> A future worth fighting for
>  by Xujints the Water Horse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Crazy Future Part1: Many Happy Returns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lone dragon sat on a hill as the evening sun painted the sky with vibrant oranges and reds. He sighed softly to himself, his gaze drawn to the ground as a cool breeze crawled on his back, coming somewhere from the trees at his rear. The sound of strong wing beats filled his ear as a creature drew near. It was a pony, nay, an Alicorn, clad in silver apparel. The Alicorn touched down gracefully next to him, taking a seat. Her expression was as solemn as the dragon’s.

“So it’s true… You have returned.”

The Alicorn’s expression changed. Now sporting a smile, she glanced over at the dragon, who likewise was looking at her, “It’s been so long since I last saw you Spike. You’ve grown so much!”

Spike, the dragon, smiled softly at the Alicorn mare’s jovial comment about his size. He nodded once before responding to her, “A hundred years have passed, but you are still the same Twilight. Beautiful as ever.”

Twilight, the Alicorn mare, giggled at his compliment, waving a hoof dismissively as they watched the sun move accross the sky, “Flatterer… Can’t say the same about Ponyville though. Everything has changed since you left.”

“So… How has the life of a stray dragon been treating you anyway? You must have plenty of stories to tell.”

The dragon sighed, rubbing his face with a scaly claw as he stated bluntly, “It’s… Tiring. Sometimes I wish I could settle down in one place. Maybe even call it a home.”

The Alicorn beamed, turned to face the dragon as she asked, “Really? Why don’t you come back to Ponyville? It was your home once, it can be again.”

Spike sighed once again, slightly annoyed by this suggestion. As if that wasn’t enough to show his dislike of the idea, he crossed his arms and looked away, “Can’t… It’s not safe for my daughter to be a part of pony society.”

His words gave the Alicorn pause, “Daughter?”

Leaning in slightly, she asked, “Your daughter… With Rarity, right?”

He nodded. A smile, beaming with pride, started to form on his muzzle, “Indeed. A powerful Dragon-Unicorn Hybrid.”

That smile was wiped off his face when Twilight drew near, her once friendly face contorted into one of anger, possibly disappointment. Disappointment was never a good thing. She pointed an accusatory hoof at him, “Then that’s all the more reason for you to stop being a stray.”

“B-but-”

He couldn’t even provide a retort as she swiftly cut him off, “How long have you had her Spike? Be honest with me. Don’t you think your daughter deserves a better life than one on the run, the life shared by petty criminals?”

Twilight took a breath to calm herself, returning to her calm and dignified way of speaking, “She deserves a place to call home, a solid education, a group of friends to play with. The life of a vagrant is not the kind she should be living.”

The guilt weighed heavily on the dragon as he couldn’t even look her in the eye. He was hanging by a thread, a flimsy excuse, “I’m afraid. Afraid that nopony will accept her, see her as a threat, lock her up because they don’t understand her.”

Tears began to well up in the Alicorn’s eyes as she took a step towards him, eyes pleading, “I’m confident everypony will accept her, just as they accepted a baby dragon. And if they don’t, you can be sure I would do anything in my power to protect her.”

“Please Spike, come back… It’s been so lonely living in a castle full of empty rooms. If you won’t come back for me, please, do it for your daughter, or Rarity. They deserve more than this.”

The waterworks had started and there wasn’t much that he could do to stop it. That was it, that thread had snapped. Reluctantly, the dragon grumbled, “Ok, ok!”

He huffed, throwing his scaly arms up in the air, “I’ll ask her if she wants to stay. Just don’t make that face again.”

The Alicorn clopped her hooves together happily, her silver slippers making a sound similar to that of two halves of a coconut being banged together, “You mean it? That’s fantastic! Welcome back to Ponyville, my number one assistant.”

Silence reigned once again for a brief moment as her hooves gently touched the ground, a thought suddenly coming to her. Looking down the hill, she spotted an old graveyard that belonged to the town. Of all places they could meet, why here?

She found herself asking him, “Where is your daughter anyway?”

Spike followed her eyes to the graveyard before they looked at each other, the question hardly had a chance to linger in the air. He responded swiftly, “She must be at Rarity’s grave now, if I had to guess.”

Twilight looked down at the graveyard once more, thinking over the dragon’s words. Minutes passed before she asked him one final question, “How much does she know, about Rarity I mean?”

Spike gave her a nervous grin as he rubbed the back of his neck, “Well…”

“Spike…”





Meanwhile, among the numerous headstones below the two, a lone white unicorn weaved through the graves, placing bouquets of flowers on the graves of her distant relatives. She held a distinct air of reverence as she placed each one. While the mare didn’t know any of them personally, she was very much aware of their importance in her family. She layed the flowers gently, careful not to jostle any out of place and have them scatter on the ground. Soon, as she was set to place the last bouquet, she stopped at one grave, one that she hadn’t expected to be here.

On the headstone was the name of her mother, Rarity. An impossible date was written below it, as well as a brief epitaph, ‘Her generosity will always be remembered.’ She flicked her green mane out from in front of her glasses to get a better look at the grave. It seemed authentic, but how could this be? She stood there, pondering it as the bouquet in her mouth awaited its final destination. Sighing, she placed the bouquet down, as she figured it’d be a waste not to leave one behind there too.

The sound of hoof-steps behind her made the mare turn her head to the new arrival. The figure was unicorn, tall and dark furred. Their imposing size would normally startle many a pony, but not the white unicorn. No, because this was her mother. The taller pony ran a hoof through her long purple mane as she stepped closer, stating in mock disbelief, “It’s a strange feeling, seeing my own grave like this. Still in such good condition too.”

“Mother?” The smaller unicorn inquired, “Why do you have a grave if you are still alive?”

The elder mare smiled as she stepped forward, placing a hoof on the grave as she spoke, “Actually, I did die, darling…”

The white unicorn blinked in surprise, once, twice, three times before asking with a hint of confusion and curiosity in her tone, “If that is true, then how are you alive right now?”

Rarity, the elder unicorn sighed softly as she explained, “If I am to tell you this story, then I must start at the beginning, or rather, the end. The vary day that I died.”

She had to hear this story at some point in her life, right?





On old, frail mare wandered for a time in what appeared to be an endless darkness. Her coat was grey, a far cry from the pristine white coat she used to wear. Her wrinkly features contorted from an expression of anger, to sadness, than to fear as she questioned where she was. She felt like she was being watched, but she was unable to see anything. The encroaching darkness around her was simply too thick.

“Where am I… Am I dead?”

She shivered. The vast empty void she was in felt cold, colder than even the coldest breeze she had ever felt in her life. It felt unatural...

“Is this where a pony’s soul goes after death?”

She pondered that question aloud, but little did she know she’d get an answer.

“Indeed, you are dead-”

A shadowy figure stepped out from the shadows and into the mare’s view. This figure looked much like the Rarity that the white unicorn of the present called mother, in fact, they had looked one and the same. Not that the unicorn would ever actually see this as it is nothing more than a flashback and in no way represents what Rarity is actually telling her. Regardless, the figure continued its previous statement, “But this is neither Elysium nor Tartarus. It is my own little place I had carved out for myself in your soul…”

The Unicorn took an offensive stance towards the figure, “Nightmare! You can’t be here, I thought we destroyed you.”

The Nightmare laughed, finding humor in the old mare’s statement, “Destroyed? No no no, Darling… You merely regained control of your body.”

It stepped closer, sending shivers down the old mare’s spine as she continued, “I’ve been a part of your life for a long time, watching your every move. I have seen everything there is to see about your life. Everything that you’ve done with that handsome dragon of yours.”

She grinned wickedly, repeating one word in a sing-song voice, “Everything~”

That had made Rarity’s blood boil. She barked, shaking a hoof angrily at the shadowy figure, “Enough talk, just tell me what you want from a dead mare like me.”

A chuckle came from the nightmare as she sat across from Rarity, “Straight to the point then. Fine… I’m going to make you an offer, one I doubt you will refuse. I wish to give you my power so that you can live again as long as you wish-”

The unicorn cut her off with a sharp, “What!?”

Such a statement was too good to be true, there had to be some sort of catch, right? There was no way this she-demon would just willingly give up her powers, not if she could help it…

The Nightmare cleared her throat and continued, “On one condition…”





Back in the present and among the living, the dark unicorn known as Rarity giggled, “And that was how your mother was revived.”

The white Unicorn barked out a complaint, “But wait, you didn’t say what that condition was. What did the Nightmare want?”

Rarity winked at her daughter and turned away, “Sorry, but that is a secret that stays between me, and her…”

To say that Unicorn was grumpy was an understatement. As she stormed off, her mother bounced along happily behind her, knowing that she had just trolled her daughter. It was fun.

“Hmpm… That’s not fun.”

“Life’s not always fun, darling~”

The white mare muttered a curse under her breath as she continued along, leaving her mother behind who had stopped suddenly. A content smile remained on her face as she finished, “Yeah… Life’s not always fun, my little Nightmare…”

As they continued up the hill, Rarity's mind wandered back to the tale she didn't finish. It was because of that ending she couldn't tell her daughter about the deal she had made. Not yet...





Back in the past, in the void that the Nightmare had created, the Nightmare continued its previous statement, “Your first daughter, I wish to be her.”

This request caught the aged mare off guard, “What, h-How?”

The Nightmare chuckled. The confused look on Rarity’s face was most entertaining, something she was sure to rub in while she still had the chance, “Simple, just mate with that handsome dragon of yours while in heat~”

Rarity snapped, peeved at the nightmare’s playful attitude, “That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

The dark figure smiled coyly, winking at the elder mare, “I must say Rarity. Seeing the life you have lived, the way you shared your days with your lover and friends, it has made me a tad jealous.”

The creature gave a slightly pained expression as the world around them seemed to become smaller by the minute. Not that the white unicorn had paid any mind to it. She was more focused on the dark being that stood before her, “I… I wish I could have a life like that, you know?”

Suddenly, the nightmare stepped forward, clasping one of the Unicorn’s hooves in her own as tears began to well up in her eyes. It was getting hard for her to speak, her concentration split between holding the darkness back and keeping this shrinking world from collapsing entirely, but she did so anyway, “Please, give birth to me. Give me a body of my own…”

She pleaded, no longer holding back the tears, “I want to have my own body, my own life, my own destiny. One I don’t have to steal from anypony else.”

“I am your waning shadow. A shade that sought to snuff out the light and failed. As I am now, I am destined to return to darkness, but… I don’t want to fade away. I don’t want to be just another dark spot in history, I want to be my own mare.”

By now, the encroaching darkness had all but consumed them. It was the end, but it was also a beginning. Rarity stepped closer, moving a hoof to wipe away the Nightmare’s tears, “Please stop crying. There is no need for tears.”

“It’ll be alright.”

The old mare comforted the darkness, much to her surprise. The world started to seem a little brighter now as Rarity held the nightmare in a warm embrace, “It’s not like your sins can’t be forgiven…”

Now both mares were crying. Even as the world around them was swallowed up by the light, they remained there, together, “I’ve decided… I will be your mother, my little nightmare.”

“M-Mom.”

The last thing the Nightmare had heard that day was this, “Happy Re-birthday, my daughter…”





Meanwhile, in some other location, there was a young dragon laying in front of a tombstone. He was in the graveyard, crying over his lost love. The headstone beared the name Rarity, and at it's 'feet' was a fresh mound of dirt where she had been buried. She had been gone for a while now, already buried in a coffin made of hard stone. The soft sound of hoofsteps alerted that the dragon was not alone. There was another mare, this one was a younger Twilight.

She was a bit more casual than normal, going without her more regal attire, or the outfit she had worn to the funeral she had attended earlier that day. She frowned, watching Spike in silence as he continued to cry his eyes out. She had wanted to let him grieve, as well do so herself, but she had seen enough. She sighed, “Spike, it’s getting cold out. I think it’s time to come home.”

She took a step closer to the young dragon, “Even if you stayed here forever, it won’t change the fact that she’s… She’s gone.”

The words left a sour taste in her mouth after saying them. In all honesty, she couldn’t really believe it either, but she had to stay strong. For Spike, for those that Rarity had left behind. Spike groaned, looking back at the Alicon, “I know but… I just can’t… It hurts so much!”

They were both about to speak up in protest when a sudden banging caught their attention. Suddenly, the earth beneath the dragon rumbled as the lid to the stone casket forced its way to the surface, flinging both it and Spike through the air. Dark hooves slunk out of hole, shaky and uneven. Soon, a head popped out, followed by an upper body. A dark creature that had forced its way out of the hole and onto solid ground. It flicked its purple mane out of its face, letting it breathe in fresh air as if it hadn’t done so in a long time.

“Air! Sweet fresh air… Don’t ever leave me again…”

It groaned, “I nearly died a second time because of you…”

“N-nightmare!?”

Twilight took an offensive stance, horn glowing at the dark figure that was the Nightmare, “You have a lot of nerve Nightmare, using my friends body to-”

She didn’t even get to finish that thought, as the dark nightmare had already stood up and tackled a recovering Spike to the ground once again, “Spikey-wikey~!”

Spike was quite confused, and rightfully so. This dark creature was now nuzzling him affectionately in a familiar way. Putting two and two together, he asked, “Rarity? Is that really you?”

Rarity pulled away, giggling like a little school filly, “The one and only, Darling~”

It was now Twilight’s turn to be confused. She looked over the restored form of her friend with a stunned expression on her face as the nightmare pony made out with the dragon, “Rarity, how did you-"

A sudden realization struck her, confirmed by a quick scan of her friend's body, "You're a Nightmare Pony?!”

Rarity pulled herself away from a now unconscious Spike, looking back at the Alicorn with a small smile on her muzzle, “Indeed... The Nightmare gave me her power so that I would come back to life. In exchange, she wants me to give birth to her, to give her a body of her own.”

Twilight took a moment to process all of this new information. Her friend was dead a minute ago, and now stands before her with powerful dark magics at her command, all because a she-demon wants to have her own body. It was a lot to take in, she wasn’t sure what to do.. There was one thing she could be certain of, however, “Rarity… You know making deals like that is dangerous, right?”

Her response was cold and resolute, “But of course.”

What Rarity said next shocked Spike awake and left Twilight speechless, “That is why I must leave Ponyville.”

It was three long minutes before Twilight could even form a question in response, “A-are you sure you have to Rarity?”

Rarity nodded, her mind made up, “It is for the best. For me, for my daughter… For everypony.”

Rarity looked up at the dragon who had now recovered from his spill not that long ago, “Spike… Will you come with me?”

As if she needed to ask, he smiled widely, “For you, Rarity, I’d go anywhere.”

Before they could leave, Twilight had asked last question, one that couldn’t be left unanswered, “Rarity. Should we at least tell Sweetie Belle and the others that you are alive first?”

The nightmare pony turned back to the Alicorn, shaking her head as she pulled Twilight into a good-bye hug, “Please don’t… I wouldn’t want to upset them any more than they already are.”

She muttered, “Right…”

Twilight was still shaken by the sudden turn of events. There was a part of her that wanted to stop Rarity and Spike from leaving, but she knew that as a friend, she had to let them do this. It wasn't her place to tell them what they could not do and what they could. In fact, she saw some logic in the idea of them leaving. Ponies would be afraid of them, afraid of her. This was a life she was willing to choose. 

The nightmare pony sighed softly, holding the slightly smaller pony close to her, “Goodbye Twilight. I hope we’ll meet again someday.”

As the two left side by side, dragon and nightmare pony, Rarity pondered just what they were going to do with their lives now. Starting over wasn’t going to be easy, so having a family would need to be on hold for a little while, but thanks to her new powers, she had all the time she’d need. Twilight frowned, feeling that she had just lost two friends that night. Now she had to come up with an explanation for why Spike wouldn't be coming home that night...





Back in the present once again, the sun had already set as Rarity and her daughter met up with Spike and Twilight on the hill. As if she didn’t already have a lot to think about, Spike had popped a question to her she hadn’t expected. He asked if she wanted to stay.

“Stay in Ponyville!?”

Her reaction was quite understandable, given how things were when they had left, “But, that’s too dangerous. What about-”

Twilight chuckled softly, making her peace known, “By my title as the Princess of Friendship, I promise that I’d protect you and your family should you decide to stay. You are under my protection. Things are different now, trust me.”

Spike didn’t seem like he needed much convincing, “Come on Rarity, we can make this place our home again. You could open a store, become a fashion designer again.”

Seems like Spike was beginning to like the sound of that idea, his words becoming more resolute as he went on. Their daughter didn’t need any convincing either. It seems that she was tired of being a vagrant too, “A home? Would that mean I can finally have my own room? I vote yes!”

Rarity seemed nervous about how quickly they had made up their minds, but there wasn’t much she could do to change that. Not now anyway… She sighed, defeated, “If you both really want too, we’ll try settling down here.”

Twilight looked up at the rising moon and sighed, motioning for them to follow her, “It’s a little late to do anything right now. How about you all stay at my castle for now, we can talk about your house and store in the morning.”

Spike nodded, standing up and following the princess, followed by the rest of his family. Despite being the first to get up and follow Twilight, he soon became the slowest one in the group. It was only natural, as he was also the largest of them. He smiled at his daughter’s enthusiasm, it was as infectious as the common cold, “So we’re going to be sleeping at a Princess’ Castle? This is the best day ever!”

Spike leaned in slightly to ask her a question, that that made her flip out, “Did I ever tell you that I used to work there?”

“What? No way! Dad, you’re awesome.”

He grinned, ruffling her green mane, “I’ll be sure to remind you that later.”

“Dad!”

As the two of them joked about this and that, Twilight drew Rarity off to the side a bit and whispered, “Rarity… Does she… Remember anything about being, well… A Nightmare?”

Rarity shook her head gently, answering likewise in a whisper, “Not a thing… No dark powers either. That’s a good thing in my book, wouldn’t want my daughter to have the mind of such an old mare trapped in such a young body. Who know what kind of trouble she’d get into.”

Her answer seemed to calm Twilight down a bit as they approached the rear of the castle. Going around towards the front door, she stated, catching Spike and the young Unicorn’s attention, “Welcome to my Castle. While you’re here, please make yourselves at home.”

The Unicorn beamed, marveling at the size of the castle now that she is seeing it up close, “Wow, it’s huge!”

Spike snickered as he opened the door for the group, “Trust me, it’s a lot bigger on the inside.”

That comment got an eye roll from Twilight and a playful giggle out of Rarity. Clearly it was time for bed when jokes like that start flying around. Twilight had skipped the tour of the castle, opting instead to show them to thier rooms. At Spike and Rarity's suggestion, thier daughter's room was close by, but not too close. She seemed happy with that, as it was better than having to share a room with them or nearly just as bad, sleep in a room next to them. With a smile, she bid them goodnight and went off towards her royal chambers.

She mused, "A daughter, huh? I wonder if she has an eye for fashion like her mother does."

The alicorn stopped at the door to her room, her eyes closed as she thought more on the subject of Spike and Rarity's daughter. Chuckling, she placed a hoof on the door, "Seems like AJ's joke about a new Mane 6 wasn't a bunch of hoo hah after all... Let's hope this one lasts longer than mine."
> Crazy Future Part2: The more things change...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a good night’s rest, Rarity stretched her limbs as she headed out towards one of the many castle balconies. Last night was a long one and not all of her legs had entirely woken up just yet. Despite her sluggish movements, she was able to arrive at the balcony in a time manner, just in time to see the beautiful sunrise. It was a new day, the first one in a new chapter of her life.

Sighing, she continued to watch the sun rise as she waited for the others to wake. Her hooves rested lazily over the edge of the balcony as an Alicorn approached her from behind. She didn’t need to guess who it was, this was her castle after all. Rarity turned her head back towards the mare and smiled, “Good morning Twilight.”

Twilight yawned with a stretch. Seemed like she had a rough night too, “Good morning Rarity… You’re up early.”

She nodded in response, stating in a matter-of-fact tone, “It’s a habit of mine. While out in the wild, we had to be alert at all times. It has kept us alive for a long time.”

“I can imagine.”

Rubbing her eyes, she looked around the balcony, as if expecting somepony to be with her. That thought was confirmed when she asked the slightly taller nightmare pony, “Hey, where’s the rest of your family? Still asleep?”

Rarity nodded, turning towards her friend with a mischievous look on her face, “Indeed, my poor deer Spikey-wikey was exhausted last night. I couldn’t bear to wake him just yet, so I let him sleep.”

That mischievous grin turned to one of annoyance as she brought up her daughter, “And my daughter. Well, she went to bed way too late because of all the books you gave her.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her friend, a little confused by the hybrid’s actions, “Late? But I didn’t give her that many books to read, just enough to help her get to sleep.”

“She went to sleep alright Darling, in a fort made of books.”

The Alicorn chuckled nervously as she made her way for the door leading back into the castle, “Right… Anyway, I’m going to go get something for breakfast, want to come with me?”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to raise an eyebrow, a little befuddled. She hadn’t seen anypony else around the castle, so that would mean that either Twilight had learned how to cook since they last met up, or they’d be going out to eat. Following her in, she asked, “Twilight, you are a Princess here in Ponyville, don’t you have any servants to help you around the castle?”

Twilight smiled, shaking her head, “Nope… I prefer to do everything myself, just like I always have.”

At least Twilight had the power to actually do all the daily chores around here by herself, such is the power of an Alicorn. Rarity admitted that Twilight looked like she had really grown into her royal slippers while being all alone for the last hundred years. It was a good thing too, she can’t stay the young naive princess forever. It was starting to make Rarity a little self conscious about her own development since she left ponyville with spike all those years ago.

How much had she grown? Sure, she had gained plenty of survival skills and learn a lot about her dark powers, but outside that, what does she have to show for it? A beautiful daughter, that is what! Even after all this time in the wilderness and other places she could hardly recall, her daughter was a fine lady, one that she hoped would fit into pony society far better than she could.





Soon, Rarity found herself walking through the streets of Ponyville with Twilight in tow. She had nearly forgotten what they came here for, things were so different, so new to her. Figures, that is what happens when you come back to a town after a hundred years, things are bound to change, “Wow! I hardly recognize this place. Has it really been a hundred years?”

Twilight chuckled as she followed the taller pony. She expected this sort of reaction from her friend, it was only natural, “Well, time has a way of changing things Rarity. Reminds me a bit of Luna when she had returned. To her, a thousand years had passed. She was in a whole new world when we first met her.”

“Indeed…”

Rarity paused, thinking over Twilight’s analogy. The logic in that was sound, as Twilight’s logic usually is. She smiled, looking at her companion with an inquisitive expression on her face, “So, what is first on today's list, Twilight?”

“Simple, get  something to eat with the morning coffee. Maybe a doughnut, or a muffin.”

That sounded about right. She’d probably have something similar. Perhaps she’s have Pinkie’s special to- She paused. Right, Pinkie Pie. She was certainly long gone by now. That old mare had her way with pastries and parties. She sighed,  thinking aloud, “I wonder if Sugar cube corner is still open…”

As Twilight was responding to Rarity, somepony had their sights set on the dark pony. The figure grinned as they sat their binoculars down, taking the time to load a strange cylindrical object with its explosive ordnance. Lighting up their sights and taking aim, they fired at the Nightmare pony. A rocket flew there the air, arcing upward as it neared its target and exploded. There was a cacophony of chaos as the rocket unleashed it payload of confetti, balloons and party hats.

This sudden explosion of sights and sounds startled the mares, Rarity having actually jumped back in shock. The guffawing of a mare caught their attention. Out of instinct, Rarity scolded the pony, “That wasn’t funny Pinkie!”

“I’m flattered you confused me with my great-great grandmare Pinkie pie, but i’m not her.”

A milky white pegasus flew out of her hiding place to meet them. There were a few things that Rarity had quickly noticed about the strange mare. That familiar poofy hair, three balloons as her cutiemark, if it weren’t for the differing color scheme, she honestly would have confused her with her friend. She was definitely related to Pinkie, no doubt about it. The mare gave them a wide grin as she stowed away her party launcher, “I am Super Surprise, the great and powerful party planner of Ponyville!”

Great and powerful, huh? If it weren’t for the goofy grin and flourish she added to that statement,it could have been believable. Pinkie Pie did have her strange talents… As if to confirm her beliefs, Rarity asked, “She looks so much like… Is she?”

Despite the lack of a finished sentence, Twilight understood what she was going for and nodded, “Yep, she is Pinkie’s descendant alright.”

She gulped, having noticed just how much of an impact this scare had on them, “Hey Rarity… If you don’t mind, can you be a dear and bring back the day’s sky? It’s looking a little… Strange.”

And indeed it was. One could see the sun and the moon high in the sky, having been moved out of place by the Nightmare pony’s fright. Seems that she didn’t have a complete grasp of her powers after all. Her cry called out to the dark side of the moon and drew it towards her, as strange as that is, “Oh! I’m so sorry Twilight, I don’t know how I lost control like that…”

Twilight chuckled nervously as Rarity attempted to return the moon to it’s rightful place, “It’s okay Rarity. These things happen. If Celestia asks, I’ll blame Discord.”

She’ll believe that, right? After all, it is Discord. Super nearly gave Rarity another surprise as she exclaimed, perhaps a little too closely to her ear, “Wow, you can control the moon too?”

“Hmmm… Looks like your aim is off though.”

If the shout didn’t surprise her now, what Super Surprise did next certainly did. She had bent Rarity over, pointing her at the sky as if she were some sort of gun or crossbow. Actually, it was more like a shotgun, as she had cocked Rarity’s neck and prepared to fire. She even made a sound to accompany it, “Here, let me help, i’m really good at aiming!”

Just how the smaller mare was able to carry and point the much larger and heavier nightmare pony was beyond both Twilight and Rarity. Once the moon was in it’s proper place in the sky, far out of sight, Super Surprise had straightened up Rarity, leaving her vary confused as the pegasus crossed her hooves, satisfied with her work, “There, all better.”

When Rarity had recovered from the shock of these events, Super Surprise had presented them with a bag full of muffins, “Now that that is done, here are those coffee-time muffins you wanted! Free of charge, consider it welcome to Ponyville gift.”

She gave a wink to the elder mare as she handed them off, “I hope your husband and daughter enjoy them just as much as I did baking them.”

Before Rarity could even thank her, the strange mare had pulled out a grappling hook and soared off with it, “Have a nice day Princess, Aunty Rarity~”

“Say hi to Spike and Sparity for me!”

Bewildered, Rarity turned and asked her friend, “Did I ever mention my family to her?”

Twilight grinned, “Nope.”

“Then how did she-”

Twilight shook her head, laughing, “It’s a surprise?”

Rarity sighed, “Yeah, a surprise…”

She had one last question on her mind about the strange mare. Hoping Twilight had an answer, she asked, “Why did she use a grappling hook if she could fly?”

Twilight shrugged, “That’s Surprise for ya, always a surprise.”

While the two of them went to find a place to settle down and eat their muffins, Twilight engaged Rarity in some friendly banter, “So, your Daughter’s name is Sparity?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at the Alicorn, “Didn’t I mention that before?”

“Nope, not in this medium anyway.”

Twilight clamped a hoof over her mouth, realizing her mistake. It happened again. Thankfully, Rarity seemed oblivious to her last comment, “If I had to hazard a guess, Spike was the one who picked out the name?”

There was a nodd of confirmation, “I figured that it would only be fair, as I had already given her everything else.”

Twilight smirked, playfully punching Rarity on the shoulder, “That’s sweet of you. As silly as they can be sometimes, he really enjoys naming things.”

The Alicorn’s ears twitched briefly before she frantically dug a hole, much to the surprise of Rarity.

“Dig a hole!”

That shout was all the warning Rarity had before a streak of rainbow flew through the streets of Ponyville, narrowly missing Twilight. Suddenly, it pulled 180 mid air and slammed hard into the nightmare Pony. It knocked the wind out of her, but she’d be fine. Twilight gasped as she jumped out of her hole, a look of concern adorned her muzzle as she looked between her fallen friend and her assailant, “How many times do I have to tell you not to fly through the town at such a high speed?”

The pegasus looking pony chuckled as she touched down, “It’s not my fault she didn’t use ‘Dig’ to avoid me.”

Twilight glared at her, “She doesn’t know that move yet.”

Rarity grunted softly as she got to her hooves, “It’s alright Twilight. A pony of my level isn’t so easily defeated… Who is she anyway?”

The pegasus gave her a smug grin as she stated something that would seem obvious to the average pony that lived here, “You must be new here. That would explain why you couldn’t dodge my sick moves.”

The mare lifted up her goggles, giving Rarity a good view of her strange eyes. They were sort of a cross between yellow and red, almost pink. It was a little mesmerizing to look at, much to the pegasus’ enjoyment. The twig in her mouth suggested she had quite an attitude, and indeed, she did. The mare grinned, flaring her wings in a showboaty fashion, “The name’s Aerial Ace, best stunt flyer in the Ponyville Kingdom.”

Aerial Ace sounded about right. Looking closely, her tri-color mane and tail seemed almost as exotic as her eyes. Those curves, her contours, she had the body of an athlete as well as a model! Already, thoughts about a new fashion line swirled in Rarity’s mind as she envisioned the pegasus showing off dresses and other fashionable accessories as she gracefully, albeit hastily flew by potential customers in Ponyville. She wondered if Ace would consider modeling for her, however, that would need to be put off to the side for now, she hasn’t even set up her business yet and here she was fantasizing about what sort of clothes she’d create next. Truly, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Suddenly, Aerial stood in front of Rarity, hoof held out offering her a potion of some kind, “Here, take this potion. I bought it from a zebra alchemist, it’s pretty good stuff.”

Accepting it, Rarity asked her, “Is it a healing potion?”

She grinned, nodding in affirmation. Rarity was impressed, momentarily, “Do you always carry one on you? Looks like somepony cares about safety after all.”

Aerial ace plucked the twig out of her mouth and gave her a wide grin, “Actually, those are for the ponies I bump into.”

That statement sent alarm bells off in Rarity’s head, “Wait, how many ponies have you crashed into?”

Ace returned the twig  as she lowered her goggles once more. It would appear she was getting ready for take off, “Sorry baby, lost count.”

Aerial Ace showed a remarkable acceleration rate as she peeled out, already gone in a proverbial flash of light. Rarity didn’t understand what Ace had said upon take off as she was too fixated on Ace calling her baby. That irked her.

“Tsubame Gaeshi! Everypony dig a hole!”

The latter part she was able to actually understand. No doubt Ace was going to need more potions by the end of the day. In an attempt to clear her mind, she just laughed, “Just like Rainbow Dash… I’m sure she’d be proud.”

It had been so long since she heard Twilight that she started to wonder what she had been doing. Turns out, she was busy fixing the hole she had dug just recently, only taking a break momentarily to address Rarity’s comment, “Actually, she isn’t Rainbow’s descendant.”

That statement made Rarity’s jaw hit the ground harder than when she was taken out by Aerial Ace, “What?”


Twilight grinned, nearly done with her work, “Yeah. She’s actually Spitfire, Soarin, Daring and Ahuizotl’s descendent.”

Well, at least she had a good pedigree, but who was that last one? It was a name she didn’t recognize, but it probably wasn’t all that important anyway, so she dropped it. Instead, she focused on Rainbow Dash, “So, who is Rainbow’s Descendent?”

Twilight deadpanned, “Rarity, you were there the day she died, remember?”

They stood in silence for a few brief moments as the nightmare pony tried to remember more about the incident, and her friend.

“Filly fooler?”

“Yes.”

“Ok.”

“...”

“....”

“...”

Seeking to dispel the awkward silence between them, Twilight offered a suggestion, “H-hey! Let’s go buy some apples.”





It didn’t take them long to reach their next destination with a nervous Twilight leading the way. They were now in the market district, where various vendors awaited curious ponies to buy their wares. They approached an apple stand, where many apples of different kinds were being shown off, “Here we are, the Apple stand.”

Rarity beamed, “Is Sweet Apple Acres still in business?”

Twilight nodded, grinning ear to ear, “Yep, rain or shine, the Apple family will always be there.”

Stepping up to the stand, the Alicorn looked at their selection for the day, “Let’s see…”

The pony at the stand was a dark mare, her dark purple mane and hat covering most of her features as she didn’t look the two in the eye, but she tried to be friendly, “”W-welcome to our little apple stand P-princess… What can I get y-you?”

Rarity eyed the labels of the apple curiously, “This is quite a selection. When did they start selling all of these different kinds of apples?”

Twilight smiled, always willing to impart knowledge unto those that asked for it, “A while back the owner of Sweet Apple Acres decided to expand their range of products by planting new trees on their property. The apples they bore were named after the ponies ancestors.”

Rarity set the apple she was admiring down a moment to look at her friend, eyebrow raised in confusion, “Wait… Weren’t the Apples named after different types of apples anyway?”

Rarity’s statement caught Twilight off guard, “Honestly, I never really paid that much attention to all their names and products. I blame the reunion...”

Turning back to the vendor, Twilight ordered her apples, “I’ll take five apples of each kind you have today.”

The mare behind the counter shakily counted out the number of apples, fifteen in total and held out the bag to her. For once, Rarity was able to get a good look at the mare’s face. Her eyes were quite striking. A wonderful shade of light blue. She couldn’t quite place a hoof on where she saw them before, but those eyes were familiar to her.

“H-here are your apples, Princess… I hope y-you’ll enjoy them.”

The way the mare was staring at Rarity was beginning to make her uncomfortable. She leaned over and whispered to Twilight, “Is she scared of me?”

Twilight shrugged, lifting the bag of apples in her magical grasp, “Maybe, but I doubt it’s because of you being a nightmare. She’s usually like this around all new ponies.”

She smiled, looking back at the mare behind the counter, “Hey Eden, I would like to introduce you to my old friend Rarity. Actually, she was also your great-great grandmare’s friend too.”

The mare blinked in surprise, her mood brightening a bit, “Y-you mean she isn’t dead? Oh my… I’m so sorry about how I acted. I’m Apple Eden, nice to meet you!”

Rarity asked, “What does she mean by ‘not dead’?”

Twilight’s smile devolved into a nervous grin as she gave Rarity an answer, “She sees things. Things that most ponies can’t.”

“I see…”

As the two ponies left the stand behind, apples in tow, Rarity commented on the mare, “She seems like an earth pony version of Fluttershy.”

“Honestly, you’d be right in that regard, just don’t underestimate her. While she may seem like Fluttershy on the surface…”

Twilight motioned for Rarity to look again. Doing so, she saw a sight she hadn’t expected. Apple Eden had just hoisted up the whole stand to help a pony retrieve their lost money after it had rolled around on the ground. The sight alone terrified her.

“She can give even Big Mac a run for his money.”

Rarity hastily walked away, trying to get the thought of that monstrous strength out of her mind. Soon after, they had arrived at the center of town, finally able to relax and not run into and strange ponies. Rarity sighed, wanting to vent her turbulent thoughts. A lot has happened to day, and it’s not even noon yet.

“This is really strange…”

Twilight paused, looking at her best friend, “What is strange?”

Rarity closed her eyes as she looked down at the ground, “I’m a nightmare pony, a monster, and yet… No pony seems to be afraid of me at all.”

Twilight reach out and put a hoof on her friend's shoulder reassuringly, “That’s because this is Ponyville. My Kingdom… Meeting other species is normal around here, what with everypony coming to learn about friendship and togetherness.”

She beamed, “Forgiveness and second chances are our thing. Ponyville has become a real role-model kind of town for friendship. It’s my duty as the Princess of Friendship to spread this magic all across the land.”

She really has grown up to be a fine princess. Looking around, Rarity saw the fruits of her friends labor. Dragons, griffons, diamond dogs. They were all there, singing together, living together. It was almost too good to be true. But it was true. And thank Celestia it was. They smiled, finally beginning to enjoy their day as they sat and ate apples together. 

Once that was finished, Twilight stood up and stated, “I think we’re done here, let’s head back to the castle.”

Rarity nodded in agreement. Spike and Sparity were probably up by now, and she wondered what they were going to do with their day, “Those apples tasted pretty good. I was so hungry, I could probably have eaten a whole orchard.”

“Since when did you start talking like Spike?”

Rarity laughed, “Since when did you get a sense of humor?”

Twilight snorted, “About ninety seven years ago.”

They shared a good laugh as they passed an old familiar tree. Stopping, Rarity read the sign on the door. Indeed, this place was familiar, “Golden Oaks library? Hmmm… I think I recall the day we helped rebuild-er… Regrow it? Tree houses have always confused me.”

Twilight smiled, pointing up at the tree’s canopy above, “Yeah… It’s grown quite nicely. I may have my castle now, but this town, it needed it’s library.”

Rarity looked between Twilight and the sign, a small smirk forming on her lips, “So… I wonder who the new librarian is. Last time I was here, Spike was the one taking care of things while you were busy with your princess duties.”

Twilight sighed, “Well, that would be my son… He lives here, mostly because he loves books as much as did when I was his age.”

She shrugged turning away from the ‘On Business’ sign on the door, “It’s a shame he isn’t home right now. I would have loved to introduce you to him.”

“A son?”

Rarity beamed, getting closer to the Alicorn, “Does that mean you have a coltfriend now?”

Now it was Rarity’s turn to playfully punch Twilight, teasing, “You were still single when I died, don’t tell me it took you this long to find a lover?”

Twilight started to blush, looking away in embarrassment, “Come on Rarity, i’m not that much of a hopeless romantic.”

Rarity disrespected Twilight’s personal bubble by getting in her face, something she usually does when she hears some juicy gossip. It’s been a long time coming, but now she can finally hear about Twilight’s exploits in romance. Sadly, she wouldn’t hear any now, even ask she asked the hotly blushing mare, “So, who is the lucky stallion?”

Tears were welling up in Twilight’s eyes as she tried to shy away from the taller mare, “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

“Why not dear?”

And now, a heart wrenching tale, written by the Princess of Friendship! It wasn’t easy for Twilight to explain all this, but thankfully she was with an understanding friend.

“Rarity, I’m a princess, the waifu of so many ponies in equestria and beyond. They love and adore me too much to accept any ship I am sailed on. I am grounded. Anchored by the fact that they would hate my lover, like they hated Flash Sentry.”

She gritted her teeth, tears filling up her shut eyes, threatening to overflow.

“We had to go our separate ways. It was either that or watch him cave under the pressure my subjects would put him through. I didn’t want that for him. I don’t want to make the same mistake again, to hurt another pony with my love.”

The dam that was her eyelids started to crack, salty tears trickling down her cheeks like a small stream does the earth.

“If they knew who he was, they would condemn him. Say we shouldn’t be together… They would taunt him, insult him… I love him Rarity, I love him with all of my heart, but I don’t want that for him. The pain…”

Rarity pulled the Alicorn close as the dam broke. She didn’t know anything about the whole ‘waifu’ term, but she did know that this had a significant impact on her best friend. tears flowed freely down Twilight’s muzzle as she cried out, “Why? Why is it so wrong for me, a princess, to love somepony? I just want to love somepony and be me… I just want to love.”

There were a few observers around them, but Rarity made sure that Twilight would have the time she needed to calm down. She deserved better, but that was all that could be afforded for now.
> Crazy Future Part 3: The dragon and the book
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a small cottage in Trottingham, an elderly pegasus pony lay asleep in his bed. Dawn had just broke, but Celestia’s sun light had yet to filter through the cracked blinds at the window and bring a new day to this old pony. Soon, light trickled in, casting long shadows across the ground that slithered menacingly about the room before settling the Pony’s face. He gasped softly as the suffocating darkness overcame him. He appeared to be panicking, tossing and turning in his sleep. The Pegasus jumped up, awoken with a start just as the light had illuminated the darkness that had nearly done him in. He panted as he searched the room for what had assailed him.

As strange a sight this must have been, his expression was as serious as a bug bear attack. He spoke gruffly as he ran a hoof through his beard, “Another one… I cannot ignore this any longer.”

As he stepped over to the window to open the blinds, he called out to another in the house, “Lady Quercus, fetch me Caliburn… We are needed in the west!”

A feminine voice called out from some other room. It was loud, yet dignified, much like a royal guard’s voice while on duty. Stout and serious. Just like the pegasus would expect in this situation. The elder opened the blinds and looked out grimly at the silent streets of Trottingham, just barely catching a glimpse of the fleeing darkness as it begins to cower in fear in every nook and cranny. Celestia’s sun bought one more day of peace once again, but for how much longer?



Meanwhile, somewhere in the deepest depths of the Castle of Friendship, an amethyst smoke colored unicorn stirred. The subtle sound of paper tearing could be heard as he attempted to remove himself from his awkward position at a work bench. There lay many secrets within its crystal halls. Trap doors, hidden passageways, and yes, secret rooms. These rooms hold many things, from important documents to dangerous enchanted artifacts. Thankfully, most secrets are kept locked tight for the Princess's eyes only. Little did she know, her own son has his own secrets, secrets that he tries desperately to keep hidden within her castle. This work room, like many others, were but one secret. Another, more dangerous secret lay beneath still. It was a book, but not just any book. It was a Tome filled to the brim with grim prophecies of the future. Do not be fooled by the crayons and jelly stains, if there was one thing anypony should take seriously it is the predictions of a misses Pinkamena Diane Pie.

The Unicorn had poured a lot of his time and energy into uncovering the secrets of the book, so much so that some of his other projects had to be put on hold. Naturally, being a pony of logic, her bizarre way of writing perplexed him at first, with with a few hints from Surprise and his mother, he managed to decode some of the book, but as one might expect, he didn’t like what he found. He rubbed his temples with a hoof, trying to rid himself of the pain in his eyes and face. He made a mental note to actually make it into bed tonight and stood up from his work bench, leaving the book behind on the table.

“Sir Dawn, you are finally awake. Shall I prepare your late morning coffee?”

The Unicorn known as Alternate Dawn, scoffed at the idea. He was too mad for that right now, “I am not a Sir… Owly, you were supposed to take me up hours ago. What happened?”

The Castle’s AI, Owly, didn’t respond at first, as if contemplating its response. When it did respond, it stated, “I am sorry Sir, but i’ve been busy dealing with your mother’s new guests. Some of them had a lot of demands that needed to be met.”

Alter left the room concealing the Book of Prophecies behind as he entered his room with the intent on starting his day, “New guests, huh? That doesn’t happen too often. What’s the occasion?”

“I believe they are some old friends from out of town.”

The Unicorn chuckled softly as he went through a box of ties. If he was going to be meeting some of his mother’s friends, he might as well try to get presentable. As he looked at himself in a mirror, he asked, “What are they like? Details please.”

Owly stated without hesitation. It was as if it knew he was going to ask that, “A dragon and two ponies. Parents and child. The dragon is purple with green spines. The elder pony is a dark ebony with three gemstones as her cutiemark and a long flowing purple mane, while the other is as white as milk, blank flanked, and green maned.”

“Huh… Well, mom always did have strange tastes in friends. Take Pinkie Pie for example.”

He sighed, thinking back to the book as he sometimes found himself doing, “I've read this book a hundred times, and I still can't make heads or tails of it."

Despite it being in the other room, his gaze was still drawn in its direction. Mysteries were something he hated leaving unsolved, and that book was the biggest mystery anypony could ever solve in their lives. If he was right, it had predicted the meeting of all of his friends so far and what their purpose would be in the coming years, and yet he was no closer to knowing why. Why did this book detail these events long after the pink party pony had perished?

He tossed aside another tie. None of them were really his style anyway. Sighing, he went over to the wall and opened up a panel, revealing a secret treasure within. It was the Elements of harmony, or rather, a version of them that he had devised. Seeing as the Elements couldn’t be removed from the Tree of Harmony and new threats were arising in Equestria all the time, there had to be some way to deal with them without needing to rely on some strange rainbow power all the time. His solution was these, the Lite versions of them. While they lack the knock out punch the original elements had, these copies can take on foes individually while all of the originals were needed to stop them in their tracks. Versatility over power… Sometimes the cost is worth it.

To his surprise, some of them had been missing already. Slipping on the Element of Magic, he asked, “Ace and LJ were here earlier, weren't they?”

“A possessed creature has been spotted near Sweet Apple Acres. LJ was dispatched nearly half an hour ago, and Ace had received word and went to assist.”

The Unicorn cursed as he closed the panel. They shouldn’t have gone alone, he should be out there with them, “You really should have woke me sooner Owly.”

The A.I. remained silent, letting him fume. After a few brief moments, he calmed down. Running a hoof through his mane, he stated to himself, “Don’t worry about it Alter, they’ll be fine. The two of them junction together well. They can handle this… Just try to get through the day and don’t do anything that will make the dragon mad at you.”

As he headed for the exit, he went over a mental checklist of the things he’d need to do today, but just to be sure, he ran it by Owly, “First, i’m going to need to check the kitchen to make sure my mom didn’t forget to stock it for our guests, scan the Cutiemap to make sure no emergencies have appeared…”

He paused, hoof on the door, “Besides the monster at the Farm.”

Stepping out into the hall, he continued, “Check the library for any new books and returns. Check MY Library for any new books and returns. Then come back for a status report from LJ and Ace, if they make it back before supper that is. Knowing them, they might not. Does that sound about right?”

The A.I. made a ding noise, indicating a correct answer. However, before he could thank it, it stated, “Actually, you may wish to check the library first. The younger pony is an avid bookworm. I think you may have a new friend on your hooves.”

“I see… Since when was friendships your concern?”

The A.I. snarked, “Since your mother had both of us made.”

Alternate Dawn sighed, waving a hoof dismissively, “Okay, no need to get wise on me. Anything I should know before I should meet this pony?”

"They have found the romance novels."

That answer gave the Unicorn pause, frozen mid step, “They what?”

Owly repeated, “They have found the romance novels.”

The Unicorn scowled, bolting off down the call as he cried out, “Buck me! I just moved those to the restricted section. They’ll be all out of place if they put them back now!”

If Owly had eyes, it would be rolling them right now. If there was one thing that could set the male Unicorn off, it was how possessive he could be at time when it comes to his books.



Meanwhile, not too long ago, a lone dragon wandered through the crystal halls of the Castle of Friendship, a look of bewilderment adorning his features as he checked each room. Finding them to be empty, the dragon shouted in frustration, “Empty, empty, empty again…”

“Where are they?”

“Who?”

He paused, his eyes scanning the halls for the one who had asked him the question, “Twilight and Rarity?”

Spike had woken up alone this morning, something he hadn’t expected. Twilight’s room was empty, Sparity’s room was empty, all of these rooms were empty. It surprised him how sparse everything truly was. Twilight really wasn’t kidding when she said she was living alone. He was alone, save for that strange voice.

“Who?”

He would probably prefer to be alone right now. It was fairly aggravating, in a familiar way though. He couldn’t exactly put his claw on the feeling, not that he could even notice it at the moment. He was too focused on the annoying voice that kept asking him, ‘who?’

“What do you mean ‘who’? I was talking about Twilight and Rarity, you know-”

Realizing his mistake, he chuckled nervously, a small blush forming on his face, “Very funny Owly, I know it’s you.”

The voice called out again, its synthetic voice nearly surprising the dragon. It was a lot closer than before, “Sorry Spike, old habits die hard.”

It still amazes him just how much he remembered about this place, and yet her forgot about her? He crossed his arms, grinning as he addressed Owly, “It’s fine. I see you’re still around. How are things?”

“I am her number one assistant now. I hope you are not jealous, Spike.”

The dragon snorted a little flame, as if issuing a challenge, “Watch it Owly, I still know where your Core is.”

The A.I. gave a ‘chuckle’ in response, “Right.. Perhaps a peace offering will suffice. Hungry?”

Spike’s stomach rumbled, causing the dragon to give a nervous grin, “Well, the ‘workout’ I did last night has made me a bit peckish. Although, Twilight might not be too happy if I were to nibble on her castle walls.”

As the A.I. spoke, a door opened up, revealing a large table with a cake made out of strange looking gems sitting upon it, “Well then, this should suffice. I made a cake out of the gems we have been using to synthesize items and rebuild structures. Would you like a slice?”

If Owly had lips, they would certainly be in the shape of a wide grin right now, “Don’t worry, the cake is not a lie.”

The dragon started to drool as he stepped into the room, causing the A.I. to give an alert noise, panicking a little at his expression, “But please, do try not to eat the Plate and Table… Again.”



Meanwhile, with his daughter Sparity. She had just awoken and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes. That wasn’t the only thing she was removing from her eyes. She had to shake off books a plenty from her body, for they were her blanket that night. A true bibliophile she was, even more so than Alternate Dawn, though such a behavior was not lost on the Princess. Twilight Sparkle literally lived in a library and slept with books far more often than she did with colts.

Sighing, she flickered through her various sight abilities as she tried to gather her bearings, Thermal, normal, thermal, normal… Normal, she settled upon this as she placed her glasses on her muzzle. Looking about the room, she grinned sheepishly at the books that had been left haphazardly about the space, ‘I made quite a mess last night… Note to self, avoid binge reading late at night. Three books is plenty!’

She gathered up all the books and headed out towards the Library with the intent on returning them. It was a fairly easy task too, she just had to look for that one book that opened up the passage to the adult section. Such a silly thing really, having to hide books like these behind a bookcase. Surely all the warning signs on the door would be enough to keep foals out. Then again, a curious child tends to ignore warning such as those. Not safe for Woona, not safe for foals? Labels like that does incite curiosity What sort of things would one hide behind there?

Thankfully, she was old enough to find out. Grinning, she opened the door and stepped inside. Once in, she sat the rented books down on a desk and went over to where she had found the books last night and set up a little nook for herself so she can read in peace. A book on interspecies romance here, a classic romeo and juliet story there, she was all set. As she opened her first book, the sound of somepony muttering to themselves in the other aisle caught her attention, followed shortly by the sound of crashing books crushing some unfortunate soul.

Concerned, the mare peeked out from her nook and saw the hapless pony face down, rear up, covered in a thick layer of books. Stepping out from behind the bookcase, Sparity levitated the booked off of him. It was Alternate Dawn, though at the time, she had no way of knowing that just yet.

She asked, slight worry echoed in her tone, “Are you okay?”

Alter dusted himself off as he got to his hooves, “I’ll be fine, thanks…”

After shaking the dust out of his mane, the young stallion finally got a good look at the Unicorn that had saved him. White fur, green mane… She certainly fit Owly’s description. This was his book ‘thief’? Well, at least she wasn’t that young, otherwise he’d have a lot of explaining to do to his mom. He extended a hoof out to her in greeting, “I’m Alternate Dawn… I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. You new in town?”

Of course she was… If she wasn’t, he’d have known about her long ago. Second to Super Surprise, he knew the most ponies in town. The Mare shied away from his hoof, blushing, “Al-alternate Dawn? As in, Prince Dawn?”

The young prince waved his out stretched hoof dismissively, "I'd prefer if you didn't call me Prince. It makes me sound like i'm a snobbish noble..."

Setting hoof down, he added, “I’ve seen too many of those to want to be associated with the likes of them. Just call me Alter, for short.”

Alter put a hoof to his chin as he leaned in slightly. Something seemed quite off about this Unicorn. At first he had assumed that she was all Pony, given there was hardly a way she could be anything but knowing her parents, but he had to be sure, “What are you exactly? You look like a regular Unicorn, but I sense something… Different, about you.”
Now, Sparity was sweating bullets, taking a step back as the prince stepped forward, “Different, whatever do you mean?”

“Different, as in Interesting.”

He leaned in, placing a hoof on her chin as he lifted her face to his with the intent on stealing a kiss, “I simply must add you to my collection.”

And steal a kiss he did. While Sparity couldn’t deny that it was a good kiss, that didn’t mean that she enjoyed having her first kiss stolen by some random colt she just met, even if he was a prince. Alternate Dawn drew back, tasting the spit left behind on his lips. After a moment, he spoke aloud, “Spicy… Yet, Sweet. Hint of dragon and… Is that marshmellow?”

He chuckled softly, “A Hybrid? An interesting find indeed.”

His attention was swiftly stolen, much like that kiss, by said hybrid’s building rage, “My first kiss…”

With a roar, the hybrid known as Sparity summoned forth a strange crystal. It glowed with an otherworldly light as her form was enshrouded with brilliant wings, “You stole my first kiss!”

He paled, taking a step back as her transformation into a more draconic form became complete. Gone was the white pony from before, for she was now a white furred dragon. Her form was elegant, her purple spine like mane further accentuated her beauty. A deadly beauty, and she was staring him down…

“Die!”

“Oh buck me…”

Before he could dare turn away, she let loose a torrent of dragon fire, roasting him alive, “AHHHHHH!!!”

The dragon panted softly, eyes closing as she shifted back to her pony form, “There, that should be enough…”

There was a loud trotting coming up from her rear. It was Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, Sparity’s mother. It would appear that they had heard some of the commotion and came to investigate.

Her mother asked urgently, “What is going on, we heard shouting.”

The hybrid turned to her mother and waved a hoof, “It’s nothing mom, a perverted stallion just got burnt, that’s all.”

The normally dark looking Unicorn paled , looking almost like a ghost, “B-but… you’ve killed a pony!”

Sparity gave a look that was a cross between shock and disbelief, “Killed, no! I just punished him with a little dragon fire is all…”

Rarity pointed at a pile of ash that lay where Alter once stood, “But you turned the poor pony to ash!”

By now, the true weight of her misdeed fell on her like a ton of bricks, “I killed a pony…”

This fact terrified her to no end, so much so that all she could do was flail her limbs about as she spouted out her fears, “Does this mean i’m a villain? I don’t know how to be a villain… What would I even pack if I was banished to the moon? I don’t want to become a statue for a thousand years! What if I was sent to the badlands? I haven’t landed from a fall that high before… Idoubtevennormaldragonscansurviveinthefrozennorth!”

She fell to her knees, crying out to the heavens, “Please, don’t banish me to Tartarus!”

Just then, and angry looking Princess Twilight rounded a corner with a vary distressed looking Alternate Dawn in tow, “Owowow… Mom, not so hard, I need that ear!”

Sparity was dumbfounded as the Princess dropped off her son in front of her, “Y-you’re alive, but how!?”

Alter groaned softly, rubbing his left ear. Pained, he was still able to give an answer, “I used a substitution teleport.”

“Huh?”

Shaking his head, the Prince finally got some feeling back in his ear, “Basically I switched places with a life sized plush of me… It took the scorching flames for me.”

A doll? Him? Her curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, “Why do you even have a plush of yourself?”

“For emergency escapes. Why do you ask?”

He stated that so matter of factly. It couldn’t have been real! Could it? The naughty fantasies that came about from the thought of him with a life sized doll of himself made the hybrid blush crimson, “N-no reason!”

She pointed an accusatory hoof at him, “Besides… Why the buck did you kiss me? That really was my first kiss.”

Alter grinned nervously, running a hoof through his mane, “Sorry… I just really wanted you in my collection.”

She gasped, not knowing the true context of the situation, “You collect kisses from every mare you meet? That’s perverted…”

The stallion gave her a look of utter confusion, “Kisses? Why would I collect something like that?”

Sparity rammed her hoof into his muzzle and continued to question him, “Then what is with the kiss, huh?”

He countered, raising a hoof to boop her on the nose as he produced a tome filled with what looked like ID cards of some sort, “If you’d let me explain, it’s a part of a magic ritual that makes special ID cards. Take a look, this one is of you.”

He levitated one of the cards off of the tome’s pages and held it out for her to see. Indeed, it was a card of her. It even held some basic information on her, such as her race, gender, parents and surprisingly a small bit about her unique magics. Returning the card to him, she asked, “And you made it with a kiss?”

He nodded, stowing the card away in the tome as he gently held it out for her to examine, “Indeed. Though, it is a bit more than that. Think of each card as a data recorder, something that keeps track of your status as your live and grow. When read with a magical card reader, I can access the data within. DNA, magic capacity, blood type, the works.”

He beamed, “With this data, I could better heal a pony's injuries and even regrow lost limbs if need be. And that isn’t even touching what other advancements could be made in the name of science and medicine. A hybrid’s data like yours is extremely valuable, as it helps uncover secrets that life would normally keep hidden.”

“And you made it with a kiss… Was that the only way?”

Alternate Dawn blushed slightly, “Well, no, but you must admit, a kiss is a lot easier than sex, isn’t it?”

As the mare flipped through the pages, her blush returned in full force, “B-but… Some of these are stallions.”

She adjusted her glasses, “You’d kiss even them?”
Alternate Dawn nodded with pride, strangely enough, “I’d do just about anything in the name of wholesome science.”

She closed the book abruptly, a flash of anger appearing on her features once more, “Alright, fine… But that still doesn’t excuse the fact that you kissed me without my permission!”

Alternate Dawn sighed in annoyance, as if he had to explain this a hundred times, and knowing him, he probably did, “Don’t you think i’ve tried asking for permission? Well I have! It wasn’t pleasant… Some ponies called me a pervert, others avoided me like I was the plague after I asked. One even had the audacity to kick me in the balls, the balls!”

He shuddered, “You have no idea how much pain I had to endure for my studies… That’s why started surprise kissing ponies. Sometimes it is easier to come back and explain myself when I actually have their card in hoof than it is for them to take me at my word.”

He crossed his hoofs, huffing as the two elder ponies watched the action, looking on, “Besides, with how you reacted, I doubt you’d let me kiss you even if I had asked…”

Feeling the ‘sting’ of his kiss from earlier, she commented, “You’d be surprised. I would probably have given you a chance if you had just asked… It’s not like I find you handsome or anything.... Baka!”

His ears perked up at her comment, though he was a little oblivious to the latter end of that, “You would? Then may I please kiss you in your dragon form? It would help me greatly if I could get data on that too.”

This caught her off guard. Her and her big mouth… Sighing, she summoned forth her dragonstone once more and shifted forms, “Fine… By the dragon’s code, I can’t go back on my word… As offhooved it was.”

“But first…”

She turned around and glared at her mother, who was giving her best, ‘I ship it face’, "Would you please get rid of that 'I ship it' face? It's really creepy!"

Twilight laughed as she called out to her friend, “Come on Rarity, let’s leave the two alone now…”

“You two have fun ~<3 We’ll see you both at lunch.”

Sparity scoffed, turning back to Alternate Dawn, “What kind of parent even does that to their own daughter?”

The stallion shrugged, “Who knows… I don’t even understand my mom all the time.”

With them finally out of earshot, Alter stated, “Whenever you are ready…”

It took a few moments of mental preparation before the dragon/pony hybrid was able to lean in and kiss him. Unfortunately, she didn’t know how much of a kiss was needed, so she simply replicated what was done not that long ago. Hopefully that would be enough to satisfy the strange colt.

She drew away, waggling her tongue trying to get the taste of stallion out of her mouth. This action was a little strange to him of course, but he paid that little mind as he focused on crafting the card. Card now in hoof, he held it out to her, “There, done.”

She smiled softly, glad that it was all finally over, or so she thought. As he put the card away in the book he stated, “Hmmm… Your name is Sparity, right? I hate to ask you to do more than you already have, but I need you to do me one teensy weensy little favor.”

Oh joy… A favor. She groaned softly as she shifted back to her Unicorn form, “What?”

At least he was able to get her name right. Wait… She never said her name did she? She was about to question him as to how he knew her name, but recalled that was one of the things the cards had listed, her name. Suddenly feeling a little silly, she asked again, “What do you want?”

The male unicorn frowned, unsure of how she’d react to his request, “I have a bit of a problem. You see, i can make cards of other ponies just fine, but there is one card I haven’t actually been able to make. My own.”

So Alter couldn’t make a card for himself? While she could see the problem with that, she couldn’t actually wrap her head around why he can’t. This was something she had to find out about, “Okay, why?”

The answer was pretty simple, “Well, I can’t kiss myself.”

She facehoofed. The answer was simple, yet really dumb, “So?”

He shrugged in response, “Trust me, i’ve tried to make it, but I just can’t seem to do it without the aid of another Unicorn. Naturally, nopony wants to be involved with me, so it’s even harder. And i’m not going to ask my mom. That’d just be creepy as heck…”

Great… He’d kiss a stallion, plenty of them it would seem, but he won’t kiss his mother. What is wrong with this guy? Sighing, she asked, “What does this have to do with me?”

He stated matter of factly, glad to finally get to the point, “I need you to cast the card making spell and kiss me. That way I can have a card of me in the collection.”

Oh, is that all? She scowled at the thought of kissing him again, but then again, he was asking her to do it rather than just kissing her. However, it was more than apparent that it wouldn’t have worked that way. She was in control, a fact that she was actually really glad about, “No.”

She wasn’t sure why, but being able to tell the stallion off felt right, but what he said next caught her off guard. He knelt down before her and pleaded, “Please, help me do this. I’ll do anything… It’s really important!”

She grinned wickedly, now was her chance, “Fine, on one condition…”

He grinned widely, looking up into her eyes, “Name it!”

“You must promise to never kiss anyone again without their permission.”

Without hesitation, he promised, with the gesture as well, “Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye.”

He gave a firm nod once done and explained, “That was a Pinkie Promise. The most sacred of Promises my family can make. If I break it, may I get ran over by a train…”

Sparity looked at him in confusion, why in equestria would somepony ever say that, even if for a silly little promise. Oh well, she got what she wanted, and with hardly a fight too. Sighing, she requested the knowledge of how to perform the card crafting spell and performed the ritual. Card now in hoof, Alternate Dawn placed the card in the tome and waved a hoof excitedly, “Thank you Miss Sparity. It is greatly appreciated.”

The hybrid rolled her eyes, adjusting her glasses as she spoke, “There, now that that is done, can we go eat lunch now?”

Alter shook his head, turning away from the mare, “Go on without me, I have to finish putting all of your books away. You’ve made quite a mess of the place last night.”

Oh, right… That was what he was doing beforehoof. Oh no! If he is the one putting all the books away, he’ll know what her tastes in reading material is. She must get away, and fast. The sudden realization of that hit her hard, forcing her to gallop off quickly, looking for their mothers.Opening the collection once more and looking at Sparity’s card again, he pondered aloud, “A dragon… Could she be? Time will tell...”

Eventually, Sparity found their parents about to eat lunch without her. Relieved that she made it, she took a seat beside them. Her mother, Rarity, scooted a little closer to her and whispered something that made the hybrid blush, “So… Where is your new friend? Did you tire him out already?”

At first, the lewd question sparked anger in her, but as she thought about it, another realization came upon her. She slammed her head on the tables and held it there, head in her hooves, “Oh no.. My kisses… First second and third, all gone…”

The dark unicorn frowned, a little concerned for her daughter’s welbeing. Twilight chimed in, drawing Rarity’s attention from her, “I’m sorry about my son’s behavior as of late. He had issues when it comes to taking other ponies feelings into consideration when science is involved.”

She placed a hoof on the table, stating what she felt should be pretty obvious, “Well, why don’t you tell him to behave? You are his mother, surely he’d listen to you.”

The Princess blushed hotly, looking away as she fiddled with her hoof slippers, an action that made the nightmare pony sigh audibly, “Well… It’s just that his research is vary useful to both me, and the scientific community. And the only way for him to collect as much data as he does is by kissing ponies. Honestly, I don’t want to be the one doing that and he is always so eager to do so…”

“Why am I not surprised…”

A light bulb went off over Rarity’s head. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Wait, a third kiss. What would he need with a third card when you only have two forms?”

Looking up from her hooves, the mare answered dryly, “He needed somepony to make an ID card of him and seeing as I was the only pony willing to kiss him, he asked me to do it.”

She sighed, placing her head back in her hooves, “In exchange, I made him promise not to kiss anypony without permission, again.”

Well, that certainly solved that problem, but another one soon came to her. Looking around the table, she noticed that a certain dragon was missing, “Wait… Mom? Where is dad? I haven’t seen him since I got up.”

Rarity placed a hoof on her mouth to drown out the sigh she was going to let out. Exasperation dealt with, she stated, “In the medical ward… For some odd reason, we found him eating the castle wall.”

“It’s inedible, even for dragons.”

Twilight piped up, “Speaking of eating, I believe lunch is ready.”

As if on queue, a bunch of plates filled with food jutted out from atop the table. Twilight smiled, calling out, “Thank you Owly, you are dismissed.”

“Yes miss Twilight.”

Twilight levitated some food towards her and smiled, “After lunch, we can head to Carousel Boutique where we can discuss your living arrangements.”

Raising an eyebrow, the dark Unicorn asked her friend, “My Boutique is still open? Who is running it?”

The Princesses answer rocked her to the vary core, “Why, Sweetie Belle’s descendant of course! Sweetie wanted to make sure it was still up and running, just like it used to be just in case you returned.”

To say that Rarity was speechless would be an understatement.
> Crazy Future Part4: What a crazy future
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile-

On the edge of the Everfree, just on the border of Sweet Apple acres, a lone warrior grapples with a fearsome beast!

A large lumbering black beast swatted away at the the young earth pony mare as she danced and weaved between its hulking mass. No matter how many punches the earth pony mare landed in return, the beast seemed to only become more annoyed by her presence.

The mare backed off, skidding away as she flicked her amber mane out of her eyes. With a smirk, she addressed her savage opponent, “Not bad Monster. You’re pretty strong.”

The dark beast roared in fury as it spun in place with the intent of sweeping its tail at her. It missed by a mile as she slid right under it and back into striking range. Kicking off the ground, she took to the air and delivered a stunning uppercut to the jaw, “But, I’m still stronger than you!”

|HP|\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\--_____| -> |HP|\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\______|

The quadrupedal creature fell over, much to the mares delight. She adjusted her stylish scarf and stated, “Sorry it has to be this way, but we’re halfway there. Won’t be much longer now.”

The earth pony took an aggressive stance once more as the monster righted itself upon its sharp claws, “Don’t you worry, I guarantee it’ll only get better from there, or my name isn’t LJ.”

The beast charged forward, lunging forward with its claws outstretched ready to ensnare the mare in it’s large maw. She was simply too fast! LJ was able to sidestep the creature and rushed to it’s back side where it would be vulnerable. She leapt up into the air, spring boarding off it’s tail so she could get a better angle on it’s exposed back. However, as fate would have it, the beast had other plans in mind.

It craned its head to the side, lining up with her mid air and to her surprise, a second mouth shot out of the first! This mouth clamped down on LJ’s right foreleg, managing to get a grunt of pain from her, “A-a new attack?”

Before she could wrench herself free from its grasp, the beast spun her around like a yo yo, it was trying to tear her arm off!

Once, twice, three times she went round, quickly picking up speed. Fourth, fifth, sixth, there wasn’t anything she could do before -RIP- she went flying off into a nearby apple tree, knocking a few loose as she slid down to the ground on the newly slanted tree. Groaning, the mare picked up her head and examined her surroundings, trying to get her bearings once again.

LJ exclaimed, catching sight of something nearby, “Hey! There is where my stuff went.”

The creature roared, letting her torn limb fall to the floor below before it attacked again with its mighty claws. She was able to avoid it despite her damaged limb, narrowly avoiding becoming a flat pancake like the tree that had caught her.

“Ahh, you done it now.. If Ma were here, she’d be pissed. Luckily for you, she’s not.”

She reached up and slipped a glove off her… Hands!? While one would think she had lost a leg just now, that wasn’t the case. No, she merely lost her protective covering for her real weapons, her fists! The real fight begins now!

“You showed me your moves... Now let me show you mine.”

LJ grinned as she plunged her hands into her previously found saddlebags. And out of them came a set of metal gauntlets, gauntlets that affixed themselves to her arms within mere seconds. Pounding her metallic fists together, she exclaimed, “Round 2… FIGHT!”

Right out of the gate, the monster attacked her with its second mouth once again, but she wasn’t going to get hit with that thing a second time. She caught it mid strike and when it had no choice but to pull it back in, she was primed for one heavy punch.
|HP|\\\\\\\\\\\----______| -> |HP|\\\\\\\\\\\_______|

She smirked, looks like things were going to go even- Oh no…

LJ’s smirk was slapped right off her face by what appeared to be hair like tentacles sprouting from the beast’s back. The force of the darn thing knocked her flat on her back. As she tried to stand up, the tentacle primed themselves for an attack and struck.

Lj would have been a goner if not for a certain pegasus swooping in and saving her flanks, “Hey Lil AJ, ya’ll tryin to take on a monster without lil ol’ me, are ya?”

‘Nice fake accent…’ LJ snarked to herself as she found herself in the safe hooves of her friend Ariel Ace.

“What are you doing here?”

Ace smiled as she sat the earth pony(?) mare on the ground, “Oh, I just happened to be in the neighborhood, thought i’d stop by and save you from your imminent doom.”

LJ smirked, raising an eyebrow at her, “Really?”

Ace grinned in return tossing her a bottle of a strange blue liquid, “Nah, just pulling your leg. Here, drink this.”

As Ace set her bags down, the pendant around her neck glimmered brightly. It was then that she could see just how bad things were for LJ and the monster. She was glad she arrived when she did…

LJ took a swig of the potion. The stuff tasted like onions and banana juice mixed with liquid blue berries. Nasty stuff, but it gets the job done, “I know you don’t like it, but it should let you get back into the fight a little longer. Need an extra hoof?”

The earth pony waved a hand at her dismissively, “No thanks. I got this!”

“I can beat it with one arm tied behind my back!”

Ace muttered, “Uhh, aren’t you doing that already?”

Shrugging, she reached into her bag and pulled out a book that she had planned on reading later that evening, but no sense wasting time by doing nothing, right? She sat down at a nearby tree and waved her friend off, “Alright. If you’re sure, i’ll let you fight your own battles. Just don’t forget i’m here if you need me.”

The battle raged on for about another hour or  and judging by the look of it’s health bar, Ace knew that LJ wasn’t making much progress. She just barely had enough time to pull away from combat to return to the reading mare and pant, “Okay… Okay!  I need your help.”

Closing her book with a smug grin on her face, Ace asked, “Okay… What power do you want from me? My Hoof, my wings, or my heart~<3.”

LJ rolled her eyes at the last option, extending a hand out towards her, “Your hoof should be plenty.”

Ace’s smile somehow widened as she clasped her hoof into LJ’s hand, “Alright… Use me as you please.”

Suddenly, Ace was alit with blue flames and burnt away in a blinding light. The spent energy rushed forth, finding it’s way into LJ, taking form and granting her a greater power.

Junction LV1: Blade of Generosity

This energy formed itself into a blade, about as long as LJ was tall. Moreover, LJ’s appearance had changed as well. Her mane and tail grew longer, more shaggy, and now she wore a set of leggings similar to that of her scarf. It was as if she was trying to be more intimidating than the sight of her normal attire was. Results may vary.

Her blade glowed with a holy light as a voice spoke out to her. It belonged to Ace, “We have thirty seconds this time… Let’s show this beast what it is like to be the prey.”

LJ gave a solemn nodded and took a combative stance once more as the dark beast roared, clearly peeved. The two clashed briefly, though it was quick to see who would triumph in this fight. The Monster’s claws were sharp, but Ace was sharper.

|HP|\\\\\\\\\________|
|HP|\\\\\\\_________|

Two swings and it was already almost over, but the time it took to get those hits in was nearly all they had. It was trying to stall them… Clever, but even the strongest of defense can crack with the right amount of force.

“Let’s finish it…”

“On it!”

LJ jumped back and prepared for their final strike, an all or nothing attack. As the beast reared up to strike at them once more, LJ struck first resolutely, cleaving through it a multitude of swipes from her blade.

TSUBAME GAESHI!

One of their many combined finishing attacks, but quite possibly their most flashiest one. Gotta end in style right?

|HP|_____________|

HARMONY!

And with that, the two let out a sigh of relief, their battle was won. With the darkness dispersed, the monster returned to it’s original form and the two ponies could share a laugh as they separated. However, they weren’t laughing long, as LJ collapsed suddenly, unconscious. Gasping in surprise, Ace shouted, “LJ? Dang it, not again… Hang on, I got you.”





Back on the eastern end of Equestria, with the mysterious cloaked Pegasus and his squire. The two of them stood at the port on the edge of the township, waiting for the next boat to arrive to ferry them to the mainland. The silence between them was thick. Even among the chatter of a bunch of tourists and traveling ponies alike, the two of them remained silent. The silence was broken however as the boat came into sight. Soon they would be on it and on their merry way, “Milord Raiden. Pray Tell, why are we procuring a ship rather than a train?”

The Pegasus, known as Raiden, lifted his cloak briefly to reveal a fairly ornate sword sheathed upon his side, “Do you recall the last time this blade has been on a train, Lady Quercus?”

She nodded, “I-... I do. I just thought that if we went by train, we would arrive on the mainland sooner.”

“Time may be of the essence, but with the darkness encroaching, we cannot afford to risk another hijacking.”

That’s right… The last time the sword was to be delivered via train, some bandits wielding powerful magics took over the train trying to steal it. In such close quarters, fighting with blades proved to be ineffective. She sighed, “Right… If it weren’t for those two ponies, we would have lost both the sword and everypony on that train.”

Raiden had a brief moment of recollection flash in his eyes, “Aye… The young one had much promise with a blade, and the elder had a way with holy magics. What strange fellows... I wonder what they are doing now.”

As the train came to a halt at the port, the squire noted, “Well, whatever they are doing, I am certain they wouldn’t be taking this darkness lying down if they knew about it.”

“Agreed… But first things first, we must assemble the Knights. I shant complain if our paths were fated to cross again, but for now we have bigger things to think about.”





“Just set her down over there.”

Lil’ AJ didn’t look like she was too banged up on the outside as Alternate Dawn lead both her and Ace into his lab, but he knew that LJ had more problems on the inside then out. While Alter liked having his friends over, he just wished it wasn’t oft under bad circumstances like these. He levitated some miscellaneous stuff off one of his inpatient beds and Ace sat the injured earth pony down.

“I’m telling ya, i’m fine doc!”

‘Doc’, Alter rolled his eyes at that. Just because he has had some training in medical magic, he was by no means a doctor. Even so, he did possess one of the most advanced technological marvels in the medical field, the Save Point. That thing was more doctor than he was, he just hoped that he wouldn’t need to use it, ever. Sighing, he levitated a few bandages out of a nearby cabinet and stated bluntly, “No, you are not. Since when does a pony’s arm bend the other direction?”

Before he addressed her wounds, he turned to Ace and gave a slight nod, “Thanks for keeping an eye out for her. I’d have sent more ponies to back the two of you up, but I don’t know where the others are today…”

The pegasus gave a mock salute as she motioned towards LJ who tried getting up from her prone position, “It’s no big deal, really. I just happened to be in the neighborhood when this knucklehead decided to pick a fight a monster. Speaking of which, are you sure we should have just left it with your mom like that?”

Alter placed a hoof on LJ’s chest and gently pushed her back into bed, “Mom? She’ll be fine. She’s handle plenty of monsters in her own day, what is one more?”

“Let me go!”

LJ’s futile squabbling beneath Alter’s hoof, trying to remove it got a chuckle out of her pegasus friend, “Want me to get your ma’s rope?”

The Unicorn stallion pitched a glance in her direction, “Surely you jest?”

“Nah… I can get to the farm and back in no time at all, though, I probably will need to go through your mom to do it.”

The thought of her mom finding out about this sent chills down Lil’ AJs spine, “N-no, don’t worry, i’ll stay still. Just don’t tell mom.”

The Unicorn chuckled as he ushered Ace out the door, “Go on. I’ll handle things from here. You just make sure stock up before you go.”

“Will do boss!”

He rolled his eyes. As if he could be the boss of their little outfit. Leading simply wasn’t his thing. No, he preferred working in the lab, coming up with new ways to help his friends as they deal with threats on the front lines. Support! That was his goal. Like now for instance, he had to check up on LJ’s body to see just how badly she tore it up.

“Ow-ow!! Watch it, it hurts,” LJ exclaimed as Alter examined her broken arm, “Can it kill you to be gentle?”

Alternate dawn sighed, lifting up his examination goggles to make sure they were properly calibrated, “Well, it is normal for fractured bones to hurt AL. What were you thinking?”

When he was sure they were ready, he replaced them on his muzzle and grimaced, “You should know better than to take on a tough monster without your party backing you up. If Ace didn’t show up you could have died out there.”

LJ spat through gritted teeth, “Why do you always lecture me all the time? It’s not like you’re my dad.”

“Because I have to, for your mother’s sake. Do you honestly think I would want to have to sit down with her and tell her why her daughter isn’t coming home? She already lost your father, do you think she wants to lose you too?”

The mentioning of fathers always riled up the stallion. Sometimes, he wished that he could even remember his father’s face, but he can’t. And his mother isn’t willing to talk about him either… Alternate Dawn had a hole missing in his heart, one which he spent years filling with academia. Even after all this time, the prospect of leaving his mother all alone terrifies him.

He took a moment to breath, silently meditating and letting his anger vent. Once done, he levitated a roll of bandages over to the two of them and stated, “Alright… Your prognosis is fine. Just a broken Radius and Ulna. I’ll need to put them in a splint for a while…”

As he unraveled it, he continued, “Who knows, it might be a good idea to let it heal a while on it’s own. It’d give you plenty of time to think and not cause any trou-”

Lil’ AJ pulled science stallion close to her by the hem of his labcoat with her good hand.Judging by her expression, a splint would not be an option for her, “Not so fast egghead. I already paid the price with my arm… I didn’t let you kiss me for nothing! Use that ‘save point’ of yours and fix me.”

Tossing him back, the smaller, younger mare showed a surprising amount of strength. Sighing, Alter relented. As he went for the machine, he stated, “You know, this is the third time this week you have used it, and this isn’t even the worst injury you had… The materials needed aren’t cheap you know. I may just have to start charging you to use it.”

“Oh? You’re a prince aren’t you. Can you just buy more?”

He sighed, setting the healing machine over her as he next went for her magic card, “While money isn’t always an issue, it would show you just how much it would cost if somepony really needed to use it like you do.”

As he sat the needed materials down, she laid back on the bed and sighed, “I’m sorry… I just really need to get stronger on my own.”

“I know you do. Just don’t forget that you have friends willing to help you before it gets to this point.”

LJ closed her eyes and gave up, letting the healing waves of the machine wash over her, “I will get stronger… After all, how else will I find the one who killed my dad?”

And that was one of the reasons why Alter let her use the machine as often as he did. She too knows what it is like to not have a father around. Though the reasons behind it may be different, he’d be lying if he didn’t want to see her succeed in dispensing justice, like the heroes of old that they both idolized. He may never find out what happened to his father, but he’d be sure she could find out what happened to hers. The path of a hero is a long and treacherous one, but it is how she fills the hole in her heart.





Some time later, Lil’ AJ had finished recovering and sat up at the edge of the bed, slipping on her protective hoof-like slippers. Her little nap in the Save Point did wonders for her weary mind and body, but now she wanted to get back out into the field. Alter levitated her bag over to her, offering her a small smile, “Here. While you were out I took the liberty of repairing your gauntlets and recharging their magics.”

She took her bag out of his magical grasp and looked inside. Finding everything to be in order, she asked, “Thanks but… Do you think you could make them stronger too? Just enough so I can handle something on my own? As it is, I’m hardly doing anything at all.”

The Unicorn stallion sighed, shaking his head in the negative, “I’m afraid I have done all I could for you.”

He pointed to the pendant on her neck, “Harmony damage depends on a pony’s latent magic power, and yours is always in flux… If I had to put a number to it, i’d say it is below average compared to others.”

“Care to guess why I gave you those gauntlets?”

She shrugged in response. Regardless of her answer, she was certain he was going to explain it anyway, “Because i’m the only pony with hands that could wear them?”

A smartass answer, but she was technically correct. Sighing, he answered his own query, “It’s because you are not whole.”

There was a mix of anger and confusion in LJ’s voice, as if she took his statement as an insult. She pointed hoof at him, “What do you mean i’m not whole. I’m all here, aren’t I?”

Alternate Dawn raised an eyebrow at her, a little confused himself. Didn’t he explain this before. Moreover, didn’t her mother? Oh well, time for another lecture, “In a physical sense, yes, but… Magically, no. Your father wasn’t Equestrian.”

The Unicorn levitated a pitcher of water over to them and an empty cup, “Perhaps this will help. Imagine this cup is you and this water is magic.”

He started to pour water into the cup, filling it to about half way, “Your mother is a pony, a being of magic, so of course you get magic inherently from her. Your father however.”

He stopped, letting the water settle before continuing, “He wasn’t… So half of you is empty. You are whole in body, yes, but there is much ‘missing’ from it too.”

She crossed her forehooves, “Okay… And the Gauntlets?”

Alter continued to pour water once more, letting the cup fill up till it overflowed. Thankfully, he spared the floor a mess by catching the water in his magic, “They make it easier for you to take what magic your friends are willing to give you and become ‘whole’. What is left is forged into gear that you need to survive whatever trial you are facing. Take you and Ace for instance.  If you need a weapon, you get a sword, if you need speed or mobility, you get wings, and if you need-”

“Okay, okay! I think I get it…”

She blushed softly, trying to get the thought of the last Junction out of her mind. He sat the pitcher down and levitated the cup over for her to drink, while he merely sent the extra water back to its container, “Right… Anyway, you have the power of friendship within you. These gauntlets help funnel and channel it into a force that can make you stronger than anypony out there. You just need to trust us to watch your-”

“Hey! Get back here!”

Lil' AJ has gulped down the offered water and tried leaving before he could even finish. How rude…

She waved him off, “Sorry Doc. Your five minute lecture is up. I’m out of here.”

He grumbled, “I need to learn how to make these things shorter…”

As she headed out the door, he could hear her muttering to herself, “Friendship or no, I need to become stronger on my own too… I can’t always count on you to save me. I need to be ready for that day…”

Alter sighed as he returned to his work, setting up his lab for the next time he’ll need to use the Save Point. Once finished, he decided it would be best to check up on his mom and their new ‘guest’. As he went, he couldn’t help but wonder when LJ will learn to trust them. It’s been years since they started this darkness fighting gig, but they haven’t seemed to have made much progress, and it is showing on all of them.

If this keeps up, it won’t be long before even he snaps. Soon he caught sight of the sleeping creature beside his mother, “Ah, there you are. Owly mentioned you were busy, so I didn’t want to bother you.”

He nodded, “Thanks… I take it things have been well with our little visitor?”

Twilight looked down upon its sleeping form briefly before her gaze returned to her son, “It has… I assume this little one is from another world, right?”

He nodded, “Indeed. That makes the seventh this month.”

The elder alicorn gasped, raising a hoof to her muzzle, “Oh dear… Has it been that much already? It seems like our fourth wall is getting weaker again, even more so than when Applejack fell through so long ago.”

Placing it back on the ground, she noted, “At the very least, we have a working portal to send the creatures that come forth back where they belong.”

As Alter looked on, clearly deep in thought, his mother continued to ask him questions, “What is this thing anyway? Have you pinpointed what world it is from?”

He nodded slowly in response, looking back up at her again, “While finding it’s home wasn’t too much a problem, there are… Complications.”

“Such as?”

As the now smaller creature stirred beside them, he answered, “It’s from a place known as LV-426, but going off of my initial scans, it doesn’t appear to be as simple as just sending it home. It’s nowhere near the original form it used to know… It’s… Changed.”

Changing form wasn’t all that strange to her, so she would need a little more elaboration than that, “Changed. Isn’t that normal for creatures that travel to other worlds? Like when I went to that Human world with the mirror?”

“Well of course but… According to my scans, this thing should have been the equivalent of a changeling queen. Dark and majestic it is, but it’s no queen I know.”

The two of them looked back down at the creature briefly as it yawned, showing off it’s impressive maw, “It would appear that multiple creatures must have fallen through the same hole. Not sure what to do with all that mass, our world simply turned it into a chaotic being, an amalgamation of it’s many parts. Traveling between worlds is dangerous if one doesn’t take all the factors into account. This thing was just a poor unfortunate byproduct the world trying to ‘fix’ what breaks.”
He shuddered, “Like most things that come through this way, it is corrupted beyond belief. If it weren’t for the Elements, I have no doubts it would have continue on a rampage till nothing was left.”

As if that wasn’t a terrifying though as it is, what he said next could have just as dire consequences.

“When Ace and LJ harmonized it, like most other cases, it restored some form of intelligence to it. But… Whether it is sapience or sentience, I can’t tell just yet. It seems… Young.”

-Chomp-

And like any young child, it bites. Alter had to resist the urge to cry out in pain as the black creature nibbled on his tail before spitting it out.

-bleck-

He chuckled softly as he levitated a bag of textured vegetable protein over to the little scamp. Judging by the way it scarfed down the bag, it was a meat eater. Oh boy…

Twilight asked as she gently petted the creature, “I assume you can’t just send this little one back to it’s own world?”

“I can’t… Who knows what would happen!”

Deflating, he continued, “I am not even sure what to do with it right now. So much is still unknown and- Hey!”

Twilight had levitated the small creature and placed it down on his back, “Well… You said the elements gave it some intelligence, correct? It can be taught?”

“I suppose so?”

He had a feeling he knew where she was going with this, but he didn’t like it, “Good. Then I think it is time for you to have a personal assistant of your own. Who knows, perhaps it shall end up like Spike has, big, strong, and friendly.”

Yep, totally went where he thought it would, “B-but.. I don’t even know how to train a dragon. Besides, what about Owly?”

She chuckled, ruffling his mane with a hoof, “Owly is my assistant. Do take care to remember where you both live. And as for how to raise this young one, I trust you to do your best.”

“A friend, pet, partner, sister or brother… I will respect your choice.”

This… This is a lot to take in, and the fact that the black dragon was tugging on his mane didn’t help matters, “Ow-okay… kay, i’ll do it. Just one last thing. Spike. What was he to you?”

Twilight grinned mischievously as she turned away, “I’m afraid I have been held here far too long. I have somewhere to be right now. Bye son.”

Alter grumbled, “But what about my question?”

“Sorry Alternate Dawn, but your family need me to help them get settled in. I suggest you prepare to do the same”

He groaned as his mother left him all alone with the young drake. Sighing, he simply started to head for his lab once more, “Thinking about this is giving me a headache. Perhaps I need a minute to cool off.”

He paused, “But first, let’s make your ID card. The sooner I have better data on you, the better.”

Almost as soon as the peck on the lips happened and the card was in hoof, the loud sound of a train echoed through the halls of the castle.

“A train? Here… Impossible!”

He looked around, slowly becoming more panicked as it grew louder. He had never doubted a pinkie promise carried weight, but he never expected it to actually be this serious! Suddenly, he felt something tap him on the hoof. Looking down, it was a small model toy train, whistle and all. He quickly broke down laughing, realizing just how silly he had been just moments prior. Right… As if he could get ran over by a train inside a castle…

That was when he got taken off his hooves by a larger train, headed by three little ponies playing trains… What playful little scamps. Too bad they didn't even bother to warn him about his ‘impending doom’.





Outside the castle, somewhere in Ponyville, a peppy party pony bounded down the street as she called out to her companion, “Come on Eden, hurry up!”

Apple Eden, the grey mare that trailing behind the alabaster pegasus, was dragging a large cart behind her full of party ‘supplies’ and various equipment that they would need to set up a party at the Boutique, “Um… Surprise, can you please slow down… Do we really need to rush so much?”

It was almost as if Eden was intentionally taking it slow. It’s not like she was going to damage any of the stuff in the cart. Super Surprise would not have any of it. Rushing back, she got in the timid mare’s face and put extra emphasis in her words, “Of course we do! We wouldn’t want to have the party set up before the new ponies arrive, don’t we?”

She nodded, “Right..”

She was still apprehensive about moving so fast, but she understood the importance of making a good first impression, especially considering her first impression with Rarity earlier.

“Okay! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

Nopony could fault surprise on her enthusiasm. A true party pony she is.

As Surprise bounded off once again, singing a little song to herself, a little filly wandered up to Eden, prompting her to stop, “Excuse me… May I ask a question?”

The kind mare smiled, kneeling down a bit as she asked, “What do you need to know little one?”

Chills ran down the older mare’s spine as the child asked, “Where do the dead go?”

Putting on a brave face, she stood up and pointed up to a spooky looking tower in the distance, “Just go along this road here until you reach that tower. Go inside and the receptionist will help you from there.”

The spookier filly pouted slightly, looking a little concerned, “But, but... Mommy said I am not supposed to play over there.”

“That’s because it is a place for spirits to rest. It is safe for you to go there now.”

The gentle mare removed her hat and peered into it, “Oh Angel~ Can you be a dear and guide this little girl to the haunted tower for me?”

And out of her hat came a white rabbit, however it was far from a normal rabbit. No, it was a familiar. A spirit. It floated up and out of the hat before heading off towards the tower, the little filly following behind. Eden waved them off, smiling, “Good luck in your next life!”

The child smiled, chasing off after Angel bunny, “Thank you miss!”

And with that, Apple eden let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Years of practice, but seeing somepony so young being a lost soul still catches her off guard.

As she waved the filly off, Surprise came up from behind her and placed a hoof on her shoulder, “Talking with spirits again? Was it scary?”

Eden nodded, turning towards her friend, “Yes.... And no… It was a little filly this time. They looked so young.”

“It wasn’t as bad as that brave dragon that came to me for help last time.”

She shuddered, “That, was scary.”

The white and yellow pegasus chuckled as she playfully punched her friend’s shoulder, “Yeah, I remember you ran through the town like made mare when he came around.”

The grey mare frowned, “Hey! That was really scary, okay?”

Her friend stuck her tongue out at her, “I know… Come on, we’re almost there.”

Sighing in relief, Eden followed her to the home, “Good…”

The next half hour was spent setting up all the tables to their proper places, both for cover, and for decoration placement. The next was all on Surprise and her Seven barreled all purpose party cannon. The boom could be heard all throughout Ponyville, a sign that only meant one thing. It was nearly party time.

Apple Eden grimaced as she covered her ears, still reeling from the shots, “I swear, it gets louder every time.”

With the decorations in place, another little filly came in carrying a plate of gourmet marshmallows trotted up to the two, “Are the decoration all in place Ms Eden? Ms Surprise?”

Eden beamed, happy to be able to help, “All set Marshmallow. Now it’s time to wait for our special guests…”

As the filly sat the plate down on the one of the tables, she had to swat Surprise away who was trying to take one of them, “No! These are for the sister of my great great grandmother.. No touching.”

“Awww.”

Sometimes the party pony is a little too excited about sweet. She just can’t help herself.

Before the lights were turned off, the white coated filly mused to herself, finding it still hard to believe that Rarity, the elder sister of her great great grandmother, was still alive. It was as if it were something out of a fairytale.

Abruptly, the lights were shut off, much to her shock, “What’s happening?”

“Shh, they are here!”

After a few tense moments, the door creaked open, revealing the three guests of honor. As they stepped inside, the lights turned back on and a rain of confetti and party streamers rained down from above.

“SURPRISE!”

Their reactions didn’t seem all that enthused, or shocked for that matter.

“What’s wrong, didn’t you like the surprise?”

Each of them had a pretty surprising answer for her, but each one hurt all the same.

Spike went first, “I saw you in the window turning off the lights.”

Then Rarity, “I expected a party since the moment we met.”

And lastly Sparity, who has yet to put on her glasses, “I can see in the dark...”

It was a three hit combo that knocked the party pony right into a corner, cowering from the onslaught of words.

“My surprise party… Failed?”

They decided it would be best to let her mull this over for a bit and simply enjoy the festivities. Thankfully, Surprise was able to get over the ‘surprise’ and join in on the fun. Eventually Rarity paused, taking note of Marshmallow who had been standing beside her, staring at both her and a photo for quite some time. It looks like she had something to say, but couldn’t find the words.

Taking the initiative, Rarity asked, “Are you alright, little one? You have been staring at that picture for a while now.”

Marshmallow frowned, presenting her the picture and pointing to the mare on the right, “Are you really this mare?”

She recognized that picture anywhere. It was of her and Sweetie Belle after she had accepted a first place medal in a singing contest. Rarity was so proud of her that day…

She grinned nervously, realising she had yet to answer the young filly’s question. Such a complicated answer, so she summed it up in brief, “Well, yes… I just had to change my appearance a bit. Such is the cost of immortality.”

“Really?”

She beamed, hardly at all surprised, “Wow! That’s exactly what my great great grandmother tells me!”

Her curiosity rising, she slowly knelt down to Marshmallow’s level, “Oh? And who might that be?”

She laughed, as if Rarity already knew the answer, “Yeah! Great great grandmother Sweetie Belle. She told me a story about a beautiful princess that fell in love with a dragon. Knowing her time in the world was shorter than his, she made a covenant with a demon so she could keep living with her love forever and ever!”

“Sweetie Belle…”

It took her  a moment for the words to actually sink in, but when she did, he asked, mouth agape, “She’s alive?”

Marshmallow smiled, pointing off in the direction of the kitchen, “Yes. She wanted to surprise you… She’s in the kitchen!”

Surely this was too good to be true! She simply had to know, she HAD too. Marshmallow’s word echoed in her head as she got up and bolted out for the kitchen, “She waited and waited, knowing that one day you’d return.”

“Sweetie Belle!”

That was all she could exclaim as she reached the threshold of the kitchen. There, in the dark, a figure stood operating a blender that appeared to be malfunctioning.

“Oh fooey… There goes the orange juice again. Looks like somethings never change.”

The figure turned around, seemingly to address her, “Isn’t that right?”

A smile crept up on her face, coming on far slow than the tears that welled up in her eyes.

The figure that one could assume was Sweetie Belle smiled, “Welcome home... Sister.”
> NGC Part 1: Terror on a train (A)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of wood clashing reverberated throughout the farm as LJ whacked away at a wooden training dummy with her sword. Over and over she struck it, each time causing the scowl on her face to deepen. Forwards, backwards, side to side, nothing seemed to please her as her grip on the blade started to wane. Rising and falling, her blade mercilessly swatted away at her target until eventually-

“Dammit!”

One final smack shook the blade from her grasp as it collided with the wooden dummy, causing it to fly off behind her. The shocked cry of an onlooker alerted LJ that she wasn’t alone. Spinning around, she saw her there. Sparity, the dragon/unicorn hybrid, held the wooden blade aloft in her magic briefly before a sigh of relief washed over her, “You should really be more careful with this thing…”

LJ sighed audibly as Sparity levitated it back over to her and sat down on the ground beside the dummy, looking a little too peeved for either of their likings, “Thanks…”

Sparity raised an eyebrow at her friend before noting that the area surrounding the dummy showed clear signs of aggravation and agitation as LJ practiced her sword techniques on the dummy. She just had to ask, “Something wrong? You don’t usually leave your sparring area in this kind of state unless you’re mad.”

LJ crossed her arms over her legs as she planted the sword into the ground so it wouldn’t go anywhere, “It’s nothing.”

Sparity adjusted her glasses as a small smile crept up upon her features. Taking a step closer, she claimed, “It sure doesn’t sound like nothing. Come on, you can trust me…”

The seated mare huffed as she looked away, “Just leave me alone…”

“If it were me sulking here in the dirt, would you leave me alone?”

LJ shuffled about slightly before relenting, “No…”

Sparity giggled softly as she took a seat beside her friend, taking care not to  damage the contents of her saddlebags in the process. She grinned at the mare beside her and said, “And that is why they call you Loyalty. Now, why don’t you show a little and trust me with your problems. I am here to help…”

LJ huffed, finally looking her friend in the eye, “Fine… You’ve seen some of our Junctions, right? Between me and the other Elements?”

Sparity nodded in response, thinking back to some of the battles she had seen them in just recently. It was astounding just how much power they could put out when they literally put their heads together. She smiled, “You looked amazing. I especially liked the one you did with Alternate Dawn.”

LJ blushed softly at the thought of them junctioning again. It wasn’t often Alter was willing to be on the front lines, but they really needed the magic power. Feelings aside, she couldn’t help but feel... Angry. This anger she addressed plainly, “I’ve always been… Jealous of my other forms.”

Now this was interesting. Sparity’s head cocked to the side, asking the question that really didn’t need to be asked. The explanation that followed came begrudgingly on LJ’s part, “I know their power is a part of me, as much as it is a part of the others, so why can’t I use any of their sword skills or gun katas or… Anything.”

Sparity bopped the apple pony on the head, “Is that it? You have a sword, and i’m sure Super would lend you a gun or two. What is stopping you?”

LJ scoffed, swatting her hoof away, “I thought you wouldn’t understand. It’s not that I can’t try, it’s that I am too weak on my own to do it. My power ceiling is a lot lower than all of yours, and it all comes down to genetics. Being a hybrid is not all it is cracked up to be.”

The hybrid growled audibly, making LJ immediately regret saying that, “Well excuse me, miss handymare…”

“Sorry…”

LJ sighed as she proceeded to brood for a bit, letting the silence between them fill the air as Celestia’s sun made its way across the sky. To shatter the silence and hopefully brighten the mood, Sparity asked, “Your Cutiemark… Does it mean you are good at using swords?”

LJ looked down at her own flank briefly before nodding, “Sort of… It’s more about heroics than swords.”

“Okay… So… Why does it also have an apple on it?”

She shrugged in response, “Not sure to be honest. I think it’s an apple family thing. Hilariously enough, I didn’t get it farming apples, or even in defending the farm.”

Sparity’s ears perked up in intrigue, “Oh? So how did you get it?”

Her friend deadpanned, “You want tips on how to get yourself a cutiemark huh? Don’t think i’ve been watching you eye everypony’s flanks.”

The hybrid blushed brightly as she knocked LJ over in passive-aggressive anger, “N-no! I am just curious, honest.”

LJ laughed as she stood up and drew her sword once more, “You’re a bad liar, you know that, right?”

The dragon/pony hybrid looked away, still feeling the burning heat in her cheeks that stubbornly won’t leave her be, “Shut up.”

The handymare grinned widely as she took up an offensive stance, it looked like she was going to try fighting the dummy again. In response, Sparity stood up and got out of the way. If there was one thing she learned during her time in Ponyville, it is that you don’t stand between Apple Eden and a tree. The second is don’t get between LJ and her target in any sort of fight. Both could be hazardous to one’s health.

“Well, if you must know, it all started a few years back when my mom and I were heading to Manehattan on a business trip by train. On the way there, we happened to run into Alternate Dawn who was running errands for his mother at the time.”

As the first strike upon the dummy occurred, LJ thought back upon that fateful day, the one that would change her life forever.





The rumble of the train to Manehattan could be heard for miles as it crossed the vast expanse of eastern equestria. Inside, a young filly bounced silently in her seat as she watched the hills and animals passed them by, excited to finally be away from the farm and see the sights and sounds of the big city. Beside her, her mother chuckled softly at her antics, “Settle down there sugarcube. We’ll be there soon enough. ‘Sides, somepony is trying to sleep here.”

The elder mare pointed at a cloaked sleeping mare leaning up against the window across from them. In their hooves was cradled a large box, one that they dared not part with even as sleep claims them. The young LJ was intrigued with what was in the box, but her mother cautioned her about talking to strangers, so she dropped it for the time being. No, she simply let the mare rest her eyes and turned her own to the sights outside, but soon that wouldn’t be enough to contain her boundless enthusiasm.

She whined, “But mommy, this is boring… I want to go explore.”

“I remember when I was that age… Always wanting to see the unknown.”

That was when a purplish grey stallion stepped into the compartment. It was Alternate Dawn, the son of Princess Twilight and great enchanter. However, at this point in the story he was still a student at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns working on his thesis on white magicks and how one’s genetics could help or hinder its effects. He had a wide grin on his muzzle as he looked between the two seated ponies, “Can you really fault her? She is a child.”

LJ beamed brightly as she jumped up from her seat to give the taller stallion a hug, “Cousin Alter! What’re you doing here?”

AJ gave him an amused grin that told him just to humor her. Alter ruffled the filly’s mane as he spoke, “Same as you. I have some business in Manehattan.”

“But we didn’t see you on that platform when we got on…”

Ah, that made it a much more appropriate question. Of course somepony on the train to Manehattan would have some sort of business there. He continued, “Oh, well… I was a running a little late because I…”

He bent down and leaned into whisper in LJ’s ear, “I slept in…”

This revelation made the smaller pony laugh, “You did not!”

Alter nodded, cracking a cheshire grin, “I did. I’m a bad pony!”

He motioned towards the sleeping pony like LJ’s mother did beforehoof and asked, “Anyway… Do either of you know if that empty seat is taken?”

The two ponies shook their head, prompting the grey unicorn to sit down, setting his heavy saddlebags down in front of him, one of which he opened thusly and rummaged through it, “So, AJ, how has she been, the hoof gloves treating her well?”

LJ pouted, seeming a little slighted, “Hey! I am a big mare now, I can answer for myself.”

Alter raised an eyebrow at her as he turned her way, “Okay then. I suppose you are grown up enough to earn that right. I sometimes forget that we’re actually not too far apart in age.”

Rightfully so, as LJ was a little smaller than normal for a mare her age. In reality she was around twelve and he was about fifteen, not too big a gap there, but it may be noticeable for those that actually know this.

LJ huffed as she easily stood up on two legs, a feat that isn’t all that easy for ponies, but LJ never was your average pony. With a flourish, as if trying to impress, she tore off one of her hooves, revealing what was truly underneath. A hand, an oddity for ponykind, but again, LJ was far from normal. Humoring her, Alternate Dawn gasped in surprise, “Oh my celestia! Your hoof! Where did it go?”

LJ rolled her eyes and booped the unicorn with one of her mini sausage-like fingers, “You don’t need to pretend to be that impressed.”

What a large, fragile ego in such a small pony…

“You had me fooled.”

The three ponies turned to the previously sleeping pony as they continued, “She’s a hybrid… A strange sight in these parts. May I see those?”

AJ raised an eyebrow at the stranger, showing some concern as her daughter took a step away, “I beg your pardon?”

The cloaked mare frowned, “Oh! Sorry. I must look a little threatening, huh?”

That was when the mare let down her cloak, revealing her golden blonde mane which was kept neatly at bay in a long braid. Recollection flashed in Alter’s eyes as he spotted her long horn, her beautiful amber eyes, and her dull blue coat. He knew this pony!

“Turbulent Quercus, is that you? I haven’t seen you since you graduated a year ago!”

The mare grinned widely as she stood up, setting the box down as gently as she could before she bowed to him, much to his dismay. This only added to the confusion that LJ and AJ felt, “You know her?”

As she straightened herself, AJ caught a glimpse of a hidden blade in her cloak, adding to her suspicions that this was all too coincidental to be a random meet up. LJ saw it too, but was more intrigued by the sight of it than frightened. Turbulent nodded in response to AJ’s query and said, “Alter and I took a few classes together in Alteration… Shields and green magicks. We’ve been pen pals for a while now.”

Alter nodded, confirming her story, “She’s pretty good at them too.”

Turbulent playfully punched Alter’s arm, causing him to wince slightly, “Me? Nah, I just scraped by, but you! If you didn’t already have a mark in Alchemy, i’d have thought you’d have a shield or something.”

AJ shot Alter a look that told him to keep a closer eye on things, and he probably should have. LJ was there too, now no longer behind the unicorn and was now up close to the cloaked mare. Pointing inside the cloak, she asked, “Ma’am, what’s that? It looks like something my mom has on her wall in the living room.”

“Oh- this?”

AJ scowled as Alter shrugged, seemingly just as surprised as she was. Meanwhile, Turbulent merely opened her cloak, revealing the sword strapped to her hip, “It’s my sword. I got this when I earned my own blade after I became a Squire”

Alter gasped, this time in real surprise, “No way, you actually made it into the Academy? And just out of school too!”

LJ looked between the two, confusion apparent on her muzzle, “For those more militant, there is an Academy where royal guards are trained, with some of them being selected to be knights. While not guards specifically, knights do have their own duties to the kingdom as well. A squire is a knight’s assistant in a sense. They clean their armor, polish their swords, basically do errands for them and in exchange for training to become a knight themselves one day.”

LJ beamed brightly, clearly showing a great interest in it, “Cool! Can I touch it?”

AJ gasped in surprise, “Absolutely not!”

The elder mare let out a sigh of relief as Turbulent agreed with her, “I’m afraid not. I’m afraid this is way too big for you, you might hurt somepony, or yourself.”

And then came another thing she had to protest, “But this dagger on the otherhoof… This is more your size.”

The unicorn mare levitated a small dagger out from her cloak and handed to the young pony, who gripped it tightly. It nearly fell out of her grip when Turbulent’s magic grasp left it, “Whoa, this is heavy…”

“Now hold on one pear pickin’ second!”

Dawn cut her off before she could continue, “Relax AJ, just watch, you might see something interesting.”

No surprisingly, LJ was was already giving the blade a few test swings and took on an offensive stance, something that seemed to catch the squire off guard, “Seems like this one is a natural… Where’d ya learn to swing it like that?”

LJ grinned as she adjusted her grip on the blades handle, “I used to watch mommy practice all the time, now I play swords with my friends all the time.”

AJ blushed slightly as she heard the words come out of her daughter’s mouth, “I don’t practice that much… ‘Sides, swordplay is dangerous. Once you start, you live and die by the sword. Those blades are heavy in more ways than one.”

Turbulent frowned as she gently took the blade from the minor, looking a little ashamed of her own curiosity, “She’s right. I’m sorry about that. When you pick up a sword, you hold the weight of not only your own life, but the lives of others. It is not for the faint of heart. You may just be better off sticking with sticks.”

LJ whined as she slipped on her hoof glove once more, “Aww…”

AJ walked over to Alternate Dawn and tugged on his ear, dragging him over to the far seat, “And you! Encouraging her, what are you thinking? Didn’t you hear how her father died?”

Alter groaned, “But, don’t you see how excited she is? Apple farming bores the heck out of her... And Turbulent knows what she is doing, any good squire knows better than to give a child a blade they can hurt themselves with.”

She chimed in, “It’s true, I can magically dull my blades if need be, make them as sharp as a club.”

The apple mare glared daggers at her, prompting the squire to shy away, much to LJ’s dismay. Before she could continue however, Turbulent pointed out the window towards the tracks ahead of them, “Stop the train! The tracks!”

Acting on instinct, AJ leapt to keep her daughter safe while Alter dove for the emergency brakes, but it was too late. The train hit some strange dark crystalline structures on the track and flew off the rails.

When they all woke up next, the sound of hoofsteps alerted them that they were not alone. A rescue? Perhaps. One cannot be too careful. Turbulent was the first to get to her hooves, seemingly unharmed, the second was LJ, who likewise was fine. She was desperately trying to wake up her mom who appears to be unconscious from the sudden flipping of the train. Meanwhile, Alternate Dawn crawled out from underneath an overturned seat, groaning, “Is everypony alright?”

Turbulent frowned as she looked AJ over, “I’m fine, but your friend here, she looks like she may have sustained a concussion.”

LJ started to tear up, finding it hard to even admit this, “Mom won’t wake up...”

As important as that was, something else caught Alter’s attention as he went over to look at her himself.

“I heard something over here. Sounds like more survivors.”

What they heard next made Alter grit his teeth in anger, “What are you standing around for then, ice them and keep looking for the sword, it’s on this train, I can feel it.”

LJ whimpered softly as she clung to her mother’s fallen frame, frozen solid in fear...
> NGC Part 2: Terror on a train (B)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

That morning started off as terrible as one of Applejack’s patented baked bads. Alternate Dawn awoke dazed and confused as his music alarm seemed to blare louder and louder in his ears as Owly tried to rouse the sleeping unicorn. He groaned, “Owly, you can stop now.”

And almost immediately the music stopped as he was met with the sound of Owly’s voice, “Aww… And I was just about to break out the trumpets.”

The stallion groaned as he rolled out of bed, straining to stretch out his tired and aching limbs as he wondered how he wound up in a state like this… Oh yeah, Surprise, she threw him a party last night and it got a little late.

He sighed as he rubbed the remainder of sleep from his eyes, “Owly, remind me next time not to attend one of Super Surprise’s parties the day before my presentations...”

“Noted.”

As the stallion headed for the washroom to clean himself up, he slipped on his trademarked pendant and asked the castle’s resident AI, “What time is it?”

Her answer came while he was in the middle of brushing his teeth, “It is seven forty seven.”

He spittaked, spraying the bathroom mirror with a mix of water, saliva and his favorite whitening toothpaste, “What!?”

Thirteen minutes to eight? He was about to miss his train toManehatten. He had never missed a deadline in his life, and he would rather go to tartarus than do so today! He tossed his toothbrush back into its cup and bolted out of the bathroom, not even bothering to do his mane like he normally does. Owly kept up with him as he rushed through the castle halls, admonishing him on his poor hygiene, to which he replied he could deal with that on the train. His mother, whom he had blitzed past would have none of it.

Nope, she held him aloft in her magical grasp and straightened him out, “Oh Dawn~ You weren’t about to leave without a goodbye kiss are you?”

The young stallion groaned as he was dragged along the floor and over to the talleralicorn. While her tone was playful, the look on her face was quite stern, so much so that he dared not offer her a retort. However, the mare’s facade broke quickly upon seeing Alternate Dawn’s panicked expression, “Do you know what time it is.”

He relented, no longer struggling to get away, “It’s late, I know… Sorry mom.”

She ruffled up the unicorn’s mane and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, “Just remember, being late isn’t the end of the world, there will be other trains.”

Oh no, to him it sounded like she was about to go off on another speech about friendship lessons and not stressing out about deadlines, but to his surprise, she didn’t. No, she teleported the two of them to the foyer and handed him a sack lunch, “But, I do know how important this presentation is to you, so I won’t hold you here if you want to try to make the early train.”

By Celestia’s hot flanks, was his mom actually understanding him?! He grinned widely and hugged his mother with all the strength his hooves could muster, “Thanks mom!”

As he rushed out the entryway door, she called out to him, “Good luck son! Show those ponies that science is a respectable field of study too!”

What followed could only be described as a mad dash to the train station through a horde of  shambling ponies as they make their daily commutes. What was it about Mondays that made everypony act like zombies? The monday blues was a myth! He already debunked that pile of cow manure last Tuesday.

By the time he had arrived, it was the last call to board the train toManehatten. He had barely managed to buy a ticket and board the train as it started to roll down the track and out the station.

Occupied, occupied, one by one, he found that each compartment was filled to capacity, that is until he ran across a few familiar faces. It was the excitable LJ and her exhausted looking mother Applejack. LJ longed for action and adventure, but AJ wanted a life of safety, something that the unicorn was not lost on.

He was young when AJ returned toequestriaand LJ was born, but even then he knew that they had been through a lot. And now as he looked over the young mare, he couldn’t help but be amazed by how much she has matured over the years. Though, some things never changed. She was loud, obnoxious, and sometimes too curious for her own good. Just as any child should be.

As he exchanged greetings with his friends, another one made her presence known, making the number of coincidences rise to an absurd amount. Something about this situation just made his skin crawl, but he kept it to himself. Rather, he introduced an old friend from school, Turbulent Quercus. She was a Unicorn Knight In training on a mission to Manehattan.

Before Alter could question her on what her purpose for being there was, she was pelted by questions from AJ on how they knew each other. While Turbulent was being honest, the two of them shared more than just a few classes together in school. Every young pony has to deal with a school bully at least once in their life, and ponies at Celestia’s school for gifted Unicorns are no exception. Even princes…

Alter’s big brain often caught the ire of bullies that wanted to ‘test’ his reaction times by throwing chalk erasers at him in class and pounding away at his shield spells in Alteration class. Pride kept him from telling his mom, among a few other minor reasons, and eventually one Unicorn had enough of the needless violence and stood up for him where he couldn’t. She shattered their shields with only a twig. Alter never had to deal with the bullies again after that, and all she asked in return was some help with her pass her next exam. While Turbulent was great with telekinesis, as her talent with all kinds of weapons would suggest, she struggled with many other kinds of magic and was in need of a tutor.

All those warm memories brought a smile to his muzzle as she showed off her talent to LJ on the train, but that smile was short-lived after she handed off a blade off to her. Curiosity of not, there was no amount of natural talent that was going to save either of them from the rage AJ was going to unleash upon them.

But before AJ could really go off on them, Turbulent noticed that the tracks were destroyed. Despite his best efforts to stop the train, he simply wasn’t fast enough and the train derailed. Of course, this was no random occurring event. No, this was the work of some dastardly bandits as they look for some sword. Judging by the look on Turbulent’s face, he knew exactly what they were after.

He gritted his teeth as he shakily rose to his hooves. It was only a matter of time before they arrived and ‘iced’ them like they did the other ponies on the train and they didn’t have much time to rest. He only saw one option… They must fight. The stallion casted an area of effect healing spell in the compartment and stated, “Turbulent, pick up your sword, we’re going out there.”

The cloaked mare gave him a look that questioned his sanity and asked, “Are you crazy? We can’t take on a squad of bandits on our own.”

AJ coughed and sputtered behind them, prompting LJ to exclaim, “Mommy!”

She smiled weakly, “Ah’m alright sugarcube… Just got the ol’ wind knocked out of me.”

The elder mare tried to get up, but collapsed under her own weight. She was too injured to fight, a fact that made everypony in the car lose a level of confidence. Fighting an unknown number of foes with only two ponies barely old enough to be leaving school was a prospect he hadn’t counted on when he tried getting everypony back on their hooves, but they were out of options.

He Knelt down by the two downed mares and gave LJ a hug, “Don’t worry… We’re going to make it through this. Our parents have been through worse, and we are their children.”

AJ chuckled weakly as she laid her head down to rest, “He’s right Sugar… Believe in him, in them… In yourse-”

LJ cried out as her mother slipped back into unconsciousness, “Mommy!”

“They’re in here!”

They were out of time! Alter gave Turbulent a look that made the hardy mare’s heart flutter. Just where did he get this confidence? It bolstered her resolve and helped her shake off her thoughts of deserting them. As dishonorable as it would have been and a breach of a knight’s code, letting bandits get a hold of the package would be far worse, but perhaps, just maybe she wouldn’t need to leave. She levitated the box over to the prone AJ and LJ and stated, “Keep this safe, please… We’ll be right back.”

She drew her sword and took up an offensive stance beside Alter, who gave her a warm smile, “I am impressed, you are actually going to trust a stranger with your charge. What happened to you?”

She chuckled in response as hoofsteps could be heard just outside the compartment, “What can I say? I trust my friends more than I trust myself.”

“Good answer.”

As the door to the compartment was being forced open by what seemed like black crystals, the two of them rushed forward, blowing through the weakened door and bowling over a pony that was on the other side. The two of them knew what they were going up against from the start, dark magic, but that didn’t let that dissuade them. In fact, Alter seemed to beam with confidence, something that made Turbulent wonder once again who this stallion was and what happened to the scared colt that she knew from school.

In reality, Alter was pretty terrified but had learned how to hide his feelings. It was a fragile shield, but in situations like this, even keeping up an air of confidence can work wonders for the morale of those under your command, and going up what appeared like a group of ten bandits at once with only the two of them, they needed all the morale they can muster.

The first thing the two did was subdue the downed bandit at their hooves. A swift buck was all they needed as their first assault nearly did the job and a quick spell of binding from Alter made sure he wouldn’t be getting up again.

One of the bandits called out to his comrades in an angered tone, “Guards? Alright, which one of your idiots didn’t run a guard check before we came?”

Seizing the opportunity, Alternate Dawn picked up some small stones off the ground and lobbed it at the nearest bandits, catching them off guard and making them drop their weapons in surprise. The stallion had a glint in his eyes as he gently gripped the pendant hanging from his neck and pointed at the offending bandits, “A ha! Just as I suspected. Try not to harm them, they’re under the influence of dark magic.”

Turbulent squinted slightly as she looked them over, “What do you mean?”

He reached up and put a hoof on the hilt of Turbulent’s blade and elaborated, “I mean, I doubt all the bandits are actually bandits. Look closer, some of them are not like the others.”

She wasn’t sure what he just did, but the magic aura surrounding her blade seemed to glow with a strange magic. It was subtle, but knowing her blade and her own magic, she was able to see it. She asked, hoping he would explain, though she knew she didn’t have time for one, “What did you do?”

He chuckled softly, “Just a little precaution. Now let’s move!”

Alter was actually relieved that little trick worked, as the alternative would have been messy. As he suspected, Turbulent’s blade was easily susceptible to holding a magic charge, a common theme among those wielded by Unicorns. It Is supposed to make them easier to weld, and in this case, more susceptible to Alter’s harmony magic attunements. Now she cans wing away at their foes and not need to worry about physically harming them, as harmony magic deals in purification and the banishment of evil.

As the bandits recovered and rushed towards them, the duo prepared themselves for a counter offensive. They had to think fast and move fast as the enemy had them outnumbered and outgunned. Their first order of business was getting past the earth ponies in the front, acting as meat shields while the remaining Unicorns bolster their defenses magically and lob offensive spell after spell upon them.

Of course Alter was able to pick up on their strategy and pick it apart quickly, it was the same sort of strategy he would use, so he would know its weaknesses too. If they could put pressure on the spell casters and break their concentration, the thing would fall apart. One thing that he was sure going to make them nervous would be losing their cover. Alter gave the order and Turbulent rushed forward to meet them, striking with the fluidity and grace of a river as she showed off why she was selected for knight training. One, two, three strokes, and one bandit fell.

Harmony!

That telltale ring of dark magic being dispelled brought a smile to his face as he casted a healing spell to heal turblent’s wounds. As good with a blade as she was, she still needed his support, and as the first fireball spell was launched, he blanketed them both in a heat-resistant shield. Anything to keep them both in the fight longer. Once, twice, three times the cycle repeated and theherdwas now thin enough for a well-timed parry to open up a path for Turbulent to break past the earth ponies and run after themages.

They had this in the bag! Or so they thought. As she drew near, the unicorns tapped into their dark magics and blew her away with dark crystals. Alter should have suspected they would have had a trump card ready for when somepony dared get close to them. The stallion rushed over to her fallen comrade’s side and examined her prone form. Her blade was broke in half as it had no doubt taken the brunt of the attack, but even so, she still seems badly damaged. She suffered a broken leg and a few crystals seemed to be embedded in her side, most likely has a few broken ribs too because of them.

It would take up most of his mana, but he could probably get her standing again, at thevara least, but would that be a good idea? Upon closer inspection, she showed signs of fear manipulation, a side effect of being exposed to dark magic. Even if he did get her in working order, she would still be paralyzed. He grit his teeth and pounded at the ground, “Dammit!”

That was when he heard the most sickening laugh behind him. There was a tall dark unicorn standing there holding a struggling LJ aloft with his magic by the hooves. He was holding her hostage!

His grisly voice and magical aura suggested he was the ringleader of this operation, something that was only confirmed as he made his demands, “I don’t know who you are or what you were doing on this train stranger, but you and your friend there have my respect. Stay down and I won’t need to harm this little one, or anypony else. I just want this sword here.”

A dark magic user making a ‘reasonable’ offer? Something about the situation told him that he wasn’t going to honor such a deal, so instead, he scrambled to come up with something to do, but the more he thought, the more hopeless it seemed. He still had plenty of mages to deal with as well as a few earth pony guards. Not to mention whatever this unicorn really had in mind for LJ.

Speaking of LJ, she cried out to him, “Uncle Alter! He froze my mommy!”

Despicable! Deplorable! A Whole bunch of other ‘D’ words to describe this situation. If he was willing to ice AJ in front of a child, there was no telling what he would do if he got away. He had to save her, but how? That was when he felt something poke his hoof. It was Turbulent, the mare that had been at his hooves the whole time. She had a pained expression on her muzzle as she gave him a cold glare. In her hoof was the half of her sword, namely the hilt and what remained attached to it. She glanced LJ’s direction and wordlessly told him what he needed to do. Her mental fortitude was pretty impressive to have resisted the dark magic for this long.

He took a deep breath and stood up, facing the dark pony and LJ, “Hey LJ, do you remember what we said about carrying the lives of others in your hooves?”

She nodded slowly as the dark unicorn glared at her, “You, what is he talking about?”

That was when Alter made a large gamble. He picked up both pieces of the broken blade and launched them at his foe. As expected, he jerked LJ in front of him with the intent of shielding himself from the attack, just what Alter wanted him to. LJ, being the clever girl she was, slipped her hooves out of her hoof gloves and fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding getting skewered on the pointed end of the blade as it whizzed by and stuck the unicorn in the chest. As the handle approached, it slowed down enough for the young mare to catch it and strike with all her might.

Her natural magic surged as she slashed away at the pony. What remained of the sword was still pretty big for her size, but it didn’t look like it bothered her at all. Such is the power of a Surge, and this one was brought about by obtaining her Cutie mark. It was an apple, bright red and healthy with a sword sheathed within. What she exclaimed was a declaration of its meaning, whether she was aware of it or not.

“I won’t let you hurt Alter! I won’t let you hurt my mother! I won’t let you hurt anypony!”

She drew back and rammed the blade into the evil pony matching the tip of the blade from earlier. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to finish the job. This pony was more far gone than the others as he seemed to have completely given into the dark just then. Whatever dark power that was influencing the other pony bandits seemed to be drained away, all to power up this one, the leader. With An explosion of force, LJ, the mysterious box, Alter, Turbulent… They were all blown away with darkness.

Darkness enveloped them as their minds were assaulted by great and powerful terrors. Alter had some resistances granted to him by his Element and LJ was still riding the high of her magic surge, but these protections wouldn’t last for long. That was when the two of them caught sight of it, a sword glowing brightly amidst the darkness as it rested stuck in the ground beside them. Alter believed this to be the sword that the bandits were after, the one that Turbulent was protecting.

He could feel its warmth, it’s light. He knew what must be done, it was calling to him! LJ seemed to have the same idea as she likewise crawled over to it. The darkness seemed to recede as they drew close, and as they both gripped the hilt, a blinding light enveloped them and banished the dark.

When vision returned to the dark fiend, before him stood a figure about the height of an average sized dresser with the build of a slightly muscular pony. To him, this figure looked a bit like an adult version of the young pony that had futility tried to bring him down just moments ago. Her mane was longer and she was able to heft the large sword Caliburn with ease, even going as far as to take a few test swings with it before taking up a Hassō stance. Gone was the inexperienced mare and stallion before, but that icy cold glare remained. She seemed out for blood after that last attack, and she was sure to get it. 

The dark magic wielder didn’t question where the unicorn had gone, much less why his opponent was much taller now, as he guessed it had to be some sort of magic trick. In this day and age, new spells and techniques were being crafted on a daily basis so it wasn’t too surprising. After all, he too was using a few tricks of his own to get ahead. He was confident in his own power, and that would be his undoing. He shot out the blade pieces from his body at high speeds at the combined duo before charging after them. They would make for good projectiles against normal opponents. The poor fool...

LJ calmly stepped forward out of her stance pushed her blade out, delivering a downward diagonal cut and taking out the first projectile. The second she narrowly avoided as it wizzed right by her head. She wasn’t too concerned by it. Rather, she seemed to focus more intently on him, gently weaving her blade in the air in a wide arc in front of her before she settled into a Waki-gamae stance. 

She was clearly up to something! It was too late however, as the serious swordswoman was able to quickly overtake the dark mage who tried in vain to stop his forward momentum and retreat. With a flourish, the young swordswoman sheathed her blade, and as she did so the mage split in half, right down the middle. Dark magic erupted from the new wound and as he desperately tried to put himself back together, but the damage was done. He was gone, lost forever…

They weren’t the only ones to split either, as Alternate Dawn and LJ seemed to defuse once the conflict was over, too tired to even move and borderline unconscious.

Looking back later, Alternate Dawn theorized that perhaps the unstable junction was functioning more on fighting instinct than rational thought, which might explain how they could remember so little of what really happened. Regardless, his mother was able to help them understand what happened to them and their body, but as far as why it happened, it was anybody's guess. That was what prompted Alter to begin crafting the gauntlets that LJ often wears in his free time, a means to bring about these junctions safely and reliably.

What had occurred next when the tired was like a blur of events, each one melding together into a blob of hard to discern cause and effect. Turbulent Was offered the position of Bearer of Loyalty after her service on the train, but she declined. She still had a sword to deliver. Besides, she felt that LJ would fit the bill better than she would, after all, she did plan on leaving them in the train once all the conflict started.

He wasn’t sure what she did after she left them in the hospital once she was sure they were alright, but he figured that she had something to do with the wandering swordsman that had appeared some time later in ponyville and started ‘training’ LJ. It wasn’t until AJ had given her blessing for her to actually practice swordplay that she was able to actually take it seriously. More coincidences…

Or perhaps it was fate? The Book of Prophecies in his book bag seemed to suggest that this was all meant to happen. But how? What did it mean?





Alternate Dawn sighed asSparityand LJ called out to him, snapping him out of his memory induced trance, “Come on Slowpoke! Weren’t you in a hurry?”

That was a mystery for another day. As usual...
> NGC Part 3: Dawn Breaks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One would think that living in a tree itself would make one immune to a tree falling through your window during a storm, but alas, fate was not on his side on this night as a violent storm was brewing in the skies above Ponyville. He muttered a curse as he levitated a few small twigs out of his mane. To make matters worse, all the crashing and comotion woke Serene. She was anything but happy when her sleep was interrupted so abruptly. A tree falling on you in the middle of a night has a way of angering a dragon.

He rose from his bed to aid her in getting free from the ensnaring branches, “It’s alright Serene. Here…”

Serene was a little bit delighted to be picked up by the unicorn, yet she still seemed to be on edge. It wasn’t until Alter had turned to survey the damage to their room that he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. A storm can break off limbs and cause crashes more often than one might think, but these limbs here... They were cut. Placing Serene down on the ground, he approached the intrusion and once again affirmed this idea. They were cut, but why?

A light flashed through the window, painting many dark streaks all along the walls, followed by the crack of thunder. At first Alter thought Serene had clung to his arm due to the sudden noise, her claws digging deeply into his coat, yet he had known her not to be such a leaf. Moreover, he knew what her claws felt like. As if on instinct, he pulled up a barrier from his very flesh, yanking the offending creature from his body and throwing it away. Rivulets of blood dribbled upon the wooden interior, yet Dawn felt no pain. Adrenaline was one heck of a chemical. They were surrounded. Darkness, here? Somehow these monsters from beyond the veil had slipped through his wards and into his home.

Times like this made him rather glad he sleeps with his element on sometimes. He wasn’t much of a fighter, but he would sooner be darned before he let them tread all over his domain, let them take Serene or himself. His first act was to draw Serene close to him and away from the creatures. The Second was to pull up yet another barrier as he counted their number. One, two, three, four, five. Five monsters. F-Class? No, surely they had to be B-class in order to be strong enough to force their way in in such a fashion, and yet they didn’t move or behave like a possessed creature. A closer inspection of their Harmony Bars as they pounded upon his barrier confirmed his suspicions. They were E-Class threats.

What he had expected to be a challenge was sure to be easy for him, and yet, there was this nagging feeling that these pureblood shadowy creatures were far more than meets the eye. That was when it hit him. These creatures, their claws were sharp, yes, but nowhere near enough to cut down a tree. If they were D class he might see it, but small fry that even children stand a fair chance of defeating are simply too weak to cause this much damage. This meant that an even stronger threat was somewhere in here, yet it was too dark to see any more looming threats. The only light in the room was the glow of his horn and the shimmer of his shield.

Alter knew he couldn’t waste his time with these things. A simple spell trapped the creatures inside bubbles, shrinking, tiny glowing orbs that quickly squeeze the life out of these beasts. He didn’t bother watching their bar’s fill, nor the harmonization process return them to the void from which they came. His mind was on other things, first and foremost being Serene’s safety. She was vulnerable here, and they stood all alone. He had to change that fast.

The Unicorn was a little fearful, he honestly was when unknowns were concerned, but after all this time of hiding his feelings and of playing hero with his friends putting on a brave face was second nature to him. He placed Serene on a branch outside his window and told her sternly, “Run to the castle and see if you can get a hold of anyone. I think there is something else in here with us…”

After a moment of thought she seemed to understand his intentions and nodded, taking off into the dark of night. Alter had a hunch and they were often right. He was usually smarter too, as he would have waited for Serene to return with someone. There indeed was another intruder there, and they broke his composure when an alarm spell triggered and told him his personal study was being broken into. That place was even more private than his lab under the library. It was home to his biggest projects, and the book. The book! All his projects paled in comparison to that sugar covered tome. He can start over, run his equations again, but there is only one Book of Prophecies.

His mind was made up. He stowed away his fear and ventured forth alone. That book… He cannot risk anyone else arriving and reading it. It wasn’t meant for anyone else’s eyes. Not even Surprise believed she was supposed to know of it. A shadow creature was furthest from creatures that should know of it…

He was surprised to see a few familiar creatures trashing his equipment. Indeed this was something out of one of his worst nightmares. Weeks, no, months of research torn to shreds in seconds. His rage grew, bubbling up to the surface, “Hey, stop that!”

Perhaps he should have just attacked them instead of shouting at them? Being mad has a way of making one a thousand times stupider. He paid for this stupidity immediately as two of the small creatures leapt at him and tackled him to the ground. The third might have joined in, but it seemed to be distracted by what exactly Alter hoped they wouldn’t bother. The Book! It took the book and ran off with it, jumping off of his desk and bouncing off the scientist’s marshmellowy ass for a safe landing.

Further angered, Alter blasted the two creatures into nothingness. Rising to his hooves he gave chase to the escaping creature. It wasn’t until he had nearly jumped out a window after it that he had realized it’s behavior was most peculiar. In fact, all of them were now that he thought of it. He teleported to the ground below and resumed his chase.

The creature was being very deliberate with it’s movements, darting from shadow to shadow as it continued to be just out of range of his magic. It displayed an intelligence far beyond an E-class monster… Even with all of Alter’s brains, he struggled to find reason in all this. Why the book. Why run? This was too different than what he was used to. If he had the time, he would have loved to study this creature, but unfortunately for him he had lost it.

Not that it was his fault of course. He just happened to run into a pair of familiar faces. 

“Whoa there, what’s the rush sugarcube?”

Applejack? She smiled and helped Alter to his hooves as he rubbed his head. She felt like a brick wall just then. He gave a small gruff hum as he answered her, “It’s complicated… I was chasing a… Thief. They stole something from me.”

She sighed, “It’s always something in this town.”

“Which way did they go, my liege?”

Alter jumped in surprise as he finally noticed the other pony present. They were a cloaked pony, so it was hard to be exact with their appearance, but to him he knew this pony well. It was LJ’s teacher. The Sword Saint of Earth himself, Master Kensai. While he was known to be a wanderer, as most of the Sword Saints were, this one lingered a little bit in Ponyville to supervise LJ’s studies at the request of Turbulent and her Master.

Running into AJ was a little normal, but Kensai as well at this time of night? Just what was fate doing to him? He gave the Swordsman a bit of an impatient huff and said, “I was catching up with them, and then I ran into you two. Literally… What are you two doing here anyway?”

Applejack gave him a nervous chuckle and waved a hoof, “Nevermind that, don’tcha need to catch that thief?”

Kensai mirrored her sentiment, tugging a little bit at his cloak, ”Indeed my Liege, that is more important.”

This was one of the few times he was able to see past the facade of others mostly because it is Applejack. She is a terrible liar, “Were you two on a date?”

Applejack now let out a nervous laugh, “A date? Don’t be silly. We totally were not sparring late at night in an abandoned building…”

Kensai deadpanned, “Smooth.”

Alter facehooofed, “Right… Anyway, I probably should leave you two to that. Good night. It’s Alternate Dawn by the way, no need to be so formal.”

Kensai stopped him as he walked past the two, “My Lie- Alternate Dawn, If they had came through here as you said moments ago, allow me to aid you. I have a sword skill for this.”

A sword skill for this? What did he mean? As if to answer his question the Sword Saint drew his wooden blade, a hoof crafted specimen molded from a thousand year old tree, and drove it into the ground. Applejack seemed a little perplexed by this, as was Alter, but Kensai made it a point to state what he was doing, “Quick footed… Small enough to slip by the two of us unnoticed. Left. Right. Left. It stopped? Heavy… It got heavier?”

Alter was quickly able to deduce he was tracking it by the vibrations in the ground, using his sword as a receptor. Clever, very clever indeed, albeit strange. 

“Where is it?”

Kensai pulled his blade from the cobblestone and pointed it northward, “There. Follow me.”

With a nod, the two of them followed their guide towards their target. As they approached, they saw a large shadow protruding from an alleyway. From the looks of it they were pony-like in stature, a little on the taller side, and they were very much aware of them approaching. A Pony? Shadows? Suddenly it started to make a bit more sense to Alter. The monsters that attacked his library, the one that stole the book, they were being controlled by this stranger.

Unfortunately before they could get the drop on the stranger as they read from the Book of Prophecies, the pony did notice them, their shade retreating once again as the book clattered to the ground. Alter frowned as he approached the alleyway and the book. It had fallen down pages first, brushing their candy coated pages against the hardened ground.

Whomever was reading it seemed to be long gone, somehow. This night was only getting stranger and stranger, yet Kensai refused to let them get away. Once again he plunged his sword into the ground to try to track them once again. Meanwhile, Alter reached down to pick up his book, looking a little miffed that all this had occurred.

“Don’t touch the book!”

It was too late though, as inky black tendrils erupted from beneath it’s shade and pierced through Alter’s outstretched arm. He cried out in alarm and pain as it tugged on his, darkness growing and spreading across his form. It was dragging him into the alley?!

Applejack took the initiative, doing the most logical thing she could do right now… Applejack drew her own blade and severed Alter’s arm. Kensai couldn’t do it, his blade was still in the ground. She had to do it to save him, lest the dark mass take him away.

He cried out in agony as his arm was dragged off into the darkness and out of sight for what would be the last time. The beast was satisfied for now… What came next, Alter cannot say himself. He had fainted rather quickly. Applejack reasoned he could regrow his arm using that devise he had made, the Save Point. They just needed to get him there quickly. She was right after all, but Applejack of all ponies making that pragmatic decision, a quick one, none would have expected it. Yet, Kensai kept it a secret. 

He did not blame her. Even not knowing he could get his arm back, that would have been the same course he would have taken to save Alter. His arm was lost already. All that mattered was saving the young Prince before anything else could be taken.

Serene had done her job. Aerial Ace and Sparity had been summoned and they were able to use the Save Point on Alter. This of course made Sparity really glad she had agreed to help Alter with a card of his own, but.. They never expected them to need to actually use it on something so grievous.

The next thing Alter knew, he woke up in bed, looking and feeling rather out of it, and understandably so. Even with the Save Point restoring his form, the shock of losing an arm is not one so easily shaken off. He looked down at his regrown limb, memories of that night slowly returning to him when a voice broke through his haze, “You are finally awake Sugracube… We were worried.”

Applejack was sitting there across from him. She looked relieved, but her tone had given him a feeling that she was somehow irate. She held up a book whose cover was covered in blood, his blood…

“This what that varmint took from ya,” She asked, “Looks awfully familiar. Now what are you doing with one of Pinkie Pie’s journals?”

Alter paled, looking around the room for anyone else that could have heard them. It was just her. Applejack knew his feelings immediately and said, “I thought it was a secret. That’s why Kensai and I elected to keep this a secret too. No one else knows yet. But I need to know why myself… And don’t lie to me.”

Alter stammered out, “I-I found it in Mom’s library years ago. I have been trying to figure out what it was ever since. It told me things, secrets about this time. Events that were going to happen. I can’t just let anyone know about it.”

“Not a lick of good it did ya last night, huh? You are meddling in one of her Combos I reckon. Listen, it's best you try not to understand it. Ask your mom about it. It didn’t work out for her either.”

Her words gave him pause. Last night he lost his arm because of this. He lost his arm protecting something he barely understood. Something he may never understand. Her words were true, brutally so… Yet he could not deny it.

He looked down at his regrown arm and held it tightly to himself. That was when he felt the offending Tome being plopped down into his lap. He looked up from his arm to the book, and then to Applejack. Her expression was stern, yet soft, much like how she treated her daughter when she was about to do something foolish. She said, “I do have one bit of understanding about it, you are not the only one who was interested in it. That thief, that thing. If it truly is as important as you say, you should do something so this doesn’t happen again.”

Alter looked down at the book once more and agreed with her again. Even if there was little chance in understanding it himself, he was right to want to protect it. Those words held power… Enough to drive something to steal it, to attack him when he tried to reclaim it. His mind was made up. If he could not understand it, then he would lock it away so no prying eyes could dare do so. Not his own, not that thing. Alter had learned that just because something can be read doesn’t mean it should. This phantom pain he felt in his arm was a reminder of that.
> NGC Part 4: A slice of Eden
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My name is Apple Eden.

I am a simple farmer from Ponyville.

I tend to the fields.

I buck the trees.

I even sell our apples in the market every day.

It is a thankless job, but somepony has to do it.

But I have one problem.

I saw them everywhere.

Those flickering spectres that haunted my every step.

With every step a new horror.

With each step a new sin crawling upon my back.

Every action a reaction.

Every choice a consquence.

Mother knew I can see.

That familiar mile long stare.

She says my eyes are like hers.

I can see death's design at work.

She calls it a blessing.

I called it a curse.

I would cast my sight away.

If only it meant I could be alone.

But that would solve nothing.

It would change nothing.

My name is Apple Eden.

I tended the fields.

I saw them standing there

I bucked the trees.

I heard them whisper.

I sold apples in the market.

I felt her breath upon my neck.

With quivering legs I ran.

Beyond the fields.

Beyond the Forrest.

Through forgotten paths I trot.

Stone gave way to dirt.

And dirt caved under pressure.

As was I.

I coughed and sputtered.

I watched as faulty beams filtered through fleeting cracks.

Darkness overcame me as debris filled the void I had created.

"I am sorry."

Those were the words on my lips.

But they were not my own.

It was there with eyes closed shut I really saw her.

Rising Aria.

She was one of my friends years ago.

I always regretted that day.

The day I didn't save her.

I had the strentgh.

I always had it right there in my hooves.

But when it came time to use it.

I ran.

I was a coward then.

I am a coward now!

I am buried in the same hole that flipped her carraige.

"I am sorry."

Those words were mine now.

But she would not leave me be.

I felt a hoof upon my own.

It was cold as ice.

I felt Aria come for me.

She had a message for me.

"I forgive you."

My eyes shot open.

My hoof grasping onto her's.

I heard her message loud and clear.

"Not today."

I could not save her then.

But I could save myself.

I was afraid. 

Not of my own strentgh.

Not anymore.

I was afraid of dying in this hole.

Afraid of never seeing my mother again.

I will not die today.

She called to me.

She encouraged me to fight.

She told me not to be afraid.

My dearest friend.

My lost friend.

I trusted her.

My head found fresh air.

I breathed deep the relief.

I saw them standing there.

Aria and all the others were waiting for me.

For once I was not afraid.

I was so close to death myself.

Now I see them for what they really are.

That mark on my flank reminds me every day who I am.

My name is Apple Eden.

I speak for the dead.

I tend to the graves.

I ward off graverobbers.

I even guide lost spirits to the afterlife.

It is a thankless job, but somepony has to do it.

But I have one problem.

Some ghosts are still scary.

But thats okay.

After all not many are lucky enough to choose how they die.

That is Death's design.
> NGC Part 5: Aces wild
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ace snapped to attention as a voice said her name. Actually, it was less of a call and more of a shout as Sparity planted a hoof firmly at the cafe's small table and exclaimed, "Ace! Are you even paying attention?"

The Pegasus groggily wiped the drool from her chin as she nodded halfheartedly in responce, "Yeah... The prince lays the dragon and rescues the..."

Sparity clearly was unamused as the book soon followed her free hoof, planted gently on the table by her magic. A sigh escaped her lips, followed by a curt remark, "I swear, you get distracted by the simplest things sometimes."

The unicorn gave her friend a sideways glance as she loosely gestures to the world around them, "What was it this time, the waitress behind us? That gryphon teaching yoga accross the street? When you invited me here to talk about books, I kind of expected you to pay attention to the book in front of you."

Ace's eyes wandered down to the open book in front of her, a cup of tea off to the left and a half eaten daisy sandwich to the right. It was her's alright, but how could she tell her friend who was such an avid bookworm that she was feeling burnt out reading these romance novels non-stop for the last week.

Ace waved at the waitress and made a simple request, "Hey. Do you think you can refill our drinks? Our tea has gotten rather cold."

With a nod and a smile, the earthpony placed thier cups on a tray and carried them off. As they walked away, Ace couldn't help but admire thier nice form, thier fantastic poise. They were obviously well trained. Sweet. However, this momentary distraction was called out by her companion.

"Really Ace? You know I could have just heated it up myself..."

Following Ace's gaze, Sparity continued her verbal assault, "I get it, heat sucks, but you really can't be horny that often."

The pegasus puts up a rather weak defense, "Hey, I can't help it if I appreciate natural beauty..."

And it was quickly shattered by a few harsh words, "Then why aren't you distracted by me? By Twilight's left flank... I bet you can't even go a day without fantasizing about another mare."

Aerial Ace skipped right past the first comment and had her full attention set on the later, "That is uncalled for!"

"Its the honest truth~"

The pegasus planted both her hooves on the table and leaned over it, giving the unicorn a menacing gaze, "I totally can go a day without fantasizing about a mare... I bet- I bet you can't go a day without reading one of your romance novels."

A sharp gasp was heard, but it did not come from Sparity. No, it came from a normally peppy white pegasus who happened to conveniently be walking this was this lovely morning. She looks at her friends and waves, "Hey you two! What you fighting over today?"

That shut them up something fierce. One opened thier mouth. Nothing came out. This was followed shortly by the other. To fill that silence, Super Surprise sat down at the table between both of them and stated, "You know, you could always settle this like grown mares. Put your bits where your mouth is."

Surprise looked downright wicked in this moment, hiding behind a menu like a Oubliette master would thier screen, keeping her dice hidden until the right time to mess with her unsuspecting players. Natrually, this unnerved Aerial Ace to no end, but it was the kind of nervousness that would give way to curiousity. To sate this irittating curiosity to know what Surprise was thinking, Ace asked, "What do you propose we do?"

Lowering her screen, Surprise stated in her usual sing-song tone, "Pinkie promise this shit~ That way, your bets are binding and you know exactly who wins and loses."

Sparity raised an eyebrow at that, very much perplexed, "Isn't there rules against using those things so... Liberally?"

The pegasus shrugged softly and leaned back in her chair a bit further than what should have been allowed by most laws of nature and remained firmly in her seat, "I don't see any problem with it. I practically do a new one every week anyway, so..."

That said, Ace and Sparity locked eyes with eachother and nearly asked the same question, "What are the stakes?"

Ace was the first to speak, "No reading any romance novels. Fail and you go to my next stunt show. Don't worry though, I won't ask you to pay."

Ace had wanted Sparity to attend one of her shows at least once. The unicorn wasn't entirely objecting to the idea, she was just too busy reading and studying to attend. Now, she wouldn't have an excuse to stop her...

The hybrid seated across from her pondered that for a minute before nodded, "Fine, but you have to go without flirting with another mare. And if I win you have to go out on a date with Dawn."

Oh? So thats how it was, using Dawn as a punishment for her flirtacious behavior? She would admit, that was dounright despicable to do. But the joke was on Sparity, Ace had meant to go out with him anyway, so win or lose this was hardly an issue. However, she could not back down fro this challenge and let Sparity win so easily. Where would the fun in competition be if either of them caved so soon?

"Deal..."

Together they did the binding gesture, much to Surprise's delight, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

The ancient magics anticlimatically swirled around briefly before leaving them back in thier seats, completely unfased.

Sparity hummed softly, only briefly taking note of the strange phoenomeaand commented, "Huh... It didn't do that when Dawn did it..."

Ace snorted, "Its probably because Surprise is here..."

Said Pegasus was nowhere to be seen once the two looked her way, Ace's hoof lingering in the air in shock as they looked around for thier missing friend. Ever the enigma, she was gone as quickly as she had arrived. By this point, they were somewhat used to thier weirdness, but the way she completely vanished without a trace this time was a bit more unusual than her usual brand of bizarre.

Turning back to Ace, Sparity asks, "I guess... We are starting now?"

The bewildered pegasus nodded, "Yeah... We should probably get going. Usually when she dissapears its because either there is a part going on, or something crazy will happen soon."

They shared a quick nod of understanding before standing up to go thier separate ways and split the check. Moments later, after they had already left the diner behind, the cute waitress returns with thier refreshments all warmed up and ready to drink. With a sigh, the mare collected thier pay and returned to the kicthen, wondering where thier life went wrong.





Later that evening, Ace wandered through the streets of ponyville, trying to come up with ways of avoiding hot mares she would no doubt want to ogle. Each step was followed by a growing desire, no a need to take her gaze from the ground and at the world around her. Its not that she was ignoring everypony, she was just trying to avoid the possibility of slipping up and throwing out any form of compliment that could ruin the challenge.

By this time she had long regretted not getting into the nitty gritty when it came to the terms of this arrangement. Sparity was fairly straight forward, no reading romance novels. But her? What consititutes as flirting? Is it any compliment towards another mare? A passing joke? She has many regrets and they were showing all over her features. 

Thankfully for her, a familiar face popped into her life suddenly for the second time today. LJ ran into her, quite literally, knocking Ace to the ground. The hybrid earth pony grinned as she offered her a hoof, "Oh! Sorry, Ace, I am in a bit of a hurry. A monster has been spotted and I have been tracking it for the past few hours."

The mare cocked an eyebrow at her friend as she proceeded to follow along, "Hours? How come none of us were told about it?"

LJ responded in kind, tearing off through the streets and Ace flew to catch up with her, "Must not be strong enough to set off the alarm... Still, can't be too sure, right?"

Ace nodded in understanding, "I get ya... Hey, why don't I tag along. Two set sof eyes are better than one, and I have the skies."

With a small nod, LJ stated, "It was black and red, about the size of a foal. Moves pretty fast."

The pegasus nodded once more and put her goggles on, wings flapping hard as she took to the skies above ponyville. Her heart soared in this moment, realizing there was not a chance she would be flirting with anyone if she was busy taking on dark creatures. Even the small ones can be a nice distraction for a bit. Surely Sparity can't hold out for an hour or two without her precious book fort?

Eyes narrowing at the busy city streets below, she trained her vision to look for anything that fit the description LJ had given to her. Despite how basic it was, it was all she needed to catch sight of thier prey. Black and red was not exactly a combination seen in ponyville that often, much less darting around town this quickly. But... Something was amiss. She didn't see just one of these things running around, she saw no less then ten of them all around town And that was just from her vantage point. Who knows how many of them could be down there.

She was about to fly down to alert LJ, who was currently engaging one of them, but something else gave her a shock. These things were retreating from Ponyville and hearding in down the road to Sweet Apple Acres. No matter what the reason was for this, a huge concentration of what she suspected as C-class threats was not a good thing, especially since the wards meant to keep the city streets free from these sort of things only didn't extend to the apple orchard.

With an ugency not seen anywhere else, Ace flew down to LJ and warned her, "There are more of them. The Orchard is in danger..."

LJ gasped as she ran her sword through an offending monster, dissipating its dark form, "Shit... That's too far away."

Ace smirked and offered her a hoof, "On foot it is, but the air is clear today... Come on, let these wings of mine get you home."

LJ smiled and took her hoof, allowing Ace's magic to flow into her. A beautiful pair of blue wings sprouted form her back, stretching out to full lentgh as she prepares for take off. They dont use this mobility junction very often, but by the nature of Junctioning these movements felt like second nature to her. One minute of flight was all they would need with Ace's speed.

Touching down just outside Sweet Apple Acres, they saw a sight that shook LJ to her core. Those shadowy creatures were combining, adding dark mass together until they coalesced into a towering monstrocity. Gone were whispy limbs and feral eyes. It was staring at them with very deliberate, murderous intent... It had evolved together, easily becoming a B+ class threat. If those things didn't trip any alarms back home, this one certainly would!

LJ's breathing picked up, her anger rising as she sees what appears to be the fallen form of her mother a little ways away. Did she try fighting this thing as it was forming!? She wanted to run in, to fight, but she had to think about this harder. It was obvious by Applejack's posture that she was purposefully set up to be seen. To make them rush in...

No, this situation needed a little more tact then that. LJ pointed her sword in the direction of the dark beast and stated firmly, "You are mine..."

Ace nodded and took up a racing position as LJ took on an aggressive posture. There was a tense standoff for a good ten seconds, wordless intent exchanged before the three clashed. However, as LJ blocked the beast's ferocoius claws, Ace raced underneath the two and scooped Applejack off the ground to get her away from the action.

LJ smirked wickedly as she taunted the beast, "Nice try... Now it's just us."

The creature roard at the sword wielding earthpony, covering her face with spit and globs of what she could only describe as condenced darkness. It was foul, not only in stench, but also how it felt upon her fur. She made a mental note to shower later... And to chastise Dawn for conceding to Sin's request to keep the farm free of magical influences. This place really should be better protected! This is the third time Sweet Apple Acres has been attacked in the last two years, it was getting tiring.

Speaking of tiring, junctioning always had a way of sapping the energy out of LJ and just coming off the heels of a high speed mobility junction she was quickly waning in power. As her knees started to buckle under the weight of the beast that was trying to crush her, Ace flew in to strike it from the side. It's harmony bar appeared, confirming its status as a B+ threat.

LJ withdrew from the action and stretched her arms, trying to get the feeling back in them, "I was kind of hoping it would have been a C+... But a monster that size just couldn't have been anything less then a B."

"I think we were both hoping it was a C. Think you can handle a second Junction?"

The earth pony sighed, cracking her neck to the side as the beast watched them intently, looking at them with inquisitive eyes. It was sizing them up just as they were them. Using this moment's repreave, LJ was able to weigh her options and stated, "Maybe...At most, I can hold on for thirty seconds."

Regardless whether her body can handle another one was irrelevant. If it gets too dark around here, even more monsters will flock to this thing and make it even stronger.

Taking Ace's hoof, LJ took her in once more. Her breathing was labored as her energy drained even faster than it did last time. There was a reason why Junctions were normally saved for last resorts... As nice as these can be casually, they don't end well for anyone involved as LJ begins to faulter.

Raising her newly sharpened edge at the beast again, she resolutely stated, "Thirty seconds is plenty of time!"

Not wasting any time, LJ rushed forward and began her assault, throwing everything she had into her swings. Ace backed her up, putting more and more of herself into this fight. Power, they needed more power as blade clashed with toughened claws and thick hide.

Twenty five seconds...

LJ leapt up into the air and swung down mightily. Long streaks of magic and metal swirled in a rolling cut. This attack was followed by two horizontal slashes.

Twenty seconds...

The beast clawed at LJ, grazing her flesh as they continued thier exchange.

Fifteen seconds...

As thier strentgh waned even further and the beast showing no signs of slowing down, they made peace with the idea that this battle may be a lost one. Surely the others would be coming with such a spike in power happening right here?

Ten seconds...

With little other options, they chose to gamble everything on one last attack. They bet thier lives on this battle, as they do every time they engage the forces of darkness. The cards were in the table and Ace's were wild.

Ace held nothing back, and neither would LJ. They drew thier blade back in a circular motion until it was nearly behind her and then rushing forward at blinding speed, "ZANTET-"

That was it. That was as far as thier battle cry went as the beast caught thier blade arm mid attack. They were... To weak to follow through?

The beast roared once more and slammed the junctioned duo into the ground. Once, twice, thrice... They were beatened, but that was not all. As they were pinned to the ground, the beast tugged on LJ's arms, spreading them apart as they hungrily licked thier face. 

LJ strained hard against the grip of her captor, teeth wired shut as she tries to hold onto her form. They only had a few second left in this Junction. Only a few seconds to turn the tides... That was when it happened, their junction ended, prompting LJ and Ace to be split apart in the beasts grasp.

Relief washed over the two of them as they bashed the beast on the nose. It was enough to make it flinch, its grip loosening enough for LJ to drag the two of them away. They did not get that far, but they didn't need to. As the beast prepared to attack them again while they were down, a surprise visitor joined the battle.

LJ exclaimed in shock and awe, "Master Kensai!"

Ace was likewise stunned... Wasn't that Lj's teacher? What was he doing here? Her question was quickly answered as he tossed the two of them healing potions, "Take these... Your mother called for me. She was greatly distressed."

Distressed was right. She got her ass handed to her by a beast and her daughter and her friend went to face it by themselves. They needed help, and it arrived just in time.

LJ drank her potion, and was the first to stand, "Thanks..."

Kensai nodded and turned his attention to the monster before them, "So what is the situation, my pupil?"

Ace drank her potion and sat back, letting LJ handle this while she caught her breath.

"This beast is made out of multiple monsters. We got half way through it's harmony bar before it brought us down... Its smart, fast, and deadly."

He seemed to ponder her words for a moment before addressing Ace behind them, "Can you fight?"

She shook her head. Despite having been given a healing potion, the two of them were far from fighting shape. Even LJ was barely able to stand, much less hold her sword up. The best they could do is slow this thing down, wait for the others to arrive. A beast this strong must be harmonized, lest it come back.

It was after that thought however that Kensai asked another question that shocked both of them, "You mother said you had the power to Junction, LJ? To use the power of another as your own? Can you do it with me?"

LJ gasped, "What!?"

Her master elaborated, "I want to know if you can Junction with someone whom is not your friend. I am well aware the job falls to you to protect this town, and as it stands you are too weak to do this on your own. So... Take my power, show me what you can do with the power of a Saint. It will be good knowledge for the both of us."

The beast roared, seeming to understand what they were planning on doing. It wasn't going to let them get away with powering up again. However, LJ's mind was made up rather quickly. She reached out and took her master's hoof. A third junction, something no one had possibly imagined her doing anytime soon, and yet here it was.

In an explosion of power a new form was revealed. Her previous battledress that normally was shown when LJ and Ace junctioned was changed out from cloth to wood, her crystal-wood blade taking on an even more sharper edge, bound by wood and stone. And those eyes... The power behind them stunned both pony and beast, but that was not all. The true might of master and student was revealed as LJ drew her blade, "Three seconds..."

Standing beside the terrifying and awe inducing visage of her friend was an etheral double. A copy of her that mirrored her every movement. A simulacrum whose very presense shook the ground around it. One second ticked by... LJ and her double danced around the beast at blinding speeds. Two seconds passed... She appeared before the beast once more, wiping off her blade. The final second... The beast roared its last as LJ sheathed her blade, causing a good seven hundred square feet of terrain to be sliced asunder by thier powerful judgement.

LJ an dher master split, just in time for the beast to fall to pieces and dissipate. Harmony had been achieved, but at what cost?

Almost immediately, LJ spurt up blood, falling to her knees as her body finally gave out. She had been tired before... unconcious even after a junction, but this. The strain three junctions put on her body was simply too immense. All that magic, all that power. It destroyed her.

Ace scrambled to help keep he friend standing, not even caring about the blood pooling on her shoulder, "Fuck... FUCK! LJ, hang in there. I am here... Don't worry my sweet little apple, I am here..."

Kensai frowned, kneelting down to allow Ace to place her on his back, "Come... We must get her back to the castle. We can treat her there..."

At the time, it didnt even register to Ace that in that desperate moment she might lose the bet. Her concern for her close friend superceeded everything else.

Ace gently placed LJ on her master's back and brushed her mane back, "We're going to get you help. Just stay awake."

There was no response from LJ...
> NGC Part 6: Heated drakes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a quant little cafe in ponyville, Sparity was in the middle of explaining the minutiae of one of the most recent escapades into the realm of literature when she looked up form her book to see a starting sight. The mare that had invited her to the cafe, the one who wanted so much to spend time with her and discuss thier favorite piece of literature was seated there accross from her, face buried in her book and slobbeirng all over the delicate pages.

Her anger rising, the hybrid exclaimed in exasperation, "Ace? Are you even paying attention?"

As her reading companion snapped to attention Sparity's frustration faultered for only a moment. Ace looked somewhat cute, trying to make herself look somewhat presentable as she excused her lazy behavior, fiegning a proper response, "Yeah... The prince lays the dragon and rescues the..."

The unicorn let out a hefty sigh as she placed her book down on the table, "I swear, you get distracted by the simplest things sometimes."

Poking fun at her friend for her lazy attitude and her pervy nature, she cast a glance around them followed shortly by a small gesture, "What was it this time, the waitress behind us? That gryphon teaching yoga accross the street? When you invited me here to talk about books, I kind of expected you to pay attention to the book in front of you."

At this point Ace had fully regained her awareness and was assessing her surroundings herself. The synapses in her brain realigning as she remembered what she was even doing here to begin with. Sparity was reading her like a book, and it didn't even take a genius to do so.

Noticing... Something, Ace waved down a waitress and asked, "Hey. Do you think you can refill our drinks? Our tea has gotten rather cold."

With a nod and a smile, the earthpony placed thier cups on a tray and carried them off. Sparity watched as Ace's gaze followed the mare, a scowl forming on her face the more she thought about what had just transpired.

She stated through a snarl, "Really Ace? You know I could have just heated it up myself."

In truth, she couldn't tell which was worse in this moment, the uncomfortable burning heat between her legs, or the fire threatening to burst forth from her maw. Ear's flicking in annoyance, the mare continued her verbal assault, "I get it, heat sucks, but you really can't be horny that often..."

Ace smirked briefly, but it quickly faded as she retorted, "Hey, I can't help it if I appreciate natural beauty..."

Not putting up with it any longer, the hybrid snapped, ""Then why aren't you distracted by me? By Twilight's left flank... I bet you can't even go a day without fantasizing about another mare."

Aerial Ace skipped right past the first comment and had her full attention set on the latter, "That is uncalled for!"

"Its the honest truth~"

The pegasus planted both her hooves on the table and leaned over it, giving the unicorn a menacing gaze, "I totally can go a day without fantasizing about a mare... I bet- I bet you can't go a day without reading one of your romance novels."

A sharp gasp was heard, but it did not come from Sparity. No, it came from a normally peppy white pegasus who happened to conveniently be walking this was this lovely morning. She looks at her friends and waves, "Hey you two! What you fighting over today?"

That shut them up something fierce. One opened thier mouth. Nothing came out. This was followed shortly by the other. To fill that silence, Super Surprise sat down at the table between both of them and stated, "You know, you could always settle this like grown mares. Put your bits where your mouth is."

Surprise looked cheerful as she gazed at the menu in front of her. It was an odd thing to see her doing however, looking so intently at each item on the menu as if she could hardly decide what she wants. A mare like her only really ever does this when something is really on her mind, as she tends to plan things out days, even weeks in advance. Sparity was puzzled, but as she shifted in her seat again a painful reminder of what bothering her bound her tongue. As such, Ace was the first to respond to Surprise's statments, "What do you propose we do?"

Lowering her menu, Surprise stated in her usual sing-song tone, "Pinkie promise this shit~ That way, your bets are binding and you know exactly who wins and loses."

Sparity raised an eyebrow at that, very much perplexed by this idea, "Isn't there rules against using those things so... Liberally?"

The pegasus shrugged softly and leaned back in her chair a bit further than what should have been allowed by most laws of nature and remained firmly in her seat, "I don't see any problem with it. I practically do a new one every week anyway, so..."

That said, Ace and Sparity locked eyes with eachother and nearly asked the same question, "What are the stakes?"

Ace was the first to speak, "No reading any romance novels. Fail and you go to my next stunt show. Don't worry though, I won't ask you to pay."

Sparity contemplated that request for a moment, mulling it over for herself. It was true that Ace wanted her to come to one of her performances before, but she didn't know she wanted her to see it that bad. Whether she won or not, if Ace was that certain of it she might as well go anyway. But! She had no intention of losing so easily...

Having thought about it, Sparity nodded, "Fine, but you have to go without flirting with another mare. And if I win you have to go out on a date with Dawn."

It was... Not actually what she wanted to say, but in the heat of the moment she blurted out the first thing that came to mind, what she was thinking of doing at the time. It just so happened to get mixed in with the current situation. It was embarssing, but having said that already there was no backing down. They were playing to win after all, so the stakes did need to be high, at least to the anyway...

"Deal..."

Together they did the binding gesture, much to Surprise's delight, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

The ancient magics anticlimatically swirled around briefly before leaving them back in thier seats, completely unfased.

Sparity hummed softly, only briefly taking note of the strange phoenomea and commented, "Huh... It didn't do that when Dawn did it..."

Ace snorted, gesturing towards thier friend, "Its probably because Surprise is here..."

Said Pegasus was nowhere to be seen once the two looked her way, Ace's hoof lingering in the air in shock as they looked around for thier missing friend. Ever the enigma, she was gone as quickly as she had arrived. By this point, they were somewhat used to thier weirdness, but the way she completely vanished without a trace this time was a bit more unusual than her usual brand of bizarre.

Turning back to Ace, Sparity asks, "I guess... We are starting now?"

The bewildered pegasus nodded, "Yeah... We should probably get going. Usually when she dissapears its because either there is a part going on, or something crazy will happen soon."

They shared a quick nod of understanding before standing up to go thier separate ways and split the check. Moments later, after they had already left the diner behind, the cute waitress returns with thier refreshments all warmed up and ready to drink. With a sigh, the mare collected thier pay and returned to the kicthen, wondering where thier life went wrong.





Later that day, Sparity had retreated to the confines of Alternate Dawn's library. Not to indulge her burning desire for romance novels, nor to sate the burning desire between her legs, but to pour all her attention to studying for school. As boring as this task was, it did well at getting her mind off of... Things...  It was a step down from romance novels, but it would suffice.

-Thump-

She had gone through literature a little while ago, thankfully it was one of the few courses she found she was actually good at. Math came next, and she found it to be... Tricky at times, but she managed thanks to a few tutoring lessons from Dawn.

-Thump-

Chemistry, biology? Now that was where it really took a turn. If it werent for Dawn lending his support as often as he did she might not have passed her last quarter. He was always there for her, and was willing to dumb it down a bit for her to understand. He even set aside space in his own home so she could study in peace.

-Thump-

Thinking back, she really did regret betting Dawn's love life in such a silly bet. If only he were more confident... Could just see how much his friends all like him. How she liked him. She would never admit it, but she really did. Stupid Dawn, stupid Ace, stupid heat, stupid-

"Sparity?"

Her attention broke mere moments before her dragon tail slapped on the ground again, disturbing books and papers from thier gentle resting place all around Dawn's private study. Dawn was standing there, smiling softly as he held up another book in his magical grasp, "Are you alright? You seem... Distracted."

The dragon shook her head, shaking the loose thoughts from her head as she turned her head his way, "Sorry, did I bother you? I am just... Thinking."

Dawn let out a soft sigh and set the book down in her pile of thing sto look over and stated rather bluntly, "You are thinking awfully hard. I think you should take a break."

A break? Again? But she had so much work to do, so many things to ignore! She wante dto protest, but when she saw the concern on his face, she relented, "But... Okay?"

Dawn offered the dragon a hoof in getting to her feet. It was a little awkward moving about for a second, as there was more books here and now than what she normally has when she goes on a novel binge. Knowing this, Dawn states softly, "The studying all day and night long is my thing. It doesn't fit you."

"You have been working really hard to keep up with your studies. I am sure you dad is really proud of your progress, but you won't do anyone any good if you burn yourself out."

She raised an eyebrow at this, "Burn myself out?"

Dawn nodded and gestured for her to follow him over to his work bench just a little ways away and away from all the delicate things she could knock over with her persistent tail wagging, "Knowing you, you could read those romance novels all day and not be bored. Thats your thing, but studying? Not really. It takes time to learn things, to commit them to memory. At the rate you have been throwing yourself into you work you are not likely to remember any of it, so... Take a break."

At that, she pondered his words. While, yes, she had been doing a lot of work as of late, but surely she can remember... Remember- The sudden revelation brought about by his words was sudden and powerful. She can't even remmeber anything she just read a few minutes ago, let along a half hour ago. Was that time wasted!?

Seeing her distress, Dawn made an attempt to calm her, "Hey, listen. The books will be there when you get back. Lets go out for a walk and give your brain a chance to catch up with what you learned..."

Her offered her a hoof, prompting her to blush hotly as a claw slowly met his grasp. Maybe a walk would be nice. Some fresh air and a little exercise to get her mind off other things? Oh who was she kidding, being this close to Dawn was driving her nuts...

In an attempt to somewhat get her burning heat under control, she forced herself back into pony form with the use fo her dragonstone. The edge had been taken off, but it was quickly coming back as she stared deeply into Dawn's eyes. Stupid sexy Dawn...

He looked so oblivious as he slowly lead her outside and back into the busy streets of ponyville. Even as the day slowly began to fade, this small kingdom was always stilla buzz with activity. Dawn took her to the market first to grab a quick bite to eat. Apple Eden was not avaiable at the apple stand that day, but her mother Sin was more than happy to give the close friends of her daughter a good deal on nice sliced fruits.

Next they met a kind basket weaver whom Dawn seemed to be friends with. It was a rare treat to see Dawn being so sociable, but being the son of the Princess of Friendship this should be a given, right? Dawn placed the fruits inside a basket he pruchased and continued on his merry way. It felt a little bit hypocritical for chastising Ace for her behavior earlier, when she was standing there ogling Dawn as he chatted with another vendor, whom he also bought something from and placed it in the basket.

Turning back to her, he waved and shouted, "Come on. We still have a few places to go!"

Smiling softly, she complied, following him from the city streets to a secluded hill in the castle gardens. It was a quiet place where the two could sit back and watch as the sun goes down. There was a picnic blanket there, and as Dawn sat down upon it and placed the basket down she learned just what he was thinking. Had this been a date all along and she not even notice it?

He smiled and gestured to a spot beside him, "I hope you don't mind, my hooves are a little tired already..."

The fucking liar... That shit eating grin said all she needed to know baout the situation. But where did all this come from? When did he possibly plan this? This had all the makings of a trap, but her burning curiousity kept her from leaving. With a huff, she put up an act, a last ditch effort of keeping some form of barrier between them as she sat down, "Very well... Would be a shame to let all this shopping go to waste, yes?"

Dawn nodded as he offered her a slice of apple, "Very much."

Taking it in her own magical grasp, she bit down on the surprisingly soft treat and marveled at the taste. Sweet apple acres... Literally can't find a better tasting apple anywhere else. Taking another one from the basket, she finally dropped a portion of her facade and called Dawn out on this sneaky ploy to get her alone, "So... Why bring me all the way up here? Got something to say?"

Dawn ate a slice for himself and shrugged, "Well, I could have brought it up back at the Library, but i felt it would be easier to chat if we had a better backdrop. I..."

He seemed to drop his own facade as well as he lowered the remaining bit of the apple he had just taken a bite out of, "It's about that heat of yours."

Of fucking course it was! If he wanted to tell her how much it bothered him. How much she stunk up his place, he could have just said so. Not drag her all around town showing off her arousal to everyone... But when she looked at him, that was not what she read on him at all. No, his expression was much more difficult to read, but going off of the tone of his voice and his overal posture, she had to guess it was not disgust fueling his bizarre actions, but concern.

"What do you mean?"

Those were the words that escaped her lips, and those were the words he hoped to hear. Sighing once more, he states, "Your father told me this is the first heat you have had since coming to Ponyville. Said it was hitting you really hard. Everyone is worried about you. I wanted to help."

She raised an eyebrow at him, head cocking to the side and asking the all important question, one she hoped wasn't going to give her an answer she both wanted and dreaded, "Help me how?"

Out from the basket came a small bottle. And inside that bottle was a light blue liquid. He seemed to be a little uncofmortable handling it, but at the same time, he handled it with as much care as he did any of his precious experiments, "I made a potion for you. One that should help you handle the heat and any other possible problems you might have. But of course, I can't make you drink it."

He made her a potion to help her beat the heat? That was actually quite thoughtful of him. But the question still hangs here, why not just give it to her back at the library?

Taking the potion and looking it over closely, the mare gives her thoughts a voice, "Why here?"

Dawn looked away, his features twisting and contorting into a myriad of expressions until it fell into uncertaintly, "I... I had hoped that by bringing you here. Setting the mood. I hope that it would... Help me be brave. Just talking about this alone is hard. But... Talking to someone I care about. One of my closest friends? It takes a lot."

For someone like him, it certainly would. Taking all this into account, she understood his intent. Looking down at the vial in his grasp, she made up her mind. She popped off the cork and drank the whole thing. It tasted disgusting, but she trusted Dawn regarding its contents. If he was bold enough to drag her all the way here and set up a... Date... This was a date, and now she feels completely silly for doubting him to begin with.

Sighing, she put her face in her hooves and aplogized, "I am... Sorry about my suspicions. I am not saying I don't trust you, I just find it hard to take... This seriously after the whole kissing incident. Which reminds me."

She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out something that shocked Dawn like nothing else. She had a gift for him too, but not one he would have expected in a million years. These cards! They were the same type of cards he made. Sme of them were of ponies he had already kissed before, some of them new, but thier quality was definitly a step up compared to the one that she had made of him some time ago. She must have had practice...

"Listen, Dawn... I appreciate all you have done for me. For us. And I know how much you like collecting these cards. So here, take these. Consider it payment for your hard work."

Dawn stared at them for a moment, silently inspecting them. Was there something wrong with them? Why wasn't he taking them? Before she could open her mouth and speak, Dawn put a hoof up and lowered the cards. He laughed, a good genuine laugh that she hadn't heard from him since the day they met. Was this amusing to him?

Her fears were alleviated however when he spoke through shortened breath, "I appreciate this Sparity, but... I don't collect these card just to have them. To me, they are more special then that. Thats why I can't accept them."

"What?"

Dawn eventually was able to catch his breath enough to explain himself, "You see... What makes these cards special to me isn't exactly owning them. Its how they were made, the bonds that they represent. When I make a card of someone, I sometimes may have ulterior motives, such as the data I got when I made your cards, but in reality, a majority of them are of people I cannot bare to lose."

She sat there in silence as he explained, completely at a loss for words, "I am not a fighter, Sparity. I am an enchanter. A support role. I can't fight on the front lines. I can't protect the people I care about most. But with these cards and with the save point, I can help them. I can heal thier wounds, cure diseases, restore lost limbs... I may not always have the best methods for obtaining these cards, but I assure you I don't do it for some hobby. It is so much more than that!"

Dawn was so... Emotional as he said this, easily the most emotional he had ever been around her. He had always seemed like the aloof type, the kind of guy who just has his quirky hobbies and stays calm even in the harshes of situations. But in this moment, she saw through the mask he had been wearing for who knows how long.  He was worried, vulnerable... Never once does he ignore his friends. Never has he ever put himself before them. He listened to them. Helped them. He did all this without asking for any thanks. Those he held closest to his heart, he fought with everything he had to protect. He even put his own body on the line collecting those cards on multiple occasions because-

Oh how stupid was she to not realize this sooner. Did his mother know? Was that why Princess Twilight was covering for him so much? Could Sparity have known this too if he had just been aorund him more? She saw his cover and believed him to be a somewhat helpful pervert, but the pages just beyond spoke volumes as to his character.

This realization lit a fire in her, one that would not be ignored any longer. She always had the strangest feelings for the Prince, but now they were like a raging inferno between her legs. That potion didn't seem to work.

With her last scrap of sanity she had left, she asked him a question, one she never would have said before this day. Just once she will admit how she feels.

"May I kiss you?"

This naturally made the prince blink in surprise. He was about to say something, his mouth was open and ready to ask the obvious 'what?' but nothing came out. That face, that look he saw in Sparity's eyes. He knew where this was going, and was actually terrified. For a moment, he wondered if the potion he made backfired, but her next statement threw that out the window.

She said, "Dawn... Its okay to say no. Just know that... Heated or not. I would still want to kiss you."

Was this truly how she felt? If it was, maybe one won't hurt?

"Yes-?"

As she tackled him to the ground, lips locking with his he wondered if this was how Spike must feel when his wife gets needy...

Her tongue tasted of fresh apples, and strangly something else that Dawn couldn't really quite place. Her emerald eyes bored holes in his head as the tweo stared deeply into eachother. It wasn't until she deepened the kiss that thier gazes did faulter, eyes closing shut as they focused on other things such as the growing passion between both of thier legs.

Sparity's liquid essense dripped down onto Dawn's crotch, drop by drop building up thier intense sexual tension. There was little doubt in thier heads where this would go, but when and how exactly this encounter would release that tension was still up in the air.

The hybrid up top had a few ideas, as did the unicorn beneath, but neither of them took the next step. The continued to make out there in the garden, resting amongst the flowers on that cozy hill, only just barely touching as Dawn's magic wand made its presense known.

Well, It wasn't exactly known until Sparity practically slipped and fell on Dawn as she tried to grab his hooves as they went to touch her rear and pin them to the ground. It was awkward as hell, but Dawn just smiled and said, "I bet you are missing those claws right about now."

She snorted at him as she pressed her body up against him, this time on purpose, suffocating his cock between thier two slightly unyeidling bodies, "Quiet... I am trying to get in the mood here..."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "You sure? Then I guess that puddle under your tail is just for show..."

She blushed hotly, poking his nose with a hoof, "H-hey! Its the heat dammit... You want to fuck me, let me get good and ready!"

Angry and defenseive... Yep, Dawn was really playing with fire here and enjoying every second of it. Finally, after what was really only a minute or two, Sparity adjusted herself to allow Dawn's staff to sit nicely in between her cheeks, rubbing her soaking wet love cavern and adding fuel to her fire. As much as she wanted it inside her right now, she was not completely lost to lust just yet. Going in dry would be a stupid move, not when she had plenty of lubrication to go around.

A soft moan escaped her lips as she rubbed herself on him, all the while Dawn laid there looking a cross between surprised and overjoyed. For the longest time he craved this kind of closeness with his friends, the kind that only lovers could experince. His friends had eachother, open... Loving- And yet there he was off to the side alone for one reason or anotheer. But today he would be close to one of them, open himself up in more ways than one. Though, he wished he had the courage to ask about this on any other day...

"Dawn... I... Want to make sure. Do you really want this?"

Blink once. Blink twice. Did she seriously just ask that? Looking deeply into those green eyes, he knew only one good answer for this. He did not waste any words on such a precious moment. Instead he let his actions speak for themselves as he adjusted himself and kissed her once more. He held her tightly as she leanded back, gently allowing him entrance into her.

Her breathing hitched as he reached her burning core. She had given him a chance to back away not once, but twice. This alleviated both of thier worries as to where thier heads were at this point. No one can say they didn't want this.

She took the lead, as she had been for most of this venture, gliding up and down the lentgh of his shaft. Dawn encouraged her, whispering sweet nothings into her ear as tensions grew to new heights.

Unfortuately for them both, while her's only continued to grow, Dawn's released early, much to both thier annoyances. The guy was so pent up that by the time he realized he was even close it was already too late to mention it to her.

He chuckled nervously as the hybrid's eyes became slitted, teeth baring at him in full force, "Sorry..."

Dawn's life flashed before his eyes as Sparity began to morph into her dragon form before his very eyes. Without a proper catalyst to keep it in check like a dragonstone, he knew full well that this transformation would be destructive in more ways that one. However to his surprise, she calmed down rather quickly, even going as far as to use deep breathing excercises to do so.

It must have taken a tremendous amount of will power to hold her dragon instincts at bay and remain a unicorn. He was definitly proud of his friend, but at the same time, he remained very nervous. How would she react?

He soon had his answer as she stated, "Its ok..."

But her toothy grin did little to alleviate his fears. She gently pushed him back down onto his back and continued, "These things happen, right? Its only the first time... I just hope you can go another round, can't you?"

With little other option as this time she really did have him pinned to the soft blanket beneath them, his rod still locked tight within her deepest recesses, he nodded.

Not wanting to waste any more time with words she bent down to kiss him again, once again showing him that softness that started all of this. She was kind, starting off again slow before getting back into the swing of things. This time she paced herself, allowing him to keep up with her heightened libido. This time.. They would both reach thier climax together, like she wanted from the start.

Despite how rough she was moments ago, Dawn could tell she was really trying. Trying for him. It made him want to do better as well. He met her half away, startling her as he hit new depths not reached before. In truth, there was not much different from before, but the effort applied made all the difference for them.

Sparity was not sure when it happened, whether it was minutes or even hours after they started again, but it did. Her burning desire was quenched by thier combined fluids, horn sparking with magic as her climax was reached. If only Dawn had a means of recording it, the hybrid let out an adorable little roar her pony throat clearly was not ready to make.

He laughed between heavy breaths, "That was... Cute."

The unicorn above him scoffed, playfully bopping him on the nose before she nearly collapsed on him, "Oh shut up.."

That was a sound alerted them of trouble. That was the map's alarm, something terrible had just happened and here they were fucking up a storm.

Immediately, Dawn jumped up and regretted it. His pelvis hurt... But he had to get moving, to investigate the issue, "Owly... why didn't you tell me about this?"

The Castle A.I. responded in a very matter-of-fact tone, "Your instructions were to not disturb you while your date was happening. You are finished, are you not?"

He blushed, looking back at Sparity, "Err.. Yes?"

She smiled and waved him off, "Go, do your thing. I think I need a minute to rest anyway."

Dawn was reluctant to go, but he did. His other friend sno doubt needed him, and it sounded urgent.

As Sparity got up to gather her belongings, she picked up the discarded cards from the ground, carefully placing each one into her bag. However the last one caught her eye in particular. She smiled warmly and looked off in the direction Dawn had ran and said softly, "Bonds, huh?"
> NGC Part 7: Feeling Super
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

POP! Pop, went the balloon. Strands of plastic and rubber held tight its innards as they spilled out at high speeds forcing itself apart, splitting further and further until it could hold on no longer. A chilling breeze filled the air. A peppy white pony giggled softly as yet another of her precious balloons seemed to pop for no reason at all, cut short long before it was their time. Death was in the wind. Death was walking amongst the living like a friend would their best companion.

“Tee hee… Your friend sure is a party pooper.”

Another balloon left the bag, and like all the others before it popped shortly after lips met rubber and a hard blow. And like before, it made the pony beside her jump in shock. Apple Eden shakily reached up to correct her hat as it sat lopsided on her head. Her smile was unsteady, hooves trembling as she asked, “Can you please stop… Metty doesn’t even want a birthday party.”

Super Surprise visibly deflated at that request, but relented, stowing away the balloons, “Fine… I just thought it would be nice for Lady death to be celebrated.”

Eden gently patted the air and calmed them, “I don’t think she wants a pity party…”

The pegasus scoffed, “A pity party? I don’t feel any pity for her missing so many birthday parties. That’s in the past. But it would be a pity if I at least didn’t offer her a balloon to acknowledge her life. It is how I show respect.”

There was a pause as Eden looked past Super Surprise and then back towards her friend, “She says one balloon. Just one.”

Super Surprise smiled warmly and blew up another balloon and offered it to the invisible force that was Death. She let go and left it subject to the will of things far beyond her. For a moment, it lingered there, bobbing in the wind before it floated off just a little ways away. While Surprise was watching the balloon go, Eden seemed to be watching something else. The balloon went about ten feet away before Eden called out to it, “Bye Metty! I will see you tonight. Discord said he would be bringing finger sandwiches and his own special board.”

Surprise blinked at that, turning towards Eden, “Is it tuesday already? Don’t forget, we have engagements today too.”

She nodded, “Don’t worry, if the worst happens, we can just cancel.”

Her friend shrugged, “Right… Oh, and sorrry about the balloons. It was just something I felt like I had to do.”

Seeming to understand, Eden waved goodbye to her friend, “Thanks anyway for trying to cheer her up. She seemed to have been down a lot lately for some reason. But I can’t tell why.”

That made the pegasus shrug, “I guess there are some things not even mediums like you could understand.”

Eden nodded in agreement, “Right, anyway, I must be off. See you later.”

Left alone, Surprise sighed and started wandering aimlessly.

“Aimlessly, you and I both know I am not wandering aimlessly.”

Surprise, now is not the time to talk with me. There is still more to tell.

Surprise smirked and stated bluntly, “I need to go see what the others are doing, aren’t I? For the big party?”

Actually Surprise, there has been a rewrite to the script. The screenwriter changed their mind.

“Huh… Well, what am I supposed to do next?”

See for yourself~

Super Surprise reached beyond the ether to pull out what appears to be a screenplay of sorts. What she read there was so confidential, I am not even supposed to say anything about it here. This mere fact alone made the pegasus giggle like a little school filly.

“Oh, are we doing improv now?”

Nonono! I am just adding some detail to the story. Umm… Did you read it all?

“Yeppers. I must say these retcons are pretty drastic, but I won’t complain. These things happen in the medium all the time.”

Right. So can we get back to the story? A lot has happened already and we don’t want you to miss your queues.

“Right. Getting back into character now.”

Left alone, Surprise sighed and started wandering aimlessly. She had some time to kill before her next scheduled party prep and her brief discussion with Eden about her invisible friend’s strange vibes did little to scratch that itch to party. On slow days like this, she liked to keep her ears open and let fate blow her around like a balloon in the breeze.

“I bet you can't go a day without reading one of your romance novels."

Super Surprise gasped. That was Ace, no doubt about it, and she seemed to be arguing with Sparity about something. She didn’t even need to know what the context is, her interest was already piqued as she barely saw them out and about together.

She waved hello and slid into a seat beside them, “Hey you two! What are you two fighting over today?”

Their silence was priceless.

It didn’t take a super genius to know that something heated had just happened, and her sudden arrival made their brains short circuit. Its moments like these that make Surprise really happy she had friends like them. It is more fun appearing out of nowhere to mess with them than it was strangers.

To get their attention, she waved in their faces and stated firmly, speaking as if she had been there the whole time, “You know, you could always settle this like grown mares. Put your bits where your mouth is."

While her friends sat there dumbstruck, she pulled up a menu and started looking at the items listed therein. 

In response to her statement, Ace asked, “What do you propose we do?”

Lowering the menu for a moment, she cherrily stated, "Pinkie promise this shit~ That way, your bets are binding and you know exactly who wins and loses."

Sparity raised an eyebrow at that, very much perplexed, "Isn't there rules against using those things so... Liberally?"

The pegasus shrugged softly and leaned back in her chair a bit further than what should have been allowed by most laws of nature and remained firmly in her seat, "I don't see any problem with it. I practically do a new one every week anyway, so..."

That said, Ace and Sparity locked eyes with eachother and nearly asked the same question, "What are the stakes?"

Ace was the first to speak, "No reading any romance novels. Fail and you go to my next stunt show. Don't worry though, I won't ask you to pay."

The hybrid seated across from Ace pondered that for a minute before nodding, "Fine, but you have to go without flirting with another mare. And if I win you have to go out on a date with Dawn."

It was almost comical how much they threw around Dawn’s name in these sort of conversations. Or any for that matter. If Surprise didn’t know any better, she might have assumed he was boneing both of them… But there is no way that could be the case, could it? Sparity kept her cards close in that regard, and Ace never really was all that interested in guys before, so… Why now?

Her thoughts were interrupted by their sudden declaration, “Deal!”

That was not all that caught her attention, however. A familiar dark figure silently waved at her from above, standing atop the rooftop of the cafe. A wicked grin overtook the usually peppy mare as she allowed herself to fall back in her seat all the way to the ground. But instead of simply colliding with the ground, she fell through a hole and landed inside a bright red tube. In her place was the chair she had been sitting on mere moments ago, leaving her friends dumbfounded as to where she had gone.

If there was one thing she liked more than popping in out of nowhere to surprise her friends, it was vanishing just as fast and seeing their silly faces as they try to figure out where she went. But this time, she did not do that.

With those mandated crossovers out of the way, the party mare was all set for the main event! For you see, this mare was not simply Super Surprise, she was also the illustrious superheroine PopCap!

Landing on a pillow at the base of the slide entrance of the headquarters of P.A.R.T.Y. with a spontaneous backflip, she high fived the narrator’s Intro box displaying her name for the first time. Black mask on, set of pop gun pistols strapped to her hips, and tight green spotted spandex suit on, she was all ready for another action filled day!

Sauntering over to the huge computer against the far wall, she cheerfully asked, “Hey Mare-do-well, you doing well?”

The previous figure from the story’s post intro cameo spun around in their chair, revealing the intimidating, faceless figure that was The Mysterious Mare-do-welltm!They shook their head briefly before gesturing to the screen. It seemed that there was some kind of disturbance in Manehatten!

And it was not the usual armed robbery either. Their arch nemesis F.R.E.A.K. was terrorizing some dockworkers and storming some non descript warehouse. To be frank, PopCap didn’t care too much about the specifics. It was another weekly edition of the same old song and dance. Nothing she couldn’t handle, right?

“MDW, I got your call and came as soon as I could.”

PopCap turned about alongside Mare-do-welltm to catch a glimpse of the Ghastly Visage as she phased through the ceiling. The white mare’s grey mane and matching suit was a welcome sight for sore eyes. Once she touched down, PopCap strutted over to her and chuckled softly, “Ghastly! I was wondering when you would put the suit on again. How was therapy?”

The mare looked away, a small twinge of bluish green covering her cheeks as she tried in vain to hide behind her ethereal mane, “My therapist says it is okay for me to work again. I just need to be sure to take my anxiety medication every day.”

Seeming to understand, the gun toting pegasus turned back to Mare-do-welltm and asked, “So… Must be serious if you are calling both of us. What is the plan?”

Normally the heroes of P.A.R.T.Y. operate independently using this place as their base of operation, so any form of joint operations as enough to warrant paying a little more attention.

Mare-do-welltm nodded before signing a response, keeping up with their mute shtick. PopCap had to admit, her colleague kept to it well despite not being the original Mare-do-welltm. That’s right, this Mare-do-welltm is a legacy hero, an ally of justice that passes on the cape and cowl on to the next generation. Now that the narrator brings this up PopCap recalls that The Ghastly Visage is also a legacy hero, just for the sake of exposition.

‘They are planning to lock down the port in Manehatten and to steal something known as the Headdress of Anubis. An artefact from Anugypt that is said to grant one power of the dead. With it, they plan on raising a pirate army to raid the whole coast of Equestria.’

Seeing that, Ghastly Visage’s mane whipped wildly, “The what!?”

Naturally, such an outburst made the two other mare’s jump, as she was not known for raising her voice in such a manner. She was normally calm and composed, very much soft spoken. But when someone messes with the dead… That was when the mare loses it, so to speak.

PopCap tried to grab her as she rushed off headfirst through the portal leading to manehattan, not even bothering to let Mare-do-welltm finish explaining her plan, but the ghostly mare just made herself intangible. To be frank, with her strength it’s not like she needed to do so just to get away. There was likely nopony in ponyville that could even come close to matching her in power.

With her gone, PopCap quickly returned her attention to Mare-do-welltm and asked, “Can you speed up the plot? I have a bad feeling about this…”

‘As you wish. I need you to take out their hench ponies from afar so Ghastly can get in close and neutralize the Headdress. With her unique powers, she should have no trouble rendering it inert.’

“And what do I do if F.R.E.A.K. catches on to us?”

Mare-do-welltm stands up from her seat at the Planner computer and cracks a hoof, ‘I will keep those three busy. Focus on your job and keep Ghastly out of trouble.’

With a mock salute, the pegasus rushes over to take a sniper rifle off the wall. It was non lethal of course, because in this world rarely does anyone actually want to kill eachother. Most of the time it's all about money or world domination! Besides, they were heroes, and heroes don’t kill. Injure and maim? Sometimes, but kill? Not if it can be avoided!

Armed and ready, PopCap leapt through the warp gate to the one hidden just outside of Manehatten. She had a lot of ground to cover if she wanted to catch up to The Ghastly Visage and Mare-do-welltm! Taking flight, she zeroed in on the port, tearing through the skies in a way that only she could. No gadgets, no tricks, just her own natural speed.

Her brow furrowed, rifle gliding from her back and into her hooves as she reached her target. Just out of sight, and out of range of any spells, she looked down her scope to see… Nothing. No ships in the harbor, no hench ponies running about. She didn’t even see Mare-do-welltm or Ghastly down there. Switching to thermal vision, the same thing met her eyes. Nothing…

They have yet to arrive it would seem. But at the same time the lack of any form of activity there was disturbing. Still, she remained at her post, watching and waiting for something to come up. Someone had to kickstart this little party sometime!

But, no matter how long she kept her eyes trained on that scope, nothing seemed to happen. It wasn’t until the sun had begun to set that something very wrong began to make itself known. One of the warehouses had flickering lights within and sparks of conflict! Was P.A.R.T.Y. late to the party? Or did F.R.E.A.K. play them all and get here before them? Either way, she had the feeling she needed to get down there as soon as possible.

Her planner had never been wrong before… And Mare-do-welltm was a marvel when it came to using technology. How could they have been so wrong?

Worry rising, the mare slung her sniper rifle back over her shoulder and rushed onto the scene. If there was one thing this party pony was good at it was making an entrance, and boy did she!

She knocked down the door with the blast of a party cannon, startling the hooligans inside and all of their henchponies. But instead of seeing them stealing the darn Headdress like expected from this warehouse, they had already set up an evil lair, and worse yet they had The Ghastly Visage and Mare-do-welltm trapped in some kind of contraption.

It was here that PopCap realized that they weren’t just here before them, they had been here for some time, and they all just walked into a trap! Using her acute senses she jumped back to avoid a set of wires that would have ensnared her had she stayed there for just a moment longer. As she drew one of her pistols, she used her special ability Bullet Time to assess the situation further.

She saw the Headdress hooked up to some sort of contraption, much like The Ghastly Vision and Mare-do-welltm. In fact, they were a part of the same device. The two of them looked to be in a great amount of pain as they were shocked within an inch of their life. No… Their convulsions didn’t line up with being shocked. It was more a weak trembling, which seemed incredibly odd as The Ghastly Visage can only be touched if she wants to be. And Mare-do-welltm was a robot. While she may be susceptible to shocks, that would never work in the long run.

She had to think, and she didn’t have enough Bullet Time to do that and line up a good shot on one of the henchponies. With the last second of her power she took aim and fired her pop gun at the nearest foe and took cover from the magic blasts that were thrown her way in retaliation.

Pop Gun reloaded her current weapon and proceeded to draw her other pistol. She needed a good thirty seconds for her power to recharge, and she was in hot water. It was at times like this she wished they had brought the other two members of P.A.R.T.Y., but she quickly deemed that a bad move, as bad as rushing in as she did. She was the only long range specialist on the team, and they would have just been caught like the others.

It was just her against… Six? Seven targets? If she had packed more heavily, she might have been able to land a good shot on all of them with one Bullet Time, but the three folks of F.R.E.A.K. wouldn’t go down so quickly. 

The weakest of them is Hat Trick, a unicorn with a talent for illusionary magic. He was a dropout from Celestia’s School for gifted unicorns because he couldn't cast anything but illusionary magic... He looked rather smug in that tophat, enough to make PopCap want to shoot the thing right off his head, but alas he had back up. The next one up on the pecking order was a Pegasus by the name of Ravenloft. No one really knows where she came from, but she was definitely terror of the night, a freaky mare that nearly put the pale complexion of the Ghastly Visage to shame. And those fangs, they stand out like ivory keys on an ebony piano. She had all the makings of a vampire minus the blood drinking tendencies of myth… And the last of their organization, the one who unites the freaks is a gryphon by the name of The Talon. Mare-do-welltm explained that years ago he used to be known as a well distinguished businessmen, but after an accident involving some equestrian royal guards he lost one of his talons and it was replaced by cybernetics. Ever since he has been obsessed with bringing Equestria to its knees by any means.

PopCap was not entirely sure why they banded together in the first place, but she was glad that the narrator’s exposition was a free action, otherwise she would have been a goner for sure.

Jumping out of cover, she fired her popguns into the crowd of henchponies as their evil overlords looked on, completely preoccupied with managing the machine that was torturing the two captive heroes. It seemed they were not phased by her appearance at all, something she would be sure to make them regret.

Two more dropped, comically falling over as the corks smack them right between the eyes.

The next shot was a close range blind fire from that sniper rifle, trigger squeezed by a wing. Despite missing, the sheer intimidation of something so high powered being aimed your direction and firing was enough to make her foes flinch.

And right behind cover she went, just in time for another magic blast to whizz by her head, taking a few hairs with it… That henchpony was next. Then that stupid tophat!

Nopony messes with her mane and gets away with it… Nopony!! Without bothering to reload anything else, she loaded up another cork into her rifle and lined up her shot. Time seemed to slow down as she activated Bullet Time yet again. A quick scan of her two remaining targets before the big three were left gave her all the information she needed to make a hat trick of her own..

From one head to another, her shot bounced between them, knocking the two hench ponies out before sniping the hat off of Hat Trick. Flustered, the Unicorn turned away from the Headdress to shout, “Can you not PopCap? We are trying to have a moment.”

Smirking, the Pegasus planted the butt of her rifle on the ground and leaned upon it nonchalantly, knowing full well how smug she looked herself, “What’s the matter, afraid I will upstage you? What’s the trick this time?”

The Talon glanced back their way and silently gestured for Hat Trick to deal with her.

With a sigh, the unicorn levitated the hat back onto his head and walked up to PopCap and sighing, “Just between us, this is far from what I had in mind… I am just here for the show.”

The Pegasus nodded slowly, letting her rifle hit the floor, starting their personal tussle. Shooting him while he was alert was hardly a worthwhile endeavor, as his tricks would only make the shot harder, even for this expert marksmare. Moreover, he is more likely to catch it in his teeth… The showoff…

No she instead opted to rush in quickly and deal with him hoof to hoof. The less spells he can get off, the less he can mess with her head. He had fast hooves, but PopCap was no slouch either when it came to throwing down. A glancing blow to their cheeks, kicks blocked by kicks, a nice flip that wound up with them still landing on their hooves. These two were evenly matched in this regard, but PopCap had something that Hat Trick did not… A pop gun that she did not need her hooves to fire and was quick enough to reload while trading blows.

Once they were grappling, holding each other in place the mare got in one good cheap shot, firing the gun with her wings. As Hat Trick recoiled to dodge, seeing this attack coming, PopCap rushed forward and headbutted him, knocking him to the ground. Once there, the battle was over. She took aim and fired her other pistol at him while he was down, ensuring a knockout.

As she turned her attention back to the other two members of F.R.E.A.K., she noted Ravenloft was unconioucs, having seemingly be knocked out by The Talon who took the Headdress for himself. WIth wicked glee, he put on the silly hat and commanded The Ghastly Visage to attack, “Kill her for me.”

Being part undead, she was forced to obey, snapping her restrains and turning this into a battle between heroes.

“Ghastly?”

The spectral heroine’s eyes were like foggy glass, her mind clouded by her own thoughts and the will of The Talon. Her breathing was shaky, hooves trembling as she threw the first punch. She was fast and powerful, just as PopCap knew she would be. Had she not been the faster combatant, she knew very well a serious punch from her would have left her will a hole in her stomach.

PopCap pleaded with her friend as she continued a relentless assault, “Ghastly, wake up. It’s me, PopCap!”

But those words fell on deaf ears, leaving her with no other option but to fight as The Talon grinned wickedly, “She cannot heat you PopCap. The Ghastly Visage is MINE! As will the rest of the world soon enough. Good bye.”

The dastardly gryphon left the warehouse, leaving the two to fight, but not before Mare-do-welltm got up to give chase. She was a tough old hero, and was sure to keep fighting until the battle was over.

Mare-do-welltm can handle them, PopCap was sure of that. All she had to do was make sure that Ghastly stayed here and didn’t harm anyone.

PopCap just had to keep dodging, keep running until eventually Ghastly tired herself out. A punch here, a buck there, all was going well until the Pegasus ran out of room to run. The Ghastly Visage looked PopCap in the eyes as she drew back a hoof to end the lift of the pony held up in her monsterous grasp.

It was the end...

“I’m sorry.”

PopCap blasted The Ghastly Visage back with an up close surprise. And flashbang balloon specifically made to incapacitate hero’s just like her. She went stumbling backward, getting tangled up in the device meant to suck the life out of her before to power the headdress.

The spectral heroine screamed an unearthly wail, prompting PopCap to shout, “Ghastly? E-Eden!”

She ran over to try to pull her friend out of the mess of tangled wires and save her. Could she be saved? The tension rose as Ghastly went still, PopCap’s heart beating out of her chest as she dragged the lifeless body of her friend to safety and went to check for a pulse under her cowl.

There was… Nothing. Sure, The Ghastly Visage was technically dead in costume, but when she was tangible there should have been something! She should have felt something there.

In a panic, PopCap removed her friend’s cowl and started to perform CPR. As dire as the situation was, the demolitions and firearms expert of the P.A.R.T.Y. has nerves of steel. The ABCs, she had to remember the ABCs!

Airway, she propped up Eden a little to ensure her airway was clear and unobstructed.

Breathing, it was obvious at this point that she was not breathing.

And circulation, no pulse to be found.

Not good, very not good. Normally, she would have called the guard so she could get further medical help, but by nature of super heroing and secret identities, that was not an option. She had to do this herself… After a little time passed of chest compressions and rescue breathing, she felt a hoof on her shoulder, comforting her. It was Mare-do-welltm. With an inaudible sigh, the robot rubbed her hooves together and defibrillated the downed hero a few times.

It was hard to watch, but PopCap knew that Eden would be in good hooves with Mare-do-welltm here. She honestly doubted she could have saved her on her own. For this, she was eternally grateful.

The Pegasus pulled down her own mask and sighed, “Why does this keep happening to her?”





Meanwhile, somewhere else.

“Knight to D4.”

“Bishop takes rook.”

One by one the pieces fall.

“Pawn takes bishop.”

A small goat plays chess with a larger creature. Where death meets chaos, the games truly get interesting.

The goat speaks, “You know Discord, I have been… Worried, as of late.”

“Queen to F2,” The strange creature known as Discord raises an eyebrow at that, “Oh, what pray tell would make Lady death quiver in her fur?”

The goat ponders this for a moment before stating, “What else, but death? Pawn takes queen, check.”

The draconequus moves his king forward, out of the pawn’s range, “That narrows it down oh so well.”

The goat takes even longer to respond this time as they steal yet another glance at the door, “She’s late…”

Discord sighed and drew his opponents gaze back to the game board, “Its your move… And frankly my dear, she is always late.”

The game is put on hold for just a moment as the goat sighed, slightly exasperated, “To one of your game nights, in her own home no less?”

She moved a piece, as did Discord, their little exchange continuing as the war rages on, “She is a grown mare. She has responsibilities… Bleck.”

As much as it disgusted him to say that, he was quite proud of Apple Eden to really be going out there and working hard outside her own career. Oh yes, he knew, he very well knew she was The Ghastly Visage and that she was out there keeping Equestria safe. Just like her family always had. It made him proud, and sick…

“It’s not just her Discord that worries me. The others…”

Discord paused, halting himself from letting go of the piece he was about to place and moving it somewhere else, “Speak your mind Jr, I won’t judge. Scouts honor.”

Baphomet jr responded dryly, “What honor? … Anyway. I just, find it strange that a lot of ponies have their clocks broken today. I can’t get a read on anyone!”

Discord laughed jovially, “Oh? Does Lady death need a timekeeper again?”

The goat growls at him, moving him into check again, “I am serious! I haven’t seen an anomaly like this in decades. It all started this morning. It almost felt like…”

Discord pulled himself out of check yet again and said, “Someone gave the hand of fate a papercut and its moving to avoid the pain?”

She relented, “Yes… I… Think I am starting to believe again. As crazy as it sounds, maybe Twilight and her friends were right, either I am losing my touch, or someone pulled the wool over my eyes.”

Check yet again, “I used to be so certain of how things worked, but the more I look into this world, this future, the more I am convinced there is more going on behind the scenes. Like, maybe not everyone's fates were so clear cut."

Discord places his final piece down and declares, “Checkmate.”

The draconequus just won fair and square, and Baphomet jr was in disbelief. Jaw agape, she could only watch as Discord slithers to his feet and says, “Maybe what you need is to look at all the pieces, not just the ones left on the board before making any conclusions. You lost focus."

When she looked at the board again, she saw that while she had him in check yet again, his last move had her in checkmate in four places, his hand moved one piece and affected four others, a cross check that lead to multiple discoveries. If that was how this game ended, how many more endings like it could there have been?

Discord greeted Sin slither and Eden at the door and helped the latter inside. She honestly looked like she had some dreadful ordeal.
> Chaos future Part1: The core truth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was small and white, like her namesake. As cute as a button and twice as adorable. Marshmallow, that unicorn filly that reminded Rarity so much of her late sister, lay asleep in her bed, the soft glow of the elder mare’s magic fizzling out as she tucks her into bed with a smile. She partied hard and absolutely wore herself out.

“She reminds me a lot of you… Such a sweetie. I bet you are very proud of her, Sweetie Belle.”

She turned away, looking at the robotic mare standing at the door, a smile adorning her face as her green optics looked between her sister and Marshmallow, “It means a lot to hear you say that.”

Her white frame slowly stepped aside, letting the taller dark mare pass and then following after, “I have been trying my best to raise her ever since her parents died, but it has been difficult. I never really was able to get a few things right with this body. My old habits seep in some times. Glitches…”

She held up a hoof and let out exhaust, “Sometimes I can’t cook right. Housework piles up. My little Marshmallow really stepped up as I am falling apart. I am supposed to be her caretaker, but sometimes I feel like she is the one taking care of me.”

Rarity placed a hoof on her sister’s chassis and stated, “It's alright. Just keep having some faith in yourself. You were a great sister to me, and a wonderful mother in your own right.”

Another warm blast of exhaust washed over Rarity’s fur as she stated, “I know. It’s hard though. I may be able to see, hear, and move. But I just can’t feel. My horn is… Just decoration, the magic circuits are incomplete and without my original blueprints I can’t exactly be fixed so easily.”

There was a huff that came from her as she stated, “I suppose this was the price I had to pay for extending my life, as rushed as it was.”

Rarity cocked her head to the side, looking a little quizzical at her, “Do you ever regret it? Becoming this?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head as she went to embrace her older sister, “Not once… I got to see my little girl grow up into a strong mare. I got to see our family grow. I get to watch Marshmallow every day… And now, I got to see you again. Even though I can’t feel your touch, you have no idea how much being able to hug you right now means to me. It makes it all worth it!”

-Ding- -Ding- -Ding-

It was already late, they both knew that. Unfortunately, Rarity simply could not stay any longer, “Oh, I am sorry Sweetie Belle, but I must be going now. Twilight left already and she is expecting me.”

The robot waved a carbon fibre hoof in response and said, “No, I am sorry we don’t have room here for you and your family.”

With a small childish giggle, the nightmare responded, “It’s fine. I think I would know if my own home could house a dragon, a nightmare, and a half dragon, as well as a whole other family.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and escorted her sister out, “Quite… Perhaps it is time to expand the Boutique then? We’ll work that out some other time, until then, good night Sister mine.”

Rarity waved goodbye and left Sweetie Belle at the door, “Good night my dear, and stay safe!”

As she wandered through the decently lit city streets of Ponyville, she saw Twilight approaching her, “Ah, there you are. I was a little worried you might have gotten lost.”

Rarity shook her head as the two embraced, “I’m fine… Though, where are the others? Spike, Sparity?”

Twilight explained, “They went ahead. Spike wanted to show Sparity around a little, father daughter time before heading back to the castle.”

There was a bit of an awkward air about the two as Rarity glanced back at the boutique behind her, “So…”

A pause gave way to words as Rarity asked, “Twilight. Why is Sweetie a robot?”

Twilight looked away, somehow feeling ashamed to speak of this, “Technically speaking she is a golem. A doll brought to life by magic, just given a fresh coat of paint here and there. Back then, our technology was not sophisticated enough to be called ‘robotics’.”

She explained, “It all started the night you left Ponyville under the cover of darkness with Spike. You see, she saw the whole thing, and I did not know what awoke in her until it was too late. She hoped you would return, waiting day and night for the day you would come back down that road.

She waited, and waited, and waited some more, until she had no time left to wait. Using what knowledge she gained from you as a designer, and her many life experiences, she crafted a doll in her younger image with the intention of giving it life. You see, she… Was practicing soul magic. Some rather intense stuff. She kept this a secret from all except her closest friends, who worked together in secret to enact this plan.

It was crazy to imagine, but they cared about her so much they dropped everything to see her off, however, when I discovered the truth Sweetie was already gone, having casted the spell. Sweetie belle died that day, and the one you met today was born.”

Rarity frowned, eyes planted firmly on the ground as she spoke, “But it failed, didn’t it? They all did.”

Twilight gasped softly, but nodded, “So you knew? I figured you would have felt it.”

“She may have acted like my sister, and knew the whole routine. But when I talked with her, when I hugged her, I… Felt nothing. I could tell she was empty. Figments and fragments of someone, and being no one at the same time.”

Twilight shivered hearing that, but the truth was harsh, “Sweetie Belle was only partially successful, giving the Golem her memories, but the strain on her body and soul was too great. She perished before it could finish. I did not want to believe it, but the truth is, not even Apple Eden can see anything in her.”

Nightmare Rarity sighed, “I see…”

The Alicorn gestured for Rarity to follow her as she continued speaking, “Sweetie Golem may not have a soul, but surely you wonder why she still moves? Those memories were enough to get it started, active. It may not have a soul, but those feelings and thoughts allow it to simulate how she should feel. And the most tragic part is, she believes the lie. She thinks she is the real Sweetie, living life as a doll waiting for her sister to return.”

“Honestly, soul magic is unpredictable, something that not even alicorns can even get a grasp of completely. Souls are fraile, I am honestly relieved her soul was not destroyed or corrupted, it was still able to pass on.”

As the two stood at the door to Twilight’s castle, the Alicorn simply had to ask her shaking friend, “Rarity… I am sorry you had to hear this. How do you feel?”

Powering through the conflicting feelings, Rarity steeled herself and answered resolutely, “If Sweetie Golem believes she is my sister… I will believe in her too. She may be a copy, and imitation, but what kind of sister would I be if I turned my back on her? I... I will honor my sister’s last wish.”

That was a good answer, one that Twilight knew her friend would come to. Even after all this time, her heart was still full of generosity, that willingness to open itself up to others and give more than what would be expected. It brought a smile to Twilight’s face as they parted ways, “Good night Rarity.”

“Good night Twilight.”

Once alone, as alone as one can be with an Owl AI taking care of your whims and needs, she mused aloud, “Destiny… It can be rather cruel sometimes. Sweetie wished to meet her sister again so she made herself a dummy body to inhabit, only for that body to be taking care of the mare she became in the next life.”

Owly responded with a deep question, “Do you think it is wise to not tell Rarity that Marshmallow is Sweetie’s next life?”

Twilight sighed as she headed for bed, her regalia removed at a simple command and gesture, “To be honest, I am unsure. Maybe it is for the best. This whole subject is still new to Rarity. Given her own circumstances, who knows how she may react to the knews of her sister’s reincarnation. Perhaps one Sweetie Belle in her life is enough, yes?”

“If that is what you believe.”





The next morning~

Toast jumped out of the toaster, buttered mid flight before being caught in a hurried Alicorn’s mouth. She was busy getting her regalia on as she bounced around the kitchen, “Sorry, sorry!”

She was rather cute as she flailed around getting her affairs in order as her guests looked on, “Sorry everyone, emergency meeting in Canterlot. I wish I could show you all around a little more.”

Spike waved a claw and chuckled, “You do your thing Twilight. We understand. Sparity and I will just be gem hunting today, no big deal.”

Twilight nodded and said as she took another bite out of her toast, “Good luck you two, stay safe… What do you plan on doing, Rarity?”

The Nightmare pondered aloud, “What am I gonna do today? Maybe I will walk around town a little?”

She looked up from her newsprint and sighed, noting that everyone had left her alone already, “Oh come on!”

Feeling a little dejected, she absent mindedly wandered to Sweet Apple Acres. Compared to everything else in Ponyville, it was a refreshing sight seeing this place still so familiar even after all these years. She was lost in thought, reminiscing about the good old days when suddenly she almost got her head blown clean off by an applebucker she really should have seen coming.

Apple Eden apologized profusely, shaking like a leaf as she stated, “Oh f*ck… I am so sorry, I didn’t see you there. Please forgive me.”

Rarity held her chest in shock, thoughtlessly comforting the mare who nearly took her head off, “It’s fine… I am okay.”

She says this, but her mind was racing with just how close death had been to claiming her yet again. Giving Big Mac a run for his money in terms of strength was putting it lightly. Having been around Applejack enough she knew very well how much control and force is needed to buck these trees, and Apple Eden was holding back super hard just then, and even that horrified her!

Once the situation had calmed, Apple Eden sat down on the ground and asked, “Is there anything I can help you with Miss Rarity?”

Rarity shook her head and said, “I just wanted to see this old place again, see how much it has changed…”

She looked around briefly before asking, “Is there anyone else working at the Orchard?”

It was now Apple Eden's turn to shake her head as she explained, “No actually. I work here alone. My cousin works the Orchard a few towns over, and her mom does the housework, my mom works at the crystal Empire, my father sells apples to the gryphons, Gramps is in Appleloosa, Grams is in Canterlot, and my other cousin-”

She trailed off, speaking more and more about her family tree and making Rarity regret even asking. She was thinking what almost anyone might think, that Apples were slowly taking over the world.

Interrupting her long winded speech about Apples and saving the readers and the editor a lot of headaches, Rarity states, “Wow! You must be an incredibly hard worker to keep this up all by yourself.”

Apple Eden grinned sheepishly and said, “Well, in truth it's mostly for everyone else’s protection. I am well aware it's dangerous to be around me when I work.”

Rarity facefaults, “No kidding?”

She did not intend to say that outloud, but it seems like Eden did not seem to mind in the slightest, “Well, I should let you get back to work. The day is still young.”

Eden replied, “And there are plenty of trees to buck, i Know. Have a good day Rarity!”

Rarity nodded as she wandered off, “Good morning, and I will see you later.”

Eden waves her off and says, “I’ll see you guys later.”

The Nightmare sighs, running a hoof through her mane to straighten it as Eden sends shockwaves through the air, having resumed her apple bucking duties.

Eventually she found herself at the apple homestead and let herself inside, finding the door unlocked. She breathed deep that rustic air, noting just how familiar this place was. It truly was as if nothing had changed in the last… What, hundred years?

She called out, “Hello, is anypony home?”

As she stepped further inside, she looked around a little, “A few changes here and there, but overall still the same old home. Applejack would love it here! Hmmm?”

She paused her thought to spot a strange looking set of armor on a mannequin inside a glass case over on the far wall. Her curiosity piqued, she asked aloud, “What is this?”

He looked at the armor as close as she could and mused, “The upper part reminds me of a minotaur, but the lower half does not fit that… Neither does a diamond dog.”

“That’s because it's something I used to wear in another world. That was a long journey, so long ago.”

Rarity turned to see a very familiar face staring back at her. The stetson wearing orange mare that told the hard truth and was one of the backbones of her group of friends back in the day, “Applejack?”

Said honest mare flicked her rim up and grinned, “So you have returned… Glad to see ya Rares, sorry for not being here for your party yesterday, I was in Dodge City and only just got here this mornin’.”

The Nightmare was uneasy at first, but she quickly rushed in to hug her hold friend, “I thought I would never see you again! It's been too long!”

Applejack snorted and said, “You ain’t the only one sugarcube… I missed you too.”

Rarity held up one of Applejack’s hooves and gasped, “By Nightmare moon’s chipped fangs, you look positively dreadful. What happened to you? I know you were not the most beauty focused, but I know you wouldn’t let yourself get banged up this badly.”

Indeed, Applejack looked absolutely destroyed. Scars riddled her body and hooves, sure signs of harsh conflict. That was the only explanation. It had to be. To confirm this, she stated, “I got these in another world. It was full of… Fighting, and horrors I dare not speak of. I was lucky not to have lost any limbs there, or my life for that matter. That was a long two years.”

That was when Rarity noticed something else striking about her friend, she gestured to the ring around her neck and asked, “I see… Is that a memento from there… Or maybe-”

Applejack held the ring fondly and smiled wide, “It’s actually an engagement ring.”

Rarity gasped, getting a little excited to hear that, “Oh? And who is the lucky stallion? They must have been someone mighty impressive to catch your eye.”

Fond smiles turned to tears slowly as Applejack nodded, “Y-yeah… He was. I’m afraid we never did get married. He died over fourteen years ago.”

That dropped a cold bucket of water on Rarity’s enthusiasm rather quickly as applejack continued, “He died, leaving me all alone in that world. This ring, his sword, our armor… It’s all I had on me when Twilight found me and brought me home.”

She wiped her tears and followed up by gesturing to some of the very old pictures on the wall, pictures of her family, of the past, “I was there for two years, fighting to stay alive until I could one day return home, and when I did I found over a hundred and fifty years passed. It was strange… One day, everyone I knew was alive, then they were not ‘the next’, and I never even had the chance to say goodbye. It was hard to swallow, almost too much, but I wasn’t alone at least.”

She smiled and held up a picture to her friend, one of her in the hospital with a bundle of joy in her arms, “I found out I was pregnant… A child with a man from another world.”

Rarity’s eyes widened, “You had a child?”

Applejack nodded, “My pride and joy, LJ? Darn tootin… She was the brightest thing to come out of all of it by the end.”

The nightmare hugged her friend once more and said, “You have been through so much… I am sorry. Had I known, I would have been here in a heartbeat, you know.”

“You ain’t changed a bit, sugarcube.”

Rarity waved a hoof at her and scoffed, “Oh shush… As if time can change me~”

She gave her friend a knowing look and said, “My generous spirit is not so easily quashed. If you are ever feeling lonely, I will drop everything to help you out. Me, and my darling gentledrake.”

“Just like that one time in the barn.”

Applejack blushed heavily, “Do ya really need to bring that up again? It was embarrassing…”

Rarity smirked as applejack put the picture of her daughter down, “Speaking of barns, is your daughter in one of em? I don’t think I met her yet.”

The apple mare pondered that, thinking it over, “Hmmm… I sent her off to inspect the corn fields, but I have a feeling she went off to go train again.”

Her friend winked at her, “Sneaking off to do her own thing when there is work to be done, doesn’t sound like the apple way, eh?”

Applejack sighed, looking mighty embarrassed, enough to pull her cap down, “Yeah, she gets that from her Pa. A thrill seeking fighter…”

“Fighter? What does she fight for?”

Applejack gestured to the both of them and said, “Every generation needs the element bearers in some form. As the element bearer of loyalty, I expect nothing less than her best for her friend’s sake.”

At that, Rarity was once again very curious, “Loyalty?”

Questions, always endless questions, and no matter how many answers she gets, she had one more. With a groan, the apple mare asked, “Yeah, she isn’t exactly the most honest… Another thing she gets from her father. Anyway, do you mind if I step out for a bit, I need to check up on her.”

Rarity nods, “But of course, darling! I will see you later. And I promise it won’t be another hundred and fifty years wait this time.”

Applejack waved her friend off as she ran off, “I reckon you’ll keep that one! Later sugarcube!”

Rarity smiled and waved back, watching her go down one of the Acre’s many paths, relieved to know that yet another friend is still around and living life. But one thing still bothered her. What was with that strange bonfire beside the house. It obviously had a warning not to touch it written by AJ, but is it really okay for it to just be there beside something… Ya know, flammable?

Oh well~





Meanwhile, a ways away, the sound of clashing wood and crystal resounded throughout the orchard. Once, twice, three times before it would cease momentarily before the loudest rang out, “Iainuki!”

LJ’s sword was blown away as her master held his blade up to her throat, “And just like that, you are dead… I told you, fighting with a head full of air will only lead to you getting popped.”

LJ growled as she batted away her master’s blade, pouting like a child, “No fair… No instant win attacks!”

Her master sighed and put his wooden blade back in its holster and said, “You would have been able to block and counter that if you had a better grip on your blade. Now go retrieve it, my pupil, there is still much to learn.”

LJ sighed, deflating as she got to her hooves, “Yes master Kensai…”

The angry student groaned as she grumbled to herself, “Stupid weak hands… Stupid flimsy legs… It's not fair!”

She elbowed an apple tree as she passed and caught the red delicious treat in her grasp and angrily took a bite out of it, “I am supposed to learn how to fight from one of the Seven heavenly warriors, not how get my ass handed to me all the time… This isn’t how a Hero is supposed to do things.”

As she wandered through the brush looking for her lost blade, she grew more and more exasperated, “Sword, sword… Where the hell are you now? Did he really have to hit it that hard?”

A voice called out to her as she rummaged through a bush, “Pardon me, is this what you are looking for?”

She looked up to see a very irate looking dark unicorn with her sword sticking out of her mane comically, “My sword! Ah, thank you!”

The unicorn plucked it out of her mane with her magic and pointed the wooden crystal blade at her, “Is that so… Mind telling me why you are trying to kill me? That hurt!”

LJ bowed, “Sorry! It was an accident I swear! I didn’t mean to drop it! It was knocked from my hands!”

Once she held it again, the dark unicorn marveled at her, “Wow, you really do look like your mother LJ. She was not kidding…”

LJ looked up from her blade at the stranger and asked, “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

She shook her head in response, “We haven’t met, but I am one of your mother’s best friends.”

LJ hummed softly, “Really? I know all of her friends, and I don’t recognize you none.”

Her grip on her blade tightened, her stance shifting slightly, “You’re taller than any Unicorn I ever met, and your coat is dark as midnight. And those fangs are giving me some wicked vibes… If you knew my Ma back in the old time, then that can only mean one thing.”

Rarity smiled and asked, “And what’s that?”

LJ rushed forward and struck Rarity on the forehead. Just as she expected, an HP bar appeared above her head, “Oww… What was that for?”

The swordsmare smirked, “Nice try stranger, but I can see you for the fake you are. Others may get fooled, but you can’t hide from the elements. You’re a dark monster, and monsters like you need to be brought back to Harmony!”

Clearly there was a huge misunderstanding going on, but if LJ was anything like her mother, this was not going to be solved with words. Not now that this was escalating fast, still she had to try right? This was her best friend’s daughter!

LJ may still be a squire, a knight in training, but by no means was she weak or slow. Her flurry of blows was quick, only just guarded by the Nightmare’s shields, “H-hold on LJ, I may have dark magic, but I'm not evil, I swear!”

That only earned a moment's pause as she switched stances, “Possible, but I know one thing, that dark magic can and will turn you evil someday. If you are serious about being Ma’s friend, then stay still and let me do this. My Element of Harmony can save you.”

Rarity knew that no matter what, she could not afford to be a punching bag for LJ. At best she would be turned to stone or something, savable by Twilight or AJ later, but at worst… The Elements could remove her dark powers like they did with Luna and Nightmare Moon. Seeing as her base form is already dead, she will wither away into nothing! That would be the worst possible thing!

“Stop!”

In a desperate attempt to flee, Rarity teleported away, prompting LJ to land face first into the dirt, “Oh come on… Okay, I doubt she got far, that was too panicked to be a well thought out spell, and I know these orchards. I got this.”

Of course, she had to psyche herself up. LJ knew full well what an S class could do when they get serious and can focus. She had to keep the pressure on.

When Rarity blinked back into existence, she found herself back at the apple homestead just beside the corn field. The last thing she honestly expected woul be seeing the Elements being turned against her like this. She was just grateful that this generation’s bearers can’t simply knock her out in one blow. That was good, that meant she had time to think things through, to plan, but… She can’t run from LJ forever.

The Corn field! Applejack must be in there somewhere. She just needed to get Applejack, then this whole mess can be sorted out without violence. With some relief in that thought washing over her, she wandered into the corn field to search for her friend. Upon finding an orange figure in the maze, she let out a sigh of relief and said, “Applejack, we have a bit of a situation. Your daughter is trying to kill me, do you think you can-”

At first she was relieved, then she realized she was just talking to a straw dummy, a scarecrow. Feeling rather silly, she states, “Oh… My bad. I should really open my eyes a little more before I prattle off like that.”

“I’ll say. Talking to inanimate objects is a sign of insanity, you know.”

Rarity blinked out of existence just in time to avoid being cut down from behind by an attacking LJ, “Coward! Why can’t you just let me save you dammit…”

The nightmare popped back into existence a ways away, back in the orchard yet again, “Damn… How does she find me so fast? She is relentless…”

LJ whistled and waved down at Rarity from one of the apple tree branches, “Hey there. Sad to say, you can’t outrun me at the orchard, I know this place like the back of my hoof, and as long as my Element is aware of you, I will always know where you are too.”

She hopped down from the branch and said, “So why don’t we cut to the chase and…”

-blink-

LJ sighed and followed her on a wild goose chase, continuing this same cat and mouse game until they were both laid out on the ground, gasping for air, “What the fuck lady. How do you still do that!?”

Rarity groans, “Pure fucking adrenaline sister… You?”

LJ responded in kind, “Ma says I don’t know when to quit, and I'm inclined to agree… Sorry sugracube, I am stuck on your ass.”

“Don’t call me sugarcube, only AJ calls me that.”

The swordsmare laughs as she uses her sword to stand up again, as well as Rarity’s body as Rarity uses LJ to stand up again, “Fine… You want a boss battle kid? Let's dance.”

The two headbut eachother, forcing them to stagger backwards before they assume offensive positions. Rarity showed no signs of backing down this time, her mane flowing in the breeze as her magic ignited. LJ took a breath to center herself and said, “I’m gonna waltz all over your face.”

That made Rarity blush a little hearing such a bizarre statement come from her friend’s daughter, but she was able to regain her composure in time to block LJ’s flurry of blows, “Oh really? Give it up kid, I’m much stronger than you, and you are not getting past this shield.”

LJ growled as she kept up her assault, “Since when do Heroes back down just because their opponent is stronger?”

Rarity yawned and pushed LJ back with the force of her shield blocking, “Believe me, If I really wanted to, I could have killed you already. So please, stop before I do get serious.”

The swordsmare sheathed her blade, hand at the ready to draw it out again as she prepared her next attack, “Unicorns and their magic… Always making it difficult. Good thing I have just the technique for this! And… Thanks Alter for making direct magical jinxes harder to land while I wear this damn Element.”

“Spirit dragon heed my call… Ryujin no ken wo kurae!”

LJ drew her blade, calling upon a spirit dragon to fight beside her. Naturally, this startled Rarity as her shield was assaulted not only by a barrage of heavy sword swings, but was also getting beaten down by the light green dragon, “Dragon!”

The shield started to crack, little by little until eventually it shattered like glass. With one final strike, the dragon comped down on Rarity and LJ was forced to retreat from the force of the blast. With a grin, she happily paid the spirit dragon it’s summoning pearl and sighed, “You did a great job… Until next time Soba!”

When the dragon vanished into the ether, she sighed, “Damn that is expensive, but it was worth it! Villains like you always underestimate us heroes, and that leads straight to defeat.”

Unfortunately for her, as the dust settled upon the land, she saw an unsettling sight, Rarity was not only still standing, but she was fuming. Her mane was ruined!

“Spirit dragon, huh? You must think yourself clever by bypassing my defences like that. But no more!”

LJ huffed and resumed her previous stance, “Should have guessed an S-class summoned creature alone wouldn’t be enough to win by itself…”

Rarity spat as she roared at her, disappointed that she was now sitting at half her HP and a ruined mane job, “Alright, I’ll admit, no one ever made me lose this much HP before, but you won’t get any more out of me. That was your one chance to put the sword down.”

LJ raised a hand and taunted her with a ‘come and get me’ gesture. Unfortunately she only made the situation worse… The standoff was intense, both of them watching and waiting for the other to make their move so they could end this with one final strike.

Rarity made the first move, her horn igniting in a split second to fire off a spell as LJ recalled her lessons earlier that day. She was squaring off against her master, much like she always had, except this time felt a little different. Instead of using traditional sword swings, he was using the energy projected from his blade to attack her, spirit sword techniques, and her job was to deflect them. But alas, she simply could not get it and was disarmed again and again.

After some time, her master sat down beside her and he stated in a calm manner, “You are trying too hard to fight like me… Use your hands for this, feel the blade in your grasp and trust in it. Hold it tight and never let go. I may be your master, but you will never be able to surpass me if all you do is copy me. Develop your own style and use what you can do to win. Now let’s go again!”

That was what she needed, what she was missing! Now she understood why she kept losing all this time, it just needed a good battle to let it sink in. A pity all that self reflection left her wide open to attack. In the time it took to blink, that sleep spell had hit her square between the eyes.

Rarity sighed as she saw the laid out here twitching on the ground, helpless. She was still mad, yes, but not mad enough to actually launch a serious spell at her. No, she still had enough of her mental faculties to do just that.

The mare must have been more tired by the whole running ordeal than she thought, because merely lifting the swordsmare off the ground was proving to be difficult, much less keep her asleep. With little other option, she resorted to perhaps the most archaic ways of subduing her foe… Tying her up in knots and hanging her from a tree. At the very least LJ should still be asleep by the time she was done, however Jj seemed to prove her wrong, waking up just as it was all over, startling the nightmare pony, “For a small mare, you sure are heavy.”

“I’m not heavy… Your levitation magic is just weak on me.”

Rarity jumped back, startled, “Y-you! You’re supposed to be asleep. My spell shouldn’t have worn off quickly…”

LJ smirked as she struggled against her bonds, “Levitation is the manipulation of matter and magic in other people, right? Well, sucks to be you, I am half equestrian, so even without my element protecting me, your direct magic would only be half as effective on someone like me.”

The sword swinging apple mare groaned as she ‘gave up’ fighting the rope, “I just have one question… What the hell is this you damn pervert! What kind of knots are these?”

Rarity grinned sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, “Sorry LJ, it's the best rope tying technique I have… Or rather, the one I remember most.”

The nightmare giggled softly and commented, “Should easily be able to keep you at bay. I have had some practice using it on earth ponies…”

With that said, Rarity used a spell to fix up her mane, much to LJ’s chagrin, “Bite me…”

Looking fabulous as ever, her foe struck a pose and let out an evil chortle, “Well now, save that anger for later… Now is the time to have a pleasant little chat, hero~”

“Rarity! What are you doing to my daughter!”

Applejack appeared from the brush, having bore witness to the startling sight before her. Her best friend had her daughter held captive and at her mercy with hardly a scratch on her. And LJ, she looked absolutely drained and was worse for wear. 

Rarity spun around, looking absolutely startled to see her friend there, but was even more horrified to see her friend brandishing a sword at her, “I-I swear it's not what it looks like.”

LJ chimed in, “Careful Ma! Her dark powers have corrupted her!”

Applejack huffed as she looked between the two and prepared to charge, not hearing a lick of what Rarity had to say. At this point she had only one thing on her mind, and she was going to execute it.

Rarity’s screams made a few birds scatter off in the distance.

She didn’t even have the heart to look her friend in the eye as she attacked, and yet the thud that followed was not made by Rarity.

LJ stretched and rubbed her sore body as she stood up, “Thanks Ma… Now stand aside. If we don’t want to hurt her, my Element has to do this.”

Rarity opened her eyes to see LJ getting to her feet and her mother standing over her protectively. However, upon seeing Rarity’s face, Applejack’s expression softened and she dismissed her sword, storing it back in her inventory before putting a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder, “I’m sorry sugarcube, but I can’t let you do that.”

She stepped forward and placed herself between LJ and Rarity, “She’s my friend.”

LJ gasped, “But… Mom? Are you sure it’s her and not some dark monster impersonating her?”

AJ nodded, “Of course… As the former element of Honesty, I like to imagine I can spot a liar.”

She frowned, showing deep disappointment, “Honestly LJ, I am disappointed in you. I thought I taught you better than to assume that a pony is evil just because of their appearances.”

LJ deadpanned, “You didn’t teach me at all though. If it weren’t for Master Kensai and Dawn’s recommendations, I would even be fighting. You… Wanted me to stay away from swordplay.”

Applejack blinked, as if a sudden realization hit her, “Thats… thats right. It always was them, wasn’t it? Everypony else encourages you to fight. I’m sorry.”

LJ continued to rant, really laying it on thick with the gravity of the situation, “So you are saying a good pony can look bad, and a bad pony can look good, right? How am I supposed to know any of this if you don’t teach me? I wasn’t born with the ability to detect lies like other apples, I am not a psychic like Apple Eden. I had to learn this all by myself.”

She gripped her own element tightly and firmly stated, “It's true, I should look into things closer to find the truth, but we don’t always have time for that. In battle where precious seconds can be the difference between life and death, I have to trust my instincts, and when that fails me I let the element tell me who I fight. That’s the one thing you did teach me, that the elements are never wrong. It lets me see the harmony bars of any evil person.”

“Is that so… Then I guess I have been a bad mother then.”

LJ paused, taken aback by AJ’s sudden advance, “Would you kill anypony with one of those bars then?”

The hybrid shook her head violently, “No! We don’t kill mom. We purify them, cleanse them of wickedness. You have seen it before, the dark creatures that have been attacking the barriers around town, the small woodland monsters that lose themselves to the dark that come here from other worlds… Imagine if it were a pony, someone intelligent enough to lie, to hide what happened to them. The effects could be devastating, permanent, deadly… I can’t take that chance now. I have to return them to the light, not just for the sake of the people they hurt, but for themselves!”

“Am I wrong to do this?”

AJ smiled softly and hugged her daughter, “No, you aren’t wrong, but I can’t exactly call you right either. You are fighting for what you believed in, just as I did. I can’t fault you for not knowing, because up until now you have been dealing with absolutes, am I wrong?”

The apple farmer gripped LJ’s blade in her grasp lightly before taking hold of it more firmly, “Mom?”

Applejack let out a sigh and said, “I want you to see something, LJ. The reason I have been so adamant on you staying away from swords and all this fighting. I hoped I never would need to, but you leave me no choice. This is the truth.”

Applejack then did the unthinkable, she forced LJ to strike her on the head. Nothing serious, but enough to make the swordsmare drop her blade in shock.

There it was, forming above her head, the harmony bar that AJ dreaded for her daughter to ever see. Undead Applejack, the truth she had kept buried for years.

LJ backed away, eyes transfixed on the bar, “M-mom… What is that!? When did you...”

Her mother sighed and said, “Before you were born. I have carried this curse for over fourteen years.”

Slowly, the swordsmare asked, “But… Are you okay? That darkness, undeath. That’s too long!”

Applejack sternly retorted, “I’m fine, LJ. Better than that actually. It's because of this curse I am even alive right now… Despite not having technically died, I would without it.”

She gestured to Rarity behind her, who was busy snacking on an apple and listening to her tale, “We are both in the same boat. You would be surprised how much you can survive when darkness is involved… All our injuries, our failures, they could and would catch up to us in an instant if it were taken from us.”

LJ was stunned, “So If I were to have harmonized her… She would have-”

AJ nodded slowly, “You would have killed her, LJ. There is nothing left for her to revert back to.”

This shattered LJ, to the point of her falling to her knees as tears began to fall, “I nearly… I almost…”

“I didn’t want that to happen!”

Rarity tried to comfort her, “At least you understand now, right? You were only doing it because you wanted to help me. It’s okay, I should have told you sooner too. Maybe then you would have-”

It fell on deaf ears, “No… Please don’t cast the blame on yourself, this was always on me. I wasn’t listening to you from the start. And even if I did, I still would have fought you to prove it. I… Just never thought the Elements could kill anyone.”

LJ grasped her element and wept, “I went too far this time. My hot headedness nearly got someone killed, and I was too blind to see it. I am not worthy of being a hero.”

Rarity waved a hoof, “Now hold on, you don’t have to stop being a hero, you just… you’re still learning. That’s okay!”

Applejack remained silent, unable to look at this display. She was hiding her face with her hat so no one would have to see her cry as well.

LJ grabbed her sword off the ground and said, “Rarity, you are Ma’s friend right? How often do we Apples change? I’ll just make the same mistake again later, and next time I might not have anyone to stop me. It’s better this way.”

She looked down at the Element around her neck and closed her eyes, her mind seemingly made up, “Equestria is full of ponies out there. Ones more loyal than I am, ones that are smarter than I am, ones that are better fit to be a hero.”

The swordsmare gave up her sword, throwing it far away, “I don’t deserve this blade. May it choose somepony more worthy.”

With that said, she changed her gloves to better fit her new role, “For me, I’ll just be what Ma wanted from the start. A simple farmer.”

She started to wander off, but AJ had seen enough of this pity party. Readjusting her hat, she asked, “Are you just going to leave? Do you really think you can just walk away from this?”

LJ turned back to face her mom and gestured to herself, “No… I can’t, can I?”

Applejack shook her head and placed a hoof on her daughter’s shoulder once more and said, “Even if you do walk away now, I know you will come back. For the longest time you wanted to be a hero, and the day you got your cutiemark I knew full well that was your destiny, but I can’t let you do it for the wrong reasons. You still want revenge for your father’s death.”

LJ gulped.

“When the element chose you, I let you go. I believed that you would grow strong, strong enough to be safe should any more villains come around, but I was an old fool who thought that your desire for revenge could be tempered. But instead of making you stronger, it only clouded your mind. It made you eager to fight, willing to direct your anger and frustrations at anyone and everyone. You will fight again, you will make mistakes again. But not if I put that fire out here and now. I told you about myself, but if I want to be sure you will take the right path going forward I have to tell you about your father. I will tell you how he died.”

Applejack withdrew and took out a very old looking sword, one that LJ was very familiar with, “This sword? It belonged to the one who killed your father. And I was the one who held it.”

“I killed him.”

Rarity gasped, “No!”

LJ was too stunned for words. No… It couldn’t be true could it? Why did applejack kill her own fiance? It just couldn’t make any sense to her. Her mind could not comprehend it.

Applejack continued solemnly, “This curse belonged to him. You are marked by death, letting you return to life at any special bonfires around the kingdom. However, as much as a gift that may sound, it comes with a heavy cost. Your memories, your soul, your sanity, it all escapes you as you lose your ‘life’ time and time again until there is nothing left and you become hollow.”





It was dark, and it was raining, the clouds only parting ever so slightly to allow the moonlight to filter through. The dark hand gripped their blade tightly as the fog gate locked the orange haired woman inside the arena. She looked on in horror as faulty beams revealed the face of her opponent, the one whom she dreaded to face.

The man she was to marry stood before her snarling like a beast. Her heart sank, blade shaking in her grasp as she squared up uneasily. It was not supposed to end like this. They were supposed to make it out of here together!

Sparks flew as blades clashed, curses filling the air in a one sided exchange. It's not fair! Since the day Applejack landed here, her hopes, her dreams, they had all been crushed mercilessly by this unforgiving world. Yet another was dashed under heel as her blade was knocked away, leaving her at the mercy of her beloved.

“Byron… Please.”

Her pleas fell upon deaf ears as another swing came inches from taking her head off, followed by another she rolled out of the way of, but not completely unscathed. Orange strands… Just a hair's breadth separated what could have been a fatal wound and completely missing its mark.

Applejack watched as her orange locks scattered to the wind, fragments of a whole that would surely be only the start. Backed up into a corner with more ferocious swings of a blade, the swordswoman resorted to one thing she still had since she came to this nightmare realm of darkness and death, really strong legs! As Byron raised his blade up again to strike, Applejack exploded forward and kicked him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him before she nicked his blade from his grasp and ran it through his chest, “Forgive me…”

She had dealt with hollows before, seen how dark and twisted they were, but her beloved's last words hurt her far more than any blade ever could. Not even him going hollow hurt this badly.

“Thank you…”

As the undead crumbled to dust in her arms, she wailed, breaking down as the remnants of his soul clung to her like stink on a skunk. The curse he bore, the strength he had left, she inherited it all. Her tears fell to the ground, dancing with the rain before pooling darkly upon the ground. She saw her own face, and it was as dark as his. She may be alive, but by no means did she feel like it.

It's not fair. It never was. She sat up against a wall and clutched her legs tightly and cursed this day. But her pain did not end, not even as a familiar voice came to her aid. If only she came an hour ago. Twilight, what took you so long?





“And that is the truth behind the death of your father. So, do you still want revenge?”

Applejack growled softly as she kept her blade up, making her intentions very clear. However, LJ was too terrified to move, much less fight. She gritted her teeth, shouting in response, “I can’t! How can I… I can’t fight you mom.”

With that declaration thrown out, Applejack put her blade away yet again and said, “I hate to say this, but this is your punishment for your recklessness. The life of a hero is not full of sunshine and rainbows. There is heartache and pain waiting for you, not just physically, but also mentally. I hope that next time when you pick up a blade, when you are ready, you will remember that.”

Broken, LJ nodded and wandered off, leaving Applejack and Rarity all alone. Rarity put a hoof on Applejack’s shoulder and asked, “Was all that really necessary, darling?”

Applejack shrugged softly and said, “I’m not sure. All her life I have been trying to protect her from this harsh reality, but in the end I am doing nothing but hurting her. With a whole lot of power comes a heck of a lot of responsibility. Being an Element bearer only adds to that. It was unfair to her, and to myself trying to hide that.”

She turned back to her friend and stated, “We may not have needed to fight as often, but we know what it was like to have our friends, our families, even our enemies lives in our hooves. In this age, her cutiemark will call her to fight again, it's her destiny and neither of us can avoid it, but hopefully now she can have a better outlook on it all. Who knows, perhaps taking a break will help her see beyond the glory and fame and see what really matters.”

Rarity smiled and said, “I’m sure she can do it. Just give her time and I’m sure she can make you proud.”

Applejack chuckled softly and said, “She already has…”

A lone figure watches the two form the bushes, growing more and more agitated as they talk amongst themselves, cursing the fact that LJ was unable to finish the job. That was when the wooden crystal sword LJ had discarded floated next to them. A final gambit to end it all…

Despite not being an Element bearer, there were ways to bypass such limitations, such as using magic to levitate it just out of range as to not override its current energy storage. It still had LJ’s energy inside it, and with a little bit of clever telekinesis.

The sword wooshed off into parts unknown before returning to deliver all its Element payload. The sword was drawn to the other bearers, and as such drew upon their magic, and when it returned it had all it needed to deliver one final strike against Rarity while her guard was down.

The small being smiled wickedly as Applejack panicked, trying to heal the unconscious Rarity, but it was too late. That sword was planted firmly between those cheeks of hers and was not going to go anywhere anytime soon.

‘A little crass, but whatever gets the job done, right?’

In a flash of light, it was over, Rarity had been brought to harmony, prompting the figure to utter, “Finally. It's about time.”

But when the light died down, disappointment would be present on their face, “What…”

Even Applejack was surprised, oblivious as to who or what just did this. All they know is that their friend had been harmonized. Rarity’s coat was once again a dazzling white. This dark nightmare had become a lightmare before her very eyes, “Rarity, is that you?”

The taller mare looked at herself, looking just as bewildered, “What just happened to me?”

Immediately, she checked her magic, and like before the sun still obeyed her command, and yet…

“I’m white again… And my head, it feels clearer then Its been in heard. I don’t feel the urge to conquer the world anymore”

Applejack asked flatley, “What?”

Rarity seemed to be ecstatic, “This is amazing, it seems the Elements didn’t remove my dark powers, it just made them light. No negative effects whatsoever!”

The farmer hummed softly, “Strange… I thought the elements would destroy the darkness in us and kill us, but I never considered the idea I might have been wrong.”

Rarity laughed, “Then I guess your daughter was right then?”

Applejack deadpanned, “Nah, she is still wrong. Even if it wouldn’t have killed you, she shouldn’t have taken the risk. We’re just lucky it worked out alright. Although, that sword… I could have sworn she threw it the other way.”

In a sing-song kind of tone, the lightmare hugged her friend and said, “Who cares, what matters is that we can purify you too. What about you?”

Applejack shook her head in the negative, “Nah, I’m fine. Besides, only LJ and her friends can use the sword anyway.”

“But isn’t the curse dangerous for your sanity?”

Applejack fired back, “I haven’t died yet, and don’t plan too. Besides, I want to live a little longer anyway. Got you back in my life, and my daughter has plenty left to live. I wanna be here for ya’ll.”

She huffed, puffing out her chest as the sword rested on the ground beside them, “‘Sides, I've been dodging death for years, and Ponyville got nothing that can kill me anyway.”

Rarity would beg to differ, but opted against it, shuddering as she recalled just how bonkers LJ was, and supposedly the others may be stronger than her.

A growl rumbled through the air as the two realized something. Rarity hasn’t eaten anything yet today. With a soft blush of embarrassment, Rarity asks, “Sorry, I haven’t eaten yet… Do you mind getting lunch with me? All this excitement has left me rather hungry.”

Applejack shook her head again, “Sorry Rares, I got some stuff to do today, but I can see ya later if you want. Twilight’s place, right?”

Rarity nodded and hugged her friend tightly, nearly sucking the life out of her in the process, “Of course! Stay safe, darling. I am so glad to have been able to see you again after so long.”

Applejack hugged her friend back and picked her up, showing a surprising amount of strength left in those old bones, “Same to you Sugarcube. And don’t worry, I don’t plan on dying on ya anytime soon, Pinkie Promise. ‘Sides, I think Spike would enjoy a good roll in the hay with us one of these days anyway.”

That made Rarity blush even harder, “Oh darling, stop, before I do something we’ll both regret…”

“That a threat or a promise?”

The two shared a laugh over that before it was Rarity’s turn to leave, leaving Applejack alone with her thoughts.

Or at least, she thought she was alone. The cloaked figure from before was throwing a tantrum in the bushes, “Dammit! Why won’t you die already…”

With a defeated sigh, they said, “Alright, fine… Lets just take it from the top. Not like I haven’t failed this a thousand times. Maybe there will be something in town that will make this easier?”

With a blink, the figure teleported away, prompting Applejack to shiver, “What was that?”

She looked around briefly before she sat down in her spot, contemplating life and everything else. Once she was certain she was alone, she held aloft a flickering flame in her hooves and started to talk to it, “Raising a hero isn’t all it’s choked up to be. I think I am starting to understand where all those old comic books were coming from.”

“If only you were still here with me Byron. Maybe then I wouldn’t have been such a big failure as a mother today. Not only has my plans to keep her safe backfired, but my plan to fuel her rise as a hero too… You would have known what to do.”

She held the soul flame close to herself and sighed, shedding a few tears as the light danced upon the ground, “You were so close to the paradise you were looking for most of your life. If only I wasn’t so weak, you wouldn’t have lost your sanity over me. Then Twilight would have found both of us. Now here I am, safe and sound and you…”

She let out a long sigh and said, “I know you did it for the both of us, for me and our unborn child. You were a true hero. I promise I will do what I can to raise her to be a strong hero, like you. No more running away. No more hiding the truth from her.”

She placed him back in her inventory with a soft smile, “Rest well my love. One day, I will join you, until then, I have some apologizing to do. And to let our daughter know that I don’t always know best.”