Prelude #I; The Great and Powerful Thief

Joy, Saturday morning. Another day with Pinkie at the park-- and her friend. Why do I always get dragged into this?

I don't see how that glimmering, violet mare in front of me has anything to do with my good standing in Equestria. Not that I ever had a standing, anyway. But, I digress. If this is necessary to Pinkie Pie, then it is necessary to me. At least it's still only one I have to deal with this time. The last instance, all five of her friends at once... I could barely contain myself. Not that they saw in the first place.

"Er," Starlight tilts her head, unimpressed by the grey, cold statue looking down, yielding no reaction to her. "Pinkie, are you sure she's happy? She looks like she's... bummed out."

"Are you kidding me?! Maud Pie is absolutely delighted to see you!" The pink pony exclaims, holding her smile up and tossing her arms into the air. The grey mare blinks at Starlight and looks up at her sister, maintaining the same, apathetic appearance.

I guess she didn't sleep well last night, or something, Starlight wonders. A few moments pass as she tries to hide her confusion, and Pinkie eventually notices Maud's expectant, yet neutral stare.

"Oh, excuse me! Starlight, meet Maud. Maud, meet Starlight!" However, seeing that neither of them moves a single muscle, she grabs both of their hooves and gets them to formally greet each other. She then bounces back to unload a round of her party cannon, which yields no spectacular reactions throughout the town square, save for Starlight, as most of Ponyville's citizens are used to unpredictable celebrations like this by now. Pinkie then flashes back to her previous position, standing alongside Maud. The inexpressive mare turns her head to lock gazes with Starlight.

"Nice to meet you," she states.

"He he- uh, you too," the unicorn responds, utilizing magic to flick out the confetti that had stuck to her mane. She can't think of anything else to add. Although, to Starlight's surprise, Maud's hoof was amazingly soft, especially after all of the stories she had heard from Pinkie about her being able to break down rocks, lands, and even mountains. With her mind set on this, she musters up a question, raising a friendly hoof, "Maud, your sister has told me all about you. Up until now, and to the best of my understanding, I'm surprised that Twilight- nor any of the others- has mentioned your amazing story. Only Pinkie has. Is it true that you rescued her from a giant boulder?"

Maud doesn't respond, instead holding true to her everyday stare. Starlight waits patiently, almost sweating, wondering if she made the wrong notion hitting at such a personal topic. She wonders if she was even in the position to ask that kind of question out of the blue. However, before she brings forth an apology, she looks at Pinkie, and to no doubt, she is frantically nodding, being her usual, joyful self and wrapping a hoof around her sister, hugging her gratefully. Pinkie exclaims, "yup! It was all big sis!" And then cheerfully, she blurts out, "uh-huh! You should have seen the boulder! It was literally THIS huge!" She spreads out her arms and they extend to the size of the original boulder, nearly taking up the proportion of a whale. Now this unpredictable action scares off some of the nearby citizens- and Derpy Hooves, who is flying by to deliver mail, bumps into Pinkie's massive arms mid-flight, falling to the ground with a lump on her head, the letters scattered everywhere. In the distance, some ponies trot over to lend her a helping hoof.

To this, Starlight adjusts her posture and prepares to ask Maud another question, without taking a single second to ask why the hyper mare was able to do that. "Right... so, how exactly did you go about breaking that huge rock?"

Promptly, the grey earth pony opens her mouth to begin, and Starlight believes she has finally clicked her, leaning in closer just in case. "I broke the rock," she remarks.

Starlight's head falls along with her curiosity, but nonetheless, she forces herself to stand tall, feigning a smile towards her. "Right, right. That's... impressive," she claims, visually growing all the more uncomfortable, "um, Pinkie, may I have a moment with you, about the meeting I have with Twilight Sparkle tonight? It's really important."

Pinkie lets go of Maud and jumps up and down repetitively. "Okie Dokie, Starlight!" She bounces over to the unicorn, and when she is within a viable distance, Starlight pulls her in, holding a hoof up and speaking in a quiet, serious tone, right into her ear.

"Pinkie Pie, I thought your sister would be- you know- more," she struggles in the search for a proper word, "...cheerful than that!"

But the pink mare doesn't seem to understand the accusation. "What are you talking about? She's absolutely excited right now! No pony has ever asked her TWO questions before! They're usually fully astonished from the first one alone!"

To confirm the status of the grey pony, Starlight peeks past Pinkie's shoulder. She has thrown Boulder, her pet rock, onto the ground, and is enjoying the scenery.

Starlight pops back to her original position, looking disappointed. "Whatever." Suddenly, a brilliant question jumps into her mind. Having had enough time to figure out the impulses of her reactive friend, she teases, "say, Pinkie, can you go fetch Maud and I two extremely-super-duper-rare-lemon-squeezy cupcakes from the ghastly gorge?"

Pinkie Pie gasps, giving a second to think about it. Then, with excitement, she pops up behind Maud Pie and blurts aloud. “Why didn't I think of that?!" She hops back to Starlight and drags her over to Maud. "I'll be back Maud, I'm off to fetch us some extremely-super-duper-rare-lemon-squeezy cupcakes! Have fun with your new friend while I'm gone, Starlight!" She dashes off, already out of sight-- still appearing once more to blast out another load from her party cannon, just before leaving for sure.

Starlight looks down at the second wave of confetti and sighs. She stares at the uneventful mare in front of her, to whom returns the same action. Well, I may as well ask the obvious, Starlight thinks. "Say, Maud, what would you do if you could talk more?”

To this, the pony twitches an ear. Starlight believes she has her this time. After a considerable while, she finally replies, "I would talk more."

"Great." Instead of being disappointed yet again, Starlight smiles, almost devilishly. "You wouldn't mind coming this way, then? Pinkie might take quite a bit of time to get those cupcakes." Maud Pie casually picks up Boulder, shifts her eyes toward her, and then proceeds to follow up by her side.

They walk on until they reach an old wagon just behind some run-down pony houses. Starlight boasts, finishing up her anecdote, "and that is how I came to be at this village, of course, after enslaving multiple towns, eh heh..." she winces, but then returns to a smile, "even still, I've finally made a good friend, and I wouldn't mind it if you met them. Let's go in, shall we?" She opens the door, and the grey mare obliges.

The door closes promptly behind the two equines. There are too many artifacts, props, and chests to name within the mobile structure. Nonetheless, Maud retains her straight face. Starlight takes no note to this, and calls out with a hoof aside her mouth, "Oh, Trix! Can you do me a favor?" In response, a unicorn with starry clothing walks out from the back of the wagon, chuckling lightheartedly.

"Well sure, what are friends for, Glimmie?" Though, it isn't long before she notices the dull mare standing in the room. "Oh, I see you've brought a... well, somepony else." She looks unimpressed, raising an eyebrow. "What was it you wanted to ask of me?"

"Right. My friend here is in the need to express herself properly, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me out. Except- you know- without magic this time. I really need the practice. And who knows? It might be fun. What do you say?"

Trixie immediately gets taken back by the violet mare's words. "Friend?" She says, with a nearly untraceable sense of despair, "you've already made another... friend?"

"Well, not exactly. Pinkie Pie introduced me to her today. Her name is Maud Pie. Maud Pie, this is Trixie, the friend I was telling you about."

The... friend? Trixie thinks. Is that what I am to her now? Just, the? Nonetheless, with a slow, controlled tone, she calmly questions, "Pinkie's sister, huh?" She bats a quick eye at Maud, who simply blinks back in return. Trixie looks disgusted and turns her head again, venting, "I never thought I'd say it. I didn't think you'd be into ponies who were so,” she notices that the grey pony has a rock on the floor, and is completely unaware of her claim, “...inactive. What do you even see in her?" Trixie, by this point, is examining the stone equine closely, pinching her cheek, making a funny face, and attempting to tickle her just to see if she'll move. Nothing happens as Maud merely shifts her hooves to realign her posture.

Starlight doesn't know how to answer her sudden question. In the midst of her race for words, she floors the pedal, "well, that's the thing. I don't see anything, really. She won't express herself openly, no matter what you try."

Refusing to lose to a good challenge, Trixie trots to the back of the wagon and comes back out with a special, red and black box. "Starlight, will you come to this side of the room, please? I'd like to try something-- it might help Maud out," she requests.

"Um... okay, Trix," Starlight says, reluctantly leaving Maud Pie's side and complying to her friend's order.

"Good," Trixie states, grinning and readying herself. "Well, Maud, I don't suppose you know what's in... this box!" Without warning, she opens the lid and tosses it upon the floor-- and through the stone pony's eyes, a horrific, ancient creature made purely out of captured phantoms and undefined spirits desperately attempts to claw its way towards her. Recklessly, the container scrambles and kicks about the room as the hyperactive phenomenon struggles to remember how to move properly, dragging its base closer and closer to the grey equine, screeching and dancing about. "Oopsies," Trixie declares, thinking to herself, oh, this will definitely move her. Starlight cowers to the floor, covering her eyes- having seen enough.

Even as the rising terror gathers closer, screaming and pounding at the floor, Maud Pie shows no fear. Instead, she takes the time to check her surroundings. Hm... there are traces of stone in these wooden floors. If I calculate the right pitch...

In contrast to the wizard's anticipated outcome, Maud Pie firmly stomps her hoof into the floor at a slightly slanted angle, and a dusty, pale sound wave undetectable by the common Equestrian ear reverberates throughout the wagon. In an instant, the monster trembles, frightened by the high pitched sound, and it soon works its way back into the box from whence it came, willingly locking itself shut-- preferably for another eternity. Maud Pie then picks up Boulder and dusts him off.

"No! How?!" Trixie is surprised, but she quickly recollects her cool and brushes away the situation. "Whatever. That thing wouldn't have done much, even if it did break loose." The starry mare raises her hooves. "That's right, because it was only an illusion, a feat only possible by the great and powerful Trixie!" However, she corrects herself when she sees that Starlight has gotten back up, tossing her a vexed look. "...I mean, the perfectly normal Trixie!" She raises her hooves higher, but it only ends in a glare. "Oh, whatever," she says, returning to her normal position. "That was a Hexxill," she explains. "Rare creatures gathered from the souls of ancient war ponies. It's best if you don't ask how I have it."

Trixie skips right down to the weakness. "Any sudden, intense frequency acting upon its body scares it away, so that's why generally flies. Because we were in a wagon, there weren't many pitches acting upon it, which is how it was able to get out. Because it was bound to the box, it couldn't immediately escape and flutter on out of here."

To this, Starlight is relieved, and with the otherworldly creature out of the question, she says, "well, I'm pretty sure I'll still be having nightmares tonight. Thanks, Trix." She looks over to the gray mare. "But wait--" She turns, "Maud Pie, how did you know what that was?" She adds.

"Hmf!" Trixie interrupts, "she must have read it in a book somewhere. Who knows. If I were just as quiet as her, I'd be reading all of the time," she says as she moves over to pick up the box, ignoring the grey mare. Starlight looks at her hypocritical friend. No, Trixie, she thinks. That quiet mare must be something more. The caped pony confirms the status of Maud. "Well, there's definitely nothing in the world that will move this boring horse. If that box didn't do it, nothing will. Have fun with your 'friend', Glimmie. There's a new spell waiting for me in the back." With a look of feigned supremacy glued to her face, Trixie marches towards her declaration.

"Hold on-- you've never even answered my first question. Aren't you going to help me?"

Trixie turns to her fellow unicorn, raising a hoof and making an arch to emphasize her point. "Help? Well, there's nothing to "fix" about her. That's obviously how she is."

By then, Starlight has grown tired of Trixie disrespecting Maud's rights to silence. "Hey, stop referring to her like that, and just answer me. I'm sure that, even as the way she is now, she is probably just having a rough time. Especially since you've deliberately attacked her with that-- Hexma or whatever. It's either a yes, or a no," she states, and she moves in front of Maud Pie to assert her choice, waiting as if she were a mother scolding her own child. Carefully, Maud is examining Boulder, checking for any collateral damage.

The great and powerful mare takes a moment to pass unto Starlight the magic of her own silence, turning around to consider her current position. She keeps her back away from the unicorn and the earth pony, and to this, the equalized pony witnesses something she had never once seen before in her own friend. No way. Trixie is suddenly... crying?

Starlight is left there standing dumbfounded, finally choosing to move up besides her- looking about her shoulders to confirm her deduction. "Trixie?" Starlight calls out.

After a few moments, Trixie breaks the stabbing noiselessness, with a low and controlled tone, as if any minute she could snap by now, "Fine. Then... no." Trixie mutters, almost whispering, forcing the other unicorn to lean in. She shows no true signs until she makes the decision to turn around and openly reveal her teary face. This is probably the first time the violet pony has ever seen Trixie express herself. Trixie jumps straight to the point, having kept it in for so long, "I guess... I'm not important to you anymore. You--" she lowers her head, wiping a tear from her eye, "you're better than I am. And you know what? I can accept that. But I don't approve of her."

These words shoot straight through Starlight's heart, but her magical friend continues on with her sharp tongue.

"I-- I thought we were friends-- and best show biz partners! I don't understand, you're saying you're just going to have--" Trixie wipes her eye to toughen up and finish her sentence, but it's no use. Her tears are already leaking onto the wooden floor. She takes off her hat and uses it as a fan.

Then, after a few seconds, she points a hoof at Maud, who is not paying attention, but is rather more entertained in watching Boulder spin on an automated merry go-round. Starlight, at this point, can only do so much good as to acknowledge the starry unicorn's emotions.

Another wave of tears drips out from the sideshow pony, and she finally gathers her voice. "You pull her in here, believing that that pony is worthy of your friendship? I mean, look at her! She has nothing besides that rock of hers! We have our own show!" Trixie outbursts, almost yelling, but her voice cracks throughout her words. "I don't care if she's the coolest, calmest pony in the world, she hasn't known you for as long as I. Do you expect--" Trixie dashes up to Maud and presses her cheeks together, "this, to mean anything to you?"

Maud shows no reaction at all, tossing two eyes towards the great and powerful mare, and then looking back to Boulder spinning around on the contraption. Trixie looks straight into Starlight's eyes, and she is so shocked by her own sudden outburst that she doesn't even care how many fluids she's spilling by now.

To no hesitation, Trixie gives up her explanation. She sees that her own friend looks confused. Of course she wouldn’t understand, Trixie thinks. She moves up to Starlight and rests against her shoulder, allowing the violet pony to relax a little. After winding down, Trixie hugs her friend, forgetting about Maud, giving her a hug warm enough to light Ponyville for ages. "I'm sorry, I just..." As she lowers her head, "I-- no. If you want to go with her, so be it. I won't hold you back!" The last word in her speech trails off as she looks up towards the equalized equine, dropping her hat on the floor. The two stand opposite to each other, as if they were holding a Western standoff.

In response, Starlight picks up Trixie's hat, soon bringing her own head to level with her friend's and placing the hat back upon their head. Trixie is about to say something, but Starlight gently places a hoof atop her starry partner's mouth. "Don't worry. I... think I understand, Trix." Allowing her own tears to fall to the ground, she ignores her own bodily sentiments and manages to wipe a tear off of Trixie's eye, responding with sincerity, "look, ever since the night of the magic show, I never doubted our friendship. Maud Pie would never replace you. I just thought she could be our friend, not my friend. Our friend. And I know she needs help. She wants help." Starlight leans down against Trixie's shoulder. “But I never thought that introducing somepony else to you could--” she gathers her broken voice together, swallowing what feels like a fish in her throat, “c-could-- concern you this much. I never knew that our friendship was this fragile,” Starlight bows her head down, nearly to the floor, in defeat- it was as if Trixie had beaten out everything they knew of each other, and had tossed it out along the sidewalk for it to simmer amongst the sun of Celestia.

Trixie looks stunned, laying out a hoof to hold her friend. She closes her eyes and inner regret trickles out from her core. "No, you’re right, Starlight. So I suddenly got a little jealous. S--Sorry, " she stutters.

Starlight looks up at her friend, and they meet their eyes once more, sparkling from their own tears. "Trixie," she responds, speechless at that point.

Trixie then places her hoof over the unicorn's mouth and glances into her eyes, looking as calm as Boulder, to whom is still enjoying the merry-go-round ride. Maud Pie is smiling to herself, noticing the amount of glee in her own pet rock, but the two unicorns don't take notice, as they are too busy with each other to think about anything else. "Starlight," Trixie says, now nearly in a low whisper. A few minutes pass as they hold each other, arm in arm. Eventually, her unicorn friend blinks, putting forth a question.

"Is everything all right now? We've been holding each other for... quite the while," Starlight points out. With that said, she is just about ready to separate their warm holds for one another, but Trixie pulls her in even closer, making the decision to inch herself up to her partner's face, almost to the point where they can feel each other's hearts beating. Starlight lets go of Trixie to go about her own business, but to no avail-- the starry mare has her trapped, and her cheeks are flushed with a rosy color. She is breathing slowly, focusing only on Starlight. "What the?" the redeemed mare says, noticing her friend's drastic change of the hold she has on her. However, as soon as she is able to react to what her friend is doing, the equalized pony is already far from breaking free. Her irises thin themselves out in the midst of her struggle, and she puts up a hoof to stop Trixie's passionate advance. "Wait! T-Trixie, what are you-"

"Ssh," Trixie urges, moving in for her self-proclaimed reward. She then moves against her assistant, and their luscious lips come into contact. Starlight was too late. Her irises shake, as if she had just been stabbed in the gut and left to burn atop the feelings of confusion. With futility, she still makes an attempt to push Trixie back, but Trixie won't let her go, instead holding her tighter, up to the point where nothing can be done. Starlight tries to cast a spell, tossing forth a blast of magic, but it phases past Trixie and into a mirror in the room, and then into a piece of silverware before it is absorbed into the merry go-round, accelerating its spin-- only doing good to heighten Trixie's excitement.

The equalized mare has no other choice but to relax herself, and she finally sinks into Trixie's advance, causing her violet eyes to widen to their normal level as she presses back against her friend's desire, almost willingly, resting a hoof on her friend's cheek-- not to escape, nor to enjoy, but to give up. Trixie still has her eyes open, looking deep into Starlight's core, revealing a sincere, flaming-- no-- obsessive nature she had never witnessed before. Starlight closes her eyes, escaping her partner's ravaging purple gaze. No. No, I wouldn't have ever imagined Trixie doing this, Starlight thinks. My first kiss. Gone like that. No. Please, no. Not like this. Trixie, why would you even--

Before she is able to finish her thought, Trixie leans back to separate their lips from one another, once again forgetting about the guest in the room. Drool leaks from the tip of her tongue. The caped mare giggles, staring embarrassingly, hearts flashing in her eyes. "Oh my, was that too much of a great and powerful kiss for you, Glimmie?" She adds. To this, she channels magic in her horn and wipes the two of them off with a spare piece of cloth, looking as if a gear had permanently switched in her eyes.

"No... Trixie, no..." Starlight is about to refute her, but she holds back. "I mean, it was... fine," Starlight says as she slowly backs off, breaking their hold, looking as if she had witnessed a death scene just before her eyes. "But...why? Why didn't you just... ask me first?" Her tears start dripping amongst her own confusion.

Trixie ignores her question, turning her head to the side and pondering, pressing a hoof to her lips, her heart still racing. "I admit, as great and powerful as I am, I've... never felt something like this before. I guess I got caught up in the moment," she claims as she uses an arm to shrug.

By this point, Starlight is halfway backed to the entrance, shocked by what her own friend had just stolen from her. She doesn't even notice Maud Pie as she is nearing the door. Maud Pie turns, ignoring Boulder, nonchalantly watching the drama. "W-- will I always be one of your puppets like this, Trixie?" She cries aloud, feeling betrayed yet again.

The wannabe spell caster comes to par with her own fantasies, seeing that Starlight isn't as happy as she thought she'd be. She bats an eye. "What's wrong, Starlight? You're acting like I've done something awfully wrong to you. Though, I do admit, your lips were a little dry. Good thing I took care of that," Trixie teases, raises an eyebrow, and looks towards the ceiling, dreaming once more. "Didn't you like it? Or did you want to go again, just to make sure?" She turns around, facing away from her friend, blushing and chuckling with a hoof over her mouth.

That's it. This is the point of no return for Starlight. The unicorn charges up a major ball of energy, gritting her teeth and planning to disintegrate her for taking this so lightly- but seeing that Maud is in the way, she blurts, offended and confused, cancelling her spell. "D-- dry? Wrong? Again? No, you've done everything wrong! This... you had absolutely no right to kiss me!" She exclaims as an ocean of tears starts up from the foundations of her eyes, and she impulsively outlines the door with her magic, bolting outside as it slams against the wall, cracking the hinges.

Trixie can't help but laugh, totally absent to the alarming sound. She jokes, "but Starlight, wasn't it nice? I just couldn't help giving you a smooch... or, was the great and powerful wizard too daunting this time?" However, the wizard takes note that there is no longer any noise, apart from the slow, creaking of the entrance, and the sound of a working, motorized toy. She finally turns back and looks in front of her, only noticing two things: Maud Pie, and a spinning Boulder. "Star...light?" Her blush immediately fades, and she looks about in disbelief, soon calling out to the silent pony. "Maud, where did she go? Don't tell me--" Maud Pie has her attention aimed at the frozen equine, but it isn't too long before she turns around to press the power button on the merry go-round, watching it come to a delayed stop. She then picks up Boulder and turns back to give Trixie her full attention. Dead silence fills the room.

Interesting, Maud thinks as she slightly tilts her head, intrigued by the blue specimen- seeing that the hatted mare is staring out at her in pure shock.

In this very instance, Trixie could swear there was some trace of rage hiding deep within the rock pony's eyes. She looks down. "Just-- whatever you want to do to me, do it. I deserve it." She doesn't turn around, but instead closes her eyes to accept her fate, taking off her hat and dropping it to the floor-- removing her cape and letting it fall. "Make it quick." She says, a tear falling from her right eye, her head shaking and her lips quivering out of fear.

But after a long, hard moment of silence, Trixie calms down, eventually hoping that even the quiet equine would hold some leeway for her and still be there by the time she peeked. To her examination, she opens an eye, and notices that she was gone just as quickly as she had arrived, and the door is shut, as if nopony had ever came to visit her at all. The only trace of any visitors are the tears left on her solemn, heartbroken face. Trixie recalls that what had just happened was no different than all of the times she had spent trying to get back at Twilight- only this time, she didn't lose to Twilight-- she didn't lose to anypony but herself.

This was the same silence, only a hundred times worse. Being alone had never hurt as much as this. And she had nothing to throw the blame on, save for her own skin. What had she done to Starlight, her own friend? She falls to the floor, mustering up some magic to levitate the merry go-round towards her, turning it on and watching it spin with perfect centrifugal motion. "I've really done it this time..." and to this, she looks up in major regret, embracing the still silence. After a considerable amount of time watching the object spin, she lifts it up into the air and abruptly ends her interaction upon it, allowing it to drop to the floor and wind down in disruption. As she cries herself closer to dreamland, she uses her magic amongst the shattered, broken pieces, making every attempt to piece the contraption back together. She recalls that this was still the same wagon she's been alone in for so many years.

That pony thinks she knows silence? Trixie thinks, already hoping to scapegoat the grey equine, she thinks she knows pain? She takes these last moments to compare herself to Maud Pie, just before closing her eyes and accepting the lifeless pitch black of her mind, leaving her hat and cape aside her. Who does she think she is...

Trixie lets one last tear go.

Celestia's summer sun shines in the very middle of the sky, marking the arrival of high noon. Having found a nice tree to lie under, Starlight rests safely under its shade, deeming it a safe enough sanctuary to recollect her feelings. The mare is just too upset to break down anymore, instead using the sounds of the chirping birds and whistling wind to get the thoughts of Trixie out of her head.

"I'm not going back ever again," she mutters to herself, poking at the grass as she stirs a hoof into the ground, searching for a bug or two to play with. A small spider eventually makes its way onto her right arm- deadly drool is all over its fangs as it stops to curiously observe the mare. Instead of shooing it away as she usually does, Starlight simply sighs. "If you're going to bite me, go ahead." The spider growls in compliance. However, rather than biting her, it suddenly stands up on its back four legs and crosses its front two pairs, assertively shaking its head. The arachnid then proceeds to think with a front arm tucked under its chin, wondering what to do next.

After a few moments of consideration, the creature comes up with a final decision to place its arm in its mouth and whistle, causing three other spiders to crawl onto Starlight's arm, looking just as scary as the last. "A spider raid?" Starlight quickly looks at them with precaution, charging her horn, and they swiftly drop their intimidating acts, moving into their proper positions. She lets the magic dissipate into the air. Formally, the tiniest spider turns to her and bows, but shakes its head again, this time standing up with a refined posture. It claps its front two legs together, and the three spiders take out their corresponding instruments: a trumpet made out of a strand of grass for the medium-sized fellow, a piano made of acorns for the larger, and a bass violin made from arachnid silk, for that of the largest. Seeing that they are all ready, the smallest spider turns around and lifts up its arms: one, two, three, four... coming out in a symphony of musical precision.

With a closer ear, the spiders are playing the most extravagant, beautiful piece ever, taking the time to carry out each individual rhythm, having already practiced the same song so many times. But, to Starlight, it sounds like a bunch of screeching and scratching going about. Without meaning to offend, she tells the group, "it's sweet that you're doing this, but I can't hear you very well. Can you play a little louder?" The conductor speeds up, and its musical spiders take action, increasing the intensity of their instruments, but to no use. "...Maybe just- a little more louder?"

Eventually, she has the spiders playing at the speed of light, trying their best to allow the unicorn to hear their song, sweating and working hard at their trade. "I'm sorry, I really can't hear anything," Starlight claims. Nonetheless, the group plays on, too determined to stop now. After about ten seconds of ridiculously fast playing, they drop their instruments, giving in and collapsing, panting hard. "Thanks for trying, though," she says. They gather themselves and crawl back into the grass.

Starlight retracts her arm for something to lean her head on, remembering Trixie's sudden action as she takes note of the surrounding Ponyville citizens going about their Saturday afternoon. They're lucky that they have such... normal lives, she thinks, mustering up a sigh. They don't have to worry about anything.

She looks down on them for while, inevitably coming to terms with them, assuming that they have already resolved their own problems. After a while, Starlight begins to close her eyes, trickling into unconsciousness. Drowsily, and one last time, the unicorn opens her eyes to look upon the citizens, initially failing to notice that somepony else is standing in front of her. Mistaking them for Trixie, Starlight whelps, jumps, and hits her back against the tree. "Oof!-- No, stop! Get back!" Her eyes are closed as she begins to panic, covering her mouth and turning away, charging energy in her horn in the midst of her meltdown. "I-- I don't want you here! Leave me alone!" She lets out a blast and it travels past the silhouette. A farmer who is passing by luckily notices the beam heading straight for him, and he ducks for cover as it singes through his straw hat.

Realizing that he's still alive, the farmer turns around, and to his surprise, cheers, claiming he's going to be rich as he dances and jumps around, praising Celestia with the sight of money in his eyes. The beam had turned his apples into shiny gemstones. Joyfully, he starts pushing the cart, despite how heavy it is, and starts mumbling something about taking time off.

The grey mare is standing there, staring at the unicorn with the same, static eyes. "Starlight," she says.

The violet mage peeks out from under her hooves. "What?... Maud?" She's more astonished to the fact that the mare has bothered to mention her name.

The rock pony nods in response.

"H- how did you know I was here?" But the violet pony receives nothing from her. "Well, you don't have to answer that. I was just... resting." Starlight puts her head back down, aiming to continue her nap.

Maud Pie maintains her eye contact with the unicorn, only saying one word. "Rock," she states.

Starlight rubs an eye, wondering what she had just said. "Huh?" She lifts up an ear, opening an eye.

"Rock. My pet rock. His name is Boulder." Maud holds her stone up.

"Your... pet rock." Starlight states, but surprisingly, she doesn't find that hard to believe. That's the same piece of earth she's been holding onto, ever since they met earlier in the morning. Maud is still not quite the conversation starter, but Starlight does appreciate her company. She sits up. "Maud, please don't mind me asking this-- but what are rocks even good for? Do rocks even do anything for you? I," Starlight tilts her head, "...don't see rocks in the same way that you do."

Silence follows, causing Starlight to wonder if she's truly offended her this time.

Without a single flinch, Maud Pie makes a sound with what sounds like she's clearing her throat. "Ahem." She picks up Boulder with her right hoof, citing, "rock. You are a rock. Grey. You are grey. Like a rock. Which you are. Rock." She puts her stone back down. "One of my best poems."

"Hum... great poem, I guess," Starlight says. But seeing as she had bothered to recite that, something else jumps into her mind. "Maud, may I hold Boulder?"

Her quiet friend seems to freeze to this, as if Starlight had finally said the right words for once. Moving unusually, she looks to her left, and then to her right, making sure that nopony else is around. She pushes Boulder towards her. Starlight blinks at the stone mare. "No way, you're serious?"

"Sure." For once, Starlight could hear what sounds like excitement in her voice. Maud Pie decides to move next to the unicorn, taking a seat next to her. "He's sedimentary."

Starlight isn't sure how to react to this. Nonetheless, she keeps to her word, picking up the plain, ovular rock. She looks over to Maud, noticing no change in her calm expression. With a closer look, Starlight sees that Boulder has fine swirls surrounding his shell, like several rivers flowing about the very core of another planet. Though, with further examination, there was just something about this rock that seemed out of place. Starlight looks all about the stone, examining each and every molecular placement. A foreign nature finally catches her eye.

On one of the flat sides of Boulder, there is what seems like a small shift in the tiny rivers, and with a keen eye, Starlight can make sense of a smaller, highlighted circle. Curious about this, the unicorn channels her magic, applying pressure to the shape, and- surely enough- it props open.

For the first time, Starlight looks over to Maud Pie, witnessing a satisfactory smile on the grey mare's face.

And Starlight smiles in return, completely elated, laying down- admiring the deep depths of her reserved, green eyes.

Prelude #II; Greyday, Mark of Silence

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"Maud, you're smiling..." The unicorn remarks in amazement.

"So are you," the earth pony replies. "...Why?"

Starlight chuckles. "Because you are, silly. I never would have expected you to express yourself."

Maud's ear twitches. "Oh. I'll stop, then." To this, her overt cheer begins to fade.

"N-- no, it's fine, really," Starlight reassures her, putting up a hoof and nonchalantly throwing out a compliment. "You look adorable when you smile, Maud. It makes your eyes sparkle."

To this, Maud maintains her expression, and her voice becomes slightly more enthusiastic. "Thanks, Starlight. No pony has... ever told me that before. But really... I haven't smiled in so long. It's starting to hurt now."

"Oh- sorry," The violet mage takes note, abruptly halting her grin in exchange for a worried look. "Why don't you stop, then?"

To her own discretion, Maud Pie keeps it up. "...You said it makes me look... adorable." She stares on towards her, unsure whether to smile or not, but she opts for that of the former. The other pony notices a small, hardly detectable bit of sadness.

Starlight places Boulder on the grass, sits up, and raises both of her front hooves, gently shaping Maud's lips into their original, relaxed positions. "Of course it does, Maud. But it doesn't mean you have to smile, especially if it's hurting you. Otherwise, you'll turn out like your sister," and to this, the grey pony blinks.

You're right, Maud thinks. She doesn't have to smile, but she does anyway. Even though--

Starlight bops a hoof against the mare's nose, disrupting her thought process and rewarding herself with a short-lived snicker. "Just kidding! You're you, Maud, and you don't have to change for anypony," she says with a coy grin. "If you'd like to smile, be my guest." However, the unicorn witnesses that, instead of smiling again, Maud looks down towards the grass. Both of her ears fall limp, and she focuses her attention directly at Boulder on the ground, wondering about something that's on her mind. Starlight puts her hooves down between her legs, planning to listen in anticipation.

"Pinkie..." Is all she can word out.

"Pinkie?"

Maud reaches over and picks up her pet rock, to whom is still wide open, taking out a picture from her pocket and placing it within the confined chamber. Starlight glimpses closely, and to her discovery, it's an image of the quiet mare's sister, looking as happy as pink could be. Maud takes a moment to enjoy the picture of Pinkie, which is now under the protection of Boulder's foundation. Memories make their way across the grey equine's mind, flashing to and fro, until a scene from her childhood begins to play.

Today's the day at the rock farm. The first Pie Sisters' Surprise Swap Day.

Filly Maud is standing in front of her sister, Pinkamena Pie, holding an orange, polka-dotted box with a red ribbon on top.

The sad, pink sister hugs her tightly, and the two separate to exchange their gifts.

Maud looks down. She is holding what appears to be a crudely wrapped squarish present, complete with blue wrapping paper and an ebony bow tie.

Nonetheless, the happy grey pony looks completely innocent and cheerful, without a single worry in the world. She opens her gift, and her smile exponentially fades. "Pinkamena-- a rock?" She says, as she tries to hide her disappointment.

Her filly sister sighs. "I found it around the farm. If you look closely enough, he has special swirls. His name is Boulder." As such, the grey filly does as she suggests, looking closely, but not seeing what she is referring to.

"Oh," she claims in awe. "Thank you, Pinkamena! I see them!" But the innocent Maud's face says otherwise. She sees nothing. Pinkamena is not paying attention as she opens her well-wrapped box, and to her surprise, inside is a cannon.

"No-- thank you, Maud." Pinkamena unleashes her first smile ever as she takes her gift out.

And to this, Maud, forgets about Boulder and smiles wider than ever, hugging her one last time before bed, expressing her sadness past her sister's shoulder.

Maud had forgotten about her scheduled leave, and that very next morning, Pinkamena is standing in front of a bus with a roller briefcase.

"Don't go, Pinkie," the grey filly begs. What was once a happy pony now had a deep ocean of critical sadness hidden within her eyes.

"I have to; I promise to keep sending you gifts every year, Maud." The depressed pink pony says. Her grey sister once again embraces her-- but this time, tighter than ever before. Regretfully, Pinkamena steps onto the bus, and without another moment, it immediately takes off.

Maud looks down at her rock, hoping to see what her pink sister was trying to explain-- and surely enough, there they were... the swirls. For the first time ever, she felt that seeing Pinkamena's first smile helped change her view of the world.

"Boulder," the stone pony states, staring at the wondrous piece of earth in her hoof.

Every year after that fateful day, Pinkamena sent her gifts for PSSSD-- each year getting more and more colorful as she becomes Pinkie-- and Maud, always unsure of what to get her, would continuously stack up the confetti.

Later down the road, she was still the same, cheerful Maud, only tortured by a permanent profession written in stone by her cutie mark: a geologist.

Recalling this, Maud sees her own filly smile disintegrating into the passageway of time.

A week before Pinkamena's departure. The two fillies are laying in bed at night.

"But, how will I ever make new friends?" The young, grey pony inquires.

"Just be yourself, Maud. That's what I do." In return, she receives an empty blink from her sister.

"But- you don't have friends, do you?" To this, Pinkamena doesn't answer for quite a while.

Silence fills the room, up to the point where Maud is sure that her sister has fallen asleep. Without another second passing by, Pinkamena flips over in the bed they are sharing, and she stares straight into the grey filly's blooming, green pupils.

"Maud..." she whispers. The two wander amongst each other's sparkling eyes, despite the dark, until they are ready to lean towards each other, scooting closer and closer... allowing Luna's moon to shine down upon them through their open window, blessing them with that of the nighttime air as she cries into the grey filly's arms.

"Maud," Starlight blinks. "What's wrong?" She has been staring at her pet rock for some time now. In their determination, the spider bands have come back, to which the two ponies don't take notice, and the original conductor has at least three-hundred of its own, still eager to share their beautiful song. One, two, three, four... a symphony now loud enough for anypony passing to stop and stare in wonder-- a massive, arrangement of variously colored spiders, filling the spectrum. No, a masterful piece surrounding the atmosphere, the eyes of many arachnids shutting on and off around the grey and violet pair.

The stone equine brushes her question away, instead referring back to Boulder. "Thank you for this. I never knew he had a secret chamber," she states, interrupting her own flashback. She looks up at her violet viewer with a sincere, easygoing smile.

Instinctively, Starlight's expression lifts, coming as naturally as the music playing up in the tree above them. Before her own eyes is a fragile, lonesome pony, waiting patiently for the perfect friend.

The spider orchestra slows down their tempo, entering a violin and piano solo up amongst the air.

Violet and green shades move in closer, and closer, until the song comes to a complete and finishing stop-- and by then, a large crowd of Ponyville citizens lean in with anticipation, seeing if they will connect. Desirous stars are apparent in each and every one of their eyes.

Maud, Starlight thinks. You do look adorable. Never forget that. Even though Trixie stole my first kiss, I wouldn't mind... feeling this once more. With you. The violet spell caster hears Maud moaning lightly, unaware of her own expression just now. The music is working its way into her head. Starlight and Maud are about to accept each other, closing both of their eyes as they lean in, embracing the warmth of this very moment...

However, noticing that music doesn't usually play out of the blue, the mage senses something at the corner of her eye. She looks to her right and notices a whole audience biting their hooves, completely on the edge of their seats, some of them holding each other, unable to take the suspense.

"O-- oh," Starlight says, looking at the crowd- turning around with her hooves, and covering her blush. Maud, is also flushed with embarrassment, but she doesn't notice her own reaction. She is staring at the bystanders, confused as to what is happening.

What do I do? Do I smile at them too? Thinks the grey mare. Why are they so interested? She tilts her head.

Swiftly, Starlight charges her horn and blasts the whole crowd-- hopefully into another dimension.

Twilight Sparkle is nearly done rearranging her library, holding the last book needed, titled "Theories of the Universe, Vol. XXVII". She focuses her horn upon the object, carefully moving it into position upon the shelf...

Until suddenly, a full-on crowd is staring at her with their same, cutesy faces meant to be aimed towards the violet and grey couple, staring with their loving, antsy eyes. "W-what?" Is all the purple alicorn can word out.

It's only then when they notice that they aren't in front of the pair anymore.

"Star... LIGHT!" She screams up into the air, sitting down and raising her hooves. Unfortunately, to this, she breaks the focus on her horn, and the massive book she was sustaining falls to the floor with a slam- and so do the rest of the volumes. Completely furious now, blood quickly rushes to the alicorn's head, and smoke singes out of her ears as she redirects her passive aggression to the watchers. She now has on a bull face, and she advises them to leave before they earn themselves a personal taste of "Volumes I through XXVII: Theories of the Universe". In addition, Twilight's blush must have been so large that Celestia, who is sitting on her throne and checking off her errands for the day, senses a faint, burning feeling deep inside of her. "Sounds like friendship to me," she says with a royal chuckle, covering her mouth with a hoof.

After the crowd is gone, Starlight cools herself down, and when she is ready, she turns around to look at Maud, feeling as if the two of them have had a sufficient amount of time to recover. At least on the plus side, they didn't witness each other blushing furiously.

Starlight plays this off. "Sooo, Maud... it's a nice day today, right?" She asks with a feigned, casual grin. Meanwhile, the spiders have continued on with their graceful blur of notes, holds, and instruments, playing something more up-to-speed.

Maud understands her gesture, and she nods her head in agreement. Refocusing on her pet rock, she closes Boulder with her hooves and searches for the hidden circle, but after pulling, pressing, rubbing, and biting it, she eventually hands him to Starlight.

The violet equine acknowledges her frustration, and this time, she attempts to open Boulder without the use of magic. Hmm, Starlight thinks, observing the stone closely, and it appears to be holding a dial-esque shape in the midst of it. The violet spell caster thinks for a second. If Maud had pulled, pressed, rubbed, and bit it, then there's only a few more things to try. She attempts to tap, roll, intensively stare, and even entice Boulder through words to get him to open. Finally, she makes way with what could be the only possibility remaining. She shakes Boulder, and just after a few moments, a complex mechanism of cogs and locks rotates the circle, causing a final pillar to pop out. Starlight presses down on it, and the stone splits open. Only then does she notice the hinges hiding in the back. "Maud, why do I feel like your pet rock... isn't a rock?" She exclaims, still astonished by her discovery.

Maud leans in closer, bypassing her question, completely fascinated by the notion. She holds her hoof out, expecting to receive Boulder, but before she claims her newfound stone from the violet pony, Starlight illuminates her horn with an alchemy spell-- gathering several stones from the ground and refining them into that of a more advanced, combined material-- essentially forging a very flexible and sturdy string. Steadying the compound mixture, one end of the strand overheats into a burning red spear, and using this, Starlight impales Boulder at the hinges- fusing the ends together, and completing her creation of a stone necklace.

She hovers it above Maud's head and releases her magic, watching as it plops down past the curious grey mare's ears. The natural flow of gravity does the rest of the work. Maud reacts with what seems like a slightly- surprised look. The grey pony grabs Boulder, keeping in mind Starlight's steps. With a lift, shake, and a press, surely enough, Pinkie is grinning at her. Maud smiles as well, larger this time, and she redirects her joy to Starlight. "Thank you. I don't know what to say. I'm truly grateful." Her eyes sparkle, despite the two of them being in the midst of shade.

Starlight grins. "No. I'm glad you like it."

Eventually, the arachnid orchestra takes their leave. The two hush down for a while as Maud admires her reinforced Boulder within a steady, wondrous sound of noiselessness. Maud, readying herself, recites her new and improved poem. She closes her eyes, imagining the flow as the words trickle throughout her voice. "Amulet. You are an amulet. Boulder. You hold Pinkie. Like an amulet. Which you are. Amulet." She lets Boulder rest in-between her collar bones, remembering something vital as her ears spike up into the air. "Starlight?" She asks.

The unicorn, having been stuck in a trance, finally passes unto the mare her full attention. "Oh- yes?" She says.

"...You were the one who told Pinkie Pie to go the ghastly gorge, weren't you?"

Starlight is suddenly taken back by the intense question, and fear immediately finds its way into her chest. "Oh, right," she says, sighing and putting her head down in shame. "No-- I mean... yes. Yes I did. I'm sorry." She looks at Maud, who is only looking back at her with urgent green eyes, as if begging her to go on.

"I sent her there because... well... you wanted to talk more, and I wanted to help you." Starlight says, feeling like an idiot. "So, I told Pinkie Pie to go get cupcakes that don't exist.... particularly within the place you just mentioned..." She grins uneasily, realizing how ridiculous that sounds- but it's the bare truth. The equalizer puts her arms together and leans in, making herself look as small as possible while she regretfully looks to the side.

Maud Pie asserts herself, speaking out to Starlight with a fully concerned tone. "Starlight," she places a hoof on her shoulder. "Please. Look at me."

Starlight has no choice but to comply. "I know, I know, I shouldn't have done that. I'm a total screw-head now." Nonetheless, she gives in to the worried pony's request. Maud doesn't even blink as she voices her words with smooth, flowing laces, skillfully sewing together her point.

"No. Starlight, look. I'm not here to tell you what you should or shouldn't have done. I appreciate the fact that you thought I was incapable of expressing myself. But, I do express myself-- just not in a way that you can immediately perceive." Maud lets that sink into her mind. "Although you were the one who put Pinkie up against the hazards of the environment, I can still forgive you. I know you meant well. But sometimes, if you change your own view of the world, you'll begin to see everything. Pinkie was the one who taught me that. Even still," the stone equine has the unicorn's full focus as she continues on with her speech. She keeps her final words short. "I can't leave Pinkie alone. I'm going to go find her," as she firmly pats Starlight's shoulder and turns around. "Thanks for helping Boulder," she says, taking to her leave.

Starlight can only sit there, dumbfounded, as she watches her go.

Maud Pie makes her way down the road, violet mare soon out of sight. Celestia's sun now marks about halfway through the afternoon, almost reaching into the early evening. With no spectacular goal in mind, other than to find out where her sister has gone, Maud Pie picks up her pace, though moving no faster than that of a leisurely walk.

Every once in a while she stops, intrigued by certain rocks that catch her eye, using her time to sniff them out and examine them closely, occasionally at times picking one up and turning her hoof to examine every corner of its natural form. Inevitably, the grey earth pony eventually reaches a point where she has to cross paths with a citizen of Ponyville. She generally ignores them, but now is the perfect time to do something new. I should try smiling, Maud thinks. I wonder how they would react, if Starlight really did speak the truth.

Her and the other mare meet eyes, coming to a brief stop just in front of each other. Maud stares, and to her concealed surprise, the stranger starts shaking. So, who does this first? Maud wonders. Without hesitation, she lets out her smile, and the mare jumps. Maud blinks. She then moves on, moving back to her neutral expression, and as she passes, the pony merely looks at her in awe, blushing, keeping her eyes on her as the grey pony moves on to continue her mission. ...strange. As soon as she is a good distance away, the incident is quickly brushed out of her mind.

With no significant events, other than the occasional passerby, Maud Pie finally reaches a diverge in the path. One that says, 'warning, ghastly gorge this way,' and the other that says, 'this way, to rainbow falls!'.

Of course, the green-eyed mare takes the left, towards the sign with the dangerously yellow triangle and an exclamation mark in the middle.

As soon as she steps onto the path, lingering spirits and monsters in the distance can be heard wailing to their torment's content. She continues on forth without a single conveyance of fear.

"Eep!" A noise erupts from behind her. Maud turns around, quickly checking to see if there's any trouble, but no pony is there. Though, instead of continuing once more, she kicks dirt from the floor- out into the air in front of her.

The dusty, outlined silhouette doesn't move, thinking it's still invisible, hooves covering their mouth. Maud carries on, pretending not to have noticed anything strange.

The path only becomes more and more ambiguous as the gorge emerges into Maud's sight, revealing a plethora of eels, roaring rivers down below, plenty of bramble bushes, and giant, flying avians. Yet, before reaching the edge of the gorge, Maud dives into the nearest bramble bush visible, coat protecting her from the thorns. She then rolls over behind another cluster of bushes, and then peeks out, observing to see what the stalking silhouette does.

In an instant, the outline does as any pony would do, moving to the first bush to check for the pony they were following. When the silhouette finds no sign of its leader, it begins to shake and panic, moving back slowly in disbelief. This attracts the attention of an avian passing by. Finding it to be suitable food, the monstrosity decides to swoop down, landing with a crash of its feet upon the floor, and the silhouette turns to face it, completely overcome with terror. The outline looks up, seeing that the creature has shiny blue feathers, ferocious golden talons, a white tail, and a large black beak, almost representing that of a massive phoenix. As it twitches its head, observing the floating piece of dirt, it hops forth, bringing about dust, which only does good to make the stalker sneeze, revealing the shape of an equine.

The untamed avian squawks and stabs its beak at the pony, and they jump back to dodge their fate in quick successions, dashing from side to side as the crazed creature stops to see if it had hit its prey. The outline had rolled under the leg's talons, and is now on its tail-end. Sniffing out the scent of its target, the bird turns around, screeching once more, and it lifts its head up into the air as its beak charges up energy. With a swift slam, the bird smacks its beak down into the gorge, and the general vicinity shakes, causing that side of the gorge to shift a couple of inches outwards.

As the beast struggles to pull its beak out of the stone ground, the pony is lying down on their side, their belly just one inch away from becoming the next meal. In a panic, the silhouette sees that they have no choice but to charge up a spell- and, rolling onto their legs as quickly as they can, a light blue aura flashes as they build up the magic in their horn. In exchange, their invisibility begins to falter as the molecular wave surrounding their silhouette vibrates. Just as the bird gets its beak out of the ground to have at the prey once more, the unleashed beam burns straight into the avian's chest, just as Starlight is revealed, and the energy spreads throughout that of the creature as its feathers change into that of a darkened blue color. The bird looks about dazed, shaking its head, looking to see that it isn't a pile of dust.

Instead of its menacing, red and untamed eyes, the monster looks about with matching purple pupils, similar to the violet mage. Now under the influence of mind control, the animal bows its head down, gently displaying its beak in front of its newfound master. "Nice birdie," Starlight says, smiling over her triumph. She pets the tamed creature, and it closes its eyes happily, lightly squawking with every other stroke of its feathers.

Maud comes out around the bramble bushes to confront her. "I knew you would follow," she says. Starlight jumps, turning around to face her.

"Oh! Maud... no, um... I was just out here with my pet bird!" She replies, and she glares at the bird, which nods its head. "See?"

The grey equine simply tilts her head and blinks.

"Okay, okay. I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get hurt, so I followed you," she says, with a look of sincerity on her face.

"It's dangerous. Just let me do this alone."

"But- look! We have someone to help us now!" Starlight hugs the friendly avian, and it squawks in agreement. "Please, Maud. Let me help you. It was my fault for telling Pinkie to come here."

Maud considers this at first-- but after seeing the capabilities of the creature, she obliges. "Fine. Just... don't get hurt."

Here marks the arrival of the early evening; the sun is just about ready to make way for the night.

Trixie has a toolbox out. She isn't wearing cape, nor hat. A long, relieved sigh makes its way out of her.

"There, that should do it." She says, only saying that to reassure herself. With a loud crack and a split, the door falls in a cloud of smoke, resulting in a chaotic pile of crumbled wood.

Trixie frustratingly charges her horn. "Stupid door!" She cries, kicking the ground, and the debris starts to wobble into the air. Focusing intensely, she musters up all of her effort in lifting the wood, but the only result is a pile of ashes.

Trixie puts her head down in defeat. "I'm nothing," she mutters. "Nothing but a..." and, after finding the perfect word to describe herself, "a thief."

"Thief? Where? My twitchy nose is telling me that something is afoot here!"

The blue trickster shifts herself, facing the cheerful, pink pony. She's holding two massively sized, impossibly tall cupcakes in her arms, standing on her hind legs. "You?!" Trixie exclaims in surprise.

"That's right, Trixie! And my twitchy nose is telling me that yooouuu'rrree..." She squints at Trixie, releasing a third arm with a magnifying glass, eyeing the unicorn closely to be sure of herself, "the culprit!" She raises an eyebrow and tucks her spare limb away.

"Me? No-no-no, you don't know what you're talking about!" The sideshow mare scoots back into her wagon, immediately thinking back to the kiss.

"Oh, but I do...!" Pinkie claims, stepping forward with a firm hoof-- taking a very full, super deep breath to explain the case in one go. "You see I was told by a certain pony that I should go to a certain place to find a certain item for the certain pony and another certain pony but according to my research that certain pony lied to me about the certain two items so I decided to cook my own certain items for the certain pony and the other certain pony!" She gasps, completely out of breath.

Trixie just blinks at her. "What?"

Pinkie jumps forward, throwing the cupcakes high into the air. As Trixie looks up in amazement, the mare in front of her grabs her head, swiftly positioning her face in front of herself. She lowers both of her eyebrows. "I know what you did, Lulamoon."

The starry mare blinks. "What did I, the great and powerful Trixie, do?" She doesn't notice a red flush rise on her face.

"You..." Pinkie thinks about it for a moment, as two massive shadows begins to shade their view of Celestia's sun.

"I..." Trixie thinks, Oh no. Shes knows what I did. How much did she hear? Did Starlight rat me out? Are those cupcakes going to kill us? She can't take the tension as their view of each other gets darker, and darker. "Okay! I admit it! I--"

Pinkie answers for her. "--You told Starlight and Maud to wait for me inside your wagon! My twitchy nose never fails me!" She smiles, holding out her hooves to catch the extremely large cupcakes with complete ease as Trixie ducks and covers herself on the floor.

After getting back up, the unicorn agrees, thinking that Maud is playing her for revenge. "Right, right. Of course I did. Go on in, they're wait--"

Before she can finish her line, Pinkie is gone, leaving the ginormous cupcakes in front of the blue mare. Trixie looks all about her, and then hears crashes and slams inside her wagon, where Pinkie is frantically searching around. "Ooh, is this a game of hide-and-seek? I love hide-and-seek! Is she in here?" Pinkie opens the red and black box, peeking in and pulling her head out. The Hexxill is holding onto her head. "Nope!" She tosses it, and the box lands on the floor, closing upon itself. "What about here?" She looks under a drape, and a roar is heard. "Nu-uh! Just a manticore! How about this?" She peeks under the bed, and a load of spiders opens their eyes to stare at her. "Eu-ugh. You've really got to clean under here."

Trixie can only do good as to watch her frantically search the area. She sits there as Pinkie doesn't give up her search, tossing things out the door. The star growls. "Pinkie Pie. Stop this instant!" She yells, stomping a hoof.

Pinkie freezes upon her command, looking at her with a shocked expression on her face. The whole wagon shakes, and then crumbles down, wheels falling to the side. The cheerful mare looks about her, seeing that the whole wagon is a pile of debris now.

The unicorn's jaw quivers. She falls to the floor, covering her head with her hooves. "Pinkie... why?" Is all she can mutter. "Is this a joke? Do you realize what you've just desecrated?" She tears up. "That was my show! My life! My home!"

The pink pony is still frozen, still following her first command.

"Everything I've ever had was based upon that wagon, and you've just went out and destroyed it! Well, I will not stand for this! I didn't tell your sister to go anywhere! But for Starlight, sure-- it was all my fault. I stole her first kiss, but-- I also gave her mine. Even still, I don't understand why you would up and come take away my... my everything!" Trixie looks up, bawling to the hyper pony. Pinkie drops the frozen act, walking up to her, and her hair droops to the floor in her realization. She walks up to the despaired mare, kneeling down in front of her to add her input. Pinkie has lost her color, resembling more of that a dark rose.

"Trixie... I didn't mean to..." She holds out a hoof. The unicorn swats it away and keeps her face down.

"No! You... get on out of here. I just... I don't understand any of this." Trixie doesn't bother to cover herself anymore, instead choosing to lay on the floor, crying. "I'm just the biggest loser of all."

"I'm sorry, Trixie. I'll help you rebuild it." And just then, the blue mage hears a chuckling come out from behind her.

The blue mare turns around, vexed by her comment, and is about to add her opinion-- until she sees that, once more, the colorless mare is gone.

"Figures," Trixie says. "What's new?" She looks all about her and grits her teeth. "I swear, if I ever see her again..."

Trixie doesn't notice that a pool of silver liquid is forming from under her. She takes another step to get to repairing her wagon, but to no success-- her hooves are stuck. "Huh? Is this another one of Maud's doings?"

By then, the liquid has spread among her arms and legs, and to her horror, the great and powerful pony realizes that the puddle is slowly absorbing her. A mirror image of pinkie's pink face appears in the floor. "No way-- this can't be happening. Pinkie, h-- how is that possible?" Fear shows in her voice. "B-because, whatever you're doing, it's not funny!" The fluid doesn't halt in any manner, and another chuckle bubbles out from the fluid.

"I'm just... rebuilding..." And the pink face disappears, diffusing into its normal, silver color. The substance, by then, already has Trixie absorbed up to the neck.

"Pinkie, stop, please..." Trixie says as she struggles to break free, but to her wiggling, soon all that is heard is a muffled scream as her blue colors fade into that of a metallic material.

"Too late! Hehe!" the ooze exclaims, still resembling the voice of the Pink, cheerful equine. It then takes on the form of Trixie, transforming exactly into that whom was once the great and powerful, copying her every last memory and tone.

"Oh, my." Trixie examines herself, looking to her hooves, then to her cutie mark and tail. "This is definitely something. Trixie, you naughty girl." The blue pony walks away, her form shifting between that of Pinkie and Trixie as it moves forth, contemplating its next victim.

Sunset is nearing as Celestia is just about ready to call it a day. Shadows amongst the grass begin to dance out in cheers as they wait for night to arrive.

"There," Maud points to a nearby location. The bird looks at her hoof to confirm the area, and it then dives on down, landing gently on its talons.

To Starlight's surprise, a pink tuft of hair is on the floor. She asks, curiously, "how did you see this from that high in the air?"

"Maud sense," the grey mare states. "It's twice as strong as Pinkie's sense." The rock pony picks up the tuft of hair-- it smells like Pinkie, alright- candy and sweets, as far as she could tell. "She was here, but not for long," Maud remarks. "Look." A trail of hoof prints are visible, leading off into a nearby cave. Boulders are covering the entrance.

"You don't think the cave collapsed on her- do you?" Starlight squints, searching for any openings. The grey equine doesn't answer her, and instead takes the time to walk up to the barricaded entrance. "No, these were already here months ago," she says. "But, it couldn't hurt to make sure. Stand back."

"Got it," Starlight says, scooting away from Maud. She watches as the mare looks about the entrance, seemingly intending to find a way in. The violet equine is about to tell her that she'll break it, if necessary, but just then, Maud jumps into the air and gives a large boulder a single kick, chunking it instantly, and the whole barrier gives in. She turns around and nods, urging her viewer to follow as she stretches out her leg. Amazed, Starlight closes her jaw with her hoof, and trails behind her grey friend.

The cave, at first, is the ordinary bump and grind. Bats, dripping noises, echoing sounds, various bugs and creatures-- but something seemed different about this one. Starlight calls upon her magic to illuminate the nearby area. Peeking over the edge of the path they are walking on, all the mage sees is a seemingly bottomless pit. She gulps in her anxiety. "Maud, aren't you the least bit scared?"

"No; I'm much rather more intrigued by the age of these rocks." She has stopped to sniff the formation surrounding the pair. "Hm. Limestone."

"Now's not the time to be doing that! We have to find Pinkie!" Starlight whispers, and Maud turns in agreement, carrying on.

They walk on until the texture of the rocks become smoother and smoother, resembling more of a futuristic, glossy appearance. Starlight stops and looks to her left, seeing something shift within the wall. The lump forms into that of a stallion, altering into a red color-- he has orange hair, and brown eyes. "Heeeellppp me," he begs, soon sliding away- back into the wall of plastic. Immediately disturbed, the violet mare's whole body begins to shake.

"M-maud, did you see that?" She asks, and the earth pony turns around.

"See what?"

Starlight points, but nothing is there anymore. Maud looks at her, and then returns to her original position to keep on walking. By this point, the unicorn's light is flickering.

"Starlight, please focus. This is no joke," Maud requests.

"I-- I can't, Maud. It's not me. It must be this atmosphere." As soon as she finishes her sentence, her light fully goes out, and they hear what sounds like an oozing substance running across their bodies.

"Maud? Maud!" Starlight yells in panic.

"Don't worry, I'm here."

"Where?" Several lights shoot up about them, and Starlight sees Maud. She runs up to her and hugs her. "Oh, thank Celestia," she cites.

Though, Maud is too busy focusing on something in front of her to appreciate her concern. Starlight turns her head to see what the big deal is, and through her eyes, a massive dragoness is looking down at them, the only difference being that this creature contained no scales, or claws-- only a large, observable feminine body, accompanied by that of dripping liquid.

With a rumbling voice, the dragon speaks softly, her ancient voice turning about the whole cave with every syllable. "Welcome, equines," it hisses.

As soon as the earthquake ends, Maud and Starlight look about the massive stadium as several thousands of creatures form up in the grandstands-- from the smallest bug, to the largest of mammals alone. They are all leaking fluids out, though each drop only does good as to recycle into the floor, as all of the different silhouettes and exact colors of every animal in Equestria are grotesquely maintained before the pair's eyes, mostly resembling those of ponies from different parts of the world.

"I'm... glad you could join us," the creatures all say at once, welcoming them to their nest.

And, horrifyingly, accurate depictions of Pinkie and Trixie forms right before the pair's eyes, with their exact voices and colors.

"Hey, Maud! Why don't you join us? It's fun!" Pinkie blurts, bouncing up and down like her usual self.

"Starlight, can you forgive me?" Trixie asks, seductively licking her lips, holding no remorse for earlier.

The two representatives swiftly lose their colors-- splitting into eight different versions of themselves, each retaining a different pose.

Maud and Starlight now find themselves standing face to face with sixteen different ponies at once-- and thousands of other creatures. "End them," the silver dragoness commands, and both Pinkie and Trixie clones alike make their charge, running straight for the two mares.

Starlight gulps as an instant feeling of dread stabs into her gut. To this, she holds onto Maud even tighter, waiting for the end to soon arrive.

Luna has raised the moon. It is now nighttime.

Prelude #III; Midnight Titans

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Twilight has completed her organization of "Theories of the Universe," and to this, she lets out a relieved, squealing noise, yawning and stretching about as she levitates her starry pajamas over to slip herself in.

"That should do it." The alicorn makes her way out of the library and to her bed, deeming her assistant goodnight. "Don't stay up too late, Spike!"

"Yeah, yeah." He gets back to stuffing himself with a bowl of gems as his favorite TV show plays on. "After this episode," he claims. "Daring Do's in the middle of her adventure!"

Twilight giggles. "Alright."

Munch after munch, Spike doesn't notice his own eyelids closing, and just as Daring Do dodges several spike traps inside of an ancient underwater ruin, Spike shoves multiple gems into his mouth in high anticipation. "You'ff got'th thish, Darwing Do!"

A piece of silver liquid makes its way under the door, aiming about to see what's roaming within the room. Looking to the spilled bits of gems on the floor, it notices Spike enjoying his bowl of gemstones. Several sharks are pursuing Daring Do in a high speed swim montage. "Come on, you can do it..." the small dragon mutters.

The fluid, by then, has jumped onto a gemstone, sinking into and becoming an immediate clone of it. Spike picks up another handful, noticing a metallic object before it can change into the exact red color of the gem it had just outlined. "Huh, that's a new one," Spike squints. "Must be a different flavor!" Whatever the case, he pops the bunch of stones into his mouth.

By then, Daring Do has found the treasure, and is holding it in her hoof. "Yes!" Spike throws an arm into the air, soon taking notice that some sort of glossy fluid is dripping down his arm, having covered most of his body. "Woah. When did I have scales like this?" He remarks. He walks up to a mirror and examines his body, and there is a spreading, molecular substance forming onto each and every one of his pores.

Twilight is just about into a deep sleep until Spike barges into her bedroom. "Twilight!" He yells out. "TWILIGHT!" The alicorn gets up, lifts her night mask, and stares to check what the problem is this time. "Spike, did you see something scary again? I thought I told you to stop watching those kind of movies."

"No! It's not that! Check out my cool, new scales." Spike flexes himself, showing off his new, chrome body. He turns around, gives himself a spin, and by the time he can look back, he dissolves into a puddle on the floor, and the form shifts upwards into Pinkie, solidifying from the ground up and changing into her usual, pink color.

"Hey, Twilight!" She says with an outgoing smile.

Twilight blinks, rubbing her eyes, still half asleep. "Pinkie-- how? I know you generally break the rules of this planet, but I've never seen you do this before. Am I dreaming?" Pinkie nods with a squee. The princess raises an eyebrow, astonished, soon coming out with a smile. "This would make for some good research!" Twilight spawns a notepad and a quill in her hooves, putting on glasses and writing down 'Pinkie the shapeshifter'. "So, tell me how this all began."

Pinkie bounces up and down excitedly. "Well, Twilight, I was roaming about wondering my own business, when suddenly, my spine was tingling! Pinkie sense, right? And before I knew it, I could do this! The creature splits itself into two, one form shaping into a pink Spike, and the other into a pink Trixie.

"Amazing, is it not?" Trixie says, leaning against the door frame.

"Hey, I'm all pink!" Spike examines himself.

Twilight can't believe what she has just seen. She writes, Pinkie can suddenly split herself apart and form an exact clone of anypony else. How is this possible? Has Pinkie finally done something that may change Equestrian history? "Mhm," Twilight says, agreeing with herself, summoning a coffee and taking a sip.

Both dragon and equine merges back into Pinkie Pie. "'Mhm', what?" She asks.

"Oh, nothing, I was just wondering if you've done something to reach this condition. Because if you tell me how, there are so many things that can be done!" She turns, thinking to herself aloud. 'If we have this, we can have ponies build multiple structures at the same time! Decorations could be set up within minutes! Each clone can study something different, and then teach each other! I could teach everypony at once!'

By then, Pinkie has turned into the normal, blue and platinum Trixie. Twilight turns around. "Wow, you can change colors too?! Pinkie! You've really done it this time!"

"Oh, it's no big deal," the aqua mare states. "I can teach you how to do this, since I've been studying," she puts a hoof up to her lips- "a secret spell."

"Secret... spell?" Twilight leans in. "You're behind this, Trixie? How?"

"Oh, princess," she replies. "I can teach you everything." Behind the purple alicorn, a chrome Spike is absorbing itself into her.

"But, how? You, of all ponies?" Twilight can't help but snicker. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me." The substance is up to her neck. "I'm sorry, but this is a good one. Sure, though. If you insis--" Silence follows. By then, Twilight has dissolved into a pool of her own, and the metallic clones move on out to find their share of living beings, with the goal of taking over Ponyville.

All is silent outside as the moon mare guards the night. Shadows now dance about, cheering within the darkness and bouncing between each and every tree branch they can find. Equestria's ghastly gorge is such a peaceful place without Celestia's sun, and it's hard to believe that a single, horrifying monster would ever be seen. Surely, none would imagine such a place: a calm, whistling river down below, grass rustling among the wind, animals sleeping their way throughout the night. Nothing ever happens here.

But inside the darkest, deepest of places, everything always happens.

The giant, liquid dragoness stares out at the two ponies, both horn and earth alike, taking it upon herself to laugh in a steady, low tone, rumbling the whole foundation of the earth's core once more- amused by the sixteen ponies dashing towards the pair.

"Fools.... do you even know what you've gotten yourselves into? The giant substance tilts her head, peering closely at the organic beings in front of her. "Though, I must commend you. No life form would ever be brave enough to willingly sacrifice themselves to the nest. Because of this, I will enjoy adding your carcasses to my," she gives the word a second of thought, leaning forward and grinning... "collection."

"What do we do, Maud?" Starlight asks, but her grey friend has no words for her this time. Instead, she ups and stands forth in front of her violet friend, forcing her to let go.

"I'm only going to ask this once," Maud states. "Where is the real Pinkie Pie?" Upon her request, the dragon raises a front leg, signaling for the silver doppelgangers to cease their advance, and they freeze instantly, returning to their default, steel color, some held in midair by halted drops of liquid connectors; it was almost as if the two equines were trapped in a simulation of the sort.

"The real Pinkie Pie, you say? Hmm, that's a tough one. There are so many other 'Pinkies' out there in the world. What would that even matter to you?"

Maud keeps her glare, focused directly on that of the menacing, oozing giant in front of them.

The dragon sighs. With a sly grin, she says, "My. What a firm spirit you have. Well, then... knowing that the two of you will inevitably be mine, allow me to bring her out. I also don't suppose you'd like to see your... predator, Starlight?"

Upon this, the unicorn's eyes widen, her irises shaking under the sparkling cave. "You mean... Tri--" She pauses, mid sentence. "Wait. How do you know my name?"

The silver leader passes unto her a light heartened, earth-quaking snicker, taking the utmost care not to answer.

Instead, one of the Trixies falls to the floor with a slimy slam, getting up and dusting herself off. She catwalks up to Starlight in a low crouch formation, slowly purring along her spine and trickling among every single strand of the spell caster's body. Starlight can feel goosebumps work across her side, wherever the mercury creature slipped about her. "Oh, Glimmie... how wouldn't I know you?" Starlight looks about her as the amorphous being leaps off of the ground and runs about her skin. She passes her shoulder, eventually arriving face-to-face with the violet mage. "I enjoyed taking away what you held dear..."

"N-no way. You're not Trixie!" She yells, looking at her with a dearly concerned expression.

The amorphous aqua pony grins with a deceptive smile. "Who is Trixie, then? Is this not what she did to you? The slime moves her head forward, puckering up her lips.

Starlight looks to the ground, dodging the being's look. She begins to quiver as she tries to peer away from the creature, covering her own mouth with a hoof. Upon looking back, she notices that the ooze is no longer on her, but is rather absorbing her into itself. Immediately, she struggles to break free. "Maud? Maud!" She calls, but the grey equine can only watch.

"What will your 'friend' do, Starlight? She won't do anything. She hardly knows you!" Trixie laughs maniacally, her absorption rate leeching her in faster. "Give in to somepony you can trust... somepony who is great and powerful..."

"Maud...", Starlight calls. By then, she's fallen to the floor. Seeing that there is nothing an earth pony could do, she attempts to cast a spell, charging all of her strength into her horn-- but the slime covers its with a well-placed, dripping hoof as it slops down upon her forehead.

"Ah ah ah, Starlight. Leave the magic alone and observe in wonder as we finally become one!"

Despite her interruption, the violet mare does all she can to complete the spell. She releases it, sweating, and it spreads straight throughout the oozing Trixie, vaporizing her into thin air. She gets up, shaking herself off and frowning at Maud.

"Impressive, horned one," the dragon mutters in amusement. "But your power shall soon be mine."

"We'll see about that," Starlight declares. Now unhindered by any substances, a blue aura surrounds her horn as she begins to focus her energy, closing her eyes tightly as she musters up all of her strength.

To this, the leader simply rewards herself with a great earthquake of laughter. "Do you really think that will work on me, Starlight?" The great being asks, closing her eyes. "Very well. Hit me, then."

Having had about eight seconds to charge up, the violet mage splits the energy into fifteen different beams during her concentration, unleashing a wave of plasma out among the frozen crowd of blue and pink doppelgangers, immediately breaking them down into useless atoms. Upon this sudden, chain reaction of cellular meltdowns, she channels the chaotic energy into that of a massive otherworldly sword, flicking her head to the right and cleanly slicing the chrome dragon's leg apart. The silver leader, taken by surprise, lands onto the floor with a large splash of liquid. However, immediately noticing this, the dragoness draws in animals and ponies spectating from the stands, restoring her leg within that of mere seconds, and soon other liquids from around the cave walls take the places of the exact same creatures who were seated.

Starlight pants, having used a considerable amount of energy, but when she looks up, she sees that the silver being has barely taken a scratch.

"That tickled," the dragon teases. But then, she leans in, baring her dripping teeth. "Now it's my turn."

Immediately, the dragon stomps, and this time, hundreds and thousands of Trixies and Pinkies spawn, easily filling half of the abandoned stadium. She stomps again, and this time there are not only the prior two, but Twilights and Spikes as well. All of them look exactly like their original, prior selves.

To her horror, Starlight mutters under her breath. "Spike? Twilight...?" She steps back, but Maud stops her with a hoof.

"Starlight."

The mage turns to her friend. "Y--yes?" She responds, still staring at the ocean of clones in front of them.

"Do you know any enchanting spells?"

"T-Twilight and I studied them quite a bit, but we haven't gotten around to testing them."

"I need you to upgrade my gauntlets."

"Gauntlets... what gauntlets?"

Maud reaches into her pocket and tosses out four horseshoes, aligning them properly, and then shaping her hooves into them. She turns to Starlight, and the horseshoes extend outwards, folding out into flexible, steel boots that covers her arms and legs. Starlight ogles in wonder.

"Ooh, so-- the grey one has something, after all," the massive being observes. "No matter. Do as you wish with them, we've only need of their bodies," she states, staring with a twisted smile. Without any hesitations, a massive, colorful rumble works along the stadium as all of the countless numbers of ponies dash forth at once-- from baby dragon- to equine. Behind the two ponies are even more clones jumping off of the stadium to assist in their capture, plopping onto the ground and quickly reshaping themselves into the friends the two had known and loved. The mage looks around with the deepest of fear shaking through her veins.

"Starlight! Do it now!" Maud yells, and Starlight immediately refocuses on her to comply. Never before has the violet spell caster ever seen such a worried look in the grey mare's eyes. Taking note of this, she quickly shakes her head to clear her thoughts, soon forming energy out of thin air as the enormous waves of ponies gangs in on them. Just before the insanely huge foundation of metallic fluids makes their anticipated landing, Starlight releases the last bit of her energy into Maud's armored hooves, and surely enough, they give in with a spark, but to no effect. Nothing happens-- and it's already too late.

The whole ocean of doppelgangers lands upon them, and Starlight can immediately feel her whole body being crushed under a countless amount of weight. With no mercy, her DNA structure is absorbed into the silver strand pool, and she is stored away indefinitely into a deep capsule of metallic torture, locked in complete stasis.

The silver dragon unleashes a loud, wicked laugh, holding much more volume than the combined decibels of any of her other snickers or chuckles held before. "Oh, this is too good! Well done, my clones! It seems we've not only captured an alicorn-- but a skilled mage, as well. She turns around, celebrating mostly to herself. "Now, all we'll need to do is clone them, say, millions of times... and Equestria will no longer hold any power against us." She opens her eyes again and turns back as the other doppelgangers who weren't involved with the oceanic pile shape-shifts into every single living being from Ponyville, Starlight included. Astounded by this site, the great being orders half of them to return, and they form into a massive throne for her to sit upon. "Nothing will be able to stop us." The leader closes her eyes in complete content.

However, something catches her eye. Somepony is missing within the crowd. She checks in with all of the memories collected, going about the list. Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy. Applejack. Rarity. Rainbow Dash. Twilight Sparkle. Starlight. Every single other pony, within a matter of minutes. She can't place her nonexistent mind upon this. As she goes about the list, an exotic, black flame protrudes out from her calm ocean, and a wave of clones washes upon the throne. Several other flames break their way through the silver sea, soon resting without any other traces of movement. The dragoness leans forth. "No. Impossible!" She exclaims.

After a few more seconds, all is still-- but then, with an overwhelming amount of force, a spiral flame opens up a rift, straight in the middle of the mountain of liquid. As the vortex opens up, more and more drops of metallic fluids are torn by the gallons, their several molecules being absorbed straight into the burning wall-- dissipating into the air as all of their chemical makeup ceases to exist.

Seeing this, the massive, oozing dragoness stands up and readies herself, her throne still standing strong. From five-hundred meters away, she can see that whatever was in that pile of silver fluids was still kicking. As her clones begin to retreat in fear of their imminent deletion, she can eventually make out the shape of a small creature. At first, the silhouette is completely black, standing still with total resolve, a frantic, booming aura working about its shape. At this point, the leader can only spectate in sheer surprise, and the creatures in the stands are frozen under their own, respective shocks.

After the dark vortex dies down, the remaining energy is absorbed into the black outline. The energy dissipates into the ground, and what seemed like dark energy is now transmuted into a controlled, red and black wave, leaking its way into the survivor's legs. As the mixture of sparking electricity and heated flames crackle together around the suspicious silhouette, a familiar, green-eyed mare appears, lighting up the entirety of the cavern. Frozen, the dragoness looks about her clones as her lip quivers. "What are you doing? Get her!"

From every single angle, an impossible amount of silver clones dashes for Maud-- rushing out from the stands and straight into her.

Maud closes her eyes. Pinkie, she thinks. The silver waves are already closing in.

I hope all of my years from the rock farm has paid off.

Losing track of her thoughts, Maud kicks herself into pure, hyper-drive mode, being a Pie Sister after all, readily giving into pure instinct as her eyes change from a green color, into that of a burning and black, empty void.

As the waves once again jump in to overwhelm her with their sheer numbers, time seems to slow down for the armed equine. Silver predators just inches away. The grey mare can sense each and every one of their outlines-- and even though they have the exact colors of whomever they had copied, she only sees the untouched, liquid forms.

"Begone", is all she mutters. Her gauntlets light up with the fury of thunder and flames alike, accelerating her heart rate and plunging her forth into the crowd.

Time resumes.

Maud flashes between every single wave of ponies and animals before they can touch the ground-- smashing into and rapidly cracking apart each and every bit of mercury visible. With a violent grapple onto a liquid stallion's hind leg, she whirls the doppelganger around and smashes him into waves of silver until his leg burns off into nonexistence. She is forced to speed to the ground and kick upwards into the pony's belly-- black flames roaring as it channels a solid bullet of electricity throughout the creature, instantly disintegrating him and any other predators up above.

She charges a front hoof and quickly slams into the ground, sustaining a field of anti-gravity as the whole stadium of silver slows down, nearly freezing in time. Those who can fly dive right towards Maud, and those who have horns cancel out the working effect upon their nearby allies. Immediately, the carnal, grey equine splits her work, sprinting in front of a unicorn and allowing it to charge a spell, and then swiftly dodging out of the way as it re-materializes its own winged, silver member into bare matter. As beams are flying about in the mages' attempts to hit Maud, they stop as they see that they are only hitting those who are caught in the field.

Larger enemies appear: dragons, manticores, and Hexxills roam about to try and end the primal pony. Maud dashes into that of a manticore, feigning a lack of trajectory, and the beast opens its mouth, ready to receive its next meal-- but she then rolls and jumps onto its head as a winged mare flies straight into its mouth. With a jump high into the air, Maud partakes in a triple front flip, slamming a hoof into the floor-- and immediately, a massive void opens around the the nearby vicinity with a thundering boom, trapping every single creature of any size within its territory. Sliding out of the chaotic ball of energy, the grey mare simply claps her hooves together-- and the whole stadium behind her is chunked straight into dark matter, never to be seen again as it soon appears that somepony has taken a chomp out of the surrounding area.

Without hesitation, the grey equine immediately sprints forward with an immense trail of flames behind her, and in two seconds flat, she is face to face with the giant dragon, any and all remaining silver in the way merely torn apart into that of another dimension, a black emptiness still in her eyes.

"I said, I wasn't going to ask again." Maud declares, threatening the chrome colored being. "Apparently, you misunderstood me the first time."

"W-- what are you talking about?" The dragon asks, pretending to be oblivious.

"You don't only owe me Pinkie Pie," Maud states with a serious, cold tone. "You owe me Starlight, her friends, and the rest of the world."

The silver leader blinks at her, looking as if she is scared, but she only answers with a smile. Finally, she breaks the silence. "So, you think those flashy flames of yours can stop me?"

The grey mare doesn't respond.

"Fine. I suppose I shall receive your answer-- when I have stolen all of your memories and secrets of this world." To this, the slimy dragon grabs Maud and stands up on its hind legs, transforming into that of a bipedal creature. It drastically transforms its whole shape, growing into a humongous entity that easily smashes through the caverns, towering over that of the whole ghastly gorge, and reaching straight into the depths of the atmosphere. It holds a nightmarish appearance: massive horns on the forehead the size of skyscrapers, a huge, prehensile tail on its back end, enough to split the earth-- giant, sharpened blades to work for claws, extended rows of teeth for a fearsome appearance, and an armored, covered spine and chest. It then solidifies itself, just up to the point where it is immobilized-- keeping to a flexible structure. The midnight air shines down upon her silver shell.

Starlight's avian that was resting about patiently at ground level soon flies up to Maud, detecting her presence, squawking about as it witnesses the giant, metallic creature color herself into that of a dark green and golden yellow appearance. "You are a fool to threaten me, Maud," she says, and the whole valley rumbles about as she speaks her few words. "I will make the end quick for you. As for your friends... you can have them," she blinks, speaking convincingly, "if they weren't already dead."

"I don't believe that!" Maud screams back. She only has two more words to add, as tears startup in her eyes. "Maud sense," she claims, and to this, her formidable opponent lets out a chuckle.

"We will see if your sense holds," the silver leader looks at the grey pony closely, allowing the tension to remain, "...true."

Without any prior warning, all it takes is a clap of the giant's hands to permanently end Maud-- however, armed with her deadly gauntlets, she punches the midst of the titan's palms with several successive strikes, instantly breaking herself free, and essentially melting that part of her predator's body. Rolling herself across the mid-line of her left hand, Maud sprints to the edge of her paw and jumps off, landing promptly on top of the flying creature. Crying out in pain and leaking silver fluid, the giant dragoness swiftly regenerates her wounded hands and sees Maud atop Starlight's tamed animal. She then growls and opens her jaws, planning to chomp down upon the two lifeforms with her endless waves of chrome teeth.

Just before she can, however, a dark blue sphere appears around Maud and her avian, stopping time for the rest of the world. A dark blue equine appears from a black portal. "What is going on out here?" Luna steps out, fully concerned. "My sibling cannot rest properly."

Maud simply blinks at her and points a hoof behind her. The royal princess turns around, swiftly noticing the silver titan. "Sweet Celestia!" She exclaims, putting a hoof up to her mouth and blushing, ashamed that she had used her sister's name in vain, suddenly thankful that time is frozen. Because the metallic creature's properties are not bound to this dimension, even with time stopped, the natural rules of the current planet need not apply to the bipedal dragoness. She is doing her best to bite down and slice upon the time barrier, cracking it apart bit by bit with every strike from her earth-breaking features.

"This cannot be!" Luna yells. "How can such a thing exist?!" She turns around to look at Maud, as if the grey pony was to blame for all of this occurring.

Maud finds silence to be a viable option; the bird squawks at the midnight mare.

Luna sighs. "Well, I suppose I've no choice but to help you, then. I've just recently caught word from my royal guards that all of Ponyville is missing. And, seeing as I wouldn't want to awaken my sister, we've best deal with this quickly. So, instead of limiting this time bubble to our own, personal space, I shall move it about the entire area." To her declaration, she flies next to Starlight's creature, and Maud hops on. Luna then teleports the avian to someplace safer-- straight to the other side of the ghastly gorge. It is now paused in time itself. "Don't worry, your bird will be safe," the princess states. "Now. Shall we?"

Maud nods.

With a flick of her horn, the time bubble expands, covering the first half of the gorge. The titan's tail comes in for a swoop towards the newfound pair as she cries out in all of her rage, but to the alicorn's keen eye, it easily swooshes past them. "Luna! My dear, dear alicorn. You are not the only one with magic now!" She lets her tail slam into the ground, and the ground shatters, immediately causing rock formations to crumble into the river. With the combined magic of all of the horned ponies from around the world, the giant creates an inverted ball of energy, shaking through that of a black and white energetic disruption. After only a matter of moments, the dragon's beam surges towards the alicorn and her rider-- a threatening, physics-breaking riot of sheer intergalactic power.

Luna's eyes couldn't have possibly gotten any wider, and her irises thin out to nearly that of specks. None the less, she too focuses on gathering her own energy, and to her discretion, she releases a dark blue blast, taken straight from the moon itself-- matching the size of the silver leader's charge-- though, on her side, no matter how hard she concentrates, her dark blue sustenance begins to give way, just as the world-ending, black and white cosmic fury begins to close in on her end.

"I... can't... hold it... much longer!" All four of the moon mare's hooves are strained to their maximum muscle capacity, and she is slowly railed back towards the edge of her own bubble. Upon this, Maud experiments; using her gauntlets, she presses her hooves aside Luna's horn-- and through both of their eyes, the night pony's hyper beam absorbs the thundering flames from her ally's weapon, essentially reconditioning it into that of dark matter, capable of comfortably contesting with that of the dragon's output.

"No...!" The dragon works out through her mouth, "I will reign supreme!" She gathers the rest of the mages' energy, essentially dumping out all of their auras and investing it into defeating her challenger. "I will be the victor, Luna! The elements of harmony are within me!" To this, her beam reshapes itself into that of a rainbow power, quickly eating up that of the dark energy.

Having seen the experiment work, there's no time for thinking as Maud jumps onto Luna's beam. "What are you doing?! It's not safe!" The princess cries. The grey mare ignores her and sprints along her channeled energy, running among her own powered void.

Seeing this, the titan spawns each of the mane six atop the beam, all in the exact shape and voices of their characteristics. "We won't let you pass, Maud," the group states. Maud glances behind her and sees that Luna is pressed backwards into the bubble, struggling to keep up her side of the battle. Looking down, she notices that the rainbow matter is directly in front of her. She stares at the mane six with a smile.

"I'll see you on the other side, Pinkie," she states, before jumping into the menacing, colorful beam.

Meanwhile, the night equine believes that it is the end for her, and she is just about to let her opponent win the stressful battle of overall resolve. I'm sorry, sister, she thinks, closing her eyes as the whole spectrum is about to erase her from the face of the entire universe.

Inside the conflicting matter, Maud believes she has instantly disintegrated, but upon her discovery, her gauntlets have quickly adapted to that of the cosmos-erasing energy, and, using Luna's final effort as a booster, she begins to push back against the Power of Friendship. The bipedal dragon's energy barely scrapes the tip of the moon mare's horn as she opens her eyes, seeing a grey mare standing right up against the point among her horn. Both Luna and titan are astonished to see this miracle taking place. "How?!" They both cry out.

"...Love," Maud says, smiling.

Of course. Does the Power of Love not outweigh Friendship? Maud's Love for Pinkie Pie; love for Starlight-- even Trixie; Love for these colors that are left of her dark, grey world?

With direct ease, Luna finds that her grey ally is not the answer to beating the giant, bipedal leader-- and with the last of her strength, she screams out in pain as her beam launches towards the dumbfounded enemy, controlled matter refocused into that of a blood red, burning void, one that can crack not only universes, but that of dimensions. The titan can see it now; her existence being erased from every single alternate reality that she ever existed in. "No-- Noooo!" She cries out as Maud, who now holds the warmest heart of all, slams right into her face, just before the entire being infinitely disintegrates in each and every shifted moment of time.

Maud turns around, allowing Luna's uncontrollable, final wave to absorb straight into the gauntlets. Relieved from the release, the nightly mare swiftly gathers a hold of herself, teleporting Maud safely out of the time bubble. Upon this, she takes the overloaded weapon off of the stone equine and blinks quickly to the edge of the universe, releasing the overwhelming amount of matter into the blackness of the pitch darkness. Without a sound, or a single explosion, the radiant, otherworldly energy dissipates into space, seemingly harmless to the normal eye. She then teleports back to unleash the bubble, and it cracks into thin air as the whole world once again resumes, Celestia still retaining her beauty sleep.

To this-- even for an immortal- Luna collapses the the ground, laying aside Maud Pie. However, just before falling asleep as the night is at its end, she teleports the two of them to the royal castle. Together, they are easily welcomed into a deep slumber on the bed, both moon mare and Maud sitting on the moon, celebrating their victory.

Celestia raises the sun, and it shines brighter than ever before, sparks of energy acting upon the world as she notices that Luna has a... visitor in her resting area? Oh my. She can't believe her eyes.

One of the royal guards who stayed up the whole night, informs the sun princess of much-needed context.

"Princess Celestia," the night guard starts. "Considering that silver, life-cloning ponies had taken over all of Ponyville, you need not be alarmed. I believe those two have just saved the world."

The sun mare thanks him for his time and sends him off to his well-deserved quarters, looking back at the grey mare.

"That pony, huh?" She wonders, smiling contentedly. Looks like I'll be taking a field trip.

Maud comes back to her everyday conscience, immediately remembering the night before and she rubs her head with a hoof.

"She's waking up!" A cheerful voice explains.

"Hush, Pinkie! Let her rest. The poor dear has probably had a very rough night," a refined voice deducts.

"Maud is not even 20% cooler. She's like, 1000% cooler!" Says a raspy voice.

"U-um... oh dear, is she hurt?" The quiet one asks.

"Probably. But I swear, when she wakes up, ah'd like to give her mah sincere thanks," says the honest one.

"Ssh. Give her a few more minutes," requests a royal voice.

Maud's eyes finally open, and she notices that she is in Twilight's castle. Looking to her left, she sees a whole gathering of ponies, and to her right, even more.

Wondering what's going on, she lifts herself up off of the bed, and, immediately breaking down in tears with a grin, she sees all of her friends. Applejack. Rarity. Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Twilight Sparkle. And, most of all, Trixie, Starlight, and her sister, Pinkie Pie. Princess Celestia is smiling at her.

The room is completely silent, as if they were expecting Maud to say something-- and Maud simply blinks. But, choosing not to keep the silence this time, she allows her words to travel throughout a whole crowd, if not just for once.

"I'm so glad to see all of you," she begins, "all of you have no idea what I have just gone through. I'm-- j-just..."

All of the ponies move in to give her a group hug, acknowledging her sentience. Eventually, they move back and give her space to breath.

An important memory jumps into Maud's mind. "Wait-- Starlight, the kiss-"

"Don't worry, Maud. Trix and I are over it. As it turns out, I overreacted..." She grins uneasily, and then turns to Trixie to give her a kiss on the cheek. Trixie blushes.

"Glimmie... not in front of the others... as much as they'd like it," she says, causing the two of them to giggle. "Oh-- Starlight and I have talked. We've come to a decision; we owe you something."

Maud blinks as the two unicorns walk up to their respective sides of the bed. With both mares leaning in, the two of them give Maud a combined kiss on either cheek. Maud's blush quickly shows. "Th-- thanks," she says. The crowd responds with their loving cries.

Pinkie jumps on her, hugging her tightly, and then coming face-to-face with her grey sister. "Maud! Maud! You've been out for three days! Is it true? We heard from Luna that you used the some sort of new Power to overcome Friendship!"

The grey equine nods. "That's right. And, since you've mentioned that, there's actually something I'd like to try... excuse me."

"Okie dokie, Maud!" Pinkie bounces off of the bed. Power, huh? She thinks. The grey pony gets up and walks over to the tree of harmony's map.

Maud closes her eyes and touches it. Immediately, it changes from blue, and into that of a red color-- the whole map extends into unknown areas that were once forgotten within Equine history.

The whole crowd gazes in awe.

Even Celestia's eyes opens wide at the sight of this.

"Maud, these were areas that my sister and I have... exiled," she explains. "I can't even begin to wonder why the map is referring to this."

"Perhaps... it's a calling?" Twilight suggests.

The whole crowd looks at the grey pony, and she turns around, seeing the curiosity on their faces.

"In that case," Maud says. "Wherever I go, I'd like Starlight and Trixie to go with me."

The two unicorns look at her in astonishment.

"No way-- you're serious?" Starlight asks.

"Mhm."

"Well, as much as you'll be needing the great and power-- she stops her sentence before everypony glares at her, "I mean, I'd be honored to travel with you, Maud. As much as our early times together have went, I believe we will work together quite nicely.

The grey mare smiles, no longer seeing the same Trixie that she had witnessed several mornings ago.

Without hesitation, the three now stand in front of the map, together-- with the whole crowd behind them, anticipating the trio's next move.

Prelude #IV (Final): The Armed, The Deadly, The Unbound

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As the whole crowd of ponies are staring upon this newfound trio, the Tree of Harmony's map ingrains their cutie marks: rocks, eclipse, and a star.

"Wait. There's one more thing," Celestia notes. "Luna and I have decided to give you these as a sign of our thanks.

The three turn around. The sun princess has three massive lockers to the left of her. She looks back at them with a proud look in her eyes. Then, she begins.

"Trixie, do step forward."

The trickster complies and bows her head as everyone observes in silence. An unsteady stillness fills about the room as the crowd wonders what the Sun is about to do next.

"Arise."

Trixie looks forward. "Your highness?"

"Although you have attempted to take over Ponyville once before, seeing that Maud wishes for you to go along with her, we trust that you will hold your word and regard the actions of your friends. There is no doubt that whatever you encounter in those lands will not be merciful. Luna and I thus bestow upon you this forbidden spell." The day mare flicks her horn and outlines the furthermost locker-- with a firm shake, it busts open, and Celestia raises the scroll out of its container as Trixie receives it with her magic. She is speechless. The scroll is a sky blue color, and is tied in the middle with an elegant, clover green string. Supporting it is a golden roller to hold it together.

"You... you actually... trust me with this?"

"Twilight and I have held our discussions, and we deem you as so; now go on, try the spell."

"I trust you, Trixie." The purple alicorn states. To this, Twilight and the blue mare both smile at each other warmly.

Trixie looks down at the scroll, and after a considerable while of hesitation, she unties the knots using her teeth, and the ancient spell reveals itself without holding back. "Astonishing," Trixie whispers. The scroll reads:

By the cast of Tareth,

Only she whom has learned that friendship does not come through envy, but through balance-- only she whom has learned to not only accept her own achievements, but recognize that of others- to each their own path- may wield the unyielding power of this scroll. May this be as such, marked in blood and stone alone; 'til the day the perfect one arrives.

Trixie places her horn upon the scroll, and immediately, a sudden shock of power travels throughout her whole body, tingling every one of her cells, shaking them to the very foundation of the dark matter from which they were made. Closing her eyes shut, the mare focuses as the shock wave surges about, through her very bones, and to the end of her tail-- everyone gasps as what appears before Trixie's eyes are several, ethereal rapiers. The sideshow mare opens her eyes, and jumps back in overwhelming fascination. The swords stay at an exact distance away from her, maintaining a constant position.

Celestia nods. "We were waiting for this day, Trixie. There are three hidden elements that we haven't been able to link to anyone before-- and we believe that you three are fit enough to understand the responsibilities of such a power. Trixie. You are the element of Respect. Your weapon is known as 'Tareth', created by Starswirl the Bearded himself. May you use it wisely."

The blue pony looks about the room as the swords twitch and flicker about with an otherworldly energy floating about them. "I am honored, Celestia. I won't let you down." Trixie steps back to join the others, keeping her head low until she reaches her friends, storing the scroll into her pouch as the weapons continue to float about.

Celestia moves on. "Starlight, do step forward."

"Y-yes, Princess." The violet mare steps up, not following the same formal rules as Trixie; instead, she walks forth, looks Celestia in the eye, and doesn't bow down.

The whole room stands shocked as they look at her in disbelief. However, Celestia only lets about a chuckle. "I see someone has yet to learn of proper etiquette."

Starlight looks around, and eventually locks eyes onto the mane six. They're quietly signalling for her to bow down.

"Oh!" Starlight lowers her head, blushing.

"Arise."

Starlight complies. The princess goes on.

"Although you have attempted to equalize all ponies here about Equestria, we are happy to have you here along our side, and seeing that you have taken to Trixie and Maud, bestow you this mighty weapon, originally an experiment of Luna's. We believe that you have learned to not only re-bond with others for the actions that they have done, but within an overall resolve-- the rebuilding of your own self. You, Starlight, are the element of Forgiveness."

Without another moment's pass, Celestia bursts open the second locker, and out reveals a bracelet, complete with a dazzling, orange look, and several additional adornments of dark blue, green, and black to accompany its overall look.

"A bracelet?"

"Yes. Luna has dubbed it to be known as 'Emran'."

Celestia hovers it on over to her, and equips it onto Starlight's arm. Instantly, the compelling power of the night embraces the mage, and she takes a step back at it channels throughout her core. Several of the onlookers are worried that something unfortunate may happen to her, but to her own will, she is unscathed. Starlight examines as the bracelet folds upwards, into her arm, and becomes that of a massive cannon on the right side of her body. Surprisingly, it is completely weightless, and still retains its same, orange and black color. Without a single sound, the plasma cannon charges up, and is ready to fire. It spins about in anticipation as it awaits the choice of its wearer.

"Thank you, Celestia." Starlight steps back in line with the other two mares, remembering to bow before reaching her original position.

Celestia looks to the grey mare. "Maud Pie, sister of Pinkie Pie," she emphasizes. "It is not you who should be bowing. It is I." She lowers her own head, and the spectators about the room gawk at this site. A royal alicorn, bowing to a plain, green-eyed pony. But, acknowledging her actions, all of them bow as well, and so do Maud's friends. After fifteen seconds of silence, the masses arise.

Maud bows to them in return, holding to the formal rules.

"Arise," Celestia requests.

The grey mare looks up to the sun princess.

"It is you, through that of your actions, and scarcely your words, who has saved Equestria, just as my dear student has, countless of times." She looks to Twilight, and then back. "As silent as you may be, you are still all the more louder. And to that, I am more than proud to hand you this weapon. Luna truly sends you her gratitude with this."

Celestia cracks open the final locker, and a familiar pair of horseshoes falls out.

"My old gauntlets?" Maud asks, tilting her head.

"Yes. Luna has taken upon it to restore them to their prior condition for the past few days you were in recovery. She hopes that you find the improvements to your liking."

The alicorn lowers them unto the floor in front of Maud, and she jumps into them. They feel exactly the same, grey color and all.

Suddenly, however, as the boots unfold among her hooves, new, blades unsheathe themselves on the outside of either of the grey mare's arms and legs. They fall limp to the floor, visibly attached to chains.

"Luna has proposed the name, 'Asterus'. It was created by Discord, that of the draconeqqui. Originally a parasitic weapon, we worked hoof-in-hoof to remove that feature, thus leaving you with the chain boots."

But, the blades are limp on the floor, Maud thinks. How do they retract?

Upon moving a single hoof, one of the blades reattaches itself to the boots.

Ah. I see. If I utilize my muscles, they work like whips.

She strains her body slightly, and all of the blades gather upon their respective places.

Testing her theory out, Maud throws a hoof into the air and relaxes it, causing the chain blade to immediately fly out into the air and stab into the high ceiling up above. She then tightens it, and surely enough, she flies dozens of feet into the air as everyone watches in wonder. She then repeats this to latch on to the chandelier several feet below her, letting and straining in order to land just above the decoration. Hooking her two hind blades to the edge of the decor, she relaxes her muscles and releases herself, and the whole crowd gasps as she begins to fall towards the floor. However, predicting the exact required tension to cushion the blow, Maud barely strains her legs, and she starts to slow down before slamming into the ground, essentially falling at a controlled, steady speed. She lands promptly on the floor, leaving everyone silent once more.

"Thank you, Celestia." Maud bows as she rejoins her friends.

"Now, these are only the powers we know about the weapons," Celestia notifies them, "however much else you discover-- scroll, bracelet, and gauntlets alone-- is up to you. Maud, you are the element of Integrity, in recognition of your astounding moral demeanor, and your world-mending actions. We, citizens of Ponyville, thank you for saving not only our town, but those from around the world as well. I am sure they also render unto you their gratifying thanks."

The three bow and allow their weapons to rest in front of the cheering crowd-- ethereal rapiers, Tareth, vanishing into the air, plasma cannon, Emran, compacting into the wristband, and chain blade gauntlets, Asterus, reforming into normal, everyday horseshoes.

"We wish a safe journey upon the three of you, but as for now, I recommend that you take a moment to gather together and get to know your weapons before heading out into the restricted areas. Luna, Twilight and I-- and the rest of the citizens-- welcome you to this castle. Your living quarters will be down the hall, and to the right. Once again, thank you for aiding us."

The crowd cheers as Maud, Starlight, and Trixie exit the room, curious to see what Twilight and the others have put aside for them; Integrity, Forgiveness, and Respect alike.

Magical Intentions, Vol. I

by Aureane

Prelude #I; The Great and Powerful Thief

Prelude #II; Greyday, Mark of Silence

Prelude #III; Midnight Titans

Prelude #IV (Final): The Armed, The Deadly, The Unbound