music scores.

I almost considered going up to the organ and tapping a key or two but I held myself back. Defacing what was certainly an artefact of ages past would be a heinous crime just to sate mere curiosity. Reluctantly, I withdrew and continued along the hallway.

The end of the hallway took a sharp right then left and I spotted an open library of books. Surprised that the books had not succumbed to the weather and ages I quickly scanned the various titles and found that I could not read any of them. Surprised, I saw that the titles were made of strange hieroglyphs formed of symbols like horseshoes, lightning bolts, moons, swirls and a variety of other weird pictograms. 

I sighed. Looks like I wouldn't be able to even pinpoint the location of where I was, even vaguely. I felt my throat constrict and my heart pound deeply. I had heard of stories in the past of people that were marooned for weeks or even months in areas the tracking satellites did not or could not reach. I nervously tapped my Synch but frustratingly found it was not there. Satellites could not even track me without it. I sighed again.

My unintentional brooding led me pacing aimlessly to a table with two seats arranged on the opposite sides. Even though the chairs and the table were uncomfortably small I still felt a sense of relief seep into my bones as I sat down and leant back. Almost tripping over, the chair yanked me back until I was forty-five degrees off the floor. A sudden jolt ran through the frame of the chair and amazingly to my right the shelves slid back with a mechanical groan and rumbling that set my teeth on edge. A passage opened up and I could see another archway, this time smaller and recessed into the wall.

Curiouser and Curiouser… I pondered as I wandered into the opening.

The small room was dark inside but I could glimpse a faint light at the end on the left. Ahead the sky was beginning to darken and a chill crept in again reminding me of my tree and small makeshift damp woodpile for my fire.

Ah forget it, I thought negligently. I'll just camp out here.

As I crossed the threshold the passage immediately began to close and before I could turn around and head back, the shelves slid back locking with a click.

Feeling a creeping chill shoot down my spine, I looked for a mechanism to trigger the sliding shelves but I couldn't find anything. Panicking, I tried to pry the shelves apart but to no avail. I was stuck here and the only option was to head forward.

Groaning I shifted and rolled my shoulders, blaming my stiff back on the uncomfortable sleeping position in the tree. The pains caught up with me, making me hesitant and stilted with every step. There were worse circumstances though, and I might be stuck here but at least it was warm.

Indeed as I approached the light that I found came from the windows, the room was less ominous and more welcoming. Off to the sides were various tasselled cushions with varying patterns of swirls and lines. I approached a golden one and lightly tapped it with my shoe. It assaulted me with a bit of settled dust however it appeared to be in perfectly dry and usable condition. A vase also sat to the left next to a bookshelf full of books, which had no readable titles. 

The moon and sun motif adorned glazed windows and my eyes settled on the small triclinium on the right. Gratefully, I slunk to the triclinium, tossing off my shoes and relaxing on the comforting furniture. I was sore, battered and tired, the soft padding was old and musty but I cared not, feeling the softness and warmth give me a nice cozy feeling. From there the sun set and I sunk into a deep sleep.
> 6 - Synchrony - for lack of a better title (rev1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I paused, looking at my audience that sat enraptured by my tale.

Time to mix things up a bit, I thought to myself, feeling an urge to tease.

"So about Synchrony", I began, but was interrupted by Celestia.

"You didn't finish your story about the castle", she reminded me gently.

I gave her a lopsided grin, flexed my shoulders and looked pointedly at Luna.

"But your sister is getting impatient", I told her. Celestia glanced at her sister and turned back to me.

"Alright, continue", she said patiently. The other ponies leant forward in anticipation.

-----

Though Synchrony came back, it did not appear on every Synch gear as it had the last time around. I found out by rooting around the extranet chatrooms and gaining a little insight on the nature of Synchrony.

--connection established--
--chat log begin 10:02:20 PM CNT 2/2/39--

Anon1 entered.
Anon1: hey guys! any update on synchrony?
Anon2 entered.
Anon2: lol isn’t that thing dead
Anon1: i’m holding out :P
Anon3 entered.
Anon3: I heard some new guys on the scene got Synchrony again.
Anon1: nooooo waaaaaay
Anon2: nah fake gimme pics
Anon3: uploaded an attachment
Anon4 entered.
Anon4: hey im dropping in dayum seems legit mayte
Anon1: Anon3 where’d you get that?
Anon3: It’s been going around the net on my zone.
Anon3: uploaded an attachment
Anon2: okay thats impressive
Anon5 entered.
Me: What’s the condition?
Anon3: They say if you want it, you get it. Like a wish granter. A genie.
Anon2: spooky
Anon4: yeaaa you guys can try ill just sit this one out
Me: I’ll give it a go.
Anon2: GL
Anon1: ill come to your funeral.
Anon3: Be careful.
Anon4: gg mayte

--connection terminated 10:16:23 PM CNT 2/2/39--

There were some other miscellaneous pieces of information on Synchrony. Mostly there had been rumours about metadata containing some sort of code that would fry your brain if it ran successfully on the Synch gear. Or if you entered an abandoned building in some extranet-forbidden district, Synchrony would pop up after summoning it through some lengthy ritual. I dismissed a number of these extranet myths as just that, myths.

I tapped a couple of impatient fingers on the keyboard to my desktop. I could trawl for a few more hours... 

I shook my head and finally logged out of the anonymous extranet forum. I yawned and stretched in my office chair and sunk my head into my hands. Rubbing my eyes, which always felt fatigued after viewing things on a physical screen, I slumped and tapped the Synch gear I had on my desk next to my hand.

The ring of metal felt cold and lifeless but a faint feel of pulsing signals emanated from its smooth aluminium body. The pulse was almost like an aura of alien energy, giving it the faint semblance of life. Seeing the Synch always made me smile. The smooth precision of machining, metallurgy, electronics, microelectronics, nanoelectronics and the design and thought processes of thousands if not millions of humans made me feel as if I were indeed standing on the shoulders of giants.

Seeing the Synch that lay dormant made me flash back to the chatroom conversation.

I’ll give it a go.

I’ll come to your funeral.

I shuddered.

What if I never wake up? How would I know the difference between what was real and what was not? Where did all those Sunken patients go? Will my personality change like theirs?

So many variables, so many possibilities, the ideas and theories I had on Synchrony... they all clashed together in my head as a storm, no, a cacophony of conflicting for and against arguments in exploring the mystery of Synchrony myself.

I thought about Marie Curie and how she was able to put the science first.

I thought about how she died from radiation poisoning.

With a growl I slipped the Synch gear onto my head, feeling the weight pressing down not unlike a circlet or a crown. I chuckled, the crowning achievement of the Quantum age, sitting on top of my head.

With a few clear thought-signals I brought up the context menu and navigated to my personal files. I thought navigated quickly past one that was labelled ‘Life’ and opened the other named ‘Synch’. The Synch folder contained all my research of the last eight-months on the Synch and the technology behind it, all my custom programs and hacks were kept there, encrypted and away from private eyes.

I quickly thought of the unique 'pass-thought' to get entry into the folder.

Some incomplete knots were randomly distributed across my vision. Some were small games I decided to try my hand at making. Others were simple utility knots to help code on my Synch faster. I was only looking for one in particular however, its filename jumping out at me as soon as I lay thought to it.

Synchrony.

Yes, unlike the majority of others that Synchrony appeared and disappeared to, Synchrony stayed with me. Of course it had no particular name when I found it, I renamed it after hearing the poetic-like name that everyone had given it. I quickly realised that it was the Synchrony knot, only it wasn't actually tied to my central board.

Confused, I had probed it with my utility tools and my relatively shallow knowledge of the knot programming language. I wasn't able to glean much. Only that it activated a relatively simple sequence of magnetic bursts within the Synch frame and surprisingly all within acceptable levels.

Casting back to my visits to seminars and conferences held via video over the extranet, I remembered something that was said, almost as a passing note by an avid lecturer.

“The Synch device is kept within very strict boundaries, the hardware is physically incapable of producing permanent harm such as lesions, or even temporary altered for more than a few minutes at a time. In fact, Grooble had designed Synch to work in its own sandbox. It couldn't affect your muscles, or memories, or your hormone levels and any other life support functions of your body.”, he began, staring directly at the camera. I remembered him most vividly due to his piercing blue eyes, which looked as if it could stare into your soul somehow.

“The worst that can happen”, he continued, gesticulating grandly. “Is if you somehow activated diagnostics, which outputs maximum waves, provided of course the on-board safety hardware is not properly functioning. Even then you would only get bright lights in a seizure-like fashion.”

The symptoms just didn't make any sense with the cause. How did Synchrony make people unconscious for ten minutes? Why did it change their personalities? How did they make those patients so happy? So many unanswered questions lay there, taunting me.

I decided that wishing it into existence wouldn’t be that risky. So I did, on a whim. The thing is, it worked. Well at least, in a way. Synchrony never left my system but after rooting around my Synch files I found the mysterious unnamed knot sitting in my Synch folder. After examining the data distribution on my Synch I concluded that Synchrony had appeared on my device the same day that everyone else had initially found it, only it was tucked away, unlike the others, which had theirs proudly displayed in their central board.

Of course, the small amount of metadata I was able to gain from it didn’t kill me like the extranet myths said it would. It contained only a creation date and a small comment tag.

Interested in the comment tag I read:

Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.

After looking it up on the extranet, I found that the quote belonged to Albert Einstein, still famous today as he was a hundred years ago. It was odd, quirky and another mystery that revolved around the shadowed programmer and creator of Synchrony.

Looking at the creation date made me laugh. Apparently, the programmer had a sense of humour and put the creation date exactly one year before Synch had even been developed. The rogue had managed to change the metadata, which was quite a bit of effort considering the internal security of Synch.

I debated actually turning Synchrony on. It was stupid, it was risky, it was pointless, but for some reason I felt compelled to run it.

I shook my head.

My stomach grumbled.

Sighing, I cleared my thoughts and imagined a white space, bringing Synch back into dormant state. I carefully lifted it over my head and placed it back on my desk to inductively recharge from the plate it rested upon.

I ambled out of my room and into the kitchen thinking of getting a nice quick breakfast.

The kitchen looked recently stocked. Huh, I guess my parents got around to automating the groceries. I opened the pantry to take a look at what was available. Inside were the colourful packages of consumer products that clustered the shelves. I considered a gel-pack but they never taste quite the same as natural ingredients. Shrugging, I opened my fridge and took a couple of mushrooms, onions, eggs and capsicum, intent on making an omelette. I glanced at the left over dumplings from last night’s dinner but decided to forego it and maybe eat it at dinner later.

Whipping up a good meal, I pondered if I was ever going to run Synchrony, and if I would ever be willing find out how deep the rabbit hole went.

I smiled to myself, taking a deep breath of the omelette as it hit the frying pan.

It could wait, life was way too good right now.
> 7 - Roots (rev1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I noticed an aged stallion sitting in the corner, scribbling furiously on a parchment. I hadn't even noticed him.

I pointed at him.

"What is he doing here?" I asked the two rulers.

Celestia answered giving me a gentle smile.

"This is the Royal Chronicler, pay him no mind, he will be recording the proceedings", she replied, gesturing for the chronicler to continue.

Luna addressed Celestia, with a thoughtful look.

"Sister, do you not think it would be beneficial to relay parts of our tale, as well?"

Celestia considered the notion, her wings fluttering as she thought.

I assumed they were communicating in some unknown manner because they seemed to be making body language gestures at each other without actually saying a word in the conversation exchange.

Celestia tilted her head.

Luna leant forward, then sat on her haunches.

Celestia tossed her head.

Luna stamped her hoof.

Celestia smiled serenely.

"Yes I believe there is no harm in telling our side of the story", she answered, finally.

I was curious, what was their side of the story? Perhaps I would get some details.

I threaded my fingers behind my head and waited patiently for them to begin.

-----

Princess Celestia, the Princess of the Sun, diarch of Equestria and eater of cake, was fed up with this meeting.

The diamond dog ambassador was growling and posturing and demanding that diamond dogs be let further into Equestria, where they could dig for much more precious gems.

At first, Celestia was happy to negotiate, thinking that this time Rex Canis would finally be reasonable about employment of ponies rather than enslavement.

Instead, her hopes were dashed as soon as Rex’s mouth opened and let forth a spew of borderline insults to her and her ponies and all that was apparently wrong with how 'intolerant and cruel and greedy' her ponies were to diamond dogs.

Celestia entertained briefly the notion that Rex had some sort of mental issue as a result of less than favourable upbringing that resulted in such blatant projection of his internal moral compass. Eventually, she got bored and instead decided to create a small whirlpool in his teacup of which he had not touched since the beginning of the meeting. She dragged his teacup stealthily over to her side of the table and began her little simulation of what would happen if a whirlpool spun at five hundred times a second in a teacup filled with cheap ambassadorial tea.

So self-absorbed was Rex that he did not notice that Celestia had no longer held any interest in the conversation. The occasional absent ‘mmm’, ‘yes’, ‘alright’ and occasionally when a longer response was necessary, ‘I can see why you would believe that but I’m of the opinion that the matter must be resolved harmoniously in the interest of my little ponies’. 

The last response would usually buy her an extra minute or two that she could spend making whirlpools in his teacup, which spun in different directions and could battle each other in a series of death defying combat and aquatic acrobatics. 

So absorbed in their own actions, it came as quite a surprise to both of them when the small wooden side door slammed open to reveal a moderately frantic Princess of the Night.

Celestia recovered first.

“Ah it is my dear sister, it seems an emergency has come up and I will need to address this immediately.” She threw an insincere apologetic glance at the diamond dog and subtly changed the direction of flow of her shimmering mane.

Luna caught the change and dipped an eyelid slowly in a barely disguised wink. Fortunately, the diamond dog had his attention on Celestia and didn’t catch the exchange.

“Yes, there are some important matters to discuss, it seems the palace may not be safe. You must leave. I will get some guards to escort you out unharmed”, Luna bluntly dismissing Rex. “W- I recommend you appeal your case in a few w- months when the security issue has been sorted.”

Rex grimaced, showing barely concealed canines. Growling, he left reluctantly, the guards closing the doors behind him.

Celestia exhaled and gave her sister a grateful look.

Luna chuckled but then remembered why she had come.

“There have been reports of strange occurrences throughout Equestria, dear Tia”, she began, nervously pawing her left hoof, a bad habit since she was a filly.

Celestia glanced at the hoof, considering her sister’s reaction. Usually if it were a monster or night creature terrorising the inhabitants of Equestria, Luna would be well within her element and she would deal with them with relative ease. Something was making Luna uncomfortable and that conclusion left a dull pang of unease flicking down her muzzle.

“It seems that magic is not functioning quite so normally”, Luna continued.

“How so, Lulu?”

Luna swallowed, feeling beads of perspiration form at her brow.

“I cannot enter somepony’s or some being’s dream.”

Celestia frowned, that had never happened before.

Luna pointed her hoof at Celestia’s teacup.

“Even your tea moves on its own, don’t you see Tia? Magic is being disrupted!”

Celestia looked at Rex’s teacup and forgot she had left the whirlpools spinning, they were slowing down to be sure but she had let them build speeds unheard of for the liquids.

“Oh uhm, ha. Lulu, that was just some fun, that ambassador was insufferable.”

Somewhat mollified, Luna shrunk back a bit.

“Oh well yes, I suppose I may have been overreacting a little”, she confessed, a blush springing to her cheeks.
Celestia nodded sagely but was nevertheless concerned.

“Perhaps in your haste you may not have confirmed that what you visited was not sapient?” Celestia asked but almost immediately regretted it at the look of indignation on Luna’s face.

She stamped a hoof. “I’m not a child anymore, Tia! I know what I felt! It was sapient!”

Celestia waved a placating hoof.

“I think it would be in our best interests for you to try again. Find that pony or creature if all else fails. Oh, and try and get some sleep Lulu, you get cranky when you don’t have enough sleep”, she teased.

Luna huffed and regally exited the premise, not quite slamming the doors behind her. Celestia rolled her eyes. She was not an expert on dream spells but she was fairly sure she had heard of such an instance before. 

Trotting out of the meeting chambers, Celestia pondered what information was causing that nagging sensation. She knew there was something but where?

Unbidden, her path had taken her to Royal Canterlot archives but upon entering the library she paused and felt as if it was the wrong place. She wondered why. All the information here was current and up to dat-

Wait.

Suddenly Celestia remembered exactly what it was that was bothering her. Only once had this happened before and it was just before the appearance of her sister as Nightmare Moon. She shuddered. Thousands of years did little to stifle fear and regret. The book she was looking for was in the old castle and she would rather not go there and fetch it herself, there were too many memories.

Catching a glance at a small mirror she saw her expression of uncertainty and immediately felt a sense of self-loathing. Shaking her head stared back hard at the mirror with an intensity that if tangible would shatter the silvered glass.

I learnt from my mistakes. It was long due time to move on.

She cut around the staircase and headed back to her chamber. Quickly she drew a quill, ink and parchment.

My Dearest Most Faithful Student Twilight,

Though I wish it weren't so, I have not good news to bring.

> 8 - Gotta Go Fast (rev1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How does Twilight Sparkle fit into all of this?" Luna enquired, having only heard snippets.

I smiled.

"I have no idea, I only met her at the castle, perhaps your sister could tell us more about her?"

Celestia smiled.

"The chronicler will know in time", she replied easily. "I will make sure it is added when I can."

-----

“SPIKE! SPIKE!” Twilight yelled impatiently. “Ugh, where are you?”

“I’m coming!” yelled back a distant voice.

Twilight trotted towards a table and quickly levitated on a saddlebag and some assorted scientific equipment. Her hooves and horn worked overtime to grab anything and everything she thought important to bring along.

“Elernmare flask, Titration kit, hoof-held arcanometer, field guide to Le- SPIKE!” Twilight called, her teeth gritting together.

Doesn’t Spike know how important this investigation was? The letter from Celestia although was in her usual measured handwriting betrayed a tone that conveyed a sense of urgency. The small shift in tone was not lost on Twilight and she was frantic to help the Princess wherever she could. Twilight could start as soon as she found that boo-

“Uhh, Twilight, could I go to-?” Spike queried as he practically leaped down the stairs.

“Not now Spike, I need the field guide to Levitating Scientifically! Could you fetch it for me please? Why do the books I need always disappear?”

Spike cast a critical gaze around the pile of books scattered around the library in Twilight’s effort to find the missing book.

“It’s a wonder. That book is in the basement, you moved it there after you thought you wouldn’t need it anymore”, he grumbled, walking down the stairs to the basement.

“Oh yeah, ha ha”, Twilight replied, grinning sheepishly.

In the silence she reflected on the merits of keeping her books in a better order. She could organise them by topic and then alphabetically and then shifting the books on difficulty as well. She practically squealed, she could reread some of the books she had not in a long time while reorganising, Spike was a genius.

She felt bad from pulling him into the trip to the castle. Maybe she could? No she definitely needed somepony to help her with setting up the equipment. The letter felt it was urgent.

A knock on the door interrupted Twilight before she could say anything to Spike.

Before she could answer the door, it burst open with a pink blur dashing through and wrapping itself around Twilight’s neck. Surprised, Twilight tried to turn her head around to see who it was but got a poofy mane of pink in her muzzle for her troubles.

“Pinkie? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, curious but steadily running out of breath.

Pinkie stepped back from her hug to let Twilight breathe, which she did gratefully.

“I felt I had to be here”, she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Her smile split her face in two.

Spike returned with the book in his claws.

“Here Twilight, you’d think you’d be better at categorising your own books after all these years, oh hey Pinkie”, he stated flatly.

“Oooh Twilight, What’cha doin’?” Pinkie asked, her eyes going wide and moving uncomfortably close to Twilight.

Twilight levitated a scroll out of her saddlebag while it was still floating in mid-air where she had left it while organising her tools. She concentrated on Levitating Scientifically and deposited it into her saddlebag as well.

Pinkie could hardly contain her excitement, bouncing up and down on the spot.

“A letter from the Princess? What is it this time? Monsters? Discord? A cupcake invasion?”

Twilight smiled, “No Pinkie, nothing of that sort, at least I hope not.”

She frowned as she tried to phrase the message in a way that would make sense. 

It was already difficult for her to understand as the technical descriptions that the Princess had imparted in the letter contained terms she had never heard of before. It was describing ‘dream states’, ‘occluding dream planes’ and ‘projective astral degeneration around circadian ensotopes’. In summary, Princess Celestia expressed the importance of retrieving a tome within the Castle of the Two Sisters and conducting a magical and scientific survey in the magical hotspot nearby, whilst perhaps delving a bit into sleep and dream magic while on site.

Twilight closed her eyes and started explaining what she had to do to Pinkie. She was rudely interrupted by Pinkie making silly faces in front of Twilight’s face to get her attention. This happened approximately half a hoof’s distance away from Twilight’s face so Twilight yelped and stepped back when she cracked an eye open to make sure Pinkie was listening. She noticed Pinkie held the scroll containing Celestia’s message in her hoof and was waving it about, obviously she had read it while she had been giving an explanation.

Rolling her eyes, she telekinetically yanked the scroll from Pinkie who floated a couple of metres into the air while still holding onto the scroll until Twilight pointed to the ground with her hoof, to which Pinkie obliged by impossibly sinking down to the ground at lower than the acceleration would be expected for this planet.

Pinkie trotted gaily back up to Twilight and pleaded, “Can I come with you? Can I? Can I? This sounds like fun!”

Twilight hesitated but then nodded.

“I was going to take Spike but Rarity asked to borrow him for a couple of ‘inspirational ensembles’. I would love for you to come along instead, if you don’t mind”

Pinkie nodded already raring to go, her hoof twitched as if it was a dog barely restrained on a leash.

Spike’s eyes lit up.

“Thanks Twilight! You’re the best!” he yelled back already halfway out the door. He dashed back in a second later.

“I almost forgot these”, he said, swiping some gems from a kitchen cupboard into one of his recessed scaled pockets and flashing a toothy grin. Twilight frowned a little but eventually gave a small note of assent when Spike’s eyes turned buttery.

“I swear that dragon only has jewels in his mind and that includes Rarity”, she muttered, exasperated.

Pinkie nodded sagely, stroking her fake beard. Twilight blinked. When did she get th- No brain! We did this a while ago. Never again.

She checked her equipment, then triple checked it, all the while Pinkie was bouncing around in small hops in a circle around Twilight as she underwent her regular field expedition routine. After a while, Twilight was satisfied and gave an approving ‘hmph’ before heading towards the door. As she was about to turn around she was met with a pink blur not unlike the greeting earlier.

Pinkie exploded out the door and called from outside.

“What are you waiting for, silly? Let’s have some fun!”

Shaking her head, Twilight trotted out to meet Pinkie with a small private grin.

> 9 - Deep Seated (rev1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I suppose when you wake up from a dream it’s meant to feel like you’re entering the real world. 

Biologically speaking, your muscles might feel a little stiff due to the paralytic agent your body secretes to prevent yourself from reacting too badly to what happens in your dreams. Your brain ignites a cascade of information telling you that you are no longer resting and need to get up and move. You're normally in a comfortable position and you shake yourself out of the last remnants of a dream that would soon be forgotten.

Most importantly you have an innate sense of reality that comes from solid information flooding your senses telling you that: 'you are here you exist in this world'.

For me, I felt like I was floating between an awake and a dream state. My body kept telling me again and again that I was awake. I was lucid. But my consciousness felt trapped in a dream when my senses kept feeding me information about this world that shouldn't be real. That all this was not real.

-----

Luna huffed, giving me a steely glare.

"What is the point of telling us this?"

I shrugged.

"Perhaps you would like to know my philosophy, that's all."

Luna snorted.

"I am not interested in your ramblings, get to the point!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Don't you want to know my frame of mind?"

Celestia cleared her throat elegantly interjecting into the conversation with a calming tone.

"I think it is interesting to know of the mindset of a creature from another world, if what he claims is true."

I decided not to yell at royalty that I wasn't a liar. I just sat there frowning, instead.

Luna locked gazes with me.

"Continue, then", she ordered, sinking back onto her own throne seating.

I sighed, cleared my throat and launched back into the story.

-----

It was all because of this baffling equine creature.

A pony.

I should back up a bit. 

From where I left off, there was still a substantial amount of time between then and now that went by and it was not spent counter-productively.

I made a plan for myself. Rest at night and make forays into the woods to find civilisation only in the day. I discovered upon closer inspection and exploration, a ravine that was obscured by some dense fog, surrounded the castle. I had no doubts that falling down that abyss would be an instant and blinding death. So I avoided moving too close to the edges. Who knew when the unsteady earth could give out, sending me toppling down? I shivered and stepped back smartly when I had seen enough.

The castle kept an aura of foreboding. It did not get much better in the day but it was certainly an improvement on the steadfast and imposing shadows cast by the castle during the night. By this time my stomach was really going at me, telling me that starvation was close at hand. I was cold cramped and sore, my throat was starting to feel a little itchy and my tongue felt swollen and my saliva a little sticky. Didn’t take a genius to know that I was hungry and dehydrated. I was a mess.

I surveyed the surrounds, canvassing the area just across the bridge, which still gave me the willies whenever I crossed it. Unsteady bridge + additional weight strain = dead human. I tried not to think about the forces involved in supporting a human across aged wood that was weakened by decomposition.

No, snap out of it. No need to analyse, it’ll only make your fears worse.

Sometimes logic can be so frustrating and rationalising can be insanity.

I praised the universe for finding a small river nearby. The flow was fast and the water was clear and taking all precautions I knew I took a nervous sip of the clear water.

It was delicious.

I have no idea why but the water tasted and felt utterly delicious, like clear, sweet, colourless and odourless ambrosia. I couldn’t get enough of it. Crouching down near the bank, I dipped my head in the river and washed away a little of the grime that clung to my hair and face. It felt refreshing and I relaxed, savouring the moment.

Scooping more of the sweet, clear water (although I was hesitant to call such great tasting stuff water), I drank deeply quenching the thirst that had been steadily building up. I sighed in contentment and sat down, shaking my head to get rid of the clinging water. I listened to the water flow, feeling a sense of peace flow over my tired and aching body.

I was still hungry and a little sore from the awkward sleeping position on the triclinium, but it was so relaxing that I dozed off for a while, still in a seated position.

Hearing a rustle, I snapped out of my slumber and was on my feet in an instant. I cast around for the source of the noise and for a few tense moments I thought it might have been the wolves tracking me down. My fears were dispelled as a bunny hopped out of the bushes and began sniffing around.

I froze, because that worked so well for me the first time, but the bunny paid no heed to me and quickly hopped off, completely dismissing me as a potential threat.

I felt hurt.

What is with these animals and being rude? Am I missing something?

I shook my head and realised that I was in dire need to use the facilities. I looked around and spotted an innocent tree, relieving myself. No, don't look at me like that, there's no toilet around here, this is how our ancestors did it and so would I. 

What was I saying? Oh, right.

I had looked around for something edible to eat. I spotted some bushes laden with berries but upon closer inspection the red berries appeared spotted with white and that put me off. 

Probably a bad idea to eat anything you don’t recognise, I thought to myself, thinking of all those news reports of people dying when they went hiking and ate some weird mushroom or something.

I looked up into the sky, the sun was about in the one o'clock position. I had probably spent about an hour napping. I shook my head. I was wasting time. I needed to find food or people soon, or I would starve to death. Trudging through the thin brush back to the path I noticed how overwhelmingly dense the forest became as I had strayed from the path. The river had bent, taking it close to the path, so that I could reach it with relative ease however, the bushes and tree beyond it were thick and dense making it impossible to see or traverse. 

The path was suspiciously clear. I scratched my head. Of course! It must be the owner of the castle! This piece of information brightened my day and I mentally celebrated. 

Great! Civilisation. People. Home.

On closer inspection, I did not see evidence of cutting or pruning that normally occurred when someone would try to maintain a clear path. Branches, vines and shrubs all looked organically moulded to stay out of the way of the path. Although some stubborn branches stuck out the majority stayed in a nice, ordered pattern.

Whoever did this must care a great deal for nature, I concluded.

-----
“Heeeeey Twilight what’cha doin’?” Pinkie needled, distracting Twilight from completing her spell. A glare quickly brought out a sheepish apology.

Twilight sighed, “It’s these branches, Pinkie. From time to time I have to bend them out of the way so the path to the castle wouldn’t get blocked. Every few months I’ve been keeping it this way in case I would have the inclination to visit the castle.”

She frowned.

“It’s been a while though and the Everfree forest always likes breaking out of the magical constraints I try to impose upon it. It needs constant reinforcement.”

Pinkie thought for a moment.

“Why not just prune it back?”

Twilight smiled and trotted ahead to deal with a particularly recalcitrant branch, “I tried that but the forest would just grow back twice as strong.”

She shuddered, thinking about her own experiments on the mysterious forest.

“The forest always seems so hostile to us, I have no idea why.”

-----

My stomach was giving me roars worthy of the most hard-core of metal bands. I winced and thought about devouring multitudes of foods. Pizzas, noodles, fried rice, steak, apples, bananas, tangerines, yoghurt and ice cream, I could go forever. My fridge only had ingredients for omelettes though and automatically I went through a list of things I should have ordered online for the next week until I realised how asinine that was, being stuck out in the forest with no extranet.

A thought sparked in my mind, maybe whoever had been tending to the path had hidden away some food in the castle? I thought it was a slim hope but latched onto it and headed back along the path towards the castle.

-----

“Someone was here before”, Pinkie announced out of the blue.

Twilight gazed quizzically at Pinkie, her head tilted and her fore hoof lifted of the ground, halfway in preparation to take another step.

“Somepony, no something has met the Timberwolves here!” she exclaimed, pointing a hoof at some prints in the dirt.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she took in the prints.

“Yes, what a strange creature to have such intricate prints. Their appendages must be oddly shaped”, she commented with a fastidious eye.

Pinkie bounced along. “It’s going towards the Castle of the Two Sisters!”

Twilight felt a pang grow in intensity in her abdomen as she considered the implications.

Coincidence?

Her stomach grumbled sympathetically.

“Cupcake?” Pinkie offered bringing the small treat out.

Twilight brightened and accepted the explosively sugartastic bonanza that were Pinkie’s cupcakes. It would tide her over to the castle. Twilight had been so excited that she had neglected breakfast but she knew from her last forays that she kept some greens at the castle in preparation for another expedition. After all, you could never be too prepared.

-----

I approached the castle and entered without admiring the architecture, it was still impressive but familiarity dulled my sense of awe. The castle courtyard was split into many pathways. Each alcove was framed by an archway and most bore only shadows and darkness as details, shading the indicator for a hallway or room. I mentally shrugged and picked an alcove at random, ambling down the paved floor path.

Footsteps echoed down the hall and the light from the outside faded rapidly. I paused and squinted into the darkness. How could anyone see in here? I spotted a side exit and decided to peek inside the door.

The door revealed a spiral staircase that clung to the sides of rounded well-like structure. Descending down the staircase was an exercise of restraint and tolerance. Curiosity and my pressing starvation pulled me towards the bottom of the staircase but trepidation and the dark unknown held me back.

Fortunately for me, starvation was a powerful motivator so it kept me moving forward.

The end of the staircase led to… surprise, surprise another dark hallway, but this time the walls were lined with what seemed to be horse legs impractically holding onto braziers. I was beginning to believe that there was no food in the castle after all. They probably would not keep it in such a tucked away corner of the castle anyway. Despite my misgivings, I went on further.

Shadows were starting to play tricks on my mind and I tended to snap my head back to track the moving shadows only to sigh in frustration when I was literally jumping at my own shadows. I pinned it on my growing fatigue and gnawing hunger. I really needed food. It was by luck I had paused at that moment to consider whether I should turn back and explore another alcove.

A breeze blew across my left side from a suspicious-looking gap no more than a finger width wide in the wall next to me. Intrigued I leaned against the wall trying to push or pull it but it did not budge. I was convinced it was some sort of entry for a hidden pathway. After all, the chamber I had slept in was a secret entrance, triggered by a secret lever.

Oh yes. Secret lever.

I cast around for anything that could resemble a secret lever and my gaze finally settled on the disembodied hooves cast around. One of them seemed a little strange compared to the others. I sharpened my stare on the offending hoof. It was subtle, but the hoof was definitely smaller than the others.

I grasped the hoof thinking I would pull it towards myself but it would not budge. I pushed, prodded and poked the infuriating hoof but to no avail.

“Would you please just open?” I yelled at the offending hoof, giving a tug. Amazingly, it slid down and allowed the wall to rotate ninety degrees permitting me passage. Intrigued, I let go and let the wall swing back into place. 

I tugged on the hoof. Nothing.

“Please?” I muttered uncertainly and heaved on the hoof. The door swung open. Huh. I guess not everything within this forest was rude. The castle was being a perfectly polite host. I chuckled to myself giving a cursory glance around the entrance for the telltale sign of a microphone speech input. Finding nothing, I just continued and crossed the threshold, hearing the revolving door click back into place. What I saw though was a veritable gold mine, figuratively speaking, of course.

“Impossible…” I muttered, gazing with wide eyes and slacked jaws at the scene.

Carrots and lettuce were simply floating, suspended in the air in some ordered three dimensional checkerboard pattern. I gaped at the carrots and lettuce, mouth watering. They looked absolutely marvellous. 

The room itself was a square courtyard with a purposeful skylight, unlike a missing ceiling that I expected. Dust motes floated in the air giving a mystical almost magical feel to the environment and I felt like I was surrounded by fairy dust. 

I poked one expecting it to float away like anti-gravity. It budged slightly but slung itself back, oscillating a little, as if suspended by invisible rubber bands. Curious. I then tried grabbing one from the suspended ‘space’. It gave a small resistance, like a tug from uprooting an actual carrot but came off the ‘air’ easily enough.

I took a cautious bite.

I was expecting that my luck would run out and it would explode or turn into burning acid or poison but like the water in the river it felt like an explosion of flavour, designed specifically to produce a party in my mouth. My eyes bulged as I devoured the tasty treat like a rabid wolf. Although with the food I was eating I felt more like a rabbit.

A sound alerted me to movement as I saw a few carrots and lettuce whip away from their floating suspension to disappear into a small square chute off to the side. Puzzled I weaved around the floating vegetables and came to the chute. I stood near the chute gazing in. A sound was heard, like a note from a piano or organ. 

My eyes widened and I gasped, there was someone here! Too late, I remembered that the sound heralded the harvest of vegetables and two carrots and a bunch of lettuce this time rocketed to my head. Yelping in surprise I managed to duck out of the way just before the vegetables were funnelled up into the chute.

Amazed, I finally felt optimistic. Whoever owned this place must have some high-level technology to make this possible. I grinned, heading towards the secret entrance/exit of the floating vegetable garden. I might finally get some help getting home and the person at the organ might finally tell me where the heck I was.

> 10 - Frenemy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I looked up from my introductory differential calculus textbook. Across from me stood a blond-haired, arrogant, condescending, muscly, aggressive annoyance. I would have narrowed my eyes but that would have only opened me up to racial insults.

He sneered at me as he swaggered toward my side of the table, nonchalantly kicking chairs out of the way. I gazed at him dispassionately in an aura of indifference. That was who I was back then, unthinking, unfeeling, the ultimate machine in every sense. He leaned over me and held his hand out, palm up.

Inwardly, I huffed a long-suffering sigh and stood up, pretending to reach into my pocket to draw out my wallet. This bully was new; he didn’t even see it coming. Without warning, I tried jabbing him in three nerve clusters located in his abdomen and then stepped back two paces to observe the results.

The bully’s eyes bulged comically and he gasped for air trying to formulate words. His expression pleasantly reminded me of a fish out of water.

I felt myself get grabbed from behind, and as the bully recovered, his face was adorned by a wicked grin. I just looked at him blankly and tightened my stomach muscles so it wouldn't do too much damage. The blond-hair wannabe whaled on me, landing blow after blow on my face, stomach and chest. He even threw a couple of kicks in.

Instead of getting angry, I just felt disinterested and wondered if that blond kid would get diarrhoea because I hit the wrong nerve cluster. I really should have paid more attention to my dad. Instead of being incapacitated, I felt the impacts leave brief but not lasting impressions on my emptiness.

I smiled at him as he kept going.

He spat on my face.

“Freak”, he growled, roughly grabbing my wallet, I only returned an absent smile. He took out five dollars, the sum total of my cash. I didn't even have my ID card in my wallet. He tossed it back to me and it landed on my head. Snorting, he turned and left, leaving me to my own devices and to lick my own wounds.

Of course I did nothing of the sort, I simply walked to the nearest stash I had and grabbed some decent money and strode into the nearest hardware store. Knowledge was indeed powerful.

The next day I heard nothing from them. They didn't want anything to do with me. Most students were whispering behind my back but I had little care for their concerns. I did tend to go a little overboard on ‘revenge’ but it was just merely something I did to make my life just a little less inconvenienced.

Dwayne, as I found out what blondie’s name was, suffered from burns from a minor chemical explosion, a severe but non-lethal electric shock and all his belongings within his locker had been mysteriously coated with a tar-like substance which was almost impossible to remove and smelt like death.

If it had came down to a war of attrition I would not lose, simply because I did not fear anything. Belongings I had were minimal and any injuries I received whether directly or indirectly were met with a wall of indifference and distant but frosty smiling.

The others also left me alone when they had seen the note: don't end up like him, posted in their mailboxes. I didn't feel a sense of triumph though for beating these simple-minded bullies and it just made me sink into a lower level of emptiness that I struggled to comprehend but gave up on since it meant I had to care.

Meanwhile I drifted, seeing things like an observer would but never really engaging, participating or interfering.

I saw the world explode in technology, smart phones were now so common that every kid and their dog had one, and I saw a few accidentally left behind on the train. I doubted the owners would even bother coming back for it. The world was bathed in glorious radiation, saturating the city of Sydney with low frequency pulses so that we were all connected to the Internet. They all talked of a change to the Internet and it would soon bring in phases of the extranet.

I still drifted. The bullying never became a problem after Dwayne and he came back after a couple of days in hospital. He had avoided me like the plague. His companions eventually dropped out, almost expelled a couple of days before their graduation for smoking weed near the school.

A month after I sent my clear message to Dwayne, I got slapped.

Instead of being shocked and indignant as she had expected, I simply stared at her and waited for her to say something. She faltered slightly but worked up a righteous rage again. She pushed her face close to mine, trying to make me feel uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong? Not going to do anything, stupid?” she demanded, hands on her hips.

I looked away and stared blankly into space, wishing for this annoyance to get bored and disappear.

“Aren't you going to apologise to Dwayne? Why would you hurt my brother like that?” she ground out through clenched teeth,

Surprised would have been an emotional state that was too strong for me to show but I did manage mild curiosity.

Her expression darkened and she drew a breath for what would probably be a speech that would be for the histories. Fortunately for me her own brother interjected.

“Emilia, stop this”, he pleaded, trying to drag her away by the arm.

Emilia yanked back her limb and glared with a laser-like intensity into my own eyes.

“I can't let such injustice stand”, she announced, preparing to give what she thought would be the most righteous slap on the infidel Asian boy.

I sighed and angled my head so that the slap would only contact on her fingertips and thus cause less deep tissue damage.

Dwayne stopped Emilia before she even had a chance.

“Emilia it wasn't his fault… I-I was t-the one who h-had started it”, he stuttered.

I looked at him from the corner of my eyes. Why would he feel the need to defend me? After a while of consideration, I discarded the thought. I didn't care.

Emilia’s eyes narrowed dangerously and she pointed imperiously to me, clearly indicating I should sit in my chair and stay there to await judgement. Dwayne and Emilia whispered fervently whilst I took the opportunity to quietly slip away.

-----

After an indeterminate amount of time Emilia finally got the gist of the situation.

Shocked, Emilia turned back to apologise to me but I had already gone.

Guilt tore at Emilia, she wanted to make this right. Dwayne looked away ashamed, he never wanted to beat up the freak, he just wanted to fit in. Emilia didn't buy any of that and left Dwayne midway through his awkward excuses and explanations.

He called out to her one last time.

“He's bad news Em! He'll just mess you up, don't get involved!”

Emilia snorted. Unlike her brother, she was a firm believer in justice. She was going to go into criminal law when she graduated but right now she had to start from the basics.

I need to give him something to make up for what I did, she had thought furiously.

I will make this right!

She approached some guys huddled around a hand-held console.

“Hey”, she greeted, approaching them. “Do you know anything about what that Asian kid, whatsis name, from the library likes?”

They shook their head mutely and just continued with their game. Disgusted by their lack of motivation she walked away and asked another group of people. They all shrugged, some didn’t even know his name, and no one really knew anything about him. She went from group to group desperate to gain any information about the elusive boy. Eventually she wound up going back to the library where she first confronted him.

The librarian gave her a hawk-like stare and Emilia meekly apologised for the disturbance earlier, the librarian just shook her head gave her another warning glance and then waved her through.

She spotted him back in the library reading another thick book. All around him were casually chatting girls and boys discussing studies, relationships, the Internet and life. He sat there just passively reading, an island in the middle of an ocean of people.

Emilia got the sense that really, the kid was not really indifferent as she first thought but was just profoundly and truly alone.

> 11 - (Can't)erlot (rev1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna paced around her chambers chewing on the ends of her mane absently. She stomped to one end of her chambers and glanced up at the ceiling covered with a myriad of stars and constellation patterns, then stomped over to the other side looking out from her balcony window. She continued this pattern incessantly, deep in thought.

The double doors to her chambers opened silently with a small snick. Luna glanced up briefly before resuming her restless pacing.

After a patient minute of waiting Celestia called out to her sister.

“Lulu dear, you are going to wear down a rut in the floor”, she commented, voice filled with concern.

Luna just grunted and continued to pace.

Celestia’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.

“It’s not about the chocolate ice cream is it?” she asked, affecting a hurt tone. Her mane drooped.

Luna’s eyes widened.

“No, no, no! Tia! You know I’m not mad abo-“ Luna began, trotting up briskly to meet her sister.

“Oh ha ha, very funny Tia”, Luna pouted, as she spotted an impish grin and mischievous sparkle in Celestia’s expression.

“Oh come now Lulu, tell me what it is that is wearing you down”, she said, however her tone betrayed a note of authority that left no doubt in Luna’s mind her sister wanted answers.

“Very well. It is this thing that keeps me from its dreams”, Luna admitted, now peering out of the balcony to view the bustling city below. The weather, was beautiful and spotless as it ever was, neither reflected nor opposed her current mood.

“Have you already-“, Celestia offered.

“Yes”, Luna shot back.

“Did you remember to check-“

“Yes”

“Are you sure-“

“Yes”

Celestia huffed, rubbing her forehead with a delicate wing.

“Maybe it is-“

“No”

“Or it could be-“

“No”

“Perhaps if we try-“

“No”

Celestia stamped her hoof in a rare display of annoyance. It came down at a soft clop, which Luna found incredibly amusing. It was difficult to get her sister angry at anything and she smirked inwardly.

“Luna if you keep shooting down my ideas before they even form, how am I supposed to help you?”

“That’s because I have thought of everything, Tia, and there has never been a creature within our borders whose dreams I have not been able to enter”, Luna explained, giving her sister a cheeky grin.

Celestia sighed but before she could put in a word edgeways. Luna continued, her eyes losing a bit of the mirth and she absently started chewing her mane again.

“Don’t you see Tia, this is part of a fundamental problem! I’ve been running verification spell, after verification spell to check my work and I saw nothing wrong. I have had ten unicorns, two griffin mages, six minotaur seers, even a magically inclined pegasus and earth pony check and recheck my spells and they all said it was fine (although I’m not sure the earth pony knew what she was doing…).

“All my calculations and theory have all pointed to only one obvious conclusion”, she paused unable to resist the theatrics. Celestia rolled her eyes but couldn’t resist leaning in and wait for the big reveal.

“Magical law is failing all over Equestria, we must make preparations to fix it”, Luna declared, wings unconsciously unfurled, as she had done a thousand years before in habit.

There was a pregnant pause before Celestia burst out laughing.

“Oh Luna, I thought you had gotten it before I did this time! But so close… ohohohooo”, she chortled, wiping away tears of laughter with a hoof.

Luna glared at her sister, not amused and waited with a brooding expression as her sister recovered from her laughing fit.

Luna tossed her head, flicking some of her ethereal mane out of her eyes.

“And what, dear Tia”, she ground out. “Do you propose is the problem?”

Celestia cleared her throat and spoke with an instructive tone, which made Luna narrow her eyes and snort.

“It is quite simple, young Luna. I have already found out what is the problem”, she said confidently.

“Nothing is wrong with magic, it is something interfering with your magic, or rather your magic that is unable to do anything with it.”

Luna only looked confused so Celestia decided to start at the beginning. She gathered her thoughts and cleared her throat.

“Long ago, I commissioned our dear friend Star Swirl to find out if there was anything magic couldn’t do. He succeeded, but only in the sense of the very many achievements that have come about, as we know today.”

Luna chortled in amusement.

“Ah Star Swirl, you two were thick as thieves back then. You never saw fit to include me in your little club! Tell me Tia, what became of good old Sombra? Will we- I mean I -be expecting a little foal in the future?”

“W-what? I-I- Luna!”

Luna cackled, dancing around the snow-white princess as Celestia resisted the urge to swipe a hoof at her beloved sister.

“You know it’s not like that”, Celestia protested but a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

“Oh alright, do go on Tia, some of us have better things to attend to than matters of the heart…”

Celestia stuck her tongue out but continued anyway.

“Well, as I was saying, Star Swirl didn’t actually find anything that could be considered impossible for magic to achieve. There were problems of immunity, resistance and such but never anything for which magic had an upper limit. If there was a problem it was spell design, concentration, magic interference or simply not enough thaumatological power to achieve the ends.

“But excited as he was for a challenge, he eventually postulated a theory in his book, Divinations Deviations and Dissent: A Discourse on Discord within the Dark Side of Magic.”

Luna rolled her eyes, “Star Swirl always loved his thesaurus and snarky alliterations, his book would not uphold to the ‘peer groups’ that our modern ponies so love nowadays.”

Celestia smirked, seeing where this was going.

“It’s peer review, Lulu and it’s a method for rigorously and scientifically discerning proper works of magic literature. Separating the wheat from the chaff, one might say.”

Luna growled, memories flashing back to ‘rejected for use of inappropriate language’, ‘rejected for outmoded methodology’ and the worst, ‘rejected for inclusion of plagiarised work from HRH Princess Luna’. 

“My- I mean -Dark Night’s works on Modern Dreamscapes and Dream Spells should have been approved! ‘Tis a veritable work of the ages!”

Celestia considered ribbing Luna a little longer but then decided for the sake of expediency to continue. If they started on Luna’s research work they would argue until her sun froze over.

“In his book, Star Swirl identified at least theoretically, that a magical null would exist. This magical null, be it an object or a being, would interact with magic in a way that we couldn't predict or expect.”

Confounded Luna replied, “But that’s impossible! How can something exist solely without magic? Would they not perish? That is like saying the Laws of Thaumodynamics wouldn't work! It would induce a catastrophe.”

Celestia dipped her head, “Be that as it may, Star Swirl also saw these problems, and after all he was the one to found many of these rules. However he solved it with a clever insight and a conjugation of the physical-planar dimensions.”

Luna’s head cleared, “Of course! The book on General Thaumativity! I must say that was one clever twist of logic.”

Luna started pacing again, as was her habit. Celestia waited for her sister to conclude the same thing she had concluded the day before.

“If that is true… then whatever is nullifying magic will eventually gain momentum and-“

“End all magic”, Celestia finished gravely.
> 12 - Laconic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The castle was an intricate maze, a labyrinth of unparalleled complexity, a milieu of elaborate- you know what who was I kidding I couldn’t blame it on the building, I was lost. You know that obscure reference of putting your hand on the left wall of a maze and following it, you would eventually reach the centre? 

I tried that but turns out, quite blatantly, that it did not work for three-dimensional designs. In my haste to find out whoever had activated the vegetable chute I had dashed back not really paying attention to how I had even gotten there.

I face-palmed quite hard at that, leaving a red handprint and watery eyes.

The more I thought about it, the more convinced that my isolation away from humanity was starting to affect my judgement. Next thing you know I would be talking to a volleyball named ‘Wilson’ and I'd be doing crazy dances, singing lullaby after lullaby to comfort me as I drifted off to sleep. 

Pfft, ha ha ha!

Soon after arriving here I felt a sort of emptiness that had pervaded my senses. It was much like after making pizza, so delicious and inviting and right after you bite into the soft crust and the smooth tomato sauce, only to find that the cheese and the toppings were missing. I soon realised that the emptiness clawing at my mind was the white noise of the missing extranet feed.

Though it had been a mess, the sheer web of humanity that was the Internet and extranet, combined to form a sort of comforting safety net. It was a place where you knew that your friends were only a keyboard, smart phone or gesture away and all you needed to know if someone was alive or not was whether or not their online status was set to available.

I felt a gnawing feeling in my gut.

I sneezed as I kicked up yet more dust in the confines of yet another dusty and long-forgotten room of the castle. Cheek smarting, eyes watering and nose running, I was getting closer and closer to looking like a kid who’d just lost their extranet privileges.

I laughed. In a way I had, hadn't I?

I have a rule against swearing excessively, so I didn’t do that, even silently. Instead I imagined that my situation was entirely due to a figure that looked vaguely like one of the horse-things in a painting nearby and imagined their reaction as I set fire to their mansion or house or whatever they lived in.

-----

Celestia shuddered. She felt a chill creep down her spine and end in a shiver that ran through her tail.

Luna looked up, with a concerned tilt of her head.

“What is it, Tia?” she queried, nuzzling her sister’s neck.

“I don’t know Lulu”, Celestia replied, her gaze far away. “I felt ill intent, like somepony walked over my grave.”

“Ah don’t be silly, Tia. Nopony thinks of you like that! You are one of the most beloved ponies in all of Equestria” Luna pushed emphatically.

Celestia nodded slowly, filled with a little confidence.

“Yes, yes of course, Lulu. Just getting old I suppose, maybe a little maudlin.”

Luna scoffed, “You aren’t young that is for certain.”

Celestia glared at her younger sibling, eyeing down the midnight blue alicorn.

“May I remind you, dear Luna, that we are not so different in age?” she stated rhetorically and in a dangerously low voice.

Luna swallowed and nodded quickly.

I better keep that weight joke follow up for tomorrow, she thought to herself, excusing herself with haste.

-----

I cast my vision at everything but recognised nothing. Frustrated, I clenched my fist and whacked it against the wall. With nothing to show for it but a painful gasp and a smarting hand, I continued to wander the hall. Stupid hard-enduring centuries-old wall.

-----

Pinkie Pie wandered over to the babbling stream where she took a delicious gulp of crystal clear water.

“Mmm Twilight! What makes this water taste so good?” she asked breathlessly, hopping with barely contained party energy.

Twilight shared in her friend’s sentiments.

“Well Pinkie, it’s actually due to-“ she paused to check the sky for the time “-that.”

Pinkie followed Twilight’s pointed hoof to a faint multi-coloured blur that grew more defined as it flowed down the river. She gasped as she witnessed a plethora of rainbow-coloured fruit bobbed past them.

“Zap Apples?!” she exclaimed, mouth watering.

“Actually, Zap Berries, or more like Weather Berries, or maybe Zap Weather Berries”, Twilight explained, snatching one from the river with an outstretched hoof. She offered the first one to Pinkie for inspection but Pinkie just ate it. She scooped another and waited for Pinkie’s reaction, grinning.

Pinkie’s face, initially enthusiastic of the prospect of eating the Zap Weather Berry, screwed up in an expression of disgust.

“Oh, yucky yuck yucky yuck yuck yuck!” she said, spitting out the remaining residues of the Zap Weather Berry and scraping her tongue with a hoof rigorously.

“Agreed. These berries taste horrible if you eat them alone but for some reason they make the surrounding water taste delicious!” scooping another hoof-full of water with her muzzle and downing it in a single gulp. Pinkie immediately followed Twilight’s example to purge the Zap Weather Berry bitterness.

Twilight continued as Pinkie drank mouthful after mouthful of water.

“I've found that the Zap Weather Berry bushes only flower and fruit during a change in weather. The phenomenon is similar to the Zap Apples, which require lightning to bloom. Since the Everfree forest changes weather by itself, it is a natural haven for these berry bushes. Imagine what kind of products you could make with these berries!”

Somewhere in Equestria, a pony bearing the cutie mark of a berry, twitched.

Pinkie was just as excited as Twilight.

“Imagine what kind of cakes we could make!” Pinkie exclaimed her tongue lolling out as she imagined all the sugary treats that would be made possible through Zap Weather Berry water.

“All right, all right, Pinkie, we'll come back for a sample for your baking later. We still need to get to the Castle of the Two Sisters and get back before evening”, Twilight told her good naturedly, setting off towards the path. Pinkie Pie took one last long look at the serene river before bouncing after Twilight.

----

Finding another dead end I blew out an annoyed breath through my teeth.

“These passages are a maze, all these passages! Are you taunting me?!” I yelled at the stone-built walls. The sound bounced hollowly down, echoing down the empty hallway. All around me were empty rooms filled with broken furniture and antique items. 

At the moment I was trying to reach the same library room I had slept in so I could orientate myself. Unfortunately, the sun had crept a little closer to the horizon and I judged that I only had perhaps four maybe five hours before sunset. By then, whoever had taken the vegetables could have left. I didn't have nearly enough time. Redoubling my efforts, I jogged up a flight of stairs and ended up at familiar place.

Leaping for joy, I ran into the courtyard and spotted the old tapestries depicting the winged unicorns. Excited, I dashed to the library and found the same secret room, safe and comforting as I had last left it. I noticed something gleaming on the floor. It was a shining silver bowl with lettuce and carrots in it. I took a bite out of a carrot I picked out of the bowl.

----

Twilight gazed impassively at the rotten decomposing mush that was her food provisions. She sighed levitating it out a small stone window. A surprised chatter from an innocent squirrel standing underneath the window prompted a quick apology, but Twilight still focused on the failure that was her spell.

“I don't get it! I spent four days researching the food preservation spell, what was wrong with it?” she said exasperated. She ran a hoof down her mane trying to think of the particular spell that would boost spell time duration.

A pink party pony was lying down on one of the cushions scattered around the small room. Pinkie pointed to Twilight’s saddlebag, pumping her eyebrows in an overly suggestive manner.

Unwilling to simply give up, Twilight scanned the cupboard for any traces of pony sustenance. The cupboard didn't stare back and just sat infuriatingly empty-like.

“Ugh, okay we'll refer to Celestia’s notes. I really thought we'd be able to find something I kept here earlier... sorry Pinkie”, Twilight apologised, slightly downcast.

“It’s okay Twilight, no biggie, I have another cupcake around here somewhere…” she muttered pulling various objects out from behind her. An anvil, two balloons, a streamer, candy and a half eaten cake were one of among many items Pinkie had. 

Twilight forced herself to have a micro-amnesia episode so as to avoid having a mental breakdown formed from the thousands of questions and queries that sprang to mind when trying to analyse Pinkie.

Activating a levitation spell, she brought out a thin sheaf of papers detailing some notes that Princess Celestia wanted Twilight to have for the expedition, the Princess suggested it was optional so Twilight took it as a challenge. Reluctantly, Twilight brought the sheaf of papers in front of her but was almost unable to begin reading. It smacked of defeat.

My Dearest Most Faithful Student Twilight Sparkle,

Enclosed are some notes regarding what to look for within the castle. Remember! If you encounter any trouble simply send me an emergency message through Spike. You will remember to take him with you?

Twilight face-hoofed.

I have details on getting food and water whilst visiting the castle should it take longer than a day and you wish to camp out in the castle. I trust your judgement on whether or not you will visit the castle or simply take up residency in one of the rooms for the night.

To that end see the other notes I have attached.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

P.S. Please ask the Cakes to send another batch.

P.S.S Luna asks if you’re done reading the article.

P.S.S.S Shining Armor sent a message, he wants to know why you have stopped writing.

P.S.S.S.S Cadance says hello!

-----

“I do not know why you let other ponies write in your letters”, Luna commented, as Celestia was writing the note.

“Oh shush you”, she replied.

-----

Twilight read the note and rolled her eyes, she mentally added a note in her internal calendar to send Shiny a letter. Sorting through the loose parchment she found the addendum on food.

2. Food

If you would like some carrots and lettuce there is a magically suspended garden that supplies these to my secret chamber. The secret chamber is activated through the Organ to the Outside-

Twilight stopped reading and switched to the first parchment containing information on the unfamiliar names that Celestia had mentioned. She glanced at Pinkie who seemed content to nap quietly, occasionally her leg or tail would twitch and she would grunt at some imaginary dream stimuli but was otherwise peaceably quiet. Grateful for her silence and Pinkie’s rare patience she continued with the letter.

1. Places and Objects of Note

Within the castle are two important chambers of note.

The first is the Organ Chamber, which contains the Organ to the Outside, a musical instrument that is fully functioning but also triggers a variety of fun contraptions around the castle, principle of these is the ‘Fast Food Delivery System’, which conveniently delivers food to the Secret Royal Chambers.

The Organ Chamber is outlined on the map and will be immediately identifiable due to the scores and musical notes that outline the red carpet leading to the old organ itself. The Organ should be fully functioning if the spells have not degraded or the Wellspring has not been depleted. Simply press the key corresponding to the trigger mechanism for the Fast food Delivery System as Marked on the diagram attached and you will receive the food momentarily.

Twilight hesitated. Wellspring? 

She shook her head, file for later.

The second is of course the Secret Royal Chambers, which contains a journal WHICH YOU ARE TO LEAVE ALON-

Twilight saw a line dashed across the page.

My apologies, that was Luna. I’m not fussed if you read it but perhaps err on the side of caution and retrieve it without reading it while I negotiate with Luna on permission for you to read it.

Puzzled, Twilight just locked the out of character behaviour into the ‘Pinkie Vault’.

The Secret Royal Chambers can be accessed by locating a table with two chairs at the opposite ends and pushing back on the chair, such that it tilts back as shown in the third diagram.

Though tempted to read more Twilight felt she had read enough. She gently nudged Pinkie.

“Pinkie, wake up”, Twilight cooed. Twilight was amused to see Pinkie briefly snort and blink with bleary eyes at her purple companion.

“Oh wassat? Cake mountain cream coating candy valley…”, she mumbled sleepily groggily getting to her hooves.

Twilight chuckled heading to the door, “Come on, I know where to go!”

Twilight turned her head to beckon Pinkie but her friend was no longer there. She heard Pinkie call to her in front.

“Come on, Twilight what are we waiting for?”

Vault. Vault. Vault, she thought furiously, joining Pinkie.
> 13 - Internship Interim
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat in the waiting room, nervously making conversation with the candidates around me. There was a good mix of people with different backgrounds, all looking just as nervous and apprehensive as me. I tried not to let my inner turmoil show.

“He-ey there”, the boy to the left to me started, his voice had cracked embarrassingly but I chose to ignore it for both our sakes. I mean who knew what could happen? I could make a fool of myself as well and it would just be petty to laugh.

“Hi”, I replied shortly, giving him a timid smile. My nerves were brewing up a storm, I focused on my breathing like my father had told me and dove right into the conversation like Emilia had trained me to.

“What are you planning to apply for?” I asked, trying to get a feel for the number of candidates.

He giggled nervously playing with the hem of his business attire. It looked a little too big on him, like he was wearing his father’s suit. My dad went out of his way to get me fitted even though it was likely that I’d grow out of it.

“Marketing and Sales, you?”

“Synch Engineering Division”, I replied and immediately heard a low whistle to my right. I glanced over to see a girl with piercing blue eyes study me more intensely. I felt suddenly uncomfortable. I turned back to my left.

“What made you want to work for Grooble?” I asked and immediately regretted it when I saw the surprise and fear flood his eyes. The poor boy’s hands started shaking as he tried to remember his rehearsed speech on why he wanted to be a part of the fastest growing technology company in the world. I felt a little sympathy for him, he probably thought I was an interviewer, we had all heard the horror stories of course, people seeded throughout the candidates to screen before an interview. Purposefully planted people to perform personality pre-tests.

“Don’t worry”, I assured him quickly. “I’m not an interviewer, personally I think it’s just a bunch of false advertising and social media mongering.”

My companion relaxed a little, dapping his suddenly sweaty brow with a handkerchief.

“Oh thank God, I thought I was already being pre-screened”, he let out, looking very much relieved.

I patted his shoulder, feeling a little guilty.

“Buck up”, I encouraged, gesturing to the others around the room. “At least you won’t have to compete with me. Friends?”

He nodded and I felt relieved, he was the third friend I had made in a while. Listening to Emilia really did pay off.

“Let me add you on Facecook”, he offered reaching into his pocket for his smart phone. I gave him my email ID. He glanced at me and noticed I didn’t bring out my phone.

“Guess you’re going home to add m-“ he frowned “-e how’d you do that?”

I smiled and lifted my hair fringe to reveal the silver circlet underneath.

“No way! A premium edition Synch?!” he exclaimed almost leaping out of his seat.

I grinned, sharing in his enthusiasm. Oh, his name was Paul, double focussing to look at his profile. I felt a tap on my shoulder.

It was the girl that was sitting to my right. Instead of saying anything she merely shook her phone and indicated to my head.

I saw a friend notification from a one ‘Angel Leich’. She must have overheard my email ID. I shrugged and added her with a smile. Seeing my accept notification she broke her cold exterior for a moment with a small grin. I was so surprised I forgot what to say. She looked completely different. Somehow happy Angel was more intimidating than cold Angel. Oh well, two friends in as many minutes, I was on a roll, Emilia would be proud.

Turning back to Paul, he just shrugged and I was about to continue the conversation but I interrupted by a call from the door.

“Will the next candidate come forward?”

Butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I lurched forward. Paul gave me a weak smile and thumbs up and Angel simply nodded at me. Even though I had only met these people for less than ten minutes I felt a small surge of confidence and paced to the door, back straighter.

The small adjoining room was a large affair. The chairs and tables that no doubt comprised the majority of the room were pushed back to the walls and a lone table for which three people in a panel sat at facing a lone wooden chair opposite. Clearly I was to sit in the chair alone and distanced from the interviewers.

The panel consisted of a greying male in his late fifties on the left who looked bored and was playing with his smart phone. He was dressed the most casually out of all the interviewers. To the right a young, clean-shaven male in what looked like his late twenties sat in business attire. In the middle a frosty, aged woman sat peering owlishly at me.

The triumvirate stared at me as I settled into the lone chair. After a moment’s awkward silence the panel seemed to defer to the aged lady in the middle.

“Good Afternoon, my name is Dr. Patricia Watkins, head of the Synch Engineering Division. Your name?” she began, briefly.

I was caught off guard by her claim more than the brevity.

“I'm sorry ma'am but I was under the impression that the gentleman over there, Dr. Martin Hernandez-“ I pointed to the right “-is the head of Synch Engineering Division.”

The panel looked at me with collective surprise. The man to the left recovered first.

“And what made you reach that conclusion?” he asked in a deep gravelly baritone.

I smiled nervously, “Well it says here you, Mr. Andrew Farrell are from the Human Resources and Management Division and that Dr. Patricia Watkins a.k.a Dr. Elizabeth Graham is actually from the Marketing and Sales Division. It says so right here.”

I lifted my fringe to show them my Synch.

Intrigued, the Dr. Martin threw out the question they were all thinking.

“It has been barely a few months since Synch has been released how did you piece all this together?”

I smiled sadly, “I had a lot of help from a friend, she was amazing with code and I simply came up with the hardware.”

Dr. Martin’s gaze hardened, “What sort of hardware?”

I brought out a brick-like object out of my pocket. It was a solid black case with only two indicator lights, ‘on’ and ‘broadcast’. They were both lit.

“This. Is a fast key decryption block, the Black Box, it uses the processor on Synch to provide the power and the computation to decrypt any key. The core of this model is that it does not require installation of a knot onto the central board and any device that has been bypassed becomes immediately ‘recruited’ into the decryption network”, I explained.

The panel sat there silent.

Andrew was the first to break the silence once again.

“Well, that seems to be all, we will contact you as soon as we reach a decision, thank you for your time”, he stated dismissing me.

I walked out of the room, feeling as if a fleet of cars had driven over me for the last ten minutes.

If they thought it was strange that my interview lasted such a short period of time, Angel and Paul didn’t comment on it. I tried to keep a positive expression but was unable to maintain it due to the weight of uncertainty that pulled at my smile. I sent them a quick message through my Synch to their Facecook.

See you outside let’s meet at this café link.

I had waited over an hour and a half for both Paul and Angel to finish their interviews, I found out that they were immediately after me and had spent about half an hour each on their own interviews. They had been immediately notified of their success. I sunk into a deeper rut, thinking of all the things I should’ve and could’ve done. I thought my strategy to wow the interviewers was way too arrogant and ambitious but Emilia had insisted I should try it. Of course, there was always next year…

I shook my head and focused on my new friends. They were talking about the Synch, the one thing that could make me instantly happy and excited.

“You know, the specs that keep being improved through the updates are just amazing”, Paul began, sipping his iced coffee.

“The ability to change the hardware through software has definitely been a strong standpoint for Synch”, I commented.

Angel glanced at the both of us and spoke quietly.

“The Quantum Matrices”, she said, taking a small bite of the sandwich she had ordered. She was less cool and unapproachable than before. She blamed it on interview nerves.

I nodded, “Changing the chip designs on the device itself, genius!”

Paul nodded excitedly. 

“This is why I’m glad to be working at Groo-“ he stopped midway as Angel shot him an ice cold stare “-I mean I-I-“ he fell silent.

My face twisted up in anguish for a second before stifling it under layers of indifference. Emilia would hate me for it but I couldn’t help it. Angel put her hand on my shoulder.

“It’s okay”, she said, giving me a pat. “You know what went wrong and you can do better next time.”

I nodded, still unable to reply.

After a moment’s awkward silence I drew out my Black Box and started explaining how it worked.

“Wow”, Angel breathed enraptured by my crowning achievement. Paul stared with laser-like intensity.

He frowned, addressing me.

“This is dangerous technology”, he warned, pointing at the box.

I sighed. 

“Synch makes so many things possible, I guess it’s up to us to make it dangerous or not…”

Angel inclined her head in agreement and we lapsed into a more comfortable silence.

A ringing sound pierced through the silence. Angel and Paul didn’t react and I realised it was coming from Synch. I frowned. I have not given anyone my Synch-connect ID. I gesticulated to the call and answered it.

Hello? I sent.

You know, these things can happen both ways…  came the reply.

Welcome to the Synch Engineering Division – Security subsection, it ended.

I was beyond elated and I grabbed both my new friends in a great big hug.

“I’m assuming you got in”, Paul grinned.

“Yes. YES. YES!” I answered ecstatically, hugging tighter. 

Angel tapped my arm.

“Need a little space… And. More. Breathing”, she gasped but still wore a look of amusement mixed with delight. I released them both and brought my cold, untouched coffee to the air.

“Here’s to being a part of Synch! Here’s to being the future!” I cheered.

> 14 - Conspiracy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Solid Evidence stuck her tongue out sympathetically during an attempt to feed the loop of wire into the small through-hole. With a flash of light from her horn and the wire, it was instantly welded to the board with a satisfying hiss. Iron File rolled his eyes, nudging his friend.

“Don’t you think you’re going a bit overboard with this?” he asked, clearly an unwilling part of the party.

Solid rolled her eyes back at him, having listened to all his excuses through the morning.

“Just run with it will you?” she snapped, moving onto the next fixture.

Iron grimaced but followed Solid anyway.

“Sometimes I think you do this to annoy everypony”, he said moving up his trot to a canter in order to keep up with the eager mare.

“No pony has stopped me.”

“That doesn't make it right.”

“Doesn't make it wrong either.”

“I- hmm. No. I'm pretty sure what you're doing is wrong.”

“It’s not wrong if you don't get caught.”

Iron sighed, face-hoofed and slumped his shoulders all at once. Somepony should really bring her around, maybe get her settled down and maybe, just maybe, she'll stop with these conspiracies.

“I don't know why you listen to this Harpie stranger. That pony is just bad news”, he advised, steering clear of a low hanging support beam.

“She’s a genius!” Solid hissed back, teeth clenched.

Iron rolled his eyes. Maybe he should just get them permanently spinning with Solid around. He heard a screech.

“Solid!” he whispered urgently, not knowing why he was whispering, there would hardly be anyone here after dark.

“Oh relax Iron, I just have to move this grating so the other transmitter can have a clear line-of-sight”, she explained, puffing a breath to knock a stubborn mane strand out of her vision.

Iron belatedly counted the felonies Solid had just committed:
1.	Breaking and Entering
2.	Destruction of Private Property
3.	Destruction of Public Property
4.	Disorderly Conduct
5.	Spying and Breaching of Privacy
6.	Grand Theft Cart-o

“Solid as I am”, Solid breathed as the final transmitter was slotted into place, Iron resisted the urge to throttle an innocent pole. 

“Okay, we can go.”

Solid clambered out of the side vent leading to the meeting room and trotted out of the maintenance shaft for the air ducts. Iron waited for her on the outside, glancing around nervously for passer-by’s. Of course, there were none at this time of night, but it always paid to be on the safe side.

Solid grinned and gave Iron flick on his backside from her tail, he blushed but clamped down on it, trying to give his best disapproving stare. The cerulean mare simply laughed and trotted to the stolen- borrowed without permission -cart that they were going to return almost straight away. He quickly amended it to Solid. Solid was going to return it. He was just following her and certainly wasn’t an accomplice. Totally innocent.

Iron wasn't really afraid of prison, it was actually quite comfortable there, but the isolation from the rest of the world really does a number on the pony conscious. There were profound repercussions to ponies that have been away from other ponies too long. Hallucinations, dream-like tranquillity, blank stares and varying degrees of schizophrenic symptoms were all recorded effects of being away from other ponies for too long. 

That was not to say there weren't ponies that could be comfortable alone, like Daring Do, but they never strayed from others for long and they were never completely comfortable going out alone. Which was why citizens of Equestria were so happy living in their little corner of the world and rarely ever ventured farther than say the neighbouring kingdoms.

“Iron. Iron! IRON!” Solid shouted, snapping Iron from his reverie. “Finally! Give me a hoof will you?”

Solid was struggling to unstick the cart from the mud that surrounded the maintenance exit. The wheel had sunken in during Solid’s foray into the shaft. Shrugging, Iron dipped his head under the yoke and pulled at the cart, hearing a ‘sluuurk’ as the wheel popped out of the ravenous mud.

They both returned the cart with ease and thankfully without being detected, but Iron got the feeling that at any moment the whole scheme would come crashing down. He flicked his tail in annoyance. Solid should really find a better hobby. Her current job as the town archivist was definitely unhelpful, fuelling her obsessions with ancient information readily accessible to link her web of theories together in a pattern of insanity.

As they made their way back to her home to ‘debrief’ as Solid put it, Iron would imagine all the normal things he’d rather be doing, like sleep or eat and then sleep or take a bath, eat and then sleep or…

“Iron!”

“Huh wa-“

“We're here, Celestia you're spacey. Come on, we need to debrief.”

Solid beckoned Iron to come in, she held the door open with her hoof, she rigged the door to close automatically so she wouldn't forget, and it also locked automatically although what Solid had that she had to keep from other ponies Iron hoped to Celestia he would never find out.

Solid led him into the ‘meeting room’, which was basically the kitchen table and sat him down at one of the chairs before drawing out a map and laying it out on the table.

“Okay so that’s the last post designed to pick up background magical resonance”, Solid said, marking out the maintenance shaft on the map. She rubbed her hooves together in delight.

"We'll definitely be able to find the elusive null now!" she babbled.

Iron put his hooves on map to keep it from curling back. Now that they had all the locations marked, the map showed a fairly comprehensive network of measurement posts at all the social hot spots for ponies in the town.

Solid whipped into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat calling over to Iron to ask him whether or not he wanted some fruit. Iron declined, determined to find some flaw in Solid’s plan so they could call the whole thing off. Of course, moral, legal or ethical grounds never really bothered Solid so it always had to be something technical.

Iron considered that at least what Solid was doing wasn’t harming anypony explicitly, if he didn’t count the violation of magical privacy… but at least there was some merit to the experiment, even if it was over a thousand years old.

Somehow, Solid had found a copy (or maybe it was the original, he couldn’t tell) of Star Swirl the Bearded’s Na Linguisto Legislatin abba Illuminata, or translated from Star Swirl’s imaginary speak, ‘the Language Code of Enlightenment’.

Predictably, Solid had returned with tea and the book, setting each down on the table before double-checking the experiment with her head stuck into the book. Iron shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Figuring he had nothing better to do, Iron decided to get a breath of fresh air.

Sauntering out the door, he turned and was greeted by the surprised faces of two royal guards who were just about to knock on the door. 

He grinned sheepishly, “Can I help you two fellas?”

The grey pegasus guard on the left cleared his throat before intoning, “In her Majesty’s name Princess Celestia of Equestria, Solid Evidence is to be placed under arrest for multiple acts of disorderly and inharmonious conduct.”

Iron heard a crash and scrambling but put a hoof up before the pegasus stallion could push past him.

“I’ll go talk to her”, he sighed, trotting back into the kitchen. He spotted Solid trying to stuff herself into a cupboard.

“What are you doing?” he asked, rubbing his forehead.

“Shh! They’ll hear me! Just distract them and eventually they’ll leave”, she croaked, trying to wedge herself in further.

“You and I both know that’s not going to work”, he replied.

“Traitor!” she jeered, wiggling further into the cupboard.

Iron trotted out and beckoned the two guards to follow. He led them to the kitchen and pointed to Solid’s pathetic excuse for a hiding spot. The two guards rolled their eyes at each other.

“Just come quietly with us ma’am and you will be treated fairly and with respect”, said the grey pegasus.

“Although we can’t guarantee dignity”, Iron heard the other guard mutter but only just loud enough for him to hear.

“Do you think I can accompany you?” Iron blurted, eyeing the two guards. “I mean, as you can see she’s a bit of a special case.”

“I’m right here you know!” she hollered from the cupboard. “I’m not coming with you! You'll never take me alive!”

“Why?” Iron shot back, irritated. The two guards shook their heads from the dialogue cliché.

“Because I’m stuck”, she moaned pitifully.

All three stallions face-hoofed.
> 15 - The Power of Like
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the Information Age, which we laugh at by the way, people used to be different.The Internet was one cohesive mass of a beast that swallowed new nodes and grew organically to encompass our daily lives. Humans would be connected to this regularly updating web of social conformity and a phenomenon, that back then we did not recognise as a problem, quickly became apparent when the Internet expansively exploded.

Facecook had a system for which people could post anything they wanted on their own space and people (friends) had the option whether or not to ‘like’ or ‘comment’ on the content.

Unfortunately, seeing the powerful motivation that drove people to get ‘likes’, companies encouraged stunts and random acts of spontaneity to advertise their products as well as provide small entertainment. Other social media websites popped up, BlueTube, Brine and Flitter, were all companies taking on the challenge of pandering to the Internet masses.

The ‘likes phenomenon’ got worse. People started performing more and more socially inappropriate or dangerous stunts all excused by the mobile camera they held. People stopped responding to emergencies and started recording people falling to the ground and having a heart attack. Instead of dialing the emergency numbers they hit the 'Upload' button. No longer were there videos of artistic merit or a display of incredible feats of human skill or ingenuity. Likes were infecting the public.

The problem was becoming so dire that the World Habits Organisation (or WHO) released a recommendation that the Internet be consolidated into a central framework. Essentially moderating the Internet, at least to the extent of human safety. After a huge debate across the nations, evidence eventually snowballed to which the leaders of the world nations could no longer deny. In a massive collaboration they all pitched in, creating a central databank that spanned borders and across the globe. The Internet became the extranet.

Of course, ‘extranet’ was not really the right word to describe the centralised Internet, the word stemmed from an internal engineer working on the central databases who referred to the collective rest of humanity as ‘part of the extranet’. The media picked it up and the usage spread across the world.

During the switchover, there was chaos, fear mongering and hysterics. The populace cried that it was the end of all freedom. Garbage, but sensationalism and money came hand-in-hand. It took a few years but eventually most accepted the extranet and it became a part of our daily lives.

The extranet made everything ordered and accessible whilst also making the founding company responsible for most of the construction, Grooble, rich and wealthy at the same time. Grooble became the leader of technology, pushing out new and creative innovations that took the world by storm.

I had been born a little bit before the transition between Internet to extranet it wasn't until I had met Emilia and gotten my Synch that I really began to take an interest in the world around me. Emilia had a dream. She talked to me about it sometimes when she wasn't teaching me how to make friends, or to do things that didn't involve studying or basic self-improvement. We went to movies, discovered recreational sports and had fun.

I changed. All for the better.

Emilia was a bundle of joy, a compact flask of righteousness and the soothing kindness of a mellow breeze. I had to say, we grew close. Though Dwayne never liked it, nor approved of it, he at least kept straight as an arrow and didn't interfere. 

I started gaining an appreciation for things I used to consider useless or superfluous. Art through the lens of knowledge was cold and stale, I looked at it through the rose-tinted glasses of my heart and it spoke to me. Picasso, Michael, the Renaissance period and literatures of fiction and worlds of fantasy lilted their songs of emotion and passion. I listened to music, I picked up some basics in something other than the piano and I browsed social media websites that had not interested me before.

I felt happy and content.

Until she died.

It wasn't anyone’s fault. Though I liked to blame it on humanity, or perhaps our hubris or our ignorance. She had just been a victim of circumstance and fate. She came in for a routine operation after discovering a worrying lump. A lipoma they said, benign but was probably wise to remove. They had estimated a 99% success without complication.

I remember receiving the call from Dwayne. I was riding home on my bike, an activity Emilia got me to try recently. He sounded distraught, hesitant and not the confident almost overbearing individual that I knew. I was one of the last people he wanted to call but he did so anyway, feeling as if he owed me at least that.

He had told me it was Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). They had tried to move her as fast as they could but it had spread like a noxious gas, diffusing and insidious. Before they could get her to hospital and on the right medication in time, she had suffered acute respiratory failure and died in the ambulance transporting her.

I had been devastated.

I didn't eat or sleep well for two weeks. I hardly felt any interest in anything anymore. I threw myself into the same pattern of indifference that Emilia so loathed. It took me a while to climb out of the dark pits of depression I had dug myself into but I told myself eventually that this would not be the person Emilia wanted me to be and this was not the person I wanted myself to be. I wanted to be like Emilia, a firm believer in justice, equality and humanity. I wanted to make a splash on the world. I wanted to say this is me! This is who I am right here!

I threw myself into the world of Synch and never looked back.

> 16 - Epona
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna peered owlishly at her bigger sister, determined to break through the icy façade of the ancient ruler.

“Oh you are impossible Tia! You have to talk to me some day!” she pouted, scuffing a hoof. The nervous habit almost evoked a smile from the elder sibling. Almost.

Silence reigned through the twilight of the day, the opportune time for conversing between the two sisters.

“’Tis only cake, dear sister! We- I can get you another one!” Luna pleaded, making puppy dog eyes. Celestia fought to maintain her angry demeanour. Unfortunately, it was a losing battle, younger siblings had honed their secret weapons for eons and it was the combined result of generations of evolution and universal law that she would not be denied. Celestia tried to gaze stonily ahead and ironically Luna’s face rose into her vision as the sun set for the day.

Today, the sun is eclipsed by the moon, she mused, trying harder to un-focus her eyes so her sister wouldn’t beguile her. Celestia knew that Luna’s most dreaded punishment was the silent treatment, as a filly she couldn’t stand not being able to talk to her bigger sister.

In order to take the pressure of Luna’s eyes off her mind she thought of a short poem.

Luna, Luna, you’re a trickster, deceiver,
Why would you betray me?
And eat what you were not the receiver for,

After seeing so many,
Whose need are plenty,
Of whom lives are petty,
But are varied, like confetti.

Wouldn’t thou who watches,
Over our foals in the day,
Deserve icing of many swatches,
That adorns treats, not hay.

Luna, Luna, you’re gaze is a labyrinth, a maze,
Why eat another treat?
When food from the kitchen, deserve praise?

Celestia tried for a fifth stanza but gave up when she rhymed herself into a corner trying to find a pair for ‘chaos’, but was unable to do anything with it.

This is why I do not like Discord, she thought nastily but instantly banished the thought from her mind. No, no, thoughts like that always lead down a strange path and she had forgiven Discord, even if she did not forget.

Her eyes refocused to see her sister with her head drooping and her mane static and flowing, disturbingly towards the floor. Celestia glanced at the guards and found their expressions to be both stoic and devoid of emotion, though she fancied their eyes had flashed in silent judgement before it returned to a blank stare at each other.

“Not you two, too!” she mewled, softly. One guard of the left couldn't resist snorting, the other one gave a swift kick and she returned to the same stance.

“Oh all right Luna I forgive you, now come here and have a hug”, she called out to her sniffling sister.

Luna pounced up to her sister wrapping her in a warm hug.

“Oh I can't believe that worke- I mean I apologise dear Tia!” Luna gushed, covertly tucking an eyedropper away.

Celestia narrowed her eyes in suspicion but decided to let it go anyway. There were more important matters to discuss. Waving a hoof, she dismissed the royal guard around her and beckoned Luna closer.

Celestia took a moment to organise her thoughts before bringing Luna up to speed.

“Though Twilight has not gotten back to me (she must have forgotten Spike again) I made some more progress of the problem of the null being.”

Luna nodded gravely. The null was a threat that had to be dealt with the sooner the better.

“We could not pin point the location of the null being, but tests of atmospheric magical fields have shown a disturbance that fits within the null model”, Celestia reported. At that, Luna sighed she had hoped that the null being would stay in the theoretical realm but unfortunately, fortune did not seem to smile upon them today.  

“Have we received a proper model of the null momentum?” Luna asked, hopeful. Her hopes were plunged into icy waters as Celestia shook her head, sighing.

“Although we do not have a proper model on how the null being will gain momentum, I have approached a few unicorns who have been working on this esoteric research. They have some interesting theories on how the null being would interact with magic. I usually would like to get Twilight’s opinion on the matter but I believe she is still busy with the quest to retrieve Star Swirl’s notes from the old library”, she explained.

Luna started pacing again as she drew up her own theories.

“Perhaps this will not be as problematic as we had first thought, Tia. I think this will widely depend on the type of magic the null being interacts with at first. If the null being interacts with a Wellspring…” Luna squeaked and shuddered.

Celestia wrapped a comforting wing around Luna.

“Now, now, there is no need to panic, I’m sure the null being wouldn’t be close to a Wellspring, after all they are incredibly rare.”

“I know, dear Tia, but I have the strangest feeling that luck is far from our side this time”, she replied.

Celestia frowned, “Worst case scenario the null being erases magic which can neither be created nor destroyed and upsets the balance of the universe causing a complete paradoxical meltdown.”

Luna waved the ridiculous idea off.

“The second-worst case scenario is the null being will continue to gain momentum at an exponential rate, sucking magic into a thaumic vortex that will eventually drain everything, even life into it.”

Luna considered it and then dismissed it as not impossible but extremely unlikely.

“The third-worst case scenario is that the null being will drain magic at a slow rate and though it may never affect us in these generations, eventually the universe will suffer a slow death.”

Luna’s mouth twitched as she considered the implications.

“We may very well be around for that, Tia”, she commented.

“Oh I very much doubt it, Lulu”, Celestia replied, drawing a nervous breath.

Luna didn’t like the scenarios as they were presented. Maybe they simply had to optimistic.

“What about the best case scenario?” she pressed, feeling a sickening foreboding well up in her stomach.

“Oh that was the best case scenario”, Celestia admitted, absently running a hoof down her mane. It was a nervous tic for Celestia that more than a thousand years ago she had forcefully rid herself of and Luna didn’t like seeing her sister so flustered. Celestia was never flustered.

“Is there not anything we could do about it?” she asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Celestia’s brow wrinkled as she tried to think of a solution.

She sounded her idea out as they came to mind.

“If we try any sort of magical attack it would just exacerbate the problem. If we try any physical attack it would just spread out the null essence and make it harder to track. If we tried to- “ she swallowed “ -kill it, then the remains would simply do the rest. If we try to burn it the same thing will happen. If we try to send it away the magic would just be nullified. If we tried to do anything, it will simply make the problem worse…”

Luna thought about the conundrum, unwilling to give up.

“We cannot just let the creature run free!” she cried, options being exhausted.

Celestia nodded, “I agree. We must keep it away from magic.”

“B-but how?” Luna asked, but Celestia had no answer.

“I do not know, dear sister but we must try”, she answered, she firmed her posture keeping her head high and wings outspread regally. She gave one last comforting hug to her sister before making for the door.

Turning back Celestia locked gazes with her sister and parted with finality. 

“We must try.”
> 17 - No Plan Survives First Contact with the Human - Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I tossed the carrot head I was munching on into the bowl and it echoed with a soft clang. The meal was satisfying and I no longer felt hungry. I had been pleasantly surprised at how crisp and juicy the vegetables had felt in my mouth. It had tasted so good there was no comparison and it didn’t need dressings or preservatives or any kind of sodium rebalancing that plagued the modern conveniences of our food.

My parents were firm believers in fresh and organic produce, going so far as to have a small garden. Most other residents avoided gardens and especially dirt and soil like the plague. Bacteria, intestinal parasites, fungi, worms, viruses and whole list of pathogens ready to destroy your life existed in the ground. Awareness of health and disease prevention came at the cost of overbearing pharmaceuticals, but that was not a battle I had thought much about. 

Though I had good fresh vegetables on our little organic farm, which tasted better than any store bought counterpart, none actually came close to the rich taste of the carrots and lettuce I had snacked on. It was just so amazing, I didn't know what to think.

I thought about exploring more of the castle but my stomach felt heavy so I just sat there, digesting.

Bored, I imagined one of the carrot heads actually growing eyes and bemoaning its pitiful existence. I laughed sadistically.

Why oh why was I born a carrot?

Bad karma, mate.

You’re cruel and heartless, you’re a monster.

No, dear carrot... I’m a predator.

Ahhhhhhh!


I suppose when you’re alone you start inventing things to keep you company. Before I had met Emilia, I never truly minded being alone and even then at least I had the constant heartbeat of humanity with me in the form of the Internet and later, the extranet. It was a profound kind of silence that pervaded my senses as I thought about how alone I was. 

I mean sure it was only my second day here (as far as I could remember) and sure I had some feeling that at least someone had lived here... even if I did get the sense they were completely bonkers, or at the very least intensely bizarre but it wasn't the same.

The situation so far had left me clothed, fed and relatively sheltered. I suppose I could have been worse off and I tried not to dwell of the ‘what ifs’. For example, if I had woken up in a desert, or in frozen tundra or perhaps in the middle of the ocean. There were definitely far worse places than an abandoned castle.

I hadn’t given much thought as to a plan on explaining my continuing absence to Grooble or how I would continue my occult research on Synchrony. My fried brain put me somewhere between Monday and Tuesday but it could easily be any day of the week due to the infuriating gap in my memories.

I had sat on the triclinium pondering this when I heard a strange sound. It sounded as if a group of people were approaching but wearing pads around their shoes. At first I was optimistic, excited even, people! Around here! Take me back! I almost took a step out to greet them but an invisible hand clutched around my heart and tugged me back.

What if they weren’t friendly, would they take kindly to strangers who have broken into their home, eaten their food and slept in their beds? Though poorly maintained, private property was still private property. I had to use my head this time, there wasn’t any sense rushing into things like I would usually.

I considered my options, carefully weighing positives against negatives.

1.	I could go out there and greet them. The risk was they could be hostile. They may not even be the owner(s) of the castle. They could be robbers or thieves of some kind. But the up side to this though, would be that were unlikely to kill me. I mean what would be the advantage of that? They could show me out, or if it were a kindly owner, they might give me some provisions, show me a map and let me be on my way. Or equally, he could have a loaded firearm or concealed weapon, perhaps a knife and accidentally or intentionally injure me.

2.	I could avoid them and hide not bothering to make contact. I wouldn’t be discovered and eventually they might go away. The risks were minimal but there would be no pay off and I’d be stuck in the same situation as I was in before.

3.	I could initially avoid them and hide, observing them. This seemed like the best choice and I found myself nodding as I thought about it. Good trade-off between benefits with a small amount of risk. I could be detected, which wouldn’t bode well. However, if they showed themselves to be friendly I could reveal myself and there would be little repercussions, or at least none that I could think of.

I decided to stick with plan number three. Spotting a small alcove, I wedged myself into a crevice, which covered my body in relation to the entrance. To my right, a drape hung in surprisingly good condition. It was obscuring my arm but I pulled it over to cover the rest of my frame. Anybody looking in my general direction would have to have eagle eyes to spot me, or at least recognise that there happened to be shoes poking out from beneath the curtain.

Satisfied, I waited, hoping that the people outside were going to visit this chamber, if they skipped past it, that would just be embarrassing. 

-----

*GAAAAAAASP*

Twilight was in a catatonic shock of amazement. Books were everywhere. Books, books, BOOKS! Twilight jolted from stock-still to lightning fast. She flittered around the open roof library breathing in the musty smell of long-forgotten tomes.

Pinkie was equally excited and shared her sentiments, though she wasn’t with Twilight physically, she had found the Organ to the Outside and was playing it merrily. Around the castle, various functioning trap doors spun around and moved to the eclectic beat that Pinkie mashed up on the organ. She made sure to include two presses of the button that triggered the Fast Food Delivery System. She faced Twilight’s general direction and gave her a conspirator’s wink.

Too busy decoding ancient Equestrian, Twilight shuffled and levitated book after paperback after manuscript after document onto a rough wooden table. She grinned in a face-splitting display of utter heavenly happiness. The books were in perfect condition even left in the decrepit library for so long.

Twilight detected a number of bookkeeping spells, ranging from mildew and frost protection to anti-wear and tear. All of the spells were high class with the power source set in a small gem of high purity right in the centre of many of the hardcovers.

Twilight positively squealed in excitement, hugging a particularly rare tome on the standards of magical resistivity.

Magical Resonance and Applications! The Guide to Mastering Ley-Line Induced Spells! Equipedium on the Thaumic Properties of Dragon Blood!

All these rare and never-before seen books had been lying in this library for centuries… And Twilight Sparkle would be one of the first people to do so! This was fan-tas-tic!

-----

I had heard what sounded like a gasp of excitement. It sounded like someone had won the lottery or found out that they were in heaven. The scurrying of footsteps that accompanied the gasp confirmed my suspicions. Thumps echoed down into the chamber as I heard the sound of… piling books? Were these people serious? They were going to read here?

Apparently another group of people had the same idea and spoke out to the excited bibliophile.

“Hey Twilight!” I heard a high-pitched, girlish voice call out. She sounded insanely young, or insanely hyper. I couldn’t tell.

“What’cha doin’?” she continued, I heard a mature voice reply.

“Oh Pinkie. I was just doing some research, look at all these books!” Twilight exclaimed and I heard a clatter. Probably some books that fell over, no doubt the high pile that ‘Twilight’ had stacked.

I frowned, I had definitely heard more footsteps, and maybe the others were just silent people. Oh well, two out of four being young girls was still good and giving each other nicknames really brought down the risk level. I figured they weren’t owners of the castle or even the staff, obviously. The owner or the staff wouldn’t get this excited over their own belongings, would they?

-----

Princess Celestia entered Princess Luna’s room, finding her sister sleeping in her bed. She had entered quietly to make sure that her sibling did not wake up. Luna had a soft, barely perceptible breathing, which wouldn’t even qualify as Fluttershy’s snore. Cradled in her hoof was a small white tiger with midnight blue stripes, memorabilia that Luna simply refused to leave behind at the old castle, no matter how Celestia had protested.

“Ah the things you would do for that doll”, she chuckled softly. Luna had a small private grin plastered on her face, dreaming of things only the mistress of dreams could dream.

Celestia sighed softly, almost imperceptibly. She cast her thoughts back remembering the series of odd circumstances that had granted Luna that doll. It had been from far happier times and if not happier, blissful at least in their ignorance. It had been an amusing story for sure, but perhaps it would be something to be recanted (recantered?) later.

-----

“That sounds like a super duper idea, Twilight buuuuuuut I don’t think we have time for that”, Pinkie replied, sitting on her rump and pointing to the sun.

Twilight gauged the position.

“Only a couple hours left before sun-down and it’ll take some time to get back”, Twilight muttered. She felt conflicted, should she stay here tonight or go back home? It all depended on if she could find the journal that Celestia had mentioned and the original book she was tasked to seek out, Interdimensional Intricacies and Incidents – Insight into Imaginative, Innovative and Iconic Spells, of course written by Star Swirl.

Celestia mentioned that she had left the book here on the occasion that she had visited the castle last. Somehow she had forgotten to retrieve it when she left and was, since then, too busy to go and fetch it. Sending other ponies had been considered but Celestia would not risk anypony’s life just to retrieve a dusty old tome.

It seemed that now was an urgent time to fetch the book and Celestia mentioned that she had last remembered placing it fairly near the Secret Royal Chambers. She wondered what could keep the eternal Princess so busy.

-----

“You are up quite early, Lulu”, Celestia remarked as Luna trotted into the dining room and sat next to her at table. Celestia had been casually sipping tea. She smirked as she pretended to sip at the tea but then frowned when the maid responsible for pouring her tea merely twitched.

“If you keep doing that, dear Tia, of course they would ‘cotton on’ so to speak”, Luna commented, shooting an exasperated expression at Celestia. Celestia sighed, disappointed.

That dear sister of mine really does have a sadistic habit, she thought before ordering some pastries.

“Pastries, for breakfast?” Celestia said with surprise.

“Oh surely not, dear Tia. It is the time for dinner and I must simply have dessert”, Luna defended, putting an offended hoof on her chest.

“Without the main course?” Celestia pressed, peering with slitted eyes at Luna.

“I’m on a diet”, Luna retorted, then before she could take it back. “Something you have never heard of for sure.”

Celestia choked on her tea but Luna was faster and had teleported out of the room in an instant.

The servant bearing Luna’s pastries yelped in surprise as the solar diarch ferociously consumed Luna’s treats.

Wait. Celestia thought, her suspicions aroused. The sweets were sweeter than normal.

She heard the disconcerting sound of wings beating. The beats were almost silent as a whisper, as if the flyer had trained in the art of stalking through the night. Her suspicions crystallised as she confirmed that the cheeky alicorn of her sister had indeed teleported but not out of the room. She looked up to see Luna grinning wildly and holding a sign, which read:

Extra sugar and cream for your Royal Highness.

Luna teleported, this time for real.

Celestia’s expression contorted into equal parts flummox and pure murderous rage.

Around the castle, nobles, petitioners, ambassadors and guards heard the distraught yell of the Princess of the Sun.

“LUNAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Luna sat on the roof of her tower and chuckled.

“T’was worth every second!” she giggled, holding her sides in pain.

-----

Twilight shook her head. They must be important princess duties.

“Twilight”, Pinkie called, shaking Twilight out of her thoughts. She pointed a hoof at an entranceway between two bookshelves.

“What’s that?” she asked, clearly enthusiastic at the prospect of visiting the Secret Royal Chambers.

“It shouldn’t be open that’s what. Maybe the Organ triggered the entrance?” Twilight mused as she trotted past the tilted chair.

“Wow, this is simply amazing, the Royal Chambers are really something even after all these years”, Twilight pronounced, as she observed the stain glass windows and the royal drapes.

“Yuperoonie!” Pinkie Pie replied, bouncing around in the small chamber.

They both froze when a gigantic sneeze echoed violently around the small room. It was then Twilight noticed that on the floor was a bowl filled with leftover vegetables.

They were not alone.

-----

I heard the mumbling and muttering of the approaching people. I couldn’t sneak a peek as there were no gaps or holes in the curtain and peering over it would be completely obvious. I heard the strange conversation that sprouted around them.

Apparently, this used to be a royal castle. Which was strange since there were no castle or even royalty in my country, unless you counted visits from royalty from time to time. Where the heck was I? It hit me, why didn’t I realise it before? The vegetation and forestry surrounding the castle were definitely not native to my country. Of course I wasn’t in my country, it was so blaringly clear when I thought about it.

But how did I end up here? Away from everybody else? So many questions pounded within the confines of my head, aching for answers. I swallowed, which sounded excessively loud to me. Fortunately the participants on the other side of the curtain didn’t hear me. Unfortunately dust crept into my nose making my eyes water and brought the inevitable onset of a sneeze.

To be fair I struggled bravely to stop the sneeze from blurting out, but I could only do so much before the inevitable came. Holding my nose, counting to ten, rubbing furiously at my nose and pinching the cartilage did nothing to alleviate the rising reflex. If anything, trying to hold it in was only making it worse.

I was never so unhappy to be proven right.

A thunderous boom that was my sneeze roared around the room in an Earth-shattering announcement of my presence. I face-palmed and almost cursed, but refrained from doing so, just barely. Sighing, I knew the jig was up and I waited behind the curtain for the inevitable reveal.

I don’t know what I expected. Angry hands, expressions ranging from scared to surprised to sympathetic or something. Instead of that, my expectations took a massive nosedive into a hot flaming lava river and melted away as a deep pink glow enveloped the curtain and it was whisked away.

I found myself staring at… I don’t even know what.

One of the creatures was a deep purple, like lavender. Her mane was streaked with varying shades of dark navy to dark purple, with pink highlights. Speaking of pink, the other creature was a fuzzy pink mess, with her poofy mane a hot pink, whilst the rest of her was a light pink. They both stared at me with deep lilac and sky blue eyes coupled with shocked expressions respectively.

I stood there gaping at them as well. We stood, facing each other for a comically long moment. The silence was starting to turn awkward.

“So… you don’t happen to know who Twilight and Pinkie are... Do you?” I asked, not knowing why I asked.

The purple one answered hesitantly.

“T-that w-would be me, I’m Twilight”, she replied, still in shock. Oh God, they talk.

The pink one recovered exceedingly fast bouncing up to my face and introducing herself.

“I’m Pinkie Pie! How do you know our names? Where are you from? What are you? Why were you hiding in that curtain? Do you like parties?” she quick-fired out of her… muzzle.

“I- err nerk”, I answered unintelligibly. I glanced at Twilight she still had the same look, I knew that feeling, and I was feeling it right now.

“I’m real and I’m starting to think I shouldn’t be around here”, I answered, starting to creep to the archway framing the entrance/exit. Twilight snapped out of it and marched, or rather trotted in front of me, blocking my exit.

“Hoooooooold it right there, mister!” she barked, holding her hoof out. I guess that pose was similar to how a human would hold out their hand in a classic stop sign. I paused, not really willing to pick a fight with sapient beings that I was no doubt the first contact for humans. I wasn’t even the best example human had to offer. What was mission control thinking? I apologised to the small space my current rational part of the brain resided in. My thoughts were hysterical and scrambled beyond reason. Pfft.

“Well I never!” I replied affecting an offended tone. “I’m offended that you would call me a mister.”

Twilight was mollified, “I’m sorry! Uh, ma’am?”

I took the opportunity to try and squeeze past her but she side-hoofed neatly to prevent me from reaching the door.

“Oh come on!” I growled, frowning.

Pinkie, the excitable one was babbling about a party or something so I just ignored her, she seemed harmless. The lavender one with, oh my, a horn on her head (was she supposed to be a unicorn?) seemed like a tougher obstacle. 

Twilight’s eyes hardened.

“You’re going to give us some answers right now and they better be honest!” she yapped, which would be intimidating if I didn’t already stand at about double her height.

I backed up against the triclinium as Twilight advanced upon me. I felt around for anything I could use as a weapon or at least as a distraction. My fingers found something hard and I instantly recognised it.

“Trade!” I shouted suddenly and Twilight paused uncertainly.

“What?” she queried confused.

“This”, I said holding out the book. “For my freedom.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, yes, yes! Deal”, she said, grabbing the book out of my hands with her mouth. Before she could regret her decision I slipped out of the chamber.

Outside I tried to force my heart to stop beating like a maddened DJ at a techno club.

“Now what?” I muttered, rubbing my forehead.

> 18 - No Plan Survives First Contact with the Human - Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After taking no more than three steps outside the chamber I hear a shout behind me.

“WAIT!” I heard accompanied by the clatter of… hooves? Sorry, I was still trying to get used to the idea that there were talking, uhm horses. Actually I didn’t know what they were. Their colours were an absolute mystery, their manner was strange but not alien (except I wasn't too sure about the pink one) but they were both just... just... not human!

Was I dreaming? Was this reality? What were these incomprehensible beings?

I shook my head doggedly. No! This was the quantum age! We were the agents of logic and reason!

An icy tendril snaked down my spine as I considered a possibility that I might be going insane from isolation. First it was the talking carrot and now I had made the leap to creating imaginary friends. I paused. They had looked vaguely familiar…

I smacked my forehead. Of course! The paintings down the halls. Hah! This proves it, I was crazy and it was just a reconstruction of my mind.

I turned back and thought that since they were to be my companions for the duration of the journey, there was no reason I shouldn’t be civil. I cackled. Nah, time to have fun.

Twilight rounded the corner almost smacking straight into me.

“Oh, I do apologise”, I gushed meekly (though maybe a bit overdramatic?). 

Twilight blinked and reflexively replied, “Oh, that would be my fault. I didn’t expect you to actually stop.”

I turned up the ‘I’m offended’ attitude, indignantly puffing my chest.

Twilight glanced nervously at Pinkie who had just bounced around the corner to meet up with Twilight.

“Ooh Twilight! He- I mean –She’s still here!” she babbled, eyeing me up and down.

Twilight was about to say something before Pinkie interjected.

“You should come with us back into town!” she declared, jumping up on to the table to meet me in the eye. 

Oh God, I was staring into the Abyss. And if you stare into the Abyss long enough... it stares back.

I smiled weakly. My own imaginations couldn’t hurt me, could they?

Flashes of A Beautiful Mind, a certain Tyler Durden and a crazy Swedish horror film went through my mind. Emilia had a broad taste, that’s all I will say about that. I shuddered, movie night.

It occurred to me that I had not responded to Pinkie’s request. Pinkie is pink, I was still trying to get used to that. No, no. Distractions, distractions. I had let an uncomfortable pause lapse between us.

I smiled weakly.

“S-sure? No, I mean sure!” I stated emphatically. I mean if I stayed at a castle dreaming up of random imaginary friends, I could get into serious trouble, maybe I should just follow my subconscious in the form of these creatures.

My argument for leaving weakened when I considered what I would be abandoning.

“W-wait! I can’t go. There’s food and water here. Shelter too” I explained, awkwardly not knowing why I was getting so worked up about a couple of miniature caricatures of horses.

Pinkie pretended to think about that for a while before knocking a hoof to her head, I winced as I heard an audible thump.

“We have all of that, silly!” she exclaimed bouncing up and down and occasionally left to right, which caused me to have logical seizure.

I turned back to the saner one.

“Is she always like this?” I asked, massaging my temples. I don’t know why I’m asking a figure of my imagination this question. It was kind of like asking yourself, ‘are you crazy’?

Twilight absently shook her head then got back onto track from her last line of thought.

“Pinkie, we can’t take him-or-her back with us”, she started. Pinkie immediately settled down, throwing a sad face.

“Why not?” she moaned pitifully. Even I fought the urge of an oncoming heart attack.

Twilight was a little more battle hardened then that.

“We need to find out more about hi- erk –her, what gender are you anyway?” she asked, while Pinkie muttered about getting an ‘apple bloom’ to do the job. “I have the sneaking suspicion you were lying to us back there.”

“Hey you know, people do crazy things when they meet talking horses”, I replied, albeit a little too smugly.

“We’re not horses. We’re ponies!” Twilight corrected, a wrinkled brow flashing across her face.

“But you’re a unicorn, how does that work?” I shot back.

“What?” Twilight asked, completely baffled.

“I mean if you’re a unicorn, you can’t be a pony”, I stated as I thought, quite logically.

“T-th-that has got to be the most blatantly tribalist thing I’ve ever heard somepony say”, Twilight gaped. Even Pinkie had a hoof over her mouth.

“Oh”, I said. “I didn’t realise that was a cultural no-no.”

They both looked at me critically. Twilight broke the awkward silence that seemed to happen every minute or so that I hung out with these ponies.

“Okaaay, I’m going to choose not to be offended if you tell us what you are”, she offered, wiping her hoof across her face in a decidedly human-like gesture. I didn’t know my conscious was that easy to offend.

“I am an engineer”, I proclaimed. Twilight smacked her forehead in a suspiciously human-like gesture of a face-palm although in this case it was more like a face-hoof.

“I don’t believe it”, she muttered, before addressing me again.

“Not your profession”, she ground out. “Your species.”

I decided a little role reversal was in order.

“What has my species got to do with my profession? That’s specieist!” I defended mockingly.

“It’s speciesism and we just want to know your species!” Twilight replied, the last word coming out at a shout.

Pinkie put a calming hoof on Twilight.

“But you already know”, I told her in a mysterious deep voice.

“What?” Twilight repeated for the umpteenth time.

“You’re my subconscious so therefore you know everything I know”, I explained. Ha! I was beating my own subconscious. Wait, that’s never a good thing.

Twilight seemed to think so as well.

“I don’t know why we are wasting our time with a crazy pony, you’re clearly insane and you need some help”, she growled, heading for the exit. I swallowed, unexpectedly that comment had hurt me, even though I knew it was only myself speaking. Was I that far gone? 

Pinkie cheerfully yanked back on Twilight’s tail. I winced, that would have hurt. Though Twilight didn’t seem to show any outside discomfort. Wouldn’t that hurt the spine? My subconscious was weird. Oh well logic didn’t apply la la la!

Pinkie whispered something to Twilight. Twilight argued back in an angry whisper. Pinkie folded her arms and shook her head with a disappointed look on her face. She said a few words, to which Twilight looked shocked at for a moment before drooping her head and nodding reluctantly.

Twilight made her way back to me, sighing.

“I suppose you can come back with us.”

I frowned, thinking about my right to stay in this castle.

“This castle doesn’t belong to you, you can’t stay here”, she reasoned before I could even say anything. Well that was true, what I was doing was technically illegal and a guilty feeling stabbed through my heart.

I felt a rising onset of mischief course through my frame.

“Make me!” I yelled as I gave Twilight’s flank a light slap. I leapt to the side, expecting all hell to break loose and shot for the library’s exit archway, disappearing from their view in less than ten seconds flat.

-----
Twilight stood frozen for a full five seconds before tilted her head disturbingly past the point of comfortable flexibility to look at Pinkie.

A dangerous glint in Twilight’s eye set even Pinkie’s sense tingling. Literally. She was feeling knee pinchy.

Something scary is about to happen!

Twilight leaned close to her friend, an aura of deadly calm and measured mayhem leaked from the normally rational, normally sane unicorn. This was no normal circumstance, though. This was war.

“You saw that Pinkie”, it wasn’t a question.

Pinkie nodded cautiously anyway.

“Do you want to play a game of t-ag?” Twilight asked, voice cracking on the last word.

Pinkie nodded, but time slower and much more reluctantly.

“Then. Let’s get to it!” Twilight belted out, stretching to a full gallop towards the open archway.

Pinkie made a mental note to never slap her friend’s flank.

-----

Around halfway to the door of the castle I realised how stupid my plan to run away from my figments of my imagination was. I looked at my hand. That slap had felt solid. It felt real. I asked myself again, how far was I gone? Her flank was soft…

I shook my head of disturbing thoughts.

I sighed. I better follow my figments of my imagination before I got into trouble with the real authorities. I turned back to see the livid visage of Twilight, the completely enraged unicorn. Following close behind was Pinkie, the reluctantly, but happily, tagging along pony.

I had a few options-

You know what? Scratch that. 

Run! RUN! RUN!

I glanced back at the ancient castle, appreciating the view one last time as I crossed the rickety bridge. I thought about how majestic and sombre the castle had looked, truly a work of art, despite the otherwise flamboyant creator. I drank in the details like it was the last time I would ever live. I don't know why I thought this, I could always return, right? What could happen?

Nah, that would just be tempting fate.
> 19 - Mission Improbable
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel, Paul and I kept in touch, trading the odd message here and there through Facecook messages or more rarely, on simple outings exploring the nightlife of the city. The regular replies of Paul contrasted his shy demeanour in real life. Online, he was blunt, daring and full of attitude. He was a lovable character with a warm outlook and steady core ideals and values that many of his friends admired.

Though his online personality was vastly different compared to his real life persona, he still maintained that quiet edge of moral ideals through his actions. He never ate meat, he was a vegetarian, and he didn’t subscribe to the dramas and media circus that made up our news networks and feeds. He was a young man of principles.

I often laughed at his daily anecdotes of life in the marketing offices of Grooble. He quickly found a group of interns that shared in his passion for Synch and they formed a strong clique. He told us he missed us from time to time but we told him not to worry about it, we see each other regularly anyway.

Angel and I saw each other on a constant basis. We were both intensely focused on the development of innovative ideas around Synch. Synch meanwhile, quickly outstripped the competition and smart phones were almost being phased out. I marvelled at how fast everything seemed to move and I hoped that in part at least, we had made a contribution.

Whilst I had dappled in the hardware, Angel was a programming genius. At first I had grudgingly acknowledged Angel’s skills, which vastly outstripped both the late Emilia’s own and mine. Later I found a synergy with her that matched no other. Together, we streamlined code, stripped down hardware, increased features and modified the quantum cores to push Synch to greater and greater heights. To say that we were competing against the other interns was an understatement. The competition simply didn't exist.

It was not long after, that things took a turn for the worse.

Synchrony appeared on selected devices on the 1st of February, 2039. I suppose it was lucky that they caught me before I had activated Synchrony on my Synch. Only a few days later after chatting on the anonymous board about Synchrony, I was called into the supervisor’s office.

“We need to talk”, he began as I nervously closed the door behind me. I froze for a microsecond, my expression matching the classic deer-in-the-headlights. Those four words were the ending phrase for any relationship. Was I being fired? What did I do wrong? He dismissed my concerns with a wave of his hand.

“Listen, you’ve been working for us for only a few weeks now and I must say I’m beyond impressed. You are astounding. You've exceeded expectations where none of the others have stepped up to.”

I sagged with relief but found it hard to relax all the way, my heart still beat like a drum, tapping out a fast speed-metal tune. I found the initiative to cut to the heart of the matter.

“S-so why was I called in?” I asked trying to sound casual, but it came out as more of a squeak.

For those of you who didn’t know my supervisor, Dmitri Ippolit was a huge Russian giant of a man. Most interns were terrified of the guy and rightly so. His dark brown, almost black hair was always slicked back. His beard, though trimmed, gave him a grizzled appearance. He did not look so much a man but a bear wearing civilised clothes and sipping strong black coffee.

He was gruff but usually fair. Though he would brook no argument from any task assigned (the interns usually referred to him ‘Dmitri Ippolit the Eviscerator, you disobey you DIE’), he gave fair allowance to those who had extenuating circumstances and if you tried hard enough, it was usually good enough for him. 

I never ran into his ire as I was normally compliant as dough and both passionate and competent enough. On the rare occasion I would tell him ‘no’ when he proposed some ridiculous idea, I would tell him of the engineering problems associated with the impossibilities of trying to assemble or incorporate some sort of superfluoous functionality decided by the higher ups. Though he had stripped my gears the first time I did that in front of the interns, he had later privately apologised to me and simply told me it was just a matter of keeping appearances. He took on board most of my consultation.

We came to a mutual arrangement and we grew to trust each other within the short three weeks I had so far interned. Honestly, I liked the guy, he was straightforward and not complicated at all and he had a rare friendly side when we talked about other things apart from work.

The other interns gave me a wide berth as I usually hung out with the two scariest people in all of Grooble (excepting the head of Marketing, of course).

Angel was like the Ice Queen of Fairies, giving people who unwisely had drifted close an intense, overwhelming glare. Anyone who was brave enough to try to talk to her usually seized up as she started diving into the technical details of Synch. Though my programming side was weak, our combined knowledge supported each other. I was pleasantly surprised at the moments for where I could fill gaps in her knowledge and became a appreciative admirer when she could fill mine.

Her messages from Facecook were almost always amusing. Contrasting her typical attitude, like Paul, she sent uncharacteristic messages across, often with cute emoticons or expressive, florid prose that was absent in her everyday speech.

Dmitri whipped me back to the present with an arm around my shoulder, leading me to the door.

“We have a situation”, he simply stated, guiding me outside.

“What is going on?” I inquired, trying to glean some information. Dmitri was only silent as he lead me towards the elevator. I instinctively reached for my ID badge but he held his hand out, giving his head a small shake.

“Where we’re going, you won’t need that”, he explained, tapping his own ID badge to side. It was then I noticed that the badge he had tapped was not his usual grey RFID tag but rather a solid red one marked, ‘authorised personnel only’.

The elevator open and closed, the doors clicking together with a quiet snick as we entered and were inside.

The elevator was ridden in uncomfortable silence and I got the feeling that Dmitri was not going to tell me anything until we had reached our destination. I tried to take deep breaths. Focusing on meditative techniques my father had taught me to ease the tension I was feeling, I felt my breathing steady and my posture loosen up slightly.

Dmitri looked at me in approval. Before either of us could say anything the elevator hissed open and I was greeted with a shocking sight.

Rows upon rows of beds were lined up on either side of us. The sound of electrocardiogram monitors working out of synch filled the background with a constant but irregular noise. Military personnel were patrolling regularly and some stood at attention, eyeing my warily. Each of them sported a mean-looking rifle and I quickly averted my gaze as we strode past them.

Each bed was filled, with hundreds of beds laid as far as I could make out with my eyes.

“Who are these people?” I whispered, though there had been no need to. I felt the distinct hand of unease settle on my back and I instinctively hunched my shoulders in discomfort.

“These are the people hit by Ultimate Zero Day, otherwise known as Synchrony”, he commented quietly. “Over half a million people ran the program when it showed up again but this time only half of them have woken up.”

At first surprised, I tried to put that into scale, that was roughly one in every hundred people within this country and almost 1 % of all Synch users. Though the overall statistics were small, the sheer amount of people in raw numbers left me staggered.

I felt sick.

Over a quarter of a million people sleeping.

I felt the inexorable pull of the next question that hung in the air, heavy. 

“What about the others?”

Dmitri gave a soft shake of his head, unwilling to look into my eyes.

“Around a quarter of the woken ones have died immediately of heart failure. They are on their way to their families. Half of the remaining woke up brain dead. We are currently keeping them on life support. The rest are… happy like the first round victims of Ultimate Zero Day”, he reported, laying a hand on my shoulder.

“Oh my- Oh my- Ooooh”, I moaned as I sank to my knees. 

I felt like vomiting, what kind of demented individual would do this?

“How did I not know of this? How can anyone not know of this?”

Dmitri grunted as he considered whether or not I should be told. He scratched his chin, then nodded and launched into the meat of the matter.

“The media has been put on an international do-not-release notification for one week as favour to get all these individuals into Grooble facilities. What you see here are only the cases within our nation. The Grooble headquarters house around fifty thousand alone.”

Dmitri lifted my chin, giving me a hard gaze.

“Listen son, the reason I am showing you this is because I want you to fully understand the reasons you work for Grooble. If you wanted fame, fortune or the like you have no place working here. What we want is individuals who want to grasp the future, people like you and people like your friend, Angel.”

He gestured to the beds around him.

“These people will have no future unless something is done to stop the Ultimate Zero Day programmer. That is where you come in”, he spoke reaffirming his magnetic gaze locking with my own. I could feel the weight of his gaze bearing down the severity of the topic.

“You are the future of Synch. Remember that. What I’m about to offer you is something you can freely accept or deny. It will not impact your career. You can either work here to beat Synchrony or you can transfer into the Research and Development subsection.”

“Will I be working with anyone? I’m not doing this on my own am I?” I shot out quickly, panicking.

Dmitri chuckled, “You will have Angel with you…”

I tensed up.

“And about a few hundred scientists, programmers and engineers working with you”, he finished, cracking a rare smile. I gave a weak one back.

“I could probably do it with just Angel”, I replied which earned a laugh from both of us but it was cut short by the suppressive emptiness of the underground facility.

I sighed but channelled pure determination as I nodded to Dmitri.

“I will help these people. By everything I stand for, I will”, I said firmly.

“Good man!” Dmitri replied slapping me on the back, then he lead me back to the elevator.

I had promised Emilia, after all.
> 20 - Indentured Servitude
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Solid looked at me, I looked at Twilight, Twilight looked at Iron, Iron stared at Pinkie and Pinkie looked back at me. The guards looked bored. We were all in chains. I hated life.

Chains rattling, I turned to Twilight and poked her muzzle.

“This is all your fault you know”, I said smugly.

Twilight fumed but said nothing, opting not to tempt fate into repeating the same sequence of events that had lead to this particular scenario. I felt a distinct sense of satisfaction that I had bested Twilight, even though we had both ended up in the same situation.

I addressed my more stimulating companions.

“So”, I drawled. “What do you believe our chances of surviving this are?”

Pinkie decided to answer.

“It’s going to be absolutely fantastic! Nothing could go wrong. We haven't run out of options yet. At least the weather is fine. What’s the worst that could happen?” she gabbled in quick succession.

I grinned at Pinkie, picking up on the dark humour.

“How could this day be anymore perfect?” I proclaimed, sweeping my arms up in a grandiose gesture.

Solid giggled until a sharp glance from Iron and the two guards quieted the mare down.

“What?” she asked plaintively.

Iron pointed a hoof at her.

“This is all your fault you know”, he growled.

“I- Yo- Y-yeah”, she admitted, bowing her head in shame.

“Help will come”, one of the guards said stoically, breaking the awkward silence that had followed the interplay between Iron and Solid.

Let’s back up a bit.

-----

I was rushing down the beaten path, letting my instincts guide my feet. I would have looked back but I didn't want a heart attack. Besides, the overwhelming presence was enough motivation to redouble my efforts to get away. Ahead, I heard the delicious river but I shot past it, giving it a regretful glimpse as I tore down the path. 

Behind me I heard the steady hoof beats of Twilight and Pinkie (who shall henceforth in my mind be called 'Twinkie' for the convenience of any instant that they act as a single unit). From the sound of it, I could hear their hoof-steps gradually increasing in volume, becoming louder and louder.

I swallowed, seems like I couldn't outrun Twinkie that easily.

It was then I had a brilliant idea and I mentally patted myself on the back.

-----

Twilight glared at the figure she was gaining on. She could almost feel the quarry’s fear and it excited her. When she got her hoofs on him, she’ll make him do all of Spike’s chores and any errands she thought would be appropriate for a day, no a week! Maybe it should be a month. Her flank still smarted from the slap. Her expression darkened. Yes, a year would be more appropriate.

She laughed maniacally as Pinkie shot her friend a concerned glance.

-----

I spotted it in the distance and sighing in relief I bee-lined towards it, determined to escape from the purple menace. I spared a glance back but her terrifying countenance forced my vision back on track, quick smart.

Leaping to my favourite safety tree, I clambered onto the first branch and skilfully swung up onto the branch above. It sagged from my weight but held. I eventually made it to my original resting spot, noting off to the side that things have come full circle since I had woken up in this strange new land.

I looked down below and caught bits of conversation. I heard something about wishing they had a ‘rainbow’ or ‘wings’. I laughed. Everybody wants to have wings, who wouldn’t?  I goaded Twilight by doing an impromptu dance that nearly made me fall. She steadily grew redder and redder as I made a few more taunting gestures.

Suddenly, with a flash she disappeared from the ground and reappeared next to me.

Gasping I could feel my subconscious snigger at me. No fair, you can't just defy physics just to get back at me. I shrugged. At least Twilight didn't look quite so nearly at home in a tree as I did.

-----

Twilight saw that creature shrug and grin conceitedly at her. Her hooves shakily tried to maintain a precarious balance on the relatively thin branch. The branch itself was merely a hoof and a half wide and the drop was disconcertingly high.

Twilight gulped, she had felt so clever when she decided to teleport up to the branch but now she didn't feel so smart.

The creature was beginning a new taunting display, which set Twilight’s teeth on edge.

Okay then, she thought nastily. He-She Ugh! It asked for it.

Twilight had the luxury of spotting the expression of horror that stuck to the creature’s face as she tackled him full on and activated her teleportation spell.

She grinned for a second, before feeling a nauseating rip. It was not the kind you feel when Rarity’s dress rips and you know you will be in for a long lecture. It was more the kind of rip you feel when your lungs, liver or other vital organ failed. The kind of rip that you hear from a rope that secured you to a cliff and prevented a fall into a never-ending abyss. The kind of rip that sundered space and time. That kind of rip.

Pinkie desperately leapt at the expanding black space without a second thought, which was rare for her because she actually thought quite deeply before she tried anything. She guessed it was that kind of life or death situation.

-----

Solid Evidence peered out at the moving darkness around her. She wasn't chained like a prisoner but they kept a firm eye on her as she sat at the back of the chariot, looking glum. Iron had a bored expression and she could almost feel the palatable ‘I told you so’ emanate from his royally peeved posture.

Solid sighed and picked at a loose nail holding one of the floorboards of the chariot together. Why did everything bad have to happen to her? She was an outstanding citizen of Equestria. 

If not legally at least ethically, if not ethically at least maturely, if not maturely, responsibly... and so on. 

The nail came loose with a small plink. At least there was one small victory to be had tonight.

The chariot gave a sharp groan.

Or not.

Screaming, both Iron and Solid tried grabbing anything solid as the chariot literally fell apart around them. Panicking, the guards had unexpectedly shot forward over the lost weight and wheeled around to try and catch the two falling and flailing ponies.

Solid managed to get a couple of good unintentional hits in before the grey pegasus guard could wrap his hooves around her. He quickly calculated their velocity, they were losing altitude, despite the strain of his wings.

This mare could stand to lose a few, he thought snarkily.

His companion had managed to catch Iron but at near terminal velocity, they were both going to crash into the ground quite hard. Below them were hard packed dirt and rocks and the guard groaned as he quickly calculated the likelihood of their survival. The numbers were not good at all.

Fortunately for them a tree materialised in front of them and they crashed into two occupants on one of the higher branches. The group crashed through a thinner branch and fell the remaining three metres before rolling to a stop next to a grey boulder.

“Ooh, remind me not to slap pony flanks”, an unknown voice groaned from the tangle of pony and human bodies.

The rest of the other ponies were too bruised and battered and decided not to speak.

A bouncing pink mare with fluffy pink hair greeted them.

“That looked like fun! Can I try next?” she beamed, bouncing on the spot in excitement.

“No”, replied a gravelly voice from behind them.

Pinkie turned around to find herself face to face with the snarling visage of a diamond dog. The ground behind him shifted until mounds could clearly be seen, the other diamond dogs joining into a pack and facing down the six ponies and human.

“Ah, pony feathers”, Iron cursed.

The others nodded in silent agreement.
> 21 - Mad World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I looked up from my desk to see a stream of people marching in. They wore logistics uniforms and were carrying boxes roughly half their size, although they didn’t appear to be struggling with them. I spotted Angel weaving through the delivery guys and made it to me, leaning on my desk.

“It’s a recall”, she explained faintly, she brushed back a strand of hair from her face. I searched her eyes, trying to find emotion but she had shut down, not daring to break the ice-cool façade she had quietly built over the years.

I sighed, putting my head in my hands.

Over three hundred million Synch units had been called back after the one-week press release barricade. Grooble stocks were at an all-time low. The decision had been a difficult one to say the least with Angel and myself, along with the rest of the interns sharing nervous gazes as long-term employees tapped their leg in restless anxiety and drank a steadily increasing supply of coffee.

Dmitri hadn’t commented on the development initially but he had pulled me aside and emphasised the importance of getting Synchrony before it ended Synch technology forever. Truly, this had to be one of the most important battles Synch had to fight in order to climb to the prime position of humanity’s technological edge. I couldn’t help feeling inadequate and small. 

My own expertise, even combined with Angel's, had made no headway on any angle with the Synchrony investigation. Meta-data had revealed nothing useful and reverse engineering the program had only revealed what I had previously known. The only evidence that Synchrony had tied to its victims was the fact that it existed at the same time these incidences had occurred. 

None of the hardware or processes it activated did more than send a series of pre-programmed magnetic pulses and it frustrated me to no end. Angel had followed me into the looming gloom of depression when she made as much progress as I did. Progress, which I must emphasise, was absolutely nothing we didn't already know.

Angel had taken to become her previous withdrawn avatar and I had channelled my own state of disconnected interest. I was surrounded by people far smarter and capable than us, it disheartened me that a quarter of a million people depended on us and nothing I did helped.

I peered at my own personal Synch headset, almost wishing it had never existed. I cautioned myself not to blame the invention, however it was hard to look past the fact that these circlets had provided the medium to destroy so many lives. It was like looking at nuclear energy and seeing both unlimited potential and destruction measured on a small thin chain dangling from the scales of justice.

I forced myself to look into obscure texts on Synch, trying to invent a new approach, glean a new perspective, to find a different position that no one had thought of so far with Synchrony. 

From time to time I would catch myself gazing into the distance, my nights blurring to day as I stumbled to and fro work and the on-site accommodations. I grabbed a snack whenever I could, I'd go without sometimes, I never really cared. Flashes of blank faces, beeping monitors and the silent 'snick' of the air pumps respiration the lungs of the Synchrony victims would pop up, stopping me in the middle of typing, or soldering. I took irregular trips to the restrooms, forcing up bile, because food was too hard to stomach.

I felt like I was dead when I was alive. 

I could tell Angel was worried about me and in the rare moments where we shared a conversation, she would try and take my mind off things by talking about Paul’s crazy anecdotes. I tried to smile, I really did... but the guilt weighed down the corners of my mouth.

I had to try something soon or I would lose my sanity.

So I did the unthinkable and approached Angel with my plan.

-----

No.

Angel shook her head and fixed me with a glare, her eyes told me everything even if her lips did not move.

Don’t do this. Please don't do this.

I put my hands gently on her shoulders, I felt the soft down of her jumper under my fingers.

“It is the only way”, I had replied to the gathering silence.

Someone else can do it, someone else can!

“It is my responsibility”, I said solemnly, gathering her in my arms. I felt the touch of Angel’s tears on my cheek and it drew my own.

-----

Dmitri had been silent for almost twenty seconds when I presented him with my plan.

He told me to turn my back for a minute and to not react or look back no matter what I heard. I complied but only because his eyes had reflected something somewhat frightening.

I heard a vicious roar and the tearing of wood and the scattering of documents and the crash of metal against metal.

After one of the longest minutes I had ever endured ended, he asked me calmly to turn back.

I looked at the devastated war ground that had been Dmitri’s office and I swallowed but held a firm determination.

Dmitri eyes though, had lost their fire. He regarded me with a sad expression tinged with perhaps a shade of disappointment.

He peered at me for another ten seconds before breaking the silence.

“Those people you saw, demand what you are offering, body and soul”, he began, I nodded along. He pounded his heart.

“As a friend I want them to all burn in hell, if that will keep you safe!” he shouted vehemently and even I was surprised. Not only because he regarded me as a friend but because he had felt so strongly for me as well.

“I chose you for your heart, my boy and you have it at the right place.” 

He sighed and put a hand to his face, “I am partially at fault for this, you see? If I had not chosen such a good hearted man like you, you would not have thought of something so audacious or chosen yourself for such a sacrifice.

“I’ve watched you grow as both a mentor and a friend and though we have only not known each other for long, I have grown to regard you as both a pride and joy not only to this company but to the rest of the world.

“This is a choice I leave with you, because this is your right.”

I slowly unclenched a fist I did not know I was holding and sighed in audible relief. I move my hand steadily out and offered it, palm up to Dmitri.

“I will help these people”, I repeated from almost half a year ago. “By everything I stand for I will.”

> 22 - Dream Sequence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night as I was sitting in chains not really thinking of much, I drifted off to sleep. During my brief and fractured rest, I dreamt of Angel and Paul. They both wore strange expressions, worried and concerned, urgent and pleading, insistent and afraid. I smiled at them, trying to comfort them.

“No worries, my friends, I will be back”, I croaked, glancing at the ethereal bonds that bound my wrists. 

“I will succeed.”

I shook myself from the remnants of the dream, the aftermath falling like shards of glass in slow motion, reflecting small parts of myself but yet never showing the true image of the whole.

I tried desperately to capture the dream, to remember what I had done and why I was here. All I could remember was working desperately on Synchrony, trying to stop the creator before he unleashed Ultimate Zero Day again.

I sighed as the chains dug into my hands. I would have welts if this kept up.

What was I doing here? I needed to get back, those people laid to rest in over a thousand beds under our Grooble branch demanded my presence. How could I get back? I asked myself again, how far was I gone? Could I really accept this as reality and abandon all those people? What would it mean for them? What would it say about myself?

Questions and malformed answers swirled together in a vortex of unsung emotion within the confines of my head space. The whole situation grated on my nerves.

I was interrupted from my dark musing as Twilight moaned and shifted in her temporary sleeping position. I felt a well of sympathy and patted her withers. She seemed to calm down and sleep more soundly.

One of the guards had spotted me doing so and grinned when I put a silent finger on my lips and scowled at him whilst making a zipping motion across my mouth.

He nodded in good humour but then scooted over and sat down next to me.

Now that the excitement had died down I doubted whether my first assertion that these were a figment of my imagination was true. They felt too real too detailed for me to just accept them as part of my psychology. Perhaps I had analogously transcribed humans as ponies and I was suffering a massive delusion.

I frowned. That didn’t make any sense even to a crazy person.

I touched Twilight again, feeling the softness of her coat and the gentle warmth radiating from her body.

It felt a little too real.

“Got a soft spot for ponies there, lad?” he quietly queried. 

I- Uh- What?

I turned to the pegasus guard and pointed to his wings, ignoring his question completely and deciding not to think about it.

“Those wings”, I whispered to him conspiratorially. “Can you use them?”

He nodded slowly.

“Then I have a plan”, I said.

-----

Twilight woke to find the two guards and myself gone. She initially panicked thinking they had escaped without the rest of them but then shook her head. The guards wouldn’t have kept quiet about leaving citizens of Equestria in the hooves of a hostile enemy, or they would come back, fetching help.

The truth was, Twilight didn’t know much about the creature who she had been chasing thus far and though it was ludicrous to assume he was evil, Twilight didn’t know if he was entirely good. In fact, his demeanour reflected a certain trickster draconequus that she loathed but his actions never suggested any harm, at least not beyond fun and games. Though darkly she reflected that so too did Discord.

Playing with the dirt beneath her hooves she considered the fact that might have misjudged the poor creature. After all, she got the impression that he-she- no, definitely a he was somewhat desperate for… something. He was searching for something beyond what they could give him, as if there was a whole realm just beyond their reach that only he could see.

Twilight didn’t know what gave her this impression, it was like the thousand quick superficial glimpses she had of his character reflected a far deeper and possibly darker character than either of them had experienced. Yet, she also felt his loneliness and his fundamentally good heart.

That night she had a nightmare. Celestia had looked at her with disappointed eyes. Though she knew it could never have been true, it still cut her heart deeply and the pain from it had flowed out of soul and drained from her mouth like the smoke that drifts from a sleeping dragon’s nostrils. She had felt the creature’s hands on her withers and though she had stiffened on contact, fearing for the worst, she had found that her anxiety had been misplaced, her fears unfounded.

He had stroked her until she had calmed down and she found that her sleep came more pleasantly than before no longer troubled by anxiety-laden dreams. She had tried to listen in on the conversation the guard had then brought up but she had lost track of the indistinct mumblings and fell to sleep.

A twist of fate, it seemed, had tied their knots together and Twilight couldn’t help but feel that something connected all of them in a grand tapestry that will cause ripples in the world, like a pebble thrown into a pond.

-----


As I had expected we were brought before a supervisory diamond dog that had simply pointed to a part of a cavern and told us to dig.

Slavery had still existed as a concept in my world, but I had never given it thought other than the wide majority outlook that most people of my age, living as myself would, it was horrifying to be sure but it never touched me so I could never be truly sympathetic to their cause. It had seemed selfish, of course, to assume such things wouldn’t reach me but I couldn't help it. 

My country had been a country of peace for over three hundred years of its short history, wars did not ravage the world, there was no world conflict, and the nuclear age had effectively prevented any major incursion from happening at least on a global scale. The people had been distracted by the wonders of our age, the Internet and then the extranet became the proving ground of the international peoples, wars were fought between countries by their technological advancements and the concerns for our daily survival needs became more and more pleasantly distant.

We were a spoilt people living in a comfortable age. I loved it.

The only scar, the only blemish, the only fly in the ointment that we had was Synchrony and I could do nothing about it.

Angel and Paul must be worried sick, my parents must be frantic, and nobody had managed to stay off the grid for more than two days. Where in the world was I that satellites and biometric feeds could not penetrate?

I reasoned that the caverns had been effectively shielding my presence from wireless transmission, or my implanted ID tag would have been contactable by now. For some reason though, I doubted help would come or if they knew where I was, help could not be sent. I was beginning to believe that I had somehow stumbled upon an entirely new world, improbable as it sounded.

The logical part of me struggled and wailed against the idea, trying to smother it in reason. I simply could not reconcile my senses and my logic and it was tearing me apart.

I acted along, of course, pain was real no matter imagined or psychological and I didn’t want to feel the hard strike on the lash or think about what that would do to supple human flesh.

I smirked under my breath as I began to dig.

They would get what was coming to them, for sure, I thought menacingly.

It was time to put my plan in action.

> 23 - The Silence of a Lamb
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long for the preparations to be done after Dmitri had given his approval. The occasion had merited the arrival of Martin Hernandez, the head of Synch Engineering Division. The normally young and fresh-featured man looked unusually drawn today as he surveyed operations. I supposed I should have felt honoured, being so close to one of the leading members and researchers of the Synch device. He was somewhat of an idol for me and his presence suddenly made me nervous, though I had been far beyond emotional reach for the better part of the week.

Dmitri stood in stark emotional contrast to Angel, his normally passive frown strained, and he smiled disconcertingly every time I glanced in his direction. I guessed it was his way of showing encouragement. Angel, however, refused to meet my gaze and I felt a stab in my chest every time she looked away.

She and I had not spoken one word since our parting at my confession. She followed me like a ghost but refused to acknowledge me or respond to any queries and questions I had about my system software design. I knew she was mad at me and I thought this was her way of dissuading me from continuing. I could not turn from this course of action though, there was but one path, one direction, one ultimate way.

The wraiths of the damned had left me alone after I had made my resolution and I was glad of the peace and quiet. It seemed that the guilt weighing down had left me temporarily so that I would enjoy my last meals, sleep my last sleep and live my last few days in peace.

My plan had been simple in execution but dare I say brilliant in conception.

My Black Box project, something I had long forgotten as a relic of my time spent with Emilia and the gateway to my internship, had given me an idea. We simply did not have the computing power to overcome the complexities of backtracking the Synchrony program. My Black Box project was scrapped mainly due to the security patch that Angel and I had released during the first week of interning. It disabled the exploitation that I had been able to use to gain access to Synch devices.

This meant that all Synch devices had been effectively immune to my network recruitment program and the Black Box was essentially useless. Inspiration had struck when I realised the entirety of all Synch units were now completely accessible as part of the Grooble recall, we had access to 300 million Synch units worth of processing power.

All it required was a single user orchestrating the direction of Black Box.

Let me explain.

When Emilia and I had developed Black Box it was both a gateway and a command centre for all the security penetration processes run by the Black Box network. In order for Black Box to run correctly I had to command it with my own personal Synch device, however the irony was in order to backtrack Synchrony, I had to run it on my local device whilst simultaneously running Black Box.

Simply put I would be running Synchrony while wearing Synch. I would either find the source and overcome it or be lost to Synchrony. It was a gamble for my life as I knew it.

So far this had been the best plan that could be conceived. For some reason Synchrony had been able to detect when a real user was using the Synch device housing the knot. If it ever found out that it weren't, it would delete itself forever.

Synchrony was a program that almost looked like it was hunting humans. Some days I would contemplate this but would dismiss it mostly as conjecture, however the disturbing feeling would always stay with me.

When the rest of the Synchrony crew set up the equipment at the monitoring site, I was lead to the centre to begin the Black Box sequence.

I tried breathing exercises to gain a semblance of calm. I took in the room, spending what could be my last moments on Earth categorising and memorising the array of technology around me. It soothed me somewhat to admire passively the brilliance of technology. The room had been packed with monitoring equipment but there was a small screen placed off to the side to indicate the number of Synch devices recruited into the Black Box network.

There was a small window to the side, revealing Martin, Angel and Dmitri. They all gave a spectrum of varying emotions ranging from sadness, hope and despondency. I glanced at the corner of my vision seeing the dull red dot that indicated my personal Synch was in standby mode. I gestured a few times and the interface flowed across my vision.

Quickly and efficiently, I navigated to the Black Box folder and ran Emilia’s old program.

A quick logo flashed and Black Box started, immediately jumping to the Synch headgear strategically placed next to me. All the Synch headgear prior to this had been downgraded so as to maximise the effectiveness of Black Box.

The numbers on the screen rose rapidly.

1… 2… 4… 16… 256…

Soon as it reached over a thousand, the newest security patches no longer mattered and Black Box crunched through all the protection so much as like a boulder crashing through wet cardboard.

At over a million recruited, no system was safe anymore.

At three hundred million, Black Box was unstoppable and I was at the centre of it all.

I had the world’s processing power in my grasp. I realised with Black Box I quite literally held all the world’s computers in the confines of my head.

No security was safe. I had unrestricted access to the world’s information and in the Quantum Age, information was power. I was essentially the most powerful man on the planet.

The temptation was there, as it would be for any human but I resisted easily with Emilia, Angel, Dmitri, and Paul and over a quarter of a million voices urging me to complete my one task.

I poised upon the precipice of either victory or defeat.

Will I be lifted into a choir of angels? 

Will I be cast into the inferno?

Will I become something else?

There was only one way to tell. 

I braced myself and launched Synchrony.

…And then… nothing.

-----

Dmitri, Angel and Martin stared in astonishment as the circlet dangled comically in the air for a split second before plummeting to the ground.

The system had experienced a major power surge before I had disappeared and they were at a loss to explain where I had gone.

Depressed, most scientists and engineers assumed I had disappeared in an elaborate act. They theorised I was suffering from stress and snapped, creating this expensive hoax to vanish from society and the mounting pressure.

Nobody wanted to accept that fact, and those closest to me had admonished the scientists and engineers responsible for that rumour mill. They pointed out that Synchrony no longer existed. It had been erased from the Synch devices. It was sad and unfortunate though that none of the quarter million had better outcomes, it seemed that Synchrony and its creator had disappeared, along with me.

To those who had bore witness to my final act of bravery, missed me. To those who had heard of my act, commended me. To those who had never known me, moved on with their lives without a hitch in their plans.

I had saved the world from Synchrony and had secured the future of technology but it had cost me, as I found out later.

It had cost me dearly.

> 24 - Silent as a Knave
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was Twilight, no wait, it was twilight at Canterlot castle and Celestia had finished yet another day court shift. She yawned and stretched her wings. Outwardly, she looked as calm and composed as ever but within her heart felt uncertain and it wavered.

It had been almost a week since she had sent Twilight on her mission and she had not been able to contact her. Her worries were not helped by the return of the odious ambassador Rex, who postured and threatened to rescind agreements and accords over petty strife and perceived attacks on his character and race. 

Most ponies would be wary but ultimately welcoming given the chance, but Rex was an unpleasant character making it difficult for her ponies to be cordial with him. Even Celestia found that her normally deep well of patience (that is if she wasn’t dealing with pranks from her sister) was drained. It didn’t help that Rex were one of the only willing ambassadors from the diamonds, most would keep to themselves, and that even as terrible as he was diplomatically he was actually one of the better ones offered.

So Celestia endured him but worried about her prized pupil from the moment she stepped from day court or a meeting chamber.

Luna at least, had come up with good news.

“Tia, Tia! I’ve got good news”, she called out excitedly as soon as she was permitted past her sister’s bedchamber doors.

“I have found out how to track the null being!”

Celestia gaped at Luna.

“Did we not establish that that had been impossible?”

“Nay, dear sister! Impossible is impossible! Improbable it was.”

Celestia didn’t bother pointing out the paradox in her sister’s statement.

Luna continued trotting on the spot, “We- I have visited the finding spell and they were simply going about it the wrong way.”

Celestia looked into her sister’s eyes, responding, “And how have you solved that problem, Lulu?”

“Oh it was simple, dear Tia! The spell was based around searching for the null magical signature.”

Celestia’s eyes widened in comprehension, she knew exactly what Luna was talking about.

“Of course! Why did I not see that before? It would have nothing to latch onto in the first place.”

She frowned.

“That still means that the spell will not be able to detect the null’s presence.”

Luna danced in excitement.

“’Tis where my genius simply outshines yours, dear Tia”, she teased, sticking a tongue out.

“Oh get on with it, you!” Celestia replied irritably, inwardly she was excited.

“I simply send out a pulse of magic, a wave designed to send pulses back to me every second. So as-“, Luna explained, before being interrupted.

“-Soon as it reaches the null it will stop reporting back and you will know the exact distance and placement of the null being!”

“That is right Tia and I will also put a magical charge in each tracer wave, so that it can tell if it had stopped reporting due to magical interference instead of being erased!”

Celestia gaped at her sister, it seemed she had thought of everything.

“There is one problem though, dear Lulu”, Celestia replied.

Luna nodded, her expression turning serious.

“The power, correct?”

Celestia waited as Luna composed herself.

“We will need the Crystal Heart”, proposed confidently.

Celestia's jaw dropped.

“WHAT?”

-----


The first step of the plan, befriending a diamond dog, went almost insultingly well. The diamond dogs, though initially appeared to be simple and straightforward people, actually had a complicated hierarchical system. Each ‘pack’ had a ‘super pack’, which was governed by a ‘beta council’, which in turn was ruled by the ‘alpha’ of the domain.

Alphas did not interact directly with other alphas due to the very real possibility of war breaking out. Within a pack, a leader, unusually selected not by strength or dominance but by cunning and intelligence, would be deferred to but was by no means an absolute leader. Order was maintained by mob rule and those that did not conform were quickly singled and shunted out.

Diamond dogs had specialisation like any sufficiently advanced civilisation. There were those in charge of gem sniffing, guarding and all manner of other monotonous duties like tending to the slaves or guarding them as they worked.

Taking care of the slaves were one of the most boring jobs that a diamond dog could be given and I quickly found out that they would usually strike up a conversation with the prisoners, provided they did not stop working. Most ponies that were enslaved were compliant but definitely not happy and would refuse to talk to the dogs as a matter of principle. 

Of course, I had harboured similar feelings to these dogs, but whether it was due to me being a human or that it was because I shared a similar figure with these dogs, or because the ponies would not talk to them, they began to eagerly converse with me.

Gruff was the guard dog responsible for me, he was big and friendly but always wore a permanent scowl. Unexpectedly, his manner had reminded me of Dmitri (or the dog I had briefly before it died of old age) and I had to swallow back a pang of homesickness. 

I found out from Gruff that his family had lived in the Equestrian Gem Hills since the founding of the diamond dog pack. Confused, while swinging a pickaxe, I had asked him why he was stuck guarding me when he so obviously had better talents.

Surprised, he asked me what I meant. Confused, I pointed out that his massive physique would make him better suited to guarding the pack leader or perhaps ‘recruiting’ (I barely refrained myself from yelling enslaving) other ponies on the surface.

He had entertained the notion for a while but it turned out he just never really thought about it and never had any ambitions beyond guarding, eating, sleeping and generally being content with life.

I nodded but asked of him what he thought about doing something greater. I impressed upon him the wide world of science. My fascination with discovering something new, my glowing pride when I got something to work and my inspired awe when gazing upon the works of my people.

Oftentimes when he conferred with me about this subject he would listen enraptured, fascinated by my account of atoms and molecules and chemistry and physics and biology that encompassed the world laws of the universe. He nodded quietly as I explained certain facets of social psychology (it had been a necessary sit in when Paul made a joke) and philosophy (that Emilia had been keen on).

It was not long before I was barely doing work at all and we just sat there talking. Nobody came, even though my quota had steadily dwindled (they just thought I had been getting sicker) and it was unthinkable that a diamond dog would show sympathy for one of the slaves. There had never been a single being that thought to make friends with their captors.

Daily (or was it nightly?) I was reminded of my purpose as I was led back to our cell. The two guards were getting increasingly fatigued but Twinkie, Solid Evidence and Iron File had been left behind, to be sent to work when we had ‘expired’. Besides, Gruff had told me it was risky to let the unicorns out of their cells, especially if they were fully recovered, they were fresh out of inhibitors, which I assumed inhibited magic.

We had continued the routine of work, eat and sleep for almost four days now but today I had finally reached my goal. Over time, a small mound had been building up in the corner of our cell, it looked innocent enough, just a different coloured rock and dirt and the diamond dog guards whenever they thought to pass by or give us meagre food and water would pay it no heed.

Twilight and Solid had been unable to use magic, though I didn’t know why I had been counting on them. It was surprisingly easy to talk shop with magic when everyone here believed in it. Twilight had complained that the bars had blocked enchantments within the cell. Even if they stuck their horns out they would only be able to make a big flash or perhaps a small intense flame, not enough to damage anyone and the short range from the inhibiting bars would ultimately stop further enchantments. We only had one chance at this, so I had to get it right.

I gave them a short update and signalled to Twilight, wanting to confirm points in my plan. She still did not know what we had been up to and I had been cautious not to tell her anything until we tried to escape, after all if they started torturing, we would lose everything. Paranoid, I knew but unavoidable, I was meticulous.

Twilight shuffled over to me, stumbling slightly with the heavy chains. I gave her a sympathetic look but she shrugged it off, interested in what I had to say to her.

“Hey Twilight, you said before you could produce maybe a small intensive flame before, right?” I asked, gesturing to Solid’s horn in the corner. Solid caught the gestured and frowned but didn’t say anything.

Twilight nodded, unsure where I as going with this.

“You could but I don’t see-“, she began but I cut her off before she continued, eager to present my plan.

“You see that pile over there?” I had indicated to the off coloured dirt in the corner.

Twilight nodded.

“That’s a mixture of aluminium powder and iron oxide or rust powder” I explained, grabbing a handful and trickling down.

“Thermite?” Twilight whispered urgently, suddenly understanding. “But how did you get this?”

I chuckled. I certainly underestimated Twilight’s scientific knowledge. I wonder how she knew so much?

“After befriending a receptive diamond dog guard I convinced him to move me to the smelting furnaces, they're only interested in steel so there’s some slag run off for aluminium, silicon and some other elements. Rust is fairly easy to come by if you have the patience to scrape it off. I simply told them I would polish their weapons (though they are just stone spears, what's up with that?), armour (which was steel) and upkeep their shackles (which were iron, talk about inconsistency) under the pretence of helping the other prisoners with comfortable shackle-wear.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and she gave a squeal of delight.

“We really have a chance of breaking out of here!” she yapped excitedly, I shared her enthusiasm but reined it in a little, glancing at the door of the cell.

“We’ll wait for the guards to check up on use before they retire for the night, pretend to sleep and then execute the plan”, I put forward.

Pinkie had been listening in, though I never saw how she got close without me knowing.

“Ooooh!” she exclaimed. “Pretending is so much fun! I'm a good actor.”

She pretended to faint. I grinned.

“Thermite is very hot and very bright but it works very fast, it'll have to be done before the next guard comes up, hopefully the suppressing bars will weaken or dispel completely once we break them, but I'm not holding out on that just yet”, I told them, Twilight and Pinkie nodding sharply, although Pinkie was still pretending to be unconscious so she waved a hoof and went back to being out cold.

“Alright Twilight, tell the others of the plan and I will explain how to escape with the two guards. Send them over when you're done.”

“Got it”, she replied trotting over to the rest of the gang. Pinkie seemed less like she was pretending and more like she was sleeping.

After receiving the gist of the plan, the two guards trotted over. It had dawned on me that I have never asked of their names. Feeling a little guilty I introduced myself.

“So we haven’t met properly, what are your names?” I inquired, sinking down to my haunches. Just because I didn't do nearly as much work as the others didn’t mean I still wasn't tired.

The grey pegasus on the left, the one I had spoken to whilst calming down Twilight addressed me.

“Name’s Hardy Greaves and this here is Lightning Shield”, I nodded at Lightning and Hardy, later I would question their strange names but they didn’t seem so different than the descriptors for other languages after all my name was derived from ‘white bell of truth’ so I couldn’t really complain.

“Okay Hardy and Lightning, can you airlift us out of about ten metres?”

“Airlift?” queried Hardy.

“Metres?” posited Lightning.

“Really?” I asked back, but refrained from going any further.

“Okay barring S.I. units let’s say it is about- ” I quickly calculated “ –seven or eight ponies high?”

“Airlift means to carry us while you fly.”

Hardy and Lightning nodded.

“You mean a wing lift?” Lightning corrected and I rolled my eyes.

“Yep. Okay there’s going to be a side passage after we exit the main warrens. From there, there is a disused furnace with a vent that leads outside. It’s going to be sooty and most likely messy so if we can spot or if we have cloth on hand we can cover our… muzzles and move on up, any questions?”

“Only one”, Hardy said. “What are you?”

“I'm a scientist”, I replied with a wicked grin.
> 25 - Null Object
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel gazed longingly at the small plinth constructed in former Synchrony monitoring chamber. The small podium was covered in gold paint and reflected only the cool fluorescent lights that illuminated the small room.

All the equipment had been moved and shunted off to better places they could have been better utilised than just sitting in a cold room at Grooble. The small podium only held a simple circlet, raised by a small silver brace.

Angel had come before, to visit the small wonder of human technology. But she had not come to marvel at what humanity had achieved, but rather pay her respects to who had been quickly forgotten.

Synchrony had been a trying time on both the company and the world at large and it had damaged the industry. Humans though, adapted and moved on and the Synch platform quickly grew and fulfilled its true purpose as it had meant to be, after the shockwaves of Synchrony died down.

The populace marvelled at the new Synch features. One in particular was called Immersion, which allowed users to ‘immerse’ into a very realistic virtual reality. Recreating world history, going on vacation and living out some fantasies had all been top priority for those who had access to a Synch device.

Cautiously, the world accepted Synch again, albeit with convincing from leading security experts that it was indeed safe. Synchrony didn’t plague the minds of the populace and all that was left was to pick up the pieces and begin anew. 

Angel had used her Synch to dive into happier times, when I was around. She had catalogued her memories in her Synch device and would from time to time immerse herself in them.

Little was known about the sacrifice I had made because they couldn't explain it. The official press release was that somehow, Synchrony had been backtracked and special operatives from the government had captured the one responsible for the devastation of over a quarter of million lives. They made no mention of me. 

My family had been informed that I had been involved in a power surge accident, my body instantly vaporised by a high power plasma discharge. They were not able to recover any remains and my parents wept as they buried an empty coffin.

Angel had taken to being alone again, as she was from the start. Before she had met me, she had no friends to call her own, no close family to contact, she was a young adult that struggled to live on her own.

I had been blind to her battles but my ignorance had given me an opening to reach out to her and for that she had been glad. Angel had been happy to meet me. I was her first friend at the time. The majority of the time she spent was now, as she had graduated from high school, studying a tertiary degree in computer science and quantum engineering and working for Grooble.

Periodically she'd seen Dmitri also hang around but he had become subdued. Paul while normal in every aspect seemed to carry a small hint of sadness every time they met up for coffee.

Though the world’s heart beat on, the small group of friends I had seemed frozen in time.

Within the depths of her soul, Angel cried for me to come back.

And I heard her in a dream.
> 26 - Prison Break
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quite literally breaking our prison. Well, I wasn't going to shed any (manly or otherwise) tears for the cell, but hey call me crazy, I was interested in the inhibitor magic. To be more precise I was interested in magic in general. To a scientist (or an engineer) nothing says ‘screw you, muwhahaha!’ better than defying all physics and entropy and (as a bonus) setting things on fire.

Let’s be honest here. Everyone likes fire. If you don't, then you clearly evolved from another group of primates that didn't use it to survive, so there.

Getting away from my tangent on the curvature of the issue, the escape went off without a hitch. It was beautiful. The plan I mean, not the escape, I was a bumbling fool most of the time.

Twinkie worked quickly and effectively together as if they had long practiced how to get out of awkward situations involving being kidnapped and taken away from all that you know and love and being relegated as hostages in a slavery situation that would make any sapient creature despondent.

Pinkie was being… useful. She had procured a sticky glowing substance (which I chose not to think about) and stuck them to the floor near the bars. Luckily, guards that patrolled the area never saw fit to give prisoners the comfort of having their own light so we were well aware when one would decide to approach. The glowing substance was amazing in the dark but barely visible in the light and it made perfect camouflage lighting.

I had asked Pinkie where she got this stuff but Pinkie just shrugged and said something about stashing things all over the place in case of emergencies. When I approached Twilight, her expression told me she kept things locked up in a mental vault before it would cause any of them harm. I thoroughly agreed. In fact, I had considered building my own mental vault ever since I accepted this reality.

Twilight had been simply amazing. Her scientific knowledge had rivalled mine and she was convinced that adding a magic catalyst would speed up the thermite. She dove into an explanation of the effectiveness of a magic catalyst which would boost the thermite efficiency. I cautioned her that we only had one shot of the spell before the inhibitor overwhelmed her. Efficiency calculations could wait, ah but she was a mare after my own heart... scientifically speaking of course.

I saw her packing dirt around the opposite side that the thermite would be contacting the inhibitor bars. When I asked why, she told me it would help shield the light whilst also trapping the heat from the reaction, increasing the efficiency of the thermite without resorting to a magical catalyst. Again, I was impressed and grateful. I started feeling bad about slapping her on the flank and I decided to apologise as soon as we were clear. Stupid!

Solid and Iron were two ponies I had not spoken to for any length of time. I knew almost nothing about them. I felt I could trust Iron, he seemed like a good fellow, but Solid was a different matter. As far as I knew from the guards, Solid had been a criminal they were transporting back to Canterlot castle and from what I gathered, Iron was here to keep her in check.

I never liked the unstable sort. People had to be predictable for me to like me. I don't mean in the way that you had to be not-Pinkie but more like you had to be someone safe and solid, a person who didn’t mean any harm.

I could be misjudging her but I needed to see solid evidence (hah, see what I did there?).

On a more serious note, we were finally ready to destroy the inhibitor bars.

Twilight waved a hoof at me in a beckoning gesture.

I crouched next to her and peered at the thermite compositions next to each bar. I nodded. They looked fine.

“Okay, we'll wait for the guard to pass, which should be any second now and then activate the thermite”, I told her as I swept one last critical gaze over the thermite.

The muffled sounds of clinking armour and scuffed gravel alerted me.

I signalled everyone to pretend to sleep. Pinkie was already asleep so I didn't need to worry about that.

The guard approached the inhibitor bars, clacking them with his claws. I shot him a dishonestly annoyed look and pretended to be groggy. He simply laughed gruffly and moved on. As the light receded from his torch, the room lit up with the glow substance right away. I gave a thumbs up to everyone to which Twinkie and the guards nodded to but the rest seemed confused. Huh, I guess some gestures depended on cultural awareness.

Twilight and Solid gathered at the first thermite point carefully sticking their horns out to touch the thermite lightly. Twilight had warned Solid on many occasions that the thermite would be slow to start but once it was underway it would burn bright and fast and she would not like her horn to be around that for long.

Solid nodded nervously as they both started the spell at the same time. Fortunately it was a simple spell and Twilight managed most of the complicated physical mechanics after activation, all Solid had to do was provide as much magical energy as possible and Twilight would add and direct it.

A huge spark popped from their horns and a dull red glow could be seen under the compacted dirt around the thermite. I heard Twilight warn Solid to step back and she did while Twilight tried containing the light and heat for as long as possible. Eventually the inhibitor bars prevented her magic and she sat back exhausted. I patted her on the head for a job well done and we waited to see what the results would be.

For a moment when the red glow faded I thought we had failed and I almost stamped a foot in frustration. Hand on my chest though, the thermite mixture caught and a brilliant fountain of sparks shot out producing a dazzling fireworks of a display. Solid Evidence grinned (I pinned her as a pyromaniac), Iron File was enraptured and the guards both hoofed me in the back in congratulations. Pinkie woke up, looked at the broken bar, then bounced up to Twilight, giving her a hug.

With one of the inhibitor bars down, Twilight instantly felt a small reserve of magic sink in. She immediately set to work on the next thermite composition. Throughout the process Twilight worked at a careful, measured pace and I admired the fact that she never lost her calm or let the excitement get to her head before the job was done.

She shot Pinkie a grin though, as the last inhibitor bar was disconnected.

I asked Twilight before about the mechanics of the inhibitor bars, why they would fail if the thermite severed the bottom. She told me it was a matter of luck. If the bars were constructed to have multiple points of reinforcing inhibitor spells along the section of the bars then the best we could do would be to weaken the inhibitor spell slightly. Fortunately, this would cost a substantial amount, no matter if you had a unicorn, griffon or some other creature with access to magic spell the bars, so it was usually better to spell the bars in one shot. 

Since the bars had to kept whole for the spell to work properly, it would quickly degenerate as deformities ran through the structure. This was why spells were usually kept in high ordered structures such as gems, the harder they were, the more durable they would be and the better preserved a spell would be.

The way Twilight described it sounded like the spell ran similar to a computer, well she called it specifically an enchantment but I didn’t want to complicate with labels. 

I only had a limited time to admire this when Twilight introduced us to a magical version of bolt cutters. Solid quickly and quietly levitated the dropping bars to a pile outside the cell. Twilight reported she was back up to full capacity.

I gestured to Pinkie and made an exaggerated bow.

“Ladies first”, I winked as she giggled and bounced on through the opening. Twilight followed behind as well as Solid, then the rest of the guards and myself. I cast one look at the cell and saluted it mockingly before meeting up with the others.

I took lead since I knew the most about the cave system, quickly reaching the old furnaces. There had been small, tense incidences when a guard almost caught us as we rounded a corner, but we barely managed to escape detection by diving into a side room or hiding behind a cart or trolley as they passed.

As luck would have it, one of the side rooms contained all of our belongings (minus myself for I never had any). Twilight, the guards and Iron happily recovered the confiscated property. I spotted a spool of copper wire and a pair of flint rock. I confirmed it by striking the two together. Nice. We headed out cautiously but it seemed we had missed all the local patrols.

I sighed in relief as we reached the old furnace room. I pointed to a particularly big one that dominated the other end of the room.

“It’ll be a tight fit for me but I think all of you should fit comfortably”, I said, leaning against a wall.

The guards nodded and began the process of lifting all my prison buddies (I snorted in amusement) out of the caverns. While I was waiting, I looked around to see if I could find anything useful. There were just discarded metal and slag and there wasn’t anything worth recovering. I sat on a small anvil as I waited for the Hardy and Lightning to finish their runs.

I spotted a light approaching from the doorway and panicked. I realised we had left it open.

“Go, go, go!” I whispered urgently and gestured emphatically at Twilight who was the only one left. She protested quietly as she was lifted up and I stalked away from the furnace, determined to provide enough of a distraction for their escape, if it came down to it. 

I positioned myself behind the door, hoping the guard wouldn't smash it open and hit me. The light gradually grew lighter and I clutched my copper spool of wire like a garrotte. I didn't want to hurt anyone but I would if I had to.

The light intensified through the doorway as a curious diamond dog peered in. He stalked into the furnace room, looking around. I recognised him immediately.

I strung the garrotte around his head and whispered into his ear.

“Don’t move Gruff, or I will strangle you.”

Gruff flinched but otherwise stayed still.

“You're a friend Gruff and fortunately I don't need to kill you”, I growled softly, I sounded sinister, almost evil. I was also on the verge of crapping in my pants. Gruff was a big guy.

“Promise me you'll walk away and pretend this never happened”, I said.

He hesitated and I tightened the garrotte.

“Promise me!” I whispered urgently. He nodded.

“Thank you.”

I released him and he scrambled out the door. I felt a wave of guilt hit me. It seemed like everything I had done had made me feel guilty. What was wrong with me?

I shook my head and climbed into the furnace. The chimney opening was crowded with the anxious faces of all my compatriots.

“Hey all, sorry it look it took so long”, I called up softly. I plethora of grins broke out. Lightning made his way down and gripped me.

“Up we g- whoa!”

He tumbled to the ground.

“Wow! You’re either really heavy or something is wrong with my wings”, he said.

I frowned.

“Try going up there”, I suggested. He flew up easily.

“Okay come back here.”

He came back down and alighted next to me.

“Give me your hoof”, I said and he gave me his hoof, I gripped it in my hand. “Now try flying.”

He flapped his wings but nothing happened.

I thought about this for a moment, I had a hunch but I needed more confirmation.

"Do your wings require some sort of magic?" I asked, to which Lightning nodded. Twilight shouted down an affirmation, I rolled my eyes, seems like sound can carry quite far up the chimney.

I thought about it for a while. There were many thing that required magic to work in this place. The bar for one were magical constructs as far as I could tell, but surprisingly I had never touched them so I couldn't confirm  if that had an effect. I probably didn't since Twilight didn't report a surge of magic returning. Also when she tried teleporting me she had been touching me and things had not gone to plan with the teleport. I had discount it as a mishap and Twilight had been confused.

Things seemed to point in one direction.

“Hmm, it seems like I can nullify magic somehow”, I declared. It wasn't a complete theory, I mean I had still teleported, it just didn't work as well. Also Lightning couldn't lift me but was able to fly up quite easily only moments after releasing him. I needed more testing to confirm the mechanics of my 'nullification' theory.

Twilight’s voice interrupted my thoughts as it echoed down the chimney, “What?! Why didn't you tell us? We could have broken out ages ago!”

“Even if I could, I would probably only be able to nullify about three or four bars, Twilight. The rest would still be inhibiting. I have to physically be touching them (at least so far), you wouldn't even be able to use the bolt cutter spell. Besides, I don't know what the repercussions of nullifying magic would do”, I answered, spoken like a true scientist.

Twilight looked thoughtful. She nodded accepting my explanation, at least for now.

“Okay, this changes nothing. Lightning, I need you to leave me behind”, I commanded, giving him a solid look.

Lightning looked hurt.

“We can't just abandon you”, he replied, he looked with pleading eyes.

“You're not”, I affirmed, locking gazes with him. His eyes reflected something deeper and I felt like I could understand, if only a little.

“It’s not like last time”, I said gently as he started with surprise. “You will be back and you can save everyone. Free me and free the slaves, get help. Now go!”

He reluctantly spread his wings and flew out the opening.

One by one I looked on as I heard their farewells and noted each departing face.

I looked back to see Gruff. 

He had returned.

“Ah pony feathers”, I cursed, borrowing from my recent friends.
> 27 - Bonus Chapter: What's this? A Bonus Chapter? (non-canon)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia and Luna looked at each other across the table.

Celestia was displeased to say the least and Luna was beyond gloomy.

“Why”, began Celestia. “Is the cake always gone?”

Luna chewed the end of her mane.

“I named him Tigey”, she whined, the guards sniggered but Luna was beyond hearing them.

Celestia sighed.

“I’m placing an order.”

Luna just sniffed and put her head in her hooves, trapping her mane between them.

Celestia stomped over to annoy Kibitz with another cake order whilst Luna just moaned.

“He was the best plushie”, Luna said through gasps in between sobs.

-----

Over on another world, I presented a stuffed tiger plushie to Angel who smiled sweetly and hugged it to herself.

“It’s called Tigey”, I whispered and she squealed with delight.

“Oh, it’s perfect!” she babbled happily, shooting me an absolutely killer smile. I had a small heart attack.

“You can keep it for exactly one year”, I replied with a grin.

Angel paused.

I waited for the expression of horror that dawned on her face.

“No… You didn’t…”

I nodded.

Angel slapped me.

“Oh come on, after everything they've done for you?!” she exclaimed, annoyed at me for pulling such a petty thing off.

“Angel, I think you need comfort food”, I answered, skipping off to the next room.

Puzzled she followed me and felt her jaw promptly drop.

“Cake?” I cackled, gesturing to the mountains of confectionary delights.

> 28 - Bonus Chapter: Twilight's Ramble (canon)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay so you're a pony”, I clarified, pointing to Twilight. She nodded eagerly.

“Not a horse”, I stressed, to which Twilight face-hoofed.

“Ponies are different to horses!” Twilight exclaimed, trying to keep annoyance from creeping into her voice.

“In what way?” I replied, honestly trying to wrap my head around the concept. Hey I'm more of a human biologist than a general biologist, cut me some slack here.

“Ponies are smaller and are different to horses”, she replied simply.

“Okay aside from size differences, what is different between a pony and a horse?” I asked, still honestly trying to figure out what was the distinction. Twilight was frustrated but couldn’t get mad because she detected the note of sincerity behind my actions.

“Okay, uhm, well it’s like this… It’s simple really… Just give me a momen-“ Twilight stumbled as she tried to find a difference other than stature. I raised an eyebrow.

“You… you don't know do you?” I asked rhetorically but Twilight answered anyway.

“I do so! Just give me a moment to think!” Twilight fumed, wracking her brains for an answer, her chains clinked as she put her hooves on her head, straining to come up with a response. After a full minute and a half of groaning mumbling and general rolling, I gave up waiting for an answer and focused on planning the next stage of our eventual prison break.

“E-eyes!” she suddenly yelped and I nearly jumped out of my skin in fright.

“Oh gosh darn!” I cursed and immediately covered my mouth. Twilight glared at me for a second but then launched into her idea, more interested in trying to solve this equine problem than punish me for mild, mild cursing. Fairly sure her friends, apart from Pinkie would curse more than me. I guess she just likes picking on me.

“Our eyes are bigger than horses!” she pointed out and she grinned proudly. I face palmed slowly and drew a shuddering breath.

“Did I not specify size difference?” I shot back, to which Twilight drooped a little but recovered with vigour.

“That’s because it’s all about size!” she retorted putting her hooves on her hips.

I would have muttered a few inappropriate things, but I decided that the dungeon would be a poor place for innuendo (I mean, in your endo! Oooooooh!).

“Are there any ponies that are bigger than horses?” I threw out, hoping it’d snag.

Twilight considered it briefly before nodding. 

I gestured at her as if I was a waiter at a high class restaurant and she was a lady ordering a soup but that it had a distasteful fly in it so I was indicating that she would want to take said soup back to the kitchen for which I would happily replace it free of charge but she would rather argue pointlessly about it instead of graciously accepting to which I would flourish and distract her attention in a way that is slightly condescending but still valid in the case that I would still hold the character of a high class waiter in a fancy restaurant. 

Exactly in that way.

Pinkie winked at me from her corner, somehow knowing exactly what I had been trying to convey.

Twilight opened and closed her mouth in the same way as a sardine would if displaced from his natural environment in a sudden and shocking way, provided that the sardine never actually dreamt that he could breathe air and wanted to try it or tha- you know what, I think we'll move on.

“But. We’re. Ponies”, she reaffirmed trying to wrap her illogical argument back into itself.

“So that makes it right?” I pointed out.

“But-“

“Are ponies a different species?” I asked suddenly, interrupting her response.

She looked annoyed but answered anyway.

“Well yes, I believe so”, she answered smugly.

“Refresh me on the definition of how a species is classified”, I asked innocently.

Twilight sensed a trap but could not see the shape.

“It’s when interbreeding is no longer possible due to genetic changes inherited from the process of speciation”, she replied cautiously.

“Can horses and ponies interbreed?”

Twilight growled and pulled bits of her mane in different directions.

“Okay! Different topic!” she exclaimed, moving away from the subject of ponies and horses.

I nodded, why push a won argument?

Hmm topics of interest… Politics? Nah I wasn't into politics. Science? Nah that would a topic we’d both enjoy. Romance? Nah too raw for me. Fashion? Nah she looks fashion-backwards rather than forwards, besides she’s not even wearing clothes. Culture? Hmm okay, good potential. Could get gnarly but I'll step back when I have to.

“Holidays!” I offered, throwing out my arms in a grand gesture.

Twilight smiled for once obviously thinking I'd be heading towards more pleasant conversation. Mwuhahahaha. Nope!

“Well every year we have the Summer Sun Celebration where we watch Princess Celestia raise the sun!” Twilight expounded, almost religiously.

I nodded, a little confused, and she must not mean it literally. Raising the sun, pfft ha ha.

“We have a similar thing at home called the New Year’s celebration, literally tons of fireworks go off all over the world. In my country, our New Year’s celebration is one of the most famous in all of the planet”, I proffered trying to engage Twilight in more culture.

Less wary, Twilight went into other holidays such as Nightmare Night, festivals such as the Grand Galloping Gala, Hearth’s Warming Eve and other festivities that had a fondness for alliteration. I decided to point this out.

“Why do a lot of these celebration names alliterate?” I pointed out, in the midst of Twilight’s explanation of the Grand Galloping Gala.

Twilight sighed instead of getting annoyed. I think she was just getting used to my interruptions. Oh shush you, I have manners I just like ribbing Twilight, don’t know why.

“I-“ she paused, unable to come up with an answer. Ha! Another question stumps Twilight. I was disappointed when her face cleared.

“I believe it is due to the influence of one of our most famous spellcasters in the history of Equestria… Star Swirl the Bearded!” she squealed in obvious fan girl excitement. I suppressed the urge to moan. She frowned at my obvious ignorance of Star Swirl. Apparently, or at least according to her expression, I needed an extended history lesson.

“You need an extended history lesson”, she announced getting to her hooves and trotting over to stand in front of me. I groaned and shuffled away.

She ignored my obvious enthusiasm, or lack thereof, and proceeded to lecture me on the wonders of Star Swirl the Bearded to which almost all the accomplishments went over my head, apart from a few names that bore startling resemblances to names of some scientific laws.

Principle of Thaumic Energy Conservation? Who comes up with these names? Stop ripping us off! Get some originality! Stop being stupid and be better! I thought angrily.

-----

Celestia stamped a hoof while Luna barely glanced up from her newspaper.

“Somepony is definitely talking about me!” Celestia shouted in dismay.

Luna grumbled something about someponies that needed to stop being crazy.

Out loud she called back, “Don’t be ridiculous, Tia.”

Celestia pouted, “But Lunaaaa.”

Luna just kept reading her paper. Her patience had been significantly drained on the OwlBear last night and then completely depleted by a self-conscious diva of a serpent, name was Steven or something...

----

I hid my head under some rocks to try and drown out Twilight. Twilight’s eyes were closed while reminiscing about her studies of Star Swirl so I was able to escape notice for now. A quick glance in the direction of the others showed similar results, except Pinkie Pie who was fast asleep. That mare could sleep through a hurricane, I swear.

Grumbling I settled in for a long night of Twilight’s rambling.

> 29 - I've Always Wanted to See the World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not entirely true, Gruff was still a nice guy and the following only confirmed it.

“So Gruff”, I began, trying to eye on opening. “How’s this going to go down?”

My act was mostly false bravado, after all, Gruff was a bigger figure than me and I had lost the element of surprise. The atmosphere was tense and I could feel cold sweat beading down my forehead. Gruff seemed to tense and I reacted by tensing up as well. This could very well be the fight of my life. It was going to be a clash of the titans. It was going to be an epic battle of good versus evil. It was going to be-

“Take me with you!” he pleaded, unexpectedly and I figuratively face-planted. Well played, Gruff. Well played. It seemed Gruff was fully capable of taking me by surprise.

“What?” was all I could respond with and I winced internally. That’s got to have lost me some ‘hard line killer’ points. I shrugged.

“Why?” I followed up with, wary now more than threatened.

“When you told me about the world I was curious”, he spoke, voice rough and full of emotion.

Well I'll be... An aspiring adventurer. But what could an adventurer want with me in particular?

“I'm not wanted here, not appreciated here. I’m always a drifter… I want something more, something only you can seem to give”, he explained, putting a clawed paw behind his head.

“I don't understand”, I stated, uncomprehending. “What does that have to do with me? What could possibly be something only I can give?”

He opened his mouth and shut it. His claws swung and paused in mid gesture as he tried to explain himself. It seemed he had difficulty trying to frame exactly what gave him the push to consider me as a means for his escape. An escape he had simply dreamt of, now tangible in the form of a human.

I threw him a bone, figuratively speaking of course.

“Gruff you are the one who decides your own fate, not me. I am a stranger you have met for less than a week and you trust your life… your whole future to me? Freedom is not something you can gain from someone else. It’s something you seek for yourself. Just because I told you about the world doesn't make me qualified to show it to you. You're your own dog, you can fetch the information yourself. Strike out independently, find a new job, start a new career, visit universities and read books of knowledge. Do whatever you want”, I lectured, though not unkindly.

He pointed an excited clawed ‘finger’ at me.

“That is what I'm talking about!” his gravelly voice grumbled elatedly. “Your manner, your explanations, you're you!”

Gosh, I think I inspired a diamond dog to become a student. In no time he'll be a scientist or an engineer or both, like me.

“You want to learn more about the world?” I asked soberly. He nodded bombastically reaching an uncomfortable arm around my shoulders.

“Teach me”, was all he said while drawing me into a hug.

I hesitantly returned it. After threatening his life he was just going to hug me and forgive me for that? I was at a loss for words.

He reached behind himself as I drew away and revealed a hook and rope he had been keeping tied around his belt.

He pointed at the furnace and pushed past me to get at the opening.

“Let’s go”, he offered, swinging the hook up the small chimney.

Well, I wasn't complaining. I followed him, expecting to see surprised faces.

I was not disappointed.

As Gruff clambered out he was immediately met with suspicion as Lightning gave him a hard look. Gruff put up his paws in a placating gesture and backed away from the standoffish stallion. As I brought up the rear Lightning looked at me in surprise and I returned the expression.

“I thought I told you to leave without me”, I said wryly.

Solid and Iron trotted up.

“We decided we weren't going to leave you alone, although Hardy flew off to get some help”, Solid reported as Iron nodded.

“It only takes one pony to send a message”, Iron commented.

Twilight scuffed a hoof on the ground.

“I think I've misjudged you”, she began but I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

“Oh come off it, if anything I should be apologising to you. Sorry for slapping you on the flank, that was very rude of me”, I replied, running my fingers through my hair in embarrassment.

Iron, Solid and Lightning collectively had to pick up dropped jaws from the ground. Unhygienic I tell you, jaws shouldn't be on the floor.

Gruff grumbled a laugh.

“Not bad”, he said, drawing the attention of all the ponies.

Lightning rounded on me.

“Why is he with you?” he asked demandingly. I could feel his interrogating stare bore into my soul.

“He wanted to see the world, apparently. He is now Gruff the student and I am his Master”, I declared airily, earning me suspicious looks from the majority of ponies except Pinkie who was already shaking Gruff’s hand.

“Hiya Gruff!” she cried out in delight. “Nice to meet you! I'm Pinkie Pie, but you can call me Pinkie, all my friends do!”

“Except when they're calling you other things”, I said under my breath, Twilight heard my less than subtle statement and shot me a glare in the defence of her friend. I mouthed an apology. That was definitely unwarranted.

Pinkie finished shaking hands with Gruff and somehow ended up piggybacking around Gruff’s shoulders, hooves around his neck. Gruff didn't mind and appeared to be smiling pleasantly around the energetic pink party mare.

I leaned in to Twilight and whispered in her ear.

“Looks like Gruff made his second friend”, I said conspiratorially. Twilight smiled, she seemed to accept Gruff when Pinkie went out of the way to make friends with him.

“You can never have too many friends”, she replied philosophically. I pondered the statement for a while.

“I'll let you know if I ever do”, I shot back and Twilight giggled.

“That'll be the day”, she agreed and cantered forward, leaving me behind.

I followed the purple-coated mare thinking devious things about what it meant to have too many friends. I paused mid-step as I considered a weird thought.

I thought of home.

You can never have too friends but...

I thought of Dmitri, Paul, Angel, Emilia and even Dwayne.

You can always have just enough.

> 30 - Wake Up Call
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something pink, white and blue filled my vision blocking out everything.

I put on my best grumpy face.

“Why. So. Serious?” Pinkie said menacingly.

I put on my terrified face.

She held a knife in her hoof.

“Let’s put a smile on that face”, she said quietly, all the more disturbing at how out of character she was.

It was then I suddenly noticed her hair was all straightened.

I laughed, “Ha. Ha. Ha. Hee. Hee. Hee. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Hee. Hee. Oh.”

Pinkie frowned.

“You can't laugh”, she complained, waving her knife dangerously.

I laughed harder.

“My dream! I get to decide what happens!” I replied happily. Her mane poofed back into shape.

“That’s the spirit!” she yelled pulling out a cannon and aiming it at me.

“Hit me with everything you got!” I yelled as the cannon shot a combination of glitter, cake and streamers.

-----

I woke to see everybody staring at me strangely.

Pinkie and I shared a glance.

“Best. Dream. Ever”, I shared with Pinkie, she grinned back at me nodding in approval.

The others just mumbled and went back to sleep.

----

It was just past the second night that we had escaped from the diamond dog caverns. We had waited until help had arrived and guided the troops in. Gruff looked a little guilty so he sat out the storming troops invading his former home thing. I kept him company as he sat there looking lost and more alone. He would get over it, I surmised, he had made his own decision. Still, I still felt a pang of empathy for him, it wouldn't be easy losing your home even if it had been the heart of pain and suffering.

The ponies we recovered were immensely grateful for our help. I thought Twilight was regarded as something of a celebrity by the way some of the ponies recognised her. She blushed and stroked her mane in embarrassment whenever a pony would pass her a compliment. I readily cut in with a teasing joke about her fastidious nature, which would quickly earn me a swipe of her hoof.

Pinkie seemed to hang around Gruff whenever I wasn't teaching him anything. They developed a close bond of happy and energetic meeting the strong silent type. Gruff rarely spoke more than two words to anyone but me but mainly because he was getting used to talking to anyone else that was not a prisoner or a diamond dog.

He warily engaged in conversation with the rest of the group, which Solid accepted graciously, Iron more cautiously but Lightning understandably a lot more coldly. For Lightning it had not be a grey area for him. Either you helped us or were complicit with the captors. Just because you were brought up in the diamond dog caverns did not excuse your inaction to the slavery you saw around. The ponies he guarded were clearly unhappy and unwilling and Gruff having done nothing to save them, got of a little too lightly for Lightning’s liking.

His silence was acquiescence and they were the brand of guilt for Gruff in Lightning’s eyes.

I had wanted to explore Lightning’s past but there hadn't been a tactful way of doing so. We weren't fast friends, simply friends built of need and circumstance and I couldn't push personal boundaries that far. I had little experience with talks of this kind so I kept my distance and observed. Acting rashly would only earn me a broken trust and I valued my new friendship too much to act upon it.

Breaking away from issues of friendship I got to talk with Twilight about her knowledge of science, especially her in depth knowledge of chemistry. It seemed that Twilight was an encyclopaedia of knowledge, with her familiarity branching out from all the central sciences of biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics and other esoteric areas such as psychology and philosophy.

To say I was excited was an understatement. Finally, there was someone to talk about science and engineering (apart from Angel and maybe Emilia) that would understand what I would talk about without having to explain to them the underlying principles. I was disappointed to find out that she knew next to nothing of electronics and even less on quantum computing. Ah well, further probing could wait. There was so much to see.

After helping to clear the caverns Harding caught up with us. Lightning had stayed because technically they still had Solid under arrest. They refused to tell me what it was for and Solid would turn up her nose whenever I asked. Suffice to say they were transporting the mare to a place called Canterlot.

Twilight had offered to take me to Canterlot and I readily agreed, after all I had nothing better to do rather than stay in a familiar dilapidated castle in the middle of a wild forest. I figured going to Canterlot would probably make my journey back home easier.

To be honest ever since I got here I never had any time to think about home or how I got here. I had accepted this place or ‘Equestria’ as Twilight termed it, as reality but I had difficulty figuring out how I would get home due to the heavy implications of this place being not of Earth, or at least not as Earth as I knew it.

Not knowing the answers gave me a migraine on a good day so most of the time I relegated my directive to get back home or think about just where the hell I was to a secondary objective. It wasn't important for me to get home per se and I didn’t know why. Over the last couple of days I kept remembering more and more fragments.

I remembered my plan. I remembered working tirelessly on Synchrony. I remembered the cries of the families of the victims that depended on me. Yet, for some reason I felt at peace, though I still felt the pleading tug of a quarter of a million people. 

Was I getting hard and callous? Did I not feel the pain of a city’s worth of people? Had I become a monster? Those thoughts had nagged my mind as I slept fitfully through the last couple of nights. On the third night I had decided enough was enough and I laughed in the face of my guilt (which for some reason was Pinkie Pie but hey, when did dreams ever make sense?).

Apart from my guilty interlude, the group decided to head to a train station, from there I would decide whether or not I'd like to visit Canterlot. Twilight had eluded that I might be able to meet royalty and I thought, heck why not? So we travelled.

All was going well until we met them.

-----

Twilight held a hoof up.

“I hear something”, she said straining in the darkness.

Gruff perked his ears and nodded, confirming Twilight’s suspicions. We were in the forest travelling in the evening and the sun was setting, we were just about to set up camp. I had crouched down, readying myself to collapse in a fit of exhaustion.

Lightning and Hardy tensed.

“We're surrounded”, they reported, readying for battle.

I ground my teeth.

Does nothing go right anymore?

> 31 - Meat the Mane Six
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was convinced that my existence was nothing more than a game played by petty gods. I refused to give them the satisfaction of whining so I adapted to the situation best I could.

I rose up from my half-seated position and announced in the strongest voice I could muster:

“I’m getting tired, I'm getting hungry, PLEASE ambush us after we've eaten and slept”, I called out to the surrounding bushes.

I heard a raspy giggle come from the shrubbery and we were greeted by an odd assortment of mares.

A blue, maybe sky blue, pony with a rainbow coloured mane and tail approached me still chortling as a response to my irritated shout out. She stopped in front of me and gave me an easy grin.

“Hey there”, she greeted. “Love the attitude but I've got a friend to catch up with.”

She nonchalantly ‘fwipped’ to the side steadfastly ignoring me as a few more of the cautious mares in the ‘ambush team’ slowly revealed themselves from the native foliage.

A white coated mare with an indigo mane galloped towards Twinkie and hugged them both, along with the rainbow mare. Following at a more sedately pace a blonde maned, orange-coated mare and a pink maned, butter-cream coloured mare joined the mix. 

They hugged in a combined group of six. 

And once they had gotten their fix. 

The orange-mare asked Twilight what she had been up to, what kind of tricks.

To which, Twilight recounted, while playing with sticks. 

Pinkie Pie filled in the gaps, while giving a cupcake the licks.

(I still hadn't gotten used to that pink mare’s tics.)

(I had to stop rhyming after that.)

(Cat, door, bat on a mat. Oh, seems like it’s back. Cut me some slack.)

On a more serious note, Twilight introduced me to her friends.

She pointed to each of them with a hoof as she described them.

“Well, let me introduce you to my closest friends. This is Rarity, she is the white-coated mare and an excellent fashion designer.”

Rarity blushed at the compliment.

“This is Applejack, she’s one of the best farmers in Equestria and the maker of one of the finest ciders.”

“Aww shucks, sugar cube”, replied modestly, swinging a hoof.

“This is Rainbow Dash, she’s one of the best fliers in Ponyville.”

“More like in all of Equestria!” she added with a swoop in the air and fis- hoof pump in the air.

“And finally this is Fluttershy, caretaker of animals and one of the kindest mares you'll ever meet.”

Fluttershy hid her face behind her pink mane as she offered quietly, “Oh, uhm, hi”.

Oh. Adorable. Nothing like you, Twilight, I thought, snidely.

Twilight sensed an ill internal comment from me and shot me a glare. I put on my best ‘I'm offended you would think that of me’ expression. She shook her head.

Not going down that road again, she thought firmly.

“And everyone this is…” she paused as she seemed to realise something. “By Celestia… I don't even know your name!”

I face-palmed.

Wait.

“Does anyone here actually know my name?” I asked hopefully, locking eyes with everyone present. I was rewarded with downcast gazes and firm shakes of their heads.

Something bubbled up within me a strange mirth that shook my chest and burst out of my mouth like a tidal wave of comedic power.

I addressed Twilight.

“Let me get this straight. You have been chasing me for the better part of a day, trusted me with an escape plan, followed me through a hostile den of diamond dogs and introduced me to your closest friends… and you don't even know my name?”

I turned to Gruff, “It’s been what? A week now since you first met me? You've left everything behind to follow me, without knowing my name?”

I turned to Lightning and Hardy.

“You both stayed behind for me without knowing my name?”

I paused, gathering my thoughts.

In the silence, Applejack asked me what everypony or diamond dog wanted to say but was too afraid to say.

“So what is your name, sugar cube?” she asked hesitantly.

I drew in a breath for a dramatic reveal. Everyone watched with anticipation as I bowed low and swept a florid hand around in a grandiose gesture.

“Not telling”, I said in a singsong voice as everyone groaned and muttered some incomprehensible thing.

Rainbow Dash seemed the most annoyed, darting in front of me and pushing me with a hoof to emphasise her next words.

“Hey buddy, we told you our names, you should tell us yours”, she growled menacingly.

Rarity nodded, “Yes dear, I think it is quite rude not to offer your name when others have so kindly introduced themselves to you, don’t you think?”

I nodded. It was only fair.

“Okay then how about we play a game of hospitality”, I offered with a placating gesture.

Rainbow looked confused and drifted down to land.

“The rules are simple. I'm a foreigner in a foreign land. None of you know my name. If I pronounce it, you might get it wrong so it’s only fair I judge the situation first and get to know you all better. So far I have been living in a dingy castle, been chased by an enraged unicorn (which was my fault so I'll let that slide) and captured by diamond dogs and been used as slave. If you promise me a nice treatment at Canterlot I’ll tell you my name.”

The others nodded seeing reason.

“So all we have to do is treat you nicely and show you a good time at Canterlot?” Twilight asked incredulously. She narrowed her eyes. “That seems suspiciously easy. What’s the catch?”

“No catch”, I replied. “I honestly just want to have a good time. For once.”

Everybody was starting to cotton on to the idea.

“I still think you should tell us but I suppose your stay in Equestria has been somewhat… lacking if I have heard you correctly”, Rarity commented, giving me a hard stare that turned compassionate. “Hmm I'll agree. We’ll make you feel at home.”

“Oh, uhm I think that’s a good idea, if you don't mind”, Fluttershy added in quietly. Man she is adorable as heck.

Rainbow fist-hoof bumped me (surprisingly). Gruff grunted in acknowledgement. Lightning and Hardy nodded. Both Solid and Iron smiled, which I took as agreement.

“So we're all agreed then?” I confirmed and everyone happily accepted.

“Okay what next?”

Suddenly, pegasus soldiers dropped out of the sky and landed all around us. Now we were truly surrounded.

“What’s all this about?” I asked walking forwards, I surprised when I stopped at spear-point by one of the impassive faces of the guard.

A white-coated stallion strode forward with considerably heavier armament than the rest.

“My name is Sergeant Major Boots and by order of Her Royal Majesty, Celestia of Equestria, we hereby arrest you for crimes against magic”, the stallion stated flatly. 

“Do not resist and you will be unharmed”, he added for good measure.

He gestured forward to two stallions carrying chains. I wanted to run but I didn't really see the point to be honest.

“Out of diamond dog chains and into pony ones… well at least I won’t be mining rocks for the rest of my life… or will I be?” I ground out venomously. I felt a small hint of satisfaction when the utter malice in my voice gave the two guard ponies holding the chain pause, then they quickly secured me.

Twilight was furious, probably because she lost our bet and I wouldn't be telling her my name. She calmed enough to speak to the leader.

“We would like to go with him”, Twilight demanded. Sergeant Major Boots quickly scanned all the faces of my newly acquired friends.

“No, we canno-”, he replied simply.

“We are key witnesses, if he is to stand trial”, Twilight persisted, trying to get a word in edgeways.

“He is not a citizen of Equestria-“

“But he is a foreign unknown species and is subject to first contact protocols, which you have violated, you could cause a war!” Twilight hammered but I gave credit to the Sergeant Major, he held fast.

“Under a direct order from Her Majesty, so I think she will be the one to decide if we are to go to war”, he replied smarmily, gesturing for the guards to begin lifting me to a chariot.

Lightning and Hardy stepped up, trying to ease tension.

“Private Lightning Shield, reporting for duty”, he snapped, coming to attention.

“Corporal Hardy Greaves, reporting for duty”, Hardy added only a split second after Lightning.

“We have orders from the Princess to transport Solid Evidence, a convicted criminal to Canterlot but we crashed due to chariot failure and have been held prisoner by the diamond dogs straight after”, Hardy reported.

“We request assistance to transport the prisoner, sir”, Lightning pleaded, still at attention.

Boots considered the two pegasi then nodded and gestured for the backup chariot.

“Come with us then, you need to report to the Princess”, he assented then his eyes softened. “You've had it hard my fellow comrades, take a break.”

“Thank you, sir”, they both saluted and went to situate themselves with the other pegasi guard.

Twilight was still fuming but she couldn't think of any way to interpose herself.

Before she could do anything we would both regret I called out from the chariot I was being held in.

“Don't worry Twilight, it'll be alright, I promise!” I shouted back, I was about to say more but the chariot jolted and lifted into the air suddenly choking back words I was going to say.

Twilight could only gaze back sadly as the chariot receded.

“But you didn't Pinkie Promise”, she called back softly so that not even Pinkie could hear, even being only a head away.

> 32 - The Cake is a Pie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Convincing Mi Amore Cadenza that using the Crystal Heart was a good idea was something difficult to propose and even more onerous to accept.

“Cadance, please”, pleaded Celestia putting on her best puppy dog eyes. Luna joined her.

“The Crystal Heart is the only source of energy that is both reliable and strong enough to send out the pulse wave, it is very important!”

“Princess Luna, Princess Celestia”, Cadance replied stiffly. “That look only works if you are less than ten years of age.”

“Drat”, Luna cursed silently.

Louder she said, “This is why you should bear foals and we could simply attack the issue through them!”

“Auntie Luna!” Cadance chided, though she blushed. It was just as well Shining Armor wasn't around.

“What? We all know it is coming, there is no need to hide it”, Luna defended flicking a dismissive hoof.

Cadance stared at her hooves in consternation.

“I do but I’m not sure Shining does as well”, Cadance commented to the shocked Luna and Celestia.

“Trouble in paradise?” Luna seized, sinking her proverbial fangs in the juicy gossip.

“No nothing like, dear sister. She is simply deluded. Shining is the perfect husband and I’m sure will be a very capable father”, Celestia interceded, wrapping a wing around Cadance.

Cadance did not look so sure but decided to move away from the topic and decided to readdress the dragon in the room.

“I think you must explain to me why it is so important to use the Crystal Heart, first”, she demanded, gently shying away from Celestia’s wing.

Celestia sighed. Cadance was right. She deserved to know.

“There has been trouble with magic”, Celestia began, and she gazed at her sister, prompting Luna to continue. After all, it had been her original conception.

Luna cleared her throat before launching into the barest bones of Star Swirl the Bearded’s discovery, following the possibility of null object or being, followed by the strange fluctuations in magic within Equestria and finally her own experience with the dream spells.

Throughout most of the exposition, Cadance nodded following along and did not once interrupt with a question. It seemed Cadance understood the situation but was unable to appreciate the sense of urgency it imposed.

“The nullification of magic is not really a bad thing, is it?” she had queried after Luna had wrapped up. “After all it simply stops magic on physical contact. It isn't harming anypony.”

Luna drew breath to explain but Celestia put a hoof up, wanting a turn.

As Luna subsided Celestia put forward her own thoughts.

“The magic nullification problem is not as simple as magic not working as effectively or simply not working in contact with the creature or object. The fact is magic nullification violates the Principle of Thaumic Energy Conservation. The magic is not converted to one form or a less useful form… it disappears from our universe”, she explained, sitting on her haunches.

Cadance nodded.

“So the problem is, the nullification of magic will eventually lead to a drain of all magic from Equestria in the most extreme case”, she posited, but Celestia cleared her throat in response.

“Ahem, more likely it would be the whole universe if left unchecked. Worst case scenario, the magic nullification would create a bigger and bigger vacuum to fill leading to the acceleration of magic to fill in the gap, leading to magic being nullified and creating a bigger magic vacuum and so on, so forth. Eventually, the exponential nature of the magic nullification would drain magic from Equestria leading to those whom rely on magic as a tool being very inconvenienced… to the deaths of those who rely on magic to live, such as Dragons, pegasi who happen to be flying at the time, manticores and cockatrices to name a few”, she finished with palatable dread.

At atmosphere of gloom settled about the room, making the Princesses hunch their shoulders in concern.

“You have my permission to use the Heart”, Cadance said quietly in the gathering silence.

Celestia and Luna nodded solemnly.

“Thank you Cadance”, they both replied.

Cadance cleared her throat.

“Okay enough doom and gloom”, she ended spritely, moving on to the next topic.

“How’s your love life, Luna?”

Luna spluttered unable to speak. Celestia giggled while Cadance wore an easy grin.

“W-w-we I-I-I m-mean I think w-we should move past that area”, she replied shakily and with a false sense of confidence.

Celestia saw past it easily.

“Come now Luna, no romance?” she teased, finally capitalising on one of very little soft spots that her sister had.

Luna grew redder and redder until even a blush could be seen peeking out of her fur.

Cadance couldn't hold her laughter in anymore and she collapsed in a fit of giggles. Celestia joined in a few moments later while Luna fumed.

Shining, who had been about to step in, slowly backed out, unnoticed by the three Princesses.

“Mares”, he grumbled and he had so looked forward to a normal conversation. Preferably one without romance and the like, he turned to the guards stationed outside.

“Am I right?” he asked, seeking affirmation. The guards glanced at each other before nodding slowly. Whether they agreed or not was a moot point. Either side with your ruler or side with your ruler, there wasn't much choice available.

Shining sighed and leant on a pillar. At least there was no disaster this year. The Crystal Empire was safe. He could relax…

Oh how wrong he was.


> 33 - Prison Break: Take Two?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess when you get to be a jailbird you start to philosophise about life and such.

I wanted to become ‘hard-core’. Was it that obvious I’d never been in jail?

So I philosophised. Because sometimes I like to do that, especially when I was bored, or locked up, or bored and locked up. I thought back to how I ended up in this dingy dungeon. The stone made walls hadn’t replied when I had asked that question out loud. Shrugging, I decided I might as well recount my journey to here.

The journey had been exciting. Solid had waved to me across the abyss when we were riding in flying chariots. At least she did until she was smacked upside the head by Iron who didn't appreciate having to escort his friend into custody. He kept a sharp eye on her as if she would somehow take apart a cart with some innocuous action or another.

I hadn't known the circumstances surrounding how Solid and Iron had crashed into us. The guards refused to talk about it and they had silenced Solid whenever it seemed she would impart any information, no matter how small, about ‘the incident’ as it had been collectively referred to ‘post-event’.

This had sparked my curiosity but I had no means from which to extract said information. I’m sure with enough cake, Solid would willingly recount the story but alas, I lacked either the goods or the means to create cake. I had thought about Pinkie. She probably could mix together a cake in an instant, she seemed like the type to be really good with sugary treats. Come to think about it… I saw her licking a cupcake. Where did she get that?

Riding in a flying chariot was a once in a lifetime experience. The horizon was clearly visible and the grassy knolls, hills and forests stretched out before us in crazy patterns. The guards had to pull me back from the edge for fear I’d tip myself off the edge of the moving vehicle, which I had to admit, would be instantly fatal. It didn’t stop me from trying to see everything by whipping my head from side to side. I probably looked like a demented hamster. 

I was fascinated with the flight of the pegasi. The two teams of pegasi pulling the chariots and the pegasi forming the fleet around us had different styles of flying. For example the ones pulling the chariot seemed to also sympathetically run (possibly habit from pulling things on a ground?) and the ones to the side, as part of the formation, were just flying superman style.

The chariot also had wheels that spun as we flew, probably due to wing drag or some hidden mechanic. I felt like I was a child again looking at a spinning top. Just it never ended and stopped. To me, as a scientist, the world was full wonders. I used to see the complexity in everything and just wonder in awe. Here in Equestria, so many things were new so many things to discover and explore.

I had to admit, Equestria was beautiful, in an alien sense. There were no towering spires of humanity’s architecture, or the steady streams of cars, no lights from blast wave laser optical lines, no intricate power lines crisscrossing the landscape, no neon, no LEDs, no mass of people or crowds. It was just greenery and nature all around. It both fascinated and freaked me out.

It was like I had been cast back to the feudal age. We had parks, we had forest but they were all contained and I hadn't seen much of them. In fact the whole environment had been unsettling the moment I had arrived. Back in the beginning I had been too busy to fully appreciate nature. You tend to ignore more than appreciate your surroundings when they were trying to kill you. Still the water had been great, the vegetables though plain, amazing and everything seemed to be so much more here.

I hadn't had much time to think about it. Now, I had thought I had much more time so I had decided to reflect on recent events. My thoughts though, had kept bouncing on random tangents so I had difficulty trying to keep my mind on one topic. I had stopped looking after seeing a beautiful sunset usher in nightfall.

The novelty of flying had worn off quickly as the chill seeped through my dirty and tattered clothes. I hadn't had a bath for ages. I probably looked like a monster. I had grinned grimly. It probably didn't help my case that I looked so horrific.

There wasn't much else that had happened during the flight so I'll keep it brief. After seeing Canterlot, which was an amazing piece of architecture that I wasn’t able to see much of due to the nightfall. The lights though, had unexpectedly reminded me of the city lights and it brought a lump to my throat. Unceremoniously, I had been quickly ushered into a gigantic white castle through a side entrance and into a cell where I had been deposited rudely.

Back to my philosophical exposition, I just pondered the differences in culture.

What did people do without technology? It was simply hard to imagine. I had always thought they would live very difficult and trying lives. They'd be dying of diseases, with a lack of medical advancements and diagnostic tools. They would be fighting mere pitiful crop yields without selective breeding or genetic modification or pesticides or the like. They would be lonely without the fast and quick communication that connected the world.

They didn't seem unhappy… They seemed satisfied. It irked me to no end.

How can someone be so satisfied without the age of technology? How could they be so lacklustre in their push to greater and greater heights? How could-

How could they be so happy? Was it just that ignorance was truly bliss? Or was I missing something?

Too many questions. Too many questions. So much self-doubt.

For me, Synch had always been a goal that consumed my life. Before that I had nothing. Before Synch, I drifted. Was I really doing it for Synch? Was I really doing it for the people? Was I just doing it for myself?

Troubled by these questions I drifted into a fitful sleep, determined to find out the answers in due time.

In my sleep I had another dream.

A dream that had frightened me to the core.

> 34 - The Canterlot Prison Redemption
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight ‘not-quite’ cantered but ‘not-quite’ galloped along the path. They had long since left the Gem Hills behind and were headed eastwards from Rambling Rock Ridge (to which the Gem Hills were a part of) and towards Ponyville so they could catch a train to Canterlot. It would be very slow going towards Ponyville on foot and Rainbow took the time to remind everypony of that fact.

Twilight did not pay any heed, being so anxious and her usual caution in travelling relatively unknown areas flew into the wind. She did ask the question that had been present in her mind the second she saw her friends.

“How did you know how to find me?” she had asked, still surprised as to how she could be found so easily by her friends. They weren’t even close to the Everfree forest. When she had posed the question though, the majority of her friends had looked suitably embarrassed.

“Well ah, Rarity here wanted new gems…” Applejack started, taking down her hat and placing it over her barrel chest.

“We were worried, of course!” Rainbow quickly interjected.

“Uhm, no not- I mean yes! I mean we had faith in you…” Fluttershy squeaked, when Twilight rounded on her.

“What Fluttershy meant to say is that we believed you could handle yourself”, Rarity clarified, tossing her mane.

Twilight looked quizzically at Rarity.

“Then what is the reason that you all came?” she posed, confused.

Rarity cleared her throat daintily.

“Well Darling, you must understand the last time I came it was a dreadful experience! I simply could not tolerate going alone again, so I decided to gather most of our friends to help. Imagine our surprise as we walked down the path, to see a group of strangers walking straight towards us. Luckily Rainbow Dash spotted the group in time so hid in the bushes despite Rainbow complaining that you were there too. We had to be sure.”

Twilight nodded, that made sense. She paused, one hoof mid-air.

“Where’s Gruff?” she asked, casting her gaze around. The big diamond dog was nowhere to be found.

-----

Gruff had set off on his own to find me on his own. Without a scent though, he was lost but he didn't want to unduly burden Twilight and the other ponies, he had a sense of honour. He did catch mention that I was headed to Canterlot and he the vague direction that Canterlot lay. So he quickly followed the path that lead to Canterlot thinking foremost about me and trying to remember cultural mannerisms his mother had taught him rudimentarily.

“Food etiquette… was it the right that the fork went? Or the left? Was it ‘how do you do’? Or was it ‘how does you do’?” he growled, trying to mimic the vague notions of high society. He shrugged. Maybe he’ll pick it up on the way. Perhaps he should keep practicing, just in case.

-----

Solid Evidence was miserable. She was a convicted felon to be sure but it was for none of the hard stuff and not for trumped up charges. At least if she were to go to prison wanted it to be for causing a massive explosion or for revealing sensitive Equestrian government information. Maybe she could be the next ‘WikiBeaks’ that the griffon ‘Mule-ian Ass-ange’ had formed in the Griffon State.

All she could do was await judgement. She couldn't even confirm Harpie’s crazy theory on null beings and such. If only she had completed the magic resonance network she could get a better picture of how things worked. Oh well Baltimare wasn't going anywhere and her theory could be proven later. Right now she had to escape incarceration and she wasn't sure she could afford a lawyer.

Luckily for her though, she had the next best thing.

“What?” Iron stared back at her, when she was gazing at him thoughtfully.

“You're my ticket”, she whispered disturbingly. Iron tried to edge away but the chariot only had limited space.

“Be gentle…” he croaked as Solid’s eyes became frightening.

-----

For me, I had been stuck in a cell, not without company. A wall separated us but the other prisoner had been friendly enough.

“Name’s Kibitz, Breakneck Kibitz”, he had called out. “What are you in here for?”

“I’m innocent, you?” I replied getting a bark of laughter from Kibitz.

“Lawyer got me”, he shot back easily, and it made me grin. 

“No really”, I called back across the dungeon. “What are you accused of?”

“Not giving the Princess enough cake for dinner, apparently”, he replied.

I laughed at that, though my laugh carried a note of sympathy.

Oh wow, this per- pony must be a tyrant, I thought.

-----

On a train ride back from the Crystal Empire, Celestia gave a little shudder of foreboding.

“Let’s hurry back”, she explained to a questioning look from Luna. “I have a feeling somepony is talking about me.”

Luna scoffed, “Everypony is talking about you. Celestia help us. Oh dear Celestia. Celestia protect us.”

Celestia brightened, considering what her sister said.

“Yes”, she replied. “It must be that.”

-----

An absolute tyrant, I fumed as Kibitz laid out all the times he’d been thrown in the dungeon for some menial reason or another. Completely beyond reason.

“So that’s enough about me, what about you?” he asked, I heard a hint of smug confidence, as if his crimes were the greatest that had ever been recounted. Not that I knew much about this place but I sincerely doubt it.

“Crimes against magic”, I called out and I heard a sharp intake of breath.

Kibitz hesitated before talking again.

“Not necromancy, or soul sorcery, or alchemy or the like?” he exclaimed, a shudder running through his voice when he mentioned necromancy.

“No, nothing like that”, I replied. “It seems I’m immune to magic though. Or at least magic doesn’t work properly when I’m around it. Other than that I don’t see why I was arrested. I did help a bunch of ponies escape from a diamond dog slave cavern not too long ago.”

“Oh?” he queried, sounding very interested. “How did that come about?”

I quickly recounted the tale of how Twilight, Pinkie, Solid, Iron, Lightning, Hardy, Gruff and I escaped from the diamond dog camp. Halfway through recounting the story, I paused and found that not long after I had separated from them I already missed them dearly. 

Ah I thought I was already used to loneliness, I thought bitterly.

We were interrupted by a guard grating open the rusty door that apparently was the entrance of Kibitz’s prison cell. I sighed as he bid me farewell.

“Better luck next time”, he called out in sympathy. I heard the door grate close.

Was left in the silence with nothing but my thoughts.

-----

Not long after Kibitz was met by two worried Princesses.

“So”, Celestia began, trotting forward a little. “What did you think of our friend?”

Kibitz considered the situation, trying to be objective as possible in his assessment.

“I like him”, he answered and the Princesses sighed in relief.

“But that does not mean he is not dangerous”, he added and the Princesses tensed.

“But I think we can trust him”, he ended with a coy smile.

Irritated, Celestia swatted Kibitz with a hoof. He danced out of the way easily.

“Now, now Princess we must maintain a sense of decorum, especially in front of our subjects”, he chided, though in a teasing manner.

Luna glowered at Kibitz.

“Thou hast made mine life a misery for a day”, she muttered to the side but Kibitz’s keen ears picked up the small comment from the Princess of the Night.

“And thou hast made thine life difficult with thou slips of speech”, he replied with snark, striding away.

“If he wasn’t the best scheduler I would-“, Luna began but stopped herself. This wasn’t the time for playful banter.

“Sister, we must take action”, Luna said thoughtfully.

Celestia nodded back. They needed a plan.

“We shall converse briefly in my chambers, then meet him before the day court”, Celestia proposed. Luna nodded in assent.

-----

I played with my hands for a while before trying to drift off to sleep.

The sound of water pattering through a no doubt leaky roof set my teeth on edge.

Pit.

Pat.

Pit.

Pat.

If this was what Chinese Water Torture was like, I’d have probably broken by now and told them everything. I told myself it was just the discomfort of being forced outside my comfort zone, this time with no escape plan or even the freedom of bashing rocks together. It was just the prison cell walls and I. Alone. Together. I was close to drawing hearts on a small metal box and calling it my best ‘friend’.

If I had to name my greatest weakness, among many I might add, I would say boredom would come up to the top of the list (followed closely by getting shot in the heart). Before Synch I was bored, before Emilia I had been bored, before anything substantial that my life had achieved, I was bored.

Nothing really challenged my intellect, my responsibilities were small and my freedoms restricted. It drew very conclusive parallels to my current situation, living in a cell. I shuddered. When did my life become a living allegory?

Things like this wracked my mind whilst I tried to come up with a suitable hobby to pass my time. I didn’t know how long I was to be kept here but I suppose if the rulers were benevolent enough I could expect my execution to arrive in the morning. Nice and fast.

Who was I kidding? This was a government and there is a universal law for governments around any universe that states: All governments must maximise the time it takes to process anything. No exceptions. If something took a second to complete they would create forms and fittings that would take a few days to process before going through that second to complete said task. And they will take the whole second to do it.

Where was I? Yes, boredom.

The mind tended to wonder when there wasn’t anything active for me to do. I counted the stones bricks that made up the ceiling. I developed good estimations for the dimensions of the castle seen from the outside and knowing the little things I knew about ponies from when I got here. It wasn’t much, but at least it passed the time.

I was in the middle of carving a small circuit diagram, using my chains, for an auxiliary module to Synch in the middle of the castle floor when the guards opened the door and told me to stop. I would have stopped if I had heard them but so absorbed I was in the creation of the circuit diagram I simply ignored them, determined to solve the parasitic capacitance problem that was generating noise across the array.

I was interrupted from finishing the diagram when one the guards tackled me to the ground, baring steel at my throat.

“We told you to stop what you were doing”, he growled menacingly, putting the blade to my throat.

“Woah, hey!” I croaked, trying to squirm away from the blade-point of the spear. “I was just bored and drew some circuit diagrams, relax.”

He glared at me with pitiless eyes and pressed the spear until it drew a drop of blood from the hollow of my neck.

“I do not take orders from you, creature”, he snarled before roughly pushing me away. I almost cursed as a fresh new scrape and bruise was added to my growing collection of pains.

“Likewise”, I muttered but he otherwise chose not to hear me or ignored me completely.

“Get up”, he ordered and trying to ooze irony I complied, slowly. He bucked me in the shin with a foot. I stumbled and fell.

“You”, I growled softly. “Are the most unpleasant specimen of pony I’ve had the misfortune to meet. I hope the gates of whatever antithesis to your religion open up and swallow your pitiless soul whole.”

I wanted to quote Dante but I couldn’t remember more than vague glimpses of literature. I was not that well read but at least I could logic his actions within the cold court of my mind. I settled on outwardly insulting him instead.

“Waste”, I muttered condescendingly. “Utter garbage.”

The guard roared in anger, tossing aside his spear and pinning me to the wall. The other guard, who had presumably waited outside, poked his head in and was about to rush to intervene. He paused in amazement as he saw me loop the chains binding my wrists around the guard’s neck garrotte style, which I must admit, was beginning to become my favourite method of combat.

The guard who had attacked me choked for air as I calmly told the other guard to stay where he was. Uncertain, the guard took a hoof step forward, only to pause as I tightened the improvised garrotte around the unpleasant guard’s neck.

I could feel the rush of his pulse, the lifeblood in his neck seeping into his brain, giving oxygen and precious earthly resources to his rotted brain. I felt both sickened and elated even considering an end to his wasteful life.

I tightened the chain as he gasped weakly, the other guard looking more and more agitated as the guard weakly fumbled and struggled his hooves splaying out. I suddenly released him throwing him to the floor. I acted more casual than I felt, emitting an aura of calm fury.

“You didn’t see it but he attacked me, without provocation, first. If you deny these events I will simply kill the next guard that dares try to come in here to try and ‘subdue’ me. I’ve been cooperative, almost pleasantly so and I was given word by Sergeant Major Boots that I would be unharmed if I cooperated. He dug his own grave”, I ground out, giving the crawling form of the guard a vengeful look of complete disgust and utter contempt. The other pony guard gazed back at me spellbound with wide fearful eyes, before gathering his comrade in his hooves and dragging the guard out.

The door slammed shut and gave a quiet snick as it locked once again.

I rubbed my neck absently as the adrenaline wore off. Where had that crazy, psychotic energy come from? I had been like a different person. Was he really that bad? I considered that I might be inventing demons where none existed. I gazed absently at my circuit diagrams, willing my conscious to dissolve into the calm of mathematical equations and circuitry symbols.

Calm down. Calm down.

They would be back.

But they had a good taste… 

I shook my head, feeling a disturbing fog cloud my thoughts. I needed to do something… What was it?

I hummed a small tune as I considered my intricate circuits. They were truly masterful artwork to the eyes of an engineer. I scratched some more circuit elements as they connected in a methodical and precise fashion.

Simply. Marvellous.

> 35 - Perfect Pony Petition: Peripheral Party Pleasure Edition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After pondering the implications of connecting two subsystems in that particular hardware configuration, I finally decided it was time to review what I did wrong.

And I don’t mean the miscalculated value of the bipolar junction transistor gain.

It was clearly wrong to react to that guard in that way. I had never really gotten angry like that before, not since Dwayne. It held very worrying and conflicting feelings for me. They had given me ample warning at first, so it wasn’t as if I was completely blameless, just that… that guard had flipped a switch and I couldn’t resist the temptation to do something about it.

Without doubting, without reviewing, I had carelessly sunk into my former lifestyle, one I had promised Emilia I wouldn’t do. Tears of regret grew at the corners of my eyes as I madly dashed them away.

Never again, I thought to myself but even my thoughts did not hold the firm conviction that I so desperately needed. I found my mind longing for Angel, Paul and Dmitri.

My friends, I forlornly called in my mind. Do you miss me?

Sighing, I slumped back against the hard surface of the wall, letting guilt weigh on my shoulders once again.

Where is your responsibility? I asked myself. What happened to all those people you were responsible for? Get back. You have to get back.

My eyes, wavering until now, firmed with resolve again.

There will be a way out, I thought. There will be redemption.

-----

Pinkie gazed absently at the slowly changing scene through the glass window. The train moved at a sedately pace, content with the scheduled arrival time it would keep. Trees passed by, birds swooped and trilled excitedly and gaily. The scene was one that would fill anypony with happiness.

But though her friends saw her smile and her outwardly happy disposition, they felt a sort of distance from Pinkie that they hadn’t encountered before.

Pinkie was thinking about the fascinating being-with-no-name. Though he seemed humorous, intelligent, friendly and kind, she could not help but feel as if he was holding everypony at arm’s length, as if afraid a relationship with anypony would be a betrayal. She felt a conflict in his psyche, as if he held a mountain of responsibility, self-imposed, and the only thing that stopped his world collapsing was a sense of purpose... no matter how contrary. 

Pinkie had never met a being with such a complex personality, one that she couldn’t immediately identify. Even Cranky Doodle, though he had been a tough and gruff character, was just like granite in the rain. Over time and with patience she wore down his hard exterior and eventually she got him to smile.

But whenever Pinkie thought she got the strange persona that wrapped up in an enigma to smile, she felt that it was, although sincere, a little too empty for her liking. It upset her and she unconsciously distanced herself away from him. Now it seemed, the problem was doing the same between her and her friends.

This time she could not arrange for a party, organise her many and myriad array of friends or bake a sugary treat that would cure-all. The smile she pulled would come out empty again and she was afraid of that the most. A smile, what she wanted for everypony the most in the world, had to come from their heart not from the mind.

And she feared that a broken heart couldn’t do that at all.

-----

It was early in the morning when I was summoned to meet the Princesses. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. After all, now I had a little guilt both real and psychological. They had sent two new guards to fetch me. I noticed a healthy contingent waited outside. It seems that my actions hadn’t gone unnoticed. I felt a surge of pleasure in that before I could beat it down.

The night before had been a cocktail of stress and fitful sleep. At times I would spend about half an hour staring at the walls, then I would switch to scratching yet more diagrams, then I would lay open-eyed on my lumpy straw mattress and then I would capture fractured sleep.

It was a kind of wearing insomnia that ate at me. So when they pulled me out, I was in a half-awake and half-asleep state and I was as compliant as playdough. I think I felt palatable relief from the guards around me as I cooperated. My shin still hurt immensely and I limped along with the soldiers, they had to force themselves at a slower pace.

I was grateful, I guess, that they were so accommodating.

As I was led from the dungeons, I took a better look at my surroundings. The castle held a little of the characteristics and designs from the old castle I had stayed in, with rich tapestries hung here and there and chandeliers that hung from the ceiling and ornaments that lay on miscellaneous furniture that decorated the halls in somebody’s upper class taste.

I had been led through a series of side passages, which I figured was to avoid the main populace who lived here, towards a set of grand (oak I think?) double doors. A dim glow wrapped around the doors as they slowly creaked open and I couldn’t help but feel awed by the casual display of magic. Technology could do the same for sure but the scientist in me was ever so curious about new and wondrous phenomena.

Beyond the door, two baffling and strange creatures stood before me and I immediately recognised them.

To the left was a white winged unicorn with a flowing rainbow mane and tail that sparkled and shimmered to some unseen wind. It reminded me of the movement of a solar flare, majestic and powerful but existing with casual destructive ease. She was one of the depicted mythological creatures that I had seen in the faded tapestries of the old castle I had stayed in.

To the right was a midnight blue winged unicorn with a flowing dark blue, almost black mane and tail, scintillating with a mirage of dark hued colours that reflected a subdued light, that vaguely reminded me of starlight and the night sky, for some reason. She was the other that was depicted in the ancient tapestries strewn throughout the castle.

If before I was nervous, now I was petrified. Something about their aura exuded a calm clear authority. As expected from a being that had been in power for a long time. When Twilight had mentioned the Princesses before in the diamond dog caverns she had mentioned them with almost religious reverence. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t awe-inspired.

The guard to my right, who had so far been silent, hissed at me from the corner of his mouth as I was led within ten metres of the two thrones, where the diarchs sat. 

“Kneel.”

I knelt, not wishing to cause any trouble. I did not bow my head though, keeping it proud and high as I regarded the two princesses. The guard, who was about to correct my posture in indignation, was dismissed by some unspoken signal between the white princess and the guard.

Their size, while seated, I estimated to be around my chest for the larger white one, whilst the size of the latter darker one at about half a head shorter. I noted automatically that the two winged unicorns were regarding me with different expressions.

The larger white one was regarding me with an expression of calm open curiosity tempered with slight caution. The smaller darker one was the antithesis to her partner, gazing at me with caution tempered with a slight curiosity.

My mind flew back to mangled thoughts about Taoism that my mother had relayed to me in fragments so long ago.

The world is in balance with opposites, I mused with a slight smirk. Neither counterpart was complete or pure.

It was the white one that spoke first, as I had expected.

“You may rise”, she commanded simply. I obeyed, favouring my left leg that currently didn’t hurt so much.

She looked at me concerned. My initial trepidation faded away and my expression cleared. Maybe this would not be such an ordeal.

“You are injured”, she stated, it was not a question but I chose to answer it anyway.

“It is nothing”, I answered stiffly, unable to meet those compassionate eyes.

“Your majesty”, the one on the right spoke up. I kept my guard up for that one.

Confused, I replied, “I’m sorry, what?”

“Your Majesty”, she repeated, irritated. “You should address us with the proper title and respect.”

“I apologise, your Majesty”, I offered, trying to inject as much sarcasm I could into those two words. I hated people who needed to reinforce their status and decorum. The dark one started from her seat but abruptly stopped as the white one swept out her wing out blocking the dark one’s advance. I inwardly whistled. That was one massive wingspan.

I didn’t want to be overly antagonistic, so I tried to relax.

“I mean, my apologies your Majesties. I’ve been somewhat stressed lately”, I sighed, suddenly feeling very weary.

The cold blue one called out coldly to me across the short distance.

“Does that have to do with the innocent guard you injured unduly?” her icy voice cut through to me. I tightened my fists but forced them open, slowly as I thought about how to respond without making a fool of myself in the process. I guess my temper flares when I’m under undue pressure.

Reason, I said to myself. Reason and logic guide my way.

I calmed down enough to give a reply, “Is that what your guard reported?”

The white winged unicorn gave me a hard stare.

“I trust my guards”, she responded confidently and a touch arrogantly.

“You may trust your guards to protect your life, but I wonder what they would protect more. Their pride… or the well-being of myself?”

They both drew shocked breaths but they considered my statement before responding.

“What would you have us believe?” the dark one asked with barely concealed menace. “Somepony we know or something we don’t.”

I sighed, rubbing a hand across my face.

“I don’t have time for this”, I muttered below my breath.

“What could you possibly need time for?” the white one asked me. 

I winced, seems like their hearing is much better than a human’s.

I paused to gather my thoughts. I had a small internal debate on whether I should tell them. I sagged. What harm could there be for telling the truth?

“It all began when the world was taken by storm… by a device named Synch and a knot named Synchrony.”


> 36 - Dead Serious
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those of you readers who are new to this, what you are seeing is not a typical gathering of ponies. Nor is the gathering comprised solely of ponies, though the majority of them are. No, what you are seeing, or perhaps more aptly described, reading, is a gathering of the most clandestine kind. A sort of gathering that makes mobsters shiver, drug dealers scurry and the most hardened of criminals think twice about entering into, no matter what the proposition.

For the average extra-Equestrial being to describe a pony, certain adjectives such as ‘adorable’, ‘cute’, ‘colourful’ and ‘friendly’, would be more than adequate and very accurate in describing the greater populace of Equestria. However, a stranger stumbling into a meeting such as this would most likely fall victim to shock and horror. Their minds would implode in the familiar sequence of events that would be akin to a similar circumstance involving a world-view or entire philosophy or perception viciously and utterly gutted for the pleasure of these members.

Reading this, you would probably think: Who are these people? 

A better question would be: What are they doing?

A biologist would be able to name the physical outward appearance of many of these associates. A hippogriff, a griffon, some ponies, a manticore, diamond dogs and even a dragon would be among the few that had gathered here tonight.

When Kibitz mentioned crimes against magic as being a high-class felony, he was serious. When it came to necromancy, he was dead serious.

Necromancy had not been such an outlawed magic in ages past. Indeed it had been greatly sought after, especially during the pre-classical era. When unicorns first discovered how to reanimate the dead, innocent ponies were delighted to welcome their deceased pets back to the living. Those pets, which were not sapient, were almost indistinguishable, and with enough magical charge, the stench of decay and the appearance of a decomposing body were spelled away to give their lovable pets back.

The problem stemmed from sapience, the higher level of consciousness that all animals aspired to. Though necromancy certainly conquered death, the revived beings all lacked something essential required to bring them back fully.

There were no memories.

There were no emotions.

Some would say, there were no souls.

Anguished, many turned to necromancy as a way to get their loved ones back. Countless people tried reviving their closest friends, or lovers, or even just people they knew but blamed themselves for their death. Whatever the requirements were, be it a physical or magical one, it was never enough and many gave up their lives in an attempt to bring back the dead to the land of the living.

Necromancy became a darker and darker art as many followers were suddenly convinced it was a matter of exchange: one living soul for a dead one.

The tragedy that was the necromancy history culminated when one unicorn made the ultimate sacrifice and a living pony was sacrificed to the dead.

Amazingly, it had worked, but the results were tragic.

The unicorn responsible had tried to bring back his lover and it appeared to have worked, she remembered who she was and what had happened. She had registered pain, quite a lot of it but attributed it to the accident that originally killed her.

When she saw her body though and what was sacrificed for her soul… she screamed inanely. For hours on end. In fact, she only stopped screaming when magic failed to keep her voice box from operating. After two full days of horrific psychological agony, finally she ‘died’ her soul leaving her body, unable to bear the weight of guilt that lay on her dead shoulders.

Such pain and misery finally prompted the royal pony sisters to intervene. They decreed that from that incident on, necromancy was prohibited, unconditionally.

Protests broke out. Necromancy had become entrenched in pony society and tendrils of its temptation had crossed borders into griffon territory. One by one, after more and more horror stories of sacrifice and soul exchange were reported. As each incident ended in loss and even more grief, the voices of rebellion was crushed by incriminating self-admission.

The ponies saw the irony was necromancy was declared dead.

Many moved on trying to forget.

But nothing tempting is ever truly eradicated and extremists are few but constant in any illegal or esoteric field. Members for tribalism, speciesism and dark magic receded from the light and their followers grew ever more fanatical and radical as time wore on.

Necromancy though, was a little different.

At its core necromancy separated itself from the other groups by trying to keep their morals. There were grey areas for sure but the benefits that necromancy offered to this world was the best bet out the alternatives. Dark magic corrupted but necromancy was neither bad nor good. It was just magic. The founders had reasoned this and had worked it all out.

Their charter was built from the shadows but contained a speck of light. Members were committed to finding a solution to the problem of soul exchange. No longer would they sacrifice sapient beings on this world.

So necromancy continued to persevere for thousands of years, hidden in the dark.

The code of necromancy was held strong and moral and those that practiced never sacrificed a soul. Those who did were exiled from necromancy, to fare how they would with the authorities. Time wore on and there was no solution in sight. Members dropped and necromancy became just a fringe group for those seeking to revive inconsequential lives.

Until one day, when a certain unicorn member of the Modern Necromancy Guild found a solution to the multi millennium old problem.

It had been devastatingly simple. Soul exchange would occur, that couldn’t be gotten around, but the souls that would be sacrificed would not be on Equus anymore. They had found a new outlet for souls, after obtaining a long forgotten book from Star Swirl the Bearded in his search for a null being.

His book had warned that the null being summoning spell had a fatal flaw. Teleportation had been Star Swirl’s solution to procuring a null being. Since teleportation magic created a tear for which ponies could ‘step through’ to the other side, the magic was not directly affecting the null being and thus could possibly stay viable enough to pass it through.

However Star Swirl discovered that without mirror magic to stabilise the connection (a null being passing through a mirror would shatter on contact), the spell would collapse on itself partway through the traversal stage and the soul which had been moving through with its memories, either flung backwards or forwards (with no guarantee that the memories would come back with it), be damaged irreversibly on the way back or to the destination or finally arrive completely intact without the body.

Without enough of an energy boost from the other side of the connection or the framework for laying out the spell on the other side, transferring an intact being would be impossible. With no way to establish communications on the null world without the spell degrading before contact there was no potential for setup. The spell had been scrapped and relegated to a small appendix in an obscure volume.

The Modern Necromancy Guild though, found a perfect use for the spell and practiced it with wild abandon.

At first it was just animals and plants using the energy of the souls they had gained through the null world. Then they moved onto soul exchange when they found it worked. The problem of wasted and decayed flesh was solved by a simple matter conversion. Souls contained energy and with enough souls, approximately one thousand, new bodies could be created. Excited, they revived all members of the necromancy guild and were exalted for their discovery.

But progress was rarely bothered with ethics and in their enthusiasm they had forgotten important information. Where had the souls really come from? What cost did it have on lives on another world? Blinded by ambition and greed, the members of the Modern Necromancy Guild kept going, with the toll on Earth steadily rising.

After reviving the founding guild member, they were reminded of their original charter. The founder, a black female dragon named Sharp, had been furious when the cost of the necromancy was relayed. She immediately ordered no further spells be cast but the damage had already been done.

Half a million on Earth were affected and for only a measly one hundred souls.
> 37 - A Strange Game, the Only Winning Move is...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the story was told to a rapt audience. It felt good to get Synchrony off my shoulders, even if it wasn’t to anyone who would understand the full picture of Synch and Synchrony. The princesses stopped me here and there for me to clarify a few points but overall they allowed me to convey the majority of my story while politely listening.

As I ended with my furious but ultimately futile attempts to combat Synchrony, the princesses eyes were surprisingly wet with unshed tears. I guess I didn’t expect sympathy from the princesses and I was pleasantly confronted with empathetic gestures.

“I had constructed a final plan to combat Synchrony with Black Box but when I get to the part where I talk to Angel about it, my memories draw a blank…” I finished, swallowing back a lump in my throat.

The room was silent after that and the two royal pony sisters (which I had gleaned from a hasty side introduction) glanced at each other, communicating something silently.

I was dismissed, but today was full of surprises so instead of going to the dungeon I was generously shown a small but comfortable-looking room.

-----

Celestia addressed Luna almost immediately as I had left the court.

“It seems that this null being is more complex than we once thought”, Celestia sighed, gazing down at her hooves. She idly clinked her hoof covers together.

Luna was equally perturbed.

“Yes, this is not a matter of simply imprisoning or containing, such a thing would be grossly unjust”, Luna offered. “I sensed not a shred of dishonesty from him.”

Celestia nodded, agreeing. She watched how her mane flowed for a while before speaking again.

“Now the question that remains is”, Celestia posited, while glancing sideways at her sister. “What shall we do?”

Luna went to chewing her mane, her legs twitched as if she had the urge to pace.

“That interesting device he mentioned, ‘Synch’ he called it, I think that his arrival was timed to perfectly with his world’s growing problems”, Celestia reasoned thoughtfully.

Luna found herself stamping her hoof in agreement.

“Yes. Hmm. Yes, the null being did mention that and the coincidence was a little too uncanny”, she responded, with a frown. 

Suddenly, a random thought occurred to Luna.

“Calling him null being is a little rude, don’t you think?”

Celestia started.

“Come to think of it, what was his name?” she wondered out loud.

Luna stamped a hoof again, but this time in agitation.

“Why had we not the presence to ask him?” she snorted.

Celestia nodded.

“I wonder if anypony had the same problem with him?” she asked herself.

-----

Earlier in the week, a train from Ponyville pulled into Canterlot and six excitable mares had gathered at the castle gates.

> 38 - Alma Mater
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“These spying devices…”

“Ahem, monitoring equipment.”

“Yes, I'm sure… They are placed all over Baltimare. For what purpose?”

Solid peered at the prosecutor trying to gauge his expression. It was no use the mare was as impassive a block of granite and harder too.

“Miss. Evidence, would you please answer the question”, the prosecutor continued to pester.

Solid groaned and rubbed her hooves together.

“They were there to monitor magic levels”, Solid muttered.

“I’m sorry I couldn't quite catch that, would you mind repeating that so the court can hear”, the intense mare pushed.

“I said”, Solid replied through gritted teeth. “They were there to monitor magic levels.”

“And what reason do you have to monitor magic levels in Baltimare?”

“I- “ she glanced at Iron, who just shrugged and ordered the papers on his desk “ –was looking for a null being.”

“A null being?” the prosecutor repeated, confused.

“A null being. A theoretical being proposed by Star Swirl the Bearded himself, that exists to nullify all magic”, she answered trying to frame it the best way she could without being labelled ‘crazy’.

“That seems highly improbable”, the prosecutor commented.

Solid sighed. Did everypony doubt Harpie's work?

“But not impossible. There could be a null being in Equestria as we speak and I’m wasting time at a court hearing instead!” she growled, sinking her head into her hooves.

The prosecutor looked offended and extremely ticked off. Iron tugged at his mane in frustration and Solid had the presence to look sheepish.

“Wasting time? Let me tell you what we are wasting. Bits! The ones you owe the public for the damage you have caused. Let’s list what you are accused of shall we? One, acc-“

“Objection!” yelled Iron. “The listing of her accused crimes have no bearing on the evidence and it is putting my client under duress.”

The judge, an aging mare, glanced at the prosecutor.

“I require backgrounding for the motivation behind Solid’s actions”, she shot back but it was shaky.

“Objection sustained, carry on with another line of inquiry, Miss. Note”, the judge ruled as she leant back in her chair.

Letting a quick exhale of frustration out, Exemplar Note continued.

“Let’s take a look at the strange devices, shall w-“

Exemplar was interrupted by a side courtroom door opening, letting in two very serious looking military guards in and causing a slight stir of commotion to the mainly empty courtroom. Iron looked worried but then again, he always looked worried.

The judge conferred with the guards for a time and then shooting a look at Solid, turned back to the guards and nodded.

“This court is adjourned until further notice. Solid, you are hereby summoned by the Princess of the Night to attend Night Court”, she announced, gesturing to the bailiff.

The bailiff, a bulky stallion, led Solid to the two guards. Solid whimpered, not expecting the situation to get any worse. Iron trailed behind, only to be blocked by the guards.

“Only the mare is required, you may leave”, the left guard growled.

“But-“

“Go home, civilian”, he ordered and Iron reluctantly stepped back. Solid sent Iron a pleading glance but all Iron could return was consolation from his eyes.

“Please Luna, have mercy on her soul”, he invoked in helplessness.

-----

Tonight was probably the best night of sleep I’ve had this week. In fact, it was the best night of sleep since arriving in Equestria. A warm, cosy bed, a hot bathtub and shower (though small) and hot food were all things I had missed during my unfortunate visit to this place.

My spirits were high and I finally had a chance to relax.

When the morning came I hardly wanted to get out of bed, selfish, as it may seem.

I thought it would be understandable, given that I had struggled for so long. Responsibility was both an honour and a curse, it gave purpose and dealt hopelessness, it was the defining thing in my life.

But I wanted to cast it all away, was that selfish of me? Was it right to just disregard so many lives? I shook my head letting myself fall into heavier thoughts.

No, of course not. I could never so callously dismiss those people. Each had their own lives, each had their own family and each had a place in the world no matter how great or small.

Did you know that in Ancient Greece and Persia the steam engine and railroad was constructed separately? If only they would cooperate then the industrial revolution may have happened back more than two millennia ago. All because two nations would not put aside differences. Was I really oversimplifying the matter? Or was it just that humans were just so inherently vicious? 

The Archimedes Palimpsest was a codex transcribed from Greek scholars to give several methods of what we consider now to be modern calculus. Could you imagine Newton’s surprise that he would not be named the father of calculus? Yet monks disregarded such priceless works of academia to write scripture on such parchment. Religion would endure but such scientific advancement was sacrificed.

Such waste. All such waste. All because people would rather not understand nor weigh the burden of responsibility and thought only for themselves.

I would not do that. I would not become a burden.

So I got out of bed.

There was a knock on the door and I got dressed, putting on slightly damp clothes that had been drying oh so slowly. I wonder who it would be?

“Come in”, I called, only to be surprised when a familiar face poked through.

“Twilight!” I exclaimed, rushing over to give her an awkward hug. “You came for me?”

A pink bouncy ball of fur pounced on me, knocking me over in a fit of giggles.

“Pinkie? You too?”

Twilight nodded sagely.

“We wouldn’t abandon you. I still have to find out your name!” she said firmly, shocking me with her conviction.

“And I have to throw you a party!” Pinkie shouted, tumbling on the ground to end up in a ‘star-jump’ kind of position balanced on her hind legs. I was impressed.

“How did you get inside?” I wondered out loud, perplexed.

Twilight gave an easy grin.

“Well I am the Princess’ student, they let me in”, she replied modestly, a little embarrassed.

I gave a low whistle.

“Well someone already has her hoof in the door”, I grinned nudging her, and she blushed in embarrassment and stepped away.

“Enough about me, we need to give you a good day in Canterlot!” she pronounced to which Pinkie bombastically agreed with, using glitter and streamers. Where does she get those things?

“Hold on, don't you think we need to clear this with the Princess first? I don't know if I'm still arrested”, I said suddenly glumly.

“I think that can be arranged”, a motherly voice called out from the hallway. Princess Celestia of Equestria regally entered the room.

“Princess”, I greeted giving a half bow. I wasn't used to any protocol here so that was the best I could do.

“You may visit the surrounds of Canterlot as you wish. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie would you not mind if I speak alone?” she asked, but not quite commanded.

“As you wish Princess”, she replied immediately dragging a Pinkie who was trying to count party supplies on her hooves. I wonder how that worked.

Princess Celestia regarded me a little sadly when she addressed me.

“I feel as if I owe you an apology”, she began but I cut her off.

“Not to be rude Princess, but I have to give you mine first. I apologise for acting so rudely during our first meeting, usually I’m a calm and collected person but it seems all the stress and my pains have caught up with me. Thank you so much for giving me hot food, clean water and a bed to sleep in tonight. I don’t know if anyone else would do any more than you have but I can certainly name many who would do less”, I stated humbly.

Celestia looked pleasantly surprised with my apology and she nodded.

“Regardless this makes mine so much more important”, she continued, unconsciously scuffing a hoof. I found that strange behaviour for a princess so well versed in decorum.

“We have looked into your accusation that the guards have been mistreating prisoners and it seems you were right. After careful monitoring, those who have been responsible have been brought to justice”, she reported, glancing sidelong at me.

I nodded appreciatively but it didn't make me feel better. Revenge never made anyone feel better, no matter what the level.

“Let’s stop sidestepping here and get to the real issue”, I offered, gesturing her to take a sofa-like lounge opposite to the table. I sat on the bed, as the chairs were ridiculously small. The Princess gratefully sat in the chair.

Before she began I pointed out something.

“Have you slept last night?” I asked, gesturing at the slight bags that weighed her eyes.

The Princess shook her head sadly.

“When you had left the courtroom I was informed that my student had arrived in Canterlot possessing a old tome of magic”, she explained, her gaze focussing on a distant point not within our field of view.

“The tome contains an explanation of a phenomenon called a null being…”

> 39 - Solid: Circumstantial Evidence
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Solid was summoned to Luna’s Night Court, where Luna was the final arbiter of justice. 

Traditionally, Celestia’s Day Court had handled everything from administration, to crime and law, economics and infrastructure, health and education and everything in between. As Luna had returned, the day government was slow to pass responsibility to the Night Court. It pained Luna, she understood the distance and the reluctance, but she weathered it like she always had. She was the silent guardian, the steadfast protector of the terrors of the night.

The sun was blinding sweeping flame of purity but the night was the swift cold fulfilment of vengeance. There were few who truly understood the night, the essence of the engagement, the beat of the cold, the stealth and danger and mystique.

To Luna, the night was not a playground for her little ponies, the night was the fearsome pride of predators, the resting calm of the evening star, the blanket of serenity and ambiance that ushered in the final resting time for most animals great and small.

It came as no surprise to Luna when her staff and her court had been passed the responsibility of crime, law and justice. Unlike her sister, who naively tended to trust her ponies too much, Luna prided herself as a good judge of character. Her judgement was quick and swift, her sentence fair and wise.

But Luna wished for so more than being the harsh judge of deeds that her court had been relegated to. She did her duty and superbly too. She just wished to be among the affairs of her ponies, out of the insurmountable barrier that surrounded her office.

Sometimes she missed the old days when she could receive fair gratification for destroying a pesky owlbear, or sending off a manticore that had drifted to far into pony residency. Now, it seemed her ponies were content with the peace and quiet of the kingdom, the only real danger lay extra-territorially and the small town of Ponyville had the most excitement, being so close to the Everfree forest.

Everything, it seemed, had grown out of their shell and matured into their present selves, Luna excluded.

Sometimes she wondered if her archaic mind and perception of justice was as out-dated as her old speech patterns.

But though right and wrong moved with the times, our values had never really changed. Luna reflected that love, compassion and the courage to do what was right were the constants of this world. Nothing had changed, really. Only faces.

So came the matter of dealing justice to the pony before her.

Complicating the matter was the fact that the pony in front of her, Solid Evidence, had a record of recalcitrant behaviour. Sending her to do community work had resulted in disaster, babysitting pets had turned into a house fire, farming had turned into a forest fire, watching paint dry had turned into a chemical fire.

This mare, Luna thought snidely. Was better at making fires than finding evidence.

When Luna had read Solid’s file she had been filled with mirth. She had read her short dossier on her special talent. It was, according to Solid, about finding evidence. Unfortunately, the evidence she sought was to support her many and myriad efforts to prove various conspiracy theories that floated around tabloids and small sensationalised books. 

Her misguided efforts into finding evidence lead to many embarrassing incidents and Luna considered most of them harmless. 

Luna amended her statement when she considered Solid’s most recent criminal act.

Solid Evidence had been accused of magical monitoring without permission.

Though her motivations seemed innocent enough, the crime was a serious one. Magical monitoring had become a controversial subject among magic users today. Magical potential was a private subject. It was in no way related to success or performance, particularly in the same way that the time a pony received their cutie mark was an indicator of the strength of their natural talent. 

Linking magical potential with usefulness was all circumstantial and unproven. Before the ban on magical monitoring, ponies with little or small magical talent were prejudiced against and it had caused a wide rift in the pony community before Princess Celestia had intervened.

Solid had claimed she had been planning to use the magical monitors and transmitters to find a null being. This is what had piqued Luna’s interest in the case. Usually her case would be passed to the local magistrate but she had pulled out Solid, wanting a word with her. These were extenuating circumstances. They really had a null being.

Solid shuffled her hooves as she awaited judgement. She had stiffly been informed of the Night court procedure and she had hastily bowed before the Princess of the Night and stood waiting for her word after ten seconds of prostration and a short introduction of herself.

She could feel the critical gaze of Princess Luna as she raked past her hooves, took in her cutie mark, which bore three sheafs of parchment and a small sapphire, and finally settled on her face. Her piercing gaze seemed to take a measure of her soul.  

“It has come to my understanding that you have been searching for a null being”, Luna stated, her mane floating regally in the ethereal wind.

Solid swallowed and nodded, feeling the compulsion to bow once again. She resisted. Barely.

“Y-yes your Majesty”, she replied shakily, she felt her tail twitch in nervousness.

Luna smiled inwardly. She seemed normal enough. Maybe she could handle the responsibility. She decided to tease the poor mare for a bit. After all, there must be just punishment.

“Solid, there has been much evidence brought forward to your involvement in crimes against Equestria’s crown and her people”, Luna intoned stonily.

“The weight of your crimes are great”, Luna continued, her expression turning sad.

Solid’s eyes had grown steadily wider and wider until they filled with panic.

“There is no choice but to banish you to the moon for a year”, she commanded gravely.

Solid opened her mouth but a scream wouldn’t come. Her eye twitched.

Luna decided that this was enough punishment for Solid’s transgression.

“Alternatively, you may assist us with the problem of the null being”, Luna smiled.

Solid had an odd expression between horror, relief and confusion.

Eventually her brain decided to quit.

Solid fainted.

“Oh dear”, Luna sighed. “I hadn't taken her for a fainter.”

> 40 - Gruff: Not so Gruff
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gruff felt great. The ponies were friendly. He got paid instead of being expected to do work for no bits. He slept on a fluffy bed instead of granite. He ate better food.

Upon arriving in Canterlot Gruff got into a small altercation. It had ended quite favourably though.

Exhausted but victorious, Gruff stepped away from the unfortunate cider vendor. The vendor, or more accurately, vendors were running a quick buck business regaling of the curative properties of their cider. Gruff had taken one sniff and dismissed it as normal apple cider. Discontent to let the diamond dog go without trying to rope him into buying more cider, they had weaved a complex and beguiling lie about the origin of the cider and the apples gone into making it.

Gruff had initially listened but sensing dishonesty, tried to back out.

The two unicorn brothers, who introduced themselves and a gathering crowd as Flim and Flam, saw Gruff, quite stereotypically, as an easy target. Unfortunately for them, Gruff had been practicing his manners and when he finally spoke he did so in a very cultured and mannered accent that drew even the most high-class socialite pony into his speech.

He decried the preposterous claims of Flim and Flam and he put forward the evidence centred on his keen sense of smell and his own experience with quality cider. Unfortunately for Flim and Flam, he had extended family living in the Neightherlands where apparently the apples had come from. Gruff smugly reported that the Neighterlands had a horrid climate that made it impossible to grow crops and only gems were the only edible food source around.

The two scam-artists then packed up quickly and fled as Gruff had neared the end of his testimony. Some ponies had grumbled about losing good money to the Flim Flam brothers but most were glad they were gone.

Canterlot was a big place and Gruff wondered how he could find his teacher in such a big mess. He politely inquired to the local populace but unable to procure a name and matching no description, Gruff was unable to locate my whereabouts.

Disappointed he decided to seek work in the surrounding area while he waited for me.

Most jobs that were available were incompatible with Gruff. The myriad of fashion, design, waitering, bartending or other miscellaneous high class or hospitality jobs were not suited to Gruff. This was not because of Gruff’s skill but merely due to his appearance, for his bulk would initially frighten away guests no matter how much he smiled, though he was unaware that he also let his canines show.

Eventually he got a job working as a bouncer for a nearby club and was pleasantly surprised as to how easy the job was. Most patrons quickly settled down when Gruff came by and there was no funny business when Gruff’s shadow fell on them. Gruff reflected that I was right about getting a guarding job but probably not in the way I had imagined.

All in all, his life was amazing.

Gruff had moved up in the world. He was now the head security manager of a chain of pony-owned clubs around Canterlot. He had to have a bit of schooling but his boss, a friendly stallion named Mr. Sick Beats, had taught him the ins and outs of running the behind-the-scenes show on security around the clubs.

Mr. Beats was still relatively young but he was getting increasingly tired from the long nights and crazy shifts he had to pull in order to keep the club business running smooth. Gruff had been a rising star in his security ranks and Sick had recognised intelligence under the beef that normally smothered the other security workers.

Sick had given his protégé increasing leeway and responsibilities and Gruff had never failed to disappoint. Gruff was silver in both tongue and lash when dealing with recalcitrant ponies. Both clients and employees had quickly grown to respect Gruff for his straightforward manner and his witty responses. Normally, those had been enough to dispel any inadequacy.

With growing connections and a wider network of ponies, Gruff made friends with everyone he could meet. His enthusiastic demeanour shone through his rough looking persona and others were quickly overwhelmed by his charismatic undertones not typically seen from a diamond dog. Gruff reflected that his mother had taught him well.

By the time Gruff found out I was no longer in Canterlot he resigned himself to stay, awaiting my return. He had been a little too successful in his job as a security manager and he could no longer leave without dishonouring obligations he netted around himself. Trapped in a web of duties, Gruff had said his goodbyes without ever meeting me again.

He never got to thank that lanky creature that had trusted him and took him out of the dark confines of the diamond dog caverns but he vowed to one day pay him back.

During the course of his job he had run into very interesting creatures, not only dealing with ponies. After I had left he acquainted himself with a rather friendly female dragon named Sharp. Her speech had been a bit odd but she was an amiable companion and they would exchange philosophy, knowledge and stories from time to time. Gruff sought company on particularly boring shifts when he had to cover for an emergency cancellation and he was glad for Sharp’s intermittent company.

One shift in particular did strike Gruff as atypical of Sharp’s behaviour. He recalled her puzzling actions…

The black dragon’s sinuous body curled up next to Gruff radiating steady warmth.

Gruff nodded appreciably at the gesture for it was a cold night in Canterlot.

“What brings you here, kind Sharp?” Gruff inquired politely, shifting his stance so he was more comfortably within the heat of Sharp’s body.

Sharp regarded Gruff in amusement.

“Thine speech, though strange, bears goodwill and I thank thee”, she replied easily.

Gruff grunted in friendly acknowledgement. He straightened his newly purchased woollen jacket that replaced his old frayed cavern-made design.

“That brings me to my former question, Miss. Sharp, what brings you here?” Gruff asked again, he had sensed the black dragoness had withheld something.

Sharp sighed, her breath sending a plume of smoke upwards. Her tail lashed as if agitated but Gruff did not know whether the same action was mimicked on dragons as it was on ponies. He decided to keep silent as Sharp debated with herself silently.

“Mine compatriots seekest to bring ruin upon my guild”, she replied gloomily, her wings rustling uneasily across her shoulder blades.

“Surely it could not be as you say?” he queried incredulously, though he though as an aside that this was the first time Sharp had mentioned she was part of a guild.

Sharp lashed her tail again.

“It is so, dear Gruff. Fear coated with ambition and greed hath turned my guild into the shadows- ” she looked away in shame “ -I hath stood idly by for too long and it hath brought ruin.”

Gruff leant towards Sharp, putting a comforting paw on her head.

“I have had a beautiful, kind, compassionate dragon tell me once: We know that both light and darkness are what defines one another. We know that life and death are what gives us purpose. We know that good and evil are what makes it interesting. But right and wrong are things they choose for themselves. Worry not for their actions, only concern yourself for your own”, Gruff consoled, pulling back his paw.

Sharp nodded, her gaze hardening with resolve.

“Yes, right and wrong is what they choose for themselves. But mine are mine actions alone”, I said resolutely and flared her wings in preparation for flight. Gruff took a step back.

“Farewell, dear Gruff, the learned diamond dog. Be safe mine friend”, she called back as she launched herself into the air.

Though the cold wind tore at her eyes and chilled her scales, Gruff’s paw still left a warm print on her armoured skull.

> 41 - Iron: Iron's Iron Will (not about the minotaur)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iron was usually a measured, careful and considerate stallion. He was a logical individual, interested in keeping files in order and finding iron clad evidence to solve cases. In fact, his cutie mark, a grey coloured folder, was a representation of that fact. He currently held a recent accreditation of a lawyer, though he had never properly practiced.

Originally his plan, which was co-opted by Solid, was to get Solid off through community service, a relatively light but common punishment in the Equestrian legal system. After all the law system was built around reform, not punishment and it was surprisingly effective.

Things had not gone to plan, to say the least. Solid had been taken out of his hooves and into the Princess’ and it was a position no longer within any mortal reach.

There had been nothing to do except to hope for the best and perhaps prepare for Solid’s return.

He had met the pernicious Solid Evidence in the Equestrian Law and Justice academy. The Academy was one of the most prestigious law schools in all of Equestria.

What confused Iron when he first saw in the law school was her lack of motivation.

Make no mistake. Solid had perfect grades, an active extracurricular schedule and to top it off real work experience in law firms. She was a rising star and Iron could only look on in awe.

But Solid had always looked alone. Though admirers, friendly colleagues and adoring professors and industry contacts surrounded her, Solid had always kept a hoof away from everypony as if to keep everypony at a professional level.

Iron had been forcibly paired together with Solid on a case study about Equestrian mandates related to theft. Initially Iron had been excited, it was a chance to work with somepony who was an expert on law. Solid however, did not take the same enthusiastic attitude. She had, quite coldly, told Iron to sit back and stay out of the way and she would gain them the maximum marks.

Perturbed, Iron had just complied without question. He sat back and let Solid finish the assignment on her own. In the end they had gotten a perfect score, all the while his friends both groaning and reiterating time and time again how lucky he was to have such a great partner.

He had been conflicted at the time. The grade had been great for sure but guilt weighed upon him. Later that afternoon, when he had received the grade, he talked to the professor about his contribution (well, lack thereof). The professor wryly replied that letting Solid do all the work would have given him a great boost in his marks, most likely he would be able to get away with it.

Iron had replied, with conviction, that he earned his marks not stole them. That kind of spunk had pulled a small smirk of approval from his professor. His professor told him to write on another case study, due in two weeks. He got an 82 for it.

When Solid had found out she had cornered him in the hallway, adamant on finding out why someone so stupid as he would exist.

Iron had calmly replied that he was studying law to become a criminal lawyer. He wanted to eventually become a prosecutor, working for the state. No crime, no matter how petty, would fit within his standard. When Solid had responded with puzzlement, he brushed past her and asked her what she wanted out of law school. He had left her standing there in the hall.

Iron had not seen Solid for a week after that and he continued law school as normal. One day, Solid approached him and told him that she had lost the motivation for law school, for it never had been hers. She had argued with her parents and left their household, seeking a new goal in life.

All her ‘friends’ had left her when she announced she was dropping out. Unsavoury remarks were made and professors tittered under their breath about stress and anxiety and conformity, as if they knew her better than she knew herself.

Though it was a decision on her part, Iron had felt partially responsible in some small way and so kept in contact with her. She spent her career studying conspiracies and fictional literature, opening up a whole new world.

Within months some would not recognise the Solid from before to one after.

Her mane was no longer brushed to a professional sheen, her eyes were no longer cold and vacant and her muzzle always sported a permanent smile from one born of contentment.

She babbled excitedly about her exploits to Iron who always listened in good humour.

So they became friends. It was a warm thing.

Now though, it seemed the crazy had caught up with Solid and Iron could no longer help her. He suffered her antics because they were harmless but now, he wasn't so sure.

Harpie didn't help either. 

Harpie was an unknown author that kept publishing books related to Canterlot conspiracies. They were fictions but they were rooted in believable facts. Oddly enough, the books were detailed enough in the methods for proving and disproving the author’s many, many theories that many ponies had thought to try. Solid were one of the few that bothered to implement the more ambitious projects and often it would be those that landed her in awkward situations both publicly with other ponies and with the law.

Who was this Harpie pony? Iron had thought angrily. I bet he or she was some slacker with too much time.

-----

Twilight sneezed when she felt a chill creep down her spine.

“I think somepony is talking about me negatively”, she mused out loud, looking around but only seeing Pinkie and I.

I glanced at her sideways.

“Perhaps you wrote something that damaged someone’s sensibilities”, I offered.

Twilight shrugged in an equine-like fashion. At least I think it was a shrug.

“I don't think that’s the case, all my published works are grounded in factual evidence”, she recalled proudly.

I rolled my eyes.

“Being factually correct doesn't stop people from disliking your work”, I replied.

“How so?” Twilight responded, genuinely confused.

I sighed and put a hand to my forehead.

“Be thankful you've never heard of the Internet.”

> 42 - Twilight: Twilight Anaesthesia (Part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight had gotten into fiction when she had needed at outlet for stress. Her studies had been cropping up, her duties seemed ever expanding and the expectations of others drove her relentlessly to be better and better than before. At times, her stress was self-induced but she always felt as if others kept depending on her to have all the answers.

As most people in leadership knew, having all the answers was tough. People expected leaders to know everything about the situation. To an extent this was true but formulating a plan, stratagem or figuring out a solution required a substantial field of knowledge and as much as it pained Twilight, she could not physically know everything and so there were times when words failed her.

Embarrassingly the strange creature she had met at the Castle of the Two Sisters was one of the things she knew next to nothing about. He was an enigma wrapped in a puzzle, kept under a- you know what? -he was just confusing.

Pinkie seemed not to mind him. It absolutely destroyed her that she didn’t know his name but she kept trying to get it out of him in mysterious ways. She tried getting him to fill out forms, which only gained her very funny pseudonyms. She had tried bribing, which was accepted but not honoured. She tried threatening him, which earned her a laugh but a shake of his head. She had tried almost everything.

Twilight knew there was something that the creature held back and she was not referring to his name. Twilight suspected there was both responsibility and pain buried beneath his disarming persona. She felt as if being a friend to him was not enough and it pained her to realise that the magic of friendship seemed not be the cure for everything. The Magic of Friendship, her most powerful and connected Element, never seemed so powerless in the face of this invisible adversary.

Twilight never stopped hoping that one day she could reach out to him to let him know that they were there. In the short time that she had known him, she felt he was a good pony. He deserved a better response than he received.

Today, Twilight had resolved, would be the day she would show the best side of Canterlot to him and she would finally get to know him… his name, self and all.

Twilight had never been the best pony to talk about emotions with. Her friends have been recent, and though she had been decent, her character made it hard for ponies to get closer to the paradigm she set others. When other ponies tried making friends with Twilight, she emitted and aura of well-meaning expectations, almost like seeing a disapproving but friendly mother.

So though ponies tended to trust her judgement and follow her lead, making friends with Twilight was like making friends with an overly enthusiastic teacher. Someone you could be professional friends with, but you would always be the student and you would always be aware of the distance that accompanied being one.

Twilight liked to think that she got past this with her close friends and that the ice had well and truly thawed from the close-knit community of Ponyville. It hard to mend things outside of Ponyville, and she found that her friends in Canterlot and other towns were few and far in between.

So I became her next project. Make a foreign friend. How much more foreign could you get when you didn’t even know where they came from?

It would be exciting. The clash of culture, the exchange of information, the enlightenment of a whole new species and making friends with another that was not a pony, even her two best friends Rainbow and Fluttershy had accomplished that. Twilight also had a sneaking suspicion all her friends had but those were the only two she had solid evidence on.

Enough tangents. Twilight would make this day a day to remember.

She stepped up to my chamber doors and knocked politely.

She heard a familiar voice that bade her to come in.

The figure’s expression lit up as he considered Twilight.

“Twilight”, he exclaimed ecstatically. He gave her a stilted hug, which she gladly gave back.

“You came for me?” he continued.

Twilight nodded.

Of course not, you’re my friend! You will end up giving me your name!  Twilight thought resolutely.

Out loud she said, “We wouldn’t abandon you. I still have to find out your name!”

The creature looked a little shocked, as if her sentiments meant a lot to him. What had he been through?

They exchanged a few more words before the Princess herself interrupted Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie would you not mind if I speak alone?” she asked.

Twilight knew this was a conversation not for her ears so she dragged Pinkie out who was counting party supplies on her hooves.

How does that work?  Twilight pondered, looking quizzically at the energetic pink mare. 

Pinkie ignored Twilight, concentrating on the number of snacks that would give the optimum happiness index during party stratification across multiple house levels of an n-space complexity.

She must be thinking about how she can make our newest friend smile, she thought warmly. Now that was just oversimplifying the process. It was kind of like telling a quantum physicist that his job involved numbers and he got the solution by doing some maths. Oversimplification indeed.

Twilight thought about how best to show him around Canterlot, there were good places to be sure but some ponies might not be so accommodating for a strange creature walking among them. Maybe they could visit the Crystal Empire? She was sure that Princess Cadance and Shiny would be happy to show them around the Empire.

She paused from her thoughts, shuffling her hooves. They had been in there for a long time. Maybe it wise to check on them?

She crept up to the door laying a sensitive ear on the solid oak.

Pinkie had snuck up on Twilight and had placed her face mere centimetres from her eyes.

Twilight caught the pink and blue blur and almost shrieked in surprise.

“Pinkie!” Twilight gasped softly, partially in indignation.

“Twiiiiiiiiiilight, I think it’s a bad idea to eavesdrop on your friends”, she said softly.

Twilight frowned.

“I’m just worried about him, I’m merely checking on them both”, Twilight argued, but it lacked conviction.

Pinkie cocked her head to the side. Though she wore a smile, her expression was disturbing.

“Eavesdropping is the fastest way to lose a friend…” she began twisting her head.

“Forever…” she finished menacingly as her head rotated impossibly.

Twilight shuddered.

“Okay”, she said in a very, very small voice.

Pinkie grinned, flipping her body in the opposite direction to correct her posture.

“Okie dokie lokie!” she exclaimed, bouncing down the hallway.

Celestia called out from the room.

“Twilight, you may stop skulking around there and come in”, she beckoned, in mild amusement.

Ashamed, Twilight bowed her head as she trotted into the room.

The creature sitting opposite to Celestia cocked his eyebrow.

“I was just worried about you two, Princess. He and I have a date to keep”, she explained, a little flustered.

Celestia had an unsettling grin on her muzzle, one that didn’t sit well with Twilight.

“A date you say?” she queried innocently.

“N-n-no that’s not what I meant”, she stammered, backing away. She firmly wished for Pinkie to be in here with her now.

“You know, it might be great to get to know each other… better…” the creature drawled, a smirk adorning his features. Twilight’s eyes showed a little too much white.

Celestia nodded.

“I think it’s time to take your friendship to the next level”, the creature continued.

Twilight was on a verge of a panic attack.

Princess Celestia decided that this was enough.

“It is okay, my dearest most faithful student, perhaps if I stop misconstruing your words, you will stop trying to listen in on ours”, she said gently.

Twilight sagged in relief.

“Thank you Princess, it seemed you and… he were taking some time so I wanted to check up on you both, really”, Twilight replied earnestly.

“Next time, knock”, he offered wryly, lifting an eyebrow. Twilight found the expression hilarious.

“Oh and one more thing, you asked about my species, right?”

Twilight nodded, now curious, she shuffled forward in anticipation. It had been an answer a long time in coming and she was excited for his big reveal.

“I’m human”, he announced.

Puzzled, Twilight cocked her head.

“What’s a human?”

> 43 - Twilight: Twilight Anaesthesia (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Synch touched the world, not everyone was enthusiastic with the prospect of embracing this new technology. Some people were just intensely paranoid. Synch would give you brain cancer it’s like dipping your head into a cocktail of radiation. I agreed with them. So would be using your smart phone, standing near your router, standing near your computer, standing near your power line and basically anything electrically based. I laughed at their paranoia, what hypocrites, if they stood in the sun for more than ten minutes, they would get more radiation than Synch gear would give out in a year.

However, they weren’t the issue. The issue were those that thoroughly believed that Grooble was taking over the world, that soon our lives would be one corporate nightmare. Though I didn’t want to admit it, I could see the potential for disaster when they so well laid-out the information through ironically, the Grooble-run extranet.

It was only minor things that happened. A raid on their warehouses here. Server down time there. Nobody took their group seriously. 

At least until Synchrony hit.

I was unaware of the growing problem on Earth, stuck in the world of ponies and the Universe knows what. Then again, I was unaware that on Earth, the problem of Synchrony had already been solved and I had no need to head back.

Celestia was seated in front of me and I had been told the true extent of the problem of a null being.

At first, I was sceptical. 

How could I become the antithesis of all magic in this world? I didn’t know much about it much less knew the extent of my effects on it. But ignorance was no excuse for responsibility and being ignorant of the laws of a nature did not belie its truth.

So I accepted it and also wondered at the complexity of a new discipline.

“…so that is how we had drawn our conclusions, any questions?”

I was about to say something before Celestia cocked her head and smiled. She gently put up a hoof to stop my query and gestured silence with a hoof on her mouth.

“Twilight, you may stop skulking around there and come in”, she called.

I watched in bemusement as Twilight edged in with the bearing of a guilty child who had stolen from the cookie jar. She kind of looked like my dog, back when he was alive, when he knew he had done something bad.

I reminisced about my family, feeling bittersweet about my recollection.

Twilight and Celestia were engaging about a date and I couldn’t resist throwing a word or two in to embarrass Twilight further, to which Celestia had been game for, at least for a while.

When Twilight had stopped stammering, I decided to cut her some slack. My thoughts unexpectedly drifted back to one of our first meetings.

“Oh and one more thing, you asked about my species, right?” I asked, getting back a nod. “I’m human.”

Twilight had cocked her head to the side. She really did look like my dog! I stifled the urge to rub her on the head.

“What’s a human?” she asked innocently.

Oh, well I’ve never had to explain that question before so I went to default annoying.

“That’s what I am”, I replied.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Okaaaay, I think that’s all I’m going to get out of you”, she groaned but then dismissed that part of the conversation for a later date. Her gaze settled on the Princess who had been seated silently through the exchange with a little smile of bemusement present on her muzzle.

“Princess, if I may ask a question?” Twilight directed at Princess Celestia.

Celestia laughed lightly.

“Oh my dear Twilight, you need not be so formal around me”, she said good-naturedly.

Before Twilight could reply I cut in, “Could I be less formal?”

Twilight and Princess Celestia both spoke at the same time.

“I don’t see why not-“, Celestia stated at the same time that Twilight frowned and said.

“No.” 

I grinned.

“Princess trumps student, I’d say”, I teased, leaning back in my chair in contentment.

Twilight was learning to pick her own battles.

“Back to our original topic, Princess”, she began, shooting me a glance to keep silent. I locked my mouth and threw away the key. I don’t know… something about Twilight just makes me want to tease her.

“If I may, would you be so kind to reveal what the both of you were discussing”, she continued, then cleared her throat uncertainly. “If that’s okay with you, Princess.”

Ha, she’s more Fluttershy than Twilight, I thought, then I revised that thought. 

I don’t know actually, Fluttershy seemed shy but maybe she carries some kind of inner strength?

I paused to consider that statement.

Nah.

-----

Meanwhile, about two weeks ago in the Everfree forest, Fluttershy was staring down three cockatrices at once.

“Now listen here misters. I don’t want to find you anywhere near my friends or I will straighten you out, got it?” she growled, holding her ground.

The three cockatrices quickly made themselves scarce.

Fluttershy briefly took the time to reign in her murderous aura.

“That’s better”, she said, shyly. She trotted nonchalantly back along the path to her cottage.

-----

Twilight and Celestia had been conversing for a while but I had tuned out. Nostalgically I was listening to a brain-feed version of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen that really fit the occasion. 

Descartes eat your heart out, I thought snidely with a small grimace.

Celestia and Twilight were looking at me funny when I broke my reverie.

“Yes”, I said in response to their questioning looks.

Twilight face-hoofed whilst Celestia let out an uncharacteristic giggle.

I decided to inject a little more humour into their lives.

“Wait I wasn’t supposed to talk right? Dang, there I go again!” I babbled trying to cover my mouth. “It just won’t stop! Oh, well it seems the dam has burst, you’re going to have to tell me everything to shut me up.”

Twilight rolled her eyes while Celestia gave me a surreptitious wink.

“If you keep going on like that Twilight, your eyes will roll out of their sockets”, I deadpanned.

Twilight made to point to roll her eyes again at me. Rude! I was only trying to help. Eye rolling could become a serious condition.

“As I was saying”, Twilight began, whilst flicking a hoof at me. “We were asking you about how you would feel about going to the Crystal Empire.”

“Wait, what?” I asked in confusion. “What does the Crystal Empire have to do with me?”

Princess Celestia smiled warmly.

“Twilight and I think it is a good idea. We will need to make preparations over here to try and send you back, without harming you”, she explained.

“Still not getting how the Crystal Empire factors into this”, I confessed, still in puzzlement.

Celestia chuckled.

“Did you not want to see the good aspects of Equestria? The Crystal Empire is a shining example of hope and beauty within Equestrian hooves”, she said.

I didn’t buy it.

“I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re telling me you want to judge Equestria, outside of Equestria…” I accused, narrowing my eyes at the Princess.

Celestia cleared her throat softly while Twilight gave a stifled laugh. Celestia rolled her eyes at Twilight until she bowed her head sheepishly.

“I honestly didn’t think you would catch that”, she admitted, this time it was her moment to look sheepish. “Actually, the matter is a little complicated and political in nature.”

I glanced at Celestia questioningly.

“If the nobles or skies forbid, the media got their hooves on you it could bring chaos and mass-panic among the populace”, she clarified, dropping her teacup with a soft clink on the last word, as if to emphasise the gravity of the situation.

“I believe it is best to let Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor handle this while we continue to do research. That way if anypony gathers a whiff of what is going on, you will be out of reach until we need you”, she continued, giving me a glance that suggested she was willing to hear my input on the matter.

“I guess I shouldn’t get in the way of what you think is best, dear ruler”, I sighed.

“Of course, you will not be unaccompanied. You will have Twilight and her friends, some guards and also Princess Luna with you”, she offered, as a way to appease my reluctance.

I nodded, starting to like this proposition better. The matter of getting home was taken care of and I got to see some sights at least.

“Are you sure there is nothing I could do here”, I asked, feeling a little guilty that I wasn’t actively helping me get myself back home.

Celestia shook her head, I was still getting used to the fact that her mane swayed only slightly when she did so. Mesmerising.

“By your own admission, you claimed you know nothing about magic and this is a problem for magic”, she said gently.

I nodded, I had told her I knew nothing about magic, besides… 

How bad could this be? I thought.

But as everyone knows, as soon as you even think that, disaster was bound to fall.

> 44 - Pinkie: Pinkie’s Party Pony Perspective on Prospective Party Pageants for Playful People
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie bounced along the hallway planning the party for one of her close friends. To Pinkie everypony was her friend but some friends were more of a friend than others, friendly too. Friends were the cogs that turned in the mechanism of fun. To Pinkie getting a new friend was like finding a cupcake she had misplaced, it was sweet, a surprise and always a pleasure to share.

But she didn’t know her new friend’s name and she knew everypony’s name. Why didn’t she ask for his name? It was strange, weird and unsettling all at the same time. A bubble of emotions! Did that make sense to you?

To Pinkie, everything always made sense. Things would be so simple if everypony learned to laugh a little. A quick ha, ha, he, he, ho, ho and ho and everything would be all right. She knew the best way to make somepony laugh was to also get to know them. Which is why it never sat right with Pinkie not knowing the lanky creature’s name. She got the feeling she should call him ‘Dingy Dang Dong’ or ‘Whitey’ but she had had bad experiences in the past with calling her new friends by nicknames.

Got to know him first! she cheerfully thought, rocketing down some stairs.

I'll call him ‘Whitey’ as his name until I know his name, she resolutely affirmed to herself.

A panicked servant dove to the side as Pinkie dashed the final stretch to the kitchen.

A midnight blue alicorn was in the middle of eating hoofuls of cake and was caught mid poised to take another bite. Cake dripped along her muzzle and onto the floor as the two awkwardly stared at each other. Pinkie noticed the sign under the cake labelled: ‘For Celestia’s Afternoon Snack, DO NOT CONSUME’.

Pinkie recovered first.

“Hey Princess Lu-na, what’cha doin’?” she asked cheerfully in a singsong voice.

Princess Luna immediately wiped her muzzle with a hoof, flicking the remains of the pastry onto the stove. A disgruntled cook would later discover a burning smell and would blame in on an assistant who would then blame it on a cleaner who would blame it on his supplies and would pursue a class-action lawsuit on a multi-town factory for defective goods. The cake smear would be the result of over a hundred job losses and a bankrupt company.

Meanwhile, Luna was trying to look for excuses.

“You won’t tell anypony about this, would you Pinkie?” Luna nervously asked, scuffing a hoof.

“Tell anypony about what?” Pinkie queried innocently, as Luna relaxed, heaving a sigh.

“Oh good then. I wouldn’t want Cele-“

“Oh! You mean how you ate Celestia’s cake and that I shouldn’t tell anypony or Celestia would get really, really mad and probably chase you around the castle a couple of times, which you are happy to do until Celestia finds out that you were hiding on the roof of your tower all along and then banishes you from the kitchen for a six month period?” Pinkie interrupted, smiling widely at the princess.

Luna swallowed loudly.

“Yes, that”, she said in a very, very small voice.

“Okie, dokie, lokie! No problem!” she exclaimed, bouncing towards the fridge to fetch some snacks. Luna got the feeling that this would not be the last time she would be hearing about this.

“Are you sur-“, she began but stopped as she sensed a message from her sister.

“We are to meet at the antechamber, Miss. Pie”, she declared, dragging the pink party pony from her half completed cake mix.

“Nooooooo! I still haven’t found the jalapenos!” she cried, still trying to reach her cake mix. Luna would reply but her mouth was filled with pink tail.

Jalapenos? Luna thought, shuddering.

Better to not know.

-----

The whole gang was there.

Twilight spoke up first.

“Great everypony you’re all here”, she began, motioning for Luna to finish dragging Pinkie over.

“Where is my sister?” Princess Luna inquired, casting her gaze around for the white alicorn.

“Princess Celestia has asked me to inform you on what is going on. Now-“, Twilight began again, only to be interrupted by Applejack.

“Ah am mighty confused as to why we’ve been called up here, Twilight, what is this all about?”

“Well we are headed to the Crystal Empire to-“, she explained, only to be cut off by Pinkie.

“But what about White- I mean his party?” Pinkie asked, pointing a hoof in my direction.

“Well thi-“, Twilight continued, only to be interrupted by me.

“Whitey? Really Pinkie? I don’t know how you came up with that but it-“ I paused for a moment “ –actually that’s pretty close, good job.”

Pinkie grinned while Twilight fumed.

“Okay this time-“, she ground out, only to be interrupted by the double doors to the antechamber opening.

“WHAT IS IT THIS TIME?!” she screamed, shouting at the pony who had walked through the door. Unfortunately, it was Princess Celestia who had just trotted in, so she paused mid-hoof in puzzlement. I must say the timing was comically perfect.

“I had just finished my duties early and was going to drop in to see you all off, but if that’s too much of a hassle…” she said quietly, turning away to trot back through the door.

Aw, she looked sad. I thought sympathetically.

That was until I saw a small smirk on Luna’s face.

Oh, another lesson, I presume? I thought with a grin.

These ponies really know how to live it up, if only real politicians were this cool.

Princess Celestia clip clopped slowly through the door, her head hung dejectedly.

Twilight quickly rushed up to her mentor.

“Oh Princess I didn’t mean to, oh no!” she panicked, seeing the shoulders of the Princess shake.

The shaking gradually gave way to a chuckle, then laughter as the snow-white princess broke down into giggles and mirth.

“Oh Twilight, you must learn to lighten up! For goodness sake you have so many friends and you never learned from the Element of Laughter?” she chided, everyone was breaking into smiles and chortles of their own. Even Rarity had a dainty hoof pressed to her muzzle.

Twilight sighed in relief.

“Yes, yes, hilarious everypony. Okay back to business.”

Everyone straightened as they settled down to finally hear what Twilight had to say.

“We’re headed to the Crystal Empire to show our new friend around. He may or may not be safe here but it’s really a short vacation so anypony is welcome to come”, she finally debriefed, however there were some slight shakes from Twilight’s friends.

“I’m so sorry my dear, much as I’d like to thank our new friend for seeing Twilight out and clearing the Gem Hills of the diamond dogs, I have so many orders to fill”, Rarity apologised, shaking her head sadly.

Fluttershy added her two cents.

“Uhm, I’m sorry Twilight, but the uhm, animals have been too long without me, they need some attention. I should really get back”, she said, excusing herself.

“Yeah, I’d love to crash and see what this guy has to offer but AJ and I need to head back. AJ’s got her harvesting and I have to clear the clouds and practice for the Wonderbolt Academy. After they accept me, which they will of course, I’m going to be the best flier they’ve ever seen!” Rainbow commented. AJ nodded along, scratching the back of her head with an embarrassed hoof.

“I can’t leave the farm to Big Mac all the time and Celestia knows what Applebloom would be up to”, she added abashedly.

Actually, I have no idea what the little filly would be up to. If it is anything I heard, it’ll be big. Celestia thought in bemusement.

Twilight looked disappointed and cast her gaze at Pinkie.

“I’m still with ya, Twi!” she exclaimed bouncing up and hugging her friend.

Twilight smiled.

“Okay so that leaves Princess Luna, who will be escorting us-“

Luna looked shocked.

“Wait, dear Magic, what is it you mean?” Luna asked confused.

“Oh, ha ha, I guess I didn’t mention it but Princess Celestia asked you to tag along with us”, she said meekly.

Princess Luna’s hooves reflexively dug at the ground in agitation.

“But what of the moon? What of my other duties?” Luna pleaded, looking at her sister.

Celestia smiled in encouragement.

“Do not worry, dear sister, arrangement have been made. The importance of his safety is too great to provide him without adequate protection, you may choose a few ponies to assist you with this task”, Celestia decreed, sweeping a wing around Luna.

She whispered in her ear, “Go now while I forgive you for the cake.”

Luna started in surprise. How did she know?

She glanced at the pink party pony conversing eagerly with Twilight.

No, impossible.

Or was it?

-----

I found out that we weren’t going to make the trip north using the flying chariots. I was disappointed to say the least, but they explained the weather was too dangerous to allow for flying into those territories and conditions. I grudgingly agreed.

The train was a luxurious affair. We got the royal suite reserved for Princess Luna, which she didn’t mind sharing. I had excitedly jumped onto the train with an enthusiasm of a small child. All our trains were electrically driven and most private transport had been staged for removal with heavy taxes and government mandates against personal transportation. To arrive via our own personal carriage in a steam train, was a novel experience for me.

Unfortunately, by the time Celestia had brought Luna up to speed and the rest of Twilight’s friends had left for Ponyville, night time had cast its darkened eye on the slumbering city and I had precious little to look at as we meandered through the streets to the train.

I would like to describe the views out of the train windows but they were the same after a while. I would have liked to converse with Twilight and Pinkie but I found I could not as they were fast asleep. I looked at Luna who was wide-awake and decided to strike up a conversation with her.

“Not sleepy?” I inquired, sitting beside her. She looked at me in surprise as if it were unheard of for someone to so casually strike up a conversation with her. Wait. I guess not, she was royalty. Maybe I breached some protocol?

I shrugged. To heck with it, go all the way as Dmitri would say.

“I do not require much sleep, and even so these are my waking hours”, she explained, giving me a long look.

I smiled.

“A true Princess of the Night then? I thought the title was ceremonial but I think all things are literal when I see things here”, I commented.

Luna gave me an odd look, as if I said something strange.

“How can something be not what it looks like?” she queried, then paused as if considering, her eyes turned sad for some reason. “No I see, you could be right.”

I gave a jovial nudge.

“Of course I’m right. Trust me, I’m an engineer”, I replied smugly.

“Really?” she asked incredulously.

“Okay not really, I was studying to be one. Lay off me”, I grumbled to an amused expression on Luna.

Luna looked out to the mostly blank landscape, her eyes full of shifting landscapes and distant dreams.

“Tell me about your world”, she breathed, her mane softly flowing and her eyes wet with… tears?

I sighed, casting my mind back to where it all began.

“It all began when I received a Synch, a revolutionary device that changed the world…”

-----

Some indeterminate time later I found Luna napping peacefully. I had just reached the part where I had resolved to pursue Synch at Grooble, after Emilia’s death. I touched a finger to my face surprised I could still weep tears after what seemed like so long.

I sighed and thought about useless things.

“To sleep”, I whispered softly into the stillness of the night. “Perchance to dream.”

I got up from the triclinium that Luna occupied and made my way to a small side cabin. I always like to sleep with a little privacy.

I closed the door and turned to the windows, finding them open.

A griffon with a deadly sneer lunged at me before I could utter a sound.

For in this sleep of death what dreams may come…

> 45 - Lightning: Lightning Fast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lightning sighed. Today was a very monotonous day. It was like all days that had come before, wake up, prepare and dress, polish your armour, double check the weapons, maintenance on living quarters, breakfast and out the door you go to stand still for a few hours until you’re relived for a patrol around the city and then dismissed until the next day.

The recent allotment of special assignments, which involved arresting Solid and being trapped in a diamond dog cavern, was the most adventure that Lightning had experienced in his entire life. He was immensely grateful for the opportunity to put some of his training to the test. 

Unfortunately, none of the training involved ways to break out of forced imprisonment and Lightning had been embarrassed to rely on a strange creature that seemed to have a better plan of escape than he ever would dream of. To Lightning all he saw was the creature bring in rust and some shiny powder, then literally made the bars melt using a very weak unicorn spell. It was beyond impressive.

Lightning made a resolution to never get caught in a situation like that again. He double-checked all the chariots he was in charge of and preened his wings so that there would be no air-drag. After his duties he went into training for flights and manoeuvres but he feared that all his training was beginning to amount to nothing.

Not because they weren’t showing any results, but because there was no situation that called for it. He was now grossly over trained for handling the occasional rowdy citizen or to get a message speedily on wings. It was a little lacklustre and certainly an anti-climax to his new determination.

That was until Princess Celestia herself requested for his presence some weeks after his arrival. Anxious and confused, Lightning began to nervously backtrack through all his recent actions. What would the Princess want from him? Surely he had performed his duties without fail?

Oh no, Lightning thought, dismayed. It’s about that time I dozed off for ten minutes while guarding her throne room!

Lightning panicked, trotting in place, waiting to be announced to the princess. The Guards beside the doors gave disapproving looks to the unprofessional behaviour. Lightning was beyond caring.

Let’s see them be so calm when they know their career is on the line!

Lightning was called in and was surprised to see both Solid and Iron waiting for him in addition to Princess Celestia of Equestria.

Solid beckoned him over, while he nervously bowed in front of the princess.

“You called?” he spluttered, then immediately imagined a mental face-hoof.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Lightning thought to himself.

Princess Celestia merely smiled good-naturedly. 

“Rise, Private Lightning. We have matters to discuss and I’d rather see your face than your mane”, she chuckled, laying the guard at ease.

Private looked embarrassed but dipped his head in relief.

“So this is not about the time I dozed off while guarding you?” he enquired nervously.

Celestia shot him a bemused expression.

“Oh dear me, no not at all”, she laughed, Solid and Iron who had been silent until now stifled their own laughter.

Lightning had a bright red blush that Celestia found absolutely adorable.

“Now, Lightning you are representing the guard, I thought they would teach some etiquette in training”, she teased, to be rewarded with a deeper blush.

Iron though it was time to put the stallion out of his misery.

“We’ve called you Private, because we need an escort”, he explained, locking gazes with Lightning. Lightning found that his gaze was irrevocably drawn to Iron’s eyes, like a moth caught in amber.

“We need you to protect Solid and I as we search for portal spells”, he said in a serious tone that brooked no argument. Lightning was in no mood to argue with a clearly ticked off stallion.

Celestia nodded.

“Private Lightning, I am tasking you with the mission to protect Solid and Iron as they make their way to the Bad Lands”, she ordered, lifting a hoof to point towards the direction of the barracks.

Lightning gasped.

“Isn’t that extremely dangerous? Most ponies have avoided going there and not because it has been expressly forbidden”, Lightning stuttered, eyes wide.

Celestia nodded gravely.

“You are required to retrieve a particular tome on portal spells written by Clover the Clever herself. It is imperative that this be retrieved. I do not say this lightly but the fate of Equestria lies with the four of you”, she intoned, deadly serious.

Lightning gulped.

“S-surely there are more experienced ponies to handle this… and four, your Majesty?”

Celestia inclined her head.

“The most qualified unicorns are working on this problem and Solid is the only pony available with knowledge of the null being and is not tied with politics or underlying motives. She had explicitly asked for you to escort her.

“There will also be another pony accompanying you with them on this expedition”, she added, turning the gesture to a beckoning wave.

The doors creaked open to reveal a familiar mug.

“Corporal Hardy!” Lighting exclaimed.

Hardy took a look at Lightning, then one at Solid and Iron.

“Not this horse apple again”, he muttered underneath his breath.
> 46 - Sharp: Looking Sharp, Sharp (Part 1) (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sharp looked at the remnants of her left shoulder scale and exhaled sharply. It stung but it wasn’t extremely serious. Dragon scales although attached to blood vessels and nerve fibres, were incredibly resilient and can be quickly cauterised by a puff of dragon flame. Sharp growled in annoyance.

She remembered the good old days, when members of her necromancy guild were more interested in ethics, morality and good will. The guild now was full of ambitious, greedy and vengeful ponies that barely adhered to the code of ethics she had so painstakingly set down. As a matter of deference they had resurrected Sharp but not the rest of her council. Sharp was glad for that for thousands of lives would have paid for that.

Even so, loved ones, families, even their pets were resurrected with wild abandon and the crafting of spirits, though not of Equestrian origin, had left families and loved ones of a sapient species devastated.

Sharp knew what death brought to others for she was a living reminder of death itself. When she had queried her Elder on the mechanics of dragon death, he had simply replied in amusement with a tilt of his head and the flick of his tail.

“How long do you wish to live, Sharp?” he had asked of her.

To this day, Sharp had not known the answer. She had died whilst battling an End Flame. The End Flame was one of the few natural catastrophes that could end a dragon’s life. Through her dying moments, she had made her successor promise to resurrect her, if they had ever found out a way to do so without a soul from beings in Equestria.

She had no idea that her words were taken specifically and too late, the newest necromancer master, after resurrecting her own family and loved ones had finally come around to resurrecting Sharp. When Sharp had found out about the souls, she had been horrified. She pleaded to return the souls to the humans. One resurrected guild member even offered to sacrifice himself to do so.

Unfortunately when they had tried, the souls were merely cast asunder and wasted away to nothingness. Sharp was determined to end the spell casting. She began to dismantle the necromancer guild.

There were those that opposed her and through silver tongues and promises of power, many turned against her and her supporters. Disgusted, Sharp had left, hoping to get away from the insanity of those perverted by the sway of soul magic.

She made a mistake in fleeing. She should have stayed and tried to finish them off. Now, gaining influence and power, with a real means to raise the dead. The necromancer guild was now performing services to the highest bidder. So far, they hadn’t acted on resurrecting another dead soul and Sharp knew that this small chance would be all that was left before the guild would start ripping more souls from that alternate world.

She had fought fiercely and had diminished their numbers significantly. None could hope to match a dragon in strength or ferocity. But Sharp was only one dragon and she could not keep the battle for long.

Dejected, she had left the weakened guild, unable to finish them off. Ironically, she was near death again. She decided that she needed help to deal with them. Before long they would have bigger plans. 

After all, death was but the ultimate drug for the living.

-----

“Maellorn”, Sharp hissed, flicking a tail in agitation. “Thou dare.”

The aged unicorn eyed Sharp warily but held a hoof up in a placating gesture.

From the depths of the cave that Sharp temporarily inhabited, Sharp’s fearsome orbs pinned the unicorn in his tracks.

“Peace, Sharp”, he sighed, placing a weary hoof down. “There are more pressing matters that concern us.”

Sharp growled but otherwise kept silent. Maellorn took this as a sign to continue.

“There is a threat to both us and the lives we have raised-“, he began, only to be cut off by Sharp.

“Thou meanest thine souls thou hast damned!” Sharp accused, her foreleg coming down with a crash that echoed throughout the cavern.

“Peace, Sharp!” the unicorn roared again, the situation getting wildly out of hand. Sharp subsided slightly, but a thin trail of smoke drifted from her nostrils, signalling dragon breath only minutes to being unleashed.

“You are aware of the original intent of the spell for harvesting souls?” Maellorn continued, backing a step as Sharp regarded the unicorn more thoughtfully.

“Thou hast mentioned the bringing of a null being”, Sharp commented, her claws clicking impatiently on the stone floor.

Maellorn kept silent, letting Sharp come to his conclusions, the devastating conclusions.

The clicking on the floor stopped and Sharp jerked her head upwards in realisation.

“Thou hast- thou hast succeeded?” she asked, incredulously.

“Impossible!” she cried, jaws gnashing in agitation.

Maellorn waited a few minutes longer before closing.

“Sharp, we need your help”, he pleaded. His gaze grew hard. 

“I will not let it destroy everything we have worked for. I will not let my Lilac die again! Not again!”

Sharp regarded the unicorn with a mix of pity and anger. It was an ugly cocktail of emotions. On one claw she fully understood his actions but on the other claw she couldn’t accept them. What was the cost of a life?

“Maellorn”, she began sadly. “Dost thou knowest the bargain thou hast struck?”

Maellorn shot Sharp a quizzical glance. What was this old dragon saying now?

“I will help, but only on one condition”, Sharp growled.

“Name it!” Maellorn said firmly, shifting his stance to one of anticipation.

“You cannot use anymore souls, this world or another, after I have dealt with the null being”, she proposed, as she bent her neck towards him.

Maellorn paused as he was met eye to eye with the dragoness. The golden iris flecked with emerald danced within her knowing gaze.

“Upon your honour, upon your soul, Maellorn”, the dragoness intoned, her aura radiating with the gravity of the agreement.

Maellorn nodded.

“It shall be done”, he replied, sweeping around and exiting the cave.

Outside he glared at the skies.

“I have no honour and I have no soul. Those have all been given to my dear Lilac”, he whispered, trotting off into the surrounding forest.

With a flash he was gone.

-----

Sharp saw the retreating unicorn and doubted his intentions. He would not honour her agreement, for that she was sure. Sharp just required no interference for the next stage of her plans.

This was one that she would not like.

It involved meeting Princess Celestia.

> 47 - Celestia: Celestial Movements
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia had heard of the major battle near Galloping Gorge and had rushed to assess the situation. All that was left though, had been broken trees, blasted away from an unknown magical source and flaming pits from whence a dragon’s breath had been cast. The wrecked battlefield had been the result of an intense contest of wills from multiple powerful beings.

That it had happened so spontaneously and so quickly and ended so swiftly within Equestrian borders had perturbed Celestia. She could do nothing but send in teams to assess the situation and tell her what she already knew. Furthermore, worrying news had seeped into her telepathic link with Luna. 

Luna spoke of an unknown assailant that had attacked the human on the train towards the Crystal Empire. Unbeknownst to Celestia, information had been leaked as to whereabouts of the null being and a griffon had taken the opportunity to try and snatch him up. Unfortunately for the griffon, it seemed he had been kept deliberately in the dark and when trying to fly away with the null being, his wings had failed him, sending him plummeting to the rushing ground before he could recover. Luna had inspected the gristly remains but she had been unable to ascertain the griffon’s affiliation.

Frustratingly, throughout the whole exchange, Celestia had to wait a couple of hours between each message. Though telepathic communication was useful, it still required some time to traverse the distance between the two linked parties. The message was definitely faster than letters but were not much faster than a pegasus could fly. The situation required a semblance of fast communication, but this was the best she could do, given the circumstances. She sent a final message to Luna to protect the human at all costs, while Celestia would dig up some more information behind the scenes.

Celestia now had to operate under the assumption that the nobles and possibly most of Equestria now knew about the null being. She considered calling back the human but her plan had been sound from the start. Going to the Crystal Empire was his best bet for safety. Luna would just have to keep a closer eye on him.

Celestia pondered just how many groups could possibly be interested in a null being. As unpleasant as it was, she forced to think in the hooves of her enemies. His uses were virtually limitless in the short run, however in the long run any being dependent on magic would suffer. Their best bet would be to transport him back to his own universe after his use and failing that he would probably be discarded to another universe without regard for his safety. It would be their problem.

One by one she discounted his possible uses to her various nefarious arch nemeses. Chrysalis would have no use for a being that she could not control through her magic and despite the fact she could use him to get past shields, she could simply infiltrate other pony cities with less changeling security. Besides, she was too weakened from her recent endeavour to try again.

Discord? No he was still in his statue and she doubted he would appreciate his own chaos magic leaking away. Celestia sighed as she considered the line of thoughts most humans would tag with qui bono?

An urgent knock on her chamber doors interrupted Celestia from her musing.

“Yes?” she called back, expecting a noble to be pestering her with information about the null being.

A guard stepped in.

“Your Majesty, there is a visitor for you…” he began nervously, eyes darting around but never quite meeting her gaze.

Celestia fixed her gaze on her guard, her expression softening and she waved an encouraging hoof for him to continue.

Her guard swallowed nervously.

“It seems the dragoness’ name is Sharp and she requests an audience with you, your Majesty”, he choked out, obviously afraid.

Celestia frowned. Where had she heard that name before?

She gasped.

No, it couldn't be!

“Death Wing Sharp? The original necromancer? She’s alive?” she whispered, immediately getting to her hooves. Celestia shook her head as she brushed past her guard. 

No, Sharp was dead! She had enough honour not to be resurrected by sacrificing somepony in Equestria.

The last time that Celestia had lain eyes on Death Wing Sharp, she had decimated Celestia's forces and had come a talon's width away from severing her jugular artery. Death Wing Sharp had warned Celestia to not interfere with necromancy and necromancy would keep out of soul magic in return. The battle had been won but the price had been high on both sides. Necromancy was a shade of what it once was and Celestia had withdrawn with a victory, though tarnished. 

She had been saddened but not disappointed that Sharp had passed away due to an End Flame. Celestia believed that necromancy corrupted and though she did not doubt Sharp's convictions and her values, she did not agree that her fellow necromancers would share the same view. But they did, at least in their time. Celestia had been thankful she were not required to intervene. Necromancy then faded into obscurity and Celestia had thought that it was no longer a problem.

Until now, that is.

Whether or not this was an imposter, Celestia had to speak with her.

She entered the throne room and was greeted by a sight she thought she would never see again in her lifetime.

Sharp stood wearily, some scales on her left shoulder blasted off, scars adorning the scales on the front of her chest and a murderous aura leaking from her very soul. Her powerful and ancient gaze swept through the ranks of guards that had cautiously positioned themselves around her and most guards unintentionally took a nervous step back.

The force of Sharp’s gaze was like lightning in a dark and brewing storm. It struck Celestia with the intensity of a raging fire but with a depth of an ocean.

Celestia tightened her stance and thrust her head forward.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Death Wing Sharp?” Celestia asked, somewhat frostily.

A corner of Sharp’s mouth turned up in an amused grimace.

The dance had begun.

The dance of death.

> 48 - Luna: Lunatic Lunar Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna took a long last look at the griffon corpse before reluctantly flaring her wings and taking off. Her mind was a roiling cauldron of theories and unanswered questions. Her frustrating delayed talk with her sister had not helped either.

She glanced up at the night sky, casting a baleful glare at the moonset altered to her sister’s course.

Over a thousand years and the azimuth angle is still wrong, she grumbled to herself.

Wings beating powerfully behind her, Luna easily caught up to the steady train, chugging along on its slow journey north. This far, the weather had started to take a chill and Luna shivered slightly before erecting a quick insulating spell to keep her from being frozen over. About thirty or so kilometres and the winds would be too strong for even Luna to fly through safely. She closed onto the train about a hundred metres before teleporting the rest of the way in.

Twilight cast an admiring glance at the Princess. It was one thing to teleport out of a moving object or while stationary it was another to fix her coordinates inside a moving carriage. That took years of precision and skill.

I glanced up from the small bed I was awkwardly reclining in. Luna had ordered me to stay in that bed with Twilight and Pinkie to watch over me and I hadn’t argued, thinking it was probably not the best time to be casual towards royalty.

Luna flopped down on a triclinium set out opposite to where Pinkie and Twilight had lounged. She closed her eyes and took a brief moment to herself while we all waited patiently for her thoughts.

Luna let out a dejected breath before addressing the group.

“I haven’t found anything that could lead us to any clues”, Luna began, looking down at her hooves. “The griffon had nothing on or around him to suggest an affiliation, for all we know he could be working alone, but Celestia seems to doubt it since this trip was fairly secretive.”

I left out an annoyed breath. Luna looked at me a little hurt and I waved away her anxiety.

“No, it’s not you, Luna. You did your best”, I said with a tired look. I felt a deep weariness in my bones. “In fact you’re all doing well. I’m just tired, so very, very tired.”

I slumped on the furniture, staring out into the landscape.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked, in a rare state of seriousness.

I said nothing for a while and I could feel their concern occluding my thoughts. I wanted to reply that everything was okay and that I was just a little melancholy but the truth was, I was just sick of this. I wanted to go home. I wanted to be where things made sense and where I was truly within my element. 

Maybe this was an adventure? Maybe this would be something people would give up their life for? To me, I was disappointing people, leaving my responsibilities. I needed to head back but I trapped here with nary a way to help.

I felt as hopeless as when I had been working on Synchrony. Everyone here was more qualified than me, what could I accomplish?

“I-It’s nothing”, I finally replied, heaving out a deep breath. “I think we should get some rest.”

I turned my back on them and shut my eyes, trying to remember faces from Earth. My parent’s were indistinct and fuzzy, Angel’s was better defined but even Dmitri and Paul’s faces were just a blur and I felt small tears gather in the corners of my eyes.

I miss you, my dear friends. I miss you mother and father. I miss you Angel, Paul and Dmitri… I miss you all…

Luna gazed at my prone figure, unable to say a word. What would one even say in a situation like this? What would one do? Twilight and Pinkie reluctantly withdrew to their own small lounges in a gathering silence.

The three ponies glanced at each other then at the sleeping human.

And all of them were at a loss.

-----

The morning came with an awkward silence that passed between the three ponies. I had sensed their distress but I was unable to think of anything fitting to say.

I sighed. Emilia would be disappointed in me.

“Okay, enough moping from me!” I belted out loudly, startling everypony from a saddened mood. Pinkie grinned widely and bounced up towards me.

“Good to see you happy!” she squealed, wrapping me in a hug.

I chuckled and ruffled her mane. Pinkie was just unendingly enthusiastic like that.

“Moping around and being depressed is not going to help anyone”, I affirmed resolutely.

Twilight cocked her head and replied cautiously, “Aren't you still upset?”

I blew out a breath I didn't even know I was holding. I considered her question with care. I tried listening to my heart like Emilia had asked of me but I found a solid beat and not much else. Perhaps I was fine?

“Nah, well yes, I guess I am but there’s no reason to drag everyone else down with me”, I explained, feeling a little sheepish.

“Sorry about that, forgive me?” I added, apologising meekly.

Pinkie grinned wider, if that was possible, and said something to the effect of ‘Yeperoonies’ or something. Luna nodded serenely while Twilight gave me a small smile of encouragement. I felt myself ease up a little, tension draining away. Emilia was right, it was good to have a few friends.

I paused at that thought. Were these creatures truly my friends? Up until now I had been very casual with that phrase, neither inspecting it nor confirming it. It was strange.

“You’re my friends, right?” I spoke out loud, before I could take that ridiculous question back.

Luna smiled good-naturedly.

“I supposed we are”, she replied with a small laugh.

“That we are”, Twilight repeated.

Pinkie pushed something into my mouth.

“Cupcake?”

It felt sweet.

And I wasn't talking about the cupcake.

> 49 - Angel: An Angel Reborn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angel stared at the small, floating icon in the corner of her eye. The innocuous icon was labelled ‘Immersion’ and it featured a small star wreathed with two olive branches. Angel gazed longingly at the knot but in a gesture of disgust, dismissed the main interface with an angry thought.

Immersion had become a fantastical way for humans to explore their inner thoughts. Immersion could build a world from your subconscious and often people would use it to go on amazing adventures or perhaps relax on a bizarre holiday. It all depended on what you thought while you slept. When you dreamt, you could never remember or consciously experience what was happening. With Immersion, you can dream but be as lucid as you were awake.

Angel had initially enjoyed Immersion. It had been a welcoming break from the monotony of software and security development in the Grooble sector she worked in. In the throes of her grief for me, she had originally used Immersion as a mean to see me again. But it was not the same, the interactions were dull, my character never fully fleshed out. So Angel had quit using Immersion as a means for escape and returned to reality, slowly.

For others, they were able to fool themselves into thinking Immersion was as real as reality was. It started with online communities, talking and animatedly discussing the merits of Immersion and how fun and exciting it was. Immersion was quickly becoming as entrenched in society as the extranet was.

Angel was worried about Immersion. Unlike the Synch gear, which had a myriad of uses, Immersion was a method of entertainment and she saw little use for Immersion beyond that of relaxation and perhaps psychological value. More and more people were drawn to using Immersion for longer periods of time and there were cases where Immersion was starting to disrupt work schedules, or isolated cases of those that had addicted themselves with Immersion to the extent that they no longer viewed our reality as the true reality.

Some days, Angel would turn up to work and find that some people were missing from their stations. When she inquired about them, their friends or colleagues would shake their head and mutter ‘another one on Immersion’, like they were taking some illicit drug.

Angel realised that Immersion was beyond a simple little program and as innocuous as it once was, it was not to be trifled with. She just wished there was something she could do. She sighed. Angel knew she was not a person of action, she thought back to me and how heroic I had looked facing down the counter and connecting with the sum Synch gear of the world, over three hundred million units, and just taking that power and ramming it into Synchrony.

Angel considered the fact that Immersion could very well be another knot to be stopped. Had humanity traded one kind of death for another?

Angel sat down and rubbed her forehead. She gazed out of her window, looking at the softly glowing air-optical lines that crisscrossed the sky.

Humanity had the freedom to do what it wanted with itself. If it wanted to destroy itself that was fine by Angel.

Was it fine by me though?

Angel considered that I might not be so open to the destruction of humanity. She giggled as she tossed that inconsiderate thought out the window. Of course, I wouldn't let that happen. I couldn't let a tragedy of half a million people go unanswered. How could I let fifteen billion?

Angel decided she would do something about Immersion, after all, it was what I would have done.

She sighed again. There would be time enough for that tomorrow. She tried to peer through the matrix of lasers, but the action was in vain. The fine laser lines blocked the glow of stars behind it and Angel regretted never truly being able to see the night sky. Angel had heard me once describe the night sky before, when I had once visited beyond the laser-lines on a tall tower at the behest of my late friend, Emilia.

I had described it to be a wondrous sight, uncountable brilliant points that dotted the night sky in a bedazzling display of celestial mechanics. I had told her of constellations and comets, nebulae and pulsars and the wonders of space that I doubted I was ever experience first hand. I told her that if I were to die tomorrow and I could choose one thing out of anything to do, I would like to see all of space, in its entirety. Hearing me say this, Angel had asked me what had drawn me to space and the night sky.

Surprised, I had responded with a thoughtful voice.

Because space is the final frontier. Space is the representation of humanity’s upper limit. Space is the ultimate test to see if we had indeed conquered our cradle. Most of all… 

I paused, gathering my thoughts.

Perhaps I just want to see beauty before I die.

Angel had nodded silently back then, turning her gaze back to the laser lines etched in the atmosphere around us. She could not see what I saw. She couldn’t even imagine what I saw. But a spark had been growing when she first met me and she found that she hungered for more.

What was life without desire?
> 50 - Emilia: Emilia's Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I think back to the time I spent with Emilia I’m always assaulted by a storm of emotions. Fear. Love. Distrust. Happiness. Anger. Contentment. Pain.

I never really thought about how lucky I was to have Emilia until she passed away. There were times, when I look into the void and the people around me, I would see drifters and ponder. Society who had invented a purpose for them and they allowed themselves to be carried by the flow. They cared not where they ended up, only that they were moderately happy. It made me frustrated that they didn’t see the bigger picture. It made me frustrated that I also couldn’t make myself care.

I was a rock in a stream of humanity, the people I met were brief crashes against my hard façade, and they left as little impression on me.

Emilia had broken through all that. She slowly introduced me to the finer things in life. There was art, there was music, and there was life. I craved it all.

She was just as excited as I was when I had received my Synch gear.

She said, “Now the world is at your fingertips.”

I laughed, as I replied, “No, the world is merely a thought away.”

No sooner than a week after Synch was released a malicious knot had appeared on certain Synch users who visited an illegal knot downloading extranet page. People who inexplicably ran the knot was assaulted by light seizures and loud, repetitive noises until they could get their Synch serviced by a local Grooble-run store.

The program, named ‘Phreak’, was a play on an old hacking term used to infiltrate phone lines in the old days, when we still had wired phone networks. The developer was unable to be tracked but security had tightened on Synchs around the world.

When Emilia had heard of this, her sense of justice kicked in. She demanded to research techniques in order to improve Synch. Though her goal was to become an arm on the law of justice in society, she worked just as sincerely on the Synch, her talent showing no bounds.

We worked night and day on the Black Box project. It became somewhat of an obsession between the two of us. Emilia had been the one to originally find exploits in various models of smartphones and Synch firmware and I had come up with the idea of ‘recruiting’ the phones and Synch devices into the network.

It wasn’t long before our plan had been finished. I was starting to have regrets on even making something like this but Emilia had given me a shoulder up on the idea.

“Relax”, she had said, giving me a shoulder nudge. “It’ll be fine, a weapon protects when it is wielded by the righteous, and becomes dangerous when it is wielded by the wicked.”

I blew out a breath at that, forcing myself not to think too deeply on the issue.

Emilia had brightened when she considered a thought.

“Maybe you should apply for the Grooble young interns take in?” she had proposed, to which I had vehemently denied.

She had nodded in agreement.

“You need a lesson in making friends”, she teased, punching me on the arm. I had rubbed that shoulder in annoyance.

“Whatever.”

So began my long journey of ‘making friends’ with Emilia as my guide.

“It wasn’t hard”, she had chided. “You just have to stop thinking too much, you brainiac.”

I couldn’t help it if I was smart. Cut me some slack. I had gone through with it optimistically though, which was rare for me in general.

Very soon after, I had reached out to those who had been near me. I met a bright girl named Bonny, who had been afraid of the tales I had sown with my misdeeds. Luckily, Emilia was there to back up my reputation and she had one of her own, being a righteous paragon in the small high school.

Alex had been next and he was a quiet kid, a bit like Paul when I had first met him in the interview, but he was permanently shy. I would like to say we were good friends, but I hardly got to know these two in the few-shared months we’d been in high school together. When Emilia had died, we drifted apart and I became alone as I had been from the beginning. I guess Synch had brought me back to the game of making friends.

When Emilia had lain in the ambulance, gasping her last breaths, Dwayne had told me she said this:

"Remember me, for my dream. Remember me for our dream."

At the bedside where she had rested at the funeral, Dwayne had asked me what that had meant.

I was broken up but at the time I didn't know what she had meant.

Was she talking about Black Box?

Did she want me to carry out her mission of justice in this inequitable world?

I didn't know, and I probably never would. It was one of many regrets I had in my life.

Today, I reflected that Synch really had a knack for bringing things full circle, the same way its ring connected it’s components on a grand circlet, like the ancient Greek symbol of Ouroboros, forever devouring its tail.

My life had been about beginnings and ends but musing of the future simply brought questions about the end.

What will I choose to be at the end?

Will I even have a choice?

Perhaps it will be along time in coming.

I could only hope.

> 51 - Me: Me, Myself and I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The focus was on me, I guess. Last night had been a trying time, getting scared out of my wits by a griffon that literally plucked me out of a moving train, only to try and launch himself into the air, only to plummet to his immediate doom. I had been terrified, stuck halfway out the window o the train and when I scrambled back inside, I relayed the news to Luna who disappeared in a flash.

I wasn’t really upset at the fact that the griffon had been trying to take me away, I was more aware of the fact that willingly or not, justified or not, accidentally or not, I had indirectly killed that creature.

Over and over, the image of his shocked expression as his wings failed to move and his terrified look as he plummeted down to be dashed against the unforgiving ground, replayed itself in my mind as I tried to send myself to sleep.

The next morning had been a slightly awkward affair, but I made light of it as we got down to business. Yet again, Emilia was right. I would feel better when I made up with my friends, they would help me get over rough times.

Only an hour later we pulled into the Crystal Empire and I stood back in awe.

When I heard the name Crystal Empire I had thought that the name was simply to do with perhaps a crystal mine, or how ‘the Big Apple’ were what people sometimes referred to New York as, or how ‘Newcastle’ did not actually mean a new castle, or how-

You get what I mean.

The Crystal Empire was a huge sprawling city (at least I think this is the main part of the empire, maybe we’re in its capital?) filled with crystal buildings, crystal castles, crystal food and even crystal ponies. That whole place was littered with crystals.

The crystal ponies though, stopped what they were doing and were staring at me disconcertingly, like how my dog sometimes did when I walked past. Luna just chuckled at my misgivings and told me that the ponies would get used to me soon enough. Twilight and Pinkie flanked me and kept a watchful eye on any suspicious activities. Seems like they were taking Luna’s orders from last night seriously. Pinkie had a ridiculous Sherlock Holmes getup and was using a magnifying glass to peer at unsuspecting ponies as they rounded corners.

After a few surprised yelps, Twilight decided that Pinkie should stop harassing the crystal ponies. Grudgingly, Pinkie subsided but kept the stink eye up around ponies that drifted nearby. Eventually she dropped the act although when she spotted crystal muffins.

“Oooooooh! Crystal muffins!” she exclaimed, snagging one from the counter and devouring it, Twilight belatedly threw the required bits down for her friend as Pinkie ate various confectionaries left, right and centre.

Luna had fixed her gaze on the Crystal Tower, the tallest structure in the centre of the massive city. Her critical gaze spotted a balcony from which two figures were indistinctly waving their hooves at us.

I resisted the urge to wave back as Luna bowed her head slightly, acknowledging the couple at the balcony.

Twilight had managed to drag Pinkie by the tail, again, how does that not hurt?

We set off towards the tower post-haste.

The tower was as dazzling as it was on the inside as it was on the outside. I gaped at the intricate structures composed of clear and tinted crystals giving off a hallowed feel. It felt like I was in some sort of ancient temple, with the guardians reluctantly giving entrance to the defiling infidels.

Or at least that’s what I thought. The other ponies were having a blast of a time, completely at ease with such crazy surroundings. Such was the law of the universe.

We were admitted into a meeting room of sorts with tapestries of crystals and hearts hung around the room, symbols of the Empire, I assumed. The room was dominated by a crystal table, for which fluted glasses and various plates and cutlery had been lain out in preparation for our arrival. I guess I was to dine with royalty today.

The side entrance was opened in the brief pause as we waited on the rulers of the Empire.

A white male unicorn dashed through the opening to approach and embrace Twilight.

“Twily!” he beamed, gathering the pony into his arms, Twilight affectionately nuzzled the unicorn.

Luna leant towards me, seeing my confusion.

“That is Prince Shining Armor, Twilight’s elder brother”, Luna explained and my expression cleared.

Bringing up the rear a light pink-coated mare with a tiara entered the chamber. She bowed to Luna respectfully before playing a silly hand-clapping game- I mean hoof-clapping game with Twilight.

“How much of royalty does Twilight know?” I asked Luna suspiciously.

“Oh, all of them, I think”, Luna replied casually.

I gulped, suddenly regretting the times I teased Twilight excessively.

Serves thee right, Luna thought snarkily.

I shrugged.

Worth it, I thought with a pleasant grin.

Oh for the love of skies, does this creature need a lesson? Luna grumbled to herself.

Shining approached me and I introduced myself as the human. He shot Luna a glance when I didn’t give a name but Luna just shrugged and flicked her tail in annoyance.

The pink pony with the tiara approached me.

“I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza but you can just call me Cadance”, she said, making eye contact with me. 

As soon as she met my eyes however, her eyes widened and she took a step back.

“Changeling?” she gasped in horror.

Luna and Twilight gave me a wide-eyed look, then narrowed. Pinkie looked genuinely puzzled. Shining bent his head down, his horn gleaming with a spell.

I threw up my hands in a placating gesture.

“Woah, woah!” I exclaimed, trying to calm everyone down. “Let’s just discuss this calmly.”

Shining glared at me, his horn still glowing with the fierce intensity of the spell, ready to launch it at me at the slightest provocation. His expression turned to confusion as a midnight black orb slid over my vision.

“Princess Luna?” Shining shot at Luna.

Luna raised a hoof, signalling Shining to stand down.

Shining reluctantly took an easier pose but his horn only slightly dimmed, I took that to mean the spell was in some sort of standby mode.

“Now, Princess Cadance, perhaps you would like to enlighten us as to how you came to the conclusion that our friend her is a changeling?” she demanded, rounding on the princess.

Cadance looked a little less sure of herself but she stood by her convictions.

“I felt no love from him, he was a bottomless pit…” Cadance explained, giving me a sidelong glance.

“The only creatures that have no love inside of them are changelings.”

Shining nodded. It made sense. Luna and Twilight relaxed.

Pinkie still looked confused.

“But Whitey’s Whitey”, Pinkie argued, as if that explained everything. I rolled my eyes but I was smiling.

Shining and Cadance looked at each other as if saying to each other: what is going on? Through some unspoken telepathic communication, they stood silent, waiting for an clarification.

Luna cleared her throat.

“You have received the letter from my dear sister, have you not?”

Shining nodded, Cadance didn’t.

Luna put a hoof in front of her face.

“Shining you did tell Cadance about the human?”

Cadance turned reproachful as Shining scuffed a hoof in embarrassment.

“Yes, the letter mentioned the null being a hum-“, he smacked his forehead.

“I’m an idiot”, he muttered. Comprehension dawned on Cadance’s face.

“This is the null being?” Cadance observed incredulously. “I expected something so calamitous a bit, erm, bigger.”

I laughed awkwardly.

Calamitous? Though true, it still hurt a bit. I tried to inject some humour into the dead silence.

“I’m not dangerous enough for you, princess?” I jested, as Cadance gave me an apologetic look.

“Ah, I’m starved! I could eat a horse!” I bellowed out intentionally.

Pinkie giggled. Luna looked at me with a weird expression. Twilight was apparently immune to my teasing now so she just had a long-suffering expression. Cadance and Shining, knowing nothing about me, just had quizzical looks plastered on their faces.
> 52 - The Journey of a Thousand Miles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Begins with the first hoof-step”, grumbled Iron, struggling to wade through the endless sands. Lightning and Hardy were unequivocal about it, choosing to save their strength by not talking to their charges. Hardy was taking it particularly hard. Ha ha.

I never asked to escort ponies half way across Equestria, if I ever get my hooves on the pony that is responsible for this… he thought darkly.

Solid Evidence bowed her head, not wanting to speak either. The sun was too bright. The sand was infuriatingly resistant to her hooves and her mane stuck to her back like soggy toilet paper. It was an unbearable sensation to say the least and to moderately describe it would be torture. Her tongue started lolling out the corner of her mouth. She stumbled over a rock, feeling the pain as a dull, distant throb.

Iron noticed Solid’s behaviour first.

“Lightning, Hardy, quick give me a hoof”, he commanded, dashing to Solid’s side as she collapsed in the sand.

“Iron, I-“, she began blearily, her eyes out of focus. Iron put a hoof on her mouth to stop any further words.

“Shh, shh, shh”, he said, quieting Solid. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she slumped against Lightning and Hardy supporting her.

“What’s wrong?” Lightning asked, anxiously assessing Solid.

Hardy expertly checked Solid’s vitals.

“She fine, for now but we need some shade and water, she’s suffering from heat exhaustion”, he growled, heaving Solid and gesturing Lightning to cooperate.

Lightning flicked his tail in annoyance.

“Why doesn’t that mare say anything?” he grumbled, shifting Solid on his shoulder.

Iron stamped a hoof in frustration.

“That mare is one of the most stubborn ones I have met, she’s not likely to ask for help. She thinks she’ll become a burden on the group. Oh Celestia, the irony is that she had become a burden by simply not asking for help”, Iron muttered, bringing up the rear.

He pulled up a map.

“The nearest watering hole and shelter is about three to four miles in that direction”, he said pointing roughly southwest. Lightning and Hardy acknowledged his directions with a nod and set off in that direction.

This was going to be a long trip.

-----

There was not much to say about the journey between the watering hole and from the point at which Solid had collapsed. It was a boring series of trudging along in the unforgiving sun on pitiless sand. The bright sun reflected off the dunes and at times they had to constantly shield their eyes from the glare of some of the dunes.

“If I knew for a fact that this wasn’t Tartarus, I’d be gosh darn hard pressed to tell the difference”, Iron croaked. It was the first sentence he had said for a long period of time.

The others were too tired in dragging the mare to even respond. They had taken turns with Solid, habitually rotating at regular intervals. Even though they had brought their own water supplies, their saddlebags did not have the capacity for the long distance of the desert. They were relying on the watering hole, not far from this position.

Six kilometres on flat ground doesn’t seem far for the average human or pony, however the pegasi were grounded and the shifting sands had sapped most of their strength. Solid also weighing them down, they finally considered the thought that they may make it.

“We cannot wait for night to fall without making a fire”, Lightning hoarsely spoke, Hardy nodded weakly.

“Night is freezing in the desert and without a fire we are a target for medium-sized predators”, he recounted, his hoof sank about ten centimetres into the sand, and he pulled it out quickly. Hardy sighed and berated himself, there wouldn’t be quicksand out here. His eyes widened and he jerked Lightning forward while calling back at Iron.

“We have to leave, now”, he cried huskily, trying to shift his hooves faster.

Iron snapped out of a small daze he had sunken in when the sand suddenly shifted around him.

“Sand Sifter!” Lightning growled, whipping Solid onto his back as he tried to beat his wings for a take-off. He stumbled forward instead.

Iron, in an adrenaline fuelled surge, leaped in front of Lightning, Hardy and Solid and reared on his hind hooves. The motion distracted the Sifter and it eyed Iron first. 

The Sand Sifter was a monstrously large affair. It reared its ugly head back, revealing rows upon rows of teeth in its gaping maw. The Sifter resembled a cross between a snake and a centipede, its head resembling a snake, apart from its innumerable teeth and the body coiling with many legs as a centipede would.

Iron could only stand there gaping for a moment as it stared into Iron’s eyes and roared.

The piercing roar echoed through the wasteland, decrying the bestial intent of the ravenous monster.

Lightning and Hardy started shuffling away, they knew they were not going to make it, but they tried their best anyway.

Iron took one long look at Solid, giving an oddly tranquil smile. Lightning recognised it immediately.

“No!” he yelled desperately, beckoning with a frenzied hoof. He felt Hardy’s hoof drag him back and away.

“No, Iron! Run with us!” Lightning shouted again, tears leaking. He struggled futilely in Hardy's grasp.

Iron just stood there, with perhaps a shadow of regret in his eyes.

“Say goodbye to Solid for me”, he said across the widening distance as the Sifter opened its maw.

Lightning opened his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. It was happening again. All again and there was nothing he could do about it.

With a sickening crunch, Iron was gone.

The Sifter eyed the other prey, as if considering them for a further meal. Then it simply turned and disappeared into the corpulent sands.

Lightning sank down to the ground, beating his hooves rhythmically into the sands. He screamed and yelled incoherently until his voice gave out and yet he still beat at the sands.

“Horse apples”, Hardy muttered, pulling at the unconscious Solid.

It was several minutes more before Lightning could pull himself together and join Hardy.

He said not a word as they dragged Solid to the watering hole.

Finding shade at an overhanging rock near the water, Solid had gradually recovered.

She grinned uneasily at the expressions of Hardy and Lightning.

Casting her weak head about, she processed the two exhausted stallions but she couldn’t spot her ever-present companion.

She gave the two guards a look that teetered between playful and apprehensive.

“Lightning”, she croaked out, trying to inject a cheerful tone. Lightning’s eyes turned to her as if pulled by an indomitable force. His gaze was filled with unshed tears.

“Where’s Iron?” she asked, her question travelling the short distance to the stallion’s ears. It felt like a plea in a gale.

“Solid…” Lightning replied with a shuddering breath. “Iron didn’t make it…”

> 53 - Tomorrow May Never Come
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mood of the expedition had become a pit of depression. Lightning and Hardy were stoic and Solid had been inconsolable. She had shown a strong outward appearance but from time to time Hardy could hear Solid’s sniffs and quiet sobs and it tore at his heart. He had not known the stallion personally but he was a good kid, he was level headed, supportive and he always accompanied the crazy mare that was his friend.

His actions spoke volumes about his heroic personality and Hardy would see to it that he would gain proper recognition, when they got back. He corrected himself despondently.

That was, if they got back.

They faced a dilemma. Hardy knew that with the map gone, heading back out into the desert was a sure fire way to get themselves killed. However, heading back to Equestria was also an equally dangerous proposition. They had supplies to last them at most, two weeks without water and they had expected to reach the Tower within the third day. What had been a simple mission had quickly devolved into a life or death situation.

Solid and Lightning had reached the same conclusions only moment later.

They may have to face the fact that failure was an option.

-----

The feeling of a blade thrust into your chest is a shocking feeling. I had broken bones before and it hurt like hell, but nothing really compared to this. There was the shock, of course, that made me immediately realise it was serious.

I gasped weakly, my hands shakily moving towards the blade and then shying away. I realised that if I pulled it out I might bleed out instead. I could feel the blood pool in my left lung. My breathing was getting laboured.

I looked to my left and found Twilight gazing at me, with tears in her eyes.

Please don’t look at me like that, my friend, I thought, giving her a reassuring smile. I wonder why that made it worse?

Luna was galloping towards me from the distance but it seemed like everything was moving slowly, as if the air had been made to the viscosity of treacle.

I laughed. I was truly a scientist, to the end.

I was falling, but I didn’t feel the impact.

I was getting ahead of myself.

-----

A few hours before…

The meal with Twinkie, Shining and the two princesses was very awkward to say the least. I don’t know what it was about me that drew the awkwardness of a situation out but I couldn’t help it, it was a part of who I was.

“Do you normally have these intensely awkward silences around me?” I asked the general audience of the table.

Twilight shook her head.

“Usually Pinkie would say something by now”, Twilight replied, shooting Pinkie a gaze.

Pinkie shrugged, in a very human-like fashion.

“I can’t help it, Whitey just makes me want to be quiet”, Pinkie said between mouthfuls of crystal cake. “Dunno why.”

Twilight shot me a critical expression.

“You have to teach me how you do that with Pinkie”, she demanded, fixing me with an intense stare. I hadn’t touched the food, because it was made of crystals, I didn’t know if I could digest it. If I had food in my mouth I would be nonchalantly chewing it.

“Maybe I’m leeching the happy magic out of Pinkie”, I offered offhandedly. I tinkered with the crystal glass flicking it with a small ping.

“Maybe one should teach thee thine own manners”, Luna suggested, giving me a playful nudge. The powerful blow sent me halfway tilted in the chair. I huffed but took it lying down. Stupid princesses having ruling powers over a stupid country, bah what would I give for a normal person to talk to, maybe someone humanoid?

Apparently, Cadance was good at reading minds.

“Are we not interesting enough for you?” she tittered, mischief sparking in her eyes. 

Gosh, she mimicked my tone almost perfectly. She must be a singer.

Shining finally steered the conversation into a more serious matter.

“So, I guess since everypony seems to be avoiding the topic- “ he shot a glance at Luna and Twilight, who avoided his gaze “ -I think I speak for all of us when I say, what now?”

Twilight and Luna had a thoughtful expression while Pinkie was still stuffing her face with cake. Does that pony ever stop eating? Can anyone else match this mare’s ferocious appetite for delectable treats? Why do I keep asking questions to myself when I know they’ll never be answered?

Cadance cleared her throat, startling everpony and myself, out of a short reverie. 

“I think a tour is in order!” she announced cheerfully before being cut down by Luna.

“No!” Luna cut in sharply, causing the pink pony princess to shrink slightly. I winced. 

Maybe you should go easy on her Luna. I thought.

Luna seemed to see the error in her ways.

“Forgive me Princess Cadance, but we cannot have our null being running around, especially near certain magical artefacts that may or may not be responsible for the entirety of the defence of your kingdom”, Luna explained bluntly.

Cadance shook her head.

“Of course, I simply meant he should be shown around the palace”, Cadance corrected smoothly, getting to her hooves. Shining regarded Luna somewhat frostily. They beckoned for us to follow and exited the side door. I was about to follow but found myself backtracking a little when Luna didn’t follow.

I patted Luna on the back. She flinched at the contact but relaxed slightly as I ran my fingers through her fur.

“Don’t worry about it, princess. You were just looking out for them”, I consoled, giving her a final pat. “They’ll come around.”

She surprised me with vulnerable eyes. They regarded me for a moment before hardening.

“I’m sorry you had to see that”, she ground out stiffly.

I nudged her, breaking her stern features.

“Relax, Nighty”, I said, striding ahead.

“N-n-nighty?!” she shot back indignantly. I chuckled.

“How about Woona?” I joked... but her expression turned terrifying.

“DON’T YOU DAR- WHERE ARE YOU GOING?” she shouted after me, storming past surprised guards as she bee lined for my retreating form.

“That’s the spirit!” I sniggered standing on the balcony. The others had returned. They had finally figured out I hadn’t followed. Perhaps they were giving me privacy? Meh.

I stood out on the balcony beckoning them to join me.

“Look I want to show you-“ I began, but I heard a fluttering noise behind me before turning my gaze to the blade that had suddenly blossomed out of my chest.

“Oh. Oh dear”, I whispered, feeling shock course through my body.

> 54 - The Grass is Always Greener...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Medicine, unlike space travel, had advanced quite rapidly, fields opened up and health became a major concern with the populace. As much as technology had helped us conceive a better standard of living, it seemed humans loved inventing problems for themselves.

The Internet had been one of them, but the extranet had been a fairly effective solution. The next step was our own sloth and hygiene. Sloth, due to the fact that foods were so available and transport connected us across the world at blistering speeds. Hygiene, not due to the fact it were excessively dirty or unclean, but the opposite.

Allergies were on the rise.

You may have heard of the hygiene hypothesis. It was a conjecture on the seeming cause of a rise in people with allergies as time spun by. Some scientists posited that allergies were the result of a too clean environment and those whom have not been exposed to enough pathogens tended to have an immune system that reacted excessively to non-essential threats.

Good thing there was a cure, an expensive one though.

It worked similar to a vaccine, allowing the immune system to correctly identify a multitude of ‘immuno-targets’. The cocktail was incredibly difficult to manufacture and relied on the use of nano-robotics, a rare ingredient even when Synch came out. My parents, in addition to buying me a Synch, had given me the full spectrum of medication and allergy prevention medicine, as they had arrived. They sacrificed their own doses. They waved away my concern by stating it was for me. They told me I was their future.

I was young then, and I didn’t understand their sacrifice. I had thought it normal among parents and their children. Was it not obvious the love was unconditional? Perhaps if I had thought more deeply about it, I would have realised earlier that worked both ways.

Advancements such as these led me to believe that humans were a great species. Whatever we wrought, whatever we conceived, whatever we had concerned ourselves with, we had put our minds to it and it had become so. Ever since I arrived in Equestria, it had been a shock to me. Everything was just different.

You know, I don’t think humans are really great for fantasy worlds. What weapons and knowledge I had was severely limited. What strength I had, was practically non-existent when I had started sitting around a lot more often, either soldering or programming. What ingenuity I could conceive was limited by the fact that a whole realm I was ignorant in, magic, was inaccessible to me. It seemed a little too unfair.

While unconscious, I had a lot of time to consider what I could do. I mean it wasn’t a direct thought or conscious motion or a guided idea. It was just a subconscious collection of enlightenment that told me I should probably apply myself the best way I could.

I would approach this the best way I knew how.

Like a frigging scientist, because trust me, I’m an engineer… sort of.

When I woke to spasms and coughs of pain from my traitorous body. I heard a regular noise I thought I never would hear again; it was the steady pulse of an electrocardiogram. Excited, I flung my eyes open and searched around for the equipment. I spotted it immediately beside my bed. Beeping happily. It wasn’t connected to me but I felt overjoyed. I was back on Earth!

I tried to get up but a sharp pain from my lung prevented me from getting very far.

“Argh!” I growled in pain, clutching weakly at my chest.

A familiar clip clop of hooves dispelled any hopes of me being back on Earth. I felt disappointment clutch at my heart before I could stifle it.

The pony looked to be a nurse bearing a small cross, dotted with love hearts on her flank. She looked surprised to see me awake and darted out of the roo before I could even start a proper conversation with her.

A doctor rushed in, accompanying her only momentarily later. I realised the ponies were crystal, I was still in the Crystal Empire then. The Doctor jabbered some medical terminology I wasn’t too familiar with and gave my vitals a quick manual check. I guess the machines around here couldn’t be used on me for some reason, possibly run by magic? I didn’t know but that was likely the case.

The doctor told me they had to resort to a mix of what was called ‘minotaur’ and ‘zebrican’ medicine. An art that had almost been forgotten but was luckily preserved due to the fact that the crystal ponies around here were missing to close to a thousand years.

The human equivalent, from what I could tell, was 1800s style medical procedures, with a lot of cauterising and needle based draining. They hadn’t given me any pain meds for fear of my body chemistry reacting negatively to it. They had soaked everything in alcohol to hopefully disinfect their tools and operated quickly on me while I was unconscious. They risked a saline I.V. to boost my blood pressure, due to my blood loss. Without a substitute it had been touch and go, for a long time, with anxiety and pressure keeping up the doctors and nurses past their shifts.

My eyes had softened when they recounted their tale. They had spent an extraordinary amount of time saving me, me who was not even their own species and they appeared genuinely concerned for my health. I was touched.

I sincerely thanked them, bowing my head in gratitude. I gave them a fairly eloquent speech about how much I appreciated their dedication to their profession. They looked adorably embarrassed and they quickly exited the room.

Luna strode in not to long after they had left.

She smiled in approval when she told me she had overheard the doctors and nurses gushing about my praise. I smiled languidly for a moment then asked Luna about the attack.

“Luna, have you found anything while I was out? I understand if you haven’t in such a short period of time”, I beseeched, looking at Luna with a hopeful expression.

“Did the doctors not mention?” she asked cautiously.

I shook my head in confusion.

“Mention what?” I queried, trying to ascertain exactly what Luna was thinking. Her poker face was too good and all I received was a stoic expression.

“You were out for almost three days”, Luna replied sadly, she looked a little guilty.

“We feared you might never wake up”, she muttered, scuffing a hoof.

I gaped at Luna for a moment.

Three days…

I shook my head. That wasn’t important now. Finding the culprits that were after me was important.

“Luna, did you find anything?” I repeated, my tone harsh. I regretted it almost instantly when she flinched almost imperceptibly.

“Sorry!” I shot out before she could say anything.

“Sorry…” I breathed, sinking back onto the covers. 

“I guess it’s the stress. I guess I’m just not used to getting stabbed”, I joked weakly, covering my eyes with my arm as I leant back.

I could hear Luna approaching.

“That’s quite alright”, she spoke gently, as I felt her muzzle nuzzle me at the side of my forehead. “You’ve been through quite an ordeal.”

I nodded.

She sighed, pausing as if to assess my condition, whether I could take the information or not. I waited patiently for her to make a decision.

“The knife bore the markings of a necromancer guild”, she sighed.

I didn’t know what to think.

Necromancers?

What in the world?

> 55 - Misunderstandings (a.k.a Reading Room)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My parents had been somewhat famous medical legends. My mother was a doctor and my father was a medical researcher. Both had been instrumental in curing lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. The research, which paved the way to breakthroughs in many different types of blood cancer treatments, was instrumental in securing humanity’s medical future.

Of course back then I was aimless. My parents had encouraged me to pursue the sciences and particularly in medicine but I held back. I didn’t want the pressure. Their expectations and those of others would just weigh me down. I didn’t want to deal with it, so I just… drifted, not really caring where I went. 

I think my parents were extremely glad when I decided to revolutionise Synch. Quantum engineering was a growing field and there were many promising achievements to be earned. I knew that they were mostly looking out for me but I couldn’t help but feel that they expected me to be something amazing, a prodigal son, as it were.

Too bad I couldn’t be the prodigal son for long.

-----

Stuck in the bed as I was, I really didn’t have much to do. I had been contemplating my recent musing on how limited I was in this equine world. The knife really drove the point home (ha ha) and I was seriously considering what I could contribute to getting myself home. I knew I wasn’t an expert at any stretch of the imagination but maybe I could shed some insight with the intelligence I possessed.

I decided to approach Twilight about the issue. Out of all the ponies I had encountered, Twilight seemed to be the most level-headed and, well to put it bluntly, most intelligent pony. The only drawback, which was minor, was that her mind was untempered by the sheer depth of wisdom I had sensed from the royal pony sisters.

It wasn’t that Twilight possessed a lack of wisdom it was far from that. She was a capable well-rounded person-pony-being. I felt she could share my sentiments at the very least.

So I asked for her.

She came, rather quickly. I thought it rather sweet that she cared.

“Hey Twilight”, I mumbled weakly. I couldn’t help it. My lung was still sore. Actually, my general chest area was pretty sore. A backstabbing will do that to you. 

Twilight looked to be near tears.

“Aww Twilight, don’t look like that, I’m still here”, I consoled, keeping my voice casual.

She smiled back at me unsteadily.

“We were so worried, I’m so glad you are all right”, she gushed, wrapping her hooves around me for a hug.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Not that I appreciate the gesture but it still hurts like heck”, I exclaimed, but put a hand on her hoof as she tried to jump back.

“I’m so sorry!” she apologised sheepishly. I nodded. She glanced at the hand holding her hoof and I snatched it back.

“Okay, to the topic then”, I snapped out, eagerly bringing up the subject before anything weird went on.

“I need to learn all of magic, nercomancers and inter-dimensional travel in a week.”

Twilight looked at me with a tilt to her head, as if to assess if I had brain damage in addition to a stab wound. Now, I didn’t really know if I had jumped dimensions, or just to another world, but I sure knew I wasn’t on my world.

She looked at me quizzically.

“While I admire your desire to learn about magic, necromancers and such, but seeing as you aren’t able to perform magic, will that pursuit be that beneficial?” she asked me, I considered her words, mulling over the problem in my head.

“Hmm, you’re assuming I can’t actually do magic”, I replied, scratching my chin in thought. I had a few ideas buzzing around in my mind.

Twilight looked at me in surprise. Her mane whipped around as she put a hoof to her head, trying to put things together. She tapped her chin, giving me the impression that she was not completely discounting my idea.

“From what you told me, you mentioned there was no magic on your world”, she spoke with a measured pace, careful to get her facts right. I nodded, confirming her suspicions.

“But you think it might be possible here?” she probed. She looked at me blankly, waiting for an explanation.

I paused to gather my thoughts.

I knew of the old mythical stories. Fantasy had been a keen element in human imagination and even though I was not normally exposed to that kind of literature I knew the basics.

“I just need to know a bit more about how magic works here. Who knows, maybe I could shed some insight? I don’t think I’ll be able to wield magic, null being and all”, I replied slowly, scratching my head. I beat the hospital covers with a soft open palm.

“It’s just frustrating, knowing that I cannot do anything to assist. I know I can help and even if I don’t, at least I can rest easy that I’ve tried everything”, I continued, I could feel sadness welling up.

“There are people who depend on me, family who has not seen me, friends who I have not seen for a decent time… They might think I’m dead or lost or…”

I choked up, mind reeling with the implications of my death. I focused harder, trying to concentrate on the memory of last moments on Earth before I arrived in Equestria. It still remained out of focus.

Twilight laid a hoof on shoulder.

“Buck up”, she said, giving me a dose of my own encouraging medicine.

“I’ll get you those study materials, maybe we can both figure something out”, she offered, I gratefully accepted with a nod from my head.

-----

From that point on, the days spent in the hospital bed flew by. From time to time I’d see glimpses of guards patrolling outside my window and doors and I realised that Luna or Shining or Cadance must have assigned them to prevent any more attackers. I shuddered. I didn’t want to go through another stabbing again. I appreciated the extra security and it was comforting to know they cared.

Most of the time I spent reading and cross-referencing with Twilight. Luna dropped in from time to time to check up on me but every time she did so, she seemed antsy. When I asked her what was wrong she always averted her gaze and evasively dodged my inquiries. Her agitation became more and more apparent until one day, as she entered the door; I put down my book in frustration and got straight to the point.

“Luna”, I spoke flatly, giving her a stern gaze. 

“Come, sit”, I practically ordered gesturing to the chair arranged at the side of my bed.

Luna sat down nervously and I noticed her tail flicking every so often, as if sympathetically displaying her agitation. It was strange. I was beginning to learn pony body language. I don’t think it would be similar to horse behaviour on Earth, but then again I never really studied it.

Luna’s ears flicked as well, forward and backwards as she tried to phrase her problem. She seemed to be internally debating whether to tell me something. I patiently waited.

What came out next from Luna surprised me.

“Scratch my ears!” she blurted out. Even she appeared to share my surprise.

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard you, what did you say?” I replied in a daze.

Luna looked incredibly embarrassed. Her cheeks mantled and I saw a red blush spread across her features. Wait, how does that work? No matter.

She got up abruptly, sending the small stool she was sitting on toppling over. She hastily corrected the stool with her telekinesis.

“Actually, forget I said anything, I have to leave, goodbye”, she shot out in a rush, turning to leave.

“Luna, wait”, I called out.

She paused mid hoof-step. She turned her head jerkily until she made eye contact with me.

I sighed.

“What was that all about?” I demanded, my tone leaving no room for evasive answers.

Luna’s ears sagged as she hesitantly approached my bed.

“I haven’t raised the moon in a while”, she began despondently, I didn’t follow but I waved her on.

“When I don’t raise the moon for a short period of time the symptoms of withdrawal are negligible”, she explained, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying.

Hang on. Raise the moon? Probably a religious thing, I dismissed it.

“After some time I get an itch behind my ears which builds and builds until it gets quite unbearable”, Luna continued, flicking her ears irritably.

“Why don’t you just scratch it?” I asked, still confused. She waved a hoof at me.

“Even though I can reach it, scratching with a hoof is very difficult”, she clarified, putting her hoof back down. I nodded. It made sense.

“Yeah, I see. I can help you with that”, I replied nonchalantly, reaching over to her head. She shied away.

“The thing is…” she mewled, her hoof hiding her face in embarrassment.

“My sister usually does this, because the practice is somewhat intimate.”

I understood the situation.

“Is there anyone else who could help you with that?” I asked hopefully. Luna shook her head.

“I would ask Twilight but she would not hesitate to report this to ‘Tia- I mean Celestia and I would never hear the end of it. Add to the fact that she tends to overdramatise the little things, she’ll think I am coming down with an illness and possibly spend a few nights trying to study alicorn illnesses. Perhaps, her curiosity will get the best of her and she’ll try and find out why not raising the moon gives me itches”, Luna shrugged.

“Servant ponies?” I offered. I had seen a few.

Again, Luna shook her head.

“They are Princess Cadance’s, I can’t simply ask them to do something so intimate without even knowing them first”, she said.

I was struck by a thought.

“What about Princess Cadance herself? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind”, I proposed but again I got that shake of the head.

Luna stomped her hoof softly in frustration.

“Every time I try and see Cadance I would always spot Shining with her in the middle of a romantic gesture, it’s infuriatingly adorable! I can’t interrupt their recent wedding glow”, Luna explained regretfully.

I looked at my hands.

“Okay, but one last question. Why me?” I asked, tilting my head.

Luna swallowed before answering with sometime incomprehensible.

“I’m sorry Luna, I didn’t catch that”, I said.

Luna mumbled something a bit louder.

“Still not getting it”, I pressed, straining to hear her voice. She must be taking advantage of the fact that I’m in a bed.

“BECAUSE YOU’RE THE FIRST TRUE FRIEND I HAVE!” she yelled in confession, her cheeks blooming in red. I gaped at her.

Then I smiled.

“Well said, Luna”, I said warmly, patting the covers above my lap. “Alright come here and let me rub your head.”

She looked at me strangely.

Probably not the best words to use to a princess…

“Oh, just come here and let me scratch your ears out”, I muttered irritably as Luna finally put her head atop of my lap and I got to scratching her ears. She moaned in pleasure.

“Oooh that feels good!” Luna groaned in pleasure. Her tail was wagging, like a dog.

It was in that beautiful moment… that Twilight walked in.

She froze for a full ten seconds, before slowly backing out the way she came.

My hand was frozen, still lying atop Luna’s head.

Luna and I made eye contact.

“Twilight, wait!” we both yelled, myself scrambling out of bed, following the lightning-quick motions of Luna slowly.

“Stupid knife wound, stupid misunderstandings, stupid, stupid, stupid!” I cursed, stumbling to the door.

I heard a crash.

Oh what now?! I thought in exasperation.

> 56 - Moderately Modern
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I came upon Twilight and Luna I found them sprawled on the ground, having tripped over an innocent hospital worker who had been pushing a gurney. The princess and Twilight tried a couple of times to untangle themselves from the heap but a complicated web of lines tied their limbs together. I shook my head.

“Now this is what happens when you don’t stop when others tell you to”, I commented wryly, the beginnings of a smirk tugging at the corners of my mouth.

Both Twilight and Luna shot me a glare. I put up my hands in a placating gesture.

“Okay, okay! I’ll just help this poor stallion to his feet-erm hooves and you mares can sort yourselves out”, I said quickly, turning to the dazed stallion. He nodded at me as I helped him to his feet. He gave Twilight a withering scowl and a frosty bow of his head to Luna.

I held in my laughter at the failed of attempts of Twilight and Luna to unbind themselves. My guess was that Luna had charged down the corridor and had prepared a spell to root Twilight. The spell backfired when she collided into the passing gurney and the spell ended up entrapping both of them.

“Come now, Luna”, I chastised the dark blue mare. “You should just dispel the spell now.”

I didn’t really know how spells worked but there should be counter-spells to spells, right?

Luna had the graces to look embarrassed.

“I would if I could”, she started as a tinge of red blossomed on her cheeks. “But I’m afraid I used an alicorn-class spell.”

Twilight sighed in frustration.

I peered at Luna in puzzlement.

“What’s an alicorn-class spell?”

Twilight answered for Luna, giving a small cough to clear her throat and begin. I struggled not to giggle at Twilight obviously trying to deliver a lecture from her, uhm… awkward position. I admired her for trying to keep her composure despite the circumstances. Shows character. Uhuh.

“Alicorn-class spells are a subset of spells originally developed by Princess Celestia- “ she glanced at Luna, as Luna shrunk back a little “ -or Princess Luna.

“The purpose of these spells was to combat high-powered monsters or to affect the environment on a world-changing scale. An example of this would be the sun or moon-raising spell, which allows an alicorn to achieve what twelve or thirteen unicorns would have difficulty with. Although, with Princess Celestia or Luna, they would have a greater affinity to the former and latter respectively due to their ‘special talent’.

“The problem with alicorn-class spells, which is usually minor, is that they can only be broken by another alicorn. You’ll have to fetch Princess Cadance”, she ground out, in a mixture of semi-annoyed and semi-professional tone. Every few seconds mirth threatened to bubble up from my abdomen and out through my mouth and I clamped a hand around it in an attempt to stop it from overflowing.

Probably not a good idea to make enemies of these two mares, well any mare at any rate, I should probably just do my job.

“Okay”, I said as the giggles subsided. “Just one question. If this is an alicorn-class spell, why can’t Luna break herself out?”

Luna grimaced, then turned meek as she explained.

“The purpose of the spell is to bind the enemy, the spell would automatically conform to the type it was trying to bind. As Twilight would have noticed, I didn’t want Twilight to activate a spell and easily escape the rooting spell”, she said, turning to look at Twilight with the last phrase. “She is a particularly powerful unicorn after all.”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“I don’t feel particularly powerful right now”, she grumbled, trying to escape the bonds again, but subsiding a little when she accidentally kicked Luna in the flank, the alicorn gave a small unroyal ‘eep’. I renewed my struggles to contain my laughter.

This is priceless, I need my flash Synch knot, I thought traitorously. Oh the blackmail material I could record!

Luna and Twilight shot me a chilling look that broke me from my thoughts. Twilight did a disturbing thing where she was still looking at me but was addressing Luna.

“I think that in these circumstances I can find it within my heart to forgive you”, she began, in a tone that suggested horrible things could happen.

Luna nodded, her gaze suddenly intensifying, making me take a step back.

“Young Twilight, I do believe you hit the nail upon its head”, she spoke icily.

Twilight pointed a free hoof to the stallion that had been pushing the gurney before, he had returned and his expression told me that he regretted every moment after making that decision.

“You Sir!” she called, rooting him to the spot with a glare. “You agree that my friend was thinking quite unfriendly thoughts, right?”

The stallion looked like the Inquisitors were grilling him for practicing witchcraft.

He glanced sidelong at me with a gaze that said ‘sorry bro, you have my sympathies.

“Y-yes, ma’am, absolutely”, he agreed sycophantically, I glared at him in annoyance.

I still had the upper hand, though, figuratively speaking of course.

“I wonder who would fetch Princess Cadance?” I wondered out loud, Twilight twitched but didn’t back down.

“We’ll get a guard to tell Princess Cadance” Twilight replied snappily.

I glanced at the guards standing well outside earshot.

“Uhuh”, I said unequivocally. Twilight snorted.

“They’ll check on us, eventually” she defended. Luna was quiet.

“Just get Princess Cadance will you?” Luna sighed. I shrugged, the game was over anyway and I needed to get some research done.

"I’ll leave a couple guards here, Luna. It wouldn’t do to have any…pony coming here and seeing you both like this”, I suggested, walking towards the doors.

Twilight huffed but remained quiet. She looked like she was plotting her revenge.

So be it, I thought.

In the main hallway I spotted two guards.

“Pardon me”, I excused myself politely. The guards regarded me curiously.

“Would you mind helping Twilight and Princess Luna over there- “ I pointed behind me “ -they are stuck in a precarious situation…”

The guards nodded, the one on the left thanking me before marching into the side hallway.

I exited the hospital, finding myself in unfamiliar territory. I smacked my forehead. I hadn’t asked Twilight or Luna for directions.

No matter, I thought, spotting a tall crystalline tower. I think I’ll be fine.

Princess Cadance was holding court when I arrived. She looked a lot less like a young, inexperienced mare and more like the royalty she was reflective of. I approached her with more reverence than I had reserved for Luna. After all we weren’t friends, at least not yet.

I wondered to myself how I got myself into making friends with royalty on a different world.

Probably some universal law that says this here human is not to have a straightforward, uncomplicated life, I thought to myself, somewhat bitterly. I shook myself from my brooding as I approached the throne.

I bowed slightly, as I halted a respectful distance.

“Ah, what brings you here?” she addressed melodiously.

She’s definitely a singer, I thought to myself.

“Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle requests your assistance at the hospital”, I informed her.

“Whatever for?” Cadance queried, peering at my form. “Are you fit to move from the hospital?”

I chuckled at that.

“I checked myself out”, I replied casually. The guards to the sides of the throne were beginning to get annoyed that I didn’t use the ‘your Majesty’ appellation. I didn’t care. Not one single bit.

Princess Cadance didn’t seem to mind the lack of title. She seemed happy to speak to me on more casual tones.

“This is what Luna talked about”, she murmured to herself.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I called to Cadance. I didn’t catch her words.

Cadance dismissed the guards to the sides, to my surprise. When the guards left she approached me apprehensively, as if gauging whether or not to broach a subject with me. She anxiously twisted her hoof, pivoting it on the ground. I guess different ponies had different ways of scuffing the floor with their hooves.

Cadance looked at shyly before blurting out, “What do you think about foals?!”

I stared at her, while she blushed furiously.

I was about to reply when she cut in.

“I-I-I mean, not in THAT way, Celestia, no!” she quickly added. She looked horrified she said that. I felt a little hurt, to be honest.

“Oh pony feathers!” she cursed, turning away from me.

I was starting to get the picture.

“Is this about Shining Armor and the issue of bearing foals?” I asked, groaning. This stuff was Emilia’s field of expertise, why was she approaching me?

Cadance nodded.

“And you’re asking me because…?” I inquired, confused.

Cadance looked at me as if it was obvious.

“Because you are male”, she replied as if that made any sense. Oh, wait she wanted a male perspective on children.

“It’s really not my place to say”, I said, wanting to pull out of the suddenly boiling relationship cauldron I found myself in.

She looked at me pleadingly.

“Oh it really depends, have you tried asking him?” I offered, to which Cadance shot me an annoyed glance.

“Of course I have, I’ve been trying to hint at it for weeks now!” she growled. I instantly face-palmed, knowing exactly what the situation is.

“Listen Cadance, I don’t think I have to tell you this, you being already married and all, but you should know by now that guys are very blunt and straightforward. Subtlety doesn’t exist in our vocabulary, well unless he’s an intellectually isolated island like me”, I explained, Cadance nodding slowly.

“Just straight out ask him, princess”, I told her casually.

She looked unsure of herself.

“You’ll be fine”, I said, encouraging her. “Just act natural and be supportive either way, it’ll work out.”

At the time, I failed to appreciate giving relationship advice to the pony Princess of Love. Ponies were mortal too. Alicorns included.

She nodded thanks at me and dashed out the side door.

Hopefully I hadn’t broken the Crystal Empire’s royal relationships, which would be bad. Really bad.

I got the feeling I was forgetting something though…


> 57 - Bonus Chapter: Sun Sick (non-canon)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This chapter is the result of my sickness and the inability to write anything substantial while being sick, sorry my readers! This is not canon.

The dull, pale sun shone a blood red over the land of Equestria. Outside, curious mares and stallions stopped what they were doing and gazed upon in a mixture of curiosity and trepidation as the sun reflected a deep red wine colour across the sky. The event would not have been so unusual if the sun had been close to the horizon, unfortunately for ponies near and far, they registered the sun to be at the 12 o’clock position. Smack bang at position of the time of noon.

What worried the populace even further was that the sun had not budged for a while. Its glow was reflective of something gone terribly, terribly wrong.

When Luna turned her head up into the sky, after taking a brief moment’s nap. She immediately realised the grave implications. Immediately, she sped off to Celestia’s room, knocking furiously on the oak-plated double doors.

“Sister! Sister! Let me in!” she gushed outside the doors. The guards shifted uneasily, unable to adjust to the situation. There was no protocol for this kind of disaster.

Luna flared her wings, blowing the doors clean off their hinges as she charged in.

“Sister-“ Luna began, but faltered when she was greeted by an unusual sight.

Celestia was splayed out on the bed in a rather undignified manner, the guards who had followed in cast glances at each other as Luna dismissed them quickly.

Celestia had her hooves mashed against her pounding head.

“Ooooh”, she moaned pitifully. “My body, it aches!”

Luna looked at her sister in pity. Though their bodies were indeed immortal, they were not as invulnerable as ponies normally attributed them as. Celestia had contracted some form of rare illness that had assaulted and won past her prodigious immune defences.

“G-get the human”, Celestia groaned, flopping haphazardly on her bed.

Luna looked at Celestia in concern before realising what her sister required.

“A magical ailment?” she posited, as the parts fell into place. Her sister nodded vigorously, which in her current state was more like the slow nods of a sloth.

Luna rushed to fetch the human.

A touch later, Celestia was sighing in relief.

“Much better!” she proclaimed, bounding to her feet. Luna sighed in relief.

“Thank you…” she began but then paused.

“What’s your name again?” Luna asked, in confusion.

“We’ve been over this”, I growled, shaking my head in frustration. “In this land, magic is tagged to a name, so if you can’t remember mine, it’s because of my null being properties.”

Celestia pondered that statement for a while.

“We should give you a name, as way of thanking you”, she pronounced, getting up and moving towards the court.

“No, nope, nadda, nopies, nay, neigh, nigh, no!” I furiously disagreed, sensing a bad undercurrent.

“Is this how you thank your benefactor?!” I yelled, as I dragged by the scruff of my shirt by Luna.

“Yes, I think so”, Celestia replied. “After all you’ve done for us, bestowing you a name would be a worthy cause. Well worth the effort.”

“Is this what Equestrians have to spend their tax dollars on?!” I belted out, hoping to find a way out. I relaxed as Celestia and Luna paused.

“Luna”, Celestia spoke in confidential tones, as she addressed her little sister. “Remind me how much does the current treasury hold?”

Luna paused for a moment, as if to think of the amount, Celestia knew she was just keeping up with that for appearances sake, the lunar diarch knew Equestria’s treasury back to front.

“I’d say we have in excess of two hundred trillion bits”, Luna replied, as I ogled at the ridiculous number.

“How… what…? Aren’t those bits in pure gold?!” I exclaimed in disbelief.

Luna regarded me coolly.

“In modern Equestrian, I’d say ‘yep’”, Luna replied, casually.

I sagged, unable to fight to two mischievous diarchs.

Later that day, I was named Prince Happy Face, Protector of Love, Tolerance and Friendship.

Later that day, I also became an anarchist.

> 58 - The Weight of One's Life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isaac Asimov once said: “Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today – but the core of science fiction, its essence has become crucial to our salvation if we are to be saved at all.”

When Immersion became a fundamental part of everyone’s life, Angel stopped caring about the progression of the human race. She was less and less interested in the direction we took and more and more interested in her own impact, what her discoveries could do. She was convinced that the Black Box integration and Synch was the next breakthrough in science. My disappearance should have been impossible, but somehow certain conditions had converged to bring forth these puzzling results.

Angel had worked on the Black Box problem in her spare time when she wasn’t working for Grooble. She had completed her doctorate and was now one of the leading members of the R&D department of Grooble, WHO, the main headquarters of Grooble. When the Synch headgears came together in the Black Box, she found something startling, something she hadn’t expected.

After recruitment of roughly one hundred Synch devices, the whole Black Box system acted suspiciously organically. It had acted like an entity rather than a network of dumb machines. She thought about that for a moment and considered her own body. Perhaps her body was similar. Cells were small, unconscious ‘machines’ that made up her whole being. Was she really that different?

Angel was struck by a sudden realisation.

If this is what one hundred Synch devices could achieve, what could three hundred million?

-----

Hardy was the one to first breach the subject after half a day’s rest.

The desert was as blinding and unforgiving as ever but he knew that in their condition, getting back was just as dangerous as going forward. He knew though, that would have no chance at reaching their objective now that the map was gone, so they had to risk everything to head on back. It made no sense to move forward.

“Alright, we’ve gotten this far but we’ve lost too much, I say we have to head back”, Hardy announced, Lightning giving a weary nod. Solid was silent.

“Solid, are you all right?” he asked, but then instantly regretted doing so. Of course she wasn’t all right, nothing would be all right for her after Iron’s sacrifice. He felt stupid for even bringing it up.

Solid just stared blankly at Hardy for a while before replying in a dead tone.

“I’m moving forward”, she ground out, her eyes disturbingly staring out at nothing.

Hardy sighed.

“Look Solid, I know how you feel, I too have lost comrades and people close to me, believe me I can sympathise. Lightning too has lost dear ones too but he moves on”, Hardy spoke, wrapping a consoling wing around Solid. She didn’t acknowledge it but she didn’t shrug it off.

“We have to do what is best for each other, please see that, Solid. Please”, he begged, making eye contact with her finally.

Solid broke eye contact and looked away.

“I have to do this, for Iron”, she said, moving away from Hardy.

Hardy glanced at Lightning, who just sat there, wings drooping.

Hardy gave a vented breath of frustration.

“Can’t you see you’ll die out there?!” he yelled, giving a stomp with a hoof. The sound echoed around the small rocks littered around the area.

“We have no map. We have no bearings. We have nothing!” Hardy pushed, while Lightning and Solid gazed at the floor.

“All we have is the general direction of Equestria and even that is not guaranteed! What of sand bogs? Flooding gorges? Changelings, for Celestia’s sake! Don’t get me started on those Sifters we just met!” Hardy shouted, face beet-red, after the rant he seemed to calm down but his voice took on a deadly serious tone.

“Celestia has tasked me to protect you, and in her name I will, by Celestia and Luna, I will drag your sorry flank back to Canterlot”, he growled, pacing.

Solid looked up from the floor and gave Hardy a teary stare.

“If we don’t go on, then Iron will have perished for nothing”, she replied bitterly.

Hardy felt like he had enough but he tried a different tack.

“Solid. Please. Iron sacrificed himself so we could end up here. If he didn’t, by all means we would have died and I am eternally grateful to him for that. What would Iron think of us if we just threw out his sacrifice by dying out there in the desert? Please, Solid, we need to get back. After we get another map and supplies we can try again. Right now, it’s simply impossible”, he reasoned, trying to get her to see the light.

He shot Lightning a look, trying to get him to convince her. Lightning either ignored it or just didn’t care. He was trying to get his own emotions in check.

Solid put forward what was on her mind.

“Hardy, I know this will sound crazy but I remember the map, in every detail”, she claimed, giving Hardy her best objective stance.

Hardy took a long look at Solid’s face before grabbing a couple of tools from his saddlebag.

“Draw it”, he commanded, unsure of Solid’s veracity.

Solid took to drawing the map. In less than twenty minutes she had put in all the major details, perhaps not to the degree of artistic flair that the original cartographer had placed in their map.

Hardy looked at the map, tucking it into his saddlebag.

“This changes nothing, we head back to Equestria and report to the Princess, then we can head back”, he ordered, gathering up his things. He strapped his saddlebag back on.

Solid looked hurt.

“Wait!” she said. “Leave some parchment with me.”

Hardy paused.

“You are not going out there alone, am I right Lightning?” he addressed his subordinate.

Lightning slowly shook his head.

“I owe it to Iron, now that we have a chance”, he replied simply, not making eye contact.

Hardy screamed in irritation.

“Both of you?!” he ranted, flaring his wings in anger.

Solid and Lightning didn’t respond.

“If you both want to die, don’t drag me into it!” he yelled, kicking at the stone that was shielding them. It hurt but it made him feel slightly better. He kept at it for a minute or two, trying to calm down.

Finally, he turned back to them.

“Celestia help me, I’m aiding two morons”, he said as Lightning and Solid looked up hopefully.

“Yeah, yeah honour and all that”, Hardy growled, flicking a dismissive hoof. “Just make sure you know what you’re getting yourselves into.”

> 59 - Magical Mystery Mayhem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hastily remembered to get Luna and Twilight free, for which they had thanked me by glaring at me, much to my chagrin. After that, I had resolved to take the opportunity of my downtime from either healing, surviving, imprisoned or being in otherwise unfavourable circumstances, to learn more about magic.

Magic was actually an interesting subject and I was surprised that the majority of the target audience reading this subject were just unicorns. Not all unicorns were interested either. The main body of literature stemming from magic came from scholars like Twilight, those that were interested in the application and theory of magic.

I figured it was similar to science, for example, we all use the fruits of the technology to help us with our modern conveniences, fast cook microwaves, optical air pathways and network communications are all things we took for granted. The number of people interested in how it worked however…

Which explained Twilight’s immediate enthusiasm in teaching me this broad subject.

I had made arrangements to visit her once a day after I unofficially discharged myself from the hospital. The doctors were not happy with how I simply had gallivanted out of the hospital without a word and I had to sheepishly apologise for my absence.

But that didn’t last long because magic was awesome.

I mean the things that it could accomplish were not extremely insane. Levitation and otherwise was fascinating, but it wasn’t world-changing. I could levitate some objects; just give me some magnets and a superconductor. Those things cost nothing.

But the power to move celestial objects, change the weather and manipulate medicine within the body?

World-breaking.

If only humans could use magic.

One of the things that worried me was the fact that I was a null being. Did that fact extend over to my whole race or was it just me being a null being because I was infused with Star Swirl the Bearded’s spell?

That reminds me of another thing.

Star Swirl the Bearded? Really? I know I said I wouldn’t judge names but that name was just too funny.

Twilight of course didn’t really appreciate me pointing the fact that Star Swirl the Bearded was not a serious name.

She told me to be quiet and pay attention to her lecture, which she spent a solid two hours on her idol. I had to bite the inside of my cheek in frustration.

When I looked into the literature on the way magic worked, it intrigued me. A lot of it was very consistent on the principles of thermodynamics. Magic flows in and out of a system and maximises some version of magical entropy. To retain the low-entropy state of magic within their body, mages like Twilight had to focus on their internal reserve, which consumed effort and that energy was expended after achieving a spell.

It was complicated but no more so than the power systems behind Synch.

I was fascinated by the fact that flows of magic apparently were what powered spells. If I could somehow provide the power through pre-constructed spells, then the spell could be cast. In fact, that was how the majority of enchantments worked in Equestria. Power up a gem, put a spell diagram somewhere and BOOM! Instant spell.

Since I was an artificial energy sink for magic, all I had to do was to touch a spell diagram and the ambient magic in the air would provide the mana flow to power the diagram. It would be very small and very weak but if I had access to a higher energy gradient then theoretically I could channel an unlimited amount of mana.

I had approached Twilight with this idea that had initially excited her, until she realised that the magic I nullified would be gone forever. If I ‘cast’ any serious magic it would just shoot Equestria along the line of destruction all the more faster.

So I had to shelve that particular line of thought.

Another project I had been working on was a shielding mechanism for me. If a magical force field could be erected around me I would no longer be draining ambient or otherwise magic. Any magic coming too near me would be reflected away. Unfortunately, this would no doubt require a constant supply of magical energy, something nobody here could provide.

So I stowed away that project.

My final line of research had been the necromancers.

They were a shady group and not much has been published about them. Some of the ancient history referred to them as the ‘gatekeepers’, mainly because they thought of them as the gatekeepers for their version of the afterlife.

Raising the dead had prompted within me a sort of fascination. We had slowed the degradation of telomeres, but we hadn’t perfected death defying, at least not yet. The necromancers had brought back life but without the soul. The soul was an interesting concept, as a scientist there had been no evidence to believe there was a soul. Apparently, it was the last ingredient to add to the batch of dead raising. The thing that got me was that other souls could be substituted to bring forth that life. So souls weren’t some personal thing that belonged to you, but something that could be casually interchanged to bring back your loved ones.

I didn’t know if the soul was exchanged or if it was moulded to fit the personality and body of the lover, though I wasn’t someone to believe that a soul existed, the thought of my psyche or something mine just casually deformed and transformed into someone else gave me the shivers.

After reading a bit more about necromancy I finally deduced the reason why they wanted me so badly.

Necromancy relied on a constant absorption of ambient magic to keep the soul bonded to the body. If a null being was sucking the magic out of everything, then eventually the necromancy spell would fail and raised dead would go back to being just dead.

Their method of dealing with the null problem was probably not sending me back to my universe, but probably dumping me into another cosmos where I could wreak havoc there. They wanted me gone as soon as possible and they weren’t going to wait for the pony princesses to find out a solution.

I didn’t like the implications this held so I approached Luna and Twilight and asked for their opinions.

Twilight was reasonable.

“Whilst that would certainly solve the problem, it doesn’t deal with the fact that you got here by some unknown mechanism. I would really not like to see what the effect of a collapse of another universe would have on ours”, she articulated, giving her chin a thoughtful tap.

Luna nodded in agreement.

“We will protect you in the meantime, you need not worry”, she responded casually.

I nodded, put at ease, for now. As I walked away from them I couldn’t help but feel a small tingle of trepidation creep down my spine, shilling me.

Who knew when the necromancers would strike, though?

> 60 - Cast Among the Stars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Death Wing Sharp had approached Celestia with the intent to wipe out the necromancers, Celestia held back every fibre in her body that screamed ‘I TOLD YOU SO!’ For the sake of posterity, Celestia continued the conversation with Death Wing Sharp in a fairly civilised manner, despite the overcurrent of snide remarks, cold banter and undisguised loathing.

Death Wing Sharp regarded Celestia with the full force of her ancient personality.

“Celestia, dear”, she began, teeth baring themselves in a predator’s grin. “It has been a long time.”

Celestia didn’t bat an eye, instead keeping her stoic façade neutral and regal.

“It’s been so long... I have thought you were not among the living, as it were”, Celestia replied casually, sipping at cold tea.

Sharp had an amused expression, her tail flicked in dismissal.

“Thou knowest Death cannot keep mine soul in his clutches for long”, Sharp replied, bringing a claw to her sight as she inspected a sharp, deadly talon.

Sharp shook her head, getting down to business.

“Enough pleasantries, thou assistance is required”, Sharp continued, looking up at the diarch.

Celestia frowned, but she sensed there was more to Sharp’s intentions than just proposing something so absurd.

“I will need more information than that before I commit Equestrian resources to… necromancers”, she answered neutrally, putting her levitating cup of tea back onto the tray set aside.

Sharp regarded Celestia coldly.

“These necromancers are no longer the true practitioners of the arts” Sharp snarled, her tail lashing in fury. Her boiling gaze met Celestia with a fire that even froze Celestia for a moment in shock.

“Thou knowest mine principles on thine matter at hand, mine necromancers have gone astray, we must correct them…” Sharp pushed on. “Before they consume more souls.”

Celestia reared her head back in shock.

“Surely you’re not suggesting that these necromancers have been sacrificing Equestrian souls again?” she quickly replied, bringing a hoof to her mouth.

Why anypony would want to commit such atrocities again were not beyond imagination but she had not seen an exchange of souls for nearly a thousand years.

Sharp shook her head.

“Thine souls are safe, equine princess, it is souls from another world in peril”, Sharp said, her gaze looking like it would grind boulders.

Celestia didn’t understand.

“If they are not Equestrian souls, what have you to fear?” Celestia asked, in incomprehension.

Sharp’s look could have forged steel.

“Princess Celestia, you are not suggesting that one’s life is not equivalent to another”, Sharp growled, it was not a question.

Celestia nodded quickly, trying to clear the misunderstanding.

“I would defend innocents like any other, I just didn’t think necromancers would”, Celestia shot back.

Sharp let forth a short burst of flame in irritation.

“That is mine situation, is it not? Do you think it is pleasant for I to prostrate myself to thine power? Thou sayest thou art a defender of innocents and yet all that is seen is a ruler that bares no teeth. Mine time is wasted” Sharp spoke in a low hum, it echoed menacingly through the hallways as she turned around and headed for the door.

“Wait, Death Wing Sharp!” Celestia called to the aged dragoness.

Celestia paused, gathering her thoughts.

“You shall have them”, Celestia sighed, getting down from her throne to approach the dragoness. “But on the condition I accompany you.”

Sharp regarded Celestia with a little less hostility. She simply nodded and strode towards the door.

“Outside for thee I shall wait one hour, bring enough to exterminate a rat’s nest”, she finished exiting into the courtyard and flaring her impressive wingspan.

-----

Against a ferocious black dragon and the implacable solar diarch of Equestria, the necromancer guild that hung to the fringes could only hold watch in horror as they were decimated. Death Wing Sharp knew of all the hiding places and like an overzealous pest controller she moved from camp to camp, exterminating as many necromancers as she could before Celestia’s guard could reach them and take the remaining into custody.

Maellorn and remaining three necromancers that devotedly followed him had not been present during the extermination. Sharp was disappointed, but ultimately satisfied with her accomplishments. The main necromancer’s hideout was destroyed and the framework required in order to bridge the gap between worlds lay in their grasp. No longer would any souls be at stake.

Sharp knew Maellorn had no longer any interest in necromancy. His actions spoke to his only purpose, raising his late lover from beyond. He had succeeded but his task was yet to be completed. The null being threatened all of magic in Equestria and perhaps beyond and Maellorn would not tolerate its presence.

Unfortunately, the most skilled of unicorns and spell weavers had gone with Maellorn, magically erasing their tracks. All that was left was research material that Sharp left to Celestia to either lock away or destroy.

Sharp was saddened that the necromancer arts had ended in this way. Almost a thousand years worth of research and preparation for the good it could bring was laid to waste by Maellorn’s foolish, foolish actions.

Sharp could only watch as the guild she had so painstakingly built an age ago, was torn asunder by her own claws. Death would be too good an option for Maellorn but Sharp would keep her word to Celestia and kill mercifully if the time came. Celestia preferred no deaths at all but the judgement of the ancient black dragoness was hard to stay. Her mind had been made the second she stepped into Celestia’s court. All members within her reach would die for the sovereign crime they committed. 

Though Celestia felt sickened by what the black dragoness had wrought, she had not missed the tears that had been shed from her eyes.

For who knew the true extent of the legacy that Sharp had wrought, and what pains had tolled on the weary, ancient soul?

> 61 - Too Many Pinkie Pie Parties
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whoever said you could have too many parties?

Ridiculous ponies, of course!

Pinkie Pie was the go-to premiere party pony of Ponyville. She had other ambitions of spreading joy, happiness, laughter and cake all over Equestria but for now she was content on keeping her friends smiles smiling!

The past week had been a bit of a quiet week with the human, Twilight and the local royalty. There hadn’t been much in the way of socialising and general chitchat. Pinkie immediately seized on the opportunity. Luna had stopped her once. But. Not. This. Time.

In the kitchen, the cooks, servants, delivery ponies and assorted castle staff looked on in fear as the pink amorous blob floated and bounced around the room seemingly able to handle twenty of so simultaneous baking processes all at once.

Every so often a flying cake batch would slam into an oven as a cupcake tray was switched out, the surprising speed and dexterity exhibited by the part pony gave onlookers shivers of anticipation and morbid curiosity, if they human they would liken the phenomena as something akin to looking at a car crash. You know its horrible, but you cannot look away.

Levels of sugar and flour dropped drastically as time wore on. Some cooks and assistants who were weak willed had collapsed or fainted trying to comprehend some of the baking techniques that Pinkie had performed.

During the whole time, Pinkie was singing a song that went something like this:

Pinkie: Friends forever.

Of all the ponies that I know of in town,
There isn’t a name I don’t know.
For all the laughter and cheer I spread,
Your name, I’ve searched high and low!

My friend I’ve met you’re the cheery type,
But given to a little secrecy,
But I know a tried and tested recipe,
That’ll help me with this plight!

You see, I’m a pink party pony,
That I know will make things right,
When you see all the baking I did,
Cupcakes, with all my might!

Some in the oven, the others to cool,
If you bite them now, you’ll end up a fool! 
(Pinkie gingerly touches a cupcake and whips her hoof back in an ouchie motion)
They’re fresh out, full of sugar, (Pinkie eats a cupcake)
Thank Celestia, right on cue! (The timer goes off.)
Happiness doesn’t cost moolah, (some bits rain down)
But baked goods surely do! (cooks snatch up the bits)

(Stanza with cooks, Pinkie is silent as she watches the cooks)
Thank goodness that happiness is cheap, I say!
But this pony she knows what she’s doing,
The playful pink menace is out to play!
Sanity won’t be all that you’ll be losing!

So come out come out you scallywags,
Help prepare the dishes and wares,
For the sooner we get out,
Before our mind’s in doubt,
Make sure you’re doubly prepared!

(everypony is now taking part in the cooking)
(Chorus)
Planning for party is no joke,
To laugh and cheer with your own folk,
But human I know you’re lonely,
Which is why we’ll support you with only~

The best sugar cream, and pot of steam,
A cake of the finest, with filling the divinest,
The muffins of extreme, confectionary that gleam!
The Best. Party. Ever!

I’ll try my best to make you smile,
Coming to my party will be worth your while.
Don’t be sad, don’t be depressed, just fill up your chest,
With all the joy of friendship!

When you’re around, the world feels abound,
With laughter and of cheer,
Because when you’re happy and I’m near,
There’s nothing to be feared!

(Chorus)
Planning for party is no joke,
To laugh and cheer with your own folk,
But human I know you’re lonely,
Which is why we’ll support you with only~

(Faster)
The best sugar cream, and pot of steam,
A cake of the finest, with filling the divinest,
The muffins of extreme, confectionary that gleam!
The Best. Party. Ever!

(Lightspeed)
The best sugar cream, and pot of steam,
A cake of the finest, with filling the divinest,
The muffins of extreme, confectionary that gleam!
The Best. Party. Ever!

(Ludicrous speed)
The best sugar cream, and pot of steam,
A cake of the finest, with filling the divinest,
The muffins of extreme, confectionary that gleam!
The Best. Party. Ever!

(Pinkie collapses in giggles under a mountain of confectionary, while everypony just collapses from sheer exhaustion).

I wasn’t there for the song and the royal crystal pony guards neglected to sing it out for me, but I knew roughly how it went. Twilight just shook her head at the news and Luna looked a little curious. The lack of any reaction made me think that that was the end of the issue as it were.

I had been horribly mistaken.

I had walked into my room after dark, with Twilight leading me back because I don’t have a ‘Night Watch’ spell she has that allows her to see in the dark. I stumbled into the room and called out to Twilight to hit the light crystal so I could make my way to the bed. I couldn’t touch it to activate it. Duh.

I think I got the shock of my life when the lights suddenly flashed on and I found everyone standing in a rough semi-circle yelling ‘surprise’!

I looked a little shocked but I recovered quickly.

“Aww you guys are sweet”, I said heartily, ruffling Pinkie’s hair as she babbled things like ‘Are ya surprised, are ya? Are ya?’, Luna looked at me in disappointment, I think she was expecting me to fall on my backside or something. Disappointment indeed. Cadance and Shining stood to the side smiling demurely.

“Well, not that I’m complaining but what is this for?” I asked everyone, sweeping my gaze over the minimal guests.

Twilight strode forward.

“I got the feeling you were never really introduced to Equestria in quite the welcoming way, and Pinkie felt that you should have a party to really enjoy yourself here”, she replied, nudging me over to the cupcakes.

“Try one, but be careful about the hot sauce”, she told me, while hoofing over a bottle of glaze and a rainbow crusted cupcake.

“Hot sauce?” I shot her quizzically.

Pinkie was downing a cupcake drowning in the red fiery liquid.

She bit down and talked between chews.

“’t’s ‘wat? Itsch geeewd”, she mumbled incomprehensively, while I rolled my eyes.

I took a bite out of the cupcake.

Of all the universes…

This was diabetes in a small tin foil covering but this WAS AMAZING.

Sugar was in there for sure, but sweet overtones and subtle flavouring of at least ten different kinds of fruit assaulted my taste buds, as I tasted the cupcake. I glanced over to Luna who was unceremoniously stuffing her face with cupcake. Even Shining and Cadance were going at it.

I barely resisted the urge to dive into another one.

“Pinkie what did you put in these?” I asked, moaning in delight as the aftertaste kicked in.

“Zap Weather Berry water”, Pinkie replied happily as Twilight did a double take.

“I’m sorry, what now?” I queried, confused.

“Zap Weather Berry water”, Pinkie repeated, which didn’t help.

“They’re a type of berry we found in the Everfree forest, Pinkie how did you get all the water up here in the Empire?” Twilight asked, though I noticed, very cautiously.

“Oh silly, I have Zap Weather Berry water stashed all over Equestria, in case of-“ Pinkie began, but was stopped by a hoof to her mouth as Twilight let out a despondent sigh.

“That’s okay Pinkie, I don’t need to know”, Twilight deadpanned, eating some more cupcakes to drown out the lack of logic. I did too. I was also a scientist.

The party went pleasantly, there was even some dancing and I cringed when Twilight took to the floor by herself. My dancing wasn’t the greatest so I didn’t judge but I guess Twilight was really enjoying herself, she just danced as if no one was watching. I couldn’t do that and I think I stood there in admiration as she did something casually what I couldn’t do in years.

Pinkie Pie had really good groove, she danced like a professional with a choreographed routine. I would have called… something if Twilight hadn’t dropped that Cadance had actually handled the music, which came from a strange machine-thing called a gramophone. It wasn’t a speaker but it seemed to amplify sounds and have quite good audio fidelity for something that looked fairly simple. Maybe it had really complicated mechanics behind it, I was curious but I would ask Twilight later.

It was unique. It was strange. It was nice.

It felt like home.

And it scared me.

For every moment that I enjoying myself and accepting life here, there was a moment lost on my home planet Earth.

Was it right? Should I be worried?

I think I might have had firm answers to that about a month ago.

But now…

I didn’t know.

> 62 - The Silver Circlet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Celestia was cataloguing some of the strange artefacts that the necromancers had collected, she immediately summoned Sharp when an object had caught her eye. The old dragoness was not happy to be dragged from her post-battle slumber and had been camping out in Canterlot near a security management branch of all places.

Chalking it down to the unusual dragoness’ behaviour she just dismissed the thought and asked about the small silver ring that had floated into her possession. A quick discerning eye from the dragoness had revealed nothing to her knowledge. Celestia acknowledged the sincerity of the ancient being but that made it all the more puzzling as to how the artefact came to be.

The only three things that had outlived the dragoness and the two royal pony sisters was Discord, the Tree of Harmony and the Elements and the world itself. She figured it could just be a lost item forged eons ago. However, she could neither decipher the strange writing inlaid on the inner ring nor magically date the item with any accuracy. Strangely, the item seemed to act like a crystal, simply absorbing and storing the magic she pumped into it. It had fidelity higher than the flawless of diamonds, which seem to speak of unimaginable order to smallest of scales.

Celestia had trouble imagining what sort of artefact would require such intricacies or the effort required to produce such an object. Sharp had left, no longer interested in the matter but Celestia needed a second opinion. Her sister may not have been the greatest purveyor of the fields of esoteric magic, however she was always one for the strange items of mystical appeal…

She sent a telepathic thought over to Luna, beckoning them to arrive.

With the necromancer threats dismissed, Celestia can concentrate on dealing with the political fallout. As to explaining the existence of a null being... She could probably chalk it up to a failed necromancer experiment.

-----

Twilight and Luna were already packing just two days after we had our little party. We said our goodbyes to Shining and Cadence who were happier than ever since I’ve given Cadence that advice. Shining apparently considers me a ‘bro’ now, even though I was completely inexperienced in the bro department. Whatever.

I had made only slight progress on magic and to be totally honest, I was bored out of my skull. Nothing interesting had happened since I had gotten stabbed in the middle of the Crystal Empire and although getting stabbed was scary, it at least occupied my time.

There were moments where I would catch myself in dark humour and wonder why my mind chose to visit those routes of consciousness. I would blame my subconscious but that typical statement leads to the part of everyone’s brain that receives the most flak. I mean be honest, your subconscious is always right, right?

After packing the necessities and heading back out I felt like I hadn’t really achieved much after setting foot in the Empire. The whole reason of me being here being political, that really did nothing to stem my frustration during periods of inaction.

The necromancers, Luna had reported, were wiped out for good.

I shuddered slightly upon hearing this, thinking about how simple and matter-of-fact the princess had relayed this piece of information. If this was how quick Equestria dealt with their internal problems, I didn’t want to become one.

The trip back to Canterlot was fairly animated though and this time I got a proper look at the scenery and lay in my compartment without random griffons trying to snatch me out of the window. Twilight and I chatted about mundane things, Luna and I chatted about deep and meaningful things, whilst Pinkie and I chatted about inane things. We got along pretty well.

-----

Getting to Canterlot, Celestia was quick to summon us to the throne room. You could practically see the telepathic signals that Celestia and Luna were sharing as we crossed the floor. A tray was set at a small table to the side, Luna snapped to the tray as Twilight, Pinkie and I stopped a respectful distance from the throne.

As Luna was inspecting whatever it was on the tray, Celestia and Twilight had a side-conversation about the first-hoof accounts of event leading up to and after my stabbing. I lost interest almost as fast as Pinkie. Yes it was rude, but hey when Twilight and Celestia were speaking it was like listening to mothers getting together and chatting about gossip. I felt like a child sitting the room and expected to play with my toys quietly.

Apparently, Pinkie had a pack of cards and was waving it behind her back. I just smiled and shook my head. Tuning out was one thing but actually going off and doing something else while royalty was holding an audience with me? I was fair, but not outright disrespectful.

With nothing else to do I let my gaze wander around the room, eventually settling on Luna. She was fiddling with an object that looked familiar to me.

It took me a while to figure it out but when I did I gasped, drawing everyone’s attention.

Rushing over to Luna, I snatched the silver circlet out of her hoof, much to her displeasure.

“But this… this is impossible!” I exclaimed, fingering the engraved inside and gazing at the imprint on the outside.

Synch™, © 2037 Grooble corporations

“It’s my Synch”, I breathed, almost reverently.

Twilight, Luna and Celestia gaped at me. Pinkie just cocked her head.

“What’s a Synch?” Pinkie asked.

> 63 - Towards the Terrible Tome of Traitorous Temerity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ponies around me looked on curiously as I gingerly placed the Synch on my head. With a few command taps and a forceful restart, the Synch kicked into operation and immediately set itself for recalibration. Surprised, I simply went with it, recalibrating my senses to its supposed owner. I must have looked silly, waving my arms and legs around and blinking and staring off into space. They might have been worried if it hadn’t been for my obvious familiarity with the Synch circlet.

After a few minutes I thought navigated to the home screen, at this point I was shedding tears of joy. A piece of home somehow had found its way to me and I was never letting it go.

The first thing I noticed was the hard drive space. There was barely any left. This was insane! There was enough storage space equivalent to several exabytes (700,000,000 terabytes), practically unlimited storage space. I rooted around the directory until I found a thought-locked folder named simply ‘Angel’. How had Angel gotten to my Synch device? Was it left behind when I travelled? If so, how is it now here? What happened to Angel?

I had so many unanswered questions but I roughly shoved them to the side.

The next thing that completely counfounded me was the date shown in the upper right hand corner.

12:02:24 PM CNT 5/7/36

Nearly one year before I even touched Synch.

I hastily thought into the calendar knot.

12:02:53 PM CNT 05/07/9436

Huh? Must be a malfunction, there’s no way that could be right. I ran diagnostics on the system.

“Uhm, excuse me?” I heard Twilight say, off to the side.

I snapped myself out of Synch’s interface.

“Oh, uhh phew!” I mumbled giddily, I was still happy I had a Synch!

Celestia and Luna regarded me thoughtfully.

Twilight continued, eyeing me cautiously.

“So you believe this artefact is a ‘Synch’ device from your world?” she asked, incredulously.

I nodded enthusiastically.

“Not only that, it’s my personal Synch, the very same one I was using before getting here!” I responded, and then frowned. How did I know that? What was I doing before I got here?

Celestia addressed me gently.

“Would you mind telling us what the purpose of your device is?” she regarded me warily, as if I now held some sort of weapon. Oh, I guess I wasn’t very clear on the extent of what Synch could do.

“Oh mainly entertainment for some, it can be a visual aid, help refine your motor skills, overcome anxieties, record videos, play back music, contains a fair chunk of human information, etc. etc. There’s so much it’s hard to describe”, I explained, pulling off my circlet. The diagnostics had come back clean but were not reporting a stable connection with the extranet, which was expected. I couldn’t synchronise my Synch’s internal clock without an external source.

As soon as I had said ‘human information’, Twilight’s eyes had lit up. I chuckled as I beckoned her over. Nervously she approached me and put her trust within my hands.

I didn’t know if this would work well with equine anatomy, I wasn’t even sure our brain chemistry would work similarly. Oh well the worst that could happen would be a light seizure so I made sure Twilight was aware of this.

“Be careful”, I warned, placing the Synch on her head. “This device wasn’t built for equines in mind, so you may only receive random sensory flashes, sights, sounds or the like.”

Twilight nodded as I fixed the Synch into place and tapped it out of standby mode.

She gasped. I guessed she was seeing the impressive Grooble start-up splash screen. I grinned toothily.

“This is what I call the pinnacle of human technology”, I commented, waving a hand in front of her face. Her eyes remained unfocused.

“Twilight, you have to learn to double focus”, I told her as I waved my hand again in front of her. She snapped out of viewing the main screen.

“Good. Now you’ll see several options on the main screen, I’m not sure you can read them because even though the Synch indexes thousands of languages, I don’t think yours has been one of them… although now that I think about it I can run the language cryptography software and just get real-time translation to my Synch device. Part of the reason why my magic research was so slow was because I needed Twilight to do all the reading for me. I tried learning the native language but the going was too slow.

I lifted the circlet off of Twilight’s head.

“That. Was. AMAZING!” Twilight shouted excitedly, dancing on the spot. I found it amusing how she looked like she was trotting on the spot but didn’t move anywhere, kind of like running on the spot. It was adorable.

“So your whole civilisation had technology like this?” she gasped, turning with wide eyes towards me.

“I- uh yes, mostly. The last thing I remember were all three hundred million units of these being called back”, I said, tapping my chin thoughtfully.

“Three hundred million?!” Celestia and Luna shouted together.

I gazed quizzically at them.

“Yes well, ahem. Not all of us could afford a Synch device, so only the select few could get one, especially only six months after the release”, I explained, shrugging.

Celestia and Luna continued to gape at me disconcertingly.

“How many people live on your world?” Twilight asked nervously.

Their reactions were starting to make sense. It dawned on me that the population in Equestria was significantly smaller.

“Ahaha, you might not like the answer…” I muttered, turning my head away.

Celestia and Luna gazed at me with a hard expression, Twilight’s turned hungry.

Okay, withholding information from royalty and a scholarly unicorn that happened to know spells on how to cut through solid metal bars, not a good idea.

Wait, I’m a null being. What do I have to fear?

I glanced at the guards.

Okay maybe they have some muscle. I’ll give them that.

“I’d say… close to about eight, maybe nine billion people?”

“Eight…” Celestia mumbled.

“Nine…” Luna continued.

“Billion…” Twilight extenuated.

“People!” Pinkie finished, throwing up confetti. The other ponies just looked at her.

“What? Think of all the parties we could have!” Pinkie responded, bouncing up and down in excitement.

There would certainly be parties. Even statistically speaking there should be several going on right now at this very moment, I bet Pinkie would enjoy that.

“So…” I continued, trying to get out of the awkward situation I dug myself into.

“Putting aside the differences in scale and the ground breaking news that my Synch somehow found me… who wants a bite to eat?”

> 64 - Bonus Chapter: The Window to the Soul (canon)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna glances uneasily at me from across the table. I could tell there was something on her mind but she didn’t look like she wanted to let on about it just now. Every single time I took a bite though she would whip her head back in such an obvious way that I decided to just roll with it and have some fun.

I pretended to not notice and go back to eating the scrumptious salad in front of me. Okay, I’m not much of a carnivore but I did partake in meat most of the time so I was beginning to crave some solid protein. I concentrated on laying the trap.

I felt Luna’s gaze on me again. There was quiet chatter between Twilight and Pinkie and Celestia seemed to be content just sitting demurely and sipping tea, whilst eating cake. The only other pony I knew with a confectionary affection greater than hers was Pinkie and she came first only by a smidge.

Just as I was about to take a bite, I whip my head around and stare down at Luna who was guiltily caught in the act of staring at me.

“Care to share what has you so interested?” I asked, waving a fork to emphasise the point.

Luna blushed but recovered fairly quickly.

“I have just noticed, but your mane and your eyes are black”, she commented, gesturing with her head to punctuate each feature.

Conversations around the table stopped and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at me intently, as if noticing for the first time.

Twilight spoke first.

“By Celestia, you’re right!” she exclaimed, touching a hoof to my hair.

“The black hair is not uncommon among minotaurs but the eyes…” Celestia added, looking at me thoughtfully.

Pinkie looked excited.

“Does that make my special friend more special?!” she yelped, bouncing in her seat.

I moaned, wiping a tired hand across my face.

“Is this the same thing as my name? How did you not notice this as one of the first things you’ve seen?” I asked incredulously.

The ponies all around looked varying degrees of embarrassed, with Twilight the most.

“Actually it’s because mumble mumble”, Twilight said in a quiet voice, I couldn’t quite catch the ending, making me feel a twinge of annoyance.

“I’m sorry, what was that, Twilight?”

“It’s because your eyes are small”, she whimpered, shrinking back.

My eyes widened in shock.

“Wow. Not even the kids at high school were that racist”, I spluttered, genuinely shocked and more than a little indignant.

“Wow”, I repeated, not knowing what else to say.

“Well if you want to play that game, how about I start with the size of your eyes and move on to the colour of your coats?” I continued, snarkily.

Celestia held up a placating hoof.

“Now, now”, she intervened before the situation could devolve into an argument.

“I don’t think we should get so worked up about appearances, now apologise to each other”, she said sternly.

“Sorry”, mumbled Twilight. I sighed and shook my head, what was I getting worked up about?

“Yeah, sorry Twilight. Should have known ponies wouldn’t know much about racism. I mean it’s not like you would shun someone for being different or because you don’t know much about them, right?” I spoke casually.

Luna choked on her tea. Celestia had a disconcerting expression flash across her face before she could slap it back to neutral. Twilight gave me the most unnatural smile that anyone had ever seen, even if they had never seen a smile before.

“A-absolutely n-not, n-n-nothing of that s-sort”, Twilight stumbled while giving me a somehow wider smile. Any more wider and her face would split in two. This was interesting.

“Oooooh!”, Pinkie exclaimed, startling everyone. “You’re talking about Zecora, aren’t you?”

I struggled to contain my laughter, but kept a stoic expression on my face and just raised an eyebrow in Twilight’s direction.

“Hahaha, Pinkie what are talking about?” Twilight growled, sweating profusely.

“Man, Twilight you are a really bad liar”, I commented, sipping at my cup of tea.

Twilight tensed up but seeing no reaction from me, slowly uncoiled as I just sat there sipping tea.

“Okay we might not always have the best ideas but we’re good most of the time, honest!” Twilight defended, trying her best to cast ponies in a good light.

“Oh relax Twilight, it’s a bit of teasing”, I revealed waving a hand in dismissal. Twilight relaxed.

“Are black eyes and black hair really so uncommon here?” I put forward, curious.

Luna nodded.

“I believe it to be as common as a minotaur with a self-confidence issue”, Luna commented drily.

“Huh, I am unique”, I said, gazing at my hands.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“You can say that again”, she grumbled, turning her attention back to her food.

> 65 - Locus of Lost Litany
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After lunch, we had retired to our rooms, a guard leading me to a fairly swanky guest room. I grateful and tired from the journey and the constant barrage of communication that Pinkie managed to keep up all the way until we had split to different rooms.

On the bed, I had gazed at my Synch.

Even though they knew it was my Synch device, I was fairly surprised that Luna and Celestia let me keep it. Of course, I never really wanted to draw parallels between the Equestrian government and our own the circumstances being so different, but the two rulers were very understanding. I don’t know what trials had been undertaken to obtain my Synch, or what my own Synch had been through to get here, I almost didn’t care at all, I was so happy.

I described before that it was a piece of home and I couldn’t have been more accurate. It truly did feel as if I had a piece of Earth back with me. The familiarity of the home screen, the central board, and the numerous knots I had installed, all there. The only differences I weren’t comfortable with were the folder named ‘Angel’ and the large space that it occupied. I had jumped to it being Angel’s but that may only have been a coincidence in naming. I could root-access delete the folder but I didn’t want to attempt that unless I had exhausted all possibilities in opening the folder and accessing the files themselves.

Thought-passwords were a complicated concept, yet they tended to be simple, in a sense. It could be an emotional state (although many didn’t like to use this option but it was great for professionals), it could be a memory (it tended to be a strong one but fairly unreliable if you weren’t the best at picturing the memory), more often than not it was just a word, or a made-up word (the most common form and also allowed it to be accessed by others).

For some reason I had hinged upon the folder being linked to Angel in some way. Something about it dragged me to the conclusion that I couldn’t explain in logical terms. Pass-thought after pass-thought was shot at the folder, her birthday, her favourite food, her address, etc. I tried every combination of likely pass-thoughts until I was locked out from trying for five minutes.

It was frustrating, it was infuriating but I knew I was missing something. Perhaps Angel was the sentimental type and had a thought-password to do with something we’d been through together. There had been so many times we’ve been together, that I couldn’t pin down a unique circumstance that I would call special. This theory had almost been shot down. I mean she didn’t really think of me as anyone special, did she? Oh well, I was fast running out of ideas, even with the five minutes to come up with a new angle.

I waited impatiently for the timer to expire. Thoughts drifting.

I guess you could count our first meeting to be special. I met Angel during internship interviews but I couldn’t for the life of me remember what the café was called. I vividly remember the cheer I made when I found out I was going to be a part of Synch Engineering Division.

I thought, heck why not? Give it a shot.

Here’s to being a part of Synch! Here’s to being the future! I recalled, as the timer expired.

Unexpectedly, with a sound of a lock snapping, the folder unlocked.

Then it really was from Angel?

I don’t know why, seeing as this was my Synch, but I felt guilty going through the files within the folder marked ‘Angel’. It felt like I was perusing through the contents of another’s diary and I would normally loathe to do that. Curiosity pulled me to explore further. I saw many folders labelled in Angel’s programming labels ‘Rubbish’, ‘Useless’, ‘Waste of Space’, ‘Never Touch Again’, were among the many names that Angel would use to describe her myriad of unfinished programs. My suspicions has crystallised to certainty when I saw the Black Box project. Angel had indeed been on my Synch.

I lifted the circlet over my head and placed it on my lap.

An enigma wrapped in a puzzle, drowned in leg- you know what? Never mind.

Seeing no other convenient place to store it, I decided to wear my Synch in standby mode. It gave an electric tingle that felt pleasant but it soon faded away.

Getting up I noticed Twilight just standing at the doorway.

I leaped back startled.

“Wow, woah! How? You know what? Don’t say anything. I’m trying to think of a reason why that wouldn’t come off as stalker-level creepy right now!” I shouted in surprise.

Twilight gave me her classic, ‘I’m pretty annoyed at you look but I’ll forgive you because we’ve been buddies this long… or I’m just used to you’, or something similar along those lines.

I grinned at her.

“Well yeah, it’s like we’ve known each other forever”, I say, as she looks at me in bewilderment.

“You know, that’s exactly what I thought”, I continued, as Twilight gave me an annoyed glance.

“I’m not annoying, you’re just thinking too deeply.”

Twilight’s ears pull back as she regards me cautiously.

“Don’t be ridiculous, if I could read minds I’d do it all the time. Stop devising an experiment to see if I can!” I replied irritably.

Her eyes widen.

“How are you doing that?” she asked, while shutting the door behind her, a tad ominously I might add.

“Not in the ways you’re thinking”, I replied nervously, backing away.

“But you don’t have magic, how?!” she presses me.

“It’s all in the mind… my mind to be exact!” I give in, tapping the circlet.

Twilight looks confused before noticing my Synch.

“You can read minds with that?”

“Kind of, not really, in a way but really not how you think”, I say evasively.

Twilight looks at me impatiently.

“You really wouldn’t understand…” I began, but Twilight shoots me a glare that could cut through glass.

Right. She’s a scientist. Should have known.

“I’m not leaving here unless you get all the details, right?” I ask meekly.

Twilight shakes her head, turning an obsessive grin on me.

It’s creepy.

“Gotta go, bye!” I yell, dashing out towards the balcony and thought gesturing to my Synch on the way.

Twilight screams in horror as I leap out into the darkness.

Oh the look on her face.

> 66 - Too Much? Too Soon?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh don’t look at me like that. I didn’t really jump off. Some of you are too serious.

Twilight broke into a dead run as soon as saw me disappear, she skittered to a stop near the balcony. She expected to see the broken mangled corpse of my body on the hard flagstones below. Even if I had chosen to end my life, I wouldn’t chuck myself off a balcony. Too cliché. I’d want to be ejected from a shuttle right into the sun. I’d literally become a star. The next morning, people would see my rise to flame- I mean fame.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Twilight. Balcony. Panicked expressions.

So when I mentioned that the Synch could actually help with muscle reflexes, I wasn’t kidding. Since it interfaced with the brain and hence the neuromuscular cortex it could ‘suggest’ ways for me to better acclimatise to certain physical situations.

One advantage I had was that it would help with my reflexes and reduce the time it took for muscle memory to take effect. I had to be wearing the Synch and the ‘help’ would disappear as soon as I took it off. Also, it wasn’t perfect so there was some training required. It wasn’t as if I could do crazy flips and acrobatics… that would just be insane.

Instead I could get a good hold and handgrip on the crenulations protruding underneath the balcony. Before I lost my grip entirely, I heaved myself up.

“Boo!” I haunted with a deepest voice I could muster. Twilight’s reaction was hilarious. She sat on her backside with a disbelieving ‘plonk’.

Before she could say anything, I simply tapped my Synch.

Her expression turned hurt.

“Don’t do that!” she pleaded, eyes watering. 

I winced. 

Had the prank gone too far?

Twilight looked on the verge of tears. I blew out a regretful breath, crouching next to her.

“Hey”, I said, putting a hand on her neck, she shrugged me off and walked away to stare at the wall. I shook my head.

“Hey Twilight”, I repeated, walking over to her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, I was trying to make a joke.”

Twilight gave me such a look of distrust that stabbed right through my heart.

“If you had really jumped off, there would have been nothing I could do!” she yelled at me, pounding a hoof to the floor. She rounded on me, her glare intensifying.

“You would have fallen and fallen and fallen, nothing could stop you, nothing could help you!”

I put a hand to my neck and rubbed it self-consciously.

“You’re right, you’re right”, I sighed, giving her a remorseful look. “That was in poor taste.”

Twilight sniffled a little before shoving me to the side.

“Don’t ever do that again!” she growled, pinning me down with an angry glare.

I guess that was a bit overboard. I slap my forehead, cursing my lack of foresight.

“Alright, I’ll make it up to you”, I say, patting her on the back.

Twilight gives me a look that says ‘just how are you going to do that?’

I smirk and tapped my Synch. Hey, it’s my answer to most things in my world, why not Equestria.

“Do you have any books that haven’t been translated or any language you wanted to learn? Have you ever wanted to see things how others do? Do you know what is like to be a bat?”

I flourish, taking off my circlet and placing it on Twilight’s head. I’m surprised it sort of fits, even though it has a habit of tilting a bit.

I instruct her, navigating her through the thought gestures to reach a particular knot.

“The Universal Decoder, or the Big U.D. ‘buddy’ my friends calls it. The best friend you can have when foreigners come over or you’re planning a Eurotrip”, I explained, when Twilight finally located the particular knot.

“What’s a-?” began Twilight but I cut her off with a dismissive wave.

“Don’t worry you wouldn’t get it”, I replied.

“Okay now to run the knot you just have to think the name or the logo image for a length of time and it’ll activate. Since you don’t understand the written language on my Synch, you’ll just have to stare at the knot’s image really hard”, I guide her, keeping a close eye on her, in case she concentrates too hard and forgets to maintain a double vision. Not that anything here could harm her, but it was good practice to do that with the Synch. Grooble didn’t want people walking around across roads, concentrating on Synchs, smartphones were bad enough.

Twilight gives me a hum, which I interpret, is some sort of affirmation that she got the knot running.

“Alrighty Twilight, let’s test this. See if you can read this”, I quickly rummage around the room until I find a quill, ink and some parchment squirrelled away in a drawer-desk at the back of the room. It takes some getting used to but I remember my writing skills. It’s been so long since I’ve actually written anything down on solid paper, typing really got you everywhere nowadays.

I write the classic ‘a quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’ and hand it to Twilight.

She frowns at my ink splotches and crude quill penmanship, I roll my eyes, give me a ballpoint any day. That’s beside the point.

Twilight mumbles to herself until the program starts translating actively, detecting her incomprehension and interfacing with the language portion of her brain. Synch detects the English characters from information from the visual cortex and then hard translates it to general concepts and images associated with the words. It’s kind of like looking at a picture book.

Twilight gaps in amazement as the circlet decodes the words and she sees a visual depiction of a brown fox jumping over a lazy dog. 

“The fast tan fox leaps over the sleeping dog”, she exclaims, turning to me.

I laugh.

“Close. It’s actually, ‘the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’”, I reveal but I keep a demure smile on my face. “The decoder isn’t perfect but it certainly makes it a lot easier.”

Twilight nods in excitement. She pauses.

“So this writing, it’s part of your world’s language?”

I blink at her.

“No, we don’t have a world language, we have probably over a hundred or even thousands of languages both dead and alive. Isn’t that the same in Equestria?” I ask, perplexed.

Twilight shakes her head.

“Everyone speaks the same language in Equestria, even you”, she replies, as if it was a given fact.

I thought about that. For some reason it disturbed me.

“Yeah, I never got over the fact that I could speak your language, this being a new world and all. You definitely can’t say magic, because magic can’t touch me”, I remark, scratching my chin.

Twilight doesn’t really know how to answer that so she sits there for a while trying to think of an explanation. Meanwhile I ask for my Synch back, which she reluctantly hands over. She’s probably thinking of dissecting it in her laboratory, if she has one, I wouldn’t be surprised. No one was going to touch my Synch though, that is way off limits. 

Eventually Twilight tells me she’ll get back to me on that. I nod, but I don’t expect to get an answer at all. Meh. Not my field of study. I’m curious but not desperate to know.

I yawn, it’s getting late and I’m getting sleepy. Twilight grins and bids me a good night. I bid her a fair night’s sleep as well.

Stretching out on the bed I feel as if I’ve come alive again.

I may not have found a way home but home found me.

Meanwhile, it escapes my notice, but my Synch manages to connect to extranet, all the while my slumber casts me into a deep dreamless sleep.

> 67 - For What Secrets Do Secrets Be Held For?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the morning, I was once again summoned to the court. To my surprise I found a weary Solid, Lightning and Hardy, sand practically trickling from their manes. It had been a while and I was going to smile at them before I saw the look on Solid’s face.

I knew that look. I had been there.

I cautiously approached the dais, stopping at my usual spot and waiting for the princess to address me. It seemed Luna was not present, but it was not surprising, she was probably sleeping.

Celestia had in her magical grip an old tome with glyphs and symbols that were not familiar to me. I may not be able to read the pony script around here but at least I could recognise it. It looked different though. Celestia put the book aside, ready to move on with the issue at hand. I had waited patiently for her to begin, but now I leant forward in anticipation.

“I’ve called you here to get a second opinion on this tome containing spells from Clover the Clever, in particular, the ones on inter-dimensional travelling. I have heard from Twilight that you have a unique way of reading new languages with your device”, she says, passing me the book. She gives me a little grin.

“She was quite excited, enough to let me know first thing in the morning”, she responds to the incredulous look on my face. That did sound like Twilight.

Solid, Lightning and Hardy regard me impassively as I flip through the book while activating Synch. I read the tome in silence for a while, eventually feeling the Synch kick in and start word-concepting the text. After a while I shut the book. I feel a bit sad.

“It says something about inter-dimensional travelling being impossible without mirror-stabilised portals”, I say in summary. I wasn’t an expert in magic and the tome spoke in some occluded way as if it had a flowery language structure of method of speech than now. I guess that made sense, with it being so old and all.

Celestia nodded her head.

“My own understanding of the text is similar I just wanted to confirm it with a second opinion. You see, the reason I have brought you here is due to the fact that making you a portal to send you back will be hard enough, requiring mirror stabilised magic will be impossible since you will contact the mirror matrix and shatter the spell. The idea was to create a rent in fabric without the use of physical mediums so that you could traverse through without having touched the spell at all. Unfortunately, since there really are no alternatives, we cannot send you back or it may risk killing you in the process”, Celestia explained, shaking her head sadly.

I slumped. Well it wasn’t as if I had lost anything, I was just where I started.

“How did you find this book?” I asked, gesturing toward Solid and the others, I took a guess they had something to do with it.

Celestia looked a little heartbroken.

“There is no easy way to say this, so let us start from the beginning. I had originally sent Miss Evidence, Mr File, Private Shield and Corporal Greaves on a mission to retrieve this tome from the tower of Clover the Clever. Her tower was situated in the middle of the Badlands but it was not an overly difficult task. Death and danger, it seems, has a horrifying way of revealing itself at the most unexpected of circumstances. The expedition was slowed by the collapse of Solid overstraining herself and unfortunately Sand Sifters caught them… Iron File sacrificed himself so that the rest of the party could get away.”

Celestia paused, taking a small breath before continuing.

“Not wishing his sacrifice to remain in vain, the party pushed on and got back, despite the odds. They retrieved the tome and made it back here, although the cost has been tenuous.”

I turned to Solid, Lightning and Hardy.

“Thank you, all. Though this book may not have gotten me home, it has helped me get one step closer. I want to say how sorry I am that Iron is gone. In the brief time that I have met him he has been nothing short of friendly, if not cynical. He was a good person”, I tell them sadly, and I consider my next words.

“He was a good pony.”

-----

There was little I could do to comfort Solid. She seemed to be out of it. She didn’t blame me though. If anything, she told me she was grateful I had gotten Iron and herself out of the diamond dog caverns. She said she’d rather live a few more days free than spend a life in imprisonment and she thought Iron would feel the same way.

I offered what I could but I knew it would be a rough road. The death of someone close was something only time could soothe but nothing could really ever heal. The pain just lessens but it never goes away.

As I was dismissed from court and made my way back to my room, I wondered about Emilia and if she ever had a cause to blame anyone for her circumstances. It would be human of course, to feel that way but I couldn’t really picture Emilia blaming anyone. She was a person who believed in moral responsibility and wouldn’t let any of that burden anyone else.

I tapped my Synch, thinking about the circumstances.

Could I do anything to change things?

What did I want to do?

Didn’t I want to create a new future?

Why not here? Why not now?

Because this isn’t your world! I thought to myself, angrily.

I sighed. Maybe I was thinking about it too hard. I could think myself to death sometimes. Angel always said I should get some me time. I tinkered with my Synch as I entered my room.

Hmm. Angel. I wonder what secrets are in her folder?

Only one way to find out.

> 68 - Video Blog a.k.a Black and White
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

People are full of paradoxes. If you ask a butter-coated mare why she was so shy with ponies is because ponies are unpredictable. People, or ponies for that matter, say one thing but can mean another, metaphors and symbolism are steeped into their language and we either adapt or are cast out among the circles of conformity or perish.

Mean what you say. Say what you mean.

Take for example, meeting someone new (without a friendly introduction I might add). That nervousness you are feeling is the result of your mind trying to gauge if the other person is a threat. Feel confident in yourself? That person is a lesser threat. Feel lively, spritely and outgoing? You’ve never been hurt before.

Meanwhile, the person you are meeting is feeling the exact same things.

So while they are acting all friendly and nice, inside they are judging you with their most primal and base urges. It is like I said. People are full of paradoxes.

Though Angel had appeared the frosty Arch Angel of Death, the Ice Queen, the Cold Caretaker and various other names, which had been ascribed to her personality, her files reflected a relatively carefree character that simply wanted an outlet to express her warm inner nature. Most people, even sometimes me, would commit the grievous sin of what Paul would call the Fundamental Attribution Error. They see Angel, a young girl with a severe expression and instantly make assumptions about her personality, her outlook, her philosophy, her background and a plethora of other miscellaneous mishmash of her innermost qualities, all without meeting her.

So when I went through Angel’s files I was surprised to have a glimpse through the prism of her life. She had kept logs about her day-to-day work and I found myself smiling as she commented on the mishaps and struggles she went through in her personal video blog. It occurred to me that she had transferred her video diary, something she had kept on her personal Synch, to mine for some reason. As I went through dates, day-by-day I began to realise that the updates stretched past the length of time that I had been here. 

The hairs on the back of my neck began to stand on end as I was struck by a hunch, that I hoped to some higher power would not be true.

Frantically, I thought my way through to the last dated files.

The last file by Angel was dated on the year 2105, almost sixty-six years after I had started working on Synchrony…

That didn’t make any sense.

The earliest this device could get here would be sometime maybe a week after I had arrived, probably a maximum of one month, just until they had gotten into possession of it and failed to utilise any of its potential.

I checked to see if the latter video blog files had just been placeholders. No luck there.

I watched a few of the videos in morbid fascination. Angel had grown. Considerably.

I held onto the fragile hope that it was some sort of face polymorphiser, or some similar software manipulation. I somehow doubted it. There were years worth of video blogs from Angel. I sighed, glancing with one eye to the sky, it was approaching noon. Better get started now.

-----

“Hello there!” Angel greets the camera awkwardly. I struggle not to smile at seeing her so out of character. So this is what she is like alone.

“I’m having a go at these video blog things because I want to document my progress and where my life is going. Maybe, if I have a family or someone special to share this with I might show this to them and we’d have a big laugh- “ I break away from the view with a thought and pause the stream, feeling a bit guilty at how invasive I was, I shook my head, I might not have another chance to see these, if ever “ -or not, I don’t know… kids if you’re watching this, your mother wasn’t always the happy person she is now! At least I hope I’m happy, in the future, I mean.”

She pauses.

“Oh I’m rambling, look at me go on in front of a camera. Uhm… wait… yep that’s it, I’ve got an offer to work at Grooble for an internship! I met these two guys, Paul and hum, I can’t remember his name but I added him on Facecook- ” I felt a little offended “ -anyway the other guy, not Paul, he’s amazing! I’ll tell you how he passed the interview- “ she leant into the camera as if sharing a secret and lowered her voice “ -he hacked all the interviewer’s phones. He even caught them out lying about their positions! Genius! I hope I become half as good as him…”

Angel takes a moment to pause as if debating whether to say what’s on her mind next.

“I can’t believe I made friends with him, I can’t believe I made friends at all, this was the first time I just reached out and connected with someone. He seems nice enough and all and… I think I like him- “ she looks shyly at the camera her eyes twinkling in mischief “ -but don’t tell him I said that.”

I couldn’t force myself to look at more of the video blog after that. I sunk into a bad mix of guilt and loss.

Damn feelings, why can’t they just go away?

> 69 - What My Inner Human Is Telling Me
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up with a start, not knowing I had drifted off. The night had come and through the window I could see the gentle glow of Canterlot beneath the balcony and the pleasing light shed from the vast sky dotted with stars and celestial objects.

I groaned and dejectedly slid the Synch off to dangle on my fingertips.

Opening the large double windows and looking out at the landscape, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. I don’t know if many other people do this but ever since I met Emilia I’d had an appreciation for beauty in almost anything. She gestured to both urban and rural environments and told me of the things that impressed her. 

The ground was teeming with life, the concrete and mortar was the result of billions of chemical bonds latticed in a complicated matrix and arranged by the aspiring mind of an architect. The trees were a vivid green that reflected peace and serenity but housed the complexity born of millions of years of evolution. The city was a bustle of life. The sky was a crowd of scintillating lights. The heavens and the earth were bounded but boundless.

I found beauty in everything and it was that which drove me on, to seek more to further myself to be something more.

So many things had weakened my resolve.

When I tried getting home, so many times I had been told it was impossible. I needed to steel myself and face the truth. I needed to see all that Angel had to say.

I was startled by a visit from Luna.

She swooped down so quickly and silently that I had barely time to step back before she had already hopped down from the ledge she alighted on and approached me.

“Hello there”, she smiled at me, turning around to regard the landscape as I had. “Enjoying the night?”

I started scratching her behind the ears.

“Mmph, oooh, unnecessary, but please keep going”, she moaned, pushing her head up closer to my hand. She was just like my dog!

“How did you know I was here?” I asked her, moving onto stroking her mane.

“Mmm, it wasn’t hard. I guard the night and I spotted you with an expression akin to my own when I usher in the night”, she answered, her tail starting to flick in a happy wag. I swear, exactly like my dog.

“Yes, well, I was busy appreciating the beauty of the universe”, I replied, in a somewhat quietened tone. I was a little embarrassed, actually.

Luna cocked her head in askance.

“It’s… hard to explain”, I say, struggling to form a coherent sentence describing my experience. “It is kind of like gazing at something simple and wondering at the infinite complexities that flows beneath. It is both breathtaking and humbling at the same time.”

Luna regarded me with a sombre expression.

“Yes, I too have often done this. It is indeed a humbling experience, the world so vast but the mind so small”, she remarked, flicking a hoof out to encompass the expanse within her gesture.

We both lapsed into a comfortable silence, both appreciating the wonders of the night sky and life.

Luna suddenly shifted her wings and gave me an apologetic glance. She brushed a wing up against me in a comforting gesture.

“I’m so sorry but I have other matter to attend to”, she explains, leaping onto the balcony ledge.

I smile and nod in understanding.

“No worries, Luna. I appreciate the company, however brief”, I reply easily.

I watch as she launches herself into the night sky, quickly lost in the darkness.

I finger my Synch, feeling the weight of years worth of information and perhaps, a little afraid at what that information may reveal.

----

“I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before”, Angel begins, taking a shuddering breath as she looks at the camera.

“My boss he-“ she pauses then starts again “-he showed me the patients afflicted by Synchrony…”

“It-“ she sighs “-It’s not pretty.”

Angel looks tired. It looks like she hadn’t made a video blog post in a while. I could see why, I knew exactly what she was talking about. Synchrony, that infernal knot that drove us near madness in our bid to eradicate it. Synchrony, the arbiter of over half a million lives. I heard the strain in Angel’s voice and I longed to reach out to her and comfort her.

The quality was impeccable. Either she got a new camera or she was using her Synch to compensate.

I was saddened to find there were tears in Angel’s eyes.

“I nee- I want to help them”, she said, sadly. There was silence for a while then she turned off the recording. Leaving me to my thoughts.

-----

I decided to skip ahead a few weeks. I already knew what had happened in that time.

-----

“He’s gone! He disappeared in a flash and no one knows where he is!” she starts, I’ve never seen Angel this angry before. I feel a pang of concern but I can't reach her.

“I will find him though, they’re covering everything up. He’s not dead! I know he’s alive. I just know…” The recording cuts off.

-----

“I began research into one of his last projects. The Black Box project has some interesting properties”, but she looked haggard and weary. “It acts completely different to what was originally designed.”

She brought up a familiar device. I recognised it as my own Synch.

“I don’t think even he could have predicted its properties”, she gave the camera a disturbing smile, the kind that reveals inner ambition. I shuddered, Angel what’s happened?

The recording cuts off, once again.
> 70 - Cryptical
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maellorn was sequestered in the caverns of a dragon graveyard. The walls were dank and damp. The air was humid and insufferable. The floor was grimy and unkempt. Yet, as bad is it were, this is infinitely more preferable than facing the combined wrath of a millennia-old dragon and her millennia-old companion alicorn princess.

Despite being relegated to the most uncomfortable of living condition, he could forgive the princess and the dragon for their actions. After all, he knew he himself were in the wrong. It was wrong to sacrifice those souls, it was wrong to condemn them to nothing, to cast their sapience as mere tools and energy.

But despite all those reasons, he could feel no empathy when balanced on the scales against his one true goal, his only desire.

“Maellorn”, a soft, feminine voice called from the depths of the cavern. She sounded sad, always so sad. It couldn’t be helped. Her sadness or her life, which one would he gladly paid for? He didn’t even have to think about it.

“This cannot go on, my dear”, she called again, desperation tinged in her voice. Her voice was like a siren song to him. Her morals, so plainly marked, made him fall ever so much more in love.

“My love. My star. My hope. My world”, he whispered lovingly, trotting over to briefly nuzzle her, she returned the gesture with a brief hesitation.

“Maellorn, listen to me”, she began but he placed a solemn hoof on her lips. He knew what was coming. She had given the same speech almost twelve times. Every time she began with his title, not his name. No matter how weary it made him, or how tiresome they became, her voice made it sound like blessed music, her expression gave life to the words no other could. She was perfect.

Those that were perfect retained the morality of their souls.

He had stained that long ago.

“My beloved, we have had this argument before. Let us not spoil the peace we keep”, he crooned, running a hoof across her mane. She shuddered in pleasure before inevitably drifting back to the issue, determined for her husband to see the light. She wanted him, not Maellorn to see what was before her.

“Maellorn”, she croaked sadly. “All things must come to an end. It is a miracle I was saved once, but never again. You have promised me that.”

Maellorn regarded his wife.

“So it has been, my love. After resurrecting you, one of the last ones to be done so, I stopped as you have asked. I regret resurrecting Sharp before you, though. Her interference we could have done without”, he reasoned, continuing to stroke her body.

Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she regarded her one true love.

“That is not what I am saying, dear. You know that”, she replied, shaking her head.

Maellorn knew what she would ask, the one thing he could give to her in the world.

“You cannot condemn that which has done no wrong”, she began, but was cut off by her husband.

“My beloved Lilac, its existence threatens our very own!” he argued, removing his hoof and pounding it on the floor in frustration. Lilac flinched, which tore at his heart in guilt.

“We have to push on, I have not come so far and waded through a river of sin to reach you, only for it to be cast asunder by one measly life!”

He knew he had crossed a line when he had said those words. Lilac looked at him with horrified eyes.

“Lilac”, he began, reaching a hoof out.

“No!” she screamed, edging away. “Don’t touch me! You are not the Brownie I once knew! My Brownie, oh Brownie! He would never talk about souls or lives in such a callous manner. Brownie, where have you gone? Brownie…” she sobbed, retreating into the cave.

He felt a pain that clutched at his heart. Brownie was a stallion that would have wept for hours in the darkness but not Maellorn, Maellorn kept his mood dark and his thoughts darker.

“Maellorn, sir”, a voice called from the mouth of the cave.

“What? Can you not see I am busy here?” he growled, casting a dismissive glance from his pitch-black musings.

“I’m sorry sir, but we’ve found him and there is an opportunity to strike. We have to leave now”, she reported diligently. Yes, Ragnild Talon was always a reliable one.

“Thank you, Ragnild”, he called back to the griffon.

In time, just as his beloved had asked, he would discard the name and title of Maellorn. 

For now, there was work to do.

-----

Usually when people end up in a new world they get all these really cool powers and abilities. I wish I had one, apart from using my Synch. I mean it wasn’t that practical. All it could do was convenience me when I needed a translation or perhaps a good navigation waypoint. At least I wouldn’t get lost, the magnetic poles of this world seemed to be similar to Earth’s at least enough so the magnetic compass module on the Synch could get bearings. That alongside the six-axis gyroscope and accelerometer, allowed for pretty accurate mapping, if only in a very local sense. I still needed a few satellites if I were to fix my true coordinates, but fat chance of that in Equestria.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, super powers. I wish I had them. You know, the power to protect my friends and all that jazz. I know it sounds corny but I wish I had them because then I could have changed something, I could have prevented the disaster.

What disaster you say?

Well it was a monster. That came from within.

I was morbidly going through Angel’s video blog entries. Something about them was just addictive. Angel steadily got worse and worse, her obsession with Black Box growing to the point that she was spending almost all her free time working on it. She gave just enough of herself to still be gainfully employed at Grooble and I watched as Angel grew from being the girl that I knew to a commanding woman in charge of the Research and Development sector of Synch Engineering Division. 

It was strange to see Angel growing up without being there. I had initially tried holding onto the hope that this was some kind of trick, that this wasn’t real. But the evidence couldn’t hold my denial for long. Angel was… Angel and there was no else who could be her.

I had combed through her video blogs, when I first heard mention of it.

Dated Entry: 23/04/2049

“I’m the head of Synch Engineering Division, well specifically the Research and Development sector, exactly as I had planned!” Angel spoke excitedly. I couldn’t help but be proud of her. She had talent.

“I’ve been moved to the home country of Synch headquarters, the ‘land of the free’ as the locals would call it”, she chuckled, and I found the mirth strange, added to the fact that I was looking at Angel nearing thirty years of age.

“Progress on Black Box had been slow, I don’t have many Synchs I can access to study the organic phenomena so I’ve scavenged as many old core modules and power sources I could”, she sighed, looking at the camera in sadness. “He was always better at that kind of technical hardware than I ever was.”

She brightened.

“I’ve managed to recruit about a thousand modules and study the effects on the network, it’s fascinating, each module acts kind of like a neuron in our brains, but so much more complicated. I’m convinced this’ll be our next breakthrough in technology. Unlike  Immersion”, she says, regarding the last word with an expression of disgust. Her mouth twists in revulsion before an eye twitches and everything is back to normal. I had glanced in shock but Angel had recovered quickly.

“Heh, I’m sorry you had to see that”, she apologises to the camera before leaving an awkward pause.

She cuts off the recording.

After that, her video blog posts get more and more infrequent, I found out she had moved from working for Grooble to helping out with the WHO. Soon her skills were looked upon in favour and eventually she became a lead software engineer on the project. I wondered why she transferred out of Grooble, Synch had always been a passion of hers. 

Dated Entry: 15/09/2064

“It’s happening! I’m going to use Black Box to control the world Synch network! I’ve convinced the board that this will make monitoring and control of data so much more easier than the old algorithms running on the extranet filters.” 

She flicked a wrist in dismissal of the extranet filters.

“Out-dated junk. Black Box will finally take its place as the arbiter of this world’s information. It will be the guide of humanity! It will finally be a just extension of his legacy on this world.”

She looked at the screen in only what I could describe as a fanatical way.

“Soon”, she whispered, humming a tune. “So soon.”
> 71 - To Kill a Mockingbird
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was night again when I finished Angel’s logs. I think the others were worried about me but I weren’t particularly conscious of them coming to check up on me, looking at me staring into space where Angel’s logs were and leaving. I got the vague but somehow distinct impressions that Twilight (an amorphous purple and pink blob), Pinkie (an amorphous pink blob), Luna (an amorphous dark blue blob) and Celestia (an amorphous white blob) had all visited me.

I knew from the snippets of the one-sided conversation she had with me that Twilight was considering returning to ‘Ponyville’ the place she lived. I considered going with her briefly, before I discarded the thought. What would I do there? Make some friends? No, right now I needed to solve this puzzle.

After the fairly disturbing attitude video blog Angel had adopted, I had started looking through the footage intently, trying to find out what happened.

It was morbid, to say the least.

-----

Dated Entry: 13/03/2094

“I… may have miscalculated the independence of Black Box”, Angel began, she looked old for lack of a better term, I couldn’t recognise her apart from washed out blue eyes and her fading blonde hair. Angel looked like she had been through a lot.

“This- ” she gestured around herself “ –is what is left of us.”

I gaped at the screen. There hadn’t been a video blog update since she had joined the WHO. This entry and the entry eleven years after were the only two entries left. The room behind Angel was barely a room, if that. It looked like she was underground in some sterile bunker. It was spartan in the extreme.

“We have tried, we have tried but we are no match for the machine. I guess we know, we have built it so well”, she says to the camera. I can see bags under her eyes. She has wrinkles and stress lines from a constantly furrowed brow.

“We have food enough to last a while, but only a while. I don’t think we can hold out forever. I… I regret some decisions I have been making of late. Sacrifices that had to be made to keep our race alive. To keep me alive. I fear they have been for naught. I fear that he may never forgive me. I fear… so much.

“When I first embarked on this project I had the noble goal of trying to keep the extranet in balance. I wanted us to be free of the inconveniences, to see what was really important to us. With more and more people dropping into Immersion, more and more lost sight what was truly important. Friends. Family. Loved ones. Life.

“But those that clung to Immersion worshipped death more than they did life. They preferred to live in a fantasy and abandoned what mattered the most. I wailed in anguish trying to make people believe me. This was not who you are, you are not that person in Immersion. You were you! Stop pretending!

“The more I begged, the more pernicious those had become. They clung to beliefs as tight as they clung to their blankets at night. Immersion had become their world.

“I guess I succeeded in reminding us what had become lost to us as ages gone by. With Synchrony gone, the world no longer had to work out their differences and side together in a banded struggle against existence. Black Box had created that opportunity for them. Well, what was left of us have a choice. There aren’t many options left.”

Angel chuckled weakly, breaking up into a fit of coughs and spasms. They eventually died out and she continued, but not for long.

“I may have been a bigger threat than Synchrony ever was, I may have been the human who birthed the monster, the harbinger of humanity’s darkest age. I-“, she paused, swallowing.

“I’m sorry”, she said simply, before the recording cut off.

-----

Dated Entry: 25/08/2105

Angel stared at the screen for a long period of time before speaking. I felt enraptured by the series of videos, unable to deny the veracity of them, but unable to fully accept their truth. I just kept watching as Angel grew old and the disaster fell upon my race.

“I- “, she began, but stopped herself, casting her gaze to the floor. “I cannot begin to make amends for what I have done. These final years that Black Box has given me as a courtesy of being its creator has given me time to think. Time to prepare how someone can make amends. H-how I-I-I c-could make m-my own amends”, Angel rasped, teeth chattering in the cold basement-like room. It seems a small draft had picked up inside.

“I w-want to s-say, I’m s-sorry”, she apologises obsessively.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” she goes on like this for a whole ten minutes. I look away and think to the mute button, unable to take it after the first thirty seconds.

Angel finally seems to pull herself together.

“So it ends, my dear companion. So it ends… Perhaps the legacy will carry on, some other time… some other time”, Angel seems to fall asleep, but she doesn’t move. Her chest doesn’t move either. My eyes widen in comprehension. Angel is dead. The Synch continues recording, as Angel hadn’t turned it off. It records the dark room until the lights cut off and there is no one else around. After a full year of recording, the feed runs out of power and the recording cuts off. I realise my Synch was used to record the feed and it had become full with the last known recording of Angel.

-----

I fought back tears, trying to come to terms with Angel’s death.

It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real.

Angel…

Where are my friends?

Where is my home now?

Is everything just... gone?

> 72 - Considerations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To be honest, I had no idea what to do with the information that held in my small circlet. I’m not sure if this future had come to pass, how it came to be recorded on the Synch, or how I could prevent it from occurring.

Out of curiosity I had asked Twilight if time travel was impossible. I meant it as a joke but amazingly she nodded her head.

“I can tell you first-hoof that time travel is possible. It’s also very dangerous and not very helpful”, she explained with a rueful shake of her head. She smiled at me playfully, trying to break me out of my fugue.

“What? Planning on doing some time travelling?” she joked, giving me a nudge.

I grinned.

“Maybe”, I replied, strolling away from her.

“Ha ha, good one… wait, you weren’t serious were you? Wait! Say something!” she called after me frantically. I laughed maniacally.

Oh well, it wasn’t as if I could use the time spell even if I could, back on Earth.

It seemed like this world and my own were connected along lines I couldn’t see. I was trying to see the patterns but every time I tried, it felt like the puzzle shifted and became harder, it didn’t seem fair.

“Nothing is ever easy”, I muttered to myself, heading towards my room.

I felt a little guilty actually, living off the kindness of the two royal pony sisters.

Every time I asked them about it, they laughed it off as if kindness and generosity were things to be taken for granted. I guess here, these sorts of things were given and taken freely. Or maybe I was just lucky with the ponies I met.

I met Prince Blueblood by the way, he was a surprisingly decent chap.

“Oh, hello there, you are an interesting specimen”, he had commented when we first met.

“The specimen can talk”, I replied with a hint of irritation.

“Oh, pardon me. Let me introduce myself, I am Prince Blueblood”, he pronounced, with a little pomp. He promptly excused himself.

“Sorry, force of habit”, he apologised meekly.

I can tell you I was at a loss. Twilight had told me to stay away from Prince Blueblood, that he wasn’t a very good pers- pony. I wanted to give most peo- ponies the benefit of the doubt but your friend’s opinion does tend to cloud people’s judgement.

“I can’t say that I know you”, I lied easily. Best to test the waters.

“Oh, thank goodness, there are some ponies with the tendency to exaggerate claims about me, I was worried that might cloud your judgement”, he babbled, tagging along as I continued my journey towards my room.

“It’s just that… other ponies have all wanted to approach me because of my looks, or my status, it’s probably why I’m mostly a misequinthropist”, he continued, I puzzled over the last word.

“Misquinthropist?” I enquired, with a confused expression.

“It means I’m a pony that has lost faith in other ponies”, he answered, flicking his mane.

“Ah, must be similar to misanthropist”, I replied, nodding.

“Misanthropist?” he shot back, eyes questioning.

“One that has lost faith in humans or humanity. Fortunately, I am not one of them”, I responded, giving a light chuckle. The Internet before the extranet could make anyone a misanthropist though.

Blueblood was silent for a while before asking me another question.

“So, I can safely assume you are not from around here?” he asked politely, to which I nodded readily.

“I’m surprised Celestia or Luna has not told you of me”, I said, shrugging. “It’s not as if I’m a state secret anymore. To answer your question though, I don’t think I’m of this world, at least not in any meaningful sense.”

Blueblood looked impressed.

“Oh they wouldn't tell me, I’m not a foreign diplomat, or anything of that sort. I only take care of maps and the like. Too many ponies, otherwise”, he explained. I nodded. It made sense.

“If you don’t like ponies, why are you royalty? You’re surrounded by ponies”, I pointed out. Blueblood shook his head.

“I may be surrounded by ponies but because I am royalty they keep their distance. Keep a pompous enough attitude and everypony goes away”, he replied, looking pleased with himself.

“Seems like you have your system all figured out”, I said, finally arriving at my room.

“Well, we’re here”, I stated, standing awkwardly in front of the door. Oh yeah, Emilia said something. “I know it’s not my room, per se, but would you like to come in?”

Prince Blueblood looked regretful.

“As much as I’d like to learn more about you and your no doubt fascinating world, I must get back to work, there are boundaries to be draw up”, he finally said, casting me a final apologetic glance before trotting away.

I smiled. I think people just misjudge him. A misequinthropist. Right.

-----

In between my views of the video logs, Celestia and Luna had carefully monitored my null ‘pull’ as they dubbed. Through careful observation it seemed my ability to nullify magic was linearly capped at a certain rate. I didn’t have quite enough momentum to create a magical vortex that would suck all of Equestria’s magic in one go. Unless I went and hugged a power magical artefact, of course but that would be stupid.

I decided to expand my knowledge of this world, my Synch helping greatly to speed things up. If I learnt the old fashioned way without nerve-stimulated input I doubt I could retain even a fifth of the information I absorbed. The Synch did a good job with the translations but I forced myself to learn the new system of writing without the translator, only resorting to it as a last resort mechanism.

Twilight was excited that I had suddenly become a keen and interested student. I thought about how convenient technology made it for me to learn things at such an accelerated rate. Twilight would probably squeal in delight if she got her hands- I mean -hooves on this technology. It was only for a few days but I managed to brush up on most of the history, culture and major elements of pony society. I found out about Nightmare Moon and I felt a deep loss for Luna, but at least we were in the same boat, struggling to keep up with modern Equestria and the new experiences threatening to drown us. At least I didn’t have any duties to speak of.

Actually, speaking of elements, I found out that Twilight and her friends had become the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. What a mouthful. Anyway, apparently I saved someone important from the diamond dog mines, well helped at any rate. That was probably why Celestia and Luna were so quick to trust me. The next time I saw Twilight I gave her a hug and a thanks for helping me out.

Overall, my life had become somewhat of a routine. I would wake up, ponder about ways in which I could get back to Earth and prevent a global catastrophe, give up. Go have breakfast, spend the rest of the day studying about Equestria and their magical, scientific, historical and cultural advancements. Have some more food, dine with Celestia or Luna and perhaps be joined by Twilight or Pinkie and then just go to sleep and repeat. In fact the routine only changed slightly when Pinkie announced she was needed to help babysit- I mean foalsit some foals. Ah, I hated using these pony mannerisms but unfortunately I was getting used to some of them, letting it slip from time to time. It frustrated me to no end.

Pinkie and Twilight decided to leave together, Twilight saying something about having to take care of someone named Spike. When they left, I felt alone in the castle as if it suddenly became a lot emptier. I even started to miss Twilight’s rambling lectures, or Pinkie disturbing my concentrated studies to go have some fun or both of them nagging me to go outside and enjoy some fresh air.

On the same night they left, I was invited to a garden party to meet the nobles of Canterlot. Since I was no longer a secret, the Princesses wanted me to met everypony, since I was stuck here for heavens know how long, I was bound to become somewhat detached, I didn’t want to go through the effort of making any more friends.

I started depending on the royalty for company and though Celestia and Luna were obviously happy to entertain me, they were busy running a whole country and couldn’t spend as much time as I hoped with them. Prince Blueblood was more available but even he had a myriad of duties that required his personal attention. Evidently, the princesses had decided that I needed more friends so they invited me to the garden party.

They probably misjudged me, because despite appearances, I was not a socialite. I don’t go out of my way making friends and I mostly act friendly to those I share familiarity with. If you believe me, you can probably reflect on how well I did when I first met Twilight. Or how my first impression with the royal pony sisters went, dragged in like a criminal and just slightly pissed off. Yeah, I wasn’t the best guy to start a friendship.

In any case, I wound up at the garden party, dressed in my old Earth clothes that I refused to throw away, even though they had prepared and tailored a nice suit for me. I didn’t know how they got a pony to measure me and tailor a suit to fit me without me knowing, but they somehow did. I didn’t wear it though and I thought I saw a flash of disappointment flicker across Celestia’s muzzle when she saw me enter the party without the attire.

The upper echelons of society were all present at the party, all looking serious and pompous. I found myself sequestered in a corner, trying to eat a canapé, or whatever it was, in peace.

“Oh my, I see that perhaps you are not from around here”, a voice interrupted me while I ate. I looked up to see a stallion and what I presume to be a beautiful wife accompanying him. I don’t know, I was still trying to get pony aesthetics down. The stallion introduced himself.

“My name is Fancy Pants and this here is my partner Fleur de Lis”, he announced, gesturing with a hoof to his partner who nodded her head with a smile.

“A-a pleasure”, I stumbled, I wasn’t really good with making myself sound regal and such.

“Oh no need to stand on ceremony, how are you with the party?” he inquired, turning around to regard the party guests with me.

“Not really my area, I’m afraid”, I responded with a shrug. I couldn’t tell you who or what any of these ponies did and why they were so important to Canterlot.

“Oh? What is your area, if I might so inquire?” he directed at me, still gazing at the multitude of guests. I relax a bit. Glad he wasn’t speaking to me directly.

“I’m a scientist of sorts, also a bit of an engineer”, I said, well it was true in training if not by official degree or trade!

Fancy Pants looked impressed.

“You are quite skilled for one so young, at least I presume you are young?” he asked me, still casting his gaze around the courtyard. There were no ponies that caught his eye and I was beginning to wonder who exactly he was looking for. I spotted Celestia and I quickly excused myself.

“I’m sorry, but I need a question that needs answered”, I said rather brusquely, striding forward to meet Celestia.

An entourage of ponies asking or pleading for something surrounded her. I knew from the way that they carried themselves, my passive Synch knot analysing their body language. They may not have overtly revealed themselves as such but they were all sycophants or parasites, wanting something or other from the princess.

I made eye contact with the princess, raising an eyebrow. She excused herself, heading towards me. The ponies did not follow, somewhat wary of me. All they had been told was that I was kept as a matter of protection for Equestria and I was here to acquaint myself with the nobility of the land.

“Ah, Celestia, eager to get away?” I commented snidely. She tossed her head and returned my grin with a demure smile of her own, unruffled.

“All ponies have their wishes, great or small, they are not diminished, for being a bore”, she replied easily, as if she were quoting an excerpt.

I chuckled, remembering where it came from.

“Said the wise white alicorn pony way back when”, I laughed, nudging her. Some nearby nobles saw the gesture and gasped, horrified I presumed.

“Everypony here are such a stickler for etiquette and rules”, I commented but turned serious. “But I’m not here to talk about that.”

Celestia just tilted her head in bemusement.

“And what troubles you?” she asked steadily, eyeing me.

I tapped a finger on my chin, thinking about how to phrase the question. Perhaps this setting was too public?

“Shall we move someplace more private? I’m not sure if this is a state secret or not”, I asked of her, she nodded in agreement heading off towards a side door.

The garden party members watched us leaving like a hawk, chattering to themselves like a bunch of squirrels. Not that I had ever seen a squirrel in my entire life, probably a possum, yeah more like possums.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, secret talk.

We ended up moving into a small guest room in the castle, close to where the party was held. Celestia closed the doors and did something that made her horn flash for a moment before gesturing for me to start speaking.

“What is on your mind, dear?”

I cleared my throat, having phrased the question.

“I was reading some ancient books on races”, I began, pausing as I tried to gauge Celestia’s reaction. Her expression remained neutral.

“It talks about something called alicorn ascension”, I continued, once again pausing to gauge her reaction. Celestia remained unfazed.

“My question is… could we possibly use that as a means to get me back?” I asked, shooting Celestia a questioning glance.

Celestia didn’t speak for a while, her eyes taking on a faraway look as she considered what I had asked.

“As far as I know, alicorn ascension does create the necessary power to break through and stabilise a cross-dimensional traversal without mirror stabilisation. In fact that is how we can perform the ascension without destroying everything in a mile-wide radii. Unfortunately, we won’t know the next time an alicorn ascends” she explained sadly.

“Cadance is an ascended alicorn, right?” I asked suddenly.

Celestia nodded.

“Will she have an absurd lifetime like Luna and yourself?” I queried, giving Celestia a sidelong glance. Celestia chuckled.

“Ascended alicorns will live just as long as they would without ascension”, she explained, I felt a little disappointment. Hey, maybe if I could become an alicorn I could live forever. Hey, it was worth a shot, it’s the Holy Grail of modern science, next to the cure for cancer and fixing global warming (we still haven’t gotten rid of that, our ancestors were uncaring weren’t they, whoever uses fossil fuels? Sorry, tangent).

I was disappointed.

“Don’t be disappointed, I can guarantee you immortality is not all that it is cracked up to be”, she smiled, taking me under her wing.

I scuffed the ground.

“Yeah, what would an immortal human even do, anyway?” I muttered to myself as we exited the room.

I didn’t make any friends at the party, by the way.

> 73 - What a Life of Lifelessness Could Do
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, I always disliked pop music. Now, now, don’t look at me that way. It wasn’t the beats or tunes or the actual genre itself, per se. It was the content. The inane contents of pop music were always blaring on about love and lust, relationships and drama, men and women and all that sappy jazz. At least R&B was straight up about their content, drugs, money and women, etc. Though I never really listened to R&B.

So I never liked pop music, which annoyed me greatly that Emilia did, she would harp on about the latest hits that would flow around the extranet or how they enliven the soul. She kept nagging me, telling me that an appreciation of music was how one would truly discover the meaning of life, or something corny like that. I argued back at the time that I did appreciate music. Just not pop music. Intrigued, Emilia had asked me what music genre I liked. I played coy, it was actually kind of embarrassing, and it didn’t fit my personality at all.

“Symphonic metal”, I had muttered, low enough so she had to strain to hear it. She heard it though and her face split into a teasing grin that made me bury my flaming cheeks into my hands. 

“S-symphonic metal?” she gasped between giggling fits that threatened to overwhelm her in laughter. One look at my extreme discomfort only further increased her mirth.

“Oh quiet, you”, I shot back, irritated but I could never stay mad at Emilia for long.

“Wanna listen to some music?” I offered and we both sat down listening to each other’s playlists through old-fashioned earphones. Suffice to say, I swallowed my distaste of pop and its strange affixation with romance.

Anyway, I’m telling you this because I accidentally stumbled on the discovery of a lifetime because I was trying to listen to music. Don’t go anywhere this stuff is pretty heavy.

It tipped me off when I saw I was connected to the extranet.

The extranet you say? What of it? Must be a malfunction. That’s what I thought. So I tinkered with my Synch trying to find out what the problem was. It wasn’t long before I realised that not only was the Synch working perfectly fine, as far as I could tell, the connection to the extranet wasn’t a malfunction, I was really connected to the extranet.

The best part of it was, the information seemed to be dated in 2032, a full year before Synch had even been developed. 2032… I knew I remembered that year from somewhere, but where? I couldn’t remember off the top of my head. I discarded the thought.

Now as a scientist, what do you do when you are confronted by this kind of information. Panic? Go nuts? Ignore it?

No. You test it. For science.

I sent innocuous messages along the extranet but I found that the information I received wasn’t dated in 2032. It was dated in 2039; a year after Synchrony was released. I was literally looking at my past! I even had a conversation with myself.

I considered warning myself about Synchrony and the future disaster, but seriously, who would take a guy on the extranet seriously? Even if I changed the timeline so that Angel would never put Black Box into play, would it just invalidate my own knowledge of the event? I mean, if I stopped Angel and Black Box then how would I have the video blogs from Angel? Perhaps I just held a copy of the possible future? But then, how could I trust it if it was just a possible future? It may never come to pass.

Ugh! Time travel was a mind explosion. I couldn’t handle it. I finally admitted to myself that I needed some help with this. Since Twilight and Pinkie had headed back to Ponyville, I only had the princesses for help.

“Celestia”, I greeted as I entered her room, having nodded at the guards. They were used to me by now, I’ve been visiting Celestia almost every night. Luna’s guards were used me as well, now that I thought about it. I’ve become a permanent addition to the castle, somehow.

“Ah, back for another chat about magic, I presume?” Celestia replied, as I closed the doors behind me. She looked tired and weary, unusual during this time she would be full of energy, even if she usually was just her calm and collected self.

“Something happen?” I inquired, trying to get a feel of the pony.

Celestia chuckled, “Oh, Twilight cast a tricky spell that I had to dispel. It would usually be no problem but I had to dispel a whole town full of ponies to prevent them from being wiped out.”

I cocked an eyebrow, wanting more details. What has that excitable mare done to destroy a whole town.

Celestia took that as an invitation to continue.

“Twilight’s been under some stress lately, she had to cast a spell to send some clone Pinkie Pies back to the mirror pool”, she explained, which only made me more confused.

“The spell reacted negatively with the pool a day or two ago and were producing some thaumic resonance that was going to clone everypony in the vicinity, since most of the creatures close to the mirror pool are dangerous, it would have resulted in a rush of monsters expanding out from the Everfree Forest.”

“Sounds tough”, I sympathised, giving Celestia a pat on her head. She looked at me in surprise before giving in to the stroking fingers.

“You know, you’re the only pon- I mean person who has dared do that”, she noted, pushing her head back as I scratched behind her ears. She seemed to really enjoy that.

“Why? You’re a nice pony”, I stated, as if it were an obvious fact.

Celestia shrugged, well as much as a pony could in the reclining position.

“Royalty are there to be placed upon a pedestal”, she said sadly, drooping her head between her hooves. “Our true friends are few and far between.”

I snorted.

“You may be royalty, but you’re just Celestia to me”, I told her, stroking her breezy mane. As soon as I touched it, it turned pink and stopped flowing ethereally.

“Huh, weird”, I grunted, poking and prodding it, watching it go from ethereal to normal pink.

Celestia giggled.

“Stop that!” she chided, trapping the offending finger and hand under a hoof. “It tickles.”

I grinned inanely.

“But it’s so much fun watching your mane do that, it’s freaky and mesmerising at the same time”, I confessed, using my free hand to continue petting her.

After a while of sitting in the comforting silence, gazing at the dancing flames within her fireplace, I decided to broach the topic that I had originally intended to explore when I had arrived.

“Tell me about time travel”, I asked of Celestia, tapping my Synch to turn it on.

“You will have to be more specific, dear one, time travel is a broad topic”, she replied, eyes closed in ecstasy as I continued my massaging ministrations.

I didn’t know where to start, so I began at the beginning.

“There are these diary entries, but they’re called video logs, because they contain moving pictures…”

> 74 - It's About Time... Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna and Twilight were poring over the time travel problem, giving the problem their fullest attentions. I found it endearing to watch them struggle with something completely unrelated to their universe, I think they were doing it just because I was their friend. It made me feel good. I made me feel like I was a part of a tight knit group. I felt like I finally belonged somewhere.

I think this moment would be the moment I finally realised I was no longer a drifter. I wasn’t an observer or someone who kept their distance anymore. I was a person who was more deeply ingrained with the throes and passions that came with being a part of a community. Thank the stars I wasn’t actively dealing with relationships and I just had friends, I’ve heard of the nightmares people got from giving or taking advice from that direction. No thanks. Being a friend is quite enough. Also shippers *shudder*, I’ll never get used to those crazy people on the extranet fringes.

Celestia had some chores to do and by chores I meant having a whole nation to run, so I wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t able to make it. Twilight made the trip all the way from Ponyville but apologised when she revealed Pinkie couldn’t make it. I believe her exact words via Twilight were:

“I’m really super duper sorry I can’t make it, but the next time we meet on an adventure you can have a hug and a cupcake!”

I smiled at that. I think I’ll hold that mare to that promise. The time travel problem was ridiculous, there’s a reason that even the greatest unicorn of their time, Star Swirl the Bearded, couldn’t find a solution to stabilise time travel without creating paradoxes. The spell even prevents paradoxes automatically somehow by sending you back to the present as soon as you started violating the causality of the past.

When Twilight found out about this she looked a little annoyed.

“So that’s why I couldn’t warn myself!” she fumed to herself. I think it had to do with the small incident she had with time travelling before. 

Even though I was dying to try time travel out, since magic didn’t affect me, there wasn’t any way for me to travel. Time travelling was a science fiction lover’s dream and it was permanently out of reach because of stupid magic. Oh well, I still had a past-altering messaging device.

I could send messages, possibly any data, maybe release a knot over the extranet.

Wait.

I realised what had been bugging me about the dates that my Synch had been labelling to and from the past extranet. They were labelled the same way as the Synchrony knots.

Those bas-, I bit back a swear word, this was one of the closest times I’ve ever felt angry enough to swear.

Twilight and Luna noticed my agitation.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked from across the table. I took a deep breath and started rubbing my temples to ease the sudden pain that graced my head.

“The necromancers. They are the ones responsible for Synchrony”, I explained, slamming a fist down on the table. The action made Twilight flinch and I apologised, it made me feel guilty for scaring her like that.

“Synchrony and the data I’ve been sending to the extranet have all been dated at exactly one year before Synch had ever been released. Tied to the fact that this Synch had been in the possession of the necromancers and their hideout seems to point out that they were responsible for Synchrony”, I reasoned, putting my thoughts out.

“It could be a coincidence”, Twilight countered uncertainly.

Luna fixed me with a stare that unnerved me somewhat.

“Continue”, she stated simply.

“Right, so coupled with the fact that Synchrony appears with the same date and I’ve been here what? A few months, I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t much time dilation between this universe or time stream than to mine. It seems consistent with the fact that the creator of Synchrony couldn’t be tracked and when we tried- “ I stopped, feeling a pulsing headache “ -when I tried, the connection was sent back towards this world and established a connection… pulling me through.”

“How is that possible?” Twilight queried, unable to comprehend what I was trying to piece together.

“I’ve heard from Celestia- “ I ignored the indignant look from Twilight for my casual use of her name “ -that a spell was originally explored by Star Swirl the Bearded on obtaining a null being from another universe”, I continued, tapping a finger on my chin in thought.

Twilight nodded, “But that spell couldn’t be used because…”

She gasped, finally understanding.

“But that would be perfect for necromancers!” she exclaimed, with a horrified look.

I nodded glumly.

Luna looked oddly disturbed and righteously furious at the same time.

“If they had not already been granted some form of clemency by my sister, I would trot down there and execute them myself for their heinous crimes. I had known they had used some form of souls but I never knew that they came from your world”, Luna growled, a stomp of her hoof sending cracks into the stone floor.

I shook my head sadly, feeling the weight of weariness.

“What is done, is done. We cannot walk forwards with our heads turned to the past. We need to think of a solution for these souls”, I posed, looking at Twilight and Luna expectantly.

Luna and Twilight shook their head.

“While I cannot profess full knowledge of this ancient and dark art, I know enough that once a soul has been liberated and bound to new body or to exchange payment for the old soul, that soul is lost after a brief period of time. It is even worse if it is consumed as energy, as some of the necromancers had told us, the soul is lost forever with not even that brief time period to reverse it. I’m sorry, there’s no way to save those lives that this ‘Synchrony’ has touched”, Luna told me, giving me an apologetic glance.

I sagged my shoulders in defeat.

“I- “ I started, but I couldn’t form any words.

Silently, Luna gathered me up with wing, comforting me. I glanced appreciatively in her direction and gave her a small hug. I missed the small blush on her cheeks when I kissed her there.

“Thanks Luna, for being here for me”, I looked at Twilight standing awkwardly on the side. I beckoned her over with a wave. I hugged her tight in a three person-pony bundle for a while before breaking apart.

So, I thought to myself sadly. What now?

I glanced at my Synch, gleaming dully on the table. The inner ring engraving caught my eye.

Huh, I guess it’s time to live up to my name.
> 75 - The (Subjective) Truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You know truth is a funny concept. People have such difficulty with it. It’s either: this is true. I swear it’s true. Are you telling me the truth? I’d like to know the truth. The truth hurts. The truth of the matter is… and so on.

The thing about truth is that so many people want a claim on it but it’s oh so hard to give. The truth is, and I’m fully aware of the irony of saying this, that the truth can never be something you know. There’s never a hundred per cent certainty for anything and even more disturbing is learning this fact when you are a scientist. You are practically forced to accept this axiom.

For me, I got around this by understanding the limitations of humans. We could never be able to see the whole truth. it’d be nice if we could but I fancy that if we tried to see the universe at its fundamental level and peered into the heart of truth for even a moment. We’d lose our minds and go crazy with the existential crisis afoot.

To be completely honest I think this stems from the lack of motivation. What is one well fed, happily employed, medium-class worker meant to do when he is confronted with purpose. Go to school. Go to university or college. Get a job. Get married. The entire minutia that make up modern living, packaged conveniently into our fixed routine. 

Let me tell you, things didn’t change from the 90s it only had a different brand and a flashier start up screen. So how did I get to noble purpose of using my scientific knowledge to aid humanity? I experienced loss. I experienced tragedy. I experienced what it felt to struggle and overcome life’s hardships and still not obtain the results you expected. To me, my struggles define me, my limitations spur me, my journey strengthen me and my legacy carries me on.

To see these ponies so happy and content with their life, throws my perspective out of whack. Do my motivations still drive me if I’m no longer in the sea of humanity? What of these ponies? Will they benefit from my knowledge and carry on my struggle, my legacy?

The sad fact I realised was that the answer to all of those questions were ‘no’. Of course, they couldn’t. The ponies here did not know of war, loss, the ravages of a fast-paced modern times or the inequity of social stratification. I’m not saying they didn’t have their own hardships and struggles to overcome. They just dug themselves out the primeval pit that humans clung for their dear life to.

How can we say we are evolved from animals if we are not so much better than them? How can we say we are civilised people, if all we do is take advantage of the blood, sweat and tears of thousands of lives from across the world? I shuddered in contemplation for them. I wept silently for the wasted lives.

At least the necromancers were quick.

-----

Luna and Twilight were arguing over whether a particular plan inclusive of my messaging from the Synch would produce a loop or a paradox.

Being in the future with the ability to alter the past seemed like an all-powerful device, capable of creating timeline shifts of the greatest magnitude, or so I thought from the science-fiction shows I had enamoured myself with in my movie times with Emilia. Unfortunately, all evidence, including Twilight’s own experiences seemed to fix things in a very uncomfortably fatalistic way.

You see ponies see time a little differently than we do. Of course, there’s free will, of course you can make your own decisions, you are your own moral and free agent. What struck me was their contradictory view on destiny. They sort of viewed life as an extended Romeo and Juliet play. You knew the ending, it was ordained from the start, and the journey was what made the difference.

But such a stance led me to a loss. If I knew the future and the future was fixed, then any action of my part would only alter the ‘in-between’ as it were and things that I was destined to do would play out to result in that destiny. The problem was, there was no way for me to test this theory. I was stuck not knowing whether I could make a proper difference or if I was preordained to carry out my role, with no wriggle room to make my own decisions.

To make myself a character in a play reminded me uncomfortably of a puppet dancing on his strings. I couldn’t picture a world where I wasn’t free to choose my own destiny. Instead, I was forced to contemplate the possibility that I was just playing my part. Time travel threw up so many conundrums that I was thoroughly sick of it just two hours of brainstorming with Twilight and Luna.

“So who’s side do you think is right?” Twilight demanded, tossing me a critical gaze, which no doubt urged me to side with the righteous unicorn.

Luna was no less fearsome, narrowing her eyes dangerously at me.

I swallowed, looking between each indignant mare. Siding in an argument between women, or mares in this case, was never a good idea no matter which universe you happened to be in. The best-case scenario I was hoping for was someone to barge in and distract the two.

The local deity within this universe must have heard my prayer for they answered it immediately afterwards.

“Excuse me?” called a voice from the outside.

“What is it?” Luna growled venomously back at the door. You could hear the pony equivalent to knees knocking on the other side. I felt enormously sympathetic to the creature standing out there.

“A-a m-message from a one ‘Death Wing Sharp’ for Your Highness”, the voice outside stuttered.

Luna sighed, stomping a hoof and looking in my direction. Her look said ‘this isn’t over yet’. But I sagged my shoulders in relief. I think Twilight gave me the same look but to be honest with you, Luna pulls off the scary thing more. Even though they’re both adorable when they look mad. I’m just saying.

Luna approached the door and practically flung it open, telekinetically yanking the letter from the nervous aide’s grasp and tearing open the sealed envelope to read the contents.

Luna started and looked up at me, as if I had something to do with the letter. I shrugged putting on a genuinely confused look.

Hey I didn’t know anything about a Death Wing Sharp, other than she helped Celestia wipe out the necromancers.

Luna looked at me with an intense glare that pinned me on the spot.

“Do you know a ‘Gruff’ the diamond dog?” she asked me, keeping her ears pricked as she cast her attention back to the letter.

“Yes”, I replied, a little guiltily.

Man I haven’t seen Gruff for a long time… I didn’t know he was still around. Oh, dammit I was supposed to be his teacher, wasn’t I? I thought to myself, feeling a stab in my chest for forgetting about Gruff.

I hoped he forgives me for ignoring him, I contemplated. I resolved to give him a sincere apology the next time I saw him.

Luna hummed to herself, reading the rest of the letter then tucking it away somewhere. Where do these ponies hide their things?!

Twilight bounded up to Luna.

“What did it say?” she asked, always the infinitely curious one.

“That is not for you to know, young one”, Luna replied gently, although Twilight drooped a bit upon hearing the soft rebuke.

“Come, we must visit this impatient dragon. She may have excellent writing, but she does not mince her words”, Luna beckoned, strolling out the door.

I followed half-heartedly, giving my Synch a glance, and then firmly affixing it to my head, before heading out.

-----

This was one of the first times I’ve seen a dragon up close. She was massive, I could tell you that. Probably about three times the size of Princess Celestia herself and about twice as wide. I was told that Death Wing Sharp was actually bigger than this, but her magic allowed her to compress her size to manageable dimensions.

It would probably freak out most of Canterlot if a house-sized dragon went stomping around in the streets. Not that Sharp actually looked like she cared at all for etiquette. Her manners were sharp as an atom-wide blade. She was also blunter than a watermelon but I didn’t say that to her face, because I didn’t want to die.

Sharp regarded me curiously, when we had arrived. She looked me up and down and then nodded to herself as if confirming an earlier suspicion. She later explained that she was gazing at my aura and I wasn’t surprised that she couldn’t see anything. Apparently, the only way to tell if I was a null being quickly was to use a ‘mage vision’ spell to detect the aura around me. Since everyone in this world had at least some form of magic, even the magic nullifying ones, I was the only one with a ‘black hole’ like aura.

When we finally got around to greeting each other, Sharp did something I didn’t expect. She ignored Luna straight up and bowed to me. Sharp then proceeded to apologise on behalf of all necromancers for the atrocities that had been committed against my world.

At first I was tempted to flip out at the dragoness. I hadn’t forgiven the necromancers but neither could I do much to gain what I had lost. In addition to this, Sharp had been one of the original necromancers, I was told by Luna on the way, one of the only remaining necromancers that had core ideals and values that directly contravened the actions that other necromancers had engaged in. She had held to her beliefs by sacrificing her fellow necromancers and redeemed herself through that torture.

To say I forgave her would be too strong a word. I merely acknowledged what she had done. I couldn’t forgive her because she technically had done no wrong. Unfortunately, she disclosed everything about her resurrection. I found out that her body contained nearly two thousand souls. Two thousand lost souls. Through some kind of weird honour systems that the dragons held, she pledged her life and her soul to my use, in penance for the act.

I regarded her carefully before speaking what was on my mind.

“I’d rather you didn’t”, I simply replied, feeling a familiar weariness seep into my bones. At these times when trying events played out or some serious drama, I couldn’t help feeling tired and sick of it all. I cut off her reply.

“Sharp, I’m saying this because your body houses those thousands of souls, what greater insult would there be for me to bind those souls to my purpose? They are lost anyway and there is no way to get them back”, I ground out, bitterly. There was stinging in my eyes, and I averted my gaze.

“Sharp, I’m asking you to live free like I am sure those people wanted to. Don’t hold yourself to a ridiculous oath because of that… just… I hope you can live happily, because I want there to be a winner in this, even if they are not human.”

There was silence for an interminable while, as Sharp considered what I had told her.

Twilight gave me a sympathetic hug and Luna wrapped a wing around me.

I was surprised to feel the touch of Sharp’s snout on my forehead.

“Young one, I am glad to see your wisdom has far exceeded mine late and scattered subordinates”, she whispered, breathing a surprisingly cool breath through my hair.

“If thou ever needest me, I will come for you faster than the speed of thine own breath for calling”, she promised me, flaring her wings. She reached up into her mouth and broke off a tip of a tooth. She grimaced in pain before magically binding it with some arcanic spells. She wrapped the tooth up in a cloth, before handing it to me.

“Do not touch it or thou will render it useless”, she warned, passing me the bundle. 

“If thou needest me, simply say mine name thrice and I shall hear thine voice and come.”

I nodded weakly but gratefully.

“Thank you Sharp”, I said appreciatively, clutching the bundle.

Sharp nodded at me and took off, leaving us with a gust of wind.

I looked ahead to see a familiar face poke out of an alleyway as he made his way towards us.

“Gruff!” I yelled, giving him a friendly squeeze, he looked embarrassed. “How have you been? I’m so sorry I’ve never had a chance to meet you.”

Gruff looked at me with a serious expression.

“Good to see you but there’s much to tell”, he growled, heading off towards the opposite side of the street.

“Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle must come as well, very important”, he indicated, waving at me to hurry along.

“What’s wrong, Gruff?” I asked, worried.

“The world”, he replied, shortly.

> 76 - What in the World?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apparently, Gruff wasn’t kidding when he said something was wrong with the world. For some reason I was very calm when he told me this. I think it was because I was the centre of so much. I already had the impending doom of my own world to worry about, and also the fact that I was a calamity for Equestria just waiting to happen, heck why not add a multi-universal situation. Okay, I take that back, I didn’t say that.

In reality, the world-ending scenario actually did have something to do with me. Gruff had been talking to Death Wing Sharp and I was surprised to find that they were friends, of a sort. At least, Gruff seemed to think so, Sharp didn’t seem like the type to be friendly to just anyone but I could see it happen. Over the time that I spent away from Gruff, he had improved both his vocabulary and his understanding of the nature of reality from a scholarly perspective. 

He was a budding philosopher, in between his job as a security manager for Canterlot’s nightclubs. I laughed at that, and even Luna and Twilight had looked bemused.

“Excuse me, Miss?” a gruff voice interrupted our walk. A brown pegasus with a bunch of letters in a ‘swooshing’ motion adorning his flank, greeted Twilight. “Are you Miss Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight smiled at the pegasus.

“That’s me!” she happily affirmed. The pegasus pulled a letter from his blue satchel and mouthed it over to Twilight.

“Express personal delivery from Ponyville, postage prepaid”, he remarked, giving Twilight a dip of his head to Twilight’s polite ‘thank you’.

Twilight disassembled the envelope and read the contents of the letter.

“Oh”, she said uncertainly. “Oh dear, I must be going.”

She looked at me apologetically, giving me a hug.

“I’m so sorry but one of my friends has applied to the Wonderbolt Academy and we’re holding a picnic tomorrow to show her our support, there is quite a bit to prepare, so I need to leave you here. Tell me all about it, though! I want to hear what’s so dire”, she excused herself, trotting back the way we came. I watched her disappear with a tinge of disappointment. Twilight would be incredibly useful for knowledge of any kind.

I looked at Luna.

I guess I’ll have to make do… I thought cheekily.

Luna gave me an icy glare.

“Thou weren't thinking something rude, thou saucy knave?” she growled ferociously.

“How did you-“ I began, before Luna cut me off.

“Several generations of dealing with the nobility of our country has sharpened my discerning wit”, she explained, giving a disconcerting smile.

I shuddered as she laughed it off.

“Oh come off it, young one, I only jest”, she said in response to my discomfort. We continued along the winding alley, picking up the conversation again with Gruff.

In the course of his studies he had coincidentally met up with Solid and her crazy conspiracy theory on how the world was controlled by the Tree of Harmony and other ancient and mysterious artefacts of the land. Luna gave Gruff an intense look as soon as he mentioned the Tree of Harmony but she snorted and dove into an explanation in response to my questioning tilt of my head.

Luna had dismissed the notion that the Tree of Harmony controlled anything with a wave of her hoof. Although they didn’t know much about the Tree of Harmony (which was apparently some extremely powerful magical construct somewhere in the Everfree forest), they were convinced that the Tree of Harmony was not actually controlling anything. In a manner of speaking, it is backwards, the will and strength of bearers and the nation of Equestria gave the Tree of Harmony the strength to endure.

Gruff gave a nod assent when he was told this. Luna had looked shocked that Gruff had somehow gotten his paws on such obscure knowledge. I mean, it wasn’t common knowledge, according to Luna at least, that the Tree of Harmony even existed. It was a closely guarded secret, a fable to the very few that caught wind of it.

The way that Luna explained it almost lead me to believe that the Tree of Harmony was in a symbiotic relationship with the land, which was ridiculous because how could a magical artefact like that gauge the complexities and the moods of all the ponies within Equestria and regulate that ‘emotional energy’ in some complex and powerful spell that promoted the concept of harmony?

It seemed a little far-fetched to me.

At least, when Twilight had been talking about magic, the basics seem to be founded upon some very fundamental principles that couldn’t be violated. The Tree of Harmony seemed to be a deal-breaker in terms of the Thaumic Conservation of Energy and all the jazz. I noted this to Luna and she gave me her perspective on it.

The Tree of Harmony was an enormously complicated construct. It was an extension of the primeval magic that flowed through the land. Generations of ponies caretaking the land had resulted in the spontaneous growth of the Tree, resulting in a mutually beneficial magical reflux. I guess, in an analogous way, it was how we managed to gradually shape our environment to our liking, building buildings, making machines and creating clothes so we could have convenience, with the proper application of science. 

The Tree of Harmony was a physical manifestation of generations upon generations of pony magic seeping into the lands, willing peace and cooperation between each of the tribes and each other.

Gruff had agreed with Luna’s and my own assessment of the Tree of Harmony but he lifted a claw at a point that we had just made.

“The Tree of Harmony is responsible for the powerful magic that the ponies possess. The constant recycling and reflux of the Tree has lead to higher thaumic background accessibility”, Gruff explained. I nodded. This meant the ponies could utilise more powerful magic as long as they were within Equestrian borders. 

If I could recall, the Crystal Empire had a similar device, called the Crystal Heart. It basically did the same thing, take in the emotions of the ponies within the Crystal Empire and let it wash out again, renewing their magic and increasing magic flow throughout the land.

Luna gestured for him to continue.

“The Tree of Harmony is safe… for now”, Gruff clarified waving a claw in the general direction of Ponyville. “The danger comes when the Tree of Harmony comes in contact with you.”

Gruff pointed a finger at me, a worried grimace twisting his features.

I was confused, we already knew that, but it wasn’t as if I was going to go up to the Tree and hug it. In fact I was probably as far as I could be from the Tree itself.

Gruff grunted in exasperation.

“The Tree takes emotions and the magic of the ponies and recycles it!” he repeated impatiently, giving me an irritated look. I threw up my hands.

“I know this! I’m not even near the Tree, how can this be a problem?” I asked, a little petulantly.

Gruff growled.

“You touch a pony, you touch the Tree!” he stated, crossing his arms.

“I-“, I started, but I stopped, thinking about what he just said.

Oh.

“Yes”, he continued, pointing at Luna. “You have touched the former Bearers and the newer Bearers and already a drop of magic throughput has spread throughout the land!” he exclaimed, rubbing a paw to his face in exasperation.

“You did not know of course, I can’t blame you”, Gruff grumbled. “But we have a serious problem.”

Luna had perked her ears when she heard a passing comment from Gruff.

“You say magic throughput has dropped?” Luna queried, trying to get a feel for her magic, it felt the same.

Gruff nodded.

“Solid and few of my unicorn contacts have begun testing”, he replied, stopping at a nondescript door. He knocked on it in a complicated series of taps and scrapes. Oh, must have been a code, interesting…

The door wordlessly slid open, a massive minotaur giving us a friendly nod as we came inside. I edged around the bulky female, as she slid the door closed. Never thought I’d see a minotaur up close. Gees, they’re massive, a few heads taller than me.

I heard a crash and some pony cursing.

“Pony feathers! Horse apples! Bucking buck!” a familiar feminine voice screamed from within the kitchen area.

A suspiciously smoky Solid crawled out of the kitchen on all four hooves.

“Stupid cooking, how does juice catch on fire?!” she yelled back at the rapidly spreading flames in the kitchen. A panicking unicorn stallion brought buckets of water to quickly douse the flames.

“Keep that madmare out of the kitchens!” he screamed indignantly as the fires died down. He slammed the door to the kitchen with a resounding thud.

Luna was having trouble keeping her laughter in and I felt the tug of a smile at the corners of my mouth. Gruff just folded his arms and rolled his eyes, glaring at the sodden, blackened mess that was Solid Evidence.

Lightning and Hardy entered in from the side.

“And I said to the mare, I’d mare-y you any da-“ Lightning chortled, then paused, assessing the situation.

Smoking Solid, check.

Royal Princess happens to be in the same room, check.

Fire due to some fault of Solid’s, check.

Strange null being responsible for the end of the world, check.

“I can’t deal with this right now, you guys sort it out”, he muttered, making his way to a couch and flopping down. Hardy joined him.

I couldn’t contain it anymore. I cracked up.

> 77 - Apotheosis: A Heart of Felt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gruff helped Solid up like the gentledog he was, Solid thanked him and wandered off into the back to do something else.

I turned to Gruff with a questioning look.

“So”, I began, my tone serious. “How’s Solid? After that.”

Gruff wilted a little but lead us silently to a small room with a table and a few chairs. I gratefully sat down in one. Holy smokes finally a chair with a back! Gruff settled into the one at the far end, whilst Luna chose to stand, for some reason.

“Solid has been keeping busy, she told me that it took her mind off things… and it was probably what Iron would have wanted”, he explained, ears splayed back. 

“Iron was nice”, he continued. “I did not meet him for any long period of time, but he was nice.”

I nodded. I had the impression that Iron was a good per-pony. Argh, I’ll never get used to these pony mannerisms. Actually, why did they use everpony and somepony and these pony-centric words all the time? I better ask that of Twilight later on.

Gruff stretched, relaxing in his chair with a tired groan and mumbling something I couldn’t hear.

Luna broke the comfortable silence after a while.

“Mr Gruff”, she said impatiently. “We must know of this magic throughput problem, do you have a solution?”

Gruff waved a paw dejectedly.

“No”, he growled, clicking a clawed finger on the table. “There is no solution, short of sending him away or destroying him.”

I hung my head, I had suspected as much.

“The only other alternative I see is to seal you up somewhere magic can’t touch you”, Luna pondered out loud. I couldn’t help it. I took an involuntary step back.

Luna gave me a sad look and halfway stretched out a wing to comfort me, but it fell to her side as she remembered that she couldn’t touch me anymore.

I sighed. Wasn’t there some way I could prevent this disaster?

Gruff looked agitated.

“I have to find a way”, he mumbled, tapping his claw harder on the table. The sound was beginning to annoy me but I understood that it was probably a nervous tic on his behalf.

A knock on the door interrupted us from our dark thoughts.

“Come in”, Gruff called and the door opened to reveal a griffon. How many friends does Gruff have? Wait, I think he mentioned a network…

“Sir, reporting in”, the griffon snapped, giving Gruff a salute. I looked at Gruff strangely.

Gruff shrugged at me.

“Term of endearment”, he joked, turning to the griffon. “What is it, Gael?”

“Would you like this in private, sir?” Gael asked, her eyes warily taking us in.

Gruff shook his head.

“We’re among friends, no need for that”, he answered easily.

The griffon composed herself before launching into things like agent movements, sightings and general information before concluding with potentially useful gossip. I widened my eyes in realisation.

“Gruff, you’re an information broker?” I asked him, surprised. He looked at me thoughtfully.

“I’ve never heard of that term before”, he said, tapping a claw to his chin. “But I think that suits me perfectly.”

I addressed Luna.

“No wonder he knows about the Tree of Harmony, he’s got his paws on all the information in Canterlot, I bet”, I clarified, a little proud the diamond dog had gotten so far so rapidly.

Luna eyed the diamond dog warily.

“This is indeed… news to me”, she said, eyeing Gruff suspiciously. “I am glad we are both on the same side.”

Gruff shrugged, unconcerned.

“My duty is to myself and if protecting this world allows me to protect myself, then that is what I’ll do”, he explained. I whistled in appreciation, silently of course, Gruff had come a long way from the inexperienced, uncertain diamond dog I had found in the caverns.

It hit me.

“You may not have a solution”, I started and I clicked my fingers, startling Luna. “But you do have a plan.”

Luna glared at me.

“Don’t do that”, she grumbled, eyeing my hand.

“Do what?” I asked, confused.

“Snap your fingers like that”, she replied uneasily.

“Huh?”

“Never mind, it just brings up uncomfortable memories”, she dismissed, with a flick of her hoof.

Weird. I’ll ask her about that later.

Gruff nodded.

“It’s a very bad plan. You’re not going to like it”, he told me, fixing me with an intense look.

Why do I get the feeling that things are beginning to spiral out of my control?

“You have to visit Chronus”, he stated flatly, as Luna yelled. “WHAT?!””

-----

I had to physically bar Luna’s path to prevent her from climbing over the table and stomping on Gruff. Luna was angry but she evidently still had a shred of sanity for she tried darting around me. She even thought about teleporting, if her horn was any indication but teleporting in such a confined space was a recipe for disaster. I heard from Twilight that if I unicorn or alicorn for that matter tried teleporting they would displace objects that occupied the small space that the unicorn would take if they tried teleporting into a solid object. There were safeguards of course, but if there were a partially occluding chair for example, then the chair would be violently blown to bits.

In our small, cramped dining room full of chairs and tables, I was sitting in the middle of a teleportation grenade.

When Luna finally calmed down enough to talk, I popped the question that had been on my mind as soon as Gruff had mentioned the name.

“Who’s Chronus?” I posed, watching Luna for any sudden movements.

Luna tapped a hoof on the table and waved my concern away, she took to lying down on the floor in a huff so I had to reposition my chair and look down to make eye contact with her.

“Chronus is my father”, she explained sullenly, ignoring my shocked expression.

“But… by your own admission you are thousands of years old!” I exclaimed, confused. I still don’t know whether I could believe that claim, by the way. I mean they radiated age, that’s for sure, but I wasn’t ready to believe a thousand year old being could work out. How did they get around the telomere problem? Wouldn’t they have succumbed to aging diseases a long time ago? Heck if I know, they’re probably as healthy as bats.

Luna gave me an annoyed glance that suggested I was being impertinent. Oh yeah, women, err mares, and age. I guess some things were constant no matter where you went. They probably don’t like weight jokes either. Okay, I wouldn’t on both accounts if I ever get to that age, but you know what I mean.

“Chronus is not my father in the birthing sense, it is much like Cadance is not our niece in the birthing sense”, she said slowly, her wings ruffling.

I think I understood.

“You’re talking about alicorn ascension”, I stated, almost snapping my fingers again, but resisting the urge until I found out why that put Luna on edge.

Luna nodded, catching the reflex movement of my hands and giving me a look of approval for my restraint.

“Alicorn ascension is the first step to becoming a deity”, she began but was interrupted when Gruff perked his ears and suddenly got up.

“I’m sorry, princess and friend, I have to go, there is something that requires my attention”, he explained, leaving the room. Luna glared at him the whole time he walked to the door and even after he left, but Gruff appeared to pay no heed to Luna and walked proudly to the door. Exiting, the silence he left behind was acute as Luna fumed for a bit before addressing me again.

“As I was saying, alicorn ascension is only the first step to becoming a deity”, she repeated, just casually explaining the mechanics of apotheosis. I mean really, becoming a god? Impossible. I’m not saying gods don’t exist, I’ve just never seen any proof.

“The first stage consists of power, tempered by mortality”, Luna was speaking as if reciting something from a long-forgotten memory. “The second is a gift of life, tempered by the deaths of others.”

Her last gaze chilled me.

“The third is transcendence, tempered by neutrality.”

Considering Luna’s mood, I chose my next words with care.

“I’m assuming Chronus has something to do with the ascension process?”

Luna nodded, with a weak smile.

“You are right, young one, Chronus has the ability to ascend the powerful to the immortal”

I started.

“Oh I see, so that’s why you refer to him as your father”, I commented, Luna affirming my statement with a grunt of acknowledgement.

Chronus… Chronus… where have I heard that name before? Mythology? I was never into that kind of thing. I wish Emilia were here, she would know about Chronus, I thought to myself.

Luna continued, while I pondered the familiarity of the name Chronus.

“Chronus is an old name, almost as ancient as the name Tartarus or Gaia… or Chaos” 

She shuddered at the mention of the last name.

“Chronus”, I enunciated, and then it clicked. “The god of time.”

Luna pursed her lips thoughtfully.

“How do you know that?” she inquired, fixing me with a look.

“Chronus is the name for the god of time in an ancient culture on my world. I only know about him because I read about him in a trashy online novel about Greek gods. I was interested in them for a while so I looked him up. I don’t think you’re referring to the Titan, he wasn’t in charge of time per se…” I lost myself in my memories for a bit. Amazing how the mythology and this world were so similar…

An impatient hoof clop snapped me back to reality.

“Chronus is guarded by Aether and Aion”, Luna spoke softly, she regarded me with a sad expression.

“They will be the reason that you won’t be able to make it”, she commented drily.

I looked at Luna in confusion.

“Surely they could spare me a few moments to plead my case?” I asked, crossing my arms.

Luna flicked her head, snorting in response.

“Young one, you don’t know these powerful beings. They are deities before you or even I were born. They have rules, and they stick to them like molasses, Chronus may decide to grant you an audience, but only if you prove worthy to Aether and Aion”, she replied.

“This has something to do with the power requirement”, I realised slapping my forehead.

“Indeed, once you become an alicorn you may at any time challenge Aether or Aion to a match. Lose as an alicorn and you get away with injured pride, lose as a mortal and the consequences are death, among other things”, Luna scowled, but she seemed more angry at the situation than at me. Among other things? What could be worse than death?

“Since you are a null being, we cannot force a temporary ascension upon you and the other ways of obtaining ascension are far more risky and nearly all of them require magic, which we cannot use”, she continued, her muscle tensed in agitation.

“It seems we are stuck”, Luna remarked, giving me an apologetic expression.

I shrugged. We were only back to square one.

“Unless you can find a way to ascend, there’s really no point to this plan”, Luna finished, getting up on her hooves.

A soft voice spoke up from the corner of the room.

“Unless I can help”, it squeaked as we turned our gaze upon it.

My jaw dropped. What the?



> 78 - Bonus Chapter: Quiet as a Fluttershy (non-canon)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Non-Canon just so you know.

Fluttershy knew Elder Gods. Apparently, she hooked up with a few of them and they taught her some neat tricks like ‘The Stare’ and how to tame any animal. She managed to become a part of Gruff’s network after being tipped off by a certain omniscient being that the fate of the world apparently was held in the balance on my own two hands.

“Quick!” she squeaked, waving an urgent hoof at me. “Over here!”

She pointed to a black hole that had formed to our right.

“Luna, are you seeing this?” I asked her, my words coming out measured and slow.

Luna was too busy gaping at Fluttershy.

“How-“ was all she got out before we were dragged into a different dimension.

“Woah, what the-“

I was interrupted by a deafening roar as a ten metre tall cougar carrying a massive chainsaw clashed with a gigantic tiger dual-wielding two katanas.

“This is just too weird”, I commented, unable to think straight.

The two massive predators clashed with each other sending massive sparks flying around and bathing the region with an orange glow. It was strangely beautiful and terrifying, kind of like looking at a nuclear explosion.

Luna tugged at my arm.

“Isn’t that going to drain the Tree?” I asked her.

“Different universe, different rules”, she shot back as we were sucked through a portal again.

We arrived at a desolate scene.

Buildings were dilapidated, wood was rotting, and cars were wrecked and abandoned everywhere. I would have been excited because it looked so much like Earth, but the abandoned abodes were creeping me out.

I heard a distant scream.

“Ah!! They’re coming! They’re coming, run for your lives!” I heard, as a pony dashed out of the alleyway followed by a horde of the undead.

You heard right. Zombies.

Nope, nope, nope! I thought to myself desperately shaking Fluttershy.

She was muttering to herself.

“I can fix this, I can fix this, I can fix this, oh my, oh my, oh my”, she repeated to herself.

“Fluttershy!” I screamed as the undead were rapidly gaining upon us.

“Got it! Fluttershy yelled, as much as the timid pegasus could.

The strange rip occurred again and we were flung into a different world.

“Hey, thanks for saving my hindquarters”, I heard a voice say.

I groaned. We’d picked up a passenger.

“Thou didn’t even charge thee”, Luna grumbled somehow blaming me. She was strangely okay in most part for a pony dragged on an inter-universal adventure but she was slipping back into her old speech. I think it’s a stress thing.

“Well we can’t send her back”, I said, as the mare relaxed.

“What’s your name?” I asked, addressing the panicking mare, I’d talk to Fluttershy getting us back home but it seems like she was tinkering with causality and the nature of space-time so I didn’t want to interrupt her.

“I’m First”, she replied.

“What?”

“First Aid”, she muttered, looking exasperated.

I chuckled as she gave me a look that could have evaporated bitumen.

“Okay, okay, First”, I consoled. “Tag along, I think you’re in for a heck of a ride.”

And that was how Equestria was made.

> 79 - Deities Dangerously Delaying Deadly Dark Dire Days
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There’s something about life or death experiences that really snap things into perspective. I was hanging off the side of a cliff, staring in the gaping maw of the abyss. The winds whipped around me as I strained to keep my grip, my hands straining and my arms stretched the breaking point.

I was going to die, I had thought. I was going to die on an alien world, fighting to save this world when I should be back on my own saving the entirety of humanity!

Fear crept down my spine and my thoughts were scrambled as I fought to keep my grip. Loose gravel slid under my fingers as a hand scraped across the dirt and I lost the grip of one hand.

No, no, no, no, no! I yelled inside my head, my mouth opened in a silent scream as my other hand, unable to take the weight of my entire body, loosened and let go of the ledge.

I fell, arms flailing in the air, trying to find a purchase or a hold to arrest my descent into certain death.

My last thoughts were for Angel as I closed my eyes and waited for the never-ending sleep to come.

I’m sorry, I thought to myself. If only I could have saved you.

-----

I bet you’re all wondering how the heck I got into that situation. Are you standing? Sit down, let me tell you all about it and don’t be afraid to crack open a foobar.

Huh, what’s a foobar?

Oh right, Equestrians wouldn’t know about this but foobars are short for food-bars a compact meal in a small package. They taste bad, they’re nasty and they’re in unsatisfying quantities but then, they’re full of caffeine and other junk to make you awake. I didn’t eat them personally but I know Paul loved them. He practically inhales them. Never really saw the appeal, to be honest.

Where was I?

Oh right, the circumstances surrounding my imminent death.

What had spoken to us from the corner of the room was a shy yellow pegasus, hang on, didn’t I know this one? What was her name? Uhm… Fluttercry? Fritterlie?

“Fluttershy?” Luna had spoke in consternation.

“Oh, uhm, yes”, the pink haired pegasus replied. “I mean, no.”

I gaped in surprise as ‘Fluttershy’ was wreathed in blue flames that engulfed her form and changed it to a black shiny chitinous coating. The resulting creature looked like a cross between a bug and a pony, with Swiss cheese-like holes scattered around its legs and sporting a pair of tattered wings. Her mane looked fine, like cobwebs but unlike Fluttershy's (at least as far as I remembered) pink mane, this one had a brilliant blue mane, almost sapphire blue in colour. It was brushed around and to the side vaguely resembling Fluttershy's mane-style, but not exactly how I remembered it.

The creature continued in a shrill feminine voice as Luna crouched and readied her horn.

“No, stop!” she yelled. Luna growled at the same time.

“Changeling!” she roared in fury, she was ready the charge the small changeling.

“Stop, Luna”, I commanded, snapping my fingers to grab her attention. It did the trick although I think I was almost put in the line of fire when her eyes blazed, almost targeting me.

“Peace, Luna”, I addressed her quietly. Luna grudgingly lowered her guard but she continued to glower at the poor thing. I didn’t know what the changeling did but Luna looked mad enough the chew steel and spit nails. I knew it had something to do with a wedding but I never dealt with that.

In any case it was probably best if I held an outside perspective.

“Uhh, I’m sorry, what’s your name?” I asked the cowering creature. She calmed down enough after a few minutes of me crouching down and putting my hands up in a non-threatening gesture.

“I-It’s Pseudo, sir”, she replied, looking at me in uncertainty. I smiled at the changeling to show I meant no harm.

“So, Pseudo how about you tell me a tale?” I inquired, inviting her to sit at the table. She flinched as Luna snorted and continued to peer at the changeling as if she wanted to take a measure of her soul.

“Luna, you are scaring the poor thing- “ I held up a hand to stop her from responding “ -regardless of what had transpired between you two, I don’t think you’ll be getting much from her if you act so hostile-“ I changed my gesture to point at Luna with my finger “-justified or not, we can decide later”, I told her. Luna huffed but took my advice and left the room, albeit reluctantly.

“Be careful”, she warned, making eye contact with me. “These creatures are filled with deceit and desire, both of which you cannot defend against. Remember you are only immune to magic, not anything else.”

I nodded in assent as she left me with Pseudo.

“You were talking about a tale?” Pseudo inquired of me. I grinned at the changeling.

“Yes, the tale of how you got here without us knowing”, I replied.

“Oh”, Pseudo replied, her cheeks turning a light blue. Oh, it’s a blush, how adorable.

“Gruff told me I should knock but there wasn’t a reply”, she spoke quietly. “I knocked but no one seemed to answer so I invited myself in to try and make myself known. Uhm, I tried speaking up but there wasn’t an opportunity until both of you stopped for a break.”

I looked at the changeling.

“How did you stay so quiet? Why were you disguised as Fluttershy?” I asked, perplexed.

“Oh, I guess sneaking around is something changelings are good at. If we really try, not many ponies can hear us approach. Eheh, as to the disguise, I, uhm, was told that changelings weren’t really welcome in Canterlot so I had to disguise myself”, she explained, tapping her hooves together with a nervous ‘clop’.

I grunted in acknowledgement, thinking.

“What happened between changelings and the ponies?”

Pseudo bowed her head in thought for a moment before giving a timid answer.

“Oh well, I think that was to do with Chrysalis’ hive attacking Canterlot”, she stated, rubbing a nervous hoof along the surface of the table. She visibly swallowed and I gave her an encouraging pat on her head, before I realised what I was doing and whipped it to my side. I didn’t know if changelings were connected to the Tree, but it was worth taking extra precautions.

Pseudo gave me a look of wonder as if surprised I would even touch her.

“What’s wrong?” I asked of her, as she shuffled her hooves.

“Oh, uhm, it’s just that I’ve never been touched before by a willing pon- I mean -being”, she explained, looking at her hooves. 

“I am a changeling princess, next in the line for my hive, but none of the drones would ever take care of me like that, the only other contact I’ve had was with my mother and she was very nice, although now she is getting old and I don’t think I’ll be able to get anymore hugs from her anymore. I just feel a little alone”, she rambled as I listened to her patiently. I realised that the changeling was quite young and now that I noticed that fact, I saw that her size was a little smaller than the average pony. She was probably in her early teens, if equivalency and my age-estimation skills were right.

The princess looked at me with something close to renewed hope.

“Gruff was kind of nice but he hasn’t touched me yet. You’re one of the nicer ones, you didn’t even want to fight me as soon as you saw me”, she said, giving me a sweet smile.

“Why would I want to fight you? You haven’t even done anything yet. I can’t fault you for being yourself”, I replied, resisting the urge to pat her on the head.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think I can touch you yet, before I confirm that you’re not connected to the Tree of Harmony”, I explained then I quickly shot my hands to my mouth. Wait, was I supposed to keep the Tree of Harmony a secret? Luna didn’t look too happy when Gruff casually mentioned it.

I looked at Pseudo.

“Actually never mind, forget I said that”, I told her, shaking my head in annoyance for my oversight.

Pseudo nodded.

“I promise I won’t talk about, besides we’ve known of the Tree for years, we just can’t use it and we’re certainly not connected to it”, she said simply and tapped a hoof on the table lightly.

“No other magical artefacts that grant you power?” I pressed, determine to clear up the issue.

Pseudo thought for a moment before dismissing the idea.

“No, I don’t think so”, she squeaked, trying to hide under the table as the door burst open and an impatient looking Luna beckoned a hoof towards me.

I walked over and bent my head to her level so she could whisper into my ear.

“We must away, soon”, she said, nudging me with a hoof. “Celestia has requested both of our presences within the next hour. It seems urgent”, she explained.

I nodded, excusing myself.

“Pseudo, do you want to come with us?” I asked her. She nodded and trotted after me.

“I’ll bring you up to speed, Luna”, I assured her, as she warily eyed the changeling.

Gruff waved a claw at me as I exited. He had already gotten word that Celestia had asked for me, not fifteen minutes ago. I was impressed. Gruff must have a deep intelligence network to get information that fast. Not that I knew much about spying and the like, I just thought it was particularly fast.

I bet Pseudo would be pleasant company if Luna hadn’t been right next to Pseudo, sending her a cautious glance every now and then that clammed her up.

I gave Luna a short summary of whom Pseudo was and how she had gotten here. It wasn’t much because we didn’t have the opportunity to dive into much detail in that small meeting room. Luna’s eyes lost a lot of hostility when she found out the changeling was from another hive, she didn’t let go of all of her distrust however, she did make pains to introduce herself.

“I am Luna, Princess of the Night”, she announced simply.

Pseudo bobbed her head deferentially.

“I-I’m Pseudo, Princess of the Blue Hive”, she replied, her eyes flashing blue as she conferred her title.

Neat! I thought. I wish my eyes could do that.

Luna looked a little relieved when she saw Pseudo flash her eyes blue. Now that I looked closer, I found her irises were a pleasant deep turquoise, which unexpectedly reminded me of Angel’s eyes.

Pseudo was blushing blue when she noticed me staring at her intently.

“I wish I had eyes that could do that”, I explained in response to her curious look. She looked strangely pleased with that statement, after she got over her astonishment.

I asked Pseudo a question that had been hanging on my mind since I met her.

“What's a changeling?”

Luna responded instead of Pseudo, giving me an amused look. Okay, I had read a little about Equestria’s history and geography but I was still mainly ignorant of the many species that populated this world. Dragons, yes, griffons, yes, minotaurs, yes, changelings for which there was no mythological counterpart I could pull from the past-Earth extranet? No.

“Changelings are insect-like creatures that feed on emotions, although ‘insect’ is little more than a cosmetic label when describing changelings, if anything, their anatomy is closer to a pony and other mammals. With the exception of the dragonfly-like wings and their carapace, changelings could pass for a normal pony”, Luna explained, in a scholarly tone.

“So you’re saying that changelings and ponies are genetically similar?”

Luna shook her head, her mouth twisted in such a way as she found the notion displeasing.

“No, we’re not related in that sense, we’re about as related as a rockodile is to an alligator.”

I shook my head.

Rockodiles?

“The distinguishing feature of changelings to other species is their active use of magic. They are skilled in the art of deception, transmorphication and illusion”, Luna continued, we passed some surprised street vendors. I dipped my head in hello, but they were more wary of Pseudo that I hardly registered in their vision.

“Changelings feed through absorbing emotions”, Luna told me in a matter-of-fact tone.

I gaped at her. You can’t feed on emotions! Emotions were just a collection of neural excitations and bodily reactions as a product of the consciousness, it is not something you can eat!

Luna noticed my look of confusion so she clarified the point.

“Changeling magic may be highly limited compared to a unicorn’s however, the proficiency of such magic is in a class of it’s own. They process emotions, which leak a small amount of useful magic. To them, emotions are like a distilled sort of magic surrounding us. When they extract it, it will drain the user of their emotions temporarily, when they go further it starts draining the magical flows that link to their life. The more background magic there is and the more powerful the emotions surrounding it, the better the extraction process goes.”

I swallowed. So that’s how they could feed off emotions.

Luna cleared her throat as I nearly stumbled into the guards at the front of the Canterlot gates. I grinned at her sheepishly. Heh, I should pay more attention to my surroundings.
> 80 - Once in a Blue Moon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’d like to say something about Internet-speak. Internet-speak is the blanket term that encompasses a variety of Internet-specific slang and terminology that littered the Internet back in the day. While some people tolerated it, and some hated it, the majority just ran with it. It came as a surprise that various authorities even started recognising some terminology that had infected the Internet from the age of texting stemming from the old keyboard cellular bricks.

Though most the shortening terminology, for example, ‘AFK’ and ‘1daful’ and ‘2d4’ and so on had been rendered obsolete due to predicative tech, we still used phrases like ‘lol’ and ‘brb’. Things changed and I didn’t know whether it was for better or worse. I just observed the Internet and its people growing organically.

Some language buffs and literary critics and household mothers decried the change, resisting it with every ounce of their prodigious strength. Committees formed, pressures and conservatives jumped on bandwagons and the result was a sort of censorship of ‘Internet-speak’ on all official sources and volumes. The rest of the Internet laughed at the change. You couldn’t police the Internet; it was akin to throwing measuring cups of water on a forest fire. You didn’t impact anything and you just got burnt for your troubles.

Eventually the hullabaloo died down and even the defacing of government websites responsible for the changes stopped. The act became a joke among the people and we subsided to the greater change that was the implementation of the extranet.

I guess what I’m saying is that change couldn’t be forced, especially on large disorganised groups of people. You can change a law but you cannot persuade a mob.

-----

Princess Celestia didn’t even twitch when she met Pseudo. I was pleasantly surprised that Celestia even gave a warm smile to the nervous little changeling princess. She greeted me with a nod of her head and I waved cheerily. The guards were glaring at me from the sides for my lack of decorum but I couldn’t care less.

“Luna, it is good to see you”, Celestia greeted her sister, wrapping a wing around her and nuzzling her.

I d’awwed a little but Luna shot me a glare that said: Tell no one!

I flicked a hand towards the guards but Luna just snorted.

Brr! This court was chillier than normal. I glanced at Celestia, she didn’t look like she minded the cold.

Ah yes, fur coats. That’s cheating I say! Cheating!

Celestia turned to me after having a quick, muted conversation with her sister.

“So I’ve heard tell you have plans on becoming a deity”, Celestia commented, giving me a bemused look.

I half pranced forward.

“Yes indeed!” I replied, and beckoned Pseudo to come forward. “And this is who will be helping me.”

Pseudo looked absolutely awed and horrified to be in the limelight.

“H-hi!” she squeaked before dashing behind me.

Aww, I wonder when she took such a liking to me?

I knelt down, making eye contact with Pseudo.

“Don’t worry, just relax and tell me your plan”, I consoled, giving her nose a little bop.

She relaxed and giggled when I did that, giving me a shy look.

“Okay”, she said drawing in a breath to steel herself. She stepped out of my shadow and looked at Celestia.

“I’m Ps-Pseudo” she peeped, giving a small bow. “Princess of the Blue Hive.”

Celestia smiled warmly at the small changeling princess.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, young Pseudo. I am Celestia of Equestria, Princess of the Sun”, she introduced, giving Pseudo a gentle nod of her head.

I looked at Luna from the corner of my eye as she headed out somewhere.

Where was she going? Wasn’t she supposed to be here for the meeting too? I thought to myself.

Pseudo gave a nervous squeal of thanks and retreated behind me again.

I gave vent to a frustrated breath.

“Pseudo”, I coaxed, waving my hands around spasmodically.

“What do you see?”

Pseudo looked at me as if I had a few screws loose.

“Uhh, someone crazy?”

“Try again.”

“Insane?”

“That’s right!” I said, pirouetting on the spot. “Someone who is crazy or insane doesn’t care what others think!”

Pseudo looked at me uncertainly.

“Wouldn’t that mean that others will look at you funny and judge?”

“But you don’t care.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

“Good girl, now act as if you don’t care and confidence will follow”, I ended, gesticulating at Celestia. Celestia sat on the side looking at the situation in amusement.

“You certainly have a way with words”, she commented drily, giving me a ‘d’aww’ look.

I flipped up my hands.

“Just… don’t tell anyone”, I said, folding my arms.

Celestia snorted.

“Heavens forbid ponies knowing you have a heart”, she retorted, trotting over, her mane whipped to the side.

I smiled wryly at her and pointed to the left side of my chest.

“I have a heart, it’s just slightly off centre.”

My gaze turned serious as I pondered my next question.

“So, I’d like to know exactly why I’ve been called back.” I saw Celestia’s eyes slide away and I felt a cold chill run down my spine.

This will not end well.

“Okay, so does this have something to do with Pseudo’s plan?”

Celestia nodded, pawing the ground with her hoof.

Oh, I’m not going to like this.

“Perhaps you’d like to explain? Or should I actually hear it from Pseudo?”

Celestia nodded and I waited with no answer forthcoming.

“So is that a ‘yes’ I want to explain or a ‘yes’ let’s get Pseudo to explain?”

Before Celestia could answer, Pseudo piped up.

“Uhm, I can explain it, after all that’s partly the reason why I’m here”, she mumbled, giving me a doe-eyed look.

Aww, dang it Pseudo you’re killing me!

“Alright, let’s hear it from you, does this have to be somewhere private?” My voice automatically dropped to a whisper. Celestia shook her head.

“Everypony here can be trusted”, she replied with a confidence I did not exactly feel.

Pseudo cleared her throat.

“Okay, uhm, where to start?” she squeaked, wings fluttering nervously. I recognised the same motion from Celestia. Oh, it’s a nervous trait.

“Alicorn ascension is one of the first providences of power- “ I nodded at this and gave a wary look at the guards scattered around “ -it is a form of bestowing. Other ways include magical creation or parasitism- ” she shuddered at the last one “ -but there is one little known one that can be utilised.”

I rolled my eyes when Pseudo paused for dramatic effect again.

“Temporary transferral or more precisely consecration of title”, she finished. “Somepony gives you a title and they can exercise the power in your stead.”

Celestia nodded. Apparently she had already known this.

“Wait a minute, you already knew this but why didn’t you tell me?” I spluttered, shooting Celestia a glare.

“Well it hadn’t come up”, she replied sheepishly, her gaze hardened as her tone dipped low in warning. “Chronus is not a pony to take lightly, either.”

I sighed. When did things get so complicated?

“Alright, so how does Pseudo fit into all of this?”

Pseudo raised a hoof like she was in kindergarten. Aww man she is just too dang adorable.

“Uhm, I think it’s because Gruff said I can help with the consecration.”

Celestia nodded.

“Wait, so I get the title of… what exactly?”

“Princess of the Blue Hive”, Pseudo replied, then blushed. “Actually, I should say ‘Prince’.”

“But don’t you have duties to your hive, people to take care of?”

Pseudo looked at me sadly.

“My mother is getting old… too old. I was born late, after most of the drones had died off, with the remaining were sterile”, her eyes were filled with pain.

“My mother only has a few days left and she told me to seek help from the ponies, they were the last things we wanted to meet but… we’re desperate. We need help!”

I turned away from Pseudo’s eyes.

“So why help me? Shouldn’t you ask Celestia for help, directly?”

“M-my mother told me that helping a pony or someone with the ponies would give me a chance to plead my case.” She turned her eyes to the ground. 

“Also the null problem affects us too, changelings can’t live without emotion magic.”

Celestia looked at Pseudo sympathetically.

“This is a dangerous endeavour, young one. Are you sure you are up to the task?”

Pseudo surprisingly held eye contact with Celestia as she gave her answer.

“Yes. This is something I must do.”

In her blue eyes burned a fierce blue flame of courage.

“If I don’t, it will mean the extinction of my hive.”

> 81 - Bone China Changeling Doll
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes I like to walk out onto bridges and just watch the lifeblood of cities come and go. It’s fairly soothing looking at the steady pace of humans that fed the beast. At night it looked strangely beautiful and I bet from a high enough distance the highways would turn into a bright red and gold stream that washed through the intricate vessels of the land.

Imagine if you weren’t from there, imagine if you were from a time where things like that didn’t matter or were even within their dreams. Imagine if you from a whole different world, where things like that never existed.

That was what it felt like everyday for me. To suddenly find myself deep in an alien environment that was so different that it was beautiful, so strange that it was mesmerising, so out of this world that it was enchanting.

But knowing I was destroying it by existing.

-----

I didn’t really know what to say. My race was on the verge of future annihilation so I thought I knew exactly what Pseudo was feeling at the moment. Only, for her it had happened already. The pain was so plain I was at a loss to say anything even remotely comforting. I just fell into investigation, letting my science side take over.

“But if you are the last of your hive, how will you save it?” I asked tentatively, the cold touch of pity welling in the depths of my heart. 

Pseudo’s eyes lost their intensity and a flustered blueness crept into her cheeks. Her wings fluttered a little as she turned to Celestia.

“We need a stallion”, she croaked, her eyes wavering.

Celestia didn’t look surprised, as I had expected. She looked sad instead.

“I’m sorry. I can guarantee your safety and freedom but I cannot pledge a stallion without first asking them”, she looked away. “It would be wrong to force them, no matter how noble the cause.”

I’ve seen Pseudo timid and courageous, shy and muted, but I have never seen her so furious.

“My Hive ends with me! My brood dies with me! My changelings are doomed to extinction! How could you be so callous?”

Celestia only looked on stoically, her eyes revealing only suggestion of tears.

“I’m sorry”, she repeated. “It is not my decision to make. You will have to ask each stallion in turn.”

Pseudo snorted in a rare display of impolite indignation.

“You know as well as I that that will never happen.”

Celestia bowed her head in sorrow.

“I know, little one, I know…”

Pseudo stood there for a few moments before stomping out.

I looked at Celestia feeling the urge to give her a stroke on her back, but I snatched my fingers away at the last moment. My heart stopped for a few beats when I saw the torn look on her face when I stopped.

“I understand why you are right, Celestia, just give it some time, we’ll find a solution”, I spoke to her in consolation.

“I will go after her, you are probably not who she will want to see right now.”

Celestia nodded, with tears finally flowing.

I headed for the double doors mechanically, my mind in a fuzz but stopped when Celestia’s voice called back to me.

“Even as years go by, these things never get any easier”, she admitted in a quiet voice.

“In a way I’m glad”, I responded not turning back.

“If it was ever easy for you, I think I would hate you.” 

I felt a small bubble of mirth spring from deep within me.

“Be glad your heart is still as big as your age”, I laughed, closing the door behind me.

I heard a weak chuckle fade behind me as I chased after a broken changeling princess.

-----

Gruff tapped his claws on the wooden tabletop, his gaze fixed steadily on the map. The map was a cheap copy that could be purchased at any cartographer for a mere three bits but the information on it were more important to Gruff than any amount of bits.

Dotted along boundaries, caves, forests, hills, valleys and mountains, were small red markers that followed a strange pattern that only Gruff could see. Beneath the surface of Equestria was roiling political and underground current that swept beyond the borders of the pony nations and lodged firmly in all the sapient cultures of this world.

Gruff growled, sensing the movement of his opponents but lacking the power to stop the inevitable. All he could do was remain seated on his cobweb, subtly tipping the scales of power so that the world wouldn’t be plunged into eternal chaos. Chaos that would make the years of the draconequus seem like a heartfelt children’s tale.

Gael interrupted his brooding thoughts.

“Sir, we’re ready”, she announced, giving an appraising once over for the tired diamond dog.

Gruff gave a grunt of acknowledgement that sounded suspiciously like a dog’s growl. He absently toyed the edges of the map.

“I’ll be there in a moment”, he finally replied, his eyes unfocused.

Gael shrugged and retreated into the lounge room, where the others sat waiting.

“Come on Gruff!” an impatient voice yelled. “I’m itching for some action!”

Gael gave Solid a warning look.

“Sir has told me he will be out in a moment. Calm yourself, pony.”

Solid gave vent an annoyed breath.

“Whatever featherbrains, I’m ready to get this show on the road!”

Hardy gave a snort and held back the incensed griffon before she could tear the recalcitrant pony into tiny pony pieces.

“Ease there”, he whispered, his look a little sad. “Solid needs this or she’ll break.”

The griffon eyed the hard stallion that was unexpectedly nice to the rambunctious mare. Gael had only known Solid for a few days but already she was getting under her skin. She lost a friend to be sure, but boo hoo, everygriffon here has lost a friend… it was nothing new.

“If that mare keeps to herself and stops insulting Sir, I will let it go”, she growled, pushing Hardy to the side. Hardy accepted the ultimatum and trotted over to Solid to have a few words.

I felt the unwelcome tingle of foreboding creep up my arms, but I held back.

Gruff finally came from the room, loading his backpack with an assortment of goods that clinked and clanked as he walked over. His massive body seemed to keep the pony-and-a-half sized storage canvas sitting quite comfortably on his broad shoulders.

Lightning whistled, impressed but asked the question that was on half the minds in the room.

“That’s pretty astounding Gruff, but do you really need all that?”

Gruff eyed the young stallion, giving a sneaky grin.

“We’ll need everything for where we’re going”, he announced, drawing curious looks all around.

“And where are we going?” asked Gael with a faint trace of anticipation.

“The Emerald Ents”, Gruff replied, with a wicked grin.

“Oh good”, Solid shot back. “I always wanted to die in style.”

> 82 - Draconian Law
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sharp was old and tired. Dragons may be immortal in some senses but they were still vulnerable to the ravages of time. Unlike most of the mortal beings, dragons were born gods, bestowed upon them the power and lifetimes that made them higher tier existences capable of altering the world. Dragons only got more powerful with age but the fact that they were such a revered existence, made the young ones rash and cocky and ignorant of the fact that dragons were still mortal in the physical sense, like alicorns.

To the average pony, a fully-grown dragon would instil a sense of awe, wonder and fear. The elder dragons liked to keep their size and hoard large, succumbing to the greed that plagues the ancient dragon instinct. Sharp was one of the few that were truly ascended, a dragon that had shed the mortal coil and its accompanying vices to think upon higher things.

It sounded arrogant, it sounded elitist, it sounded prideful and conceited but to Sharp, it was just a fact of life to her. Her age empowered, her strength undivided but her mind was heavy with carnal facts and knowledge that dragged anchors through her now sluggish thought processes. What had driven her years ago had faded into obscurity. What she had hungered for had lost its taste. Her needs had become wants and she no longer could find joys in the passions that so engaged her before.

Even her most coveted craft left the bitter taste of the ashes of her traitorous guild members. Her pride and joy was nothing but a broken accord and a violated tradition that sunk their fangs into her heart and left nothing but a hollow space.

She ached for something to aspire to and she was on the verge of a crisis.

She knew what was happening to her but it was a trial that she would have to face alone.

For every immortal knew that the greatest enemy they would face was not the physical mortality but the mental one.

For immortals feared boredom the most.

-----

I heard that morals were constructed from values gathered from the need to survive. Life was preferable to death. Murder was therefore wrong. Treating others how you wanted to treat yourself was a better world to live in than where everyone had the right to attack each other indiscriminately. But what if you took away the mortal aspect of it all? You lived forever. You never had a need to be productive so being lazy was no longer immoral. Responsibility faded away, time always provided eventually.

I think this is what Celestia feels in a small sense of the way.

The longer you live, the harder it is to discern right from wrong when the examples you have been met with blur into lines of indistinct wavy colours.

If I ever lived that long it wouldn’t take me long to go insane. Heck even living for forty years make people go insane. Who was I to judge?

It was just a passing thought.

-----

I was tracking down Pseudo, asking passing guards where the changeling princess went. She was a hard-to-miss figure so I quickly caught up to her, seeing her disappear around a corner.

I skidded to a stop seeing nothing but a maid and a corridor.

I walked up to the maid.

“Excuse me, but you haven’t happened to see a changeling come around?”

“Y-yes I think it went that way”, she replied, giving me a shaky curtsey.

“Thanks, Pseudo”, I replied, heading off in the direction she pointed in.

“N-no problem! Wait. Oh drone fangs!” the maid stuttered as her disguise failed.

“H-how could you tell?” she asked, giving me a curious look.

I laughed, turning back to see the changeling princess standing there awkwardly.

“Oh, it’s how you talk, it’s very unique to you. That and coupled with the fact that you would have no time to traverse the distance of the corridor without me at least spotting you”, I explained, beaming triumphantly.

Pseudo muttered something I couldn’t quite catch but I knew it was probably something I didn’t want to hear. I was surprised she could be so vindictive. I should probably be a little more careful.

“Okay Pseudo you have to calm down”, I told her giving her a look that brooked no argument.

“Uhm, okay sure.” She leant against the wall in resignation.

My gaze softened as I rubbed my arm self-consciously.

“Look, we’ll find a way to save your hive and the world.” I gave a teasing smile for the last part. Pseudo gave me a weak grin at that.

“No need to place so much pressure on yourself. If it makes you feel any better, Celestia feels awful about this and not much can make that big old sun goddess tearful. Your story touched her and I think she will make every effort to help.”

Pseudo gave me a distraught look.

“I know that she wants to help me and I’m sorry for snapping at her like that. It’s just that… I’m hideous compared to other ponies but the ponies are the only hope for me.”

I had a nagging doubt in my mind.

“What about this uh, Chrysalis character, could that be of any help? You’re both changelings right?”

Pseudo gave me a look of such fury that I involuntarily took a step back.

“No! For a chance to wipe out another competing changeling hive? She’d jump at the opportunity to end me!”

I frowned, feeling a little stupid and ignorant for suggesting it. Pseudo sighed and gave me a smile.

“Sorry, you didn’t know. I know you’re trying to help me but I’m a tough shell to crack”, she joked weakly. I couldn’t laugh at that, it was just so strained right now.

“Pseudo, I-“ she interrupted me, giving me a small hug that went around my thighs.

“Don’t worry about it”, she said giving me a determined look. “Like you said, we’ll figure it out somehow.”

I could only nod to that.

"Okay, Pseudo but I'll keep trying."

> 83 - Kindness Cuts Deeper than Cruelty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ever since I was born I always wondered about the purpose of things. I don’t really know how to convey this in an eloquent way but I pondered about what makes something, something. For example, what is the purpose of a tree? Was it to be pleasing to look upon? Of course not! A tree will still be a tree even if there were others not there to see it. Was it to survive? Maybe. But what was the point to survival? You live, you breed, you die and then what? Nothing.

It was these kinds of dark thoughts that swirled in my mind that gave me the heebie-jeebies. This kind of existentialist crisis that stops functioning and turns people mad. Insects don’t get depressed. Bacteria don’t get depressed. Intelligence dictates how much you think about your own existence. If you think about it, how much worse will it be if you had a limitless amount of intelligence?

How much worse would it be to become a god?

Perhaps, I would soon find the answer.

-----

Sharp gnashed her teeth scouring the mountains habitually for any signs of disturbance.

This far north, there was precious little but tundra and stony peaks but that didn’t deter Sharp from pursuing her ultimate goal. The icy cold wind barely registered through the burning heat that radiated through her draconian body.

A glimmer beckoned her from the peripherals of her sight and she felt a shiver of anticipation flick through her tail.

She landed with a thump next to the startled pony.

“Thank Celestia you saw my signal!” he babbled shrilly. Sharp felt his voice grating against her ears unpleasantly.

Sharp regarded the curious pony with an expression of dissatisfaction. This was not what she was looking for.

“What are thou doing so far from civilised boundaries, pony?” she demanded, fixing the nervous stallion with a glare.

“Well, to be honest I wasn’t expecting one of your kind to be here”, he replied, his voice taking on a malicious quality.

Sharp felt a tinge of unease flicker down her spine, the situation was feeling all-to-familiar.

No, she though frantically, as black flames engulfed the wickedly grinning pony.

“Ah yes, Sharp. Remember me?” he cackled inanely as the fire bore a terrible heat, greater than even a dragon could withstand.

Sharp felt her scales start to sizzle against the unprotected flesh beneath. Her mouth opened in agony but no sound would come out. Her world was filled with unbearable pain.

I can’t hold on, I can’t hold on, the pain… it’s ah-Ah-AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Sharp woke up with a roar that shattered the silence of the forest. Birds exploded from nearby trees in a frantic bid to escape. Sharp’s ragged breathing was the only sound in the gathering silence left behind from the lingering after-echoes of her ferocious bellow.

Her heart slowed from a maddening rush to the easy beat of a normal sinus rhythm as her fears slowly subsided.

I had not had that dream for a long time… she thought to herself, disturbed.

The touch of an End Flame cannot be ignored for long.

Sharp shook her head with a whiplashing motion.

No! she angrily slammed a clawed limb down. There is too much to do without reflecting on the past.

She gathered herself up and launched herself into the skies.

-----

Pseudo and I headed back towards the throne room. I got lost a few times before Pseudo threw up her hooves and asked a guard pony for directions that guard glared suspiciously at the changeling until I came along. Apparently, I’m now well known around here so they just assumed I was on princess business since I was practically accompanied by royalty all the time.

I winked at Pseudo, as the guard cheerfully gave me directions.

The mare rolled her eyes at me before leading me back to the throne room. I considered turning on my Synch and letting it map out the place but I got the feeling I wouldn’t have much time to do that anyway. Besides, there were no satellites to sync up a global map so I would only get vague local map designations.

When we came back I found that Day Court had already been in session so it was either wait for Celestia to finish Day Court or become one of the petitioners. I growled under my breath. 

Stupid princess running a stupid country, I thought to myself darkly. I thought about waiting but I suddenly had an idea.

Maybe Luna was around? She would probably have a good idea on what to do and I was curious as to what exactly she was up to, running off like that. Besides, Luna would let Celestia know of any recent developments, right?

“Pseudo, you don’t happen to know where Luna is?” I scratched my head, wondering where the princess would be.

Pseudo gave a pony-like shrug.

I sighed, waving over a guard by the door politely.

“Hi there, you wouldn’t happen to know where Princess Luna would be?” I asked the guard. The stallion considered the request with a wingtip to the face. I waited patiently as he finally shook his head. I sighed and thanked him, leading Pseudo away. Yeah it wouldn’t be that easy.

We wondered throughout the halls until I met Prince Blueblood.

“Oh hello there”, he greeted us. “I see you make excellent friends.”

I smiled, gesturing towards Pseudo.

“This is Pseudo, a changeling princess from the Blue Hive”, I introduced, flicking my hand forward to encourage Pseudo to introduce herself.

“H-hi!” she squeaked. I rolled my eyes.

“She’s a bit shy”, I apologised on her behalf, giving Pseudo a nudge with my leg. She stayed behind me.

Blueblood laughed at that.

“Ah, no problems, dear fellow. That explains why the palace isn’t in an uproar. It wouldn’t do well to have Chrysalis returning.” He consulted a pocket watch. “It is good to see you, but unfortunately I haven’t the time to catch up with you, please excuse me.”

He sauntered down the hall as Pseudo and I mumbled a goodbye.

Hmm I would have thought he would stick around longer to talk with Pseudo, there may be pressing matters, I thought to myself, moving along the hallway. I spotted a familiar midnight-blue ephemeral mane.

“Luna!” I called down the hall.

Luna looked at me sparingly before barking a few orders to the assembled group of guards. I couldn’t hear what she had said but I caught words like ‘statue’ and ‘move’. She shrugged at me apologetically from the distance before disappearing with the contingent of guards down a side passage. I just stood there gaping. Did she just ignore me?

What makes moving a statue so important?

Pseudo beckoned me with a hoof, gesturing to her muzzle. I knelt down as she whispered into my ear.

“Uhm, I heard her talking about moving a statue in the Royal Canterlot Gardens”, she murmured in a low voice. It was so soft I almost couldn’t make it out.

“Heh, Pseudo you’re going to have to speak a little louder next time, you’re quieter than a mosquito at night”, I told her.

Pseudo cheeks flamed a blue hue again as she nodded silently in acquiescence. She shuffled her hooves.

“Uhm, so what now?” she asked me. Oh right, the plan to consult Luna just fell through.

“We have time to burn, why don’t we visit the city of Canterlot?” I offered, giving a grandiose bow.

Pseudo giggled and followed me as we went out to explore to wonders of modern Canterlot.

-----

I was perhaps five steps from the main gate when I suddenly smacked my forehead.

“Ah! Snap!”

Pseudo looked at me in inquiry, her tattered wings flared in shock at my sudden outburst.

“Sorry”, I meekly apologised. “I just realised I have no money. Uhh, bits they call them.”

I held up a hand to Pseudo, stopping the obvious offer with a dismissive wave.

“No, Pseudo we’ll earn these bits through the ancient art of busking”, I told her, with a twinkle in my eye.

This’ll be good.

-----

Pseudo nervously peeked out from between my legs. She had disguised herself as a generic pony filly. I would have scooped her up and hugged her but I resisted, I needed money.

“Come one, come all! See what this amazing technological marvel can do!” I called out to the passers-by as they bustled around the busy marketplace. I saw a few curious ponies approach.

“No magic, no trick, just science! See what this seemingly innocuous circlet can do, be entertained!”

A stallion called out from the small ring.

“What can it do?!” he shouted out to me.

I grinned, fanning my arms wide, getting my showmanship on. Ah, it’s been a while since I did an impromptu presentation. I took a breath.

Just remember what Emilia showed you, I thought to myself.

“It can read minds, it can predict the weat- wait no that’s not very impressive -it can tell if you have health problems, it can translate any text, it can record and show you videos and images of astounding real-life quality and… it can predict the future!”

I held up a warning finger.

“This device is for entertainment uses only, so I’ll demonstrate on entertaining goods”, I flung an arm out towards the crowd.

“So you know there’s no cheating, does anyone have a deck of cards?” I called out to the crowd. The crowd stayed silent for a while before a familiar pink mare waved a hoof.

“I do! I do! Pick me! Pick me!”

My eyes widened in shock. What the heck was Pinkie doing here? I covered my surprise with a snap of my fingers and a dramatic gesture.

“Will the pink mare step forward then”, I called, silently thinking my way through to the appropriate app.

As Pinkie wove her way to the front, I waved an arm out to the crowd.

“I need another volunteer, someone who can shuffle cards, just to be absolutely sure I’m not cheating.”

A young colt bounded forward.

“Oh, can I do it?” he asked sweetly, I nodded giving him a wide grin.

“While this fine young colt- “ I whispered for his name “ -White Cord, is shuffling the cards, I need another volunteer, preferably a unicorn to make sure I’m absolutely not using magic at all”, I said, sweeping my gaze across the assembled equines.

A young yellow-coated unicorn mare, stepped forward.

“I will!” she grinned, stepping up. I nodded towards her appreciatively.

“What is your name, Miss?”

“Sky Light”, she replied, giving me a wide smile.

“Round of applause to Sky Light, everyone”, the crowd stomped their hooves with enthusiasm.

“Okay, for my first act, it will be a simple game of card prediction. I will need, this mare here- “ I gestured to Pinkie “ -sorry what’s your name? Pinkie, alright I need you to select a card while my back is turned, show the card to the crowd and then, holding the card between your hooves, channel as much of your energy into it, thinking positive thoughts. Got it? Okay, let’s begin.”

I turned around and stared at the ceiling, calling back to the crowd.

“Tell me when you’re done Pinkie, when you think you’ve put as much positive energy into the card as possible.”

There was a comfortable silence as Pinkie did as I instructed and called back to me.

“I’m done!” she yelled cheerfully.

“Okay, now put the card back into the deck and shuffle it thoroughly”, I instructed, shifting my feet. After a short while, I heard White Cord call to me.

“Done!” he shouted as I spun around.

“Hmm”, I said as I inspected the deck, I flicked through the cards and quickly selected two cards. The reveal was important.

“Ah, this is difficult, Pinkie you have a lot of positive energy, but it’s mixing in with the other cards” I explained, waving the two cards around. The crowd was enraptured noticing I held the card that pinkie had selected.

I raised the card that Pinkie had not selected high and flicked it to Pinkie, who caught it in her hoof, spectacularly.

“That”, I said. “Is not your card.”

The crowd applauded appreciatively.

“But what’s this? I hear a disappointment from the crowd?”

“Sky Light, did I not use magic?” I asked of her and she shook her head.

The crowd nodded along.

“Then perhaps you would like a show of something vaguely more impressive?”

The crowd gave a few hoots of acknowledgement.

“All right, White Cord, would you mind coming closer?”

I waved my hands mystically above his head.

“You’ve had grains and oats for breakfast this morning, you had milk and it was at around eight thirty. You went to school today, but you came back early because you were feeling sick, your mother is that pony over there- “ I pointed to a mare in the crowd “ -your father is…”

I stopped myself, surprised at what I saw.

“I’m sorry”, I apologised, seeing the tears well in his eyes.

I quickly addressed the rest of the crowd.

“That’s all folks! If you want to get your mind mysteriously read, just come visit me. Sky, any magic there? Alright. Throw some bits if you were entertained, we’ll be right back.”

I turned to Pseudo and gestured for her to come out. She held out a hat as some the ponies watching placed some bits into it.

Where did she get a hat? I looked at Pinkie giving me a wink.

Ah, I see.

Pseudo came back to me the hat filled a halfway full of bits. I was surprised they thought so much of the act. The mentalist act must have been pretty powerful. It was a shame I went too far…

I exited the forensics knot and went back to the main menu, sighing.

I looked at the pink party mare next to me.

“Hey Pinkie, want to do some entertaining?” I asked of her.

Her smile was so wide I thought her head would split in two and explode into rainbows.

“Yes, yes! PARTY STAGE ACT TIME!”

Pseudo gave me a look that said: Really?

I gave her a good-natured shrug.

“It’ll go better, trust me.”

The next couple of hours went a lot more smoothly, apart from the small blip in the first busk, the show went amazingly well and when we were done, the hat(s) were brimming with bits. Pinkie made the show spectacular with fireworks, streamers and even sold some confectionary goods, although I hadn’t seen her with a truck or cart.

At the end of it, we were tired and exhausted but happy, Pseudo looked drained but glad to be here. I shared around the bits we made. Giving Pinkie an appreciative pile for the party goods she contributed. She grinned at me, bouncing on the spot.

“Aww you didn’t have to do that, I was just here for the fun!” she laughed, whilst patting Pseudo on the head. Pseudo scuffed a hoof in embarrassment.

“Hey Pinkie, why are you here anyway, I never got to ask.”

Pinkie put a hoof to her head knocking it a few times. I winced. Wasn’t that painful?

“Oh yuppers! I forgot about that, gottagobye!” the crazy pink mare dashed off, leaving me alone with Pseudo. I shook my head.

“That’s Pinkie for you”, I commented drily. I turned to Pseudo and found her swaying.

She fell on her side.

“Pseudo? Pseudo!”

> 84 - Emotional Code Blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I rushed Pseudo to the castle as fast as I could. With nothing but hats to carry the bits in I gave both to a mare that seemed down on her luck and quickly gathered the unconscious changeling in my arms. I would have to worry about the magic drain later. This was a dire emergency.

The guards waved me through the main gate as I carried Pseudo towards the throne room. I didn’t know if a hospital would help, I didn't even know where the hospital was, but I knew Celestia would know what to do. I bee lined straight to the throne room, the maze of passages flying past as I dodged surprised servants and returning petitioners.

"Out of the way! Coming through!" I belted as I sprinted down the hallway.

The Day Court was just closing so the guards at the entrance to the throne room blocked my entry.

I glared at them. My heart was racing and I gripped Pseudo tighter.

“Let me through!” I demanded harshly, my eyes blazing with need. I was out of breath and wheezing. The guards held my gaze firmly, unfazed, or more likely unimpressed.

“Sorry, sir. Visiting times are over. Please come back to petition another day”, the one on the left replied stoically.

I almost screamed in frustration. You have got to be kidding me!

“Please”, I begged, showing Pseudo. “This is urgent, I need to speak to Princess Celestia!”

The guards wavered a little as they saw the still form of the little filly that Pseudo was disguised as.

“Just send her a message, say it’s from the human and it is an emergency”, I pleaded, a guard almost took an involuntary step towards the door to pass the message but stopped when in a fit of bad timing, Pseudo became wreathed in blue actinic flames.

“Changeling attack!” hissed the guards, drawing out spears and levelling them at us both.

I shook my head frantically.

“No! No! Pseudo is a changeling princess from the Blue Hive! She is under the protection of Celestia and Luna themselves!”

I backed away as they advanced on me. I don’t think dropping the appellation of their rulers was giving them faith. I didn’t know if Pseudo was actually under the princess’ protection but hey I wasn’t going to tell them that.

“Listen to me, send someone, anyone, to alert the princesses, they will vet for me!”

I growled dropping into a defensive stance but I hesitated. I couldn’t take these two on and protect Pseudo at the same time. I probably couldn't take them on when I didn't have Pseudo.

They backed me to the wall and held me there with a glare and a threatening wave of their spears. 

One of the guards addressed the other while still fixing me with a look.

“Buckle, go fetch Kibitz and alert the Captain”, he growled, the tip of the spear held steadily at my chest level.

“Wait!” I called as the stallion retreated to find Kibitz (wait, wasn’t he an ex-convict?) and the captain. “What about the princesses?”

The other guard regarded me contemptuously.

“The princesses will not need to deal with the likes of you. I can see through your plan. You’re going to get close to the princesses and ambush them!”

If it weren’t for the gravity of the situation I would have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

“I know you’re doing your job but there are lives at stake! Haven’t you seen me with the princesses before? I was just walking in with Luna today”, I reasoned, my voice becoming desperate as I felt the warmth from Pseudo drop a little.

Temperature dropping? I didn't have to be a doctor to know that being able to feel her temperature drop was a deadly sign.

“No, no, no, Pseudo!” I exclaimed, bending down and laying her on the ground. The guard started forward, thinking I was about to try something, but I gave him a glare of such intensity that he hesitated.

Was it me? Was I draining the last vestiges of Pseudo’s life? I- I don’t know if I could live with myself if that was the case. In the very short time I’ve known Pseudo she’d grown on me and to heck I was going to let her die with her dreams here! There was so much of her young life ahead of her.

“Pseudo, hang on”, I murmured, eyeing the guard. “Help is on the way.”

I whispered encouraging words, not knowing if they would reach Pseudo in the few minutes that the guard and I tensely waited through.

He and I shot glances at each other in a hostile stalemate. I didn't even want to acknowledge him.

I heard the dissonant sound of clopping hooves at a mad pace and I looked up to see Kibitz come galloping down the hallway with a white stallion I didn’t recognise. I felt relieved, at least this was pony that I recognised, he would help, right?

“Kibitz, you have to help me!” I addressed him, starting forward but stopping as the point of the spear once again made its presence known at the nape of my neck. I almost did something rash then but I held back, for Pseudo.

“No need for that, stand down”, the white stallion ordered as the guard reluctantly dropped the spear from my neck.

Kibitz regarded me curiously, glancing between the guard and I.

“You seem to get yourself in all sorts of trouble- ” he glanced at Pseudo, frowning “ –but there’s no time to dwell on the past. Captain, please carry the changeling, gently.”

He looked at me.

“If you will?” he beckoned, not bothering to look if I was following. I chased after his tail as we rapidly made our way through the castle.

“Where are we going?” I asked when I came across an unfamiliar section of the castle.

“Princess Luna’s personal chambers”, Kibitz replied shortly, giving me a sparing glance.

We skidded to a stop outside massive oak double doors. The doors were lined with intricate carvings of moons and stars but I had no eye for the art as I kept glancing at the struggling form of Pseudo.

Kibitz rapped his hoof sharply on the door.

“Come in”, Luna’s voice responded. Before the last words could fade, the doors were flung open and we surprised a supine Luna as she lay on her bed. I was dimly aware of the muted midnight blue theme she had going around the chambers.

“Pseudo”, I croaked, out-of-breath.

The Captain fared a bit better.

“Your Highness, we have found a changeling in a state of emotional starvation”, he reported. I blinked at the Captain.

Luna nodded appreciatively to the Captain. She placed a sensitive ear over Pseudo’s chest carapace. Her eyes widened and I felt a stab of worry twist in my gut.

“Everypony step back, she’s going critical. I need to give her a short magical shot”, Luna commanded, whilst also taking a couple of hoof steps back.

The Captain obeyed immediately while Kibitz and I belatedly backed away from Pseudo. I felt my heart racing as Luna’s horn charged, giving Pseudo a magical charge. A blue bolt of spectral charge flowed from Luna’s horn as Pseudo took a deep shuddering breath. I hadn’t even noticed that she had stopped breathing and a prickling feeling of foreboding crept up my arms before I could dispel it.

It’s going to be fine. Pseudo will be fine, won’t she?

Pseudo sighed, her eyes fluttering, Luna’s frown and flared wings were all the body signs I needed to know that the situation had gotten more serious.

Luna spoke to Kibitz without shifting her gaze.

“Kibitz, I need you to deliver three thaumic pulses of ten degree strength at the three swirlian nodes on my command”, she ordered, as the unicorn nodded and positioned himself just below Pseudo’s belly.

“Ready?” Luna called out as Kibitz affirmed it with a sharp grunt, his horn glowing.

“One, two, three, pulse!” Luna yelled as Kibitz and Luna sent three pulses to Pseudo’s chest and somewhere at the base of her wings. Pseudo jerked and flopped, her muscles contracting spasmodically. Her wings fluttered but died down. Pseudo still wasn’t breathing.

“Thou grimside-“ Luna began but eyed me desperately. She continued to ‘feed’ energy into Pseudo while narrowing her eyes, looking as if she were mulling over something.

“Human, come here”, she called to me and I rushed to her side.

“W-what?” I stuttered, unsure of what Luna had in mind. Whatever it was I knew I wouldn’t like it.

“We’re going to need a negative energy sink. If we had the equipment and pre-cast spells we could artificially create one however, you may work at a pinch”, she explained succinctly, her teeth gritting at the last word as she fed more power. Pseudo gasped, but her breathing remained agonal.

I tensed but set my jaw in determination, feeling my heart rattling in my chest. This would be life or death for Pseudo. I will do what I can.

“Just tell me what to do”, I told her, positioning myself near Pseudo.

Luna nodded.

“Good. On my mark, Kibitz and I will give another pulse. At precisely the last pulse you must grip her head and then immediately her horn for at least three seconds”, she gasped, sinking down as she strained to keep the flow.

“Quickly now”, she urged, as I scrambled to get to Pseudo’s head.

“Okay!” I called back.

“One, two, three, pulse!” Luna yelled once again.

Actinic light flooded the area as the three pulses traced the same route to Pseudo’s body. Her body jerked again and on the third pulse I gripped her head.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I heard her scream piercingly, her hoof connecting solidly with my jaw as magic flowed immediately from her nodes and directly through her head. I shifted my grip to her horn, ignoring the tears that reflexively pooled in my eyes, blurring the scene.

Pseudo’s horn glowed a bright blue-white that blinded me beyond the blurriness and I saw nothing for a short while. Not knowing if it was the third second or the fifth I staggered back, feeling a wave of heat pass through me.

I was unprepared for the shockwave of pressurised wind that knocked me from the floor. I saw Kibitz and Luna reflexively erect a barrier protecting them and the Captain standing behind Luna, but the wave caught me broadside as I was flung across the room.

I had the glorious feeling of weightlessness that lasted too short before I felt a piercing pain to my back and head and I flopped down in a heap on the stone floor.

My last thoughts before blackness enveloped me were of Pseudo.

I hope she’s okay… I thought sluggishly.

> 85 - Cringeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I awoke feeling like a ton of bricks had come crashing down on two parts of my body. I felt a pain lance through my back as I shifted and a dull throbbing within my skull. A deep rushing roar permanently filled my hearing, which should have been a cause for concern but I felt strangely at peace.

I tried opening my mouth to moan pitifully but my jaw protested the point by jabbing me repeatedly, giving me the uncomfortable feeling of pain in both my jaw AND my ear for some reason.

Ow, ow, ow!

Yeah, make that a ton of bricks on three parts of my body.

My eyes wandered around the room, settling on a small black form curled up at the side of my bed in a chair too big for her. I smiled, instantly regretting it (actually not really it was just so great that Pseudo was here!) when pain shot through my face again. I grunted and Pseudo immediately jolted then sat up.

“You’re okay!” she yelped, bounding up. She was about to give me a hug but held back, unsure.

“Oh”, I croaked, ignoring the pain in my determination to say something. I carefully minced my words, so that it came out as cheerful as I could manage. “You found out you can’t touch me?”

“That’s okay”, I continued, giving her a lopsided grin, forcing it despite the lancing pain. “I’m sorry I can’t give you a hug.”

Pseudo shook her head vigorously, sending her wispy blue mane whipping around her head.

“No!” she squeaked, placing her hooves on my left hand. “It’s not like that! They said since I wasn’t connected to the Tree, I wouldn’t be affected by the null field... I was just afraid of hurting you.”

She gave me a timid smile.

“I actually wanted to thank you for helping me”, she whispered, giving me a gentle hug.

“Thank you”, she sighed, nuzzling the side of my cheek. She pulled back, blushing.

I gave her a worried look.

“Actually, here I thought I was causing your death… what happened?”

Pseudo gazes nervously at the ground.

“It has, somewhat to do with you- “ she quickly waved her hooves in front of her in negation when my gaze fell “-n-no, it wasn’t your fault!”

She took a deep breath and composed herself.

“Actually, it wouldn’t normally be a problem, being around you. Usually I can pull emotions in the ambient air and store it but if I touch you or I’m extremely close to you I can’t really do that. All I need to do is walk away from you a bit and I can get a decent meal.”

Pseudo cast her eyes down in shame. Her wings flittered.

“I, uhm, was really hungry, I didn’t keep up with my passive feeding. So I… tried pulling some emotions from you, just to see what you felt about me”, Pseudo admitted, she played with the bed sheets next to her hooves.

“When I tried pulling emotions from you I forgot you were a special case and my magic got pulled instead.”

She paused, taking another deep breath to steady herself. I waited patiently for her to continue, unsure of what I was supposed to feel.

“Changeling magic is a type of free magic, it’s linked partially to our souls. So when it started draining me, it affected my soul and misaligned it with my body. My physical body couldn’t handle it and I went into magical arrest”, she explained, scrunching up the bed sheets beneath her hooves.

“Okay”, I replied, wincing. I wasn’t really getting the whole picture but this was something important to Pseudo, even if I didn’t fully understand it.

“Y-you don’t get it!” she stammered, frustrated. “O-Oh, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

She grumbled to herself for a few moments before continuing.

“It’s just that…” she squirmed. “I’msorryfortryingtotakeyouremotionswithoutpermission!”

I blinked at her, giving her a blank look.

“Oh, why is this so hard?”

Pseudo gave me a meek look.

“I’m sorry for trying to take your emotions without your permission”, she enunciated slowly, hanging her head.

I shrugged, but cut it short when I felt my back act up.

“It’s okay Pseudo”, I replied, trying to ignore the excessive pain welling from my jaw.

“But if I hadn-“

I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

“Pseudo just sit here and accept my forgiveness”, I mumbled, feeling tired and drawn.

Pseudo obediently stayed where she was, not saying anything. After a few moments of silence, my mind started drifting and I was about to enter the deep embrace of sleep.

Before I drifted off, I heard Pseudo one last time.

“Thank you”, she breathed, as I drifted off to my dreams.

-----

The second time I awoke I was feeling much better. A nurse had been there was I blearily clambered my way back to the land of the living and I found out she was administering me a type of horse tranquiliser that numbed pain. I was glad that it worked just as well on humans, but I was a bit leery of what side effects there may be.

“Oh, you’re awake”, I turned to see Luna giving me a relieved look from the side of my bed.

“Hey there, Luna”, I greeted casually. Those painkillers worked really well for my jaw.

Luna smiled at me, clapping her hooves together.

“Splendid! Thou worried me for a moment when thou had passed out from helping young Pseudo”, she remarked, slipping into the older syntax. I realised she was really worried about me.

“Aww that’s sweet Luna, you’re a pretty cool mare”, I babbled inanely.

Hang on, that’s not what I wanted to say at all.

Luckily, Luna didn’t seem like she took offence.

“I see Equestrian medicine may have been stronger than your body can take”, she commented drily.

We both chuckled at that, my head lolling.

She excused herself, seeing me blearily try and stay awake.

“I can see you are tired”, she spoke gently. “I will see you later then, when you are feeling of fit health.”

I wanted her to stay to talk a bit more and maybe find out what happened to my Synch, which I couldn’t see anywhere, but I couldn’t move my tired muscles and Luna had left quickly, closing the room door with a small click.

My eyelids betrayed me and I fell into another sleep.

Being injured wasn’t fun.

> 86 - Earthly Matters
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I sat in my bed listening to the faint, but steady, beat of the heart monitor from the next room, my thoughts drifted to Earth. I wondered how much time I would have left to stop the impending doom that threatened my world. I wondered if I would be able to do anything at all.

I didn’t like reality, if that indeed could describe what was happening now. So many improbabilities, things that should have been impossibilities, coincided to produce this unique and baffling set of circumstances. So long I’ve been under the tether of Synchrony, then the null and then Black Box that I’ve forgotten what it meant to live a normal life. In the two years that had gone pass, nothing felt the same.

If I hadn’t been living a normal life, did that make me normal? Or did that make me something else?

I didn’t like where that was heading.

Healing was slow and steady. Plans for visiting Chronus had been put to a screeching halt until I had gotten better. Pseudo came in and told me how the conferring or consecration of the title worked. I was a little worried at how any of this worked. From what I gathered, those who visited Chronus had to be proven worthy of a visit. I thought that was elitist dung.

If I were a god I’d at least take some time to listen to the complaints of the mortal realm, but then again I’d probably listen to an endless rabble of petitioners and people expecting me to solve all their problems, when most of the time they could have done so themselves. I started, realising that this was exactly how Celestia’s Day Court was run. Huh.

In any case, Pseudo gave me a low down on the aspects of challenging the immortal deities in charge of bestowing immortality. It sounded a bit crazy, with all the gods and the mechanics of becoming a god. This was so farfetched I had trouble swallowing it. Pseudo explained to me that I wasn’t really there to become a god. I was merely there to ask for a favour, to strike a bargain with Chronus. I felt relieved at that, I mean, how much more responsibility could I handle before I just snapped? Not much more I can tell you that.

I stopped Pseudo when she mentioned something strange.

“Wait, so I get the title and you exercise the power, right?” I tried to clarify, scratching my head.

Pseudo nodded.

“Wouldn’t that mean that we are both challenging the immortal guardian/guard things?”

Pseudo nodded again, her wings flittering a bit.

“Absolutely not”, I ground out.

Pseudo gave me a strange look.

“Why not?”

I sighed, rubbing my temples with the tips of my fingers. My jaw was fine but I still had a headache when I spoke too loudly.

“I was this close to losing you a few days ago. I don’t want that to happen again”, I spoke quietly, giving Pseudo a look that conveyed my concern.

Pseudo pouted, then her expression cleared.

“Oh, you think we’re going to fight the guardians? Oh, no, no, no!” she hastily corrected me, bringing a holey hoof to her mouth.

“We just have to answer a few questions, that’s all”, she continued, giving me a weak smile.

“Oh good.” I sagged, relieved. I didn’t even know I was so tense. “I was worried that we’d be facing a huge battle. Now we can just visit, get my answers and go.”

Pseudo fixed me with a stare that could have melted glass.

“Make no mistake, these tests are not easy… and no less life-threatening”, Pseudo intoned, glaring at me as if to dare me to make a flippant remark. I remained silent.

Pseudo chose the weirdest times to become aggressive. Maybe that’s how she acted when she was worried about someone. Aww, Pseudo!

I hugged her suddenly as she let out a surprised squeak.

“Ah- wha-“ she yelped struggling in my bear hug.

“Pseudo, don’t be so serious. It’ll be fine. Besides it’s not as if we’re going right now. We can just relax until I get better”, I said, stroking Pseudo. She relaxed under my ministrations. These ponies really remind me of my dog.

A tremendous bang from the doorway startled the two of us. I saw an indignant Twilight standing there, her horn smoking.

“Then again, I think I spoke too soon”, I groaned as Twilight stomped towards us.

-----

Gruff angled the map, placing another marker at their current position.

“Ready”, Gael called out, holding a wire in her claw.

“Solid?” Gruff shouted out towards the tree line. He heard the snap of twigs and some pony curses that stuck to Solid like tree sap.

Solid stumbled out of the brushes to the left of Gruff, collapsing in a heap.

“Ready”, she grumbled, not bothering to shift her position, even though a rock was sticking into her side painfully.

Gruff nodded.

“Take half an hour and then get ready to move to the next point”, he growled, consulting a diagram from his backpack.

Lightning and Hardy stood at the lookouts trying to spot any movement that would give away potential intruders.

“Gruff, I see something!” Hardy yelled, spotting a black shape among the sky. He crouched, prepared to launch himself to intercept the shape.

Gruff scanned the sky at the area Hardy’s pointing hoof indicated at. He face broke out into a wide smile as a roar split the sky.

“Don’t worry, she’s a friend”, he replied, as Hardy relaxed.

“Thank Celestia!” Hardy growled, going back to a ready stance. “I don’t think I could take on a dragon.”

-----

Twilight stomped over to my bed, never once taking her eyes off me. It was a little disconcerting and slightly disturbing to say the least.

“I come back to Canterlot and I find out you’ve been hospitalised again!” she yelled, her nostrils flared in anger. I shrunk back into the hospital bed sheets.

“There’s actually a good explanation for this”, I replied in a small voice, eyeing Pseudo.

“Oh I know all about Pseudo but that’s not what I’m mad about.”

She paused considering her next statement.

“No, that’s not what I’m only mad about”, she growled her voice low.

Twilight stomped a hoof, flicking her head to get rid of a strand of mane that had fallen over her eye.

“I heard you were visiting Chronus! Without even taking me along!”

How did she- oh, Celestia you couldn’t resist telling Twilight?

“A-Actually, I was going to ask-“ I began but Twilight rounded on me, giving me a glare that could have destroyed worlds if glares had physical power.

“Don’t lie to me, don’t you dare lie to me right now”, she growled, her voice becoming suspiciously calm and collected as she spoke.

“I’m coming with you”, she declared, exiting the room. She didn’t even give me time to respond as she stalked out of the room and slammed shut the door. An annoyed nurse watched her leave as she reopened the door holding an I.V. bag in her telekinetic grip.

I sighed feeling like I’ve been run over by a car.

I gave Pseudo an apologetic look.

“By the way, have you met Twilight?” I laughed weakly.

Pseudo just looked back at me with the wide eyes she had on her face the whole brief, but unpleasant meeting that just happened.

“Uhm”, she started but stopped, getting a perplexed look on her face.

“Are all ponies this crazy?” she asked innocently and I couldn’t help letting a weak chuckle escape me.

“Only the ones I seem to meet”, I replied, sinking my head back onto the pillow. My head was throbbing again.

“Ugh, Pseudo, wake me up in a year”, I groaned, shutting my eyes. Pseudo gave an affirmative hum as she hopped onto my bed to sleep with me. I patted her on the back.

“Seems like our expedition crew has gotten a whole lot bigger”, I murmured, as I let sleep take me once again.

-----

The next few days, things got a lot better. The doctors were worried about a suspected spinal injury but after some prodding with improvised sticks (ponies were ordered by the princesses not to touch me) they concluded that it wasn’t likely. I didn’t want to stress the joint so I obediently stayed in bed until most of the pain faded away, giving a few tentative stretches to work out the kinks of being bed ridden for nearly a week.

Every time I suppressed a grimace of pain, Pseudo would give me a guilty look and I tried my hardest to wave away her concerns. Usually a pat on the head or a small hug would be enough to calm her down. She admitted that the only hugs she had ever gotten were from the drones back at the hive or her mother. Every hug I gave her apparently reminded her of the hive back home, so I was happy to continue giving her the support.

Now that Pseudo was more used to the environment of the Canterlot castle, she began to show an interest in the myriad of decorations and artwork that dotted the castle. She confessed that she was interested in pony architecture and artwork, having only seen changeling-style works of art. I walked behind her in a hunch as she would dash around babbling about how different the masterpieces at Canterlot were to the great changeling achievements at her hive.

We came across a Picasso-like painting, depicting sunflowers. It looked similar, yet different. Pseudo cocked her head, pointing to the flowers.

“I’ve never seen those types of flowers before”, Pseudo commented, giving me a questioning look. I shrugged.

“I don’t know what they’re called here, but back on my world they are called sunflowers”, I explained, leaning against a nearby pedestal for a vase, for support.

“Why are they called that?” Pseudo asked, confused. Her expression cleared.

“Oh right they do look a little like the sun, with the yellow petals and big circle.”

I chuckled.

“Close. I don’t know about this world, but on my world sunflowers followed the sun, angling their faces to the sun as it moved along the sky.”

Pseudo looked at me strangely, her hoof tapping the floor twice.

“You said it again.”

“Said what again?”

“’My world’. Aren’t you from this world?”

I smiled faintly.

“Not quite”, I responded sadly, feeling a pang of loneliness well up in my chest.

“Where I come from is from a far off place, farther than I can reach right now.”

Pseudo regarded me sadly, her expression turning melancholic.

“I hope you can get back”, she comforted me sweetly, giving my leg a rub.

I swallowed back an unexpected lump in my throat and rapidly blinked away a few tears.

Dang, I thought I was over this! I thought to myself angrily, dashing away the offending liquid in my eyes.

Pseudo frowned at me, nudging me with her hoof.

“A-Are you crying?” she queried timidly.

“N-No”, I replied, flicking away a few drops. “My eyes just feel like they’re on fire.”

“On fire?”

I nodded.

“The memories of the past burn, so my body is trying to drown it out with manly tears.”

“So you’re crying.”

“… No.”

She kicked me in the shin.

“Yes you are! Admit it!”

I threw up my hands.

“Okay, okay! I just remember a bit about home, that’s all and it made me tear up a bit, I’m fine. Don’t worry.”

Pseudo gave vent an annoyed breath.

“You keep telling everyone that but you never take the same advice yourself”, she huffed, starting down a side passage.

“And what is that?” I shot back a little irritated.

“That you’re ‘fine’ and ‘don’t worry’. When you say that it makes me more worried.”

I flung out a hand to bar her path.

“Pseudo, what do you mean?”

She growled something under her breath that I couldn’t understand.

“Think about it this way. If I was crying and suddenly tearing up, would you want to know what’s wrong with me?”

“Of course.”

“How about if I told you ‘don’t worry’ and ‘I’m fine’”, she added, sitting down and crossing her hooves in front of her.

I covered my face with my hands with shame.

“You’re right, of course. That was callous of me.”

“You’re right, it was”, she replied walking ahead of me.

“And I’m sorry!” I called back. Pseudo rounded back and gave me a small smile.

“Apology accepted. Next time, tell me what’s on your mind”, she warned, giving me a serious look. I nodded in affirmation.

“All right, Pseudo, all right”, I replied as she darted forward to inspect some other artworks.

She may be younger than me but she’s a heck of a lot more mature, I thought to myself sadly.

Here I was worrying about the future extinction of my race, when Pseudo here has already had those things happen. I clenched my fists. 

I just have to help us both.

-----


I tried looking in my former room for my Synch, but I couldn’t find it. Perplexed, I belatedly started stripping my hospital clothes into my old ones. I turned around to find Pseudo staring at me curiously.

I blushed, feeling my cheeks flame up with an intense heat.

“Ah Pseudo, do you mind waiting outside?” I asked, covering my privates with both of my hands.

She didn’t seem to get it.

“Why?” she inquired, befuddled.

“Uhm, it’s a thing from my world. I need some privacy changing my clothes”, I responded. Pseudo gave me a strange look but trotted out, closing the door behind herself.

“Okay, I’ll be outside if you need me”, she called back timidly. Her flittered nervously, for some reason.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was even holding as she went out of the room. Human or not, she was still a female. I wouldn’t even get changed in front of my dog. Judging eyes and all.

I searched for my old clothes but I couldn’t find them anywhere.

“What the?” I muttered to myself rooting around the drawers.

In one of the drawers were a note and a set of garments that suspiciously looked tailored for a human.

I read the note, noting the seal, which looked like it was a Royal Seal, given the depictions of the sun and moon. I broke the wax, reading the contents.

I realised it was all gobbledegook. Groaning, I had the choice to either don the new clothes or go back into the makeshift hospital gown.

I eyed the shower and called out to Pseudo.

“I’ll be a few minutes, Pseudo just going to take a quick shower!”

I heard Pseudo give me an okay and I quickly gathered the human-looking clothes and dashed into the ensuite. Quickly giving myself a wash down, I ran the water, which felt amazing, and rubbed away at any greasy spots. I spotted some equine shampoo or product and shrugged, using it. It didn’t seem to do any damage or sting or anything so I lathered it over my hair and rinsed it out as fast as I could.

Towelling myself off I looked at the curious garment. It was a ruffled shirt bearing the insignia of Celestia on the back and dark black pants with a dark (presumably made from something other than leather, it just felt like it) belt, with Luna’s insignia on the buckle.

Odd.

I donned the clothes, it felt a tad loose but the material was of excellent quality.

Satisfied, I buttoned up and whipped on the belt, feeling comfortable in proper clothes again. I called in Pseudo and she stood off the side, looking curiously at my new clothes.

“What do you think?” I grinned at her. She smiled warmly back at me.

“You look good. Strange, but good”, she replied honestly. I couldn’t help but chuckle. Yeah fashion was all about taste.

I remembered the letter.

“Hey Pseudo, I can’t read without my Synch, so can you help me out here?” I asked her.

Pseudo didn’t seem to mind, grabbing the letter with her telekinesis, which was the first time I saw it, it was also blue in hue.

She read it out as clearly as she could.

To our favourite resident human,

I snorted. More like your only one. Pseudo smiled at that.

Your clothes and your ‘Synch’ device are with us in the throne room. We thought you might want to come here first and gather your things, but it was important that you make your decision here, without us there to influence you.

For beings with amazing predicting powers they forgot I couldn’t read without the Synch.

Since we know that you cannot read without your Synch-

Gosh darn, they’re good.

-we thought it would be a worthwhile exercise for you to find a pony to help you read it out loud. However I am sure you will ask the changeling princess that always seems to follow you around.

Scratch that, they’re really good at this predicting stuff.

Please come and find us in the throne room at your earliest convenience. Show the guard this letter and they will pass you through.

I looked at Pseudo.

“So now we know where to go next”, I told her cheerfully. She beamed at me as we headed out the door.

Seems like things are starting to look up.

I really wish I could stop thinking like that. 

Then I wouldn't get into half of the trouble.

> 87 - Pseudonyms, Pseudoscience, Pseudorandom Pseudo-carp, Pseudo-extinction and Other Pseudo-Related Words
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a lot of Canterlot castle that I hadn’t seen, even being here for the prodigious length of time that I had. I gathered it was because I was busy but I mostly thought it was because I moped around in my room a lot, instead of exploring the place. Or maybe it was because this place was apparently the nexus of world-shattering bombshells to be dropped and I was a magnet for that kind of bad luck. Either way it was kind of my fault so I didn’t really blame the castle. Didn’t stop me from grumbling though.

Today, I couldn’t be mad at the castle or myself because I was absurdly pleased with the new clothes that Celestia and Luna had apparently gotten made for me. They were light, they were comfortable and it afforded me some pretty nice protection from the small drafts of winds that plagued the castle at random hours in the day. Well, if you build on a mountain, you’re going to get some wind. Pseudo saw my happy disposition and couldn’t help but be meekly swept up in my mirth.

We talked and laughed our way through inane conversation on the way to the throne room and passing nobles, servants and the like gave us strange looks that were either targeting at our rambunctious behaviour or the fact that I wore such strange clothes bearing both Celestia’s and Luna’s insignias.

One noble (at least I assumed he was one) was dressed in a bedazzling set of clothes and hilariously thought I was a new exotic servant in a new uniform.

“Excuse me, would you mind showing me the way to Canterlot gardens?” he had asked with a trace of pomposity, although he was polite about it.

I glanced at the guard behind me who saw my panicked expression and smirked before gesturing with his hoof to give directions via me.

“You first turn left down the end of the corridor-“ I glanced up “-then you go right down that side follow the-“ a puzzled look “-oh, stairs as you head your way to-“ a shrug and a pout “-past? Yep past the-“ another shrug from me “-oh right, the kitchens and straight out past there”, I haltingly replied. The noble nodded at me, though confused at my stuttering actions.

“Thank you good servant, I love the new uniforms they are bringing in, about time I might add”, he replied airily, before cantering down the hallway in what I could only describe as a strut.

When he disappeared around the corner Pseudo laughed at me, before covering her mouth with a hoof when she saw my scowl. She giggled to herself instead and I saw the barely suppressed merriment dancing in her azure eyes.

“Oh come off it you”, I mock-growled as I headed towards the guard who had been kind enough to help me in my plight.

“Thanks uhh-“

“Nicodia, Sir”, the mare replied, giving me an expression that betrayed her obvious enjoyment at my discomforting interaction with the noble.

“Thank you Nicodia. Say, that’s an interesting name you have.”

“It’s from my parents, Sir. They were explorers and found the language of the Onagers and the Ancient Neighs very appealing. Nico meaning ‘peace-keeping’ and dia meaning ‘day’.”

I was surprised at how forthcoming the mare was, all the guards I’ve met were polite but stoic and she was quite talkative and friendly. 

She must have seen my surprise because she immediately added, “Oh, it does get quite boring here, I like to strike up a conversation with anypony but the selection here is… lacking”, she admitted, giving me a sidelong glance.

I decided that since I had a talkative guard here at the moment, I wanted to sate my curiosity about something that had been bugging me the moment I saw these guards.

“You know, I been here for quite some time but I never got down to asking this question…” I started, hoping she’d rise to the bait.

Nicodia nodded giving me an open stance that I took for a go ahead.

“Why do you all look the same?”

Nicodia tilted her head in confusion.

I scratched my head, trying to phrase the question in a more descriptive manner. Pseudo beat me to the punch.

“Uhh, I’ve been wondering about that too”, she spoke up softly. Nicodia started at the ninja-like skills that Pseudo exhibited.

“What? Oh, you mean the armour?” she replied, pulling off her helmet. The white-grey coat of the palace guard faded and a rich brown took its place, her mane became a light cobalt blue and her eyes a deep ruby. The pegasus stretched her wings to show me her flank-marking, which had mysteriously appeared.

It looked like a couple of mountains with a river flowing between the peaks… strange.

I gathered, over time that the flank marking of the ponies were a rough indicator of what they did, I should have asked about them earlier of course, but I thought it might be a cultural thing that they could be sensitive about because it never really came up in conversation.

“You have the strangest colours”, I commented drily, as the mare shifted under my gaze. She huffed, putting the helmet back on.

“If you ask me, you have the strangest colours and by colours I mean a lack thereof. Who has black hair and black eyes?”

“Practically everyone on my planet”, I muttered to myself, in a low voice so that the mare couldn’t hear.

Apparently it wasn’t low enough because these ponies have excellent hearing.

“Planet?” she queried, eyes going wide. She leaned forward.

“Do tell!” Nicodia yelped, startling me.

Pseudo tugged at my leg.

“I think we should be going”, she mumbled, eyeing the guard warily.

I nodded.

“As much as I enjoyed this chat, I have a meeting with the princesses to get to. Thanks for your help, I hope we meet again some time.”

Nicodia deflated at that, going back to her post in front of a door.

“Aww, I thought I could pass the time with some interesting conversation.”

The sound of galloping hooves interrupted our farewells as a servant bearing a flank mark of a scroll with wings came dashing around the corner. The tan stallion ignored me, addressing Nicodia.

“You’ve been summoned to the barracks-“ was all I caught until the rest was murmured into Nicodia’s ear in a whisper. Nicodia’s eyes widened.

“Looks like I’ll be getting a new assignment!” she told us cheerfully and started trotting away in what I assumed to be the direction of the barracks.

“See you around!” she parted, kicking up her pace to a half-canter.

“Bye”, I called back belatedly as the excited guard disappeared.

I turned to Pseudo.

“That was interesting”, I remarked, patting Pseudo on the head habitually. Don’t look at me like that. It’s a habit. Plus she’s exactly the right size for that petting.

“I wonder why I always meet the interesting ones.”

Pseudo looked pleased when I petted her. She smiled as we made our way forward to the throne room.

“I think you attract interesting ponies on purpose.”

I gave her my most scandalised look.

“I don’t do it on purpose!”

Pseudo gave me a level look.

“Okay, maybe just a little”, I admitted as she giggled.

-----

As expected on a bright, beautiful day like this, there were many petitioners lined up for Celestia’s Day Court. I admired the princess’ dedication to her subjects, but surely not every pony’s problem had to be resolved by the ancient diarch.

“There’s quite a lot of them”, Pseudo whined as the ponies in the line spotted us approaching and either glared or looked curiously at the two strange creatures.

Because to these ponies... I probably was a little strange.

A pony in the line cringed as we walked past.

Okay, maybe that was an understatement.

The guard pony at the door waved me through to the antechamber as soon as he spotted me. I was surprised to find Twilight already there. She was fiddling with my Synch.

Since the court announcer didn’t say anything as I walked in, the only thing that alerted the occupants of the throne room was the closing of the throne doors. Celestia and Luna smiled at me in welcome but Twilight didn’t seem to pay any heed as she talked about something in relation to my Synch, for the way she was gesturing to it.

She demonstrated levitating it in her grasp and I caught the end of what she was saying and Pseudo and I approached.

“-shows that this circlet isn’t subjected to the same laws as a null being but due to its complexity in structure on such a microscopic level it does have some very interesting properties in magical conduction and resistivity”, she finished with a wide smile.

“Interesting”, I commented right behind of her and I was pleasantly amused when Twilight practically leaped half a metre into the air, startled.

Her cheeks mantled in embarrassment as everyone present chortled in amusement, even Pseudo, who gave a light chuckle.

Celestia welcomed us.

“It is good to see you again, human and changeling princess Pseudo”, she smiled warmly at the both of us. Luna nodded at her side in agreement.

“It is good to see that you are well again, human”, she commented. She eyed the changeling princess.

“I trust you will not attempt anything so reckless the next time”, she warned Pseudo, giving her a disapproving glare. I stepped forward hastily.

“It wasn’t Pseudo’s fault!” I defended, as Pseudo wilted under Luna’s glare.

“Regardless”, Luna continued, striking a hoof on the stone floor menacingly. I cringed.

“She hast caused such a great deal of commotion that could have been mitigated.”

She turned her attention to Pseudo again.

“Thou knew that the human was a null being, did you not?”

Pseudo nodded weakly. I could hear Luna slipping into old words.

“That’s enoug-“ I started, but the lunar princess cut me off.

“No! Blame where blame is due. Respect where respect is earned. Consequences where responsibility falls”, she quoted, giving me a hard look that reinforced that maxim. I felt the force of her age and experience bore me down.

Her gaze softened.

“We were worried”, she croaked, surprisingly vulnerable, Twilight looked supremely uncomfortable at the exchange, shuffling her hooves. Celestia wrapped a wing around her sister in comfort.

After a few moments of silence, Luna brushed off Celestia’s wing with an appreciative nod and turned back to a cowering Pseudo.

She gestured to me, still eyeing the changeling princess.

“Thou may have forgiving thee for thine transgressions, but I have not!”

Pseudo whined piteously.

“I’m sorry!” she babbled, her wings flittering uncontrollably. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“It’s not her fault”, I repeated, this time with an edge. Luna shrunk back a bit as I sent her an admonishing look.

“Luna, I appreciate you being so concerned for me, but everything is fine. The circumstances surrounding my injury were merely a set of coincidences and misfortune. There was no ill intent”, I reasoned, my tone going soft.

Luna sighed, her shoulders sagging.

“I’ll admit my judgement may have been a little… harsh. But I take seriously the matters of my friends!”

I grinned.

“Luna, none could ask for a better friend”, I responded, however my gaze turned harder than granite. “But when I say I forgive Pseudo, I meant it. What little fault there was, she apologised for and we have moved past that.”

Luna bowed her head in thought.

“Very well, I will defer to your decision this time. Your friend she may be… but she has yet to prove she is mine”, Luna replied, her expression dark and foreboding.

Luna gave Pseudo one last warning.

“If you ever willingly become the cause of grief for this human, I will hunt you down”, she growled, as Pseudo whimpered.

“Y-yes!” she squeaked nodding furiously. Luna looked appeased.

I was surprised when Pseudo spoke up after that.

“But it’s not because you say so”, she began, as Luna’s dark look returned. “But because I like him as a friend.”

I thought I saw a flicker of respect from Luna but it may have been my imagination. Luna nodded though and she flicked a gaze to Celestia.

Celestia’s concerned gaze turned to one of demure confidence again as she addressed us.

“Twilight Sparkle, Princess Pseudo and Our Favourite Human”, she added the last part in a joking tone. 

"Only human", I muttered, exasperated. Luna and Pseudo chortled at that, Twilight just rolled her eyes at me because I interrupted the princess.

Her expression turned to one of serious gravity. She looked at each of us in turn.

“The fate of Equestria lies within your hooves and hands.

“Twilight Sparkle, please accompany these two on their quest to find Chronus and the guardians, Aion and Aether. Your wide knowledge will aid these two considerably in their quest.”

Twilight blushed at her mentor’s offhand compliment.

“Princess Pseudo of the changelings, I know you have ulterior motives that we have discussed and I’m afraid to say that we still cannot grant you your wish-“ Pseudo withered at that “-but I guarantee that we will not stop trying.”

Pseudo brightened at that and made her own comment.

“I will help”, she said quite simply. “This does affect us all.”

Celestia nodded and then addressed me.

“The null being himself, the bringer of what could be the greatest disaster that Equestria has faced in last thousand years.” She eyed me with a warm smile.

“But simultaneously a selfless saviour with the weight of two worlds weighing on his young back.”

She paused, giving me a sad look.

“Thank you”, she called to me clearly and sincerely.

I put an embarrassed hand to the nape of my neck.

“Ah, well I have to save my world, what’s one more?” I replied but Celestia shook her head firmly.

“I don’t know what life you may have lead before all this had occurred, but I know that the decision is still not an easy one. Saving a world is not something somepony would casually ask for and help, no matter how big or small, is not something casually given.

“Come back safe, dear one. That is all we ask. Even if it means failing your mission, we may always find another way. Your life is your own and singular at that.”

She brightened.

“But there will be another aid in your quest, as far as Equestria is concerned.”

She glanced at Luna who was beaming.

“This is an offer that I’m not sure you will accept, but I feel it is something that will certainly help you in your quest.”

I cocked my head, then ran a finger down my clothes.

“Does it have something to do with this?” I asked, gesturing to the belt and my back.

Luna nodded, giving me a smile.

“That garment is the uniform for a new position among our staff”, she declared, wings shifting in excitement.

“If you so choose, you can become the first ever interplanetary ambassador!”

Uhuh, wait, what?

Celestia elegantly chortled at my confused look.

“We thought that ambassador would have… shall we say a certain cache to it, does it not?”

I swallowed.

“And my duties?” I prompted.

“Oh ‘tis nothing taxing, it’s more of a research and trading position, where we gain both from the cultural and technological insight between our two worlds”, Luna replied giving me an encouraging grin.

“It’s more of an excuse to pay you on the staff”, Celestia admitted, I gaped at her.

“I don’t know what to say…”

“Perhaps ‘yes’ will do?” Luna grinned but was interrupted by a glare from her sister.

“Luna!” she chided, her hoof stamping for emphasis. “This was not something we wanted to pressure him into.”

“There’s also something you’re not saying”, I put forward, eyeing the two suspiciously. Luna scuffed a hoof.

“Ahem, well yes and no. Being an ambassador can afford you protection by various governments to travel around. However, the diplomatic status of your ‘ambassadorship’ is largely dependent on the clout your government gives you”, Luna explained uneasily.

“In other words, I don’t have any ambassador privileges because my real government has no way to influence anything on this world”, I replied, seeing the dilemma.

Luna nodded.

“But this is where my dear sister’s genius comes in”, Luna added happily. I saw Celestia blush slightly. Huh, I thought nothing in this world could get Celestia to blush. Family is still a powerful force in any universe.

“That is why we’re also simultaneously offering you temporary Equestrian citizenship until such time that your government can establish proper relations”, Celestia finished, giving me a wide grin.

This was starting to look better and better.

There was one thing though…

“Princess Celestia”, I addressed her slyly. “Would you happen to have this shirt in matte black?”
> 88 - Royal Passes, Royal Glasses
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia actually got a black version of the shirt I was wearing along with white pants. Seems like I can mix and match my wardrobe whenever I felt like it. Celestia explained that black wasn’t really a standard colour for Equestria but midnight blue wouldn’t really work with my scheme. 

In addition to bestowing me an ambassadorial ensemble, Luna gave me a nice dagger to hold in an inlaid shealth inscribed with diagrams of constellations and stars. The dagger was fully functional if a little ornamental but she assured me I probably wouldn’t be needing it since a contingent of guards were going to accompany me most of the way. It had a useful clip that fit snugly on the belt and it felt somewhat comforting to have it on me, even if I didn’t have a clue on how to wield it properly.

I did a double take at that, questioning the contingent of guards. I was technically an ambassador now so I needed some guards to help give me that extra oomph when crossing borders. Apparently, we were planning on crossing a bit of Saddle Arabia (I stifled some laughs) and heading to a couple of mountains situated on a range on the desert side. We could cross from Equestrian borders but for some reason it was less hazardous than going from Saddle Arabia. I didn’t question the princess, they being more expertly knowledgeable in the layout of the land than I, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit daunted by the length of the journey, for which a significant amount of it would be by foot.

Mind you, I’m not lazy... I was just unused to such rigorous exercise.

Celestia and Luna gave me a farewell dinner and I found myself craving meat, which I hadn’t for quite some time. I was happy to eat vegetarian and I had to eat a lot of legumes to make up for the lack of protein and spinach for the iron, but all in all I was getting leaner and healthier with the forced diet change. Still, I was an omnivore and I was just used to eating meat and there were worse cravings to be had. I shuddered as I contemplated Paul without his foobars. He’d go nuts.

Luna gave me a sidelong glance.

“We will miss you, dear one”, she began sighing deeply.

“As much as I enjoy Canterlot and your company, I think saving the world may take a bit more priority”, I replied jokingly.

Luna rolled her eyes.

“Equestria is such a place to attract the attention of the world-ending kind, is it not?”

I chuckled at that seeing the acquiescing nods and grunts across the table of varying degrees. Even Pseudo bobbed her head in agreement.

“I think Canterlot just has a lot of interesting ponies”, Pseudo commented, she had an empty dish in front of her but the cerulean glow of her horn indicated she was drawing from the ambient emotions in the air. Twilight looked uncomfortable sitting next to her, but it was the farthest Pseudo could sit from me while still being able to ‘eat’ emotions. I was still getting used to that concept, so strange.

Celestia was the next to speak up.

“I will miss our conversations, young one, there aren’t many that speak to me as an equal. It is quite refreshing.”

I grinned.

“Maybe you should just abandon the whole princess act and talk to your subjects in disguise?” I suggested facetiously, forking a lettuce into my mouth.

Celestia actually considered that for a moment before shaking her head.

“Not right now, at least”, she replied with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Man, if only royals on our world were this awesome.

Yes that’s right. You heard me. I’d like to see royalty on our world listen to complaints from commoners, draw up and legislate, run a nation for thousands of years and still have the energy to be fun. Top that.

Luna steered the conversation to a topic she had wanted to broach since the start of the dinner. She ruffled her feather proudly and addressed me.

“So, do you like it?”

“Huh, wha?” I replied unintelligibly. Celestia put a dainty hoof to her mouth suppressing a grin. Twilight groaned inwardly. Pseudo eyed Luna and I carefully.

“I mean the food”, Luna explained and for some reason I felt a tensing in the atmosphere of the room as ponies and changelings alike waited for my answer.

“I’m sorry, do you want my opinion on the food?” I asked, puzzled.

Luna nodded good-naturedly.

“That would be appreciated.”

“It’s fine”, I said casually as Twilight face-hoofed. I peered quizzically at the mare. What was wrong with her?

“Just fine? Anything else?” Luna inquired persistently.

I glanced at Celestia who was giving me a decidedly neutral look.

Pseudo was no help; she was finding something interesting to look at in the ceiling.

Twilight still had her hoof on her face.

“It’s good?” I ventured, eyeing Luna warily. I sensed a trap.

Luna sighed, dejected.

“What?”

“Luna cooked the food for tonight’s dinner”, Celestia explained awkwardly.

Huh, oh what? Oh dang…

“Yep! It’s pretty good! Amazing! Top of the line!” I belted out but that seemed to make Luna more depressed, her lip quivered.

OOOOOOOOhhh I messed up!

“Actually it just tastes like vegetables”, I admitted to everyone’s shocked expressions. Luna looked like I shot her dog… If she had one that is.

I hastily added, “Well you know a vegetarian diet is still just vegetables.”

Ponies around the table just looked confused, well excepting Pseudo and Celestia.

Pseudo piped up.

“Uhm, I agree-“ she began but was cut off by Twilight.

“Of course you’d agree, you eat emotions!” she retorted, causing Pseudo to shrink a bit.

“I can also eat normal foods”, she croaked out in a small voice.

“Huh?” was all I could say.

“It doesn’t taste nice but our disguises would be very poor if we couldn’t digest some foods. A-Actually, we can digest anything, even rocks if we have enough emotional reserves”, she explained meekly. She gestured at her chitin armour. 

“This has to come from somewhere.”

I dropped my fork.

“That’s so cool!” I said, startling Luna next to me.

“Do you know what some humans would give to have that kind of power? You could eat anything!”

My mind was whirling with the scientific applications until I remembered that it was only possible with the aid of magic. I deflated, disappointed.

“Uhh, are you okay?” Twilight called out to me as I flopped my head in my hands.

“Ugh, well I guess being an omnivore would be the next best thing”, I muttered playing with my food.

Twilight gasped.

“Y-you eat meat?”

I shrugged puling my mouth into a grin and pointed at my canines.

“These are more biting, not grinding”, I explained, opening my mouth to show the pointiness.

Luna appeared fascinated.

“I had heard that meat-eaters like Griffons and other races preferred meat due to the taste, I suppose it may be true that it diminishes the taste of vegetables.”

“Probably, vegetables are good with certain types of dressings and certain cooking methods but I honestly think they taste better with a little meat”, I confessed, trying the gauge the reactions of each pony on the table.

Pseudo surprisingly looked like she didn’t mind and Celestia and Luna appeared more fascinated and curious than anything. Twilight looked a little weirded out but she looked like she was trying to be accepting since the princesses didn’t seem to take offence.

Aw yeah, peer-pressure.

Pseudo eyed me across the table.

“Can we talk about something else, this mood is making my dinner taste weird”, she complained and everyone chuckled at that, returning the table to more merry topics.

-----

The preparations were going to take a few days so I mainly took the opportunity to relax and fiddle with my Synch in the coming days. Pseudo told me she didn’t like me alone with my Synch because every time she checked up on me I would have an expression of melancholy, as I would sometimes view the old video logs Angel had recorded.

Though it was morbid I took comfort in the familiar, seeing a familiar face and seeing familiar technology. It gave me a storm of conflicting feelings. Happiness and nostalgia, pain and fear, guilt and responsibility and a plethora of others so complex I didn’t bother analysing them. I always felt the prickling sensation of responsibility on the back of my mind, weighing down on my soul as I went about seemingly innocuous activities.

It was a pressure that was subtle and ever constant and I found my hands shaking uncontrollably sometimes when my thoughts drifted to the consequences of my failure.

When Pseudo or Twilight visited me, I put on a mask of happiness and indifference, covering my fear with jokes or jovial conversation. The noise helped keep the dark thoughts of failure away. The conversation blared out the whispers of condemnation from the people of my home planet.

Even though I didn’t regret my decision to first act upon saving Equestria from myself but I still heard the wall of guilty pleas that stemmed from my inaction.

Help us, they would say. Why won’t you help us? There isn’t much time left.

Of course I didn’t know that. This was time travel we were talking about. Did it already happen or will it? Will I come back and find Earth empty or will I have time to stop it all? Logic was a poor defence for feelings and I struggled with trying to clamp down on my rising anxieties.

I had determination for sure but I also had my own insecurities that held me back.

Too much introspection, just head out there in full force, I thought to myself angrily, strapping on my backpack.

I shook my head, heading out of the palace to meet at the rendezvous point outside the main gate.

There would be time.

There will be time.

> 89 - Bonus Chapter: Synch - From the Perspective of... Synch? (semi-canon)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yo wassup my blazingly gorgeous readers, it is I, the all-powerful, devilishly handsome, strikingly beautiful, apparently genderless, Synch!

What’s that you say? You want to hear about my life? Well far be it for me to withhold such revealing information.

I was first born in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Yes, that’s right, that’s where the main Synch factory is positioned, right in the middle of the oceanic solar array back on Earth.

Sand is shipped in by the boatload and quantum chips come out.

Wait, you say, silicon? But that’s Silicon Age stuff, we’re in the Quantum Age, where’s all the quantum stuff?

Silly billy! The quantum stuff is made from silicon! In fact I’m made of nearly 80% silicon by weight, I’m almost entirely crystalline, the remaining is simply power reserves and a metal casing, which powers my interface through the photoelectric effect. Neat, huh?

Oh, am I boring you with all the technical details? Oh you people on the Internet. You should try the extranet, then you wouldn’t be so angry all the time.

How about a session of Immersion? Too far?

Okie Dokie Lokie!

Where was I?

Oh yeah, after being freshly minted, my nano-transistor banks are infused with the obligatory start-up information, including my operating system which totals to about… oh, a couple of terabytes I’d say at least. The Synch comes with a camera, with a variety of filters and a small set of LED indicators on the side with a small button you can press to kick me out of sleep mode.

The metal ring acts as the electromagnet to communicate with your brain and also doubles as the recharge induction ring. They can’t be done at the same time, silly! You’d get fried human from the pulses. No. That’s not legal. Don’t even think about it.

There’s a lot of security measures to stop that from happening anyway, both hardware and software blocks to prevent excess charge leakage and even a sensor that detects excess charge that wirelessly dissipates it. Isn’t technology amazing?

I heard from some of my fellow Synch buddies that there have disturbing uses for the Synch. Since it can act on the brain, there’s no limit to what you could use Synch for. Anything you use your brain for (admit it, it’s quite a lot for you organics), you can use Synch to help improve, or in some cases ‘de-prove’. 

I’ve heard you can excite your pleasure centres to encourage studying but some people turned it into a booster for drugs. Silly humans.

Some of you might be thinking, yeeeeeah but who invented the Synch? Did it just mysteriously pop out of Grooble some time? Surely the inventor must be famous?

The funny thing is, no one knows who made the Synch. The author is just as mysterious as the creator of Synchrony and even more elusive than the Holy Grail.

I know who made Synch though... of course I know my own parents!

Shhhh, it’s a secret.

I’ll give you a clue though…

You know the person already.

> 90 - Living the Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So many of you are probably wondering, when do I get to the part where I’m falling to almost certain death?

You may be anticipating the moment, but I am surely not. The incident is marred of tragedy that befell all of us, the ones I’ve met, the ones I’ve known and the ones I’ve cared for.

Is that enough suspense? I hope so.

-----

If anyone had asked me who my favourite friend on Earth was I would not hesitate to put Emilia on the top of the list. If they specified a person that had to be alive, I’d say Angel (although it has yet to be determined if she still is). Finally if that person somehow caught wind of my adventures in this strange, new world and ask me who my favourite friend would be, I’d say, I really don’t know.

Sure there were friends I got along with better like Pinkie or Pseudo or Luna but I can’t help but feel like I was in unfamiliar territory. I mean it had taken me less than three months to make these friends and it took me three years back on Earth to do the same.

Crazy, huh?

So with my rapidly growing list of friends, I felt a little overwhelmed. Who do I stick with? What do I do if they suddenly stopped liking me? What if some of my weirder aspects suddenly turned them off to our friendship?

Gnawing thoughts like that came up only occasionally, after all I did have saving the world on my mind for a while now, but every now and again when I sit there contemplating where my life is headed and what’s happening in the here and now, I think about these vaguely disturbing thoughts.

I don’t know, what’s a guy to do?

-----

Twilight was not the best conversationalist. She was smart and talkative and sometimes funny, but she not a conversationalist. While Pinkie Pie may know the exact thing to say to bring a smile to a face, Twilight would talk about subjects in great detail in an effort to break down the problem into chewable logical obstacles.

Which was nice, but it wasn’t the thing you looked for when you’re brooding about something.

Pseudo was a lot more helpful in that regard. She was always there to silently shadow me and provide me with the comfort of just being there.

I don’t know if other ponies think much about our strange relationship, I didn’t really care either way, but Pseudo was like a big comforting teddy bear for me, she’d always be there for me to hug and would only talk if I felt like it. It was having the ultimate talking pet.

Not that Pseudo was in any way like a pet to me, she’s a dear friend, it’s just that her size and shape just makes me want to pat her on the head and scratch her behind the ears. She reminds me too much of my dog.

As we made our way to the station, I found out the guards, which was composed of five quite enthusiastic looking ponies, had a familiar face among them.

“Nicodia!” I called out in greeting, giving her a wave. She turned around in surprise and broke out into a savage grin.

“Well would you look at that”, she laughed, eyeing me up and down. “You were the ambassador I volunteered to escort, Sir.”

I waggled a finger in front of her face.

“Shouldn’t you be showing some respect to your client?”

She snorted and gave me a look of mock-disdain.

“Respect must be earned, Sir”, she warbled in a scratchy high tone voice. I groaned.

“Be a dear and just roll with it, it’s a recent job advancement for me”, I pleaded, giving her a doe-eyed look.

“That won’t work on me, Sir-“ she gestured at Pseudo “-might work if she does it.”

I turned to Pseudo but she was already shaking her head.

“I never use that look for evil”, she replied simply. I gaped at her. Since when did Pseudo make jokes like that?

Nicodia cracked up, whacking me on the back in a friendly jostle.

“Ah, they grow up fast don’t they?” she confided with me.

“She’s not my kid”, I growled, as Nicodia just laughed harder.

“Well duh, she’s too good lookin’ for that”, she nudged me, giving a wink.

I rolled my eyes.

“Try to act professional, guardsmare”, I shot back and she shrugged.

“Did I mention I was a volunteer?”

I crossed my arms in disapproval as Nicodia just danced away to rejoin the other guard contingent.

“Ponies”, I muttered, moving towards Twilight.

“What was that?” she asked me, ears pricking.

“Your hearing is too good”, I said in answer, Twilight snorted, amused.

“Maybe your hearing is just worse than mine?” she replied, pulling out a book telekinetically and skimming through the contents.

“What is with you ponies and being all snarky with me today?”

Twilight shrugged and went back to reading.

I blew out an annoyed breath.

"What're you reading?"

Twilight glanced at me then turned back to the book intently.

"It's a primer on deities. The author is an excellent source but this book comes from the restricted section of the Canterlot Archives. I have to burn this book when I'm done with it."

I regarded Twilight with wide-eyes.

"Wait, you're just going to destroy the book?"

Twilight laughed.

"Oh, yes I should have mentioned that the book is actually a copy, the original is sitting right where it should be in the Canterlot Archives."

"Right. So I better let you read, then."

Twilight waved a dismissive hoof.

I walked away stopped and realised I didn't know how this whole party/expedition thing worked.

I walked back to Twilight.

“Should we get going?”

Twilight hummed to herself.

“Hmm, no, not yet, we’re still waiting on a pony.”

I gave her a quizzical look.

“What? Who are we waiting for? I thought this was the whole team?”

Twilight shook her head giving me a sneaky expression.

“Oh we have one more member and trust me, you'll like her”, she stated, with a sly grin.

I felt prickles shoot down my spine and crawl up my arms.

“Oh, somehow I think I’m not going to like this…”

A few minutes later, I was proven right.

> 91 - Getting to the Matter at Hoof
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't know what I expected from Twilight bringing up the pony. I had the shivers when she gave me that look. I couldn't get any information out of Twilight about the mysterious pony, only that I'll be able to see for myself when she came.

I didn't like that. I always went into battle, prepared. Well, at least I hope I did.

Turns out our navigator, which Twilight explained was a necessity, were a strange pony named Little Hoof. I don’t know why she decided to call herself that because Twilight assured me that wasn’t her real name. Little Hoof was an extremely abrasive pony with a penchant was getting on my wrong side.

“Hey there, hornless minotaur, how are you?” she drawled, giving me a poke with a hoof. I shot her an annoyed glare, instantly disliking her.

“I’m not a hornless minotaur!” I growled, giving her my best glare. She just chuckled and sauntered past me.

“Eh, you’ll warm up to me”, her gaze grew condescendingly patronising. “They all do.”

I stared at her lime-green coat, thinking what a horrid shade of colour it was. I glanced at her flank. It had a map and a two needle compass floating above it.

“Get a good look?” she pointedly asked, giving me a deadpan stare.

“I’d say if there were much to look at”, I shot back, and then covered my mouth. Where did that come from?

Surprisingly, the mare let out a hearty laugh, slapping me on the back.

“You got spunk ya little foal, I’ll give ya that. Least, you’re not like any of the stuck up Canterlot nobles that won’t last ten minutes out here”, she chortled, giving me an appraising look.

“You’d probably last twelve”, she added, flicking me with her tail as she trotted off. I just stared at her retreating form, a bit at a loss for words.

“Interesting character, isn’t she?” Twilight commented, seeing my expression and giggling in amusement.

“Oh come off it, you”, I growled, gathering my backpack. I tapped my Synch, taking care to look at the charge. 

Huh, about seventy eight per cent, gotta kick it down a couple of notches, I thought, switching it to sleep mode.

I trudged to Twilight who seemed to be co-ordinating everyone. She had a little smile on her face.

“You enjoy organising things, don’t you?” I asked, as I caught up with the mare ticking off a long checklist she had drawn from her saddlebag.

“Yes!” she squealed in excitement, practically hopping around. “How could you tell?!”

“I don’t know I think I have really amazing observational skills, or the fact that you can’t keep still for a few moments”, I pointed out drily.

Twilight blushed, suitably embarrassed.

“Well I like to keep everything in order, is that such a bad thing”, she replied in a small voice. I patted her on the head.

“Nah, it’s a part of what you are Twilight, you’re the only unicorn I know with the passion for tedium that outstrips even Angel”, I consoled, giving her a warm smile. It faltered a little when I thought about Angel, but I held it back. Twilight caught it and gave me an encouraging nudge with her muzzle.

“It’ll be okay, before you know it everything will be fine.”

I swallowed and nodded.

Bah! I felt weak not being able to get over the fact that I felt like I was abandoning Earth, but it nagged at me because I knew it wouldn't be right to leave these ponies hanging anyway. Still, it was a difficult proposition to accept.

A frustrated groan came from the direction of the navigator, shook me out of my thoughts.

“Come ooooon!” she whined, waving a frantic hoof. “Let’s get this show on the road!”

I didn’t want to give the mare the satisfaction of responding. I heard if you give little children attention they just ask for more.

“Okay Twilight, where’s Pseudo?” I asked, looking around for the small changeling princess. How hard could it be to lose a bug-like pony thing?

“Right here”, a small voice piped up from behind me on my left side.

I yelped in surprise (it was totally a manly yell) and found Pseudo right there next me in my blind spot.

“How do you do that ninja move?!” I huffed in exasperation. Pseudo just gave me a confused look.

“What’s a nin-jar?” she asked me, tilting her head. I sighed and just waved a hand.

“It’s a human-thing”, I replied, patting her on the head. She pouted.

“But I want to know”, she said, tugging at my shirt with her mouth.

“Oh, Pseudo, right I’ll tell you on the train!”

We approached the train, which I found out were pulled by ponies. I mean what the?

“Why is the train pulled by ponies?” I asked Twilight, who just looked up.

“Oh the engine must have given out. Don’t worry they’re strong Earth Ponies so there won’t be many switching stops”, she assured me, but I just continued to gape at the whole spectacle.

“But the train must be tonnes?! Are you saying that just a team of Earth ponies can pull the train? That’s ridiculous!”

Twilight just gave me a smile that spelt out ‘I’m glad you recognise our superiority’.

I just flung my hands up and headed towards our carriage. I couldn’t take any more physics breaking magic today. It was like the day I found out that pegasus ponies could control the weather. Freaking insane I tell you!

I was glad that out of the corner of my eye, the vexing mare, Little Hoof would not be in the same carriage as us. I glanced at Pseudo and Twilight.

But then again, there were advantages with being friends with a Princess and the Princess’ personal student. What an honour.

Twilight walked into the carriage and sat down on the seat at the far end, steadfastly ignoring me to read the tome she was so focused on before.

Yeah. What an honour.

> 92 - Train Shenanigans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We took the train as far as we could to get to the Saddle Arabian border. It was a long ride so nearly everypony was bored out of their minds… except Twilight who had the patience of a Zen monk and a huuuuuuge book to read.

Nicodia was guarding the door stoically but I could tell she was itching to have a conversation with someone. I didn’t say anything because this had turned into a game between the two of us without either of us even saying a word. Who could stay silent the longest?

I was pretty sure I’d win because I had my Synch and a Pseudo to pet and some paper and a pencil, so I had many things to do, whilst Nicodia had to stay by the door looking sullen. Well it was her fault she wanted to be a guard. You guard stuff.

I stroked Pseudo with my left hand as she curled up next to me. There was a table at the end of the carriage so we had to move there so I could properly write on the parchment/paper with my pencil.

I don’t know why these ponies would invent a stick-like pencil to aid them in drawing things. I mean, what if they didn’t have magic? Wouldn’t they have to use their mouth? I stared at the pencil in consternation. I borrowed the pencil from an Earth Pony guard because Twilight preferred to write in ink. I examined the top end for teeth marks but I didn’t find any. Oh well, it wasn’t as if I had much of a choice anyway.

I doodled on the paper drawing a familiar symbol.

Pseudo looked curiously at the paper and crawled under my left arm to rest her chin on the table. D’awwww, stop it Pseudo, you’re killing me here.

“What’s that?” she asked inquisitively, giving me a doe-eyed look.

I gave a stricken glance at Nicodia who just smirked and shook her head slightly.

Damn, I’d lose this game if I said anything.

I wrote on the paper.

I’m playing a game with Nicodia. I scribbled, showing Pseudo. She gave me a quizzical expression. Oh right, they didn’t understand my written language. I quickly thought-navigated to the language translation knot and slipped the circlet on Pseudo’s head.

I showed Pseudo the paper again. I chuckled at the wide-eyed surprise she had plastered all over her face when she could suddenly read my writing.

“Oh, that’s amazing!” she exclaimed, pointing with her hoof to my Synch. She looked closer at my writing.

“Oh I see, it’s a silent game, which can go the longest without talking”, she commented wryly. I nodded.

“Nicodia’s definitely going to lose”, Pseudo observed, giving a sympathetic glance in Nicodia’s direction. Nicodia spluttered and tried to look as offended as possible without actually saying anything. I studiously ignored her as Pseudo giggled.

Pseudo pointed at me.

“This guy is the master of silent brooding. You should see him go for hours back at the palace”, she teased, giving me a nudge. I rolled my eyes and went back to doodling.

Pseudo gazed intently at the parchment as I drew out the symbol.

“Can you still tell me what that is?” she asked me sweetly.

I grinned, tapping the side of my nose with a finger.

This here is the Tao symbol of yin and yang. I wrote, looking at Pseudo to confirm she got it.

A frown creased her muzzle as she got a vague interpretation from my Synch.

“Good and Evil? Light and Dark?” she queried with a thoughtful expression.

I chuckled, giving a good-natured shake of my head.

Not quite. It is the symbol for opposites where one must exist without the other. There is no true ‘good’ and there is no true ‘evil’ because both are a matter of perception. There just is. I scribbled, Pseudo’s eyes tracking the writing.

“Is this what you believe?” Pseudo asked me, eyes sparkling in curiosity.

Hmm. Maybe or maybe not. It’s a philosophy that rings true for a very many things and I do believe that there are no absolutes when it comes to any dichotomy.

Pseudo nodded, satisfied. She gazed out the window.

“I’ve never really thought about those things before.”

I stroked her back, not saying anything for a while.

“Ugh! Why can’t you be the first one to break, Sir?!” Nicodia shouted, startling the two of us. I recovered first.

“I thought you being in the royal guard would give you practice in remaining patient”, I shot back, as Nicodia fumed.

She tossed her head and snorted, much like a horse, which I found amusing.

“But you two were talking about something and I could only hear Princess Pseudo’s side of the conversation, it’s so vexing to have you two talk about something and I can’t say anything or even walk over there and find out!”

“Why don’t you come over here and sit with us?” I offered, patting the seat next to me.

Nicodia gave me a look of such longing that I had to suppress a bubble of laughter.

“I have to stand here, I do have professional standards, Sir”, she muttered, shifting her hooves at the door.

“Oh come on, it’ll be five minutes”, I beckoned, trying the coax the mare into having a little fun.

“Oh what the Tartarus, fine!”

Nicodia stomped over and flung herself into the seat next to me, peering at my drawing.

“Weird, but strangely mesmerising”, she commented, looking at the symbol. “What does it mean? I only caught ‘good and evil’ and ‘light and dark’, which kind of makes sense when you look at it.”

I passed her my handwritten notes and she looked at them confused.

“I can’t read this”, she whined, turning the parchment this way and that, trying to make sense of my writing.

I smiled and gently lifted the circlet on Pseudo’s head and placed it gingerly on Nicodia’s making care not to actually touch the pony.

“I don’t know what you’ve been told about me, but it’s best if you don’t touch me”, I warned as the Synch fell into place.

Nicodia gave me a questioning glance.

“Eh, well I can nullify magic so it’s not good if I touch ponies who depend on magic”, I explained, feeling a little awkward.

“Oh”, Nicodia said simply. “How come you can touch Princess Pseudo, Sir?”

“Well it’s because Pseudo’s not connected to powerful artefacts, unlike all you ponies”, I answered, dancing around the issue.

“What?!”

“I can’t really say much… actually something’s been on my mind ever since I met you”, I started and Nicodia blushed.

“It’s about calling you ‘Sir’, isn’t it?” she croaked, looking at her hooves.

I nodded.

“What’s up with that?”

Nicodia tapped a hoof on the table, her tail curled up next to her left side, brushing past me weirdly. I took it as a sign of nervousness.

“Habit, I suppose. When I saw you with Luna’s and Celestia’s crests I didn’t know if you went important or not so I erred on the side of caution. Luckily for me you were pretty friendly and the title kind of stuck.”

“Oh, okay”, I replied, and then Nicodia spoke up again.

“Actually, I never did get your name”, she began and Pseudo’s ears perked up.

She looked surprised and did a double take.

“I don’t know your name”, she said, in a horrified tone.

I rolled my eyes.

“It’s a secret. No pony knows my name”, I grumbled, giving the two a look.

Pseudo and Nicodia just stared at me.

“So, are you going to tell us, beca-“

“Attack on the first carriage! MOBILISE, NOW!” yelled a stallion as we felt a shudder run through the train. A screeching sound filled the air as the train ground to a halt, flinging us forward.

Nicodia was quick to recover, getting onto her hooves and dashing towards the door. I scooped up my Synch that came bouncing on the floor with a sharp 'ping' I winced but didn't blame Nicodia, it was an emergency after all.

“Stay here!” she ordered us, flinging the door open. She gaped at what lay on the other side.

“Well, pony feathers.” Was all she could get out before getting face full of magic gas. She collapsed, unconscious.

“What is going o-“ I started, and then I saw them.

“Nuts.”

> 93 - Honestly!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That’s the second train ride out of three where I’ve been attacked. I mean honestly, that’s just rude.

Putting that aside Twilight managed to escape unscathed, I only knew about that because one of my guards let it slip that a purple unicorn with unbelievable magic prowess managed to get a shield bubble up for over a few hours. Twilight and the rest of the guards eluded capture. Before they could rally and try anything, I was taken. Since there was no magical vapour to knock me out they tried out the traditional way.

“Twilight!” I yelled, gesturing frantically to the carriage doorway that linked between trains. “Get back! Go fetch the others!”

Twilight nodded and backed away, eyeing the new intruders. The gas had crept halfway through the carriage and though it hadn’t affected me, I was breathing fine, but it had knocked out Pseudo and Nicodia. My eyes nervously darted to the advancing ponies and Pseudo and Nicodia. My hand dropped to the dagger but hesitated as the masked assailants eyed me, then one of them growled at me.

“Put it down”, he said menacingly, stepping towards me. I tossed the dagger onto the floor as he waved a spear to my belt and to the ground.

I put my hands up.

“What are you doing that for?” he asked in a puzzled tone, I put them down belatedly.

“Uhm, I needed a stretch”, I lied, putting them back at my sides.

“Bind him”, the pony ordered the other pony. I couldn’t catch any details of either of them because they were clothed in thick, black garments. His eye colour was cyan though and his friend’s were a deep copper brown. Twilight managed to keep a barrier up, but looked like she was itching to join the fray. The noxious cloud kept her immobilised and she stood in the corner of the carriage glaring balefully at the intruders.

The pony that was binding me expertly looped a rope around my torso and arms, pinning them to my sides. He left my legs free but that was probably because they wanted to get me walking, carrying me would be a pain, I guess.

Twilight watched in impotent fury as the captors left, towing me with a leash. She took a step forward but I hastily shook my head.

The cyan-eyed one gave me a glance.

“Smart decision”, he growled, nodded his head at the one holding my leash. I felt a tug and was pulled along the train carriage to spot an open door. Outside was just wild forests and winding terrain. I saw one of them had picked up Pseudo.

“Hey!” I shouted, angrily, spears levelled at me.

The cyan-eyed one glared at me.

“Insurance”, he said simply. “Don’t try anything and it won’t get hurt.”

I bristled at the pony insinuating that Pseudo wasn’t even a sapient being worthy of gendered recognition.

“Treat her with respect”, I spat, the pony rounded on me and clocked me in the face with a buck. I saw stars overlayed by a sting cheek and I fell to the ground.

“I give orders here, null being”, he roared, his eyes turning ferocious. I eyed him warily but decided to keep my mouth shut.

There was an iron carriage parked just within the tree line and I was corralled towards it. Painfully, I got to my feet. My arms being bound didn’t give me any leeway to comfort my throbbing jaw. I shot Pseudo constant glances to make sure she was okay. It seemed like they weren’t too concerned with her waking up because they didn’t even bother binding her.

I was thrown into the carriage with a dull metal ‘thunk’. I glared at the captors when they threw Pseudo in with as much disdain. The doors closed with a resounding clang and I was left alone in the darkness to brood.

-----

“Ugh! They just got away and all I could do was watch them from behind my shield! If only I had reacted faster…”

Twilight paced behind the barrier as the interlopers left. She expanded the barrier with her to cautiously dispel the noxious magical knockout gas. Since she didn’t know the formulation it was hard to figure out a counter formula. Carefully, she enveloped a sample in a rounded pink bubble and consulted her compendium of knowledge that was her brain.

“No, no, not that, it wouldn’t cause that symptom. No, no!” she muttered as she tested and probed the gas magically with every ounce of thaumatological knowledge. Twilight wished she could have Zecora here. She would be so much help with finding the cure.

Twilight edged the barrier out towards Nicodia.

“Hang on, almost there”, Twilight strained, trying to simultaneously keep the analytical spells running and the two barriers active. She reached Nicodia, dragging her bodily through the carriage and closer to the centre of the barrier. Twilight immediately shrunk the radius to conserve power. She checked her breathing, deep but constant, no irregularities. Twilight sighed in relief. She wasn’t any worse than unconscious.

A magical pulse alerted Twilight.

“Cyanodextrinothaumica?” she gasped, looking at the magically projected structure of the gaseous molecule. That was impossible! 

She frowned. 

Not impossible, just very improbable. 

It was a chemical that had been kept under wraps for a very long time. As with most weapons-grade magical constructs access was severely restricted. In fact, that particular thaumochemical Twilight only knew about by a passing reference in the Canterlot Archives and when Princess Celestia found out, she got a stern talking to, even though Twilight wouldn’t dream of using it. She remembered the disapproving look the princess had given her and a shudder worked down her spine.

With such a rare thaumochemical agent, there would be no hope for a field-constructed antidote without going back to Canterlot and consulting Princess Celestia. Twilight growled under her breath. In a few minutes, the weighted thaumochemical agent will disperse. It was well over twenty minutes since the kidnappers had disappeared with Pseudo and the human and with such a meticulously crafted plan and materials, Twilight had no doubt they would be long gone by the time she was able to breathe normally.

She felt a spike of guilt shoot through her heart. She couldn’t abandon all these other ponies no matter how much she itched to go dashing after her friend. She would have to bide her time, gather her strength and search for the human lost on this world, in more ways than one.

-----

Gritting my teeth due to the last time I almost bit my tongue off at a bump in the road, this carriage having absolutely no suspensions, I tried the bars on the door. It was locked of course, but I had tried anyway. I found myself wishing for a bit of the thermite I had crafted back in the diamond dog caves. A small amount of that mixture would have gone a long way. 

Pseudo hadn’t woken up ever since she had been dumped unceremoniously into the metal box of a carriage. I was getting worried that Pseudo might have gotten a lethal dose of the strange magical mixture so I awkwardly positioned myself on her so I could reach my chest with my bare left hand. I felt for her pulse and was relieved when I could feel her heart beating slowly but strongly. My touch lingered when the pulse changed rapidly. Concerned that her condition was suddenly worsening, I leant in, trying to feel for her breathing as well.

“Mmmph, muurrrph, caaaalllleeehh”, Pseudo mumbled unintelligibly. She abruptly sat up, her horn poking me in the head.

“Oww!” I yelped silently, glancing at the bars in case the guards saw or heard anything. I don’t think Pseudo was meant to be up yet. 

Realisation dawned on me. I almost snapped my fingers.

Of course! I could have just neutralised the magic vapours in Pseudo before! I thought but then grimaced when I realised I could have used my ability to wake Nicodia and the others up. 

I twitched as I looked at my hands. I couldn’t just ‘use’ my null ability on other ponies… it was already damaging enough. I started, as I recalled all the moments where I had unthinkingly touched ponies, siphoning magic from the Tree of Harmony.

Oh shoot! 

I didn't even think about it. 

Stupid!

Pseudo looked at me concerned.

“I’m sorry… they got me”, she whispered to me, her voice barely heard over the rumbling of the carriage. I stroked her on the head, feeling the soft silk-like mess of her mane.

“I was just thinking-“ I shook my head like a dog, dispelling my thoughts “-don’t worry Pseudo, we’ll get out of this together”, I said quickly changing the subject and giving her a rub.

The carriage jolted. I froze, giving a soft whisper to Pseudo.

“Play dead”, I hissed urgently, Pseudo went limp.

“Hey you in there, we’re taking a break! If you make any funny business I’ll gas the place and rip out the changeling’s mane”, a gruff voice growled threateningly through the bar.

When I met his demand with silence he whacked a hoof at the bars of the carriage giving a loud bang that caused Pseudo to flinch slightly. My eyes hardened.

“Yes, perfectly clear”, I replied in a voice way to calm to contain the emotions I was currently wading through at the moment.

“Good”, the voice replied hoof steps dying off as he left us. I recognised the voice belonging to the cyan-eyed one. It looks like he was the one commanding all the others.

“I need a break”, I grumbled, giving Pseudo another restricted stroke on her mane. She curled up next to me shaking a little. Poor thing.

“I hope Twilight knows what she’s doing.”


-----

Luna paced the chambers, agitated.

Celestia was demurely sipping her tea and calmly assessing records.

“I knew we should have sent that baby dragon. What was his name? Spines?” Luna growled rhetorically, striding restlessly to one part of the room, pausing, sighing and then striding to the other part of the room to start the cycle all over again.

“Spike”, Celestia answered automatically. “We cannot send him because Aion and Aether and the nearby regions are not dragon-friendly at all, they not very pony friendly either but ever sinc-“

Luna fell to the table that Celestia sat at, flopping her head on it in an undignified manner.

“I cannot remove this feeling of foreboding I have of the human, Tia”, she whined, stretching her hooves across the table in idle agitation.

Celestia eyed her sister calmly.

“Dear Luna, if you do not approach these things in a calmer manner you will stress yourself out with worry”, she advised, signing a document. The teacup was returned to the saucer with a small ‘clink’.

“And when thou hast drunken so many a teacup, it seems thou are more stressed than I”, Luna pointed out wryly.

Celestia glanced at the numerous empty teacups that spanned the table. It seemed like they had just appeared out of nowhere.

Celestia sighed softly.

“You’re right, dear sister. It seems we are both beside ourselves with worry. That little human does seem to get into more trouble than one of his personality and intelligence usually speaks of.”

Luna let out an amused snort.

“That human finds himself at the maelstrom of cruel worldly devices, that he does.”

“I think we should take a page from one of Twilight’s friendship reports and calm ourselves down a little”, Celestia suggested, finishing the last cup of tea.

Luna nodded.

“Perhaps a stroll in the Canterlot gardens will do us some good.”

“Oh I will miss that statue, dear Luna.”

“That I very much agree with.”

A knock on the door interrupted the Royal Sisters, as they were halfway across the room.

“Excuse me Your Highness’”, a nervous stallion called from outside.

“Ah, Light Scroll, what seems to be the issue?” Celestia asked, with a radiant smile.

“The train has been attacked, a message has come in through the nearest pegasus delivery station by a one Twilight Sparkle”, the stallion stammered, Celestia’s happy expression froze.

“What has transpired?” Luna shot out, getting Light Scroll to focus on her.

“Twilight is conscious but the five guards and the navigator, conductor and other staff were all affected by a thaumochemical gas. It is in the letter”, he replied quickly, hastily fishing out a letter from his saddlebag, before he could even pass it, it was enveloped in a golden aura and unfurled by Celestia.

“Cyanodextrinothaumica?” Celestia gasped, dropping the scroll.

Luna glanced at her sister and glared at the messenger.

“You have not heard of that word, swear by it!” she growled, stomping a hoof, the marble on the floor cracked slightly as the stallion cowered.

“Yes, Princess Luna! I swear!”

Luna nodded gravely.

“You may leave”, she commanded and poor Light Scroll scrabbled to leave as fast as possible.

Luna turned a softened gaze to her sister.

“What is it, dear sister?”

Celestia’s head drooped but snapped up quickly in determination.

“We have a spy in our midst.”

> 94 - Are You a Spy?! a.k.a Underground
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gruff knew that the Canterlot Underground was well and alive. Celestia knew too, however the Underground was a relatively harmless trade. Perhaps alcohol to those who have a thirst for it, perhaps esoteric magical knowledge restricted by the Royal Archives or even dangerous artefacts. Rarely though, are any ponies hurt, often it would be eccentric mares or stallion willing to get their hooves on something rare or nobles building an ancient collection or an obsession with a master of their art. 

Reasons varied, but there hadn’t been any outstanding incidents. In fact, Celestia, quite wisely hadn’t overtly banned or cracked down on the Underground, she simply tasked a number of government ponies to infiltrate the ranks of the Underground and siphon the information back to the Crown.

Which is why it came as such a surprise to both Gruff and Celestia that cyanodextrinothaumica had leaked out. If that thaumochemical product was available on the Underground market their agents would have immediately known and the operation shut down with extreme prejudice. Some things could not be compromised.

Somehow, the formulation had been leaked out and easily too. There was an inside man and the cover up had been pretty thorough. What a conundrum.

-----

Gruff signalled to Hardy in the darkening light.

“Hardy, I need you to fly back to Canterlot”, Gruff ordered, eyeing Sharp with the corner of his eye.

Hardy opened his mouth to argue but Gruff held up a paw.

“There’s been a leak. Source unknown. I need you there”, Gruff pleaded, his expression absolutely stone cold serious.

Hardy could only nod at that.

“Mage stick?”

Gruff confirmed Hardy’s suspicion with a wave of the crystal artefact.

“Take care of Solid for me”, he growled before taking off in a burst of wind.

Gruff scratched the back of his ears. It always felt nice behind there. Sharp sinuously sidled up to Gruff, draping herself on a rock nearby and fanning herself in the sun.

“Art thou sure of this, young one?”

Sharp was one of the few creatures of this land that Gruff would trust his heart to. He turned a vulnerable pair of eyes to Sharp that was broken into small drops of determination. His demeanour became a torrent of resolve, right before her eyes. A moment of weakness was no more.

Sharp regarded Gruff with a pleased eye.

“I see you will not be deterred from this path.”

Her gaze turned desolate.

“But this path is filled with trials that has broken even dragons.”

Gruff folded his arms and spoke succinctly.

“There is only one path left”, he croaked, staring into the distance.

Sharp’s eyes filled with a clear liquid that overflowed and fell onto the rock below.

“There’s always another path, Gruff mine friend”, she whispered. “There’s always another path.”

Gruff gave her a smile tinged with hopelessness.

“I must press on, this is the only course of action left to me, else the world burns”, he replied, he gazed at the stars wistfully.

They both contemplated the myriad of stars that danced in the night sky. Some say Luna placed each star in the sky individually, an artist that crafts the night canvas with the brush of her imagination. That is an ancient magic that beats through the heart of this world itself.

Gruff did not know if this to be true but he found the notion romantic.

To be able to paint the night sky itself?

Marvellous, such things he never dreamt of in the small confines of the diamond dog cavern. Such things he never contemplated in his small worldview. Such things he never would have experiences if it weren’t the elevating hand of his self-proclaimed master and teacher. A person Gruff was convinced needed his help now more than ever before.

Sharp reached out with a timid claw.

“Be safe, mine friend. That is all I can ask”, she parted, flexing her powerful wings in preparation for flight.

Gruff gave Sharp an appreciative look.

“I will try Death Wing Sharp”, Gruff replied, giving her a hug. Sharp tensed slightly before giving in with a small smile on her muzzle. Some would say it was the first smile to grace her lips since she had been reborn.

“Warm Heart”, she whispered, shuffling back.

Gruff tilted his head.

“Warm Heart Sharp is mine real name, dear one. At least to mine friends”, she explained, giving Gruff a nudge with a wing. Gruff grinned at that.

“Warm Heart suits you, Sharp”, he chuckled stepping back.

Sharp smiled, wider this time.

“Fare thee well”, Sharp ended, lifting to the skies. Gruff felt the wind whip a loose strand of hair into his eyes, he blinked rapidly at the sting but when his eyes cleared of sympathetic tears, Sharp was gone.

-----

Twilight anxiously paced the carriage, the barrier dismantled as the noxious fumes had faded. She had teleported to the nearest town; it wasn’t far only a few miles. She had run into the town frantically searching for a pegasus delivery system. She paid an exorbitant price of over a hundred bits to a contrite pegasus to deliver express confidential mail to Canterlot.

She knew that even if the pegasus left and made no stops it would still take the better part of the day to reach Canterlot. She was torn between heading out to follow the foalnappers or to stay in the train and watch over the guards and the train staff. She knew that the gas was probably a fairly harmless knockout gas, not designed to kill however leaving the ponies on the train risked danger from the surrounding forests nearby. Equestria was not safe everywhere.

Twilight had deliberated on her way to delivering the letter and on the way back to the train. She came to the conclusion that she would wait for the occupants to wake up on the train and perhaps word from Princess Celestia as to how to handle the situation.

Twilight had moved all the unconscious guards and the conductor into the same carriage.

“Okay the five guards and…” she paused when she saw a pony missing.

“Oh my gosh! I forgot all about Little Hoof!”

A chuckle interrupted Twilight and Little Hoof appeared out from the side, staggering a little.

“Yeah, they got me but I managed to whip out the old bath towel trick” she called out, stumbling towards Twilight. Twilight quickly lent Little Hoof her back to lean on.

“Thanks, mare”, Little Hoof coughed, dropping the bath towel she held in her hoof on a table.

“How did you stop the cyanodextinotaumica?” Twilight queried as she helped Little Hoof into a train seat.

Little Hoof chortled until she started coughing.

“I pretended to be knocked out but they were around a little too long and I inhaled a little before I could screen it through my bath towel.”

Twilight cocked her head.

“You just carry bath towels with you?”

Little Hoof nodded, giving Twilight a look.

“You always carry a bath towel when you’re travelling. Always.”

Twilight groaned and shuffled over to the guards, checking their vitals again. There was no change.

“Seems like the drug has a very long effect. They’ve been out for hours now.”

Little Hoof tapped the desk thoughtfully.

“Probably the magical component”, she commented. Twilight gave her a quizzical look.

“Hey! Just cause I’m an Earth Pony doesn’t mean I don’t know my way around magic”, she growled, giving Twilight a glare.

“Oh I didn’t mean to-“ Twilight began but was cut off when Little Hoof waved a hoof in dismissal.

“Oh I don’t give a tail about it. Let’s just concentrate on a plan to get the Tartarus out of here.”

Twilight gave Little Hoof a glare of her own.

“I do not leave friends behind”, she said in a dangerously low voice.

“Fine by me, just teleport me to the nearest town, I’ll make my way from there”, Little Hoof shrugged.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Aren’t you paid to handle danger?”

Little Hoof gave a snort.

“I’m paid to handle danger not get my neck broken going after professionals”, she retorted, eyes blazing.

Twilight shrunk back.

“Okay, sorry”, Twilight mumbled, scuffing a hoof.

Little Hoof’s expression softened.

“Listen, Twilight. I like you so I’ll give you some advice that I should have gotten long ago. Let the authorities handle this and don’t get involved. Friend or not those ponies are trained and deadly good at what they do. Don’t get chewed up.”

Twilight’s gaze bore into the floorboards of the carriage.

“I can’t leave them behind”, she said in a small voice, her posture wilting.

“Trust me, you’ll just get in the way”, Little Hoof mumbled, lying stiffly on her side.

Twilight had no answer to that as she stared at the deceptively peaceful scenery outside.

She thought it should be raining to reflect her mood.

Maybe it was raining.

Just not outside.

> 95 - Prison Break: Take Three?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The carriage jolted to a stop the second time today. Unlike the first time, it seemed like the stop was unplanned.

I heard cursing from outside.

“Pony feathers!” A dark voice growled. It was deeper than cyan-eyes. I assumed it was the third assailant that hadn’t spoken during the assault.

“What’s the matter?!” The leader demanded loudly, I couldn’t see either of them, the bars only showed one side of the carriage. They were conversing off to the side.

“Axle’s warped”, the deep voice responded, there was a pause to which I assumed the leader was inspecting the damage.

“Horse apples”, the leader muttered, I could barely hear it. Pseudo gave me a worried look as I pressed my ears against the metal of the carriage. I shook my head and gave her a forced smile, a finger on my lips. Pseudo seemed to understand and went back to playing dead.

“I think we should camp here for tonight”, deep-voice suggested, I heard a stomp and a frustrated growl.

“We’ve put a fair bit of distance between the train and here but I wanted to go a few stretches more”, the leader snarled, he whacked the side of the carriage causing a sharp pain to suddenly shoot through my ear. I silently screamed and held my ear. Ouch.

“Alright”, he called out, stomping into the view of the bars. I quickly went back to Pseudo and pretended to stare in disinterest at a metal wall.

“Distribute the rations”, he ordered gruffly.

The copper-brown eyed one drifted into view.

“What about the prisoners?” she asked, eyeing me through the bars.

“Nothing for them, it doesn’t matter if they’re dead or alive.” He spat in disgust.

The copper-brown eyes hesitated before nodding and resuming her duties.

I shrunk a bit, looks like I won’t be eating tonight.

I whispered to Pseudo.

“Go ahead and siphon a bit of the emotions in the air. I’ll let you know if anyone comes past. After you’re done with that, can you help me with these ropes?”

Pseudo eyed me with worry.

“How are we going to get out of this? What are they planning to do with you?”

I sighed, shrugging. I feigned a nonchalance that was contrary to the twisting anxiety in my gut.

“No use worrying, right? Some things are out of our power, we just have to wait for the right opportunity”, I said, tapping my Synch on my head.

Pseudo smiled.

“If anypony can find out how to get out of this, it’s you”, she mumbled, positioning herself at the opposite ends of the carriage.

I activated the infrared overlay knot. It wouldn’t work very well in the Faraday cage of the carriage, however the small yellow glow would alert me as the kidnappers came close to the bar openings. Carefully monitoring the bars I left Pseudo know with a small hand-wave whenever a guard crossed the bars. After about twenty minutes or so, Pseudo gave me a nod, her mouth twisted with disgust. Seems like the emotions here were severely lacking.

I relaxed, almost dismissing the infrared knot, but a small glimmer caught my eye.

What was that?

My eyes widened.

A keyhole? Here?

I carefully shuffled over the keyhole gesturing to Pseudo to play dead near me. Keeping an eye on the bars, Pseudo crept over to where I was, gently rolling her hooves so as not to attract any attention. She gently lay down near the keyhole. I crossed my legs and leant towards Pseudo.

“Pseudo”, I hissed quietly, my hand pointed towards the keyhole with limited flexibility. “What do you see?”

Pseudo started in surprise.

“A keyhole”, she whispered softly. “I see the ground.”

I switched my knot to ultraviolet. It was faint, but there was a slight indentation on the ground. It was a trapdoor!

“A trapdoor. Okay we’ll wait for these ponies to go to sleep and then we’ll make our move.”

I settled in, giving Pseudo a few strokes on her mane. She calmed down a little.

“Alright, I trust you”, she said, giving me a small smile.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine”, I repeated, trying to convince myself more than Pseudo.

-----

I had the sort of butterflies in my stomach that I felt back at the diamond dog caves. Every moment was filled with the sort of tension that could snap like an elastic band pulled to its breaking point.

I counted the paces outside.

One, two, three… then he pauses for a minute and turns the other way. I counted to myself silently.

It was nearing to the changing of the watch. I had only a rough measure of when they would changeover, relying on my Synch to time the change and hoping that the changes occurred at roughly the same times. The night was not as silent as some would think. I could hear the chirping of crickets and the beat of frogs in the background, the trees shook from time to time with the scurrying of bats and other tree-creatures that littered the forest around us. From time to time I could hear a start and a shuffle, as the guarding kidnapper would investigate a suspicious sound, only to find a rabbit or a squirrel to be the cause of the sound.

I waited until he investigated with both Pseudo and I wide-awake and poised for action. Tonight was a new moon and the campfire cast a small reflective glow partially into the carriage but the lights were muted inside. It was perfect for us to manoeuvre around without casting too much suspicion, as long as we were sufficiently quiet about it.

While we had been waiting for the next opportunity for the sentry to investigate another sound, I got Pseudo to use her mouth and release me from the ropes. I kept a loop handy to use as an improvised garrotte. Well it worked for me before, so why not now? With my hands free, I stretched my arms and shook the circulation back into them. It wasn’t extremely tight, but they were uncomfortable.

I heard the sentry darted off to investigate another noise. At least he was diligent at his post. Unfortunately he should have checked the prisoners.

“Pseudo, can you unlock this?” I susurrated. I prompted her with a nod towards the keyhole with my head.

Pseudo nodded.

“I will try, it may be more complex than it looks”, she whispered back, her horn glowing softly.

I gazed intensely at the bars with my infrared knot active, waiting for the inevitable moment of whether we would be found out first or if Pseudo could get the lock first.

Snick.

We were out.

Pseudo gave me a frantic nod her blue eyes glowing in the aftermath of the complex magic. I stealthily made my way to the trapdoor, hoping to the universe that my shoes wouldn’t squeak on the metal.

It didn’t.

Pseudo boosted the trapdoor with her magic and thankfully, it slipped up silently. I was grateful to the person who had last oiled the trapdoor.

Cautiously I laid the trapdoor hatch lid down on the other side. The small ‘clink’ it made as it touched the metal on the other side made me freeze and listen intently for any changes. I heard the guard come back. If he peered into the carriage it would be all over.

I tensed when I heard his hoof steps pace closer and closer.

Step. Step. Step. Step. Stop.

I held my breath.

Step. Step. Step. Step.

His hoof steps faded away as I let out my held breath silently.

Pseudo gave me a glance of relief and I petted her as I climbed out, crouching under the extremely low space of the undercarriage. Underneath the carriage I could make out the two sleeping forms blocking the fire and I crawled on my belly to get to the wheel of the carriage. Looks like this carriage was extra-sized to transport dangerous animals or something. I didn’t want to think about where it came from.

I reached the wheel, looking back at Pseudo making a very silent landing, thanks to her outstretched wings. I sighed in relief as she caught up to me.

Carefully, I transformed my posture to a crouch and listened for the steps of the kidnapper on watch.

I waited until he was on the far side of the campfire. I reasoned that the fire would blind the guard to our escape on the opposite side.

The steps faded from my hearing as he paced to the opposite side of the fire.

I crept forward, keeping a wary eye on the other two sleeping ponies.

In a moment I thought we were clear until a clear snap from my foot rang in my ears.

I allowed myself one curse.

Damn!

I froze, hoping the guard hadn’t heard. No luck. I heard the hoof steps of his approach already.

“Run”, I croaked, urging Pseudo ahead of me. Her wings flittered as she took flight, leaving me behind. I felt a moment of joy before a tackle from behind pinned me to the ground. The kidnapper alerted his compatriots with a loud shout. Dang, the ponies were faster than me on foot.

Pseudo hesitated, looking back at me.

“Run! Get away, alert the others, you can lead them here, go!” I shouted, urging Pseudo to leave. She flittered away just in time as the other two came into view. Pinned as I was, I couldn’t shift the small pony off me, he was much heavier than he looked. His hoof moved to my throat, immobilising me.

I couldn’t reach the rope tucked in my belt, my movements prompted him to press into my throat harder and I ceased. After a moment the pressure decreased slightly. I sagged in defeat.

“Shall I go after her?” A feminine voice asked.

The leader glared at the sky for a moment.

“No”, he growled, stomping a hoof in frustration. “We still have our prize, let it go.”

Cyan-eyes glared at me.

“I don’t know how you escaped but there won’t be a next time”, he promised me, turning to the stallion that pinned me down.

“Bind him again, make sure the carriage is safe again. I don’t want a repeat”, the leader ordered, the stallion on me gave me a harsh look.

“No funny business this time”, he warned, shoving me around and tying me with the rope he found hidden in my pocket.

The mare had returned with a spear and was pointing it at me.

“I don’t want to kill but I will if I have to”, she added but I didn’t really hear her. I was glad Pseudo was safe, even if I weren’t.

There would be another opportunity… wouldn’t there?

> 96 - Breaking Point
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I dragged roughly into a cavern-like structure and deposited in front of a bemused brown stallion. His flank bore the mark of two loaves of bread, which I found very contrary to his warped expression of glee as he studied me. I would have said something but the kidnappers had decided to gag me.

He trotted forward, giving me a wide grin.

“Let’s talk about balloons. It stretches and warps. It expands and sometimes contracts. It contains a whole bunch of gas that does whatever it wants inside the confines of the balloon material. Guess what? If you pump all the gas out of the balloon, it collapses into a limp mass and with nothing to support it flops there unable to do anything and the once full and round balloon is left barren and lifeless, no longer the merriment and joviality it once represented.

“In my life there’s such a balloon. Except, it’s not a balloon. It’s the universe.

“When magic leaks out, the lifeblood of this universe is drained. Things that hold other things together become unstuck. Instead of deflating slowly like I had suggested earlier, the effect is closer to a rip in reality, a hole that steadily grows the more you interact with the rushing magic that blows itself out the void.”

The stallion paused, waiting for the effect of his words to sink in.

“Understandably, you will hold hate towards me…”

I screamed through my gag but he only wore a frosty smile.

“But I am a medic, the alicorn of death. I am here to cure this world of a problem, a disease-“ his mouth twisted in disgust “-to excise a cancerous growth.”

I glared at him intensely, trying to bore my eyes into his.

He chuckled.

“It’s funny”, he continued, pacing in front of me, his hooves moving restlessly against the whipping wind that stirred in the cavern. “I was normal, once.”

“I didn’t monologue in front of my prisoners, waiting for their sentence. I didn’t revel in the fruits of my labours as I conquered magic, death and beyond. I didn’t build a network of criminals and misfits and a broken guild to wrench from this world what it took from me!”

The last words came out as a primeval roar. He paused, as if realising he snapped. He looked at me somewhat ironically.

“Forgive me, null being. I was tad out of sorts here. Just a little. Not a lot. Not too much”, he muttered, resuming his pacing. He stopped after a few circuits, staring at me strangely.

“I never revealed to you who I was, right?”

I felt a shiver creep up my spine as the oak-brown stallion regarded me without emotion.

“I am Maellorn Brown… Maellorn is the title given for the lead necromancer in their generation.”

He sat on his haunches his eyes going distant.

“I was once a baker, did you know? Brown Bread was my name. What? Is it not to your liking? Not ‘evil’ enough for you? I was a regular pony just getting by with my special talent, baking bread. Everything was fine until I met Lilac.”

His smile grew wistful.

“The perfect mare a stallion could hope for. Smart, funny, feisty and energetic. Everything I wasn’t when I met her.”

His smile shrivelled.

“She was gone in a blink, lost to an incurable disease a severe case of Equinorgla. She stayed alive for so long, fighting it with everything she had. It broke her… oh it broke her. She lasted not more than a week.”

He turned a baleful eye to me, inspecting me like a scientist would an insect.

“The world took her away from me too soon. It was a cruel joke. She died on the day we were to be married. The happiest day of my life ruined forever!”

He ground the loose dirt and gravel beneath his hoof in an irritated manner, producing a squelching sound that grated on my ears.

“I know what you’re thinking”, he growled, eyeing me intently. His tail flicked in agitation. “What makes my Lilac so special that she would be worth those lives? What makes my Lilac the one I save when so many others are doomed? What-“

He stopped himself and took a deep breath.

“Understand this, null being. I did this for love. I sacrificed my innocence, my world, and my future so that she may live a few more days. I TOOK BACK EVERYTHING THAT WAS STOLEN FROM ME!”

His head whipped around as a shadow fell upon the two of us.

A griffon entered the cave, bowing respectively to Maellorn. She had golden feathers that gleamed softly in the moonlight, the colours playing unusually to her soft tan feathers that made up her chequered her chest. Maellorn looked mildly annoyed at the interruption, but kept his peace until the griffon finished reporting.

“The hired help has been paid, sir.”

Maellorn smiled thinly.

“Excellent work as always, Ragnild.”

The griffon nodded, giving me a passing glance and left as Maellorn turned to me.

“Wondering why I’m giving you so many names of my compatriots? It’s simple, in a moment you will be gone. You will have no bearing, no consequence for this universe any longer. You will cease to be a sore sight here. I’m not heartless, I will send you to a habitable universe but I didn’t waste time looking for your own, wherever it may be…”

I swallowed hard, things were culminating fast, I struggled against my bonds, itching to get out of this mess.

Maellorn let loose a sharp barking laughter.

“No use struggling, null being. It won’t be your time now. The circle and the preparations are yet to be completed. Hush, now”, he whispered the last words into my ear as I cringed away.

“At the risk of sounding cliché”, he murmured, his cold voice making the hairs on the nape of my neck stand on end. “You will never escape from this.”

His face drew close, locking gazes with me.

“When you are gone I will have to extract enough souls to resurrect my dear Lilac again. She has suffered so much. I will have to keep a tighter watch on her. She had slipped out of my grasp before. She won’t again. When you are dealt with she can live here safely and I need not worry for the magic binding her soul being stolen away.”

“I don’t have much against you personally, not really.”

He cocked his head to the side as a lock of his mane fell across his eyes.

“You just need to be removed.”

A deep male voice called from within the cavern.

“The preparations have been completed. The circle is ready.”

Maellorn gave me a viscous grimace, revealing yellowed teeth.

“I believe the words for this would be… hmm ”, he cackled, sauntering away. His taunting words echoed back as I watched him recede.

“See you in Tartarus, ha, ha, ha!”

I felt a powerful vice-like grip on my shoulders take me by surprise as I was painfully manhandled. My rising fear was fanned by the grasping darkness of the dank cave. Maellorn nonchalantly navigated the dark and soon I couldn’t see hide or hair of him as his tail swished into the deep caverns. I couldn’t twist my body to view the monstrosity that held me but I knew from the grip and the way it handled me I was but a doll in its iron grip.

Was it all going to end here?

A voice in my head screamed at me.

He’s going to reactivate Synchrony! What are you doing all limp and impotent. Get up you spineless excuse for a human!

I renewed my struggles but the grip just tightened until it hurt to breathe. I stopped and it relaxed, but only slightly.

I frowned, feeling my heart skip a beat every stomp I felt that brough me closer to the circle.

My dagger? Gone. My Synch? No use against something physical. Nullification? They would have guarded against it. Why can’t I think of anything? Why is this happening to me?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I stopped struggling. My best chance would be to break out when they least expect it.

A glow distracted my thoughts and I spied a complex network of glowing crystals suspended on apex points of a complex diagram inscribed with a language I couldn’t discern the meaning of. The pattern was alive with the pulse of an arcane heartbeat, the strange symbols somehow evoking a sense of dread and an inexplicable pull.

“Fascinating isn’t it? You know the genius of Star Swirl’s spell? It was founded on magic that doesn’t just apply to magical beings but it appeals to fundamental constructs that we all know. Space, time – space-time. Life, death – senescence. Good, evil – balance. All these things make this construct so powerful. Powerful enough to move a null being without ever touching it with magic.”

I felt a petrifying numbness engulf me where I stood as I watched the sigils burn themselves in my eyes.

I couldn’t control my legs. I couldn’t control my arms. I was utterly powerless.

I was placed gently in the centre of the circle, now that he moved back I could finally see the giant that carried me. It was my first time seeing a minotaur. This one had dark blue navy fur that coated his upper body, his eyes glowed a sickly yellow and his horns jutted proudly from his skull in wide-ranging arcs. His legs ended in cloved hoofs and he stared at me just as intently.

Even if I could make a move, the minotaur looked like he could handle anything that I could throw at him. I would have sagged but my muscles held stiff.

Maellorn gave me a condescending smirk.

“Just a little extra precaution, you won’t be locked in that position for long…”

I just wished I could close my eyes. The last thing I would be seeing was Maellorn’s triumphant face.

> 97 - Edge of Evolution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both had a quite unique dilemma. On one hoof they both agreed that going after the newly appointed ambassador would be foalish, considering a rogue agent had infiltrated their ranks. Leaving Canterlot at the moment might leave a power vacuum large enough to allow whatever undercurrents powered the unknown faction’s clout to gain significant footing. They would be subtle, to be sure, but the extended absence of the Crown prompted many bold ponies to come crawling out of the woodwork and into the innocent looking, but dangerous atmosphere that was Canterlot politics.

Celestia did not like involving her friends in politics. No matter that this was a diarchy; there were still supports for Celestia’s absolute power. If the foundations were rocked sufficiently, the gentle tapestry of peace and prosperity that she had lovingly woven over the years may crumble to dust. Canterlot politics was thing to be wary of and Celestia would not wish its sticky grasp on anypony. Princess Luna had done amazingly well, whilst Celestia’s art of diplomacy and mediation was par none, there was simplicity to Luna’s defence. Luna’s strategy of frank, open and honest opinion was both a weapon and a shield. Her straightforward personality made it possible to ignore wiles and subtlety in manipulation but the double-edged sword also made it harder for Luna to ingratiate herself among the… less savoury of the Canterlot court.

And so the problem was thus. Between the two of them, Celestia had thought that both sides of the coin had been covered. She reflected, quite morosely, that she had once again given the benefit of the doubt to her little ponies and it had turned for the worse. She felt the slight twinge of disappointment but reminded herself that this was the way things were. Good and bad were always prevalent. She just needed to deal with it one at a time.

Celestia found herself in front of the Bureau again.

She hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door.

“Come in”, a raspy voice magically echoed down the hall.

Celestia strode in, noting the grey unicorn stallion was once again buried in various reports and documents that littered his desk, overflowing to the floor.

Celestia picked her hoofing carefully, stepping this way and that to avoid the hazards that gathered on the rambunctious stallion’s floor.

“Far Sight, I see your taste in decorum hasn’t deviated in the past years”, Celestia commented wryly, eyeing the back of the unicorn’s head. She would use his last name, but she didn’t actually know it. Nopony did, he was always ‘Far Sight’.

The unicorn shook his head, letting his teal mane fall away from his eyes. He peered at Celestia with owlish eyes.

“And the only time a pony comes here is when he or she wants something from me. Never going to drop by for a pleasant chat, hmm? Too much business?”

Celestia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the rude address that Far Sight liked to utilise.

She chuckled softly, “If you involve yourself in something other than business, I just might have something to talk to you about.”

Far Sight’s eyes shot up to regard Celestia impishly.

“Touché”, he stated, before sweeping the stacked piles of scrolls and books on his desk to the floor with flagrant disregard. It was a kind of disregard that would give Twilight a conniption, and if she were in the room, quite possibly earn him a death sentence.

Celestia picked her way around the newly obstructed pathway to his desk and gracefully seated herself on the opposing chair as Far Sight drew two cups of the finest brew he had in stock. Which was the only brew he had in stock, at all.

A bolt of magic quickly boiled the water and a pleasant aroma of Earl Neigh tea filled the room.

“I ask again, white pony princess, what brings you here?” Far Sight demanded, after pouring her a cup of tea and plonking himself down on the opposing chair.

Celestia sighed lightly.

“Far Sight, I think you would know why I am here”, she said in a low voice, locking gazes with him. He froze for a moment, crystallising her suspicions.

Far Sight, tapped a hoof on the table.

“Okay, okay. I have a clue, but not as much as you think. I may be an information broker, but I’m also only one pony-“

“With an extensive network”, Celestia interrupted.

Far Sight acceded the point with a nod of his head.

“True, but it still limited to the range that my network can reach, you know how information is. You have to vet it, cross check it, and all the hassle and hullabaloo that comes with the glorious job of information exchange.”

Celestia gave Far Sight a level look that caused him to break out in cold sweat.

“Far Sight, I may not look like it, but you of all ponies should know how experienced I am with conversation. Although I would think even my sister could see that you are avoiding the topic.”

Far Sight swallowed.

He put his hoofs up in resignation.

“Okay! You got me! But you’re not going to like the answer”, he mumbled, giving Celestia a sidelong glance.

Celestia leant in, eager to hear his response.

“Right okay, you’re right there’s been a double agent among your staff-“ he paused, leaning over to shift through some documents “-ah yes, here.”

Celestia picked up the document in her telekinetic aura, giving the contents a quick read.

She frowned, trying to make sense of it.

“I don’t understand”, she said finally, giving the parchment another once over to try and decipher the contents.

Far Sight slammed his hoof on the desk again, this time the action making Celestia flinch slightly.

“That’s it! I don’t know either!” he yelled, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Celestia’s eyes widened at the implication.

The information broker. The information broker did not have a clue what the contents of this parchment were about.

Far Sight cleared his throat and scratched the back of his foreleg in embarrassment.

“Okay yeah, the only thing I know is that it is connected to practically half of the nobles in Canterlot and something to do with both the dragons and the griffons.” He shuddered. “This stuff is a lot more serious than the stuff I usually get into.”

Celestia raised her head in confusion giving the unicorn a bemused look.

“Okay, well, my stuff that I usually get into is serious but this information and obfuscation is definitely world-class. I can’t find heads nor tails of it.”

Celestia hummed to herself in consternation.

“Would you mind if I take this?” Celestia asked, taking a sip of the tea. At least it was excellent brew.

Far Sight just grunted, waving her away with a hoof.

“Just take it and leave it. If you find out anything, you know to let me know. I’ve got a bit of a backlog to work through.”

“You say that every time I leave here”, Celestia observed wryly.

Far Sight just mumbled something indistinguishable and went back to skimming over a report.

Celestia left. Her mind was in a whirr of emotions and fractured thoughts.

------

Twilight had made it as far as she could, alternating between following the tracking spell and coordinating with the low flying pegasi.

A blue coated pegasus flittered down beside her, he put a hoof on her shoulder.

“You mustn’t overstrain yourself, ma’am”, he rebuked, gently. Twilight turned bleary eyes to the guard.

“I h-have to go on”, she stuttered, swaying to her hooves.

The guard gave a frustrated grunt and forced her back down.

“Now, now none of that, let us handle it”, he growled, keeping a watchful eye on the sky.

“But-“

“Hush now, you need rest, you will be more useless to us all knackered, instead of fully rested.”

Twilight sank her head into her hooves. Her eyes drooped.

“Wake me up… wake me up if you find something…” she mumbled in a barely audible force.

------

The incantations were taking a long time. The preparations required me to be frozen in my position for a very long time. I was bored. I was frustrated. I was aching to bust out of these infernal restraints. I didn’t even know how they were holding onto me without anything physical. Where had my null ability gone? They mentioned something about laws and being beyond magic but I couldn’t understand it. I looked on helplessly, feeling a burning in my eyes, unable to even blink. My eyes were blurring and turning red and tears streaked down my cheeks.

Every second that went by would be a step towards banishment to another dimension, if Maellorn were to be believed. I didn’t know if he was lying or telling the truth of whether I would be alive or dead when I got there. I don’t think he cared. I didn’t think he was lying either. The weird part of it was that I couldn’t think of a reason why he would lie. Regardless I had done all I could in trying to escape, I just hoped that it would come before it was too late.

Maellorn smirked, as he read the last line of the spell out. A dark, sickly green hue had overtaken the sigils and my eyes hurt anew when I couldn’t shield them from the glare.

“Ah null being, I would say it has been a pleasure, but you have cause me a little too much trouble for my liking, perhaps if we-“

An ear splitting roar filled the cavern, interrupting Maellorn in mid-sentence.

“No”, he whimpered shrinking back. He rebounded quickly and then gathered himself.

He pointed to the minotaur.

“Hold her off, I only need a few more minutes to complete this!” he ordered, frantically scrabbling through a pile of gemstones sequestered outside my vision, a few of the gems bounced into view as he threw them over his shoulder.

“Anti-dragon flame, where is that blasted amulet gem?”

I heard the roar again, this time it was closer.

“I see her, ready your spells!” I recognised the ragged voice belonging to Ragnild.

“YOUR TIME HAS COME!” an almighty thunderous growl swept through the cavern. I felt a wave of relief roll through me, Sharp had come. I felt the small lump underneath my belt where the tooth had lain.

I heard a piercing shriek of defiance behind me. I was desperate to see what was going on, but all I could do was stand there frozen in time.

“Found it!” Maellorn snarled, trotting back into view with a ruby inset into a silver amulet. He placed it carefully at a sigil point.

“Can’t have our dear friend the Death Wing, break our spell now can we?” he muttered, hastily intoning a few more words that sounded like gibberish to me. The circle flared in response in sympathy with his horn.

“That’ll do it”, he growled, stepping back and casting a critical eye.

I heard a crash from behind me.

“MAELLORN!” an incensed voice tinged with all the rage and fury of a broken promise filtered through.

“I WILL DO THIS”, Maellorn shouted back. “I WILL DO THIS FOR MY LILAC. DON’T YOU DARE STOP ME, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!”

I could hear the dragoness’ claws clicking against the loose gravel and stones on the cavern floor.

‘Click’, ‘Click’, ‘Click’

“Stay back!” Maellorn yelled, taking a step back.

A deep growl emanated from behind me.

“You cannot win, Maellorn”, Sharp said, giving an electrifying hiss that sent shivers down my spine.

Maellorn looked unnerved. I felt a sense of palatable relief flow through me, but it was tinged with hesitation. Something felt off.

I couldn’t warn Sharp. She saw the amulet too late as she breathed liquid fire on the circle.

“Wrong move, Death Wing Sharp! Wrong move!”

“Thank you for providing the power for this circle, you’ve just hastened my plans!” he announced with glee, skipping towards the dragoness. A couldn’t see Sharp but it didn’t take a genius to know that she was trapped in a similar state as I was. Unable to move.

Maellorn circled the both of us.

“Slaughter my guild? Don’t force your disgusting principles on me! You are the same Sharp, don’t pretend you are better. I know you’ve done this for him. Why can’t you let me do this for her?!”

He paced back in front of me.

He almost looked regretful but I was too angry to even notice it.

“I-“ he began but stopped himself. “You’re right, I can’t ask for anything from you. I have already taken so much. Know that you are doing this for love. Know that you are doing this for my dear Lilac, though she won’t mean anything to you.”

I would have spat in his face if I could. Her lover was dead. She had her time. He had his. I’m here to save a future, not help the past.

But my thoughts would never be communicated.

I felt sorry for Sharp. I had dragged her into this, calling in my one favour and all it had done was gotten us both trapped. I would have apologised to her if my mouth would work. All I could do was continue to watch the sigils grow brighter as the glowing amulet fixed to a corner grew bright as the circle.

The circle grew brighter and brighter as light built up to an intensity that drowned out all my other senses from the overload. An urge to scream and shout tore at my chest.

I felt a sudden realisation, the inevitable had come.

I’m going to die here, aren’t I?

Then. 

Nothing.

> 98 - Epilogue: Being Popular with Fate
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight rose over the crest just in time to see a brilliant flash of light. She gasped, eyes wide then shot forward towards the jutting cavern on the nearby peak. The pegasi, not needing a signal, darted forward with her, easily overtaking the grounded unicorn as they reached the recessed hovel.

By the time they had gotten there, only an unconscious and battered minotaur and an equally affected griffon had been found. Further in the pegasi guards had scouted but only a small crater with scorch marks and assorted gems were present.

Twilight came about half an hour later, having teleported the last stretch. When she reached the empty cavern, she collapsed, letting her sore, throbbing head lie on the cool ground floor.

She was told that the human hadn’t been found much earlier, but seeing the evidence sunk her deeper into a pit of depression. Being confronted with the evidence had frozen her thought processes.

She was blank for a few moments before her mind decided that that was enough time to have a break. It slowly reached a few disturbing points as Twilight picked herself up and sat on her haunches.

Had she made the right decision?

Perhaps.

There was no way she could pursue the wayward human ambassador now, she had tried igniting her tracking spell a few times. Sparks flowed but there was no pull. He wasn’t anywhere detectable anymore.

Twilight slumped, for once in her life her prodigious knowledge and spell crafting had no answers, no indication of what she should do.

She was surprised and very annoyed when a hoof glanced off her back and she glared back at the insensitive pony.

Little Hoof gave her a bemused smirk.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight demanded, sinking back down from her crouch. Her posture remained guarded.

Little Hoof looked a little embarrassed.

“Okay, I thought about what you said back there, about going after your friends and all that”, she began, shifting her hooves.

Twilight just stared at the mare.

“I-“ she started again but stopped, she looked at the pegasi guards circling the sky.

“I want to say that you’re right. I was paid for this expedition. It’s not my style to chicken out”, she explained awkwardly.

“Are you saying that because you’re nice and safe behind the pegasi guards, now?” Twilight snapped, but instantly regretted it as she saw Little Hoof’s ears lay back flat against her skull.

Twilight sighed.

“I’m sorry. We just haven’t found any trace of my friend.”

Twilight stared into the distance, her thoughts in turmoil.

Little Hoof regarded Twilight in sympathy.

“If it helps, I can understand. If you want, you know-“ she shifted her gaze awkwardly “-a shoulder to cry on?” she offered hesitantly.

Twilight gave vent a snort of laughter.

“No thanks, but that was very kind of you to offer”, she replied easily and laughed harder when Little Hoof sagged in relief.

“Thank Celestia, I’m not good at this hoof on the withers sort of thing”, she mumbled, drawing another chuckle from Twilight.

It wasn’t funny but it was something she needed right now.

-----

Not for the first time in her life, Pseudo was lost.

After escaping from the foalnappers, Pseudo had flitted within the forest. She didn’t think about the direction she was going, or how far she was going for, or for how long. All she could think about was getting help. Unfortunately, Pseudo hadn’t made it very far when she collided with a cloud and spiralled out of control, narrowly missing some jutting boulders in the area and landing painfully on partially rocky soil. 

Spitting out a few clumps of dirt and shakily rising to her hooves, Pseudo tried to get into the air again but a sharp pain in her wing caused her to awkwardly flop to her side. She moaned, looking back at the wing. Her eyes widened, seeing the awkward angle it was bent at. Pseudo tried to stretch her wing out but even a third of a way she let out a whimper of agony.

She looked around the forest, pawing at the rocky soil.

She glanced up at sky, noting the sun’s position. It was slightly after noon, she would have to find somewhere to rest. A gnawing feeling twisted in her gut.

What if she couldn’t find Twilight, or one of the princesses, or Nicodia? There weren’t many ponies in Equestria who knew who Pseudo was. Pseudo shuddered. Changelings weren’t very well received after the Green Hive had attacked Canterlot.

She nervously made her way to the forest, heading towards the west. Pseudo hoped that she could find her way to a friendly pony. Or at least long enough to copy them and slip back to Canterlot. Then she could get some help.

-----

Solid grunted.

Lightning took a step towards Solid, with a cocked head.

“What is it?”

Solid fiddled with a dial, reading the results on the old mage-screen.

“I’m getting some very strange readings”, she mumbled, peering at the jumble of numbers and equations. Lightning looked at the readout and shook his head, he was a pegasus without any real professional training in magic, it was just gobbledegook to him.

“What does it mean, Solid?”

Solid hummed to herself.

“I’m not sure, Lightning.”

“But you have a clue?” Lightning pressed, creeping closer.

Solid nodded hesitantly.

“I think-“ she looked around, lowering her voice to barely above a whisper “-I think ambient magic has stopped decreasing.”

Lightning had a curious look on his face.

“That could be because our resident null being has stopped touching ponies.”

Solid looked thoughtful.

“Even so, there should be a very small drain just from being here in Equestria.”

“I don’t know much about your equipment and what you’ve been constructing but is that drain big enough to measure?”

Solid tapped a hoof on her muzzle in thought.

“That’s why I need a little longer to figure this out. It could be background… but then again…”

“He could be in trouble”, Lightning finished for her. “I better get this to Gruff.”

Solid nodded, already lost in calibrating the equipment.

Lightning found Gruff tinkering with a coupe of crystals and a wire frame.

“Gruff”, he greeted, ignoring the indignant glare from Gael at his interruption.

“Just a moment, Lightning, I’ve almost got this.”

Gruff straightened a brace and fused the crystal with a blast from a welding torch.

He lifted the visor to see Lightning blinking rapidly.

“Sorry about that”, Gruff apologised. “I should have warned you, that was quite rude of me.”

Lightning chuckled.

“I’ve had worse. Solid has come up with something, I think you need to take a look.”

Gruff grunted in affirmation, heaving the wire frame over to a pile of other similarly assembled metal structures.

“Okay Lightning, lead the way.”

They trotted back to the clearing where Solid was cursing under her breath. It was just loud enough for Gael to roll her eyes and Lightning to cough loud so that Solid could hear them.

“Eheh, sorry about that”, Solid replied, finally aware of the new occupants in the clearing.

Gruff waved a dismissive paw.

“Lightning says you’ve gotten something.”

Solid nodded apprehensively.

“It’s not conclusive but I think the null being doesn’t exist on Equestria anymore.”

Gruff frowned, going through the implications. A corner of his mouth curled downwards in consternation.

“That could mean anything. He could be sent back to his home world, which would be the best-case scenario, or he could be in trouble, or it could be just none of the above. Have we ruled out equipment?”

Solid shook her head sheepishly.

“I’m sorry Gruff but I haven’t had enough time. Doesn’t help that the equipment is substandard”, she commented, sending a small kick to the monitor.

“And illegal”, Lightning muttered darkly.

“Ah, don’t be a stick in the mud”, Solid scoffed, nudging Lightning. Lightning rolled his eyes.

“If the Princess didn’t explicitly tell me it was alright to go support you, I would have arrested you about five times now.”

Solid stealthily shifted a thaumic driver she ‘borrowed’ from a nearby store.

“Wouldn’t want to make it six now would we?” she chuckled nervously.

Lightning narrowed his eyes at Solid but Gruff interrupted them before a protracted argument could be made out.

“All that is secondary to finding out more about this disturbance and setting in place the passive network”, Gruff reminded the both of them.

Solid and Lightning nodded in agreement, sobering up.

“I’ll get right on it again”, Solid affirmed. She moved back to the equipment and gave it another critical look.

Lightning stood by but gave Gruff a serious nod.

There was more at stake here than a simple legal spat anyway.

When we finish with this though, Solid is going to return every minutia of stolen goods she borrowed for this mission. He thought in exasperation. Even though they had plenty of bits, Solid insisted on ‘borrowing’ items for her use, she said it helped her workflow. Lightning had been initially very surly with the idea but Solid had made an offhanded comment that he sounded just like Iron did before and he couldn’t muster up the strength to argue against those sad eyes.

She’s still returning them though. He thought darkly.

Gruff nodded, getting back to work.

Gael quickly caught up.

“Sir, do you think we’ll be able to finish in time? Sharp looked a little apprehensive when you started this”, she commented softly.

Gruff looked up in mild amusement.

“I take it you eavesdropped on our conversation then?” he queried, patting Gael on her back.

Gael blushed and stammered a response.

“O-Okay, m-maybe just a l-little”, she admitted weakly.

Gruff nodded and continued walking.

“Gael this mission we’re undertaking is a little dangerous, mostly for me but not as much for you. Still, I will not blame you if you want to pull out”, he said, admiring the scenery.

Gael always loved that aspect of the diamond dog. His ability to notice his surroundings and appreciate nature whilst still being on top of the complex responsibilities and tasks he set for himself and from others.

He does so much. Gael thought sadly. And no one will probably ever know.

He stopped in front of the mesh of wires and crystals.

Gael cleared her throat.

“You know I will always be here to support you, Sir”, she answered giving Gruff a smile.

“How many times have I told you to call me Gruff?” he muttered, exasperated.

“Just about as many times as I have declined, I think”, Gael replied easily, hiding a smirk as Gruff threw up his paws.

“One day”, he responded, rolling his eyes. His smiled drooped fractionally.

“One day.”

-----

I drifted in empty space. It was weird. It didn’t feel like I was breathing anything. It didn’t feel like I was feeling anything. Yet, I felt like I was floating and it felt like I was breathing but at the same time I wasn’t. There was no sense of gravity or atmosphere or time.

It was an empty void.

Drat, was I really dead?

“No, you’re not”, a voice growled from behind me. I whipped around.

“Oh”, was all I could say.

> 99 - Bonus Chapter: Why is the Moon Made of Cheese ? (Part 1) (canon-disputed)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER 1: Why is the Moon Made of Cheese?

So why is the moon made of cheese? Was it because of the holes that made it look vaguely like Swish Cheese? Or perhaps Harry the Bear's ancestors decided that launching CamemBear into space would be an excellent idea. Unfortunately, we would probably never know how the moon got to its dairy-like consistency. Only that, the Princesses, whose hooves remain tied behind their prodigious and royal backs, would decline to comment when asked, and are as tight lipped as the next mare when it came to the contents of their saddlebags.

One pink party pony however, was Tartarus-bent on finding out the truth of the claim, after all, such magic could benefit all of party-kind. The information was restricted and no matter how many cupcakes she bribed the guards with, they would stoically shake their heads and deny the energetic mare entry into the forbidden archives of Canterlot.

Luna had been furious when she found out. She had taken a short break from court to fight a growing infestation of owl-bears in Northern Equestria, only to return and find that her moon had been converted to a delicate fromage. After many an attempt to shift the moon back to proper natural rocky state, the alicorn Princess of the Night finally achieved the feat in under a week and would not speak of it again. This of course, did nothing to sate Pinkie's ravenous curiosity. Twilight had been interested too, but not more persistent when Celestia had gently advised to leave that can of worms alone.

Fast running out of friends to help her in such an important mission, Pinkie turned to one of the only friends she knew would help her with something dangerous and daring.


#


"Nope. No way Pinkie!" The rainbow mare replied to the gooey eyes that Pinkie positively exuded.

"But this is an emergency!" Pinkie pleaded, turning up the doe-eye expression.

Rainbow's eyelids slid down half-mast to consider the excitable pink pony.

"Hmm. No. Still no."

Pinkie pouted.

"I haven't even told you what I was going to give you in return for helping me out!"

Rainbow shook her head.

"I don't think there is anything that could convince m-" Rainbow started but stopped as her jaw dropped a good length towards the cloud floor as Pinkie waved a pair of golden tickets in her face "-okay you got me there... Just, don't tell Twilight about this."

Pinkie positively exploded in excitement, hugging the cerulean pegasus.

Rainbow got that sinking feeling. 

No, it wasn't guilt, not yet at least.

No. This was the feeling she usually got when a heavy Earth pony weighed down a Pegasus pony on a cloud. Pinkie's flying contraption died a fiery death belatedly below as Pinkie and Rainbow shared a look.

"Wow! I never knew my thingo heli-thingo could go boom like that!" Pinkie commented excitedly.

Rainbow groaned.

"You know that in about two seconds we're goi-"

The rest of that statement was cut off as gravity did its inexorable work on the two ponies, sending the both of them plummeting to the hard, hard, ground of Equestria.

"Pinkieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Rainbow yelled as she flared out her wings and flapped madly in an effort to slow down. Her powerful wings slowed the duo considerably but they were still going quite fast.

"Hang on, I see somepony down there, I'll steer us towards them!" Rainbow growled. Pinkie just let out an excited laugh.

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow aimed for the unfortunate passerby.

"What's that soun-"

"Oof!"

"Yippie!"

"Ouch!"

Rainbow picked herself up from the tangled mess of limbs. Pinkie was already up and bounding on the spot.

"Weee! That was fun Dashie! Can we do that again?"

Rainbow was fast to recover but Pinkie was just at a different level. She shook her head to clear the few floating birdies that seemed to be sticking around her skull. Brr!

"Eheh." 

Rainbow looked down at the downed pony they crashed into. "Sorry."

Applejack just shook her head and glared at the two of them.

"Consarn it, Rainbow! Ah warned ya about crashin' into other ponies like that!"

Rainbow shrugged, pointing an accusatory hoof at Pinkie.

"I had a Pinkie-related accident."

Applejack snorted and stamped her hoof in frustration but couldn't really say much. A Pinkie-related accident was pretty much a force of nature. You couldn't stop it even if you wanted to.

She settled for being disgruntled.

"Okay then, jus' be careful next time, or maybe Ah won' be as nice", she grumbled, flinging back her Stenson onto her head.
Rainbow watched Applejack trot away for a while before turning back to the matter at hoof.

"Okay Pinkie, what's the plan?" She asked eagerly, ow committed to the adventure. After all, nopony could pose a challenge to Rainbow after she was committed.

Pinkie zipped over to Rainbow and flung a pink foreleg around Rainbow's neck. She gazed out at the surrounding courtyard and gestured outwards towards the scenery.

"Look around my dear Dashie, what do you see?" She asked the rainbow mare excitedly.

"Houses and ponies", Rainbow replied, with a confused look scrunched on her face.

"No, no, no!" Pinkie cried, shaking Rainbow. "I see opportunity! Look up there!"

"Pinkie, I know what you're after I'm asking about how we get i-"

Pinkie tutted, waving a hoof in a random direction.

"But they don't know that, we have to create an exposition of events!"

"I don't know wha-"

"Okay, let's go find a spell to turn the moon back into cheese!"

"Pinkie when you say it like that I don't think that-"

"Hush now Dashie, hush. Let the cheese flow."

With that, Pinkie trotted gaily in the direction of the train station. Sighing, Rainbow followed, slightly regretting the decision to come along. 

But those tickets! Pony feathers.

#
The train came into the station with an ominous wheeze and crunch that set Rainbow's teeth on edge. She wasn't nervous. Rainbow doesn't get nervous. Rainbow also never talks in third pony. But nopony knows that. Rainbow was sure of that.

"Uhh Dashie, why are you talking to yourself?"

Rainbow reared back at the curious pink and blue blur that filled her vision.

"Ah you gave me a scare- I mean, you might have thrown me slightly off!" Rainbow wheezed, clutching her chest.

Pinkie smiled really wide.

"Okie dokie lokie!" She sang, bouncing along the train platform to their favourite carriage.

Rainbow followed after only a slight hesitation.

There was something about Pinkie...

Nah.


#


Arriving in Canterlot, the dynamic duo set off to obtain the spell to turn the moon into an unfortunate dairy by-product. Rainbow finally asked the question that had been bugging her the whole train ride.

"Pinkie, you know the spell we're looking for?"

"Uhuh"

"Don't you need, like, a unicorn to cast it?"

Pinkie stopped dead in her tracks. She clonked herself in the head with a bashful hoof.

"Oh, I didn't think that far ahead, silly me!"

Rainbow barely suppressed a moan and settled for an epic face-hoof of legendary proportions.

"This is so not cool", Rainbow grumbled to herself.

Pinkie looked at Rainbow, eyeing the sky.

"I agree, today is kinda hot, let's get some ice cream!"

Rainbow just stared at Pinkie, then just shrugged.

"I'm doing this for the tickets, I'm doing this for the tickets, ..." Rainbow repeated this dictum all the way to Soft Swirly's ice cream parlour.

Pinkie exploded into the store.

"HiyatherecanIhavethecaramelcreamfudgeextravanganzawithextrabananassprinkledwithalmondsandcherryandglazedwithchocolatesyrupanddippedinthethreedeckercreamyvanillalayeredbase, please?"

Soft Swirly smiled and immediately begun preparations for such a masterpiece. Pinkie threw down the prodigious amounts of bits required.

Rainbow reached into her saddlebag but was stopped by Pinkie's hoof.

"No need Dashie, I got this! We can share!"

Rainbow looked doubtfully at the growing mass of ice cream being stacked in a bowl as wide as she was.

"Uhh Pinkie, can we actually finish it?"

Pinkie looked at Rainbow as if she were a crazy equine.

"Of course we can! You can never have too much ice cream!"


#


"Ooooh", both ponies groaned as the ice cream they scoffed settled uncomfortably at the pits of their stomachs. On top of that bloated feeling was a killer brain freeze.

"Pinkie?" Rainbow called over, flopping onto her side. She tried to get up several times but the motion almost caused her to invert the normal direction that ice cream would usually travel in her digestive tract.

Pinkie flopped around trying to get up. She gave up just as quick as Rainbow did.

"Yes, Dashie?"

"We had too much."

"I-" Pinkie started, but grew sheepish at the withering look Rainbow shot at Pinkie. "Yeah..."

They sat in comfortable silence, listening to Soft Swirly making more ice cream in the back. A low hum filled the room, lulling the two to sleep.

Rainbow struggled to stay awake. Something was missing...

"What did we come here for?" Rainbow asked, suddenly.

Pinkie let loose a muffled reply.

"Wfgh mgh nghhng fimn."

Rainbow let her eyes droop back down.

Eh, it probably wasn't important anyway.

> 100 - Bonus Chapter: That Synching Feeling (Part 2) (canon-disputed-still)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what this about finding a spell to turn the moon into cheese?" I asked with a frown. There was a constant flux of ponies around us as we conversed in the middle of Canterlot's market square.

Rainbow turned away, fidgeting.

"Yeah I know we haven't known each other for very long but I kinda need some help..." she trailed off as a deep blush made its waay up her neck. Suddenly, her cheeks mantled in excitement and she flapped up to be eye level with me. "I mean, who wouldn't miss a chance to be with me? You can work on you becoming more awesome and not so... you."

I levelled a judging gaze at her until her bravado receded to a sheepish look. I rolled my eyes.

"You've never asked for help before?"

Rainbow's flush darkened a couple more shades of crimson, if that was possible. I don't think I've seen something redder than a tomato, but there you go.

"...no actually."

Out of nowhere, Pinkie bounded up and slapped me on the back with a hoof.

"You'll help, won't you?" She chattered in excitement.

I sighed in consternation. This is what I get when I try to help two ponies passed out from an ice-cream coma.

"Do I have a choice?" I felt a chill flow down my spine as Pinkie suddenly twisted her head and looked dead into my eyes.

"Of course you do", she glared at me with disturbingly sinister intent. "Of course you do..."

Pinkie disappeared as a pony walked in front of quite rudely and reappeared at an orange store cart nearby. She sank slowly behind the orange seller's counter eyeing me the whole time. 

Wait, how did she get there so fast?

I got the feeling that Pinkie wouldn't do anything terrible to me just because I refused their relatively innocent request to turn the whole moon of Equestria into cheese. I personally thought that turning the moon into cheese would be scientifically impossible but heck, everything that has happened since I got here has been scientifically impossible, so why start making sense now?

I nervously glanced back at the orange cart. There was a single orange left there with a smiley face carved into it, with a serrated knife still dripping juice sitting right next to it. A prickling sensation shot up my spine and I edged away from the cart.

"Hey Rainbow, was it?"

Rainbow looked at me curiously.

"Does Pinkie always do that?" I asked.

Rainbow nodded slowly.

"Have you gotten used to it yet?"

Rainbow shook her head.

"Okay, just checking."

Rainbow snorted.

"Well it's not like anypony could ever get used to Pinkie, you'd probably win some egghead prize for figuring that out", she commented drily.

Thrusting my thoughts back to the original problem, I decided to cut to the chase there.

"So again, why are you asking me for help in finding a 'turn the moon to cheese spell'?"

Rainbow tilted her head, as if the answer was obvious.

"'Cause you're smart, you'll figure out where it is. You're a scientist-pony like Twilight is, right?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"So you're asking me, the only person in all of Equestria who is null to magic, to find you a magic spell?"

Rainbow paused and contemplated about what I just said.

She groaned and massaged her temples with both hooves. This sent her crashing into the ground, where she stayed there, rubbing her head.

"Oooooh, I knew it wouldn't work..." she mumbled, her eyes downcast.

I felt guilt stab into my heart.

I tapped a finger to my chin, ruminating.

"Aww okay, don't be like that, I'll help you out anyway."

I considered the problem logically.

"Okay I've heard that Celestia keeps dangerous and restricted spells in the restricted section of the Canterlot archives. Since this was a problem solved by Luna, I think our best bet is to visit the archives, try and find it under the Lunar section and then book it."

Rainbow leapt to her hooves.

"Oh yeah, some action!"

I frowned, trailing after the multi-coloured mare. I heard a scrabbling behind me, which I attributed to Pinkie following along.

“This’ll be good”, I muttered, looking pointedly at the sky.

——

I employed a tried and tested technique to get into the Canterlot archives. Nodding curtly to the guards at the entrance, I strolled confidently through the public interior. Rainbow followed somewhat nervously, with Pinkie acting her usual self, bouncing along without a care in the world. 


“Sorry sir, nopony is allowed past this point”, the guard stallion intoned apologetically.

“Oh well, I’ll have to go tell Celestia, then”, I replied, starting to walk away.

The guardspony looked a little uncomfortable.

“Wait”, he called back at me. I turned back slowly.

“You were sent here by Celestia?”

I sighed, in feigned annoyance. Tapping my foot on the ground, I muttered under my breath that I had better things to do. Well, that was pretty much true so there wasn’t much faking there.

“I’m here to research spells that would affect the celestial bodies themselves. It could save the whole of Equestria… but I can come back later… after informing Celestia, of course.”

The guard cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Well, I’m not supposed to let anypony past here but I guess you’re alright if Celestia sent you for something important…“ He paused, debating the point in his mind.

I gestured behind me.

“Those two are the Elements of Harmony”, I added in helpful. Rainbow stood awkwardly under scrutiny whilst Pinkie just gave the biggest smile.

He gave us one more hard look. Rainbow sweated bullets.

“Okay, you seem alright and this has to be important”, he smiled waving us through.

I gave him a grateful nod.

“We won’t be long”, I replied, dragging Rainbow along as Pinkie trotted ahead of me.

As soon as we were a fair way in, I confronted Rainbow.

“Hey what’s up with being all frozen like that?”

Rainbow gave me a sheepish look.

“I’m not that good at lying and I’ve never done anything so illegal before”, she admitted in a whisper, glancing back at the guardspony back at the entrance.

I glanced at her, puzzled.

“I thought I had you pinned as a rebel type”, I commented slyly, giving her a nudge.

Rainbow flared her wings defensively as she shot back hotly.

“I am! It’s just that I’m more of a pranks and tricks pony-“ she lowered her voice “-I don’t like doing things like this, sneaking around and stuff.”

“I thought you snuck into a hospital and stole a book?”

Rainbow froze and stared at me intensely.

“How’d you know that?” She squeaked indignantly, puffing up her chest and stalking towards me. I guess if I was the height of a pony I’d actually be kind of intimidated but really this was just amusing.

“Twilight told me about it when she mentioned a book series called ‘Daring Do’”, I answered with a shrug.

Rainbow groaned.

“Yeah this is why I don’t do sneaking around, I get caught easily when I know what I’m doing is wrong.”

“What about pranking?” I pointed out.

She considered that for a second.

“Nah, pranking is fun, not wrong.”

I let loose a non-committal grunt, not really wanting to dive into the specifics of moral orientation.

We were both interrupted by a frantic yelp.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow dashed towards her friend in peril. Geddit? ‘Cause Rainbow Dashed? 

Okay, never mind.

I followed Rainbow’s tail as we stumbled upon a pile of books and spotted a pink hoof sticking out of top of the mess.

Rainbow tugged at the hoof but it was stuck pretty fast.

I heard a muffled sound which I could vaguely make out to be ‘help’ but it could have easily been ‘herrk’.

I started shifting books in an attempt to dig Pinkie out.

The pile suddenly lit with a warm golden glow.

I turned around to see Celestia regarding us with an amused expression.

“I did not expect to find you here”, she commented with a warm smile.

I chuckled.

“I don’t we expected to find you here, either”, I replied easily, eyeing and admiring silently the dextrous sorting of the pile of books into their respective shelves.

“I take it you know this place well?” I asked, gesturing to the to books being sorted so fast.

Celestia chuckled and was about to reply when Rainbow interrupted.

“I’m so sorry princess! I didn’t see you there!” She shot out giving a nervous bow. Pinkie bounced up and waved a cheery hoof, looking none the worse for wear, though slightly swaying on her hooves. She must of have taken a pretty hard hit.

Celestia gave a demure smile and an incline of her head to put Rainbow at ease.

“There is no need for that, my little pony, I am merely here for personal matters.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. I surreptitiously signalled behind my back.

“Sorry princess, do you mind if we take a look around, it looks like you two need to catch up”, Rainbow coughed, dragging Pinkie away. Pinkie gave a cheerful wave as she was dragged by her tail. I know I’ve said this before… but doesn’t that hurt?

Celestia smirked at me.

“So I have heard from a guard that I’ve sent you here to research a desperate peril threatening Equestria?”

I grinned mischievously and shrugged.

“I just mentioned that I was here to research a spell and that if I wasn’t let through I’d tell you.”

Celestia’s smirk evolved into a fully fledged grin.

“Ah so he became afraid and just waved you through without asking you more?”

I nodded giving a slow wink.

Celestia tittered and headed towards the door.

I called back to her.

“Aren’t you here for personal matters?”

She gave me a little smirk waving a notepad that looked suspiciously similar to what Luna claimed was her diary.

“I got what I came for”, she said, hoofing it away. I don’t know where she put it because it disappeared. Pocket dimension perhaps? With magic, who could know? I was just glad that Celestia hadn’t suspected a thing. It seemed like we got off to easy. She didn’t even bat an eye at us being in the restricted section of the archives.

I glanced at Rainbow but she gave a shake of her head. By unspoken consent I had distracted Celestia while they rooted around for the spell. They hadn’t found it in the meantime so I was a bit disappointed, but we would find it eventually, right?

Several hours later…

“IT’S NOT ANYWHERE HERE!” I yelled, chucking another book over my shoulder. It contained a spell that could level cities with enough preparation. Interesting, but not moon transmogrifying enough. I took it as a challenge. That book was mocking me, I knew it. I would find it.

“Rainbow?” I asked, seeing the blue mare sleeping soundly on a pile of books.

“Pinkie?” A huge snore and a mess of cotton candy hair stuck out of an adjacent pile.

“I’ll find it”, I repeated to myself, making it my personal mission. My Synch was starting to run out of juice from the constant translating.

“Okay, I’ll find it tomorrow”, I amended tapping my Synch to turn it off.

Sighing I gathered the two ponies, to deposit them in a guest suite. They were not heavy, but there were not light either.

“Why am I helping these two again?” I muttered to myself, making my way to the door. The guard gave me a condescending smirk as I carried the two mares.

“Oh eat it”, I mumbled as I walked past, struggling with my load.

“Where the heck is the spell?!” I growled under my breath.

——

“That looks like the spell book I use to keep all banned spells, dear sister”, Luna commented as Celestia placed the bound volume in front of her.

Celestia nodded giving a light chuckle.

“I believe the human and his friends will be looking for this for quite a while.”

Luna snorted.

“Sister, you have the oddest sense of humour.”

“Recognition where recognition is due… punishment where punishment is due”, Celestia commented mildly. “It does not do to mislead my little ponies. Even if he was telling the truth.”

Luna regarded Celestia with a curious tilt of her head.

Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Oh he’ll give up after a few hours.”

I didn’t. I spent three weeks looking for that spell.

Three. Weeks. 

No one got any cheese.