> Written In The Stars
>  by The Phantom Joker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> An Escape Through Time And Space
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come on, Dipper! Hurry it up!” yelled a 17-year old girl with long brown hair wearing a pink sweater with a rainbow-tailed shooting star on it, a purple skirt, and black shoes as she ran into a dilapidated old building the the middle of the woods. Her name was Mabel Pines.

Right behind her was her twin brother Dipper, who wore an orange shirt, a black vest, khaki shorts, and black sneakers. “I’m coming Mabel, just slow down a little!” he panted as he tried to keep up with his more athletic sister.

“Dipper, we can’t slow down! Just look behind you!” Mabel called from the Mystery Shack’s doorway.

One glance over his shoulder made Dipper practically dive through the doorway. Right behind them was a horde of monsters, all of them doing the bidding of that monster, Bill Cipher.

“Get to the vending machine!” yelled Dipper, pulling himself up from the floor as he ran over to a damaged vending machine, and punched in the code A1BC3. 

The vending machine slide aside, revealing a secret staircase to the basement. The Mystery Twins darted down the stairs three at a time before they arrived at an old elevator. Quickly punching in a selection of alchemic symbols, Dipper and Mabel took the elevator directly the Basement Level 3. They dashed into the room and slammed the gate shut behind them. They backed away from the elevator as they heard the horrid unearthly shrieks of Bill's "friends".

 "This is bad. This is bad. This is REALLY BAD!" Dipper panicked, pacing the room and thinking of a possible solution.

"Dipper, calm down and think," Mabel said, trying to calm her nearly hysterical brother.

"Calm down?! Mabel, Bill won! He brought the dream demons over! Stan and Ford are probably dead! How am I supposed to calm down?!"

"Dipper..." Mabel could always find the bright side of every situation, but this was an exception. There was nothing to smile about, to look forward to. Only hope that they could last through the nightmare. "Wait, what of the barrier Grunkle Ford set up?"

"You mean the one that prevents Bill from taking over our minds?" Dipper said, his voice devoid of hope. "That doesn't work now that Bill can directly access the physical world. It's useless." Dipper slumped against the wall and buried his head.

Mabel went over to comfort her brother. She looked around at the lab; the rusty desk, old equipment, diagrams pinned to the wall, the next room that held the portal, the... "Wait, Dipper, what if we went to another dimension?"

Dipper looked up, surprised that she could maintain her sense of humor at such a dire moment. "Mabel, now is not the time for jokes."

"I'm serious, Dipper, " Mabel said, getting up. "Remember, whenever something comes through the portal, it breaks down. If we can escape, Bill can't follow us!"

Dipper still sat, shocked. He thought about it and knew it was possible, but... “Mabel, there’s so many risks with your plan. We don’t know what’ll happen if we go into a dimensional rift. For all we know, we might not even come back out again, and we could be stuck between dimensions. And what about our Mom and Dad, and our friends here? We’d be leaving them at Bill’s mercy,” said Dipper.

Mabel thought about this. It was certainly possible that something like that could happen. And he was right about leaving their family and friends behind. But, if they were dead or worse, what difference would it make in the end? “Dipper… I know it's not going to be easy to do this. But, maybe if we can get to another dimension, we might be able to find someone who can help us come back and take Bill down once and for all. And, besides, say we do get stuck between dimensions for the rest of our natural lives. At least we’ll have each other,” said Mabel.

Dipper thought about Mabel’s words… while it would certainly be true that if they could find a way to get into another dimension, there was the possibility that they might find someone who could help defeat Bill, and take their world back. Yet, at the same time, there was the problem of finding a way back home if this crazy plan of Mabel’s actually worked, and they weren’t stuck between dimensions for all eternity.

After a few tense moments, Dipper finally heaved a sigh. “All right, Mabel. I might not like this plan… but, the other option is to sit here and wait until Bill and his pals get here and finish us off. So, let’s do this thing,” he said.

Mabel gave a stern nod, before she and her brother got to work on starting up the portal again. Thankfully, it didn’t take as long to start up as it did when Grunkle Stan was trying to rescue his brother from another dimension. After a few tense hours, the portal was at 78% power.

"Come on, come on! Charge faster!" Dipper, now in a full on panic darted back and forward from console to console, desperate to activate their only hope of survival. As he was about to pull the lever that would activate the large triangular portal he heard the voice of his greatest enemy.

"Knock knock kids!" Just then the door from the elevator exploded and Bill Cipher slowly floated out with two faded creatures behind him. "Daddy's home."

The portal suddenly activated while Dipper was looking away. Turning he found Mabel had pulled the switch on her own. "Mabel what on earth are you doing, it's not charged yet?!"

"I'm sorry Dipper." She ran up to him and shoved him over the yellow and black tape that marked the dangerous area of the portal.

"Mabel no!" He tried to grab onto anything he could find in order to stay with his sister. Unable to find anything he was dragged into the collapsing portal. "Mabeeeeeeeeeellll!" As the portal closed Mabel turned to face Bill.

"Tsk tsk, now that has put a damper on my day, I will give you credit for your bravery though, here, have two heads that are always screaming!" Before he could snap his fingers Mabel held out her hand.

"Enough games, Bill. If you're going to finish me just do it."

"Woahho! Somebody just got a sassy side! I'm not gonna finish you off just yet though, you could be...useful."

...

With the sound of a flowing river filling his ears, Dipper slowly opened his eyes. "Wh...what happened? Mabel!" He immediately sprang to his feet and started looking around. "Not good, not good. Oh, why did you have to do that to me sis?"

Sighing, he sat down by the nearby river and took in his surroundings. He was in a forest with lime green grass and small flowers here and there. "I should probably focus on finding out where I am first, then I can worry about Mabel." Getting to his feet he started following the river down into the forest, hoping to find civilization somewhere.

It wasn’t long, however, before Dipper heard something… a voice, female by the sound of it, humming to herself.

“...squirrels in the trees and the cute little bunnies,  birds flying free and bees with their honey… honnney…”

Desperate to find someone, ANYONE, who could help him, Dipper followed the voice. “Hey! Excuse me, can you help-” Dipper began as he approached the singer, only to stop dead in his tracks, and it was obvious why.

The singer, who was kneeling at the riverbank surrounded by small, cute, and fluffy animals, appeared to be human for the most part, and had a long pink hairdo and teal eyes, and  wore a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and pink and white tennis shoes. The only thing that kept her from being fully human, however, was a pair of cream yellow wings grafted almost seamlessly onto her back.

It took only a moment for the winged person, who Dipper was desperately hoping was NOT an angel or anything associated with the afterlife, to notice Dipper, and when she did, she gave a small yelp of surprise and curled up into a ball, clearly frightened.

"Whoa, easy," said Dipper. "I'm not going to hurt you." He took a step forward and stepped on a branch. At the snap, the girl shot up and darted into a bush, shaking so hard the whole bush shook with her. "Um, Hello?" called a confused Dipper. The girl peaked out from behind the bush. "Um, hi. Do you mind telling me where I am?"

The girl looked scared and confused. She muttered something inaudible. Dipper moved closer to try and hear her better. "Sorry, I didn't catch that," he said. Again, she whispered. Dipper sighed. "Look, my name is Dipper. I just woke up in this forest and I really want to know where I am. I'm not going to hurt you."

"R-Really?" the girl asked, more audible. Dipper nodded. "Pinkie promise?" Dipper held out his pinky finger and the girl dived back into the bush.

"Wait, wha? I said I'm not going to hurt you. I swear." The girl slowly emerged from the bush. She was about Dipper's height, maybe an inch or so taller. "So, mind telling me where I am?"

"Oh, um, well, you’re at Daisy Stream,” said the girl.

Dipper frowned. “And where is Daisy Stream?”

“Oh, um, Ponyville.”

“And where is Ponyville?”

“In Equestria?” said the girl, who was starting to get more than just a little confused by what this stranger was asking her.

“Equestria… okay, well, at least I have a name for this place. Uh, do you by any chance know where I can find a town or a city or something like that?” asked Dipper.

“Oh, um… Ponyville is just a short walk up that way,” said the girl, pointing over behind her.

“Okay, thanks,” said Dipper. As he was about to walk away he felt the girl’s had being placed on his shoulder.

"Um... Not that it's any of my business or anything, but... where are you from exactly?"

"Oh, right, I'm from a town called Gravity Falls, although you most likely never heard of it before. It's not really... near here."

“Oh… um… okay…” said the girl.

And with that, the girl removed her hand from Dipper’s shoulder, and Dipper walked off in the direction the girl had pointed. Once Dipper was out of earshot, the girl pulled out a lime green cell phone with a pink butterfly on the back and dialed a number.

“Hello, Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle speaking,” said a voice on the other end of the line.

“Twilight, it’s Fluttershy. I think we might have a new arrival in town,” said Fluttershy.

“Oh, really? And what makes you say that?” asked Twilight, a hint of interest in her voice.

“W-well, he didn’t really seem to know where exactly he was, and he said that he was from far away from here,” said Fluttershy.

“And how far away is ‘far away from here?’” asked Twilight.

“He said he was from a town called Gravity Falls, and I’ve never heard of a town called Gravity Falls until he mentioned it,” explained Fluttershy.

For a few moments, there was silence on the line. Then, Twilight spoke again. “Well, I’ve never heard of Gravity Falls myself. There’s a sleepy little town called Gravity FOALS, but I’m not familiar with a Gravity Falls… hmm… perhaps I should meet up with this newcomer and ask him a couple questions. Did he say his name?”

“He said his name was Dipper, and he was wearing a blue and white hat with a pine tree on it,” explained Fluttershy.

“Perfect, thanks,” said Twilight before she hung up.
> Welcome To Ponyville, Mr. Pines
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Dipper walked through the city of Ponyville, he had never felt more out of place in his life. True, he was surrounded by other humans, but these beings were not humans as he’d ever known them back in his dimension.

Just like that painfully shy girl he’d met back at Daisy Stream, some of this town’s citizens had colorful wings growing out of their back, and unless Dipper’s eyes were deceiving him, it appeared as though they were using those wings to take to the skies and actually move clouds around.

Closer to the ground, Dipper saw that there were people who at first glance appeared to be more like the people he was used to seeing back home, but on closer inspection actually seemed to be quite strong as they pushed around heavy carts full of apples, oranges, and various other fruits, in addition to what appeared to be fresh fish, beef, and other types of meat.

Among them were people who Dipper noticed had some of supernatural abilities, judging by the way their eyes became a solid, glowing color, ranging anywhere from baby blue to magenta, and their purchases floated through the air or moved strollers or pretty much anything.

As Dipper continued his journey through town, he was bowled over by something very pink and very fast.

As Dipper rubbed his head and got up, he felt something help him up sharply to his feet. "Omigosh! I'm so sorry! Are you alright. I normally don't need to see where I'm going all the time because I know this road like the back of my hand and I know everyone and what they're doing and where their going and..." Dipper was barely able to keep up with the girl's words until she stopped. Suddenly, she was behind him, then on his right, then, somehow, hanging above him. "Wait a minute... that's why I bumped into you! You're new here, aren't you?!"

"Um, yeah," Dipper replied, uncertainly.

"Oh. My. GOODNESS! This is great! I mean, not the slamming into you part, I mean that I bumped into someone new just as I was getting new party supplies!"

"Uh... and?"

"And I get to use them to throw you a "Welcome to Ponyville" party! It's gonna be amazing! There's gonna be cake, and balloons, and cake, and punch, and cake..." She continued listing things, although cake was probably the main part of this list.

"Wait, party? Look, sorry, but I'm kind of in a hurry. I won't be able to stay long enough for a party. I don't have time."

Suddenly, the girl's cotton candy hair went flatter than a pancake. "You... You don't want me to throw you a party?"

"Look, I just don't think I can-"

"You don't like my parties?" Tears began to well up in her large cerulean eyes.

"Um, look, please don't..." Too late. The eyes. The cuteness factor in the eyes alone could have leveled the entire town in mere seconds. Dipper groaned, fighting off the guilt and the sadness and... "Okay, okay! Fine! Throw the party! Just stop with the eyes!"

The girl's hair puffed up again in an instant. "Really?" She gasped. "You won't be disappointed!" She picked up the many boxes she was carrying and shot off, leaving a trail of dust and a surprised Dipper.

"Wait, what just happened?"

“Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie happened.”

Dipper turned around to find a girl around his age with dark blue hair with a magenta stripe in it wearing a purple hoodie with a lavender shirt underneath, blue jeans, and purple and white sneakers. Standing by her was a boy of just around thirteen with green hair wearing a purple jacket, a green shirt, black jeans with a belt, and purple and green sneakers.

“Pinkie Pie?” asked Dipper, confused.

“Yes, Pinkie Pie. And, if I just heard her correctly, I’m guessing that you’re the new arrival that Fluttershy told me about… Dipper, right?” the girl asked.

“Yes, but who’s Flutter… oh, so that’s that winged girl’s name! I could hardly hear her, her voice was so quiet… but, uh, who are you?” asked Dipper.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle. This is my assistant, Spike,” said Twilight, jerking her head over at the newly turned teenager. “Now, we’ve got a couple of hours before Pinkie Pie finishes setting up for your party, and if you don’t mind, I’ve got a couple of questions I’d like to ask you.”

"You have questions? I'm the new guy here."

Twilight thought for a moment. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Well for starters, what did she do to me?" he asked, clutching his chest. "It felt like my heart would rip itself out if I didn't let her throw a party. Was it some kind of magic spell?"

Twilight chuckled. "No. That's just her. She did the thing with the eyes?" Dipper nodded. "Yeah. She has a way of convincing you into saying yes. It's kinda her thing to throw a party for any newcomers to the town."

"I see. So this isn't new?"

"Nope. Now I get to ask a question. Where are you from?"

"Well I came from a town called Gravity Falls. It's... pretty far from here."

"I've never heard of this place. Where exactly is it?"

"Um... That's kind of hard to explain, especially considering I have no idea how I got here. I can't exactly give you a very precise Cardinal direction."

"I see." She rubbed her chin in thought. "Well, might I ask what you are planning to do here?"

He opened his mouth to answer but came up short, he had no idea what he was going to do save for the party. "I honestly have no idea, I just thought I'd find something that could help me put together what's been happening to me recently."

This peaked Twilight's curiosity. "It must have been a lot if you said it like that. If you don't mind, would you come with me to my library where we can continue this conversation in private?"

Dipper shrugged and began following her and Spike to a large oak tree with a door and windows.

“That’s the library? A giant tree house?” asked Dipper, who seemed somewhat interested by the concept.

“Yes, that’s the Golden Oaks Library,” said Twilight.

“Yep, that’s home sweet home,” said Spike. Dipper hummed to himself as they entered, taking in every detail of the interior. The shelves carved into the walls, the tree stump table in the centre and the wooden stairs leading up to the living areas.

"With all the stuff I've been through I'm actually surprised by this, never would I have thought someone could carve a home or business into a tree like this." He mumbled to himself as Twilight's eyes started glowing and two chairs floated over to them.

“Okay, Dipper, have a seat, and we’ll see if we can’t get to the bottom of this and figure out what’s happened to you. Now, what’s the last thing you remember?” asked Twilight while Spike grabbed a notebook, a quill, and a jar of ink.

“Uh… well… the last thing I remember was that me and my twin sister were trying to get away from… something, so we hid in the basement. Then, the thing we were trying to get away from caught up with us, and the next thing I know, I wake up next to a river in a completely unfamiliar land,” said Dipper.

"Do you remember what it was you were trying get away from?" asked Twilight.

Dipper shivered. "Believe me you don't want the details. Let's just say he's not from anywhere either of us are familiar with and he can do things you don't even want to think about."

"Wow. I haven't heard of anything that bad since..." Twilight trailed off. "Anyway, do you remember anything else? Any details that could explain how you wound up here?"

"I remember a light and a giant upside-down triangle," Dipper said. "But like I said, we were running for our lives."

"And... your sister?" Twilight asked hesitantly.

Dipper's heart sank. "She... didn't make it. I'm not even sure if she's still alive. But knowing what we were running from, I fear the worst."

Twilight felt his sadness. It was so real it was almost tangible. "I'm... I'm so sorry."

"It's the only reason I can think of why I'm here. If I can find help and get back home, there may be a chance for us to stop the madness that's destroying my home!"

Twilight stopped writing. "Well, unless I know the specifics, I'm not sure what to do. Neither of us even knows if anything from around here will even help."

"Well, if there's a chance that something here can help me, I'll take it," said Dipper. "Nothing in my town is very good with dealing with magic and the only people who could have helped have already met the monster. People here seem to know a lot about magic."

"Magic is a part of daily lives here," said Twilight. "You don't have magic in your town?"

"Not exactly. We have a lot of magic artifacts and creatures, but as far as I can tell, no one can actually levitate stuff with their minds or lift a tree with one hand... unless you count Manly Dan," he added under his breath. "But here, it's like a normal thing."

"It is," said Twilight. "People here can use different types of magic depending on their race. Gaians have what we call Strength of the Earth. As suggested, they have abnormal strength to various degrees. Flyers like Fluttershy have Wings of the Pegasi, which lets them fly and control the weather and forces of nature in general. Finally, Spellcasters like myself can manipulate magic energy to cast a variety of spells, as long as we know the mechanics of the spell we're casting."

"I see. And the pink girl..."

"Pinkie? She's a Gaian."

"Guessed so. Even my sister couldn't tackle me with that much force."

"Your sister, what was she like?"

Dipper thought for a moment about all their summers in Gravity Falls. "She's... Well, I'm not sure where to start. Pinkie, was it? She almost reminds me of her: hyperactive, optimistic, and always finding a way to drag me into one of her big ideas."

Twilight smiled. "She sounds nice."

"Yeah. I mean, sure she can be a little..." Dipper searched for a word. "... Wild, I guess. Sometimes actually kind of annoying. But she's still my sister. She's done a lot for me. She's the reason I'm still alive."

Twilight dropped the notepad and placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry. If there's any way any of us can help you, we'd do it in a heartbeat."

Dipper smiled back. "Thanks."

“Now, then, I suppose we’d better get ready for Pinkie’s party. It’s been awhile since she’s thrown a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, so I don’t know what to expect,” said Twilight, standing up along with Dipper and Spike.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out when we get there, won’t we?” said Dipper.

Spike snickered. “Oh, man, you have NO idea what you’re in for!”

“Oh, trust me… erm…”

“Spike.”

“Spike, right. Anyways, trust me. I’ve been through much, much worse than a simple party. I’m sure I can handle it.” Ah, famous last words. The group opened the front door and began walking towards... "Hey, did Pinkie Pie even tell us where the party was being held?"

Twilight stopped and facepalmed. "No, but it's most likely at Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery. We'll try looking there first, if she's not there then I'm sure she'll show up out of nowhere and drag us to it." Dipper nodded and they walked through the city until they were in front of a large building made entirely out of various kinds of sweets.

"Ok, I've seen a lot of weird stuff in my time but this takes the cake, pun not intended."

Twilight giggled at Dipper’s expression as he took in the details of the bakery. "Yeah, I still can't figure out how the place stays fresh, best guess is magic."

"Yeah, with magic you ain't gotta explain anything." They both shared a laugh before walking into the bakery.
> The Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The minute Dipper, Spike, and Twilight set foot inside Sugarcube Corner, loud dance music crashed upon their ears from a set of subwoofers attached to a DJ station, which was manned by a girl with pale skin and electric blue hair clad in a white trench coat, black fingerless gloves, an electric blue headset, and purple lensed sunglasses.

As Dipper looked around the room, he saw treats and snacks piled a mile high, and a variety of Gaians, Flyers, and what he could only assume were Spellcasters munching down on them as they danced and socialized amongst themselves without a care in the world. Mabel would’ve loved this, thought Dipper. Mabel always had been a bit of a social butterfly when it came to parties in unfamiliar places… and she had a hell of a sweet tooth.

Dipper was pulled out of his thoughts when a familiar voice called out to the newest arrivals at the party, “Twilight! Spike! Uh… new guy! You made it!”

In a matter of seconds, Pinkie Pie was standing before the group, her smile as wide as a mile. “I never did get your name. Mine’s Pinkie Pie,” said Pinkie, holding out her hand.

“Dipper. Dipper Pines,” said Dipper, grabbing a hold of Pinkie’s hand to shake it, only to get a shock from a Joy Buzzer that made his hand go numb.

Pinkie giggled at his reaction and skipped off. "Enjoy the party~"

Dipper shook off the shock and turned to Twilight. "You ok, Dipper?" the Spellcaster asked her new friend.

"Trust me, I've been hit by worse, I can handle a little party buzzer." Looking around Dipper took in everything around him. "So, this is what Pinkie Pie calls a 'Welcome to Ponyville party?’ A little much just to welcome someone to the city don't you think?"

Twilight just chuckled and shook her head. "It's just Pinkie’s way of being friendly. She always likes to make people smile."

Shrugging, Dipper decided to look around, see if he could find anything to do that wouldn't cause him to embarrass himself. He walked over to a table that was completely covered in snacks, treats and different kinds of drinks. Playing it safe he just took a cup of punch and walked away from the table.

As he walked he accidentally bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry about that."

The person he had bumped into had blonde hair that had a small red ribbon at the bottom of her golden locks. She had three freckles under each emerald eye. She wore a brown stetson over her head. She also wore brown cowboy boots, blue jeans, and a red and white plaid shirt with a white t-shirt underneath.

“Ah, that’s okay,” the person said with a southern drawl. “So, you must be the new arrival ta town Pinkie’s throwin’ this here shindig for.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Name’s Dipper Pines,” said Dipper.

“Ah’m Applejack, Ah help run Sweet Apple Acres,” said Applejack, shaking Dipper’s hand.

“What’s Sweet Apple Acres?” asked Dipper.

“It’s the local apple farm, where we grow and sell everything from fresh apples to apple fritters. Ya’ll oughta stop by fer Cider Season after Hearth’s Warming,” explained Applejack.

Dipper raised an eyebrow. “Er… Hearth’s Warming? What’s Hearth’s Warming?” he asked the cowgirl.

“What do ya mean, what’s Hearth’s Warming? It’s only a holiday honoring the day Equestria was founded, as well as a celebration of friendship an’ harmony, which is shown by giving gifts to one another,” said Applejack, taken aback by Dipper’s question.

“Oh… so, it’s like the 4th of July and Christmas put together,” Dipper summarized.

“Now it’s mah turn to ask questions. What’s so special about the 4th of July, and what’s a ‘Christmas?’” asked Applejack.

Before Dipper could reply, he heard Twilight calling for both him and Applejack. “Well, better go see what Twilight wants,” said Dipper.

Applejack nodded, still puzzled as to what exactly a Christmas was as she followed Dipper to the table where Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and two other people who Dipper had not met yet were sitting at.

“Hey, Dipper, go ahead and sit down,” said Twilight. Dipper grabbed an empty chair and pulled himself up to the table. “Okay, first off, let me introduce some of my friends. That’s Rarity, the local fashionista,” said Twilight, pointing a girl around the same age as Fluttershy with long, purple curly hair and sapphire eyes wearing a lavender dress with black heels and other assorted bits of jewelry on her, who reached over and shook Dipper’s hand. 

“And that’s Rainbow Dash,” continued Twilight, pointing at a rainbow-haired girl around both Dipper and Twilight’s age with cyan blue feathered wings wearing a blue zip-up hoodie with a black shirt underneath with the image of a rainbow lightning bolt on it, blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers.

“Hey,” said Rainbow Dash, shaking Dipper’s hand as well.

“And I see you’ve already met Applejack. Anyways, Dipper, I need you to tell these girls what you told me,” said Twilight. After explaining his situation to the girls they all looked to each other with tears in their eyes.

"That is a rather tragic tale darling…” said Rarity. Rainbow, Fluttershy and Applejack nodded in agreement with the fashionista. “So, I take it you have virtually nothing but the clothes on your back and have had nothing to eat?"

“That’s about right,” said Dipper.

“Well, I’d be more than happy to make you a new wardrobe, my dear. I might not be able to help you with finding your sister, but it’s the least I can do to help out someone in need,” said Rarity. “Although, I think I might know someone who can help with your problems… TWO someones in fact.”

"But Rarity, they're both out of town." Stated Fluttershy with a saddened tone.

Just then the door of the bakery was thrown open and two figures stood in the doorway. "We're back bitches and gentlemen!" Pinkie and Fluttershy both glowed as the two figures walked towards them.

"Jack!" Pinkie yelled before tackling one to the ground.

"Flynn!" Fluttershy ran up to the other and he lifted her and spun her around.

Dipper looked to the new arrivals. The one with Pinkie currently giving him a deathly hug wore a dark purple tailcoat and black dress pants. He also wore a black top hat with a white band at the base. His hair was midnight black, short, and had something of a point to it.

The one with Fluttershy was slightly taller than the shy winged girl. He wore a black trench coat, a white shirt, blue jeans and black boots. His eyes were purple and his short hair was black.

Pinkie let the sharply dressed man up and he pulled a purple cane out of nowhere. "Ah, my little ball of energy, how have you been?" He asked while twirling her, causing her to giggle. "I take it there has been a new arrival if you've thrown this big of a shindig without inviting me."

Dipper looked over to the one with Fluttershy. "My little butterfly, I missed you dearly." He set her down and hugged her. Turning his head he noticed Dipper. "Haven't seen you around here before young man, might I ask your name?"

Dipper held out his hand. "Dipper Pines." The tall man returned the gesture.

"Pleasure to meet you, I am Flynn Ryder." Dusk returned to Fluttershy and they moved to the dance floor.

"Um, who was that exactly?" Dipper asked looking to Twilight.

"Like he said, he's Flynn Ryder. Fluttershy's fiancé. He's also a Spellcaster." She answered. "It's strange, around anyone else she's shy, but around Flynn she's just so much more confident."

Before he could say anything Dipper found himself face to face with the sharply dressed man. "Well hello there young one, name's Jack Nightshade if you’re wondering. So, you're the new addition to this fine city? I wish you luck, things tend to get a little crazy around this lot." He pointed to the girls. "Pinkie already told me your name, but I think a nickname is in order! What do you think Pinks?" He quickly vanished from Dipper’s sight and appeared behind Pinkie.

"Oh, definitely! Let's see here...Dippy, Piny, Pinecone, Pinetree, Pipper, Pinecream Cone, Dips..." The two continued to list possible nicknames for Dipper.

"Let me guess, Pinkie’s fiancé?" He asked in monotone.

"Nope, husband. And I'm a Gaian if yer wondering." answered Jack as he was now directly behind Dipper causing the teen to yelp. "Hehe, sorry, I tend to just pop up every now and again." Suddenly this man was reminding Dipper of Bill Cipher… a lot.

Jack walked back over to his wife and swept her off her feet. Dipper just looked at the girls confused. "So, who were the ones you were saying can help me?" The girls all pointed at Jack and Flynn. "Of course..."

“Hey, boys and girls, DJ-PON3 is gonna take things down for a moment. Ladies and Gentlemen, now’s the time,” the blue-haired DJ said into a microphone before she put on romantic music.

As the other girls went and grabbed themselves dance partners, Twilight hung back and watched, a look of longing on her face.

Dipper noticing Twilight’s expression, walked up to her. “Hey, uh, ahem, Twilight, would you like to dance with me?” he asked.

Twilight smiled. “S-sure, Dipper,” she said.

And with that, Dipper and Twilight went out onto the dance floor and began to dance. While they did so, Twilight couldn’t help but feel… comfortable, safe, and warm in Dipper’s arms. As for Dipper, he kind of liked the feeling of holding Twilight close to him. It made him feel warmth inside his chest.

Just then Dipper heard footsteps coming from behind him. Flynn walked up to him and tapped his shoulder. "Sorry for interrupting Dipper, Fluttershy has told me about your situation and I have to ask..." Flynn unfolded a piece of paper and showed it to Dipper, "...is this the being you spoke of?"

Dipper's eyes widened at what was on the page. It was a sketch of Bill Cipher.
> Revelations And New Allies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, how do you guys know about Bill?” asked Dipper as he, Jack, Flynn, and Twilight sat at a table in the Golden Oaks Library later that night.

“Oh, we’ve had our fair share of encounters with the supernatural during our adventures, especially with that isosceles monster,” said Flynn. “Come to think of it, how do YOU know about Bill Cipher, Dipper?”

Dipper sighed. “I met Bill when my Grunkle Stan’s business rival summoned him in an attempt to steal the combination to his safe directly from his mind. Me, Mabel, and a family friend named Soos were able to drive Bill out, but ever since then, he’s been a thorn in my family’s side… mostly my side,” he explained.

As Twilight looked at the drawing of Bill, she had more questions than answers about him… and moreover, he seemed so harmless… she just couldn’t see him being the almighty being Dipper and the others were making him out to be.

"I don't get it, what's so dangerous about this little guy?" When she asked that question all three males looked at her with dumbfounded looks.

"Okay, picture Discord, except his intentions are destructive and multiply his powers by cancer." stated Jack with a monotone voice. Twilight just looked at Jack with disbelief, she then turned to Flynn.

"He's not over exaggerating this time Twi, he's that dangerous. He could probably drive ten men insane if he wanted to… in fact, I’m sure he’s done it before,” said Flynn.

A look of concern crossed Twilight’s face. “Okay, how in the wide, wide, world of Gaia did ANY of you ever get away from him?” she asked.

“In a word: luck,” said Dipper. Jack and Flynn nodded in agreement. "And up to a certain point he only had power in a dimension called the mindscape, having no power over the physical world until he managed to find a way into our reality."

“Wait a second… are you saying that Bill Cipher somehow managed to get himself access to the material plane?” asked Flynn, just a hint of panic on his face.

“Unfortunately, yes. But, lucky for me and probably all of Equestria, I managed to give him the slip, and with any luck, he won’t know where I’ve gone.”

"Oh my shit..." Jack held onto his top hat and threw the front door open. "PINKIE!!! GRAB THE GOLD AND SHOVEL!!! WE GOT SOME DIGGIN' TO DO!!!" With that he shot out of the library.

Flynn facepalmed and placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Well, at the very least you bought us time to form a plan of action, one that doesn't involve me burying my life savings." He got up and hugged Twilight. "See you later Cus, I have to go spend some time with Fluttershy."

Flynn walked out of the library and down the road. "Hey Flynn!" He looked over his shoulder to see Rainbow Dash and her partner approaching. The young man standing next to the rainbow-haired girl wore a grey shirt, light brown khakis, and black boots. He also had on a brown aviator jacket and a pair of goggles around his neck. His green eyes glowed under the light and his red hair was spiky and had a white streak on the right side and a pair of red wings were folded behind him.

"Jet! Back from your trip, I see?" said Dusk.

"Yeah," replied Jet. "Gotta say, flying over the Everfree is a lot tougher than actually walking through it. Those vines just won't let you leave!"

Flynn nodded. “Walking through there isn’t such a picnic either. Every time I get too close to one of those things my magic doesn't respond correctly… and I have a funny feeling that those vines are getting closer to the city,” he said.

“Aw, come on, Flynn! You ain’t scared of a bunch of plants, are ya?” asked Rainbow Dash with a cocky smirk and a hint of challenge in her voice.

“Of course not… all the same though, I think there might be something truly terrifying coming our way soon, and we’ll need to get ready for it,” said Flynn.

Rainbow and Jet frowned. “It wouldn’t happen to be about that ‘demon triangle’ Jack was yelling about, is it?” asked Jet.

"Unfortunately, it does," said Flynn.

"How bad is it?"

"Imagine an evil Discord with actual intentions to make your life a living hell. Then give him the power of both regal sisters and then some."

Jet winced. "You're kidding me. Right? Please tell me-"

"He's not exaggerating," said Dipper, walking up to join the group.

"Oh. Wait. I've never seen you around here."

"Jet, this is Dipper," said Flynn. "He's got first hand experience in dealing with Bill and barely escaped."

"How did you escape?"

"Let's just say I put a lot of distance between us that can't be covered even with a plane," Dipper said.

"Yikes. So, uh, what exactly can he do?"

Dipper and Flynn looked at each other. "Where do you want us to start?" asked Dusk.

"Uh, gimme the three I should be most careful about."

"Currently, manipulation of space-time, distortion of reality, and opening a portal into a dimension to summon an army of dream demons," said Dipper.

Jet looked in disbelief. "O... Kay... He's not here now, is he?"

"Scared?" teased Flynn.

"No... You?"

"He can't come here. When I got here, the only device that can bring him over was destroyed in the process."

"So, we're safe?"

"Bill found a way from the Mindscape directly into the physical plane. I don't think getting here will be too much for him to figure out."

Jet looked at Rainbow Dash. "So, how are we preparing?"

“Well… normally I’d say I could take him on myself, but given everything Dippingsauce here just said, I think we’ll need a bit more finesse than just charging at him guns blazing,” said Rainbow Dash.

“All right, here’s what we’ll do. We’ll get some rest first, then we’ll meet up with the others tomorrow and figure out a plan to stop Bill getting at our minds, or the minds of anyone in town. Agreed?” said Dipper.

“Agreed,” said the other people present.

“All right. Then, I guess I’ll see you guys in the morning. Good night, everyone,” said Dipper.

And with that, the group departed, each of them heading for home to get some sleep in preparation for the big day tomorrow.

…

That night, Dipper couldn't sleep. His mind kept wandering back to Bill, then Mabel, then everyone else. He rolled around in his bed restless as a sugar high child. With a groan, he got out of the bed and went downstairs. He looked through the library shelves for a book he could use to put himself to sleep.

After almost ten minutes of no results, he went back up and pulled out a battered old book from inside his vest. On the front was a six-fingered hand with the number 3 in the middle. He opened it and pulled out a pen, thinking of something to write.

"Can't sleep?" Dipper turned towards the stairs and saw Twilight standing at the top.

"Yeah," he said, slipping the book back into his vest. "I keep thinking of Bill... And Mabel. And everyone else back home."

Twilight walked in and sat next to him on the bed. "Yeah, I’m having a little trouble sleeping myself. I can’t stop thinking about Bill either, and how much danger all of Equestria, maybe even all of Gaia, will be in when he gets here… if he gets here, that is,” said Twilight.

Dipper nodded. “There will certainly be dire consequences when and, hopefully if, Bill shows up… he’ll probably come after me first before turning the town into a living nightmare and unleashing madness untold upon the rest of the world,” he said.

“That may be… but, rest assured, Dipper, none of us are going to let anything happen to you or the world if Bill shows up,” said Twilight, placing a comforting hand on Dipper’s shoulder.

Dipper smiled. “Thanks, Twilight,” he said.

As Twilight gazed into Dipper’s big brown eyes, she caught sight of something on his forehead. “Dipper, what’s that on your forehead?” she asked Dipper.

Much to Twilight’s surprise, Dipper turned bright red. “W-well… it’s… actually my birthmark. It’s how I got my name, actually. Kids used to tease me about it back home all the time,” he said.

“Well, can I see it?” asked Twilight.

“Uh… sure,” said Dipper, pulling back his bang to reveal a birthmark in the exact shape of the constellation Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper, which Twilight recognized with shock and surprise as she let out a gasp.

“What? What’s wrong?” asked Dipper.

“Th… that’s not just a birthmark, Dipper… that’s a Mark of Power! It means you’re a Spellcaster, like me,” she explained. “See, look.”

Twilight pulled up on her bangs, revealing her own birthmark, in the shape of a sparkling star.

“But… how can I be a Spellcaster? I don’t even know any magic!” said Dipper.

“Well, then I can teach you, but it’ll have to be after Nightmare Night. Maybe this is exactly what we need to stop Bill!” said Twilight.

Dipper, for the umpteenth time today, was confused. “What’s Nightmare Night?”

Twilight gave Dipper a brief explanation of what Nightmare Night was. After the explanation, Dipper spoke up.

“So, it’s just like Halloween back home.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to be confused. “What’s a Halloween?” she asked Dipper.

“Well, it’s just like Nightmare Night, except we get to keep all the candy,” said Dipper. "Also, my town loves that time of year so much, we celebrate it twice."

"Lucky." Twilight chuckled before getting up. "Well, I've got to get to sleep. Goodnight Dipper."

"Goodnight Ma...I mean Twilight." Twilight just smiled at him and walked up the wooden stairs to her bedroom.

...

Flynn sat in the living room of Fluttershy's cottage, looking over some notes that he had recovered across his adventures. Looking around them he sighed and closed the book in his hand. "I've gotta get some sleep, it'll do me no good to be tired tomorrow when we all try and formulate a plan." Setting the book down he blew out a candle and walked up to the bedroom where his future wife lay peacefully.

He took off his boots and trench coat and lay down beside Fluttershy. He turned and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, causing a her to smile in her slumber.

"How'd I manage to land a girl like you Flutters?" He closed his eyes and began to dream his memories of when he first met his fiancé.

...

Fluttershy ran as fast as she could through the Everfree Forest, a pack of angry Timberwolves right on her tail. When she had tried to fly away she caught her wing on a stray branch and its many sharp thorns prevented any movement of the muscles after she had managed to detach the spiked piece of wood. As she came to a clearing she looked around frantically for a place to hide.

She found shelter in a hole under a tree stump. She cowered as she heard the wooden wolves searching the area. As one got close to her hiding place all movement above stopped. The wolves all turned their heads in a different direction and charged two new figures that had appeared. Two of the wolves were knocked away by a cane and the other three were caught in a grey aura and thrown up at a mountain.

"Oh I love it when you do that Flynn! It's so fun to watch them squirm in your grasp!" Yelled a crazy voice from above.

"You need serious help Jack, or at least a girlfriend to help you get control of these violent tendencies and cursing habits." Stated a calmer voice. Fluttershy peeked out of her hiding spot and looked to the new figures. One was wearing a dark purple suit along with a top hat and cane. The other wore a black trench coat, a white shirt, blue jeans and black boots. Both boys looked around 14.

"Ah what would you know? Remember what happened with that girl...oh what was her name again?"

"Please don't bring that up again..."

"Trixie! That girl that always mentioned herself in the third person!" Flynn facepalmed and looked around.

"So, you see any place where you could set up your future amusement park?"

Jack looked around with a finger to his chin. "I think I saw a good spacious area not too far back from here, and I saw a city nearby so it could get plenty of business."

"It amazes me how the Nightshade Family hasn't gone bankrupt with all of these parks they are setting up."

"Ah well, at least we get to go adventuring while we search for my first ever park!" They both looked around before looking at each other confused. "Hey, weren't those wolves chasing someone?"

"A girl I think, should still be around here." They began looking for the shy girl until Flynn spotted her and knelt down outside the hole and held out his hand. "Hey there, are you alright miss?"

Fluttershy nervously poked her head out of her hiding spot. Both of their eyes widened as they made eye contact. Flynn was mesmerised by her beauty and Fluttershy was drawn to the gentleness in his eyes. They stared at each other for awhile until Fluttershy eventually took Flynn’s hand and allowed him to help her up.

"H-Hello miss, are you alright?" He asked in a nervous voice. Jack just raised a brow at his friend, he looked to the expressions on their faces and put his hands up, turned around and walked out of the area.

"Um, yes...I'm ok." They just stared at each other for another moment before Flynn noticed her injured wing.

"That doesn't look too good, we shouldn't get you to a hospital." Fluttershy shyly nodded and took a step, only to fall and Flynn caught her before she hit the ground.

"Sorry...I-I think my ankle is sprained."

"No problem." He caught her off guard by picking her up bridal style and began carrying her towards Ponyville. She blushed furiously and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling safe in his arms.

...

"I will always protect you Fluttershy. Be it from a storm to a demon, I will be your shield." Flynn whispered before he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes once more, falling back to sleep.
> Dipper's First Nightmare Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dipper couldn’t help but feel disappointed as he stood upon Rarity’s modeling stand while the fashionista took his measurements. He’d thought the meeting he’d set up would lead the way to the downfall of Bill Cipher and a reunion with his beloved twin sister, or at least hold him off for a while. What he hadn’t realized, however, was that he’d planned the meeting the exact same day that Nightmare Night was on. Not only that, but Rainbow had been called in to do weather duty for tonight, and Applejack had to set up activities for the townsfolk to enjoy. So, he’d had to call the meeting off.

“I’m so terribly sorry that your meeting wasn’t able to happen… this Bill Cipher character sounds like he could cause absolute chaos on an unimaginable scale. I wholeheartedly agree that proactive action is required if Ponyville or even Equestria itself is to survive his impending arrival,” said Rarity as she used her magic to manipulate the tape measurer she was using.

“It’s no problem, but Bill ‘causing chaos on an unimaginable scale’ would be the understatement of the century,” said Dipper.

“Perhaps…” said Rarity under her breath. 

Just then a young girl of around 13 walked in the door of the boutique. She had pink and lavender hair, green eyes, and wore a lavender zip-up hoodie with a white t-shirt underneath, blue jeans, and lavender and white shoes.

"Ah Sweetie Belle, I thought you were out playing with Jack," said Rarity.

"I was, but then Pinkie found out that Jack ate all of the rainbow cakes at Sugarcube Corner again." The young girl stated, slightly terrified.

"I don't get it, what's so bad about eating all of Pinkie's cakes?" Dippers question was quickly answered by hearing Jack outside.

"Now now honey bun, let's not get hasty, heheheh...heheh...heeeeeeeh." Jack’s voice was filled with worry. Then came an animalistic growl. "OH GOD NO-AHHHH!!!" Rarity closed the blinds and locked the front door.

"That's what's bad about eating all of Pinkie's cakes." 

Dipper looked over his shoulder to see a man around Rarity’s age with slicked back midnight purple hair and eyes wearing an unbuttoned black dress shirt with a white t-shirt underneath, blue jeans, and black boots."Oh don't worry she's not going to hurt him, she'll just punish him in her own way,” he added.

At the sight of the man, Rarity dropped what she was doing and leapt into his arms with a cry of, “MOON! YOU’RE BACK!”

“Oof! I missed you, too, Rares,” said Moon, staggering a bit from Rarity’s sudden pounce as he embraced her.

“How was your trip, Big Brother?” asked Sweetie Belle, who had a huge grin on her face.

“It was just smashing, little sister, just smashing,” said Moon, ruffling Sweetie Belle’s hair before turning his attention to Dipper. “Now, who might you be?”

Sweetie Belle turned towards Dipper and frowned. “You know, I don’t think I’ve seen you in town before. You new here?” she asked him.

“Yes, I am. My name’s Dipper Pines,” said Dipper, holding out his hand to shake.

“Moon Stone, I’m Rarity’s fiance and business partner,” said Moon, shaking Dipper’s hand.

“I’m Sweetie Belle, I’m a Crusader!” said Sweetie, shaking Dipper’s hand as well.

“Er… what do you mean by ‘Crusader’?” asked Dipper, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, it’s this club me and my friends Scootaloo and Apple Bloom started, where every chance we get, we go looking for adventure-” said Sweetie before Rarity chipped in.

“-and more often than not end up finding trouble that more often than I’d rather discuss results in injury and ruined dresswear. Now, run along, Sweetie, I’ve got to finish up with Dipper’s wardrobe. Poor thing wound up here while trying to escape a terrible creature that invades people’s dreams and wields chaotic power that exceeds Discord’s, and lost his sister in the process,” explained Rarity.

“Oh, poor guy…” said Sweetie and Moon in unison, before turning to each other, shouting “JINX!” and walking off, leaving Rarity to finish up with Dipper.

…

Dipper, who had his brown hair slicked back with his birthmark, or mark of power, prominently on display, and was clad in a baby blue dress shirt, black dress pants with a black leather belt, black dress shoes, and a black vampire-type cape tied together with a bolo tie with an emerald embedded in it, couldn’t help but smile as he watched Spike pace the floor back and forth.

"What's wrong Spike, you seem agitated."

"It's just Twilight always takes forever when it comes to these things, why can't any girl not take a full hour to get ready!?" Yelled the young teen as he threw his arms in the air.

As soon as he said this the upstairs door of the library opened, revealing Twilight in her costume. It appeared to be that of a wizard’s, complete with robes with bells around the cloak’s hem, a pointed hat, and a white beard that dangled off several inches from her face.

Spike and Dipper both raised an eyebrow at the sight of Twilight. “Are you that one crazy grandpa from Ponyville Retirement Village?” asked Spike.

“I was going to guess Professor Dumbledore,” said Dipper.

“Uh, no… I’m Star Swirl the Bearded,” said Twilight. 

Both Dipper and Spike gave her blank looks. 

“Father of the Anamorphic Spell?” 

Spike and Dipper continued to stare at Twilight, causing the young sorceress to growl in frustration. “Spike, did you even READ that book I gave you about obscure Spellcaster history?” she asked her assistant.

Spike chuckled nervously under Twilight’s glare. A moment later, the library’s front doorbell rang. “Oh, that sounds important! I’d better go and answer it!” he said, dashing to the door and opening it, before jumping at the sight of monsters that Spike realized a split-second later were actually children in costumes.

“Nightmare Night, what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!” sang the children as one.

Smiling, Spike grabbed a bowl of candy as Twilight came to the door. “Hey, everyone, great costumes!” she said, using her magic to give each of the three foals at the door a piece of candy.

With the children satisfied they all ran off to the next house, leaving Pinkie Pie who was dressed as a chicken behind.

"Hey Pinkie, where's Jack?" Twilight asked looking around.

"He ate all the rainbow cakes again, so he's not allowed out of the bakery until he makes me an even better batch. And we all know he'll never be able to make better cakes than me."

"Think again Hun." Jack appeared from behind Pinkie and gave her a peck on the cheek. He then reached behind and pulled out a tray of freshly baked rainbow cupcakes. Pinkie just gave him a smug look and lifted one of the cupcakes. When she took a bite out of it her eyes widened. She then proceeded to chow down on the treat her husband had made. "Soooooo?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes and patted him on the cheek. "Fine, you can join Nightmare Night now."

"Yay!" 

With that Jack shot off to get his costume.

Dipper couldn’t help but smile. Pinkie and Jack would make a killing back in his dimension as a comedy routine. “Well, shall we?” he asked Twilight and Spike.

Twilight returned his smile, which, for some strange reason, made Dipper’s heart trip a beat or two. “We shall,” she said.

And with that, Dipper, Twilight, and Spike set out into the pumpkin and spiderweb decorated  streets towards town square, where the mayor and city administrator were about to give a speech to the populace.

“Is this thing on?" asked what appeared to be a man clad in a purple suit and chalk white makeup with a dyed green mop of hair as he spoke into a microphone on a stage that had been set up recently.

A man next to him that had electric purple and white hair stood up and flipped the switch on the first ones microphone. He wore purple glasses that rested on the tip of his nose, a small purple beret, a purple cloak and a black suit. "Try switching the damn thing on next time, Simon I'm not always gonna be here to hold your hand the entire way." His voice was deep and smooth, his purple eyes caught sight of Dipper. "Oh, that must be the new arrival, come on mayor, let's go greet him."

Simon shrugged and followed his city administrator off the stage to greet Dipper. “Hello, there. Dipper, right?” asked Simon.

“Yeah?” said Dipper.

“My name’s Simon Sez, the mayor, this is my city administrator Shadow Strike,” said Simon, pointing at Shadow. “I just thought I’d come by and welcome you to Ponyville.”

“Uh, Simon, it’s time for the commencement speech,” said Shadow, pointing at the city clock.

“Good lord, you’re right. Well, gotta go, see ya around!” said Simon as he took to the stage to begin his speech. “Welcome to this year’s Nightmare Night festival, everybody! Mayor Simon Sez here…”

For what felt like hours, the mayor rambled on about this, that, and the other thing. As the speech ended Shadow turned to Dipper. "Mr. Pines, if you need anything you come talk to me, not the halfwit on the stage. Also, welcome to Ponyville." Shadow shook Dipper's hand and walked by Twilight. "Miss Sparkle, I should inform you that Princess Luna will be making an unscheduled visit tonight." 

With a flap of his cloak Shadow disappeared, leaving Dipper and Twilight in awe.

“Who’s Princess Luna?” asked Dipper.

“She’s one of our land’s leaders. She’s in charge of lowering and raising the moon at night. Although, she’s a little behind the times owing to the fact that she’s been imprisoned in the moon for 1,000 years-” explained Twilight before a loud cry from Jack and Pinkie Pie cut her off.

“RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!! IT’S NIGHTMARE MOON!!! SHE’S COMING TO EAT US ALL!!!” they yelled as a swarm of frightened children followed close behind them.

Dipper, Twilight, Spike, and many of the townspeople looked up in the sky to see a dark chariot being pulled by what appeared to be two thestrals. Sitting upon the seat of this chariot was a dark cloaked figure whose wicked face was briefly illuminated by the moonlight as it reflected off the surface of a mask.

As the chariot landed, the cloaked figure lowered her hood, revealing long flowing midnight blue hair. With a black gloved hand, she reached up and removed her mask, revealing herself to be a beautiful woman around the age of 20 with dark blue wings growing out of her back.

As the woman walked among the trembling townsfolk, her cloak flew off as a swarm of bats, and she was revealed to be wearing a dark blue military dress uniform with black leather heeled boots, a rapier at her side, and a black tiara upon her head.

“CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! WE HAVE GRACED YOUR CELEBRATION WITH OUR PRESENCE, SO THAT YOU MAY BEHOLD THE REAL PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!” yelled the woman as though she were speaking from one side of a football field to the other.

The Night Princess made numerous attempts at talking to the people that bowed before her, only to either have them run away screaming or just back away.

When Twilight tried to walk up to her Spike held her down and shook his head. Luna gave up on trying to socialize and stormed off down an empty street. Looking to Dipper, Twilight waved over to Flynn who wasn't in a costume and had only entered the area.

"What's going on here?" he asked as he reached Twilight.

"Princess Luna decided to pay a visit." explained Twilight. "Hey, where's Fluttershy?"

"She wouldn't come out of the cottage so I came here to get her some treats, poor girl is scared out of her mind."

"Hey, could you come with us and try to help Luna get more accustomed to modern life?" asked Twilight out of nowhere.

"Uh, sure. Let me just get a few things then I'll catch up with you."

...

Meanwhile, Luna had slowed her pace as she now walked down the long street. At the end of said street there was a clock tower with a shadowed figure standing at the top on the small point. Luna looked up and gasped as the figure was lit by the moon as a cloud moved out of the way, revealing Shadow standing there and looking down at the Night Princess.

'Help her and keep her safe, Shadow.' A voice spoke from the back of his mind.

"Yes, my master."

“SHADOW STRIKE! WHAT, PRAYTELL, ART THOU DOING UP THERE?!” yelled Princess Luna.

Shadow smirked and teleported down from his perch. “Hello, Luna. It’s been a long time,” he said with a gentle smile.

Luna nodded. “Far too long indeed… we haven’t seen hide nor hair of you since…” she said, before a depressed look crossed her face.

Shadow’s eyes looked down towards the ground. “You know you couldn’t have saved him if you tried, Luna… he always did talk about mapping the multiverse with that portal of his, but the truth is, he loved you more than anything else in the world,” he told Luna, who nodded.

“We know he did… but that doesn’t answer our question. What art thou doing here in Ponyville?” asked Luna.

“Well, I’m the city administrator, and I saw the trouble you were having fitting in, so I thought I’d come by and see if you needed any help,” explained Shadow.

“Great minds must think alike.”

Shadow and Luna turned around to find Dipper, Twilight, Spike, Flynn, and Fluttershy, who was completely frozen in terror, standing there.

“Well. I’ll just leave you guys to it then. Nice to see you again, Luna,” said Shadow as he walked off.

Twilight then spoke up. “Princess, I’m not sure if you remember, but my name is-”

“Admirable Star Swirl the Bearded costume. Thou even got the bells right,” said Luna.

“Finally, someone who gets it! My real name is-”

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna, before taking to the skies. “IT WAS YOU WHO UNLEASHED THE MAGIC OF THE ELEMENTS UPON US, AND TOOK AWAY OUR DARK POWERS!”

“And… that was a good thing, right?” asked Dipper, not entirely sure what the Night Princess was talking about.

“But. of course, young Spellcaster. We have never been happier,” said Luna.

“Uh, actually my name is Dipper. Dipper Pines,” said Dipper while Dusk gave him a confused look.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” said Luna with a curt nod.

“Question: why do you always yell?” asked Dusk.

"'TIS THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE! ALL MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL HOUSE SPEAK IN THIS TONE WHEN ADDRESSING THEIR SUBJECTS!"

Rider held his ear. "Even when they're standing right in front of you?"

"Sorry, Princess Luna, but quite a few things have changed," said Twilight.

"SO NO ONE USES THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE?"

"Er... No. Not often."

"Oh," Luna said, returning to the ground. "So, um, how do royals address the public now?"

"Well... We'll show you."

"Really?" 

Twilight nodded. "And I know just who can help us with that."

…

After a quick visit to Fluttershy’s house and getting her to help Luna adjust to modern Ponyville times with the help of Flynn, the group made their way back to the town’s square through the crowd of trembling and frightened children and adults, Dipper couldn’t help but wonder about what Luna had meant when she said that Twilight had taken away her dark powers by “unleashing the magic of the elements upon her.” Just what were these elements exactly? Could they possibly be their saving grace against Bill Cipher and his army of monsters?

Only one way to find out, thought Dipper as he walked up to Twilight. “Hey, uh, Twilight?” he asked the young sorceress.

“Yes, Dipper?” asked Twilight.

“What exactly was Luna talking about when she said you unleashed the power of the elements upon her and took away her dark powers?” asked Dipper.

Twilight looked over at Luna, who nodded.

“About 1,000 years ago, Luna and her older sister, Princess Celestia, had a bit of an argument. She felt as though the night she slaved away over was going largely unappreciated. One day, she just refused to lower the moon so that Princess Celestia could raise the sun at dawn, and transformed into Nightmare Moon, a wicked mare of darkness. Celestia had no other choice but to use the Elements of Harmony to seal Luna away in the moon. However, Nightmare Moon was able to return 1,000 years later. It was up to me, Pinkie, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack to stop her with the Elements of Harmony. We were able to turn Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna, and that was that,” explained Twilight.

Dipper nodded his head to show he understood. “And these Elements of Harmony are, what exactly?” he asked.

“There’s six of them, each represented by a person. Rarity’s is generosity, Applejack’s is honesty, Fluttershy’s is kindness, Pinkie’s is laughter, Rainbow’s is loyalty, and mine is the most powerful of all: magic.”

“Uh-huh… and do you think they might be able to help with our-” said Dipper.

“There they are!” said Flynn, pointing towards an activities center where Applejack stood in her scarecrow costume, alongside a man around her age with brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a white stetson hat along with his own scarecrow costume.

“Applejack! Buck Shot!” called Twilight as she and the others ran towards them.

Applejack and her partner looked towards the group. “Howdy, Twilight, Dipper, Fluttershy, Flynn, an’ Nightmare Moon-” said Applejack, before she realized what she just said and got into a duck and cover position with Buck Shot. "Mah gosh, I am so sorry Princess!"

"Relax AJ, she's not going to hurt you or anyone else." Flynn reassured. "Princess Luna here just wants to have a bit of fun and to fit in a little, think you can help with that?"

Applejack looked to her friend and nodded. "Well then, ah guess I can help ya have some fun Princess. Buck Shot, mind taking the Princess 'round and showing her some of the games?" She asked her partner with a soft smile.

"Sure I can AJ, Right this way, Princess." Buck began leading Luna towards the main area of the festivities.

"Well, I'll go and leave these treats off at my house then I'll go find where Jack ran off to. I'll catch up with you guys in a bit." Flynn explained before walking in the direction of Daisy Streams, with Fluttershy hot on his heels with a squeak of “Me too,” leaving Dipper and Twilight alone together.

“So… since you’re a Spellcaster, I assume you’ve had experience with magic before, right?” asked Twilight as she and Dipper watched Luna toss spiders and launch pumpkins from a distance.

Dipper shook his head. “Not much. I’ve only used magic twice before, and that was only to try to stop Bill. The first time was to try to get into my Grunkle Stan’s mind so me, my sister, and our family friend Soos could stop Bill from getting that safe combination. The second time was… to try to seal Bill away while me and my family worked on a more permanent solution to stop him,” he explained.

“Wait… you tried a sealing spell with almost no experience with magic?” asked Twilight, shock and concern in her eyes.

“Yep. The spell worked for the most part, but let’s just say I felt like I got hit by a bus for almost a month afterwards. I could hardly move without getting a terrible headache and pain rushing through me,” said Dipper with a shrug.

Twilight was about to speak, but was cut off by screams of terror coming from nearby.

“HELP! NIGHTMARE MOON’S GOT PIPSQUEAK! SHE’S GONNA EAT HIM!” yelled what both Dipper and Twilight immediately recognized as Jack and Pinkie Pie’s voice a split second before they and a small crowd of frightened children ran away screaming, and lagging behind them in a pirate’s costume was a small boy of around six or seven with an expression of true terror on his face yelling, “DON’T LET HER GET ME!”

“Oh, boy,” said Dipper, a sinking feeling growing his stomach.

“This isn’t going to end well,” said Twilight, a similar feeling in her stomach.

Luna, meanwhile, had a look on her face that clearly indicated that she was VERY offended. “Tis a lie! I have no intentions whatsoever to feast upon thou, you ungrateful whelp!” she called after the screaming crowd, a fork of lightning and an enraged expression following her call.

Needless to say, the panicking children and the fright from the lightning bolt caused the adults to start feeling a little frightened of Luna themselves. Realizing this, Luna tried to keep the townsfolk calm. “Dear villagers, do not back away. We were joined together in… fun!” she said, before tossing a fake spider at a citizen, which only caused the tension to increase.

“Not enough fun for you? What say you to THIS?!” yelled Luna, her eyes glowing pure white as magical lightning surged from her fingertips and struck the fake spider, turning it into a very real and very scary looking one, which, needless to say, caused the crowd to scream like little girlies. Luna’s magic lightning then found its way to the bowl the rest of the spiders were in, bring them to life as well, most of which made their way to the web onto which they were supposed to be thrown on.

“Huzzah! How many points do I win?” asked Luna eagerly.

Unfortunately for her, a couple of the enchanted spiders had crawled their way onto some of the citizens, causing everyone at the festival to go into a panic and start knocking things over.

“Do not be afraid!” called Luna over the turmoil. “As your Princess, we command you!”

But, no matter what Luna did to try to calm the fears of the panicking townsfolk, her words fell on deaf ears. Finally, Luna had had just about enough of all the screaming and running from her in fear.

“BE STILL!!!” Luna finally yelled in her Royal Canterlot Voice as dark clouds and lightning bolts swirled around her.

That did the trick, as everyone present dropped onto their elbows and knees in fear of the Princess of the Night.

“Uh, Princess, remember to use your inside voice!” said Dipper.

“NO, CHILD! WE MUST USE THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SAY!” snapped Luna as she used her dark blue wings to take to the skies. “SINCE YOU CHOOSE NOT TO LOVE YOU PRINCESS, AND DISHONOR HER WITH THIS INSULTING CELEBRATION, WE DECREE THAT NIGHTMARE NIGHT SHALL BE CANCELED… FOREVER!!!!”

And with that terrifying note, Princess Luna landed and stormed off towards the local park, leaving devastated and heartbroken townsfolk in her wake.

Applejack and Buck Shot walked up to Twilight and Dipper, looking thoroughly downcast.

“Such a shame…” muttered Buck.

“Ah’ll say. We had everything going our way. Luna was happy, everypony in town was happy, and now look at them,” said Applejack.

As Dipper and Twilight looked around, they felt tugs at their heartstrings as they gazed upon the heartbroken children, crying about not being able to dress up as a zombie, or an astronaut, or whatever else they wanted to be next year.

“It’s not over yet,” said Twilight, a look of determination on her face.

“Agreed,” said Dipper, matching Twilight’s determined look.

“What’re you two gonna do?” asked Applejack.

“Well, I don’t know about you Dipper, but I’m going to do what I do best: lecture her!” said Twilight.

“As will I!” said Dipper.

And with a swish of a cape and a jingle of bells, they were off to find Luna.

…

It didn’t take long for Twilight and Dipper to locate Princess Luna as she sat by a pond, gazing at her own reflection.

“Princess Luna!” called Twilight as she and Dipper ran up to the brooding Princess of the Night.

“Leave me be, Twilight Sparkle,” said Luna, sadness evident in her voice.

“Look, Luna, I may not have been in Ponyville for very long, but I can easily tell that Nightmare Night is really popular around here. Think about those kids who look forward to it, who look forward to dressing up and getting candy,” said Dipper.

“Oh, yes, I can tell how popular this horrid celebration is with all the screaming in terror and running away,” said Luna, before she got up and walked off.

“Well, got any ideas, Twilight?” asked Dipper.

“Hmm… maybe one…” muttered Twilight.

…

A short time later, we find Pinkie and Jack, both in their chicken costumes, acting like, well, chickens for some strange reason, and come across two pieces of candy, which they proceed to peck at and eat, before noticing a whole trail of candy. As they followed the trail, pecking at each piece as they moved along, before they were bum rushed by Dipper and Twilight.

“Okay, listen up, you two. We’re going to show you something, but you can’t scream,” said Dipper as he and Twilight covered Jack and Pinkie’s mouths.

“Do you promise not to scream?” asked Twilight.

Both Jack and Pinkie nodded their heads. Dipper and Twilight removed their hands and nodded over to a dark corner, from which Luna emerged. Both Pinkie and Jack were on the brink of screaming, but they covered each other’s mouths just in time.

“Pinkie, Jack, you remember Princess Luna, right?” asked Twilight.

Luna scowled down at Pinkie and Jack. “The ringleaders of the frightened children. Have thou come to make peace?” asked Luna, holding out her hand.

Pinkie and Jack glanced at each other, before very carefully reaching out to grasp Luna’s hand. But, before their hands could shake a loud crash of thunder and lightning briefly made Luna appear more monstrous, spooking both Pinkie and Jack, who ran for it.

"Oh, come on!" Twilight looked up at the sound of laughter and saw two figures dressed in Shadowbolt costumes sitting and laughing on a storm cloud. "Rainbow! Jet! What was that?!"

"That," Rainbow said.

"Was funny!" Jet finished for her as they doubled over laughing.

Twilight groaned. "I'm sorry, Princess. They ..." Twilight looked around, but saw no sign of Luna. "Where'd she go?"

"Wasn't she just right behind us?" asked a confused Dipper, also looking around. "Great. She vanished. Again."

"Gah! Come on. I think I know where to find her. But first..." Twilight walked over to a large sack in the corner of the alley. "Pinkie!" The pink chicken-girl peeked out from the sack. "You promised you wouldn't scream!"

"Hey, it was a moment," Jack said in defense. "There was lightning and everything!"

Twilight face palmed. This was getting old. "For the love of... SHE'S NOT GOING TO EAT YOU!"

Pinkie and Jack both looked at Twilight, then at each other, then back at Twilight before saying, "Well duh!"

Twilight looked confused. "Huh?" Dipper asked in her stead, equally confused.

"Well of course she's not going to eat us, Twilight," said Pinkie. "I mean, I'm as big as she is. How's she gonna gobble me up?"

"Wait, then what was all the screaming for?"

"Well, sometimes, it's actually just fun to be scared!"

"Especially of something you're actually terrified of," added Jack.

"Fun... To be... Scared?" Twilight pondered for a minute. "That's it!" 

Dipper jumped at the sudden cry. "What? What's it?" He asked.

"I've got an idea. But I'm going to need your help."

"O... Kay..." Dipper wasn't quite sure where this was going, but he was just going to go along with it.

...

Meanwhile, Flynn was sitting with a terrified Fluttershy curled up beside him and holding him for protection. He gently stroked her hair while cooing her into a sense of security. He held a cup of coffee in his free hand and took slow calm sips as he stared into their fireplace with thought. He thought about Bill, what his plan was this time, and how to counteract that plan.

Fluttershy hand her head buried into Flynn's chest. "You know I'm fine with holding you like this, Shy, in fact I love it when we do this. But you need to toughen up just a little bit." Fluttershy looked up at her fiancé who was giving her a concerned look.

"I know...but you know me, I'm afraid of my own shadow when it comes to nights like this." Fluttershy said.

Flynn sighed and pulled her closer. "That's why I'm here to protect you,” he said gently, a soft smile on his face. 

Fluttershy smiled softly and planted a kiss on his lips. 

"I was serious about the toughen up thing though. It's only because I won't always be around to protect you, but I'll damn well try to be."  said Flynn as Fluttershy wrapped both of her arms around his torso and landed her head on his shoulder.

"I love you, Flynn."

"I love you too, Fluttershy," replied Flynn. A moment later, Fluttershy let out a yawn and slowly closed her eyes. Flynn smiled and lay his head on hers. "Sweet dreams my little butterfly," Flynn said as Fluttershy fell into a deep sleep. He sat there for another half an hour listening to his fiancé breathing, watching over her while she slept.

He looked out of the living room window and saw a shadowy figure standing in the trees watching them.

"Shadow..." The figure turned away and vanished into the trees. "What's he up to?"

...

Shadow calmly walked through the woods with a smile on his face. "What orders do you have for me master?"

"Keep an eye on pine tree and Twilight. Aid Luna in any way you can, and above all...secure the journals."

Shadow grinned. "Yes… Master Cipher."
> Blooming Romance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the depressed and forlorn townsfolk moped about the streets, one particular person, a young boy with brown hair dressed as a pirate, seemed thoroughly depressed.

“I… never thought my first Nightmare Night would be my very last,” murmured the young boy as he sat and stared at his bucket of candy.

Simon walked up to the boy. “Don’t worry. The last Nightmare Night isn’t over just yet. We still have to give our candy offering to Nightmare Moon,” he said.

Shadow Strike appeared out of thin air, causing everyone to jump a little. “The mayor’s right. It’s not Nightmare Night without the traditional candy offering. so, everyone buck up and let’s head to the Everfree Forest,” he said. The kids and Simon smiled and followed Shadow as he led them down the safe path of the Everfree Forest. As they came to the statue of Nightmare Moon, Shadow smirked and backed up into the trees before disappearing.

None of the kids took notice as they poured their candy out of their baskets with saddened expressions. After the last child emptied his candy he looked up and sighed. "Goodbye Nightmare Night."

As he began walking away and the wind picked up. "CHILDREN OF PONYVILLE! YOUR OFFERING PLEASES ME! SO MUCH THAT I MIGHT JUST EAT IT, INSTEAD OF YOU!"

The children looked up at the statue of Nightmare Moon, only to find that it had become real and roared at them. They all screamed and scurried off with Simon running after them to make sure they didn't get hurt.

As the crowd left Nightmare Moon shrank and formed Luna who spat out a pair of false fangs as Dipper and Twilight walked out of the trees.

“I am not sure that did what you meant for it to do,” said Luna, doubt evident in her voice.

“Just wait,” said Twilight with a confident smile.

“For what? For them to scream some more?” asked Luna before someone tapped on her knee.

“Uh, Princess Luna?” asked the small boy from earlier. “I know there isn’t going to be a Nightmare Night anymore, but do you think you can come back next year, and scare us again anyway?”

Luna glanced at a nearby bush, and found that there were several small children poking their heads out from behind said bush.

“Child… art thou saying thou… liketh me to scare you?” asked Princess Luna in confusion.

The boy nodded. “It’s really fun! Scary, but fun!” he said.

“It… is?”

“Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year!” said the boy.

“Well, then,” said Luna with a smile, “We shall have to bring NIGHTMARE NIGHT BACK!”

As he was sliding backwards from the force of Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice, the boy smiled. “Wow! You’re my favorite princess ever!”

And with that, the boy ran back to his friends, telling them the good news that Nightmare Night was officially back.

“You see?” said Dipper. “They actually DO like you, Princess.” Luna smiled and walked off in the direction of the children. A few minutes later everyone was back in Ponyville and Luna was starting to get back into the party games, getting along with the towns folk.

On the top of a roof above the festivities Shadow Strike looked down at Luna, smiling he began walking along the rooftops. "She seems to be settling in nicely, Master Cipher."

"Excellent, keep a close eye on her when you can, for now you need to find the first journal."

"The one Dipper has?"

"No. It’s too risky to go after him first, I'm sending another one of my subordinates with one of the journals. Meet him at the Castle of The Two Sisters in a few days. Don’t worry,  you'll know when he gets here."

"Yes, my master." Looking back at the town Shadow smirked. "Let's raise some hell shall we?"

...

"Man, that was a fun night." Dipper said, stretching as he sat down on a couch in the library.

“I’ll say,” said Twilight with a smile, sitting down next to Dipper as Spike marched past them and off to bed. “I’ll bet your home’s Halloweens are nothing compared to our Nightmare Nights.”

“Well, Nightmare Night definitely trumps Halloween, I’ll give you that much,” admitted Dipper. “Summerween, on the other hand, can easily run circles around Nightmare Night. Heh, I still remember my first one from when I was 12. Man, that was a blast.”

“Really? What happened?” asked Twilight, clearly curious.

Dipper began to explain what happened during his first Summerween, back during the fateful summer of 2012, with his terrifying encounter with the Summerween Trickster, who was made up entirely of terrible candy ranging from black licorice to old chocolate bars. During the entire story, Twilight paid very close attention. And as she did, she began to feel warm and comfortable inside. It felt like she’d always be safe as long as she stayed by Dipper’s side.

Little did Twilight know, but Dipper was kind of feeling the same way about Twilight.

After a minute of looking into each other's eyes they both shook themselves and Twilight stood up. "Well, I should get to bed, got a lot of important things to do tomorrow." She said, feeling embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah, goodnight Twilight."

"Goodnight Dipper." With that Twilight quickly turned around and walked up to her room. As Dipper placed a hand on his chest he sighed.

"What're you doing Dipper?" As he was about to lay his head down to sleep he heard screaming from outside. Peeking out the window he saw Luna was chasing down Jack with her sword drawn.

"I DIDN'T STEAL YOUR CANDY, I SWEAR!!!"

"LIAR!!!" 

Dipper chuckled and laid back down.

"I wonder what would happen if Soos met Jack, the things they would probably do." With that he yawned and closed his eyes.

"Be careful what you wish for Pine Tree."

…

Later on that night, Twilight Sparkle found herself having trouble sleeping. She couldn’t understand why, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about Dipper. He made her feel such a way that she couldn’t really describe, almost like she’d been incomplete and Dipper was the piece she was missing. But, what could this feeling be? Twilight’s eyes widened as a sudden thought struck her.

Could it be that she’d…fallen in love with him?

Don’t be so ridiculous, Twilight. You hardly know anything about him, she told herself. But, then, why couldn’t she stop thinking about the teenage boy from Gravity Falls, wherever that place was, with his deep brown eyes, his mop of brown hair, and his personality, which the more Twilight thought about it, almost mirrored her own, with a remarkable intellect, a willingness to lend a hand, and complete with an eagerness to learn that almost rivaled her own. There was just no other way around it. She’d fallen deeply and truly in love. It was always like her mother had told her; she’d know when the right man had arrived to sweep her off her feet and ride off into the sunset. However, there was one VERY important question that needed to be answered before she started picking out her wedding dress or baby names.

Does he feel the same way about me?

Whatever the answer to that question was, Twilight decided that she’d find out in the morning, after she’d written her letter to Princess Celestia, asking her for advice on how to tell him.

Twilight sat up bolt upright in bed, a realization coming to her… she and Dipper should’ve asked Luna to help them fight off Bill and any minions he may send.

…

Meanwhile, downstairs, Dipper was having a little trouble sleeping himself. He couldn’t stop thinking about Twilight, and it was making him feel the same way he’d felt when he had a crush on Wendy Corduroy, the Mystery Shack cashier girl back when he was 12, just before the first Weridmaggeddon.  

What is it about her that makes me feel this way? Dipper thought to himself as he turned over on the couch, burying his face in his pillow and closing his eyes, causing  his mind to be once again plagued by visions of Twilight, with her beautiful purple eyes, her soft, shimmering blue and pink hair, and that smile of hers that seemed to make his entire world freeze in its tracks. Not only that, but their personalities just seemed to match up perfectly. She was smart, intuitive, kind, curious, and considering the fact that she lived in a library, she had a deep love of research, studying, and books in general.

There was just no other way around it. He’d fallen head over heels with Twilight Sparkle, who hailed from a parallel dimension no less. It was just like his father and Great-Uncle Ford had always told him; when the right girl for you comes along, you’ll know it. You won’t be able to explain how or why, you’ll just know that she’s the one for you.

However, Dipper couldn’t just go and pick out wedding invitations and have Rarity make him another strangling tuxedo right away. There was still one very important question he needed to have answered first.

How does she feel about me?

Whatever the answer to that one was, Dipper decided that he’d find out tomorrow, after breakfast, and maybe get some advice on how to tell her from Flynn or someone.

With that, Dipper closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.

…

Meanwhile, back in Gravity Falls inside Bill Cipher’s new fortress, the villainous triangle guy was leaning back in what could only be described as an office chair mixed with a throne, playing with a paddleball toy, awaiting the arrival of his subordinate as multiple prison bubbles circled around him. 

“When my brother gets back here with his super powerful ninja cat army, you’re gonna be sorry that you ever laid a finger on me, you isosceles monster!” yelled Mabel, her voice slightly echoey as she yelled from her bubble.

“Keep dreaming, sister! There are no ninja cats where your brother is. Although, I do have an agent and something that means the entire multiverse to me there, as a matter of fact,” replied Bill without a single care in the world as the door to his throne room opened.

“Ah got yer message. What’s this about, Bill?” asked a Southern sounding voice that made Mabel groan out loud.

“Not him…”

"Ah Gideon, so great to see you, your skin is still as white as ever."

"Why thank you, I've been tryin new skin cream." The now tall and slim Gideon looked to Bill. "No side trackin, tell me what you want." Bill just rolled his eye.

"Alright fine. I need you to go to the world that pine tree went to and deliver your journal to my agent there, goes by the name Shadow Strike. And you are to assist him in any way."

"And what's in this for me?" Bill snapped his fingers and Mabel appeared in her bubble.

"I'll give you her for eternity if all goes according to plan." Gideon looked over the matured Mabel and grinned.

"Very well, you got yourself a deal." They shook hands and Gideon pulled out his journal, number 2. Bill snapped his fingers and Gideon was transported to Gaia.

"There is no way I am staying with him for eternity!" shouted Mabel from her bubble.

"Sorry shooting star, you haven't got a say in the matter."
> The Offer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight and Spike were both mildly interested and confused by Princess Celestia’s reply to the letter they’d sent her earlier that morning.

My Faithful Student,

I’ve gone over every map of Gaia in the Canterlot Library, and there is no such town as Gravity Falls anywhere on the planet. However this does not mean I don’t know anything about it.

About 35 years ago, a man with six fingers on each hand who claimed to be from a town in an alternate dimension called Gravity Falls appeared. Oddly enough, his name was Pines as well. Stanford Pines, in fact. He was not only very, very sane, but he was also a genius. So much so that he probably could’ve given Starswirl the Bearded a run for his bits.

I don’t want to go into details, but let’s just say Ford and I had some… interesting nights. Then, one day, about five years ago, he was gone.

If this Dipper is related to Ford and is indeed from the same Gravity Falls as Stanford was, please do not pressure him into confirming or denying anything that I’ve told you. When he’s ready, he’ll tell you himself.

Sincerely, your teacher,
Princess Celestia Eclipse.

P.S. As far as telling Dipper how you feel about him goes, I’m afraid that’s one problem I can’t help you with. Although, if he really is just like you, then this should be interesting. Also, don’t expect him to tell you if he has similar feelings any time soon.

P.P.S. Whatever you do, DO NOT ask Luna to help contend with this Bill Cipher creature. She’s going through a hard enough time just adapting to modern Equestrian life as it is.

"Well that was... Insightful, to say the least." Twilight said as she put the letter down.

“I’ll say,” said Spike.

“Well, no use sitting around here doing nothing. I’ve still got to teach Dipper how to use Equestrian Magic, and maybe I’ll find out if Celestia’s letter holds any truth,” said Twilight, getting out of her chair and using her magic to conjure up some spellbooks. “I think I’ll start off by teaching him some levitation, and once he’s mastered that, then perhaps we can move on to some elemental magic-”

“Uh, Twilight? How do we even know Dipper CAN use Equestrian Magic? I mean, he may or may not be from an alternate dimension for all we know,” said Spike.

Twilight stopped and thought for a moment. Spike DID have a valid point… however, she knew a Mark of Power when she saw one. After all, how many people had birthmarks in the exact shape of the Big Dipper?

“I’m confident he can learn magic, Spike. Now, since I’m going to be busy all day with Dipper, why don’t you take the day off? Go hang out with Sweetie Belle and her friends?” said Twilight.

A blush appeared on the young boy’s face. "Oh, um, ok." With that he ran out of the library.

"That was odd. Oh well, what to do about Dipper? He said he wanted to talk to Rider about something... maybe I can form a plan while he's gone." Twilight pulled out a blank scroll and wrote “Dipper Plan” on the top in pink ink.

...

"Okay, Dipper, what's got you so stressed?" Flynn asked as he poured Dipper a cup of tea as they sat in the living room of the cottage, Fluttershy flying about playing with her animals.

"Well, you see, I kinda need some advice." Dipper said nervously.

Flynn took a sip of his tea and looked to the stressed teenager. "And what advice could I give you that Twilight couldn't? She's far more intelligent than me, granted she isn't the greatest when it comes to social interaction but she does have a vast knowledge on basic every subject."

"That's the thing, I need advice regarding Twilight." Dipper admitted.

Rider noticed a small blush on Dipper's face and smiled warmly. "Ah, I get it now." Flynn nodded and set his tea down, leaning forward slightly to pay closer attention. "You think you've fallen in love with Miss Sparkle, don't you?" Dipper rubbed his arm nervously and nodded. "Well I'm glad you came to me and not Jack about this, while he can give romantic advice it's more for... Intimate, situations." He shivered slightly and put his hands on his knees. "Now, what kind of advice do you need?"

"Well, I need advice on how to go about this. Do I just tell her about it or do I take things at a set pace? Stuff like that." 

Flynn nodded. "Well, I'm only going to go off of what I've learned about relationships with Fluttershy. I know Twilight, I've known her since I was a kid when I traveled to Canterlot. I know enough about her to know that you two would make a great couple." This got Dipper to smile. "Here's what you've got to do, don't try any schemes, let love take its natural course. When I first met Fluttershy we started off as distant friends, I was too shy to admit my feelings to her, over time we grew closer and closer until one day, while we were out on a walk, Fluttershy tripped on a pebble and her lips landed on mine. We didn't pull away from each other, we don't shove the other away. We just accepted that fate had chosen that moment for us, that we loved each other and that our feelings for each other were mutual. We let love take its course, it may have had a few bumps here and there but, look at us now. We're getting married in a few weeks." Flynn reached over and placed a hand on Dipper's shoulder. "Dipper, this is gonna sound really cheesy. Do what your heart tells you, love is with this," he placed a finger on Dipper's chest where his heart was, "not with this." He moved the finger up to Dipper's forehead.

"Wow... Every time you talk you remind me more and more of my Great Uncle Ford." 

Flynn froze. "What did you just say?" he asked in shock.

"You remind me of my Grunkle Stanford Pines." Flynn got up and placed both hands on Dipper's shoulders. "Wait, do you know Ford?"

"Dipper, a man named Stanford Pines taught me everything I know. I was his apprentice until five years ago."

Dipper gasped. "My Great Uncle showed up five years ago." Both looked at each other in shock.

"Dipper, I need you to do something for me." Dipper nodded. "I need you to become my apprentice."

…

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the city of Fillydelphia, Gideon Gleeful began to wake up.

“Ugh… what the sam hill happened?” muttered the tall white haired teen as he sat up and looked around, noting that he clearly wasn’t in Oregon, or anywhere near America as far as he could tell. “Where am Ah?”

“From the looks of things, I’d say you’re just outside Fillydelphia… and nowhere near the Castle of the Two Sisters. You’ll have to forgive me, Gideon, my power is a little rusty after spending five years locked away,” said the voice of Bill Cipher from inside Gideon’s mind.

The teen raised an eyebrow. “What exactly am Ah doin’ in Philadelphia? Ah thought you were sending me to the place Dipper ran off to,” said Gideon.

“No, Gideon, that’s PHILAdelphia. You’re outside of FILLYdelphia. They’re two completely different cities in two completely different dimensions… although, considering how similar the names of the towns there are to the ones here, I understand your confusion,” said Bill. “Okay, here’s the rundown. The people of this world use bits of gold for their currency here. So, what I’ve done is I’ve bestowed upon your suit the power of the Magic Satchel, which pretty much lets you put anything in your pockets, no matter how big, small or how many individual units you put in. Right now, you’ve got about 666,666 bits in your name, all of which are in your right pocket. Also, I’ve replaced your tie with… an old friend, if you know what I mean.”

Gideon looked down at his chest. There, right where his white tie had been, was a black bolo tie with a gold encircled jade gemstone.

“My… my old amulet,” said Gideon in shock.

“You’re welcome. Also, in case someone tries to smash it again, I’ve put 1,456,779 spares in your left pocket. Now, head to the train station and buy a ticket for a town called Ponyville. From there, it’s a straight shot to the Everfree Forest where the Castle of the Two Sisters is. Get moving. And remember, I’ll be watching you.”

“Ah understand,” said Gideon. “All righty, now then, let’s see where that there train station is, so Ah can git to Ponyville and find that there agent Bill mentioned.”

And with that, Gideon got up, brushed off his baby blue suit, with which he wore a black dress shirt and black dress shoes, and strolled into the city. It felt kind of weird to enter a town and not be adored or given weird looks, but Gideon was sure he’d get used to it.

Thank God Ah got rid of that ridiculous hairdo Ah had back when Ah was nine, thought Gideon, patting his mop of silvery white hair as he made his way through town.

…

Dipper walked through the door of his current library home, his mind still reeling from what Rider had revealed to him about his Great-Uncle Ford. 

I still can’t believe it! Grunkle Ford was actually here! And Flynn was his apprentice! thought Dipper. He’d told Flynn that he’d think about his offer, but what would Twilight think about all of this?

Dipper smacked his forehead. He needed a plan for her! And moreover, he needed a time to enact his plan once he’d come up with it. Spotting a nearby scroll, ink jar, and quill, Dipper grabbed them and wrote “Twilight Plan” on the top in large black letters.

“Hey, Dipper!”

Dipper jumped about a foot in the air at the sound of Spike’s voice, and judging from the sound  of a female scream and a loud thud from upstairs, Twilight had done the same. Dipper hurriedly stuffed his unfinished plan behind his back.

“Man, you and Twilight really are two of a kind!” Spike said with a snicker. 

“Y-you really think so?” asked Dipper.

“Well, yeah. I mean, you both either freak out or completely tune out the world when you’re focused on something important to you, for one thing,” said Spike. Before Spike could continue, however, Twilight appeared on the staircase.

“Hey Spike! Hey Dipper!” said Twilight, a smile on her face as she looked down at the two boys. "How was your visit with Flynn?" She asked with a small, unnoticeable blush.

"Oh um, it was great. I just found out that Flynn had met one of my relatives a few years back." Twilight's smile didn't falter as she nodded. "And after he gave me some advice on... Some guy stuff, he gave me an offer that I kinda wanted to talk with you about."

"And what was the offer?" Dipper took in a deep breath and looked her in the eye.

"He asked me to become his apprentice." Twilight's smile slowly turned to a frown.

"Did he now?"

"I told him I'd think about it, I know you were wanting to teach me about magic and stuff but, Rider has given me the kind of offer that is hard to turn down."

“I see…”

Spike looked between the two nerds, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. “Uh, I’ll just go… outside for a moment,” he mumbled before he ran outside, tripping over his own feet for a moment.

“I take it you’re not exactly happy with that?” Dipper asked nervously.

Twilight’s smile returned, although Dipper thought it was somehow forced. “N-no! That’s… that’s great,” she said.

“Oh… well, I-I’m glad you feel that way,” said Dipper with a nervous smile.

“Well, I’ve got some things I need to finish up in my bedroom so I… guess I’ll see you later,” said Twilight, before she turned around and returned to her bedroom.

“O-okay… see you tonight,” said Dipper, a gloomy look on his face as he sat back down on the couch. "I really don't believe she took that well." Sliding his hand down his face he pulled out his Twilight Plan and wrote down 'step one: make this up to Twilight' and put it back in his jacket. "I just hope she doesn't hate me for this."

…

Meanwhile, up in her bedroom, Twilight sat in her chair and looked down at her Dipper Plan… now that Rider had offered Dipper an apprenticeship, she was beginning to have doubts that their love could ever actually bloom.

"Feelin a little down there Twi?" 

Twilight jumped and looked to see Hack leaning in through her window."Jack, what are you doing?!" 

Jack chuckled and slid into the room. "Pinkie sensed that you were upset and sent me to cheer you up." He walked over to her and crouched to eye-level. "Now, what's got you all gloomy like this?"

Twilight took a deep breath and sighed. “Let’s say… I have crush on someone. But, that someone was offered an apprenticeship that meant we couldn’t be together. What do I do?"

Jack nodded and put a finger to his chin in thought. "Well that depends on the kind of apprenticeship. Will he be moving in with this person or will you still be able to spend time with them?"

Twilight just looked at him dumbfounded. "Well... It wouldn't mean I'd never see him again. It would just mean we'd spend less time together, making it harder to have anything actually grow between us."

"Let me tell ya something Sparkle, love is never easy. It's always gonna be hard no matter what you do. If something slows your progress or gets in your way you've simply got to find another route to reach your destination. It may take a little longer but it won't stop you from ever getting there. Love takes time Twilight, lots and lots of time. You can't force it to work faster, you can't create it with a spell, unless you're Princess Cadence of course but that's beside my point." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Everything will work out in the end of it all my friend. You simply, have, to wait."

Twilight smiled. “Thanks, Jack. Pinkie’s really lucky to have you,” she said.

Jack returned the smile. “You’re welcome, Twilight. And yes, she is." Jack got up and walked towards the window. "By the way I know it's Pines, stop trying to be subtle." Twilight blushed furiously.

"How did you know?" 

Hack turned and smirked."I didn't, but I do now." 

Twilight glared at him. 

"Stop by the bakery later on today with everyone else, Pinkie and I have a little... announcement to make." With that he jumped out the window. "LOOK OUT BELOW!!!" There was a crash and some yelling. Twilight just shook her head.

"Yep, he's Pinkie's husband alright."
> The Announcement
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ah wonder what this here announcement Pinkie and Jack want to make is,” said Applejack over the chattering crowd in Sugarcube Corner, where she was sitting with Twilight, Dipper, Spike, Flynn, Fluttershy, Rarity, Moon, Rainbow, Jet, and Buck Shot.

“Who knows? It could be that they’re opening their own bakery for all we know,” said Buck Shot with a chuckle.

“I somehow doubt that, Buck. Those two have been happily married for two years. I think this might be something else entirely,” replied Rarity with confidence.

“I agree,” replied Moon with a nod.

Flynn saw Pinkie and Jack come out into the front of the bakery. “Well, I guess we’re about to find out,” he said.

"Hi everyone, thanks for coming on such short notice." Everyone immediately froze at Jack's voice, it wasn't crazy, it was alarmingly calm.

Oh dear, something's happened. Everyone but Dipper thought.

"Please come inside so we can do this in private." Jack and Pinkie both stepped out of the way and motioned everyone into the bakery. Everyone was either internally terrified or confused, but followed Hacks instructions anyway.

As everyone stood in the building made of sweets they looked at Jack and Pinkie as they whispered to each other facing away from the group. Both turned their heads and smiled at the group.

"Jack, what's going on?" asked Flynn cautiously.

Both Jack and Pinkie giggled before turning to the group. "We're having a baby!" As everyone smiled at the news, Rider’s face became filled with horror.

"Flynn, what's wrong?" asked Twilight.

"Every single birth in Jack's family have been triplets." Soon everyone's smiles turned to their own looks of horror. "That means we're either going to have three tiny Jacks running around, or three tiny Pinkies."

"Did I just hear that correctly?!" The group turned to the door where a voice similar to Hacks called in. The door burst open and two men completely identical to Hack in both looks and fashion entered, except one wore green and the other blue. "Is our wonderful sister-in-law really having a batch of Wonders?" The man in green asked with joy.

"Hack! Lack! There you two are!" Hack ran forward and brought his two brothers into a hug.

"Well, we couldn't miss that kind of news could we? Now where's the lucky woman destined to bring on the next generation?" The man in blue asked. He looked around until he spotted Pinkie. "Ah, there she is." Both brothers walked to her and planted kisses on her cheek. "Congratulations you two, can't wait to hear what you name them."

"Twilight, why are there more of him?" asked Spike and Dipper as they had never seen these two before.

"What?! Jack, didn't tell you about us? Well, then introductions are in order." The blue and green men stood back to back. "I'm Hack..." The blue one began.

"...and I'm Lack, and with Jack we're the Wonder Triplets." The green one finished. "Oh, mama’s gonna be so happy to hear there is another batch on the way," 

Hack chuckled. "Well, just don't let her start picking the names, we were lucky enough to have good names like these."

"Speak for yourself bro." huffed Lack.

“Aw, come on! We’re gonna be uncles! This is gonna be awesome!” said Hack.

“...what?”

The ensemble turned around to find three very… dull-looking female Gaians standing there. One of them had heavy-lidded eyes, a long, dull purple hairdo, and wore a simple dark turquoise dress with heels. The second had a dark gray hairdo and wore a similar outfit, only it was an ugly shade of purple. The third girl had short chalk white hair and wore a matching gray outfit to her sisters.

At the sight of these three, Pinkie’s face broke into a wide grin. “Maud! Marble! Limestone! You made it!” she yelled, throwing the three girls into a backbreaking hug.

“Hey, Pinkie,” said the three Gaians, sounding almost as though they had no personality whatsoever.

Twilight, Dipper, and the others save for Hack and his brothers simply stared at the newcomers in complete confusion. Finally, it was Twilight who spoke up.

“Uh, Pinkie… who are these girls?” she asked carefully.

Pinkie turned around to face the others. “Oh, these are my sisters! That’s Maud, that’s Marble, and that’s Limestone,” said Pinkie, pointing at the dull-purple haired Gaian, the dark gray haired one, and the white haired one respectively.

“Hello,” the three Gaians said robotically.

Twilight and Dipper glanced at each other in confusion. How could these three girls possibly be related to the pink party animal when they were showing nearly no emotions at all?

“Hello… I’m Twilight Sparkle,” said Twilight carefully.

“N-nice to meet you. I’m Dipper Pines,” said Dipper with a nervous chuckle.

“Hello,” said Maud while Marble and Limestone simply nodded. “Did I hear that right, though, Pinkie? You’re having children?”

"Yep. Me and Hacky are going to be parents, and you're all gonna be aunties!" The girls still remained silent, but Maud gave the smallest of smiles. "I knew you guys would be excited!"

While Pinkie tended to her sisters, Twilight and Dipper turned their attention to the Wonder brothers. Each one of them had plain white glowing eyes despite being Gaians, Twilight had explained that every three generations in the Wonder family there was a curse that caused their eyes to be like that, a side effect to the enchantment that guaranteed triplets. "Congratulations Jack." Twilight said as she walked over to him and brought him into a hug.

"Thanks Twi, I'm just glad that they won't get these things." He pointed to his eyes and sighed. "Kinda dodged a bullet on that one." Flynn walked up to him and brought him into a man-hug.

"Congratulations Jack, you should be proud."

"Oh I am beyond proud," he stepped back and wrapped his arms around his brothers, "After all I beat these two to it." Hack and Lack slumped in defeat. "You two know the tradition, pay up." Both rolled their blank eyes and reached into their pockets, each pulling out a broken piece of a key and setting them in Jack's hand.

"What are those?" Dipper asked, looking at the key pieces.

"It's an old family tradition for Wonder Triplets, the first to bring about the next generation of Wonders gets the other two's parts of a key to a chest containing a family secret." explained Hack. "What's bad about it is they're not allowed to tell anyone about what they find, so we're stuck not knowing."

"There seems to be a lot of weird things that go on with your family." admitted Twilight.

"We know,” all three brothers answered.

...

"Alright, if those directions from the city folk are right then the train station should be right 'round the corner." Gideon said in relief after walking around for a few hours. As he turned the corner his eyes widened as he saw the staff of the train station leaving with a closed sign at the ticket booth. "AH COME ON!!!"

Sighing Gideon looked up at the night sky.

"Well, at least Ah get to see this beautiful sky." Suddenly a squad of pegasi moved a large group of storm clouds over the city and it began to rain. "Of course."

"Hey you!" 

Gideon turned to see a girl waving to him from a nearby hotel "Get in here before you catch something." 

Seeing no other option other than standing in the rain he ran over to where the girl was waiting. If he was lucky, there might still be a room open.

“You okay?” asked the girl.

“Ah'm fine, thanks,” said Gideon. As he got a closer look, the girl appeared to be around his age and was wearing a purple suit with a black shirt and heels, a matching cape and witch’s hat, both of which had glistening stars on them. “Mah name’s Gideon, Gideon Gleeful,” he said, holding out his hand.

The girl took it. “Trixie Lulamoon, the great and powerful,” said Trixie with a smug look on her face.

“‘Great and Powerful, eh?’ Let me guess, you’re queen of a city made of precious gemstones?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Where on Gaia would you get such an idea?” she asked.

“It was a book Ah read once,” explained Gideon.

“I see…” said Trixie, mildly interested. “If you don’t mind me asking, where is that you’re heading to?”

“Oh, Ah’m headed fer this town called Ponyville to meet up with a friend of mine,” said Gideon casually, only to notice that Trixie’s eye had started to twitch a little. “Uh, ya’ll okay?”

“My archrival lives in Ponyville…” Trixie said under her breath with perhaps the merest trace of a growl. “She humiliated me… I’ve been waiting to settle the score with her for years now…”

Gideon looked interested at this notion. “You know, now that Ah think about it, MY archrival might actually be in Ponyville as well,” said Gideon, thinking about what Bill Cipher had told him. “An’ you know what? Ah’ve got a purty big score to settle with him as well.”

“In that case, why don’t you come up to my room a little later, after you get yourself checked in and all of that stuff? Then we’ll be able to discuss just how exactly we’re going to get even with our archrivals,” said Trixie.

And, with a swish of her cape, Trixie left Gideon to get his affairs in order.
> Spike's Birthday
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, Dipper, it’s that day again,” said Twilight Sparkle as she came downstairs from her room in the library, causing Dipper to jump from his spot on the couch and stash something into his coat pocket.

“Uh… and what day is this, exactly?” Dipper asked curiously.

In response, Twilight’s eyes glowed with magical energy as every single book in the library was gripped in her magical grasp, pulled off the shelves, and dumped onto the floor.

“Reshelving day,” said Twilight as her eyes lit up again, this time causing all the books in the room to lift up off of the ground and begin circling her, leaving Dipper in awe.

“That’s amazing, Twi,” said Dipper.

“Thank you, Dipper, but it’s nothing special really, just a basic Multi-Levitation Spell,” said Twilight, trying very hard not to blush.

Suddenly, the two of them heard loud laughter from upstairs, causing Twilight to lose her concentration and stop the spell, causing all of the books to fall, and one of them to hit Dipper in the head.

Looking up, the two bookworms saw Spike at the top of the stairs, holding a large red ruby in the shape of a heart, and for a moment, Dipper was thankful that Grunkle Stan wasn’t here, because that ruby would be more than enough reason to punch a teenager in the face.

“Spike! What are you doing?” asked Twilight in frustration.

“And why do you have a giant ruby?” asked Dipper.

“Huh? Oh, this isn’t an ordinary ruby. It’s a fire ruby, and it’s almost ripe!” said Spike, tapping the fire ruby with a tuning fork and listening to the vibration. “You see, tomorrow’s my birthday, and this little beauty is my birthday present to myself!”

Dipper raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘it’s almost ripe?’ You make it sound like it’s a fruit or something,” he asked the teenager.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Dipper, Spike isn’t a normal Equestrian, like a Spellcaster or a Flier or a Gaian. He’s a Dragonblood,” she explained.

“A… Dragonblood?” Dipper asked in confusion.

“You see, Dipper, Spellcasters, Fliers, and Gaians are descended from Unicorns, Pegasi, and normal, but very strong horses respectively, with the Princesses being the result of interbreeding between these three types of horses. Dragonbloods, on the other hand, are descended from the mighty and very greedy dragons. They’re far stronger than Gaians, have limited pyrokinetic abilities, and can even use certain forms of magic that Spellcasters can’t use,” explained Twilight. “And while they enjoy a good steak or pork chop, a Dragonblood’s favorite delicacy are gems, like rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and so on.” Twilight explained with a smile.

“Interesting, so do they need gems to survive?” Dipper asked.

“No, it's more of a treat than anything, it's like us and candy except it isn't bad for them.” She said simply.

“Ah, right.” Dipper rubbed his arm nervously. “Anyway, Twilight, I was going out to see Flynn about something, maybe talk to him about this mentorship thing, get some finer details and such. Is that alright with you?” He added with uncertainty.

Twilight's smile dropped slightly. “Well yes… that's fine… you go do what you want to do I'm not gonna stop you.” She said while turning away. “It's not like I wanted to spend the day with you or anything.” She said quietly.

“What was that?” Dipper asked with concern.

“Oh nothing, just me remembering something and rambling to myself. You go on, have fun, I'll see you later.” She reassured him.

Dipper just nodded before walking out the door. Spike looked to the door and then back to his adoptive sister. “I know what's going on Twi.” He said sternly.

“What?”

Spike walked up to him while placing the gem in his pocket. “You like Dipper, don't you?” He asked simply.

“Well yes, he's a great friend and-”

“You want to be more than friends, right?” Twilight just froze at his question. “As I thought.”

“Wh-Why do you think I like him that way?” Twilight asked shakily.

“Oh, puh-lease, the signs are all there, the way you look at him, talk to him, what you whispered when he said he had to go.” Twilight just looked at him shocked. “Yes, I heard it. Now I want you to actually put effort into this Twilight, but don't overdo it, you don't want to scare him away. If you ever need to talk about it then just say so and I'll listen, and I'm pretty sure that your cousin would be more than happy to help resolve this.”

Twilight sighed. “You're right Spike, maybe talking to Flynn will help calm me down about this.”

“Good, because Faust knows what Jack would do if you went to him for advice. The town is still in a panic after hearing about Pinkie being pregnant.” Spike said as he pointed his thumb to the door where screams could be heard. “Now, I have a gemstone to attend to.” He said finally as he pulled out the fire ruby while licking his lips.

However, before he could take a bite, someone knocked on the door. “Hello? Anybody home?”

Spike froze in his tracks, recognizing that voice as Sweetie Belle’s. Sure enough, when Twilight opened the door, there was the pink and lavender haired Spellcaster, holding a few books in her hands.

“Hi, Twilight! I thought I’d return these books you lent me,” said Sweetie as she handed the books to Twilight.

“Thank you, Sweetie,” said Twilight, using her magic to place the books on her desk so that she could check them in.

Taking a deep breath, Spike walked up to Sweetie Belle. “H-hi, Sweetie,” he said nervously, turning a bright shade of red.

Sweetie turned a little red herself when she saw the young Dragonblood. “H-hey, Spike. D-do you know what’s going on out there? I was almost knocked to the ground on more than one occasion on my way here,” she said nervously.

Twilight looked up from Sweetie’s books, intrigued by the way the boy and girl were talking to each other, and noticing the blushes on their faces. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how these two felt about each other, however she kept her mouth shut.

“Oh, you haven’t heard? Jack and Pinkie Pie are having children,” said Spike, chuckling nervously as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Is that so? Well, that explains a lot. No wonder the town’s in full-blown panic mode,” said Sweetie Belle. “Well, I-I have to get going, Rarity and Moon Stone are expecting me. See you guys later!”

As Sweetie began to leave, Spike said, “Sweetie, wait.”

“Huh? What is it, Spike?” asked Sweetie.

“This is for you,” said Spike, holding out his Fire Ruby.

“A-a Fire Ruby? F-for me?” asked Sweetie, her eyes widened.

“Yeah. I just thought, y’know, that I’d give you something. Besides, if you don’t take it, I’ll probably just end up eating myself,” said Spike, giving a small chuckle.

Sweetie Belle took the gem. “Thank you, Spike. Maybe I’ll have my sister turn it into a necklace or something. Well, I really need to get going. See you guys at the party tomorrow!”

And with that, Sweetie walked a little too quickly out of the library. Twilight turned to look at Spike with a smirk on her face.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who needs to have a chat with my cousin from where I’m sitting,” the sorceress told her adoptive brother.

“Wh-what are you talking about?” asked Spike, although he knew EXACTLY what Twilight was talking about.

“I’m talking about you having a crush on Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. Spike just stuttered before turning red and sighing.

“Yeah...you're right.” With that Spike walked out of the library and wandered off to think during all the panic in the streets.

…

Flynn was with Fluttershy in their cottage, standing over her while she sat down and played with the various animals under her care. A white owl flew down and perched itself on his shoulder. He looked at it and it turned to him, both locking eyes. Fluttershy looked up and giggled at the sight.

Flynn looked to his fiancé and smiled warmly before gently petting the owl and perching it on her shoulder where she proceeded to preen its wings.

Flynn was making sure to enjoy the moments of peace while they lasted, with Bill coming back and Hack’s triplets about to be born, things were going to get crazier and crazier, and Flynn was going to take what normalcy he could get.

As Flynn and Fluttershy continued to tend to the animals, the doorbell rang, causing the animals to jump and scatter all over the place.

“I’ll get the door, honey, you get everyone calmed down again,” said Flynn.

Fluttershy smiled and nodded as she went to soothe the frightened critters while Flynn answered the door to find Dipper standing there.

“Dipper? What is it?” asked Flynn.

“I need to talk to you about that apprenticeship you offered me,” said Dipper. “Just need to find out the finer details before I make my decision about it, you know.”

Flynn nodded. “Alright, what would you like to know?”

“First, what would it involve exactly?” asked Dipper

Flynn scratched his chin in thought. “Well we would mostly be doing research together, exploring areas in search of something to document, I would teach you some techniques in magic that Ford had taught me. I'm not sure if he could use magic himself but it could be a possibility, and if that constellation on your forehead is anything to go by, it could exist in your DNA, but there is no way to tell without him here. Anyway, we would be focusing on continuing Ford's work here on Gaia, while he was here he wasn't able to complete his research and left it to me to pick up where he left off.”

“Ok, how long would we be together in a day?” asked Dipper.

“We won't be doing things every day, but typically it could range from half an hour to a full day, it just depends on what happens. Anything else?” Flynn asked.

“Yeah...why offer me an apprenticeship?” asked Dipper.

The question caught Flynn off guard. He cleared his throat and recomposed himself. “Well, you are a bright young man, and you've been with Ford for a period of time so you know how to handle certain situations.” He sighed and looked up to the sky. “And I feel like I owe it to Ford.”

Dipper raised a brow. “What?”

“When Ford was here he treated me well, he taught me everything I know and more, he was my idol, a person to aspire to. He had done so much for me and Fluttershy, so I feel I owe it to him to finish what he can't, that includes your training.” He said with determination.

“Complete my training? I thought I was finished,” said Dipper, confused.

Flynn shook his head and pulled up his right sleeve, showing a tattoo of a six fingered hand on his arm. “When Ford takes on an apprentice and they reach the maximum level that he can bring them to, they are granted this symbol, and he has mentored a few people in his time.” Flynn pulled his sleeve down and looked at Dipper. “So I plan to bring you to your full potential, but it is entirely your choice and I will not judge you on your decision, but if we are going to stop Bill I'd recommend agreeing, but there are other options that would be easier on you.” Flynn noticed the conflicted expression on the young man's face. “There is no rush on your decision Dipper, take as much time as you need.”

Dipper nodded. “Ok, thanks Flynn.” With that he turned around and began walking back towards Ponyville. Fluttershy walked up to behind Flynn and watched Dipper disappear into the woods,

“Do you think he'll accept?” She asked.

“I'm not sure dear, it doesn't take a genius to realize that this would probably affect his relationship with Twilight, at least that's what he thinks might happen. Right now, he has two main choices, possibly the fear of existence, and his personal desires… and those desires may just be the motivation he needs to stop Bill once and for all," Flynn said as the two walked back into the cottage while closing the door.

Fluttershy blushed as she hugged Flynn. “Did I ever tell you how I love it when you're cryptic and mysterious?” she asked.

Flynn smirked. “It's one of the reasons you fell for me right? And yeah, you have.” He kissed her forehead and they began to cuddle on the couch. “So, any progress on dress hunting?”

“Not yet. I'm starting to think that maybe I shouldn't bring Rarity dress shopping, she tends to get very… emotional… about these things.” Fluttershy said while rolling her eyes.

“Well, no matter what you wear, you'll look beautiful, nothing could ever stain your perfection and grace.” Flynn complimented.

Fluttershy frowned and got to her feet. “You, upstairs, now.” She commanded while walking up the wooden steps.

Flynn just stared wide eyed before chucking. She's feisty when she wants to be, he thought to himself. He got up and followed his fiancé to the bedroom.

…

The next day, it was finally time for Spike’s birthday. The Elements of Harmony, their partners, and the Crusaders had all gotten gifts for the newly turned 14 year old Dragonblood, stacking them all one by one into the young teen’s arms before the huge tower of gifts finally fell over on top of Spike. Pulling himself out of the gifts, Spike simply sat there, looking a little confused by all the gifts, which caught Dipper’s attention.

“Spike, you DO know that you’re supposed to get presents on your birthday, right?” he asked the toppled teen while helping him up.

“Yeah, of course I know that. It’s just that, before Twilight and I came to Ponyville, I only got one present from Twilight… and it’s always been a book,” said Spike.

Dipper stole a glance at Twilight, who had turned bright red and hid what appeared to be a book-shaped gift behind her back. Dipper also could have sworn he heard a sheep bleat somewhere.

“Hey, Spike!” said Sweetie Belle as she walked up to the Dragonblood.

“H-hey, Sweetie Belle. What’s up?” Spike said, his face turning bright red and chuckling nervously.

“Check out what Rarity did with that Fire Ruby you gave me,” said Sweetie, showing Spike a golden necklace with the Fire Ruby embedded in the middle.

“W-wow, Sweetie Belle, it’s beautiful,” said Spike.

“Why don’t you come over and sit with us?” asked Sweetie, pulling Spike over to where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were sitting.

Dipper shook his head and chuckled. Spike reminded him so much of himself back in the day, when he’d had a crush on the Mystery Shack cashier and the local lumberjack’s daughter, Wendy Corduroy.

Dipper soon saw that Twilight and Flynn were talking about something. Dipper couldn’t hear what they were talking about over the loud dance music, but whatever it was, it was making Twilight very happy, judging by the grin on her face. The young Pines then helped himself to a cupcake and took a bite. His eyes widened in surprise at how good the cupcake actually was, having never had any form of Equestrian goodie since he arrived here.

…

Several hours later, Spike was digging through the remains of his presents’ wrappings, searching for anything he might’ve missed while some of the guests began to return home. Finding nothing, he ran up and gave Applejack a big hug.

“Thank you guys so much!” said Spike, a wide grin on his face as he spoke.

“Spike, ya’ve thanked us fifteen times already!” said Applejack.

Buck Shot frowned. “Ah had it at fourteen,” he said.

“Well, this makes fifteen,” said Applejack.

Spike released Applejack and sighed. “I just wish this party could last forever, you know,” he said, looking a little depressed.

“Don’t be silly, Spike, of course the party can’t last forever,” said Pinkie, who was munching on a napkin, most likely because of her weird pregnancy cravings.

“That’s right. It can’t last forever because you have to go and get the surprise that’s waiting for you over at Sugarcube Corner!” said Jack.

Perking up almost instantly, Spike ran out the door and made a beeline for Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight looked a Pinkie and Jack. “What exactly IS this surprise you’re talking about?” she asked her friend and her husband.

“Oh, nothing special, just a super-humongous sapphire cupcake!” said Pinkie, a huge grin on her face.

“It would’ve been an emerald cupcake, but SOMEONE decided to get into the gems,” said Hack, looking at Pinkie as he spoke.

“Hello! Babies on board!” said Pinkie, returning Jack’s look.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t it a little dangerous to eat gemstones during pregnancy?” she asked.

“My family’s triplet enchantment causes the mother to have far weirder cravings than most- well, pretty much all pregnancies. It’s how we get our charming personalities,” said Jack with a shrug.

While Twilight, Pinkie, and Jack were talking, Flynn leaned over to Dipper and muttered, “Hey, Dipper, I was talking to Twilight about the apprenticeship earlier, and I think we’ve come up with something.”

Dipper frowned. Why was Flynn talking to Twilight about the apprenticeship? She HATED the very idea of it. “What’d you come up with?” he asked Flynn.

“Well… what if I taught you offensive and defensive magic and combat skills, while Twilight taught you levitation magic and things like that? If you accept the apprenticeship, of course,” said Rider.

Dipper wanted to jump up and punch the air. This was perfect! With this offer, not only could Dipper accept Flynn's apprenticeship, but he could also spend more time with Twilight!

However, before Dipper could give a reply, Twilight said, “Hey, wait a minute. Where’s Spike? He should be back from Sugarcube Corner by now, it doesn’t take that long to get a cupcake.”

Jack walked over to a window and hummed in interest. “I don't know, but there is a giant Dragonblood that looks an awful lot like Spike rampaging through the streets right now stealing other people's shit.” Jack said casually before growling. “Hey! Hey! Hey! those are custom made top hats buster!” With that Jack shot out of the library to try and save his hats from the beast attacking Ponyville,

The group ran out and looked up at the large being. The giant monster did indeed look a lot like Spike, if Spike had somehow been turned into a purple and green version of Godzilla with giant dragon wings.

"IT'S GODZILLAAAAAA!!!" screamed one of the nearby civilians before another one paused to chat.

"Actually, he may look like Godzilla, but due to interdimensional copyright laws, he isn't," the other guy said.

"STILL, WE SHOULD RUN LIKE HE IS GODZILLAAAAAAA!!!!" screamed the first guy.

"Though he isn't," the second guy said before both civilian screamed bloody murder and took off running right past Dipper and the gang.

“How did Spike get that big and dragon-y!?” Dipper asked with panic.

Flynn ran back into the library and began flicking through multiple books on dragonblood subtilis; he came to a page that matched their situation before running back out with it. “His natural greed and instincts to gather have kicked in! When he started receiving all of those gifts from everyone, his dragon ancestors' blood caused a natural desire to build up a horde, starting an artificial maturity process that young dragons used to use to defend themselves!” He explained.

Twilight facepalmed, Dipper raised a brow in confusion, Pinkie continued eating a napkin, Flynn threw the book back into the library and activated his magic and the rest of the group all rushed to protect their things.

“How are we supposed to turn him back?!” Twilight demanded.

“We need to bring out his true self, we need something that will remind him of who he is, like a person dear to him or something of great sentimental value!” Flynn explained as he floated a few people out of the shadow of a descending foot with his magic.

Twilight began to think of anything that could be used in such a way, then something clicked in her head. “Dipper, come with me, Flynn, you see if you can slow his progress, we're going to go find Sweetie Belle.”

Flynn smiled knowingly and nodded, his eyes and hands glowing as he put more energy into his magic while Dipper and Twilight ran in the direction of Carousel Boutique.

Flynn teleported onto a roof of a large building where Jack was standing yelling at the beast. “I swear to Faust, Spike! If I see one damn wrinkle on those hats, I will smack you so hard you'll be halfway to Las Pegasus!”

“Jack!” Flynn scolded.

“I'm just so freaking mad!” Jack yelled as he glared at the rampaging monster. “Those top hats are my babies, I feel naked without them, and I won't hesitate to smack up a bitch if he doesn't give them back!”

“Ok, YOU need to chill!” Flynn smacked Jack on the back of the head. “Focus, we can worry about your hats later, safety of the people and city come first Jack. We need to stall him long enough for Twilight and Dipper to put their plan into action, which means keeping him in this area!”

“Gotcha!” Jack began running along the rooftops and climbing to higher ground until he came to the tallest building in the area. He turned to find himself face to face with Spike in his huge form. Jack twirled his cane and spread his arms, cupcake bombs appearing in his hands. “Prepare your backside for friendship, you huge scaly teenager.” He said in a western accent.

As Spike was distracted by Jack, Flynn was looking through a spell book to find any useful spells he did not know of. Finding one he placed the book in his coat and held up his hands. Large see-through purple chains began to rise out of the ground, Flynn sweating as he struggled to maintain the spell. The chains shot up and began wrapping themselves around Spike, restraining his arms and legs.

But that didn't last long as the huge teenager burst out of his chains with a roar. 

“Oh damn it…” groaned Flynn.

A moment later, three trails of white smoke similar to those from a jet engine streaked overhead. They belonged to three fliers clad in sky blue and yellow jumpsuits, gloves, boots, and flight goggles.

“It’s the Wonderbolts!” cried Rainbow Dash as her childhood heroes charged right at Spike and actually got a few hits in. To Spike, however, the talented fliers were mere flies he desperately wanted to swat. As the Wonderbolts turned for another pass, Spike was ready and caught the fliers in an empty water tower which he then stuck into the side of a nearby mountain.

Just when all hope seemed to be lost, a voice cried out, “Spike, stop it!”

Spike looked down towards the ground and saw Sweetie Belle, Twilight, and Dipper standing there. Without a second thought, Spike snatched up Sweetie Belle and began to carry her and his loot up another mountain towards a cave at the very top.

“Well, that didn’t work, now what do we do?” asked Dipper.

“We don't do anything.” They all looked back to see Shadow Strike walking up to them. “If his feelings for that girl are real he'll recognise her soon enough and possibly return to normal.” He explained as he adjusted his glasses. “However, you may want to have Miss Dash and Miss Fluttershy ready to catch them when they fall, if this goes down like everything else in this town they'll end up in free fall.” He looked to the panicking city and groaned. “I on the other hand have to get things under control here or I'm going to have the mayor nagging me for the next week, so get going.”

The group nodded and began running towards where Spike had taken Sweetie Belle to.

Shadow turned around and his eyes started to glow, the panicking people in the streets stopping in their tracks as they were coated in a purple aura. “Everyone calm down, we've got this under control!” Everyone tried to get free to continue running wildly. “I'm not letting anyone go until you all calm down. I suggest you get comfortable.”

…

As Dipper and the group ran towards the towering teenager they saw that Spike had stopped and was looking at Sweetie Belle who was yelling at him about something.

“Oh no you're not getting this gemstone, this was a gift from Spike, it's very precious to me and you can't have it!” She yelled, not knowing that who she was talking to was Spike.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were flying just above the group with a blanket ready to catch them in. They all looked up as Spike held a claw to his head and winced, memories flooding back to him.

Sure enough, he turned back to his usual human-like form, but his wings had shrunk into his back, leaving him and Sweetie Belle in the air. 

As the two began to fall Rainbow and Fluttershy swooped into action.

Not seeing the two flyers coming Spike expected the end and looked to Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie!” He yelled to get her attention. “If we don't make it, there's something I need you to know!” He gulped and blushed. “I've always sort of had a cru-”

He was stopped by Sweetie Belle who put a finger to his lips, smiled and looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Me too, Spike...me too,” she whispered.

This response was the last thing Spike had expected Sweetie to say, and made tears appear in his own eyes. The two teens hugged and were quickly caught by Rainbow and Fluttershy, who brought them safely to the ground.

…

Later that evening, Spike and Sweetie Belle were sitting by Daisy Steam, talking about their feelings towards each other and where their relationship might lead.

“I think it was a week after you moved into Ponyville that I realized it,” said Sweetie.

“Yeah, I think it was around that time when I fell for you too. I-I heard you singing,” said Spike. “I swear to Faust, Sapphire Shore’s got nothing on you. Maybe that’s what your Power Mark will be; a music note.”

“Yeah… maybe,” said Sweetie. “Sooo… what do you want to do for our date?”

Spike thought about it for a moment. “Well… there's this new movie coming out in theatres in a few days… you want to go see it together?”

Sweetie looked up at her new boyfriend. “Sounds good to me,” she said.

“Perfect. So, I’ll pick you up at say… 5:00?” asked Spike.

“It’s a date.”