The Starlight Catalyst

This tragedy begins, as many tragedies do, with an accident.

The School of Friendship; Winter

When in session, a lively and vibrant educational establishment even under a foot of snow. But it was that time of year when the holidays rolled around and students went back to their respective towns, villages, mountains etcetera to be with their families. And for the ponies of Equestria, Hearth’s warming eve was fast approaching. Needless to say, student councillor Starlight Glimmer would not have been so bored if she had had students to council.

“No. . . No . . .Boring . . .Read it twice” she muttered to herself as she ran her eye over the seemingly numberless volumes arrayed on the shelves in front of her. It was true. She had read nearly everything in the School of Friendship’s library at least twice and in some cases three or four times. Some might have been worth another read but there wasn’t much more she could learn about magic from a book. As for the volumes concerning friendship, well, after ten years as the Princess’ pupil and then at the school she’d authored at least three of them herself. She turned and trotted back toward the front desk, her eye gliding lazily across the titles not really focusing on anything. She rounded the corner of a shelf. To her left midday sunlight streamed in through the grand stained glass window. Down the stairs to the right a Hippogriff student sat alone at one of the study desks, her beak buried in a book, and beyond her the librarian’s desk and the doors. She turned toward the window. Not willing to return to her office. If she did that she wouldn’t have any reason not to do the paperwork that had been piled on her desk for two days now.

It was as she made that conscious and fateful decision that she spotted the glass case which held pride of place beneath the stained glass window. In it she knew rested the only surviving copy of the Court of Friendship’s collaborative journal. The book that the six friends had kept for a time, detailing the various adventures they had had and what they learned from them. It was a particular favourite of Starlight’s. One of the reasons she had become Princess Twilight’s student was because she had been unable to understand how six, seemingly incompatible, ponies were so vital for Equestria’s survival. She had read the journal so many times during her early days as Twilight’s student, hoping to gain some understanding. If she was honest she still didn’t really understand, even after all these years. But as time wore on she truly hoped that she would.

Her mind made up, her horn glowed as she used her magic to open the case and levitate the book to her hand, even as she turned and made her way to her favourite spot; a plush chaise lounge tucked away behind the shelf of magical mythology that everyone seemed to forget about. Reaching it she plopped down, swung her hooves up onto the chaise, reclined comfortably and began flipping through the passages randomly, waiting for a word or phrase to catch her eye. She’d read them all of course but she liked some more than others, and she hoped something would jump out at her. It was as she was flipping through the middle of the book that the phrase “Fangs and burning red eyes” caught her eye. She stopped, flipping back a few pages until she found the beginning of the entry. It was the one by Applejack, simply entitled Bats! In it Applejack recounted how a dispute over how to deal with a colony of vampire fruit bats that had infested her orchard had led to Fluttershy being the victim of a misfired spell. That spell had transformed her into an apple sucking, seed spitting, Vampony.

As Starlight reached the part where Pinkie, hyperactive and illogical as ever, had concluded that Fluttershy was a monster that was going to suck them dry of all their blood, she chuckled a little. Pinkie’s hyperactive antics were always amusing, even in the direst of situations. It occurred to her then that she herself remembered reading about something very similar during her magical studies. In a book from the very section she was sitting in no less! Setting the journal gently down on the nearby coffee table Starlight jumped to her hooves and cantered over to the bookshelf.

“Where are you? Where are you? Where are- ah! Here you are” she declared pulling an ancient, damaged and age faded book from the top shelf entitled: ‘Demonology 101: a guide to supernatural forces from Equestria and beyond by Trotal Codswallop. She had looked over it once before when researching Windigos for her own studies. But she remembered a chapter that had described a creature similar to ‘Flutterbat’ but with more violent and monstrous characteristics. With the book enveloped in the softly glowing magical field of her Telekinesis, she magically flipped through the pages as she moved back over the Chaise Lounge.
“Here we go” she muttered finding the section she was looking for. Setting the book on her lap and releasing her magic she began to read:

Of all the vile and monstrous creatures that have infested the land of Equestria in ages past none were so powerful, and as reviled as that of “Nosefuratu” or the Vampony. Up until the Imprisonment of the Chaos spirit Discord and the ascension of the royal pony sisters to their rightful positions on the throne of Equestria one would have been ill advised to venture out alone at night lest they fall prey to one of these demons. These demonic monstrosities were first created by the unholy union of Pony and an unknown creature of chaos. Vamponies were near immortal undead beings, feeding upon the blood of the living in order to sustain their dark life force. Though several maintained a visage of normality and, in some cases, were even able to hide among civilised ponies it is vital to remember that they were not living creatures. They were soulless undead monsters with a savagery and bloodlust otherwise unheard of by ponykind, concealed just below the surface.

Tales of their abilities and deeds were well documented. Sadly the vast majority were destroyed when the first Canterlot Royal Library was beset by Vamponies seeking the blood of our most beloved Princess Celestia, for they believed that ending her would bring an end to the sunlight in Equestria. Ironically it was this act that led to the destruction of both Vamponies and the records concerning them when Princess Celestia used her divine solar magic to scorch the library from within and burn it to the ground. Thus little written evidence now remains of their existence though rumours still abound that a few escaped the blaze.

The image at the bottom of the page showed a building that looked very similar to the Canterlot royal library in flames with the blazing forms of what Starlight assumed were the Vamponies fleeing and the silhouette of Celestia with horn aglow and arms upraised at the centre of the conflagration. Starlight turned the page and continued, looking for the relevant subsection:

Dark Powers:

ALL Vamponies, regardless of whether Unicorn, Earth Pony or Pegasus, were known to possess a sinister and chaotic black magic. The strength of this magic and the ways in which they were able to utilise it varied based upon their age and sire but all Vampony’s were known to possess a common set of abilities. These included:

· Supernaturally enhanced senses
· Accelerated cognition
· Unfathomable speed, strength and agility
· The ability to turn a mortal by forcing their own blood upon an unspoiled pony of the opposite sex.

Other abilities were seen to emerge as the Vampony grew in power. These included:

· The ability to read and control the minds of mortals
· Telepathy
· The ability to transform their bodies into Mist or a cloud of bats.
· The ability to regenerate fully from any wound sustained.

The most powerful of vampires were also said to be so overwhelmingly powerful that with a single thought they could force an entire battalion of trained warriors to commit suicide for their amusement. They were immune to any and all methods of execution that would kill a lesser Vampony and some were even said to be able to warp reality itself and open portals to the realm of chaos and disharmony, releasing all the frightful, nightmare horrors within upon their enemies.

Physical Attributes:
An unobservant individual may mistake a Vampony for an ordinary mortal at a passing glance. But upon closer inspection they would find several distinguishing differences. Firstly the eyes of the Vampony are not like those of a mortal colt, for the iris is as dark and red as the blood they consume and the pupil can narrow from circular to slitted much like a cat’s. It should be noted that some Vamponies were capable of concealing this, making their eyes appear normal. It is said that this illusion would dispel if the Vampony became enraged or caught in the madness of violence and bloodlust.

Secondly, the ears of the Vampony are distinct from those of the mortal pony. They are longer with a sharply tapered point, similar to those of the bats they share an uncommon kinship with. These ears granted Vamponies praeternatural hearing. A Vampony was said to be able to hear a pony’s shallow breathing from a quarter mile away.

The most iconic visual difference between the Vampony and the mortal pony was that of their teeth. Whilst pony teeth are flat, intended for the consumption of a wholesome herbivorous diet, the teeth of the vile Vampony were sharply pointed and intended for the ripping of pony flesh. Most notable are the “fangs” of the Vampony. These “fangs” appear to be grotesquely elongated canines specially designed to puncture the flesh and draw blood. Surviving records reveal studies conducted on the only vampire ever to be held, briefly, in captivity that found these teeth to contain an unusual network of capillaries leading to a hole imperceptible to the naked eye at the tip of the tooth. Sadly those same records do not indicate how these allowed Vamponies to draw blood from a victim’s body so rapidly.

Vamponies could appear to be Pegasus, Unicorn or Earth Pony but in all cases there were variations in the physical characteristics:

Pegasus: Pegasus Vampony wings were large and leathery. A thin membrane of translucent skin stretched between the segmented wing bones. Thin claw like protrusions can be found at the tips of each “finger” of the wing, and a similar protrusion can be found along each wings leading edge, although it appears this particular protuberance was purely vestigial and served no purpose. If a mortal Pegasus wing can be suitably compared to the wing of a bird then the wing of a Pegasus Vampony is most like that of a bat.

Starlight glossed over the characteristics of Unicorn and Earth Pony Vamponies, concerned only with information relating to Pegasus and Vamponies as a whole. She was thoroughly engrossed, and more than a little disturbed by what she was learning. The majority of what followed this section was the authors’ ramblings on the nature of Vamponies as harbingers of the end of the world, demons and even dark gods and goddesses as well as the numerous methods concocted to combat them. The only section that caught her eye was the final one detailing notable Vamponies. Most were unremarkable, known only by name because of the way they had been killed, but there were three entries that were larger than the others:

Dracul Blood Fang: Referred to by many as “Count Blood Fang” or “Count Dracula”. The king and father of all Vamponies and the most powerful of his kind who came from a land beyond Equestria’s eastern borders. A brutal, violent and sadistic creature who enslaved the ponies of his own kingdom and forced many of them to build him a castle fortress with Equestria’s borders, deep within the Everfree forest. When Celestia and Luna rallied their own armies against him he slaughtered ten thousand of his own subjects and staked them around his castle as a warning. When the noble sisters refused to yield he reanimated the corpses of the fallen into an unthinking army of ghoulish abominations that marched against the Princess’s forces with no will of their own and no fear of death. Sickened the royal sisters withdrew. Blood Fang was able to hold sway across a portion of Equestria for nearly two centuries, with Castle Volkihoof at its heart, before being overthrown and executed by his own son Alucard Black Wing.

Alucard Black Wing: Son of Count Blood Fang. A Vampony second only in power to his own father. Alucard was said to have grown impatient with his father’s lack of action in regards to the threat posed by Celestia and her solar magic. He finally betrayed his father and he and his faithful laid siege to the count’s castle, casting it into ruin and killing the Count himself. It was Alucard and his faithful that then led the attack on Celestia that resulted in the extinction of Vampony kind.

Rose Heart the Good: The only known “good” Vampony. She was a maiden, turned against her will by a Vampony who wanted to take her as his bride. After slaying the arrogant creature she returned to her home village. Although initially mistrusted and shunned by those around her she is said to have won their trust and admiration by defending their tiny village against incursions by monsters, wild animals and other Vamponies. She refused to bite other living ponies and drink their blood and as a result was eventually decapitated by one of Alucard’s lieutenants after losing a duel. In retribution for her defiance the village was burned and all its inhabitants slaughtered.

Starlight was just reaching the end of the description of Rose Heart’s sad fate when a tap on her shoulder, nearly made her jump out of her skin. Twilight Sparkle leapt backward screaming almost as loud as starlight was. From the lower floor an angry shush sounded. It’s almost comical misplacement in the situation allowed both of them to calm sufficiently to talk.
“T-Twilight, you startled me. I was just reading a uh . . .a scary book.” she said, levitating the aforementioned book back to its spot on the shelf.

“That’s alright. I’m sorry I startled you but I was pretty sure I would find you in here.” She started rambling nervously, flapping her arms about and gesticulating randomly as she spoke. “When you didn’t come back to the castle I thought you must be running late, so I went to your office but you weren’t there so I thought what would cause Starlight to forget about the time? And then I thought of how easily I lose track of time when I’m lost in a good book so I figured why not check the library to see if-“

“Twilight!” Starlight shouted, clapping her hand over her mentor’s mouth to stop her rambling, which earned her another angry shush from others in the library.

Twilight blushed slightly, chagrined then gently eased starlight’s hand away from her mouth.
“Sorry about that” she said, “I’m just nervous.”

“You’d think after everything we’ve been through there’d be nothing left to make you nervous” Starlight commented.

“Oh I know” Twilight agreed, her voice a tad whiny. She was still nervous. “But there are so many things that could go wrong. This type of magic is forbidden for a reason. I’m amazed we were able to get the special dispensation to use it.” Twilight remarked as the two of them turned and began to make their way toward the library doors.

“Twilight,” Starlight said, firmly grasping her mentor’s shoulder, “you are the Princess of Friendship and have done more than enough for Equestria to be allowed to prove how competent you are. How competent all of you are. I’m pretty sure that, between the seven of us, if anything went wrong we’d be able to handle it!”

“Hmmm, if you say so” Twilight grunted, sounded unconvinced. “Come on, let’s get back to the castle before I chicken out!”

Back in the Princess’ castle Twilight had cleared a large area of floor space in the centre of the library. Over the course of an hour and a half Twilight and Starlight chalked out the chaotic pentagram that was to be the magical conductor, channelling the magical energies into a central focal point on which the caster would stand. Tables had been shoved against the bookshelves and the chairs were well out of the way in the corners. Black cloth had been draped over all the nearby surfaces to minimise visual distractions an all the windows were shut and bolted. The spell used unpredictable magic of the darkest, most chaotic kind. They couldn’t afford to have any negative energy escaping and corrupting Equestria. The preparations were meticulous and just a little irritating to Starlight. She had always found Twilight’s approach to magic a tad cautious. The purple unicorn was a gifted spell caster to be sure, and Starlight couldn’t think of anyone she’d rather have had as a mentor, but watching her check for the third time that the windows were all shut and bolted Starlight wondered how she had ever gotten as powerful as she had.
“Okay” twilight said, “We should be okay to start now.”

“You sure?” Starlight asked sarcastically, “don’t you want to check the windows again. I think you left that one open a tiny crack.”

“WHAT where?” Twilight shrieked whipping her head around, her dark purple main flying. She completed a full turn to find starlight staring at her with arms folded, one eyebrow raised expectantly. “Oh, sarcasm, he he” she cleared her throat awkwardly, “Shall we?” she asked gesturing toward the centre of the room.

“Now, the casting of the Black Wish, begins with drawing the magic circle” Twilight read aloud from a black book even older than the one Starlight had been reading from earlier. “Once the circle is completed the unicorn caster must position themselves at the circle’s absolute centre with horn pointed to true north. At the turning of the hour, recite the incantation exactly as written. The spell will grant the caster one wish no matter how impossible, warping the very fabric of existence to make what could not be so.” Twilight finished reading the passage and swallowed. “This is a ridiculously powerful spell alright, and dangerous. I don’t know” Twilight muttered, tucking the chalk back into the pocket of her blazer.

“Twilight we talked about this” Starlight insisted, “you and I both have a greater control over magic than anyone in Equestria, save the princesses, it will be perfectly within our power to handle it.”

“It’s not that simple Starlight!” Twilight insisted, her voice increasing in intensity and volume as she became more agitated. “The magic we’re using isn’t normal Unicorn magic. It’s black magic. The magic of chaos. And just like Discord its far more susceptible to whims. One errant thought and I could turn the whole of Equestria into cabbages or something!” she was shouting now, waving her arms wildly.

“Twilight. . .” Starlight began, but the princess of friendship slammed the ancient tome closed and turned to her pupil.

“NO! No, this doesn’t feel safe and I’ve got the awful feeling that if we attempt this spell something really, really bad will happen.” She headed for the doors.

“Where are you going?” asked starlight.

“To find spike, I need him to send a letter. I’m going to tell Celestia that I want to attempt this spell in Canterlot under more stringent safety regulations. Then I’m sending that book back to her! Please just wipe away that pentagram and start returning everything to normal” she ordered, and was out the door before Starlight could utter a single word.

Starlight was astounded. She had known Twilight had been nervous but she had never expected her mentor to chicken out entirely.
And after we spent so long setting everything up too she thought, grumpily. Glancing upward at the face of the grandfather clock nearby she saw the time was a quarter to ten. They had been in the library for so long they’d skipped right over dinner! Her eyes left the clock face and alighted on the black tome lying on the nearest bench. It was at this moment, dear reader, that Starlight Glimmer made a choice that she would come to regret for the rest of her days and would inexorably alter the future of Equestria. When I asked her she couldn’t say whether it was curiosity about the spell, or anger at her mentor’s apparent cowardice that drove her to levitate the book toward her and trot squarely into the centre of the circle. The second she reached it she could feel the powerful draw of chaotic magic. Like her it wanted the spell to be cast. It had intention. She could tell it wanted to take form and be used. She would wish for something small, she decided, just to prove to Twilight it that she didn’t need to be so danged overly cautious with magic. The Pegasii had scheduled a light rain over Ponyville tomorrow afternoon. She would wish for a perfectly clear day, just to annoy them. She giggled a little. She would love the confused look of Rainbow Dash’s face when all her clouds disappeared.

On the subject of Pegasii it was at that moment that a cream coloured Pegasus, with a long pink main delicately obscuring one eye, entered the library.
“Oh I’m sorry,” she said when Starlight glanced her way. Her gentle voice barely carried across the room. She twirled her index finger into the end of her long mane as she spoke, toying with it nervously.“I didn’t realise you were in the middle of something. I just heard yelling and thought I’d check that everything was okay now.”

“Thanks Fluttershy” Starlight answered. “It’s nothing to worry about. Twilight changed her mind about doing this spell and she went to find spike, that’s all.”

“Oh okay” Fluttershy said, looking immensely relieved. Her hand dropped back to her side, her nervousness apparently evaporating now that she could leave. “I’ll go then.”

“Okay” said starlight, offering a smile as the shy Pegasus turned to leave, pulling the door shut as she went. After a moment Starlight took a deep breath and turned her attention back to the spell book. Focusing all of her mind on the image of clouds clearing away into blue skies Starlight began to chant over and over the ancient words from the book. Immediately she felt the dark magic rush to her, eager to respond to her call. But as it did thoughts, perhaps raised by Fluttershy’s interruption and the dark magic itself began to intrude on her clear idea of what she wanted.

Her mind began to drift toward the book she had been reading before Twilight had found her and of all the things she had read about Vamponies and how she had been comparing them to Applejack’s account of Fluttershy. Starlight wrestled with the thoughts, trying to regain the mental image of clouds blown away to clear sky, but the magic had other ideas. It latched on to the dark thoughts of Vamponies and tugged on them, trying to draw more of them out. Starlight continued chanting but clenched her teeth as she wrestled with both her own thoughts and the magic. The magic fought her jabbing at her brain with dark tendrils of malicious intent. She was fighting to keep it contained now. She could almost feel the eldritch fire of dark magic burning the insides of her closed eyelids and she feared that if she opened them her eyeballs would be scorched with dark flames.
This was a terrible idea she decided.

Yes it was the magic seemed to whisper. In her mind it sounded disturbingly like Discord. But you made this arrogant decision and now you must control the magic or unleash hell upon Equestria.

I will control it. I will not be responsible for the destruction of Equestria again! She vowed.

She clamped down hard on both her thoughts and the dark magic coalescing in her mind and taking form along the length of her horn. She had no idea how long she fought for. It could have been seconds or it could have been years. Either way it was agony the entire time! She just had it under control when the sudden BANG of the door slamming against a table shattered what little of her concentration she had been able to maintain. Her eyes flew open in shock, around her was a black sphere composed of dark magic, flowing to her from the symbol marked on the tiles. Her eyes fell upon a familiar Pegasus standing in the doorway. All the thoughts she had fought back before resurfaced for just an instant and the magic was free. It blazed forth from her, crashing against every surface as the sphere exploded. Most seemed to dissipate harmlessly against whatever it touched except for the part that slammed into Fluttershy lifting her from her hooves and flinging her, bodily, against the wall of the corridor. Starlight herself was thrown across the room by the back blast from the magical cascade, crashing over a table and landing sprawled in a pile of books.

Her head still fuzzy she scrambled to her hooves, clambering back over the table and stumbling awkwardly to Fluttershy’s side.
“Fluttershy? Fluttershy are you alright? Are you hurt?” Except for a sizeable knot on the top of her head where she’d hit the wall Fluttershy looked dazed but otherwise unharmed. She rubbed it with one hand as she got to her hooves.

“I think so” she said. “That spell didn’t hurt me and I only bumped my head. I’ll put some ice on it back home.”

“So you feel okay in the head. No dizziness, feeling sick?” she asked. “No sudden desire to drink Pony blood?” she muttered. Fluttershy heard her. She looked shocked, and a little scared.

“Drink blood? No. I don’t think so” she paused for a moment as if waiting to see if the urge would strike her. “No just the regular type of hungry” she assured Starlight. Then she looked concerned again. “Why? Was I supposed to? What was that spell meant to do?” Starlight sighed with relief, reaching forward to straighten the bow on the front of Fluttershy’s blouse that had been knocked askew by the magic.

“Apparently nothing” she assured Fluttershy, and herself.

“Oh okay then” Fluttershy said, “I should probably go home. Angel will be getting worried.” The Pegasus turned to leave. Starlight followed her a few steps, around the bend in the corridor. Then she skidded to a halt as she saw Twilight and Spike appear around another corner at the corridor’s far end.

She turned and galloped back to the library. Her horn was already aglow as she came through the door, magically multitasking re-shelving books and moving benches as she worked frantically to remove the summoning pentagram and hide all evidence of her magical catastrophe. She dropped the last stool into place right as Twilight and Spike opened the library doors again.
“Ah Starlight thanks for-“

“Nothing!” she interrupted, attempting to conceal her own panic behind a false smile. She could feel the sweat beading on her forehead. “I did nothing! Umm, nothing worth thanking me for” she corrected awkwardly. “I just tidied up, that’s all.”

“Yeeeahh” agreed Twilight slowly, taken aback by Starlight’s outburst. “Anyway, we’re going to send the book back to Canterlot and reschedule another casting there. I’d love it if you’d come along and help cast-“

“NO!” Starlight interrupted automatically. “No, n-no problem Twilight. I’d be glad to help” Starlight lied. In truth she never wanted anything to do with that spell ever again but Twilight couldn’t know that, or be allowed to find out why. “Oh boy is that the time” Starlight remarked too loudly making a show of checking the clock which, she realised with a thrill of horror, had stopped at exactly ten o’clock. “No wonder, I’m so tired. Okay well I’m off to bed Twilight see you tomorrow look forward to casting that spell and everything bye!” She spouted it all in one sentence, making for the door as she did so. Then she was out of the door and cantering along the corridor toward the entrance, not daring to look back to see if anyone followed to asked why she was so disturbed.

She collapsed onto her bed that night, still clothed, just relieved to be safe at home. For several minutes she lay there thanking Celestia and Luna that nothing terrible had come about from her botched spell. Then she rolled over and fell into a dream world where she was chased through a dark forest by a cream pony with sharp fangs and blood red eyes.

Birthday Nightmare

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Chapter 2: A birthday Nightmare

Castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle; 25 years post Black Wish Incident:

Where Twilight Sparkle was awoken that morning, not by the sound from her alarm clock but by the sound of her alarm clock cutting off abruptly as it fell from her bedside table.
“Darn it” she muttered to herself as she rolled over, slid her legs out from under the covers and set her hooves on the floor, bending forward to scoop up device, “that’s the third one this month.” The trouble was that they worked for the first couple of weeks but then she became used to the sound and slept right through it. As a result it meant they just kept ringing until Spike came to wake her up . . . or it broke. She was just thinking that she should either get a larger bedside table or an alarm clock that didn’t vibrate quite as much when Spike stuck his head through the window that joined his cave to Twilight’s bedroom.

The dragon had undergone a sudden and typically violent draconic puberty ten years ago complete with all the changes that brought, including a massive growth spurt. Though Twilight was glad her friend had finally reached maturity some days she still wished he hadn’t found that untapped vein of Gems whilst he’d been exploring an abandoned mine beneath Rockfall. Keeping it all for himself had turbocharged her baby dragon’s puberty. Though she had to admit it had been better than him stealing other pony’s property. Nowadays he was so large he couldn’t get through the castle’s front door, much less walk the corridors with her. And so he lived in the large crystal cave that had one day sprung up at the rear of the castle, conveniently connected to Twilight’s bedchamber via that window and a hidden passage behind the corner bookcase.

“Morning Twilight” he said, yawing and heating the room fifteen degrees. Turning his head to get a better look at the thing in her hand he chuckled, the deep base sound reverberating slightly around her room. “Another alarm clock sacrifices its life for the cause of waking your royal laziness up I see.” Twilight frowned at the tease, but only slightly. He knew perfectly well she had always been an early riser. Nobody was ever likely to accuse her of being slothful, and she would have been horrified if they had. That day was especially important. Fluttershy’s birthday had come again, and Twilight had cleared her schedule of all royal and school obligations to attend the party Pinkie Pie was throwing for her.
“Good morning to you too spike” she responded aloud, standing and pulling on her favourite Purple dressing gown. “Do you want to have breakfast? Fluttershy’s party starts in a couple of hours.” She pushed her wings through the slits in her gown and paused as a thought crossed her mind, “I assume you are going?” she asked. “or did you forget to get her a present, like you did on Applejack’s birthday and have to rush off to the Dragon Lands on ‘emergency dragon business’ again?” she asked, making air quotes with her fingers. Spike grimaced at the not so subtle reminder. Quite the sight as it revealed more than a few of his very large teeth to Twilight.
“No, I got her something” he assured her. “Are you eating down here with me or in the great hall?”
“With you silly” twilight said on a slight chuckle, turning back to the window to pat her faithful assistant on the snout. “Everyone else is getting ready for the party. I’ll be down in ten minutes.”

Twelve minutes later Twilight trotted into Spike’s cave with a stack of pancakes floating along in front of her, suspended in her telekinetic field, Fluttershy’s present in one hand and a copy of the latest proposals regarding the limitation of access to BFP in the other. She cantered over and sat down at the small table near the entrance to Spike’s cave. The dragon was already there, gnawing on a ruby the size of a pony’s head.
“Ah come on Twilight” Spike rumbled. She looked up from the folder into the huge green eye now fixed on her.
“What?” she asked indignantly, though the hairs of her mane prickled in embarrassment. She knew what he was going to say.
“You know what” he responded, pausing to pick a ruby splinter out from between two Unicorn horn sized teeth. “It’s Fluttershy’s birthday. Can’t you take your mind off work just for today?”
“But I have a meeting with the inquiry committee the day after tomorrow” Twilight insisted, flipping through the pages. “These proposed changes in legislation could affect the lives of every pony in Equestria. Spike gave her the stink eye. “I’m serious spike” she insisted, “listen to this.” She flipped back a few pages and read aloud as she continued to eat:

In order to gain a clear understanding of the need for the suggest changes that follow we must examine, briefly, the works of scholars like Dr Gear Grinder and Professor Bright Spark. Both have published in depth work on the development of what is commonly described as the ongoing “Progress era”, the period of extraordinary and rapid technological, social and cultural growth, largely attributed to the efforts of Princess Twilight Sparkle and the court of Friendship’s actions in strengthening national friendship and international co-operation in Equestria and beyond. That is not to say, of course, that Equestria had no such industries prior to this time. As observed by Professor Kat in his paper, 'Musings on the future of Equestria following the failure of Friendship and the collapse of peace', colloquially known as 'Fallout Equestria': Equestria could not have had railways without Steel mills and metal forges to create rails and the engines that ran upon them. Nor could fashion designers have produced garments without textile mills to produce the fabrics they required (CE2012, P. 4-8).

The “Progress Era”, also described as “the Time of Invention” or “the Industrial Revolution” by various scholars, has seen the commonplace adoption of the magical transistor, pioneered in Equestria’s music industry for use in lighting fixtures and musical equipment such as speakers, in a wider variety of technologies, thus allowing the magical energy of unicorns to be captured, stored and utilised in an endless variety of manners and devices. It has seen the development of the first motorised carriage, allowing ponies to travel from place to place and haul larger loads with far greater ease. And, significantly, it has seen an almost lightning fast evolution in the realm of Blast Powder firearms. Blast Flower Powder, first discovered and applied in combat over one thousand years ago in the far east of Equestria, henceforth referred to as BFP changed the very nature of peacekeeping almost overnight. For millennia magic had been the game changer in any fight between two individuals. If a unicorn had the right spell they could almost always succeed in any confrontation, no matter how physically inferior they may be to their opponent. However, with the discovery of BFP and the rapid developments in firearms technology that invariably followed it was suddenly possible for an Earth Pony to strike down a unicorn without needing to get close. Or for a Pegasus equipped with a BFP rifle to eliminate a target from on high before their presence was even known about.

But the Progress era has caused an explosion in weapons development thanks to the innovations and new techniques in metal working and machine tooling. “In the space of two years Equestria went from revolving chamber side arms and single shot breech loading rifles to clip loaded semi-automatic pistols and heavy calibre machine guns. It was a change of such pace that the very swiftest of Pegasus could not have kept up” (Col. Bullseye CE1999. P43). As a result use of new BFP weaponry by the common pony was outlawed by the Princesses almost before they existed. Even today, twenty years later, it is almost unheard of to see BFP weapons in use by any but members of the Royal peacekeeper battalions, police, or ponies in very specific high risk occupations. The “Progress Era”, and its many radical technical, social and cultural innovations, has irrevocably altered the fundamental balances of power in Equestria that remain to this day and, as such, without the institution of further laws and precautionary restrictions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our citizens we find ourselves reaching a tipping point that could lead us to ruin if not addressed with the utmost urgency.

“You see?” Twilight asked looking up from her folder. “I have to know these findings inside and out!”
“Not if I ate the members of the enquiry” Spike growled.
“SPIKE” Twilight snapped, trying to look stern but fearing that she sounded more worried. Spike just stared back. “Oh all right” she conceded, closing the folder and sliding it aside as she took up her fork. “Only for today though.” Spike grunted with satisfaction, a puff of smoke escaping his nostril.

Half an hour of eating and light conversation later Twilight returned to her room to collect Fluttershy’s present from under her bed, then return once more to the cave so that she and Spike could leave together for the party. They were just taking to the air when they were intercepted by the blue mare who screeched to a halt in front of them, the heels of her dress horseshoes ploughing furrows in the dirt as she slid to a stop.
“Hey Twilight” Rainbow Dash said cheerfully as she tucked a red strand of hair back into the peaked cap she had somehow managed not to lose in her flight. “Are you heading to Fluttershy’s party too?”
“Yes we are” Twilight confirmed, then cast a critical eye over her long-time friend. “Why are you wearing your REAF dress uniform?” she asked.
“Oh well you know” she said, turning slightly pink and failing to make eye contact as she offered weakly, “dress for the occasion?” Unimpressed, Twilight stared at her.
“You hate formal wear” she said, flatly. Rainbow dash grimaced but didn’t say anything. “This was her idea wasn’t it?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah pretty much” Rainbow Dash admitted. She sighed and took off her cap “I mean, damn it, I love that mare but she gets carried away sometimes. The moment I told her I was going to the party she had my whole dress uniform dry cleaned. She even bought new shoes and left the whole lot at the end of my bed. I had to wear it out of the house or it would have upset her.” She shrugged and set the cap back on her head at a jaunty angle, “I’ll just take it off when we get to Fluttershy’s.”

“You know sometimes I think you forget what that uniform stands for Rainbow” Twilight lectured unable to contain herself at her friend’s flippancy. “The Royal Equestrian Air Force was formed by Spitfire prior to-”
“-Prior to her death under the name Equestrian Volunteer Defence Wing, or EVDW, as a means to defend Equestria against airborne threats.” Rainbow Dash interrupted, in a rather insulting imitation of Twilight’s best lecture giving voice. “Originally a volunteer force of Pegasii trained solely by members of the Wonderbolts Aerial display team and based at the Wonderbolts academy, now Flurry E. Warwing Air Force Base, they are one of the oldest active branches of the Equestrian armed forces today.”

Twilight glared but Rainbow grinned impishly and went on in the same irritating tone of voice. “Following the engagement defending Canterlot against an invasion of Dragon rogues just a year after its inception, they were rapidly formalised and incorporated as part of the Princess’ reformed E.U.P.G (Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus Guard), under the newly appointed Air Chief Marshall Soarin and Air Vice Marshall Fleetfoot. The REAF now consists of over sixty thousand servicemares and stallions, of all types and operates over fifty squadrons in Equestria and beyond. They remain the largest standing air force in the world.” She did a little backflip in the air and shrugged. “I know that entire lecture by heart, even after fifteen years. You helped me study for my officers exam remember?” Spike chuckled a deep rumbling chuckle evidently he remembered.
“Touché” Twilight conceded.

Twilight glanced down at her own purple sun dress wondering, for a moment, if she should have worn something more ostentatious. Maybe if it had been Rarity’s birthday but not Fluttershy’s she decided. She half smiled and shook her head at her friend’s concern for her wife’s feelings. They’d been together ten years now, yet every time the rainbow mare talked about her she sounded as besotted as the day they’d gotten engaged.
“Come on” she said flapping her wings and taking off again “or we’ll be late.”
“You’ll be late you mean” Rainbow retorted shooting fifty feet straight up in the air. “Rainbow Dash is so awesome she’s never late for anything.”
“Rainbow Dash also starts to sound like Trixie when she talks about herself in the third person” Twilight remarked mockingly. Rainbow seemed annoyed at her but Twilight just smirked and turned away in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. Rainbow darted forward to fly alongside her. The two were buffeted briefly in the turbulence caused by Spike stretching his great wings and launching into the air after them, but soon they were well on their way toward Fluttershy’s cottage and the party that would change everything.

Twilight thought that the party at Fluttershy’s was low-key for an event planned by Pinkie Pie; just the one long table for them and several of the Pegasus mare’s closest animal friends, food and cake of almost every description, a table for presents already stacked with at least twenty gifts that Twilight suspected were either from students at the school of friendship or all from Pinkie Pie herself, and a large banner hung along Fluttershy’s porch railing which read “Happy Birthday Fluttershy” in pink lettering and framed at either end by an image of her three butterfly cutie mark. Pinkie had somehow even managed to get the Pony Tones back together to perform, their stage set up beneath a huge ancient oak that grew in Fluttershy’s garden between her house and the chicken coops.

They weren’t the first to arrive. Pinkie Pie was already there of course, devouring a large slice of something. Rarity was also present, dressed in her still pristine Pony Tones outfit, and was chatting with the birthday pony as she slid a large blue and white wrapped birthday present onto the pile. She spotted them as they approached (though they would have been hard to miss when accompanied by a fifty foot dragon) and waved happily, drawing Fluttershy’s attention too.
“Hello there Twilight dear” she called rushing forward to give her a hug the second she landed. “And you too Rainbow Dash. You look fabulous darling!” She gushed, hugging Rainbow Dash as well despite the Pegasus mare’s valiant attempt to fight her off. “And of course you too Spike” Rarity went on, trotting over and giving spike a kiss on the tip of his snout. “Fluttershy was worried you two might not make it” Rarity said, turning back to Twilight and Rainbow Dash.
“I didn’t really think that” said Fluttershy quietly, stepping forward to offer each of them a far less vigorous hug, “I just said it would be okay if you couldn’t make it.”

“Are you kidding?” Rainbow dash asked, hugging her friend back. “We wouldn’t let you down like that!”
“Rainbow’s right” Twilight insisted, “I never miss a chance to spend time with you girls. We all seem to be so busy these days.”
“Oh I know darling” Rarity agreed with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Even Pinkie is so busy these da-Pinkie!” Rarity yelled, cutting herself off mid-sentence as she looked around for the Pink pony. “Stop stuffing your face for a minute, Twilight, Rainbow and Spike are here.” Pinkie Pie’s head emerged from a pile of food, her muzzle covered in whipped cream as was the apron she still had on over her tank top and pink skirt. When she spotted them her face split into a wide grin and she waved exuberantly before bouncing over to hug them too, squeezing so hard Twilight thought for a moment that her eyes would pop out.
“Hi girls!” she chirped exuberantly, hugging both of them repeatedly. “I’m so so so glad you could make it. Fluttershy was worried that you wouldn’t but I told her there was no way they’d miss your birthday. ‘Fluttershy’ I said to her, ‘Fluttershy it wouldn’t matter if the changelings turned evil again or Starlight accidentally broke the entire universe with another Uber spell those girls would never never never miss your birthday party no matter how busy they were’. And I was right because here you are! Oh its so so good to see you we’re all so busy I feel like I never get to see you!”
“OH LOOK PINKIE APPLEJACK’S ARRIVED” Twilight yelled over Pinkie’s babbling, which she had somehow managed all in one breath.

Pinkie whipped round immediately, when she spotted the orange mare, with her sun weathered and worn Stetson, western shirt, faded jeans and old boots trotting toward them over Fluttershy’s front lawn the pink earth pony immediately galloped toward her arms flung wide to give her a hug too. Fortunately for Applejack she saw Pinkie coming and had more time to prepare. She flung her arms out to hold pinkie at bay as the Pink pony leapt toward her, arms and legs flailing madly.
“Whoa there missy!” Applejack warned as she caught hold of Pinkie in mid-leap and practically spun her around as though she was a sign twirler and Pinkie weighed as much as candyfloss, before setting her back on her hooves. “Ah’m happy t’see you too but ah kinda like havin’ air in mah lungs as well.” Pinkie seemed completely unconcerned with being twirled around like a cheerleader’s baton.
“Me too. Air’s really useful without it I wouldn’t be able to laugh.” She remarked casually, spinning on her hoof and cantering back toward the others. Applejack rolled her eyes and cast an exasperated look over her pink friend’s shoulder toward Twilight and the others. Twilight chuckled, grinning in agreement. No matter how many years went by Pinkie still behaved like the teen filly she had been when they all had first met.

“Hi there birthday girl” Applejack said as she slid an orange and green wrapped present onto the table with the others and turned to hug Fluttershy.
“Hi Applejack” Fluttershy replied quietly, a smile on her gentle face. “I’m glad you could come.”
“O’ course. Y’all know I wouldn’t miss yer birthday unless somethin’ dire happened.” She looked around at everyone else greeting them in turn. “Glad t’see you made it Twilight” Applejack said “Fluttershy thought you wouldn’t make it.”
“I actually said that it would be okay if they couldn’t” Fluttershy corrected, “not that I thought they wouldn’t” actually starting to sound a touch annoyed.
“Oh, right. Well its good t’see y’all either way.” Applejack said.
“OH MY, DARLING” Rarity suddenly gasped, gazing at Applejack with what Twilight could only describe as abject horror.
“What is it rarity?” Twilight asked, panic flaring in her chest.
Of course something awful happens the one time I take a day off. But Rarity rushed toward Applejack and swept the hat of her head, staring in horror at her orange friend’s mane or more specifically the long grey streak that ran from her fringe all the way through her braid to the tip of her ponytail.
“You still have that awful age streak in your beautiful blonde mane, what happened to that hair dye I gave you when we met up last month?”
“Ah” Applejack suddenly looked awkward, “yeah, about that. I kinda, sorta didn’t use it an’ Applebloom took it. Said she wanted t’ ‘try a new look’.”
“Why in Equestria wouldn’t you use it?” Rarity demanded sounding both saddened and mortally offended at the same time.
“Cause it wasa whole lotta mess ah didn’t have time for. Besides” she added, “Bourbon said it made me look distinguished.”

Rarity still looked disapproving but the comment about Applejack’s fiancée seemed to have mollified her somewhat.
“So I take it things are going well between the two of you?” she asked, sliding onto the bench seat between Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
“Very” Applejack agreed, already reaching for the plate of apple fritters. “We’re thinkin’ o’ havin’ the wedding just before harvest season so that the honeymoon won’t be too long. Ah hate to be away from work too long.”
Twilight, sitting next directly across from her blonde maned friend, set down her teacup and smiled at her. She knew all too well what it was like to be a workaholic, yet somehow Applejack had still managed to find time for romance. Something Twilight had never seemed to manage.
“Applejack, Sweetest Apple is the largest producer of Apple Cider in Equestria, or anywhere for that matter” she reminded her. “I think they’ll survive without you if you took some time off for your honeymoon.”
“Ah, I know” Applejack agreed, blushing a little with embarrassment. “I’m just nervous. Y’all know I’ve never bin a real big fan o’ big parties an fancy duds but Equestria Daily got wind o’ it somehow and wants to send a fancy photographer an everythin’ now! They want it t’be a big deal an now I’m just wishin’ we could keep it private.”
“Darling, if I knew my wedding was going to be on the front page I’d spend six months just making the perfect dress” rarity declared standing up and twirling on the spot posing, her horn aglow, so that the spectral image of a beautiful wedding gown formed around her.
“I know you would” growled Applejack in mock disgust, tossing an apple fritter casually at Rarity who squeaked loudly and ducked, the spectral dress vanishing. “But that’s because you’re a prancin’ show pony!” Everyone laughed.

The party went on in that way for another hour and a half as the six friends laughed and talked and exchanged their various bits of news. Rarity was launching a new line in a few weeks, Pinkie was planning a party for a Hippogriff dignitary and his wife to celebrate their new child, Rainbow was up for promotion. After Starlight finally arrived and began apologising profusely for being late, having been caught double booked for counselling sessions with students at the school, they moved on to the various party games that Pinkie had planned. Then there was one last sterling performance by the Pony Tones before Pinkie announced that it was time for Fluttershy to open her presents. Fluttershy though looked reluctant.
“But we can’t” she insisted when Pinkie held out a present for her, a large pink one with bright yellow polka dots. “Discord isn’t here yet.”
“Uugh seriously?” Rainbow asked, dropping back to the ground and looking both sullen and disgusted. She had been hovering practically everywhere since they arrived.
“Yes” Fluttershy insisted resolutely. “He’s my friend too. And he did say he was coming.”
“I know but he’s just . . .ugh” Dash threw her hands up turned to flop down onto a nearby chair. Discord had been ‘reformed’ for decades and had helped them out on more than one occasion, though admittedly not without causing his own fair share of trouble in the process. Despite that Dash had never seemed to be willing to forgive the Spirit of Chaos quite as readily as Fluttershy had. None of them had, if it came to that, but Rainbow was the only one was still openly hostile. This, Twilight had decided, was probably why Discord targeted her more than anyone else for his various pranks and mischief making.

“I’m just what?” Asked the present still clutched in Pinkie Pie’s hands, the bow on the top morphing grotesquely into a pair of mad, bloodshot yellow eyes, their red pupils fixed on Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash stared back in horror, having paled to an ugly shade of blizzard blue.
“Oh hi Discord” Pinkie remarked, completely unconcerned with the viscous yellow ooze starting to drip from the seemingly severed eyeballs over either side of the pink present she was still holding. The eyes rolled over to look at her, squishing loudly, but Pinkie was still un-phased. “Fluttershy didn’t want to start unwrapping her presents without you.”
“Well of course she wouldn’t” said the present. The ribbon then unwound itself from around the package and slithered to the floor where it stood on its end, the eyeballs still looking around. Then with a squelching sound like wet offal being stepped on the ribbon morphed and expanded into the mismatched, disturbing, Draconequus form of Discord. “I’m the very life and soul of any party” He declared. He snapped the talons of his eagle claw hand and a massive box appeared, wrapped in luminous purple paper decorated with the eight pointed star of Chaos. “Plus I always give the best presents.” The box growled loudly.

“Hello Discord” Fluttershy said, cordially as though her demonic friend hadn’t just appeared in such a disturbing manner. “I was worried something bad had happened.”
“I am sorry my dear” he said. There was a flash of light and suddenly discord wore a bright yellow blazer, a pink shirt and a horrid orange tie, all of which looked dishevelled and he suddenly had bags under his eyes. A tattered looking briefcase was held in his lion paw hand. “I would have been here sooner but I got held up at work. The Chaos Realm has been even more Chaotic recently and it has been driving me round the bend.” As he said ‘bend’ he contorted, bending his back over so far that he was able to look at Fluttershy from between his own legs. Twilight heard the sound of a spine snapping in several places and thought she might be sick. Rainbow looked as though she might actually be sick. She had paled so much she was almost white.
“Well that’s alright.” Fluttershy assured him. “You’re here now and that’s what’s important. You can enjoy the party with the rest of us.”

Discord sprang back into his normal shape with more loud cracks and his ridiculous attire vanished.
“Thank you Fluttershy you’re always so kind and understanding” he bent forward and, in a gentlemanly manner, kissed her lightly on the back of the hand.
“Oh stop you” Fluttershy said jokingly, and discord smiled. Much as Twilight was still impressed by how Fluttershy had managed to tame the once feared Chaos Spirit she still found their relationship a little disturbing at times.

It took another two hours for Fluttershy to unwrap her presents. As Twilight had expected over half of them were from Pinkie alone and included everything from the mundane, like a new dressing gown, to the outlandish, like a miniature version of Fluttershy’s own cottage made entirely out of carrot cake. Rarity had made Fluttershy an entire winter wardrobe, with matching horseshoes, and a miniature set for Angel Bunny III that matched perfectly. Applejack: a crate of rare vintage apple cider. And Rainbow Dash, looking a little less pale, tickets for an all-expenses-paid week’s holiday in Las Pegasus at the same time the Wonderbolts just happened to be performing. She also had VIP tickets to that too. Spike revealed his present to be a homemade lawn ornament. A rock that he had melted several holes in, containing a vast quantity of geode crystal that, when a fire was lit at its base, was illuminated from within by a pale green glow and cast sparkling, dancing light, from its many holes. When the paper finally came off Discord’s present it was revealed to be a cage containing a massive, rabid looking creature that appeared to be a cross between a lion and a hyena but if both were the size of rhinos which was scary for all of five minutes before Fluttershy had it purring and wagging its tail like the worlds ugliest cross bred dog. Twilight wondered if hers and Starlight’s presents, both of which were books, didn’t seem boring by comparison but Fluttershy showed no sign that she liked them any less than the others.

“Thank you all so much” she said beaming around at them. “This has been the best birthday party I’ve ever had.”
“You say that every year” Rainbow dash complained, by now thoroughly drunk on hard apple cider, the tie of her dress uniform tied around her rainbow mane like a bandana and the shirt of her uniform unbuttoned so far that most of her chest was in full view. Something neither Spike, Discord nor Big Macintosh (who had stuck around the party to be with his sister after the rest of the Pony Tones had departed) had failed to miss, and continued to fail to miss until Applejack glared at them.
“Only because it’s always true” Fluttershy insisted solemnly, looking serious. “They’re always perfect.” Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes but smiled happily anyway. As though on cue there was a sudden, startled yelp of pain from Rarity. Twilight looked across at her white coated friend sitting next to Fluttershy. Apparently she had been attempting to cut another slice of birthday cake for herself whilst at the same time levitating her tea towards herself and focusing on what Fluttershy was saying. As a result she had sliced into the cake at the wrong angle and nicked the end of her finger, drawing a tiny droplet of blood.

Fluttershy, being Fluttershy, was of course immediately fussing around her as though she were in mortal peril.
“I’m fine dear” rarity insisted flapping at Fluttershy feebly with her uninjured hand though still grimacing in pain.
Ever the drama queen Twilight thought.
“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked still fussing around her friend.
“Of course I am darling. Look it barely broke the skin” Rarity said, holding her finger under Fluttershy’s nose. Fluttershy had to lean back slightly in order to look down her muzzle at it.
“Well” she decided finally, “I suppose it’s only a tiny drop of b-bloo…” She trailed off suddenly, her pupils dilated but her one visible eye still fixed firmly on the scarlet droplet on the end of Rarity’s finger.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked when her friend remained that way for several seconds.
“Is she alright?” asked Applejack from Rarity’s other side, standing up to peer round her. Rarity began to wave her raised hand in front of Fluttershy’s face. Her eye followed Rarity’s finger but beyond that she didn’t respond.

Forgetting about the cut on her finger Rarity reached out to grasp either side of her friend’s head.
“Fluttershy? Darling? Are you alright? Do you need a doctor?” Rarity suddenly withdrew her hands, staring in bemusement at her injured finger but she didn’t say anything and Twilight wondered if she’d gotten static shock from her friend’s coat or something. Without warning Fluttershy toppled from her chair and began to convulse violently on the ground.
“Oh Sweet Celestia!” Twilight cried lurching to her feet, preparing to rush to her friend. “Someone go get a doctor quickly!” she cried. Then several things happened at once. First, Discord’s entire form suddenly wobbled so violently that his entire body might have been rubber. Then Twilight was hit with a wave of nausea so powerful she immediately doubled up and vomited copiously into her empty trifle dish. Further down the table she heard more retching and guessed that Starlight was having the same problem. Even Rarity groaned loudly and clutched her stomach, though she didn’t vomit.

“What in the hay?” Applejack cried in alarm. One of her closest friends was having a seizure and now another three were violently ill. Not to mention Discord who had stopped wobbling like a jelly on a bumpy hay cart but had now turned a strange shade of teal and was clutching his head in pain, his body coiled like a snake in agony.
“Pinkie for the love o’ the Princesses go find a doctor!” Pinkie, who for once wasn’t grinning whilst all around were losing their heads, just nodded and turned to gallop toward away. Before she had gone more than ten paces she was swept up in a clawed talon as Spike flipped the pink mare onto his back and charged away launching into the sky and disappearing toward Ponyville.
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity barked. Applejack jumped. She had thought Rarity was out of it too but the white mare was clutching the edge of the table, digging her perfectly manicured fingernails into the wood so hard that her purple nail polish cracked. She somehow managed to look commanding, if a bit sick. “Help Twilight and Starlight” she ordered as she rushed to Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash, who had sobered up rapidly when her friends had taken a turn, looked as surprised as Applejack felt at Rarity’s unexpected order but ever the professional soldier she immediately followed it and darted to Twilight’s side. She seemed to be having the most violent reaction; continuing to vomit even though Starlight had already stopped. “Applejack, help me with Fluttershy we need to turn her!” Rarity ordered. Applejack crouched beside her convulsing friend. She grasped Fluttershy and turned her on her side as gently as she could to keep her airways clear. A procedure made more difficult than it otherwise would have been because the Pegasus’ wings kept flaring open and closed, at one point hitting her under her chin, knocking her hat off and nearly knocking one of her teeth out. She then did her best to keep her there as she waited for the convulsions to end whilst Rarity moved to check on Discord and Big Mac ran around trying to corral all of Fluttershy’s panicking critters.

After another minute or so they finally came to an end. Fluttershy looked up at her.
“What happened?” She asked. “I just remember Rarity cut herself, then my head hurt and now I’m down here. Oh dear did I cause some sort of trouble?” she murmured, horrified. She attempted to sit up but Applejack held her down.
“No, no it’s alright sugar cube. Ya just seem t’have had a funny reaction to Rarity cuttin’ herself.” She tried to put on a grin. “I knew you were scared of a lotta things Fluttershy but I didn’t know ya were a scared o blood too.”
“Neither did I” Fluttershy admitted looking confused. Then she looked up at Applejack again. “Can you please let me up now? I feel better.”
“Ya sure?” Applejack asked.
“Yes” Fluttershy said, now looking embarrassed.
“Alright then” Applejack took her hands off Fluttershy and they both rose to their hooves, Fluttershy a little unsteadily. Across the table Rainbow Dash was supporting a pale indigo Twilight.
“Y’all feelin’ better now?” Applejack asked as Rainbow Dash lowered the Princess of Friendship into the nearest chair. Twilight nodded weakly but didn’t speak.

Applejack gazed at her with concern for a few more moments before turning her gaze on Starlight. “How about you hun? You feelin’ okay?”
“Better now” Starlight assured, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, “but I’ve never felt magical feedback like that in my life before.”
“Magical feedback?” Rarity asked.
“It’s a rare occurrence that affects unicorns when there is an incredibly powerful magical surge in their vicinity” Twilight explained, her voice shaky. Applejack turned back to her. Her friend was resting her elbow on the table, a hand cradling her forehead as she spoke. “The more powerful a unicorn’s magic the stronger her reaction to it. If Luna or Celestia had been here than surge may well have killed them.” Applejack’s eyes widened in shock at the assertion. “As it is I need to get to Canterlot as soon as possible and inform them of this.”
“I’d better come with you.” Discord uncoiled from where he’d been lying with Rarity watching over him anxiously. His usual joking, mischievous demeanour was gone and he looked deadly serious.
“Why?” Twilight asked.
“Because I haven’t felt a magical disturbance as strong as that in Equestria since Tirek” he explained. “And because it wasn’t just a surge of magical energy, it was dark, chaotic energy almost as powerful as my own. Maybe more so.” That made Applejack nervous. She remembered only too well the damage and pain both Discord and Tirek had caused when they had been working together to steal all the magic in Equestria. She shuddered. If something as bad as that was coming? Well. They were all in trouble.

The deep whooshing thuds of giant wings heralded the return of Spike and Pinkie Pie with Doctor Horse from Ponyville general. He rushed over with his doctor’s bag, obviously worried about what he would find. When he saw Fluttershy sitting at the table looking pale and upset but not in the throes of a violent seizure he slowed his headlong gallop a little. Applejack got up and moved out of the way and he slid into the spot next to her. Applejack walked away from the table to where Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity and the others had all gathered. They didn’t speak to each other for the longest time. When the doctor stood up and put his stethoscope back into his bag they all immediately rushed back over to the table.
“Well there’s nothing wrong with her that I can see” Doctor Horse said when they asked if she was okay. “In perfect health in fact, as far as I can see. There’s no real reason that she should have had a reaction like that” he admitted. “That said, I would like you to swing by the hospital in a couple of days for a check-up just in case I missed something okay?” he asked, turning back to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy looked mortified at the prospect by simply said “Okay doctor.”
“And what about you Princess?” Doctor Horse asked turning back to the assembled group. “I understand you and your unicorn friends suffered magical discordance nausea and vomiting.”
“Yes we did” Twilight admitted glancing to each side at Rarity and Starlight, “but it seems to have passed now.”

“That’s a relief” Doctor Horse admitted. He paused for a moment then removed his glasses and hung them on the breast pocket of his white doctor’s coat. “I was actually hoping that you had some explanation for that yourself” he said. “It seems that every unicorn in Ponyville suffered MDN at the exact same moment. I spilled my coffee everywhere when it hit me. Even the unicorn fillies and colts in the foal’s ward complained of tummy ache at the same time. It’s bizarre. It may be just a coincidence but if Fluttershy’s seizure is related then she is, as far as I know, the only non-unicorn who’s been affected.” Twilight didn’t answer but Applejack didn’t miss the look she shared with Starlight and Discord. Doctor Horse waited expectantly for a few more seconds, but when no answer was forthcoming he put his hand out for Twilight to shake. “Well, whatever it is I’m sure you and the other princesses have the situation well in hand. Goodbye for now then” He patted Fluttershy once more on the shoulder before he turned and walked away.

The mood sullied by the odd occurrences the party came to an end fairly soon afterward. Fluttershy was saddened to see her friends looking so tense and worried, especially since she knew deep down that it was her fault. Though they promised it wasn’t. Twilight, Discord and Spike were the last to leave. They were all heading to Canterlot to tell the Princesses about what had happened. Fluttershy was left alone with Angel and her other animal friends to clean up the remnants of her party.
“Oh” she muttered, setting down what remained of the carrot cake cottage, which she had apparently knocked to the floor when she had fallen from her seat, and picking up a jug of fruit juice that still sat at the end of the table. She slumped into her seat and drained the whole jug in one go. Her ‘little episode’ had left her incredibly thirsty. It was the third drink she’d had in the past five minutes. As she set the empty jug down she gazed along the table at the forlorn remnants of her party “so not the best birthday ever.” She went to bed that night tired, upset and still thirsty.
“I’d better mention that to Doctor Horse” she told Angel, “I could be coming down with something after all.”

That night she had a very strange dream. She was flying along through Applejack’s orchard. It was the dead of night and a light fog drifted about, gently obscuring the ground beneath the branches. Above her Luna’s full moon shone bright and clear illuminating everything so clearly that, to Fluttershy, all seemed to be in daylight. She turned her head to look back at Applejack’s farmhouse, marvelling at how she could make out each individual timber in the roof and the petal on every flower in the window boxes. Then she was hit with the most divine smell she had ever encountered. It was like if every good thing at Sugar cube corner had been mixed with the freshest juiciest, ripest fruit to ever have existed, all combined into a fruit salad and then multiplied by a thousand. She stopped, hovering high in the air as she searched for the source of the smell. Then she spotted it. Trotting along through the fog beneath the trees was . . . a literal bowl of fruit punch on legs. Fluttershy giggled at how silly it looked. But what wasn’t silly was the smell it was giving off, so delicious that her mouth was already beginning to water. She wanted to dive down on it and drink every last drop. The idea made her so happy she smiled again but this time a strange soft hiss escaped her instead of a laugh and she covered her mouth embarrassed at the sound.

The punch bowl below her stopped moving. It seemed to have heard her and turned about as though looking for her. She guessed somehow it spotted her because it turned and galloped off into the fog back toward Applejack’s barn, the liquid in it sloshing violently but never spilling over. Apparently it wanted to play. Fluttershy laughed in delight and dove after it, swooping low and brushing the tree tops, moving faster than she ever had before. The punch bowl was still galloping but Fluttershy was gaining on it easily, too easily. She slowed a little to let it pull ahead and then sped up again. As she did so she was suddenly joined by Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, flying along on either side of her, grinning and laughing as well, their eyes too were aglow with joy and exhilaration. Below her she heard more hoof beats and somehow she knew that Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack were all galloping through the trees laughing along with her.

Ahead of them, their prey had reached the edge of the orchard and broken from it, galloping across the open ground toward the open door of Applejack’s farmhouse. Half way there Fluttershy caught up again, stopping directly above it, and dove down upon it. Then suddenly, it wasn’t a punch bowl anymore it was an equine like her. A big white one with wings and a horn alight with the magic of a partially charged spell, but Fluttershy found she didn’t care. She was too thirsty, and the pony smelled too good to stop now. She crashed into her at full speed, mouth open wide ready to sink her teeth in and drink all she could.

Princess Celestia awoke from her nightmare screaming. The bedclothes of her four-poster lay twisted about her from her frantic sleep galloping. A second later the door to her chambers burst open and two guards charged in weapons drawn. When they saw that the room was empty they lowered them, looking to their sovereign with confusion. They were just as quickly shoved aside by Princess Luna forcing her way in too looking grim. She turned and shooed the guards from the room, slamming the door behind her. Celestia used the momentary distraction to pull the strap of her chemise back up onto her shoulder.
“Have you had another nightmare sister?” Luna asked turning back.
“I have dear sister. Worse than the last one. No indistinct shapes or voices whispering threats in the dark. I was chased, hunted by demonic ponies with glowing red eyes and razor sharp fangs, all laughing and grinning as they chased me down and slaughtered me like a dog!” she shivered with fear.
“I know, I saw this as well but chose not to interfere and for that I apologise sister.”
“I understand” Celestia said. “We both know these are warnings. Warnings that we must heed and understand. And I am sure, after what Twilight and Discord told us today, that whatever it is a warning about is drawing nearer.”
“I have told you what it is” Luna growled, sweeping her arm out in a gesture of frustration, setting the silver stars embroidered into her royal gown ashimmer.
“And I have told you that it is impossible!” Celestia retorted, raising her own voice in reply. “He was destroyed centuries ago, along with all who followed him. They are all gone!”

Princess Luna didn’t argue. There was no point; her sister didn’t want to admit the possibilities that her prophetic dreams entailed. But Luna did and she would take steps to begin to counter the threat she knew must return soon. She inclined her head to her sister.
“As you say” she said. “If you will excuse me I must retire to sleep. I have much to think on if we are to combat this new threat.”
“A good idea sister” Celestia agreed. “I have things I must attend to also.” Luna turned and swept from her sister’s bed chamber, her own black armoured night guard falling into step on either side of her as she proceeded down the corridor. Once out of earshot of her sister’s sentinels she turned to the mare on her right.
“Blackest Knight, I need you to contact him immediately. Do it in secret. My sister must not know.”
“Of course Princess” the Pegasus mare said.
“And Falchion” she turned to the stallion on her left, “I wish you to collect my armour from the castle armoury then bring them the crystal caves beneath Canterlot. I wish to spar with you, and I cannot do so anywhere my sister will bear witness.”
“Yes Princess” the steel grey stallion answered promptly.
“I must be seen to retire to my chambers, at least until my sister has left her own to go about her duties. Once she has, knock twice upon my door, then go to the tasks I have given you.”
“Yes Princess.”
A great darkness is returning to Equestria. I must be ready if I am to save my beloved land. Luna thought, seating herself at her dressing table and gazing into the mirror there. And for just a moment her reflection gazed back at her through slitted eyes.

The Day of Red Night: The Alushy Chronicle

by Tall Tail Hoofmann

A forword by the Author

The Starlight Catalyst

Birthday Nightmare