Prologue

CANTERLOT, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

There is a concept known as the "butterfly effect." It is quite well-known amongst philosophers and science fiction writers, but for those who are not familiar with it, it states thus: any event can trigger a chain of bigger and bigger events that will eventually change the fate of the entire cosmos. Anything so much as a butterfly flapping its wings can do this, for the gust of wind it generates will push nature into motion.

If such things can happen because of a mere butterfly, what would happen if a draconequus flapped its wings?

"Dear sister," Luna said at the royal delegate meeting, "I believe it is time."

Around a polished wooden table in the upper levels of the Canterlot castle sat the delegates. Luna sat in front of an old book, bound in black, lying before her on the table: the last journal of Starswirl the Bearded. Across from her was seated Princess Celestia. To Luna's right sat Shining Armor and Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire; their travels to Canterlot were often, and they were always called to meetings that involved the most important decisions in Equestria. And to Luna's right, the newest delegate, the one who had known this Equestria from the farthest back in its history—since the days of Princess Platinum, Commander Hurricane, and Chancellor Puddinghead—and who looked absolutely bored to tears with his role in monitoring the balance of magic: Discord.

Luna had noticed that Discord had been becoming ever more apathetic since his release. She wondered if this was a good thing. It meant he wasn't causing trouble. At least the letters he wrote to Fluttershy every week seemed to cheer him. And he'd been made quite happy when Cadance, having received the okay to host the Equestria Games in the Crystal Empire, asked him to help design some of the stadiums and add challenges to make the sports more interesting. Luna then realized she'd been spending far too much time thinking about Discord and not enough explaining her plan to Celestia and the others.

"What is it time for?" Celestia asked Luna.

"To test Twilight Sparkle," Luna answered. "Thou hast seen what she hast done. She hast returned culture to the Crystal Empire. She hast summoned the Element of Magic after the Elements of Harmony had been locked away. She hast defended our land from many a vile villain, including two at this very table. Hast she not proven herself worthy of this table?"

"If you are thinking what I am thinking…" Celestia replied.

"What?" Shining Armor asked, looking back and forth between the sisters. "What are you thinking?"
"We thinkest," Luna told Shining Armor, "that thy sister is ready to ascend to the throne of princesshood."

"TWILY?" Shining Armor's jaw dropped. "A princess?"

"Gag me," Discord muttered.

Cadance shot Discord a look of daggers before telling Luna, "I think it is a wonderful idea. But what is the last test?"

"This journal containest the last work of Starswirl the Bearded," Luna explained. "Including his final spell, which remainest unfinished. We princesses of Equestria—my dear sister, Cadance, and myself—all contain within us immense powers, including those of the creative persuasion. Should Twilight Sparkle be able to write the ending to the spell of Starswirl, then…she containest more than enough of the power to create magic!"

"But no one's been able to figure that spell out," Cadance pointed out. "Not even you, Celestia, or me. What if she can't?"

"You've obviously never seen Twily doing her homework," Shining Armor informed his wife. "When she brought home her books from magic school, she'd lock herself in her room until it was done, even if she was stuck on a hard problem. One time, she accidentally took home a book from two grades ahead and did all the problems in it, even though she hadn't learned a thing about those spells!"

"Discord," Celestia noted, "you have been silent. I think it important that you weigh in."

"Well, well…" Discord sighed. "If I MUST. I think you're missing five VERY obvious factors. If I recall correctly, Twilight was only in your little school in the first place because her magic went off in the same Sonic Rainboom that gave all the current Elements of Harmony their Cutie Marks. Wouldn't it make just as much sense to crown Rainbow Dash?"

"Only in your mind," Shining Armor quipped.

"My mind, which once was a fountain of creativity," Discord replied. "Now reduced to reversing tornadoes and designing obstacle courses."

"We are not here to discuss thy complaints," Luna snapped. "We are here to discuss the ascension of Twilight Sparkle."

"I believe not only that this is a fitting test," Celestia said, "but that she has what it takes to complete it."

"I'm a little worried that something will go wrong," Cadance said, "but I have faith in Twilight."

"Definitely!" Shining Armor agreed.

"Discord?" Celestia asked.

The other four were stunned by the expression on Discord's face. He looked terrified, as though he'd seen a pack of Windigos fly in through the window over everypony's head. At last, he muttered, "Well, then, send her the book already."

"Then it is settled," Luna said. "We shall send Twilight Sparkle the last spell of Starswirl the Bearded, and, should she complete it…she shall ascend to her own throne!"

That night, Celestia left to deliver the book to Twilight. Luna went on an early dream patrol, and Cadance and Shining Armor caught a train back to the Crystal Empire.

Discord, in the meantime, lay awake on the bed he was provided when he arrived at the castle under peaceful terms. When he'd been asked to give a final verdict on Twilight Sparkle, he'd seen visions of what he considered to be awful things. Perhaps they would not be so awful to most, but to him, they were positively terrifying. And he saw them again now.

Twilight Sparkle, alicorn princess. The other five congratulating her—perhaps the pink one doing something silly like putting on a fake horn and wings, yelling, "ALICORN PARTY!" A magenta gown and a tiara fashioned of her Element of Magic stone. A fabulous coronation ceremony. Shining Armor would cry.

And after that…peace and order. No matter what unpredictable factors came into the borders of Equestria, be they Plunderseeds or Ahuizotl, Twilight would vanquish them. And even worse…Equestria was where she would stay all her life. The other five, too. Equestria would remain its own little homogenous petri dish, a culture of bacteria that fed off each other for nutrition and never took in any outside sources. And that would mean no REAL fun, not ever.

Many a time, Discord had traveled worlds. In particular, one of his favorite stints had involved him visiting a starship. He knew of the dangers out there. The different factors that were never supposed to mix. And if Twilight Sparkle became an alicorn princess…well, they never would. Not with Equestria, anyway.

Discord looked upon his life with Twilight on the royal council. Then he just thought about his life on the royal council. Weighing in on what to export to which town and who was infested with parasprites that season. Compared to what he'd seen, what he'd known…that wasn't a REAL life. He'd once been part of something larger, something…eldritch. And here he was, about to give that all up and watch peace and order take the stand. Perhaps even find tranquility and harmony at last in the apparent magic of friendship.

Unless.

He could do something different. No…it would be frowned upon highly. It wasn't how things were supposed to go at all. His visions weren't hypothetical; they were true premonitions. Twilight Sparkle was supposed to become the next princess…and the other five were supposed to stay right where they were. And as for the power Discord had once enjoyed? He was never supposed to regain it. His way with the universe allowed him to see it all, as though watching the season finale of some sort of cartoon. And to break it would have serious consequences. Not to mention that he'd made a promise to somepony he admired very much not to do such a thing.

That was one side of the scale. On the other: he was bored. Incredibly, painfully bored.

And that tipped it. Fluttershy would just have to understand.

PONYVILLE, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

At first, there had been a disaster. First, Twilight had accidentally used the half-finished spell of Starswirl to transfer Cutie Marks amongst her friends so each thought she had another's destiny. And this threw Ponyville into despair. With Pinkie Pie failing to farm apples, nopony was smiling due to her antics and celebrations. With Applejack sewing horrendous dresses, the Apple farm was failing. With Rarity creating weather patterns, the Carousel Boutique was very nearly shut down. With Rainbow Dash caring for a pack of animals and forgetting to feed every single one, nopony was making sure that the temperatures didn't get out of control, switching from blazing sun to blistering snow. And with Fluttershy throwing the most lackluster parties in existence, nopony was tending to the needs of the wild animals and pets of Ponyville.

Discord knew of all this as it happened. It was hilarious.

Then Twilight Sparkle found a way to remind each of her friends of her true destiny. First, she asked Fluttershy to please help Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy didn't believe herself to be good with animals, but upon the sight of seeing Rainbow Dash tormented by the animals, she stepped in immediately, vowing to do her best. At that moment, her Cutie Mark switched back to its true form, and so did her destiny. Twilight repeated the cycle with all her other friends, and soon order was restored.

Twilight was relieved that she'd found a way to save all her friends from living out miserable destinies. The side effect of all this was completely unintended; she was absolutely stunned when from this, the answer appeared.

"I know how to fix the spell!" she cried victoriously. She was already high on joy, having seen each of her friends realize her true self, having seen the extent to which they all cared for each other. And now…the elusive answer to Celestia's test. It was staring her in the face!

"Come on!" she beckoned her friends. "Let's go! Back to the library!"

Twilight turned to run in the direction of her home, and her ever faithful friends Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie followed.

"What did you figure out?" Pinkie Pie cried.

"That the spell only works with friendship!" Twilight replied. "Starswirl the Bearded never factored in—"

She opened the door to the library midsentence, took in the sight before her, and gasped. The others filed in around her, anxious to see what she had seen, and gasped similarly.

Discord clutched the journal of Starswirl the Bearded tightly. "Oh," he said casually. "Were you going to finish this?"

"Discord," Twilight seethed. "What are you doing?"

"Now, now," Discord replied, "I think a little explanation is in order. Though it shouldn't be hard for you to understand. You never did trust me."

"Discord…" Fluttershy stepped to the front of the group. "Why did you say it like that? Is something wrong?"

Discord heaved a sigh, a genuine sigh. "Fluttershy…you had me convinced to turn over a new leaf. That friendship meant that you couldn't have your way all the time. But you have no idea what it's been like! Orderly! Harmonic! BORING! You could just change my name to Concord! You all had to rediscover your true selves today." His voice became steely. "Well, I am taking this opportunity to rediscover mine."

"But…" Fluttershy was stunned. "You can't mean…"

"I'm leaving the royal delegate council," Discord announced. "I'm not going to play Celestia's little game anymore. It's barely a game! No, from now onward, I am playing by MY rules. And my rules say that your little switching spell now belongs to me to use as I see fit."

"Stop fooling around, Discord," Twilight barked. "Put that journal down."

"I don't want to stop fooling around!" Discord cried with a grin. "I haven't had this much fun since I was last released from stone!" He opened the book, looked over the last page, and burst into raucous laughter. Then he snapped his fingers.

An immediate change in aura was felt, as though the entire planet had somehow shifted. "DISCORD!" Twilight cried. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Well, why don't you go see for yourselves?" Discord said with a grin. "I would start at that charming quill shop on the corner. See what the salesmare has in stock."

"Let's go!" Applejack commanded, and the six friends rushed from the library.

Down the street, the cart of quills was laden with feathery writing utensils. However, the usual quill salespony was missing. Instead, a tall, graceful, and familiar alicorn packaged the quills away in the salescart.

"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried. "What are you doing here?"

Celestia giggled. "Princess! That is quite funny, Twilight Sparkle."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"Just thinking about a quill salespony like me becoming a princess," Celestia replied with a sincere smile.

"But you ARE a princess," Twilight retorted. "You're—"

"Uhhh, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said nervously, looking over her shoulder. Before Twilight, or anypony else for that matter, could ask what was the matter, a loud blast of cacophonic music emitted from nearby.

Carrot Top's orange-maned head popped out of the window of the home of Vinyl Scratch. "Sorry! Just practicing my set for the weekend concert!"

"I feel bad for her," Celestia sighed. "Her Cutie Mark proves that she was destined to be a DJ, but she…well, she tries her best, and she learns every day." She smiled. "That's all we can ask for."

That was when the six noticed Celestia's Cutie Mark. Where there had once been a golden sun, there was now a curling feather quill.

"No…" Applejack gasped as the six backed away slowly. "It can't be…"

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding!" Pinkie cried. "Come on! The rest of the town has to be normal, right?"

They rushed on to see the other late-night stragglers. With every new discovery, a new feeling of horror. Aloe, who they knew as the beautician from the spa, struggled to cart a mound of papers out of the schoolhouse, her Cutie Mark a crop of flowers that had belonged to expert teacher Cheerilee. Berry Punch was discovered tipsily staggering out of the hospital, wearing a stethoscope and a lab coat that covered what must have been a Mark related to medicine.

"This is terrible," Twilight moaned. "Aloe is great at the spa, but she's never had to deal with foals before. And Berry Punch a doctor?"

Fluttershy crashed head-on into another pony. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to…Vinyl?"

"No time to talk," Vinyl Scratch panted. "Listen, I've got some huge bills to look over and see if they match up to the codes for this town. Ten of them conflict, and all of them are outside the budget…sometimes it gets hard, being destined to be the mayor of town and all. Sometimes I wonder if I was supposed to be something else, but hey, the Cutie Mark wants what the Cutie Mark wants, right?"

She then galloped off, leaving the others to think about the disasters that would lie in the wake of Vinyl Scratch being mayor of Ponyville.

"My family," Applejack realized. The six took off for Sweet Apple Acres at top speed, hoping not to find disaster there.

In the gateway to the main orchard, they found Apple Bloom, her hair braided up and a haughty expression on her face. "Apple Bloom," Applejack panted. "What are you doin' out so late? Please, PUH-LEASE tell me you were havin' more adventures with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo tryin' to get your Cutie Marks—"

"Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom laughed. "Scootaloo? Me hang out with those losers? Yeah right! And what are you talking about? I got my Cutie Mark a year ago. Have you gone stupid or somethin'?"

"Oh, no…" Applejack stared in horror at the silver cutlery displayed upon her younger sister's flank. "MY SISTER'S TURNED ALL SNOBBY LIKE SILVER SPOON!"

They hastened to the farmhouse. "BIG MACINTOSH!" Applejack yelled. "GRANNY SMITH! SOMETHIN' TERRIBLE—"

The door swung open, and Applejack was stopped dead in her tracks by the sight of the last two ponies she ever wanted to see on her property…with Granny Smith and Big Macintosh's Cutie Marks in place of their own.

"Well, lookie here, Flim, looks like our little sis came back to the farm at a date most late!" Flam proclaimed.

"Well, I do say, Flam, Applejack seems to have forgot what is not tolerated at the farm: being late—" Flim picked up.

"—being slow—" Flim continued.

"—not on time—"

"—goes to show!"

"'Cause the one simple thing running Sweet Apple Acres isn't care, isn't love, isn't work, isn't fun. Applejack," Flam prompted, "what is the one thing we need?"

"Uh…" Applejack was stunned.

"SPEED!" Both brothers chorused.

"You two…runnin' the family farm…NO!" Applejack screamed. "NO, NO, NO!" She took off running, and her five friends followed.

"Maybe Zecora will know what to do!" Fluttershy suggested.

"You want to go into the Everfree Forest at this time of night?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"If you follow me, we'll be safe," Fluttershy said. "And it's starting to not get so dark out."

In fact, that was true. The moon had gone down, and the darkness of the sky had softened, but the sunrise was nowhere in sight, leaving a cast of dusk over everything.

The six rushed desperately to Zecora's home, the lavish but solitary house carved of a tree in the midst of the woods, and Twilight pounded on the door. "Zecora!" she cried. "Something terrible has happened! Please…you need to help us! You know more about magic than mostly everypony I know!"

The door was opened by a teal pegasus sporting a slicked-back gold mane. Upon her flank was Zecora's Cutie Mark, the elaborate etching of the sun.

"Lightning Dust?" Rainbow Dash cried.

"Oh," Lightning Dust sighed. "It's YOU. Go away. I'm not going to help you." She slammed the door hard.

Defeated, the six sat down on the grass in the midst of the Everfree Forest beneath the strange dusk. Slowly and subtly, a maniacal laugh permeated the air until it was loud enough to make one believe that its laugher was there in person, and soon, he was; Discord materialized before the victims of his prank, dropping to the ground to roll about in hysterics.

"What did you do?" Rainbow Dash snapped.

"I used your little switching spell to switch the Cutie Marks of…wait for it…EVERYPONY IN EQUESTRIA!" Discord cried through his laughter. "Everypony believes they're the wrong pony now! Oh, the chaos this will cause! You did see that I made the DJ the mayor, right? She'll put Ponyville into debt that it will take YEARS to resolve!"

"DISCORD!" Twilight growled. "WHAT did you do to the princesses?"

"Oh, I think Sun Princess Screwball and Moon Princess Ditzy Doo are doing wonderfully, considering they're not even unicorns and couldn't move the sun or moon even if they knew how to use the proper trajectory," Discord said, calming down. "Good thing, too. Screwball raising the sun? Oh, she would definitely graze the planet and start a wildfire. That would be bad."

"Put everypony back the way they were," Pinkie growled, "NOW!"

"Feeling a little on edge?" Discord asked. "Oh, that's probably because you're feeling the lack of positive emotion that usually radiates throughout Equestria from the Crystal Empire. I promise you Crystal Princess Big Macintosh is doing his VERY best to resolve the problem."

Fluttershy began to cry wordlessly. This seemed to give Discord pause; he looked at her concernedly.

"I thought…we were…" Fluttershy sobbed.

"Oh, Fluttershy…" Discord sighed. "I really do wish this could have ended differently between us. You were, after all, such a good friend. But isn't it a little bit hypocritical to care so much about whether everypony you saw tonight was their true self and not about whether I was mine? What was I supposed to do, in my situation? Anyway…" He stretched out his arms as though preparing for bed, then yawned. "I need my beauty sleep. After all, it is…permanently stuck at thirteen o'clock. No self-respecting draconequus should be awake at this hour. Maybe in a bit, I'll get up and start working on the Canterlot renovations…and you all have some cleaning up to do. Good luck, my little ponies!"

Then he disappeared in a flash of white light.

"Fluttershy…" Rainbow Dash moved closer to her sobbing friend. "Hey…it'll be okay…"

"What do we do now?" Rarity moaned.

"Well…" Applejack turned to Twilight. "Any chance that what you did on us could work on everypony else?"

"And get the WHOLE WORLD to discover their true selves?" Twilight cried. "Do you realize how long that would TAKE?"

"Maybe not everypony," Pinkie suggested. "Maybe we get Cadance, Shining Armor, Celestia, and Luna to see their true selves, and they can help us fix it!"

"Hey…" Twilight realized. "You're right! I mean, we'll have to find them all first…but we know where Celestia is!"

Celestia nodded. "That is quite a strange story. I find it rather hard to believe."

"But you are the princess," Applejack insisted. "And without you to raise the sun, we ain't never havin' daytime again!"

"I will admit," Celestia said, "my memory is fuzzy as to how I as an alicorn came into selling quills. I had thought alicornism to be a trait of the royal family, though I'm not quite sure why…Screwball and Ditzy Doo aren't alicorns…"

"They also aren't the real princesses," Rarity said. "Ditzy Doo is a weather pony alongside Rainbow Dash, and Screwball is…well…we're not quite sure what she does, really…"

Celestia nodded. "I believe you, my little ponies. I may not have any memories of being a princess, but I have a strange feeling in my heart that I know you a lot better than I think. And it's telling me to trust you. I will come with you on your journey."

"Great!" Rainbow Dash cried. "Now, where do you think we'll find the others?"

"Who are you looking for?" Celestia asked.

"Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor," Applejack replied.

"My family," Celestia said.

"So you got to remember that much!" Twilight cried happily.

"Of course," Celestia said. "Luna is my beloved younger sister, and she drives a ferryboat at the Horseshoe Bay harbor. Shining Armor, my nephew-in-law, directs the weather in Cloudsdale, and his wife Cadance works an orchard in Appleloosa. I had always wondered why they lived so far apart. It must be because of this Discord you mentioned."

"We have to try and fix things as soon as possible," Twilight insisted.

Celestia nodded. "Right. We'll take the next train to Appleloosa as soon as possible."

APPLELOOSA, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

"Welcome!" Cadance said, bearing the brown vest and cowboy hat that Applejack was used to seeing on her cousin Braeburn. Cadance had arrived at the train station to meet the group as soon as she'd received word from Celestia that they were on their way. "May I show you around? Oh, wait…of course you've all been here before!"

"Cadance," Twilight said, "there's something really important we need to tell you."

"Basically," Applejack said, "we need you to come to Cloudsdale and help us pick up Shining Armor, and then go to Canterlot as soon as possible."

"Is something wrong with the weather in Cloudsdale?" Cadance asked with worry. "Is that why the sky has been so…so…"

"So you remember it wasn't always this way," Celestia said.

Cadance nodded. "And…I feel like Equestria used to be happier."

"Should we tell her?" Rarity asked. "Will she believe us?"

"Maybe we should stick to the short version," Celestia said. "Cadance, there is something wrong with the weather. And we do need to find Shining Armor because of it. Then we can fix things at Canterlot."

"Count me in," Cadance said. "Anything to help him!"

CLOUDSDALE, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

"Oh, no…"

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Cadance, and Celestia had struck out on their own to go to Cloudsdale, as the spell that would allow unicorns and earth ponies to walk on the clouds—undoubtedly what Shining Armor was using—would have taken up extra time that was frankly saved by sending the smaller party. Rainbow Dash was the first to notice what was wrong. "Anypony notice the clouds headed for Canterlot?"

"Blue is an odd color for clouds," Celestia remarked.

Rainbow Dash flew up to one and licked it. "Yep…he brought back the cotton candy clouds. Except this time—" She kicked the cloud, and it began to apparently snow. She tasted that as well. "He's making it snow sugar instead of rain chocolate milk."

"I guess he didn't want to be predictable," Fluttershy said, her voice only quavering slightly.

"I don't understand," Cadance said. "Who is…he?"

"The guy who made all this happen," Rainbow Dash explained as the four touched down on cloud ground and made their way to weather control central. "You'll see later."

They entered the weather facility, moving to the head office; they didn't even have to get all the way there to find Shining Armor talking to several pegasi nervously. "…and we pick up the rain from the desert, and make sure to send just enough rain to the pond in Manehattan to make sure the plants grow. No, no, wait! Turn that around! We have to pick UP the rain from Manehattan, and not send too much to the DESERT! Whew…you'd almost think I hadn't been doing this from the time I was a filly!"

"Shining Armor!" Cadance rushed to her husband's side.

"Cadance!" Shining Armor nuzzled his neck against Cadance's. "What are you doing here?"

"There's some kind of trouble with the weather," Cadance said. "Celestia says she knows why the sky has been…this way. And…have you seen the clouds going out to Canterlot?"

"Clouds to Canterlot? We just sent the regular order—"

"Of cotton candy clouds filled with sugar?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That's just silly," Shining Armor laughed. "You guys took care of the Canterlot order, right?" He looked around at his employees. "Right? Ummm…somepony DID handle that, right?"

"Not me," one piped up.

"Or me," another said. The rest chimed in with the same: "Or me…" "Not me!"

"Huh…I guess I forgot to pencil in Canterlot," Shining Armor admitted embarrassedly.

"We can fix everything at Canterlot," Celestia said. "If you come with us."

"But then who will fix the weather if I—" Shining Armor began.

"Trust me," Rainbow Dash said sternly. "It cannot possibly get any worse if you leave."

The group moved out, and Rainbow Dash hung back to ask Fluttershy, "So…are you feeling better? I mean…I know this is hard…"

"It's all right," Fluttershy said softly. "It is hard. But…I think I understand."

HORSESHOE BAY, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

"You're sure this is where she is?" Twilight asked. She, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Celestia, Shining Armor, and Cadance stood on the beach, looking out toward the ocean.

"And what does this have to do with Canterlot?" Shining Armor asked.

"We obviously need Luna with us," Cadance replied. "She and Celestia work best together."

The silhouette of a boat came speeding in from the horizon. "Yes," Rarity realized. "I am very sure…that is her."

The boat zoomed toward the beach at top speed, appearing as though it was about to beach, before it skidded to a sudden, jolting halt thanks to a dash of unicorn magic. The anchor dropped, and Luna climbed up to the deck, letting down the gangplank as several dizzy, disoriented ponies climbed off.

"HUZZAH!" Luna cried. "We have arrived! I hope you have enjoyed your tour!"

"LAND!" one of the ponies cried, dropping to his knees to kiss the coast.

"I saw the light…" another muttered.

"Luna!" Celestia cried, running to her sister. "I have the strangest…story…"

As Luna came toward Celestia on the shore, Celestia's stare was suddenly captured by something on the horizon of the sea. Something that stirred within her.

The butterfly effect had taken place. Discord's theft of Starswirl's journal had somehow set off a chain of events that led to this. Had he left things alone, this otherworldly entity would have stayed away for much longer. But somehow, his influence had reached outside, and now outside was reaching in. Something was to begin here in Fourth Equestria. An exogenesis.

The mists were rolling in over the sea. And at the sight of them, Celestia suddenly knew in her heart what her true destiny was.

She spread her wings, letting the memories of daylight, of princesshood, of Laughter, envelop her. To the surprise of everypony present, her Cutie Mark glowed, then faded away. In its place, the Mark of a golden sun bloomed.

Celestia's horn radiated with magic. The dusk was broken; the sun lifted gracefully into the sky, taking its place at noon to make up for lost time.

"Sister!" Luna gasped.

"It was true," Celestia said. "We are the royal family…" Her expression turned cold as she realized what must have happened. "Discord! He betrayed us!"

"But how…" Twilight began.

"We didn't even get to the castle to have you do princess stuff yet!" Pinkie Pie pointed out.

Celestia nodded. "I know. I was reminded of my role in a slightly different way." She had a feeling that telling Luna to look over her shoulder at the mists would have a similar effect on Luna…but she didn't want to confront that yet. The mists were something she would have to deal with later. "Come. Let us go to Canterlot Castle. We have to put an end to this once and for all."

Even as she said that, she knew it wasn't true.

The passenger who had left Luna's ferryboat and kissed the sands—a brown stallion with a somewhat spiky mane—turned to see the mists, and suddenly, he too knew his true destiny. His Cutie Mark, that of a chicken, disappeared. He'd never been a tourist. He wasn't from the farming towns out west.

It was really rather silly, he thought, that he'd forgotten what his destiny was. It didn't seem like the kind of thing you could ever forget.

As the hourglass reappeared upon his flank, he thought again about the message he'd found before the upheaval had happened and he'd thought that his ultimate goal in life was to photograph himself with every monument in Equestria. No, he reminded himself—Fourth Equestria.

He'd come for a specific purpose. Now that was fulfilled, and he couldn't bring himself to leave. The message, however, gave him doubts. If it truly wasn't a prank…he would have to deal with the angel of darkness.

CANTERLOT, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

"I can't believe it…" Twilight looked up the main road of Canterlot. "It's even worse this time."

The roads weren't soap. Discord hadn't wanted to skate this time. He'd wanted to bounce. They were long strips of trampoline upon which everypony tripped. Blue cotton candy clouds snowed sugar, and several draconequi made of this snow and sculpted to wear increasingly more fashionable outfits were visible every place there was free space alongside the road.

"Was Canterlot always like this?" Cadance asked. "I…thought I knew, but for some reason…I'm not sure if what I know is right."

"This is the new Chaos Capital," Pinkie informed her.

The ten moved toward the palace. A guard rushed out, crying, "HAAAALT!" It wasn't one of the regular guards, however. Rainbow Dash recognized him as Bulk Biceps, the over-muscled and overzealous weather pegasus.

"Stand down," Shining Armor commanded him.

"WHO'RE YOU TO TELL ME?" Bulk Biceps roared.

"Your captain," Shining Armor said without thinking. Then: "Hey…I am your captain!"

His Cutie Mark shifted to that of the shield with the six-pointed star within it; the symbol of guardianship. "Cadance!" he cried. "I get it now! This isn't who we are!"

"Then who am I?" Cadance asked.

"The Crystal Princess," Shining Armor told her. "You're one of the biggest sources of love in Equestria!"

"Love?" Cadance seemed genuinely confused.

"You know," Shining Armor reminded her. "Love is your talent. It's how you saved me. It…hey, when was the last time we kissed?"

"I can't remember," Cadance admitted.

Shining Armor approached her. "When we were apart," he asked knowingly, "did you ever stop loving me?"

"Not even once. And I never would." Cadance kissed him then, passionately. Between their horns, there was a spark; a small pink heart hovered in the air for a moment. When their lips parted, Cadance said, "You're right. Love IS my talent. And not just for you…for everypony in the Crystal Empire, and for Equestria!" Her Cutie Mark shone brightly: the Crystal Heart. Then Cadance smirked. "You just tricked me into that, didn't you?"

"Like sister, like brother," Rainbow Dash remarked, remembering how Twilight had "tricked" her into taking back her weather talents.

"Hey, you came up with it on your own," Shining Armor reminded Cadance.

"I am confused," Luna said. "Who am I, then?"

"You will know soon enough," Celestia assured her.

Discord reclined on the throne of Canterlot, lying across it in a perpendicular fashion so that his back lay on one of the arm rests. "Now, what should I do to this world next?" he asked himself with a smile. "Or…is it time to move on? After all, I—"

"Stand down, Discord."

At this command from the familiar voice of Celestia, Discord sighed and rolled his eyes. "I knew it was too good to last…" He sat up to look at the group that had just entered: Twilight, Rarity, Celestia, Luna, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Cadance, Shining Armor, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. "If it isn't the royal family and the Elements of Harmony come to call."

"This place!" Luna cried. "This…dost be our palace! I am not a captain of mere ferryboats! I am the princess of the night!" Her Cutie Mark settled into place: a bright white crescent moon.

"So now you're all back in order," Discord sighed. "So what are you going to do? I still have this castle. I still have my Chaos Capital. And I can only grow from here."

"Not so fast," Twilight said. "I happened to be prepared when I packed for the trip."

Discord flinched at first when she produced the five amulets and the tiara that represented the Elements of Harmony. She settled them each upon the proper owner: "Necklace! Necklace! Necklace! Necklace! Necklace! And, as always, big shiny crown thingy!"

"Oh, but you're forgetting," Discord said. "Fluttershy, you haven't forgotten, have you? You can't use your Element against me! We had a deal because we're friends!"

"No," Fluttershy said sternly. "This…breaks our deal. You ruined everything, Discord. Ponies are in danger because of you, and I…I can't stand by and watch that happen."

It sank in: she was serious. Discord began to tremble. "Now, Fluttershy…I wouldn't go and do anything rash because you're feeling betrayed…"

"I might feel betrayed," Fluttershy admitted, "but I know why you did it. It wasn't fair of me to ask you not to be yourself. This is who you are. I still wish there was a way we could work it out so you could be free and be yourself…" She faltered at that. "I…I don't want to lock you away again. I really, really don't."

Seeing the look in her eyes, Discord sighed. It was time to face reality. "No. You're right. Seal me away. I should have known this was coming. Your orderly society doesn't work with my chaotic ways. But I'll have you know…it was worth it. I'd rather live another thousand years in stone than have to be that bored or that boring ever again. So go ahead." He stood and spread out his arms, perfectly sincere. "Lock me away." He gave a grin. "No hard feelings. I promise it."

"Is this a trick?" Twilight asked.

"Less questioning and more zapping!" Rainbow Dash told her.

Discord watched it happen before him as it had happened before. The six stood together, and a sphere of light formed around them. A great rainbow emitted from the sphere, shooting directly at Discord.

When the light faded, the ten ponies looked toward the throne. Discord was frozen in stone with the strangest grin on his face…a grin that said it had, in fact, been worth it.

"You think…you think he meant it?" Twilight asked softly.

"I don't know." Celestia sighed. "I had thought that giving him his freedom would work out for all of us. I didn't realize that what I offered him wasn't true freedom at all. This is my mistake, and I apologize for it. To everypony."

"It's all right," Fluttershy said. "We all make mistakes."

"Uhhh…shouldn't we do something about all the Cutie Mark mixups?" Shining Armor asked.

"Right," Celestia said. "Luna, Cadance, Shining Armor. We must—"

"But I'm not an alicorn," Shining Armor pointed out. "Or really related to you—"

"You are my husband," Cadance reminded him with a smile. "Once we show you the spell, you can take part. You are part of this family, Shining Armor."

Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor stood in a circle in the center of the throne room. Celestia and Luna lowered their heads slowly; all four horns sparked with a bright glow of magic that started small, then suddenly erupted, sending a shockwave out of the room, out of the palace, over Equestria.

They lifted their heads. "It is done," Celestia said.

A cautious knock came at the door of the throne room. A blonde pegasus with a soft blue coat peered in. "Uhhh…I just realized I have no idea what I'm doing with the moon and everything," Ditzy Doo said.

A pink pony with a curly violet mane peered in as well. "Me either."

Bulk Biceps joined them. "SORRY!"

"It is all right," Celestia said with a smile. "We have it under control."

"We should probably go home now," Ditzy said.

"That would be best," Celestia agreed. "After all, Ponyville needs the three of you."

"YEAH!" Bulk Biceps agreed.

"Hey," Ditzy was heard to say as the three made their way out of the castle, "you want to stop for muffins on the way home? I could sure go for a muffin."

"YOU DID IT!" Pinkie Pie cried. "You fixed everything! Everypony's Cutie Mark is right again! Equestria has its true destiny! PARTYYYYY!"

"Hey!" Twilight realized, looking at the throne to find a left-behind object. "It's the journal of Starswirl the Bearded! Discord must have been carrying it all this time!" She levitated it, turning to the last page. "Now, to finish that spell like I planned."

"Have a quill," Celestia offered, levitating one such quill over to Twilight—a little something left over from her destiny mix-up. However, she knew what was about to happen as soon as Twilight finished the spell. Had things gone differently, she might have tried to salvage her original plan. But she had seen the mists, the exogenesis. She had seen the Elements work against Discord not once, but twice from this group over the course of her lifetime. And she knew what had to be done.

Twilight finished writing in the segment of the spell. "There," she said. "Starswirl was never able to finish it because he didn't really understand friendship. That's why—"

When she dotted the last sentence, the book began to glow, as did all six of the jewels of the Elements of Harmony. The amulets around the necks of Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash shot beams of light at Twilight, who cried out in surprise. When the light cleared, Twilight had vanished.

"TWILIGHT!" the five friends cried.

"Do not fear," Celestia said. "This was planned. I must go meet Twilight, and I shall return with her shortly."

"I think you will like what you see when she returns," Luna said.

"No," Celestia said sharply. "When we return…things will be the same."

"But Celestia…" Cadance said.

"I will explain later," Celestia said softly to the other members of the royal family before she vanished in a brilliant light.

Twilight found herself in a strange place. She wasn't quite sure what she was standing on, even though it was a solid surface; everything around her seemed to be the starry sky of outer space.

"Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said.

"Princess!" Twilight turned to see her mentor. "What happened?"

"When you finished that spell, you created new magic," Celestia said. "One of the most powerful abilities for any wielder of magic to do. You were right in saying that the missing factor from Starswirl's spell was friendship. And Twilight, from the moment I first sent you to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration…I have watched you grow in your studies, not only learning about magic, but about friendship as well. I am proud to call you my student."

"So what's all this?" Twilight asked.

"This…" Celestia sighed. "This was to be something else. But now I know the truth. Your skill with magic and the friendships you have…they are incredibly important, Twilight Sparkle. More than you know."

"I find that a little hard to believe. I know my magic is important…and my friends are even more important."

"With that said, Twilight Sparkle…trust me when I say that big things will come your way. I want to congratulate you on finishing the spell. Now, your friends are waiting for you. I'd best send you back before they worry."

"Okay," Twilight said. "Thank you, Princess."

Celestia and Twilight reappeared in the throne room. "I cannot thank you all enough," Celestia said, "for coming to the aid of Equestria as many times as you have. Now that the danger has passed, I will issue a celebration ceremony…but first, I had thought you all might want to catch up on breakfast."

"It is on the royal kitchens!" Luna announced.

"Perfect!" Applejack sighed. "I'm starvin'!"

"You six go on ahead," Celestia said.

"All right!" Pinkie squealed, bouncing ahead of the group.

"So…what was all that about?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight. "Why did you disappear?"

"I'm not quite sure," Twilight admitted. "I guess it was just a side effect of writing new magic."

When the six were quite gone, Luna asked, "Why didst thou not crown her the next princess?"

"It has become apparent to me that now is not the time," Celestia said. "After what has happened with Discord…I cannot crown her. It would be best not to tie her down to the court here. All of them are meant for bigger things. In the meantime, to avoid offending her, I suggest we not mention that the motion was on the table. For all intents and purposes…we never discussed it."

"Right," Shining Armor said.

"Shining Armor," Celestia suggested, "Cadance, why don't you join the others in the kitchen?"

"I'm starving too!" Shining Armor realized.

"Let's go," Cadance said.

When those two were gone and Celestia and Luna were all who remained, Celestia looked Luna directly in the eye. "I could not have bound any of them to such a responsibility that would have them remain on this world," Celestia told Luna.

"Thou dost not mean-!" Luna gasped.

"I know what the true destiny is of Twilight Sparkle, as well as her friends," Celestia admitted. "And it is not in this court. Not yet. I had thought things would be different this time, but it appears that their bearing of the Elements of Harmony will have the same effect on them that it has had on us."

Luna nodded. "Would it be in our best interests to ready the ship?"

"Not for a while yet. The mists were not strong enough. But still…the time will come eventually when it will need to again set sail."

A ceremony was held to honor the heroics of the six wielders of the Elements of Harmony, who had again imprisoned Discord during his reign of chaos. It was nothing new for Canterlot; it seemed these six were always doing something heroic, and that was no problem, as it gave the populace an excuse to party every now and again. Besides, it was well known that Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were kind and well-respected beings.

All in all, though it was a celebration of much merriment, it was not out of the ordinary as compared to past celebrations.

There were only two remarkable things about this celebration. For one, the six turned the Elements of Harmony amulets and tiara back over to Canterlot for safekeeping, as the jewelry had only been brought to Ponyville to keep tabs on Discord.

Once that was done, they returned home. And for the next few weeks, life settled back down as normal in Ponyville.

But the second extraordinary thing about this celebration was the effect it had on the stallion with the hourglass Cutie Mark.

At first, reading over the news reports of the heroics of the six, it seemed as fitting to him as it did to anypony else. But then things started to piece together. The message from the angel of darkness. The mists over Horseshoe Bay. The very nature of what Discord even was. And the fact that there were six.

A memory suddenly occurred to him. He set out immediately for a certain house in Canterlot. If he was right, it was imperative that he talk to himself.

1. Exogenesis

CANTERLOT, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

The blue stallion with the blonde coif was rather surprised to see the brown stallion with the shaggy brunette mane burst into his home uninvited. He'd never seen this particular pony before, but he recognized his cutie mark: the tell-tale hourglass. That was how he knew.

"Five cycles ago," the brown stallion said, "I came here to ask you if we'd really found them. Did we find them?"

"I'm sure I have," the blue replied. "They sealed away Discord, after all."

"I knew it!" the brown cried. "I must tell Celestia at once!"

"I already told her today," the blue informed the brown stallion. "It will be rather a lot for her, don't you think?"

"I'd like to think it would only convince her that the situation is serious," the brown answered. "To hear it from the same person twice, after all." He paused. "Shouldn't this be impossible, you and me meeting like this?"

"Time doesn't seem to work by those laws in Equestria," the blue stated. "And besides…with someone like Discord in existence here, do the laws even matter?"

PONYVILLE, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

The Ponyville library was decorated for a gathering of fun. Streamers ran from rafter to rafter, and the table was set with a variety of treats, most of them baked from apples. In the center of the library, seated comfortably on a circle of pillows, six ponies and a young dragon each held a copy of the same blue book before them.

"I now call the first official meeting of the Ponyville book club to order!" a pink mare with a shock of carnation-colored curls for a mane cried, holding her hoof high. Her adjacent friend, a lavender unicorn with a pink streak in her mane, had originally planned to make the announcement, but she had relinquished that responsibility when she realized her friend would have much more fun with it.

"Thanks, Pinkie Pie," that unicorn said. "Also, thanks for setting up the library for the meeting. And thanks for bringing all the treats, Applejack!"

"My pleasure, sugar cube," an orange mare sporting a blonde ponytail beneath a cowboy hat replied with a slight bow.

"And to think," a bright white unicorn with a mane of flawless plum-colored ringlets pointed out, "when we first met, Rainbow Dash never would have agreed to do this!"

"You got me there, Rarity," the blue pegasus sitting next to the white unicorn replied, blowing her rainbow-toned bangs out of her eyes. "I gotta say, Twilight, I'm startin' to see why these books get you all excited." She caught herself. "STARTING."

"Okay, Rainbow Dash," the purple unicorn giggled, having been addressed.

"Are you sure you're comfortable, Rarity?" the young purple dragon asked. "Anything I can get you? More pillows? Another apple tart?"

"I'm fine, Spike," Rarity replied. "You're quite the gentleman for asking, though."

"If anyone does want another apple tart," the last member of the group – a yellow pegasus with a soft pink mane – offered, "I would gladly fetch one."

"I'm good, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash replied. The others all gave an "I'm good" of assent.

"Now that everything's in order," Twilight said, "what did you all think of the book?"

"Absolutely wonderful!" Rarity gushed. "I must admit, I was a bit skeptical when you decided our first reading material would be one of your science fictions, but I must admit I'm hooked!"

"It's almost better than Daring Do!" Rainbow Dash agreed.

"I just keep thinking about how fun it would be if we had our own spaceship!" Pinkie blurted. "So we could travel to all sorts of different planets too!"

"That actually sounds rather frightening," Fluttershy admitted. "I'd much rather stay here and read about other ponies having that kind of adventure!"

"What d'you think, Twilight?" Applejack asked. "If it were you, would you rather have a spaceship and go on an adventure, or stay home and read about it?"

"That's actually a tough question, Applejack," Twilight answered. "I mean, ever since I was little, I always dreamed about having the kind of adventures the ponies had in books. But ever since I came here, I've had plenty of adventures. Our battle against Discord, the royal wedding…even making the cider when the Flim Flam brothers came into town was kind of an adventure! Not to mention that everything I could ever want is here. My friends, my library, this whole town…"

"So you wouldn't go on an epic adventure to other planets?" Pinkie asked.

"Well…" Twilight admitted. "I wouldn't say that. Not exactly. I just…really appreciate what we have here. Besides, it's not like we ever would find a way to go to other planets. The farthest anypony's ever been away from the planet is when Celestia banished Luna to the moon, and comparatively speaking, that's not that far."

"Can we talk about the book now?" Rainbow Dash begged. "PLEASE?"

"Sure," Twilight conceded, and the discussion evolved into one about the book.

CANTERLOT, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

Twice had the Doctor come to Fourth Equestria. The first time, five incarnations ago, he'd arrived to help fight off the Changeling invasion. The second time, he'd arrived in the same time period as his former self in order to match wits with one of the Old Ones…only to hear that the Old One was promptly defeated, and not by him. Somehow, Discord had been sealed away after only two chronological days, though how many "days" had passed with all of Discord's playing with the sun and moon was actually questionable.

He'd taken on the identity of "Time Turner" the second time, cautious about revealing his true self to Fourth Equestria. It seemed a world apart from all other worlds he'd ever seen. When a cosmic monster like Discord wasn't ravaging it, it was practically idyllic, not something he wanted to spoil by tying it to the great spiderweb of worlds. Its magical atmosphere even seemed to follow its own rules; no sooner had the TARDIS touched down on the earth than had "Time Turner" – known more affectionately as "Five" among his true companions the first time he had come, and "Ten" the second – shifted from the human form he preferred to that of a stallion. He knew there were some dimensions that changed their occupants so, and after confirming that there was no actual human life in Fourth Equestria, he knew this was definitely one of those cases. Introducing it to the rest of the multiverse, with its variegated forms and species, would inevitably cause a tangle.

However, things were different this time around. Five cycles ago, he had witnessed something that reminded him of a prophecy currently bound to a glass ball tucked away deep beneath the Ministry of Magic on one of the Earths. Now, that half of the prophecy was confirmed by a certain natural phenomenon in Fourth Equestria, a phenomenon that had come from outside. The other half had just revealed itself in a most frightening way.

Ten had settled in Ponyville, but upon receiving intelligence that the prophecy was indeed being set in motion, he realized he needed to move to Canterlot as quickly as possible to speak with Celestia, the near-godlike ruler of the territory. Five had settled in Canterlot in order to face the Changelings, and as Ten recalled that on the train ride to Canterlot, he also recalled the day that, as Five, he'd been visited by the strange brown stallion, the one who matched what he saw in the mirror.

As soon as he disembarked from the train, Ten rushed to find Five's home and burst in upon his old self having lunch in the kitchen. Five was certainly shocked to see him, as Ten remembered having been.

"Five cycles ago," Ten announced, "I came here to ask you if we'd really found them. Did we find them?"

Five had already explained to Celestia. Ten remembered, now, having posed his theory to her. It was now up to him to confirm it.

He requested an immediate audience with the Princess. The guards balked at first, but one of them, recognizing Ten's cutie mark and remembering what Celestia had always said about ponies with the hourglass mark, agreed to push him to the front of the list waiting to see Celestia. In no time, Ten stood before the majestic white alicorn with the pastel mane. Perched upon her throne, she regarded him with genuine interest.

"Princess Celestia," Ten began. "Do you know who I am?"

"I know," Celestia answered calmly. "You're the Doctor."

"I told you a few hours ago, didn't I?"

"Not only that," Celestia said, "but I'm familiar with how the multiverse works."

That was somewhat of a shock. Ten wasn't sure she'd let that on to Five; he certainly didn't remember it. "So you're familiar with the prophecy?"

"There are many prophecies," Celestia replied. "However, when you came to me earlier, you did mention one in particular."

"If I remember correctly," Ten said, "I told you that I MIGHT have found the Six. That was after I heard of the legend of Princess Luna and saw the stained glass murals you have of them all over. Certain things have happened since then, and I'm now convinced they're the Six."

"Remind me again," Celestia said. "What Six are these?"

"A prophecy exists," Ten said, "that was made by Merlin himself. He said that in the great battle of the multiverse, an angel of darkness would appear to bring turmoil upon all existence, and six shining hearts would step forward to face him. Or her. The prophecy wasn't exactly clear on that. It did say, however, that the six would touch hundreds of lives throughout the multiverse. If the six won, existence would continue. If not…well, all Merlin said was 'great disaster', but if I had to guess, I'd say something along the likes of the release of the Old Ones."

"The Old Ones," Celestia repeated. "The disharmonious ones who would bring existence to ruin."

"Exactly," Ten confirmed. "In all my travels, I thought I'd seen the Six several times. Every time, I was wrong." He remembered the guesses he'd made. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Tony, Steve, Bruce, Thor, Natasha, and Clint. Goliath, Hudson, Broadway, Brooklyn, Lexington, and Elisa. All had done great things, but none had ever seemed quite right. "Now…I think I have."

"Twilight Sparkle," Celestia spelled out for him. "Applejack. Rarity. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie."

"The Elements of Harmony, right?"

"Yes. Your connection does make sense. The Elements of Harmony are great powers in the cosmos, powers that I haven't even fully explained to them." Celestia shifted uncomfortably, though it was barely noticeable. "After all, Luna and I once wielded those powers."

"And you've been around for a thousand years," Ten pieced together. "That's no coincidence, is it?"

"No."

"Two things have convinced me that your little ponies are the Six," Ten went on. "For one, the angel of darkness has revealed himself. Or herself."

Celestia's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Unfortunately," Ten sighed. "He taunted me."

"How?"

"A scroll appeared in the TARDIS," Ten began. "You…do know what a TARDIS is, right?"

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Exactly. It said, and I quote:" Ten cleared his throat. "Your attempts to uphold peace and light in this universe are quaint. However, all that is about to change. Soon you will realize how hopeless you truly are, and I shall reign over this multiverse. All will be enveloped in darkness, and I shall be…"

"The angel of darkness," Celestia guessed.

"Exactly. Now, there is a small chance that this is just someone who heard about the prophecy as well and is just trying to talk tough. However, that wouldn't explain the other…incident."

"The mists of Avalon," Celestia said immediately.

Ten was taken aback. "You KNOW about that?"

"I have lived a long time," Celestia replied, "and I had three of the Elements of Harmony within me once. I know all about Avalon and its place in the cosmos. Sailors from Avalon find that the mists don't send you where you want to go – they send you where you need to go. In the most extreme of cases, the mists will arrive to find who they need to go someplace in order to take them there. The reports of a strange mist over the seas haven't slipped past me. I went to see them myself. Ordinary ponies were able to sail through them without a problem, but I could tell they were the mists. Once you've breathed them in, you never forget what they feel like."

"Avalon is calling them," Ten said. "And you know it, don't you?"

Celestia nodded. "I must let them know."

"How do you think they'll take it?"

"They've proven themselves time and time again," Celestia said. "They will know. Do you intend to be around when I inform them?"

"It's a given that we'll cross paths," Ten said. "For the moment…let's have them take the news from someone they trust."

"I understand. I can give them what they need to transport themselves."

"You don't have a TARDIS of your own stashed away somewhere," Ten asked suspiciously, "do you?"

"Not at all. Nothing quite so special. Just something I once used to cross the mists. Something that will give them a home away from home, and enough information to navigate their way."

"Good luck," Ten wished honestly.

"Thank you," Celestia replied. "But I am not the one who will need luck."

PONYVILLE, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

"That was fun," Spike remarked, helping clear away the last of the streamers. The sun had set, and everypony had returned to her respective home, leaving Spike and Twilight alone in the library. "I can't wait for next week's meeting! How about you, Twilight?" When he received no answer, he looked up to see Twilight looking up and out the window of the upper story. "Twilight?"

"Huh?" Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry, Spike. Did you say something?"

"Just that I thought the book club meeting was really fun," Spike replied. "Are you still thinking about what Pinkie said about wanting to go on adventures through space?"

"Only a little," Twilight said. "I don't really want to leave Ponyville now that I've found so much I love here. But…I'm curious." She turned back to the window. "What's out there? Other ponies like us? Do they have the same kind of lives we do?"

"I dunno," Spike said with a shrug. "Maybe, I guess."

"That's the answer I'll have to live with," Twilight resolved. "Here. Let me help you clear away some of those streamers."

All of a sudden, a rush of green flame poured forth from Spike's mouth. A scroll of parchment came out with it. "Hey," Spike remarked, "you got a letter from the Princess!" Out of habit, he unrolled it and read it. "Whoa…weird!"

"What?" Twilight asked, moving to try and read the letter over Spike's shoulder. "What is it?"

"It's for all of you," Spike said. "You and Applejack and Rarity and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie."

Twilight levitated the letter out of Spike's hands, reading it over herself. "The Princess wants to see us in Canterlot as soon as possible?" She turned the letter over to find nothing on the back. "That's it? No explanation why?"

"It must be really important," Spike deduced. "And top-secret!"

"I'll say." Twilight rolled up the scroll. "Looks like we'll have to go see what Celestia wants. I hope it isn't an emergency."

"Are you gonna worry about what she wants all night?" Spike asked, raising a brow.

"No," Twilight lied nervously.

CANTERLOT, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

Beneath a midnight moon, the black alicorn made her way into the hedge labyrinth beside the great Canterlot castle. The night guards looked up to see her approaching. They didn't recognize her. For a moment, they flinched in fear, believing her to be a Changeling, but her build was definitely that of a true alicorn, as tall as Celestia with a flowing black mane. When she stepped into the full moonlight, the guards could see that the feathers of her wings had an iridescent green sheen only visible in direct light. Overall, something about her reminded them of Luna.

"HALT!" the captain of the night guard cried. "Who goes there?"

The alicorn didn't answer. Instead, her horn glowed with green energy. The guards were suddenly overcome by the desire to sleep, and could not fight the urge. They all dropped unconscious before her, some of them snoring.

She could have killed them, she knew, but it was best not to leave too much of a trail this early on. She wanted to focus on the one thing she had come to retrieve.

Celestia was a fool, this alicorn thought as she made her way through the twists and turns of the labyrinth. How could she possibly have thought that such an ancient power could be safely contained that way? He'd already been released once by the carelessness of the inhabitants of this kingdom, albeit temporarily. He could easily be released again.

She found him easily. Celestia had tried to hide him, to put him in one of the corners hidden by the greatest amount of twists. Predictable. He was still frozen in a pose of horror and disbelief, turning away from the force that had last defeated him. Obviously, he hadn't expected it this time. Those whom had put him away were far more powerful than he'd predicted.

She thought back to the prophecy. Most likely, the ponies that had petrified this Old One were the Six. She knew this well. She also knew that while the prophecy allowed for their victory, it didn't specify it as a certainty. Her goal was to make sure they failed, that nothing would interfere with the coming upheaval of cosmic order. This was a first step.

Her horn glowed. Gently, she touched it to the center of the statue's chest, its heart. "Awaken," she bid it.

Cracks ran through the stone like strands of a spiderweb. Flakes of granite fell away, revealing live flesh. The furry paw of a lion. A feathered wing. Two mismatched eyes that blinked away the powdery stone that had crumbled over his face.

His first words: "Well, that was unexpected."

"Did you fear," she asked, "that the Elements of Harmony had bested you for another thousand years?"

"The thought crossed my mind," Discord replied. "I knew I'd be back someday, but this is a lot sooner than I'd planned." A grin slowly spread over his face. "It doesn't make any sense at all, really. It's wonderful!"

"Enjoy your freedom," she begged of him. "Take this chance to do as your heart commands."

Suspicious, Discord crossed his arms. "And who exactly are you?"

"Your savior," the alicorn responded. "It would do you well to remember me, as I will soon usher in the new age…an age of chaos."

"I suppose you think you're more powerful than me," Discord snapped. "You aren't even close."

"It does not matter," she said with a smirk. "I will be the one to whom you will answer in the end."

"Very unlikely," Discord replied. "Even I would call that too nonsensical."

"You needn't believe it now," the alicorn said. "However, the mists of Avalon have arrived at your shores. Take that information and use it as you will."

That widened Discord's eyes. "Really?" He laughed. "Oh, this will be such fun! Now, if only I had my old partner in crime…"

"She awaits you. Another piece of information to do with what you will."

"I don't expect to see you again," Discord told the alicorn upfront. "I get the feeling that you underestimate me. I would appreciate it if you didn't. Now, if you'll excuse me…I have some chaos to wreak."

He snapped his fingers, and in a flash of light, he was gone.

"How rude," the alicorn said, still smirking. "He did not even thank me for his release."

"Did you even get a wink of sleep last night, Twilight?"

"HUH? WHAT?" Twilight jerked into consciousness. She found herself on a plush seat of the early train running from Ponyville to Canterlot. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie surrounded her, looking on in concern. Twilight remembered: she'd gathered her five friends as early as possible that morning, stressing that Celestia needed to see them as soon as possible for some mystery emergency. The others had dropped what they were doing immediately to rush to the train station, and now they were almost to the grand kingdom.

"She was probably up all night worrying," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"There are just so many things Celestia could have sent a letter about!" Twilight moaned. "What if Discord got back out?"

"That wouldn't happen," Applejack reassured Twilight. "We locked him up good, remember?"

"What if the Changelings are going to try and take over Canterlot again?" Twilight tried.

"Your brother and Cadance blasted them good," Rainbow Dash replied. "They wouldn't show their faces around here again!"

"What if it's parasprites?" Twilight cried. "What if it's an Ursa Major? What if Luna's been given the love poison? What if – "

"Whatever it is," Applejack said, "we can handle it. Especially together."

"Besides," Pinkie suggested, "maybe Celestia wrote to us to tell us about something GOOD! Like…she needs us to plan the next Grand Galloping Gala for her! Or she's getting married! Or she found a way to make it rain chocolate without having to live in a reign of chaos!"

"You'll just never let that one go," Applejack sighed, "will ya?"

"I like chocolate!" Pinkie defended. "Is that such a crime?"

The train eventually pulled into the main square of Canterlot. The six friends disembarked, entering the throng of ponies that made up Canterlot's street traffic. They immediately charted a course for the castle.

They were delayed shortly when Rarity caught sight of Fancy Pants and the two stopped to exchange small talk. However, sensing Twilight's distress, Rarity cut the conversation short. "I'll talk to you more later," she promised before leaving her elite acquaintance behind.

As the palace grew nearer in view, Fluttershy voiced, "I hope the Princess told the guards we were coming."

As it turned out, she didn't have to worry about that at all. The head of the day guard, a white stallion with a brilliant blue mane, practically charged down from his post at the main gate to meet the six. "Twily!" he cried, rushing to meet Twilight.

"Shining Armor!" Twilight greeted her brother.

"I heard Celestia wanted to see you really badly," Shining Armor whispered. "Any idea why?"

"No more than you," Twilight answered. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see. How's Cadance?"

"Wonderful!" Shining Armor gushed. "It feels like I love her a little more every day. You know, we've been thinking about going down to Ponyville to see you sometime. Maybe you could stop by our tower before you leave today!"

"Girls?" Twilight turned to her friends.

"We'd love to!" Pinkie said enthusiastically, and the other four nodded in assent.

"Well, you can go right on in," Shining Armor directed. "Celestia said that as soon as you got here, the guards had to give you an immediate audience." Sensing his sister's nerves, he added, "Don't worry. There haven't been any threats made on the castle. I'm sure it's nothing."

"I hope you're right," Twilight replied. "See you later."

"Good luck!"

The six mares walked on. "I do enjoy seeing your brother again," Rarity admitted. "He's always been so kind."

"Now I'm starting to get worried," Fluttershy piped up. "Celestia wants to see us that badly?"

"Like Twilight said earlier," Applejack replied, "We'll just have to wait and see."

Both Celestia and Luna sat before the group of six, raised up on their thrones. Respectfully, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all bowed.

"Welcome, my little ponies," Celestia greeted. "I see you got my letter."

"We came here as fast as we could," Twilight affirmed.

"I wish I could say I had good news for you," Celestia began. "Unfortunately…"

"There is no saying that this is not good news!" Luna barked. "A new task only brings new adventures!"

Celestia smiled. "I'm glad you see it that way, Luna," she said. "Now, my little ponies, I must tell you something that may sound hard to believe."

"I doubt that," Rainbow Dash quipped. "We've seen everything from a changeling invasion to Pinkie Pie in one of those detective hats."

"Deerstalkers," Twilight corrected.

"I should have worn that today!" Pinkie moaned.

"Not for a formal audience with royalty!" Rarity gasped.

Celestia only smiled more broadly. Seeing the chosen ones interact with friends only served to cement her faith in them. "Each of you represents an Element of Harmony," Celestia began. "The Elements of Harmony are a great cosmic force. A lot of ponies might say they barely matter next to things like the sun and moon, or light and darkness. But the truth is, a world without honesty, generosity, kindness, loyalty, or laughter is nothing but a desolate wasteland, and there is no such thing as a world without magic. The concepts you represent are necessary to hold the very fabric of existence together."

"We once held the Elements ourselves!" Luna added. "Celestia held kindness, loyalty, and laughter, while I had honesty, generosity, and magic! The Elements are very important. This makes you six very important!"

"Have you ever envisioned existence outside of Equestria?" Celestia asked. "Do you know what lies beyond this atmosphere?"

"Farther than even the moon!" Luna added.

"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie hopped up and down. "We were just talking about this at our book club yesterday! Everypony said that nopony knows what's out there, and there's no way to get there!"

"Not entirely true," Celestia said somberly. "The truth is, there are thousands of worlds, planets, and dimensions outside of Equestria. I know this because Luna and I have visited some of them."

The six ponies before the princesses were dumbstruck. "You're…kidding, right?" Rainbow Dash finally asked.

Celestia shook her head. "The truth is, my little ponies, now that you have the Elements of Harmony and have proven what you can do with them, you too will have to travel across the cosmos. Each of you has had to finesse her Element of Harmony; they are challenges as much as talents. However, each of you has risen to that challenge. Twilight, even though you have doubted yourself, you have grown into one of the most powerful unicorns in all of Equestria. Applejack, though many times it has seemed easier to lie to spare someone's feelings or your own pride, you have learned to tell the truth when it counts. Rarity, while many times you have been told not to be selfish, you have found joy in giving to others. Fluttershy, while at times you have been pushed to feelings of rage and frustration, you have learned to give others the benefit of the doubt and extend your hoof in kindness. Rainbow Dash, even when your friends have seemed 'uncool' to you, you have discovered that remaining loyal to them is worth all of the conflicts you might have. And Pinkie Pie, even in the face of a world that breaks its Pinkie Promises and betrays you, you have remembered to laugh and smile and find the best of every situation. These are the qualities that will be your greatest assets."

"An ancient prophecy made by a wizard from another world says that you must defeat a great evil," Luna said. "In order to do this, you have to cross the multiverse and see it from edge to edge! You will see even more than Celestia and I saw over a thousand years ago. You will have to move through time and space. The mists of Avalon have arrived on the shores of our seas, and they won't leave until they can take you away."

"But Avalon is only a myth!" Twilight cried. "It doesn't really exist!"

"It does," Celestia confirmed. "It is one of the hubs of existence, and its mists reach out in times of great need to find those who must take a journey."

"Are you saying we have to sail through outer space and never see home again?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"You do have to sail through space," Luna answered, "but fear not! It does not mean you shall never see your homes again! On the contrary, you shall return many times, just as Celestia and I returned! Of course, Celestia and I did not have to fulfill any prophecies, but Equestria is as much of the multiverse as anyplace else! This world needs you!"

"You make it sound like we're some kind of…cosmic guardians," Twilight said. "Is that true?"

"More or less," Celestia answered. "The truth is, your journey will be long. Even though you will be able to return home, you must also be away from it for a great amount of time. It is the only way that you can stop the angel of darkness."

"The what now?" Applejack asked.

"The angel of darkness wants to turn existence into disharmony," Luna explained. "Whoever he is, he wants to remove all honesty, generosity, kindness, loyalty, and laughter from the multiverse, and turn all magic into evil."

"How did you know all this?" Twilight asked.

"With the mists come the things we need to know," Celestia replied. "I was also contacted…twice, in fact…by a trusted friend from a world long dead. He stressed the importance of your journey. I am sorry to deliver you this news. You must prepare in any way you can. I have for you a ship that will take you through the mists of Avalon. I suggest that you move anything you need to make it home onto that ship."

"And Ponyville?" Applejack asked, frustration showing through her voice. "How's everything supposed to run without us? How's the Apple family farm supposed to keep runnin' without me there to help? And what about our families? How're we supposed to explain this to 'em?"

"You may tell those you trust most about the importance of your journey," Celestia said. "Keep no secrets…not from Shining Armor or Cadance, the Apple family, Sweetie Belle, the Cakes, or anypony else who needs to know where you have gone. Assure them you will return. You will also have to make other arrangements for your responsibilities in Ponyville. I will, however, equip you with a way to send mail to this castle. I expect that you will use it mostly for letters and reports, though I understand that those of you who make a living from creating things will need to send material things back as well." Celestia looked meaningfully towards Rarity. "Oh, and on that note, make sure you bring plenty of clothing, and fabric to make clothing from. When you leave Equestria, you will undergo some…changes. You will need the proper clothing in order to accommodate."

"Well," Rarity said proudly, "if it's clothes you need, I'm definitely your mare."

"This just still seems so sudden," Twilight moaned. "One day, we're having our book club meeting, and the next, we have to leave Equestria because the fate of existence is in our hooves? How are we supposed to deal with that?"

"Easily," Luna answered. "Together."

"She has a point," Pinkie said. "We've done so much together already! If we have each other, we can do anything! Come on! This is our big chance for an adventure just like in Twilight's books!"

"The most I can do is urge you to accept this mission," Celestia admitted. "In the end, it is up to you."

Twilight looked around, meeting the eyes of each of her five friends. She read the same message from all of them. At last, she turned to Celestia and gave the answer:

"We'll do it."

"Seriously?" Shining Armor gasped.

"Seriously," Twilight confirmed. As promised, the six had stopped by the royal guest chambers of Shining Armor and his wife Cadance, where they stayed when visiting Canterlot on business outside the Crystal Empire they ruled, and as the couple was family to Twilight and practically family to the other five, the story was soon told.

"Celestia and Luna had both told me tales of a greater multiverse outside Equestria," Cadance admitted. "I never thought anypony would actually have to travel that far, though. I was barely able to believe myself that Avalon wasn't just a myth from storybooks."

"When do you have to leave?" Shining Armor inquired.

"As soon as we get packed and say our goodbyes, I guess," Applejack answered. "Celestia has some kinda ship that we're gonna move into."

"We'll be there to see you off," Cadance promised.

"I know you'll be back," Shining Armor stated. "Sooner than you think!"

"I hope so," Twilight moaned.

"Hey," Shining Armor cajoled, "cheer up, sis! This is just like in your books, right?"

"This is the kind of thing I read about all the time," Twilight admitted. "And we have done a lot of great things here. But this…this sounds bigger than anything we've ever done. The kind of thing that only should be read about, and not actually done. I'm not sure we can make it."

"I'm sure we can!" Pinkie squealed. "We just have to remember to smile!"

"And you've got me with you!" Rainbow Dash added teasingly. "That means we can't possibly mess up!"

Twilight smiled. Surrounding her, she saw seven supportive faces. "Thank you. All of you. Shining Armor, Cadance, I promise I'll write you often."

"You just worry about fulfilling your prophecy," Shining Armor replied. "We'll take care of things here. We can even step in with things in Ponyville if it needs help."

"If anypony can save the fate of the multiverse," Cadance said, "it's you six. I just know it."

PONYVILLE, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

"Twilight," Spike said, "you can't take all the books with you!"

"I know," Twilight said, stopping before she emptied her shelves completely. She'd spread out several suitcases to pack with the things she held most dear and thought would come in most handy on the mission. Star charts, telescopes, astrolabes…she wasn't sure how much of it she'd need, but she felt as though nothing should be left behind. "Are you sure you can handle the library on your own?"

"Of course!" Spike confirmed. "I know this place back to front! And besides, I'll have Owlowiscious to help me!"

"Hoo," Owlowiscious agreed from his perch in the window.

"You," Spike responded, misunderstanding. "Don't worry so much, Twilight!"

"I've just never left you on your own before," Twilight pointed out. "You and I have always been together, ever since we were little. To tell you the truth…" She pawed at the ground. "I feel responsible for you. You've been like my little brother for all these years."

"And you've been a great big sister," Spike reminded Twilight. "You taught me everything I know!"

"You won't miss me too much?"

"Of course I'll miss you," Spike admitted, "but this is something you have to do. It's not like you'll never be back."

"You're right." Twilight snapped the last suitcase closed, moving it onto a cart with the others. "I'll miss you too, Spike. Now, don't go eating entire tubs of ice cream just because I'm gone!"

"Awww," Spike groaned teasingly.

"…and that's why I have to go!" Rarity sobbed. She had invited her parents and Sweetie Belle to her house to speak to them about her duty. "I don't know when I'll be back!"

"Hon," Rarity's father, Field Goal, said sympathetically, "we understand you'll miss us. But you gotta do what the princess says you gotta do."

"Besides," her mother, Glory, added, "aren't you going with all your little friends?"

"Yes," Rarity sniffed. "I've just never been so far away before!"

"And don't you have to work on your fashion business?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Well," Rarity said, her tears drying, "Celestia did assure me I could send my work back. I suppose there will be lots of new opportunities for inspiration. I don't see how I can keep giving outfits to my clients, though…"

"I can help!" Sweetie Belle chirped. "I can deliver your outfits!"

"You realize you'd have to be very careful," Rarity cautioned. "You couldn't mishandle or damage anything."

"I'll be careful!" Sweetie Belle promised. "I promise! Hey, maybe I can even get my cutie mark by helping you out!"

"I trust you," Rarity said. "Actually, Sweetie Belle, I have to pack almost all my fabrics and materials before I can go. Do you want to help me?"

"Sure thing, sis!" Sweetie Belle hopped up from her seat.

"I know that once I'm on my way, I'll get used to it," Rarity said quickly to her parents. "But I want to have this time with her before I leave."

"We understand," Field Goal replied. "Now you go do what you gotta do!"

Rarity led Sweetie Belle to her studio, where the two began packing.

"Are you SURE you can handle it?" Pinkie asked Mrs. Cake for the fiftieth time.

"It's been a really big help having you around the store to help with orders and to take care of the kids," Mrs. Cake reassured Pinkie, "but we can manage. Just remember that there's always going to be a room for you here for when you come back."

"Thanks, Mrs. Cake," Pinkie said. "Ooooh, I'm so excited!" She loaded up her suitcases onto her cart. One was filled with party supplies; the other with random items she'd decided "might" come in handy. "I'll tell you everything when I see you again, I promise!"

"You have fun, Pinkie," Mr. Cake blessed.

"Oh, I always do!" Pinkie replied, wheeling her cart out of the shop. To her, the Cakes had been like family, but parting from them wasn't hard – she knew she'd see them again, and be able to tell them all about her wonderful adventures.

"Ah, Pinkie!" Mr. Cake called after her, remembering something.

Pinkie stuck her head back through the door. "Yes?"

"Did you forget something?"

"Nope! I got everything!"

"But you never leave home without your party cannon," Mr. Cake pointed out.

"But I didn't!" Pinkie wheeled her party cannon into view. "See?"

"Oh…never mind."

"See ya!"

After Pinkie left, Mr. Cake remarked, "You know, I do wonder where she keeps that thing when she carries it…"

"…and Angel likes to be fed three times a day," Fluttershy finished. "But if the food isn't made exactly right…he can get a little angry."

She'd just finished telling Miss Cheerilee all about how to care for her many animals. At first, Fluttershy had been reluctant to ask Cheerilee for help, since it was such a big responsibility; however, Fluttershy needed somepony to look after her many animal friends, and Cheerilee seemed the most obvious candidate.

Cheerilee had been willing to accept the responsibility. As she put it to Fluttershy at the end of the explanation: "If I can take care of an entire class of little colts and fillies, I can take care of all your animals. I'm glad to."

"Oh, I'm so happy," Fluttershy said with a big smile.

Fluttershy didn't have many things to pack, and left the house with only one suitcase.

Rainbow Dash found the very filly she was looking for in the center of town. "C'mon, Tank," she urged her tortoise friend. Tank mosied along next to Rainbow Dash as she approached her target.

Scootaloo launched into the air on her scooter, executing a complex flip kick. "Yeah!" she cried out as the scooter landed on the ground.

"Nice moves," Rainbow Dash commented.

Scootaloo gasped. "Rainbow Dash!"

"You're just the pony I'm looking for," Rainbow Dash began with a smile. "Mind if I ask you a favor? It's kind of a big one."

"Anything!" Scootaloo promised, her smile growing ever wider as Rainbow Dash kept speaking to her.

"I hear you're the president of a little something called the Rainbow Dash fan club," Rainbow Dash said with a wink. "Is that true?"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo confirmed. "You're the coolest pony ever!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" Rainbow Dash joked. "Now, a lot of the town's pegasi are in that club, right?"

"Bulk Biceps, Ditzy Doo, Glitter, Cloudchaser…yeah!"

"I have to be gone for a while," Rainbow Dash explained. "A really long time. I have an important mission from Princess Celestia and Luna. Now, you know I usually lead the other pegasi in controlling the weather around here, right? Well, I'm not going to be able to do that. In my place, I want you to organize the other pegasi so the weather keeps running."

Scootaloo gasped. "Me? But…I can't even fly!"

"You don't need to!" Rainbow Dash assured with the dismissive wave of a hoof. "The others know how to take care of the weather, but they sort of see me as the leader. Also, they each have their strengths, but I usually take care of a lot more than that. You just have to help assign them to make sure everything runs smoothly! Here's a hint: Bulk Biceps can make tornadoes all by himself, Ditzy Doo is really good with lightning and rain when her aim isn't off, Glitter is the resident expert on snow, and Cloudchaser…well, Cloudchaser's really good at chasing clouds. All you have to do is tell them that Rainbow Dash herself put you in charge, and they'll listen to you."

"Why me?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean…isn't there anyone more skilled and organized you'd rather have?"

"You have spirit!" Rainbow Dash replied. "Just like me! That's what everypony needs to pull the weather together – a leader with spirit! Just show 'em how confident you are! Oh, and there's one more little thing."

"What is it?"

"I'm gonna need somepony to look after Tank," Rainbow Dash said, motioning toward the tortoise. "Don't worry. He's pretty low-maintenance."

"Hi, Tank!" Scootaloo approached the tortoise. "I'm Scootaloo!"

Tank smiled slowly but broadly.

"So," Rainbow Dash proposed, "how 'bout it?"

Scootaloo grinned. "You can count on me!"

Perhaps the most tearful goodbye was that of Applejack to her family.

"You just be careful," Granny Smith cautioned. "Wear your scarf when it gets cold, and…ohhh, it feels like just yesterday you were a little filly that was knee-high to my knees!"

"I'll be okay, Granny," Applejack said softly. "Heck, I'll be that much better going on just knowin' that you're all back here and that you love me. I know, I know, that sounds sappy, but it's true!"

"I wish you didn't have to go," Apple Bloom said hushedly.

"I wish I didn't have to leave you behind," Applejack replied. She gently ruffled her sister's red mane with her hoof, disheveling Apple Bloom's pink bow. "But I'll be back before you can say 'zap-apple jam', y'hear?"

"Ooooh, that reminds me!" Granny Smith cried. "I packed an extra jar of zap-apple jam in your suitcase for when you're feelin' hungry! Did you remember to take the extra skillet from the kitchen?"

"Yup," Applejack confirmed. "I think I'm gonna be doin' a lot of cookin' for the others. I mean, the only other one who knows how to cook is Pinkie, and all she knows how to make is dessert…good thing you taught me all those recipes, huh?" Applejack had to blink hard to keep the tears from coming back. "I just sure wish I could stay to help out on the farm – "

"Don't worry about that, dear," Granny Smith replied. "I'm gonna write your cousin Braeburn up in Appleloosa. He always promised that if we needed help on the Apple family farm, he'd be up here, lickety-split!"

"You gonna be okay?" Applejack asked her older brother.

Big Macintosh nodded. "Eeyup!"

"Then I guess I hafta go," Applejack sighed. "I love all y'all, y'know that?"

"Eeyup!"

"And we love you too," Granny Smith said.

"I love you too!" Apple Bloom piped in, not wanting to be left out.

Her goodbyes said, Applejack wheeled her luggage outside the house, only to see a small crowd gathered at the gate of the farm: Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle, Miss Cheerilee, and Scootaloo. "What're all y'all doin' here?" Applejack asked.

"We wanted to say goodbye to your family," Twilight answered. "After all, Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, and Apple Bloom are like our family too."

"And I didn't want anypony else to leave without saying goodbye to me!" Sweetie Belle added.

"Or me!" Scootaloo cried.

"I wanted to wish you all luck on your journey," Cheerilee said.

The crowds meshed. Fluttershy shyly squeaked goodbye to Big Macintosh. Twilight encouraged Sweetie Belle to keep learning her magic. Rarity kindly adjusted Apple Bloom's bow. Applejack and Cheerilee exchanged fond sentiments. Granny Smith reminded Rainbow Dash to be careful when flying in stormy weather. Pinkie Pie pulled Scootaloo into a hug with her front right hoof.

Then Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack took their suitcases and wheeled them away.

"Gosh, Rarity," Applejack teased, "didja bring enough clothes?"

"They're for all of us!" Rarity defended. "Princess Celestia practically ordered me to bring these!"

"I wonder why," Twilight said before shrugging it off. "Anyway…I'm kind of excited, now."

"So am I," Rarity admitted. "Just think…we're about to embark on a great and romantic journey to faraway lands!"

"I can't wait!" Pinkie squealed.

"What if it's dangerous?" Fluttershy said softly.

"Never fear!" Rainbow Dash bragged. "I'll protect you!"

"I reckon we're gonna be just fine," Applejack deduced.

HORSESHOE BAY, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

Down below the mountains upon which the great kingdom of Canterlot was set, the Canterlot port overlooked a vast expanse of sea. For several days, the sea had been enveloped in a silver mist. Looking at it for the first time, Twilight could tell that it was a magical mist. It practically called her: Enter, Twilight. There is much to be done.

Celestia and Luna led the six down the dock, helping them carry their luggage. Cadance and Shining Armor brought up the rear of the group, and royal guards surrounded. Blueblood, it was said, had refused to come, having a very important photo shoot for which he needed to style his mane, and he wasn't that concerned with the whole affair anyway. This gave Rarity a sense of relief, as she hadn't wanted him to show up.

A great ship, a galleon of old, was docked at the port. Its white sails billowed out in the slight breeze. Faded paint along the side proclaimed that its name was the STARLIGHT. "This is the ship that Luna and I used to cross the mists," Celestia explained. "It is over a thousand years old, but it is no less usable. Come inside. I want to show you around."

Celestia and Luna led the group up the gangplank and down belowdecks. The ship was quite roomy and very well held together, with plastered walls and finished wooden floors on the inside. A room near the front held the steering wheel, as opposed to the wheel being abovedecks. This struck Twilight as odd, but not as odd as other features of the room. For example, the great dashboard filled with screens and blinking lights.

"You can use these computer systems to organize any data you might find," Celestia explained. "There will be times that you need to research the lands in which you have found yourself, and times when you need to record things to remember for later."

"I've never seen anything like it," Twilight admitted. "Is it hard to use?"

"At first," Celestia admitted, "but you get used to it. Uploaded into its database is the most comprehensive guide of information about the multiverse as it currently exists. I made sure the most recent edition was installed myself. However, you may want to have the original copy for yourself." She levitated what appeared to be a book off the dashboard and steered it toward Twilight. Ever eager to see a new book, Twilight picked it up with her own magic. It turned out not to be a traditional book, but an electronic pad with keys for which to look up terminology. The pad had a cover, which was what had made it appear booklike; the cover read, in bold lettering, "DON'T PANIC." Twilight doubted that was the title.

"And this," Celestia said, referring to a small mantelpiece set in the wall, "is the fireplace that will send your letters directly to Canterlot, just like dragon fire. You can light it any way you wish; its enchantment will always transfer the things burned in it to the palace. Rarity, you can use it to send back your new fashions."

Celestia continued on to show them the kitchen, which was fully stocked. Applejack added her own skillet to the inventory anyway, and stored the zap-apple jam away in one of the cupboards. There were several lounges and "meeting rooms" for recreational use; Pinkie planned out how she could decorate each one. Several bedrooms were ready for use; the six friends dropped their suitcases off in the quarters they wished to claim. Twilight found the size of the beds odd – they were twice as big, she thought, as she would need them to be. She figured that the change must have been for Celestia, who was much taller, even a thousand years ago. In the back of the ship, there was a strange room that Celestia called the "engine room", though she pointed out that the engine didn't work and the sails would have to be used instead. Twilight made note of that.

"There is nothing more I can tell you," Celestia said at last, "that you will not find out for yourselves."

"I have one last question," Twilight said.

"Yes?"

"Who is this angel of darkness you kept telling us about?"

Celestia sighed. "That is one thing I wish I could tell you. But I don't know. No one does. We only know that he has – "

"Or she?" Rarity suggested.

" – or she has," Celestia amended, "sent anonymous threats. If the mists have come, and you fulfill one half of the prophecy, he or she must fulfill the other. We have no doubt that the one sending the threats is the true angel of darkness."

"There will actually be many great dangers on your journey!" Luna boomed, causing Fluttershy to wince and hide behind Rainbow Dash. "But you will be strong, and you will learn how to defeat them!"

"That is why we have one last gift to give you before you begin," Celestia said. "Cadance, if you please."

Cadance brought forth a golden box that the six immediately recognized. "Here," she said, opening the box. "You'll remember these."

Cadance then doled out the necklaces that bore the Elements of Harmony. Rarity's held a glittering purple crystal cut in the shape of a diamond, matching her cutie mark. Pinkie's was in the form of a blue balloon. Fluttershy received a pink butterfly, Applejack an orange apple, and Rainbow Dash a bright red lightning bolt.

"And Twilight," Cadance finished, levitating the great crown that contained the pink starburst of Magic, "since it's a good idea to keep these with you at all times, we thought this might be a bit unwieldy. Do you mind if we…"

"Not at all," Twilight said.

Celestia, Luna, and Cadance each pointed their horns toward the tiara, focusing their energy upon it. It transformed into a necklace like the others, the pink starburst another gem. Twilight took it and fastened it around her neck.

"Now, we must leave you," Celestia said. "Good luck, my little ponies. And remember, when you start out, to trust the mists."

"We won't let you down!" Rainbow Dash promised, saluting.

"We have faith in you!" Luna said before she and her sister departed.

"I know you can do it, Twily," Shining Armor said with a wink. "All of you, in fact!"

"We'll see you soon," Cadance promised. "And you'll always be in our hearts!"

"You too," Twilight swore.

"See ya!" Shining Armor said before he and Cadance left.

"Well," Twilight said, "here we are."

"No turnin' back now," Applejack remarked.

"What are we waiting for?" Pinkie cried. "Let's go!"

"Right," Twilight said. "I'll take the wheel. Rainbow Dash, you go abovedeck and haul up the anchor."

"Right!" Rainbow Dash rushed away.

Twilight walked back to the cockpit. She pressed a large button marked "POWER", and the mysterious screens roared to life. They portrayed an overhead map of the coastline of the Canterlot port, though beyond the misty area, the screen grew gray and fuzzy, as though there was nothing beyond the mist. A red line led from the spot where the Starlight was docked toward the direction in which it was pointed.

"Anchor's up!" Rainbow Dash called from above.

Twilight had only to touch the steering wheel, and the Starlight knew what to do. It set off, steering itself directly into the mists. "Trust the mists," she muttered. She then walked away from the cockpit to unpack her things in her quarters.

From the shore, Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, Cadance, and the guards watched the Starlight drift into the mists and eventually disappear. They knew that unlike the other boats in the harbor, it had not simply vanished from view by getting too far away. The Starlight was gone.

Satisfied that they had what they'd come for, the mists rolled away, revealing a clear blue sky over clear blue waters.

CHANGELING KINGDOM, FOURTH EQUESTRIA

Far beyond even what was visible from atop the high mountain views in Canterlot, a dusty wasteland with crumbling shanties situated upon it in the arrangements of neighborhoods lay under the burning sun. At the edge of this land, a great palace of obsidian with sky-high spires, the only sign of wealth in the entire kingdom, loomed, casting its shadow.

In the dark alleys between the shanties, two changelings met up. "Doomie!" one of them cried.

"Misery!" the other replied. The pair hugged. "How have you been?"

"Miserable," Misery answered. "You know how…she…gets…"

"Some say it's worth it," Doomie pointed out. "So we can be hungry when we reach the other kingdoms."

"I don't care," Misery said. "If she made our own kingdom better…we wouldn't need to conquer the others…" Tears filled Misery's eyes.

Doomie reached out with a hoof to take Misery around the shoulders and comfort her, and Misery felt the hunger for love that had driven her mad since the last raid on Canterlot subside, filled up by Doomie's affection.

They heard the tell-tale buzzing above them, and struggled to move away from each other before they were caught. They were too late. How did she always know? Misery wondered this as she panicked.

"YOU TWO!" Queen Chrysalis barked, touching down in the alley, her wings ceasing the buzzing they made when she flew. "WHAT have I said about fraternization?"

"To stay away from each other!" Doomie recited dutifully. "Not to give each other love! To stay hungry so that we might feed from the kingdoms we conquer! I swear, Your Highness, she was the one who hugged me! I was trying to tell her to get away!"

"Doomie!" Misery cried out in anguish, devastated by her friend's betrayal. She knew she shouldn't have expected any different – Chrysalis' loveless rule had hardened all the residents of the Changeling Kingdom into exactly the warriors the queen wanted.

"You must pay for your actions," Chrysalis informed Misery.

"Please, Your Highness, no!" Misery begged. "I'll never talk to anyone outside of strict business again! No more hugging! No more – "

"It's already too late for you," Chrysalis informed Misery, her horn glowing.

When Chrysalis was finished, Misery hung suspended from the gable of the nearest shanty, covered in a cocoon of green goo. Doomie shuddered to look at it. The cocoons weren't deadly, but nopony ever liked to be in them. It could take weeks for one to melt away, and those within them were conscious for every minute. The goo also affected its victims emotionally, more so the longer you were in one. She was glad she'd managed to escape that fate.

"Now go," Chrysalis demanded, "before I change my mind about sparing you."

Doomie obliged by running away.

Chrysalis heard slow applause from behind her. At first, this confused her, since none of her subjects had hands. When she turned, she felt as though the sight before her was too good to be true. "Discord!"

"Chrysalis!" Discord greeted. "It is good to see you again! Still wreaking havoc upon Equestria?"

"As always," Chrysalis said with a nod. "I had meant to join you after your release, of course…but they put you away." Her teeth gritted at the very memory of it. "So I swore I'd take revenge on them. I sent a threat to Canterlot, and my forces were very nearly able to take it. You would have been pleased – I disguised myself as a royal bride, and very nearly wed the prince."

"What fun!" Discord said with a smile. "That would have made the game fun indeed! Which princess was the blushing bride?"

"Mi Amoré Cadenza."

"Eurgh!" Discord mimed sticking a finger down his throat. "Gag! I bet she wanted a wedding that was all cutesy and fluffy!"

"She had it planned out by the six that defeated you," Chrysalis nearly spat. "It was every bit as sentimental and disgusting as you imagine."

"Well, you needn't worry about that anymore," Discord informed Chrysalis. "The Elements of Harmony just left town. Left the world, in fact."

Chrysalis' eyes widened. "They have passed on?"

"Better," Discord said. "They just boarded the Starlight and set out for Avalon!"

Chrysalis made a face of disgust. "How is that better?"

"Why, the game is only fun if we have opponents to play with," Discord pointed out as though it were obvious. "Speaking of which, we have a new player. A stranger who freed me. She claims she's going to be the master of the new age of chaos. Of course, she severely overestimates herself."

"Yet she was able to undo what the Elements of Harmony had done to you," Chrysalis pointed out.

"So were three indecisive fillies," Discord groaned. "It's nothing to worry about! Our time is coming, Chrysalis. We can have all the fun we want! It will be just like the old days…me, causing chaos, you, eating others' love by turning into their loved ones, and oh, the looks on their faces when they found out was you were just delicious! Of course, we'll have to round up all the others if we really want to make this an age of chaos."

"Yes," Chrysalis said with a smirk. "I suppose we will."

"Since the Starlight rode out," Discord said, "we shouldn't be able to travel between the worlds. It just wouldn't make any sense! And you know what that means…"

"You can transport us immediately!" Chrysalis finished.

"It's up to you," Discord said. "Where do you want to start?"

"Wherever there is the most love to feed upon," Chrysalis answered right away. "I can leave the other changelings to their own devices. They'll probably disobey my laws…but the absence of a queen will certainly throw them into chaos."

"My favorite thing," Discord remarked. "Let the games begin!"

He snapped the fingers of his left claw, and he and Chrysalis both vanished

The Mists of Avalon

View Online

THE SPACE BETWEEN

"At last!" Rarity announced, setting up her sewing machine in her quarters and throwing her suitcases to the side. "Everything's unpacked and in its proper place!"

"Hey, Rarity!" Rainbow Dash called out, passing Rarity's open door. "We're all meeting up in the first lounge Celestia showed us."

"I'll be right there!" Rarity followed Rainbow Dash to the lounge, where Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie waited for them on plush couches.

"All right, girls," Twilight said. "Now, from what I've read and seen, we've left the atmosphere of Equestria. Well, actually, the Guide – " she referred to the covered pad Celestia had given her " – refers to our home territory as 'Fourth Equestria'. Apparently, there are a lot of worlds that have plural natures because of split timelines, and that means there are a lot of Equestrias. Now, I don't really know where we're going, but according to all my sources, the Mists of Avalon will take us wherever we need to be. We just need to make sure we're ready for anyth – "

The ship crossed a border upon the seemingly endless seas. Fourth Equestria, or any Equestria, was now far behind. As the atmosphere of Fourth Equestria had affected the Doctor on his way in, the change in the atmosphere now affected the six on their way out.

Twilight fell off the couch and onto the floor, twitching. Her body was shaking out of her control, and she felt her skin stretching in odd ways. She heard around her the cries of her five friends; whatever was happening to her was happening to all of them. She lay on the floor, letting her stomach churn and her limbs vibrate until whatever had happened was over. When she was certain it had passed, she tried to stand.

Something was wrong, she noticed immediately. At first, she thought it was merely that her front legs were suddenly shorter than her back legs. Then she looked down. Said "front legs" weren't purple anymore, and ended in strange feet with five digits instead of hooves. It didn't even feel natural to stand on them. Twilight reared up on her hind legs, only to find that her posture felt more natural that way. She looked down at herself to see that the rest of her body also wasn't purple. Her hind legs had lengthened, and ended in more five-digited feet, though this time with shorter digits. She was also much taller; the doors, which she had assumed were as tall as they were to accommodate an alicorn of Celestia's height, were now just tall enough to let her through.

"No," Twilight said to herself. "It can't be…they're only myths and legends…"

Her friends had undergone the same transformation. They all rose to their hind legs once they saw Twilight do it. She looked around at all of them and was suddenly sure of what had happened, though it had before seemed impossible.

"What are we?" Rainbow Dash cried. "What happened?"

"We're creatures I thought didn't exist outside of fairy tales," Twilight explained. "We're…humans."

Rarity let out a scream. "HUMANS? How could this happen?"

"The Guide said that some worlds changed you depending on their atmospheres," Twilight said. "Especially if it makes you fit in with the dominant species of that world. Whatever world we're going to must have humans, or at least humanoids, as the dominant species." Struck by a thought, Twilight opened the Guide and looked up humans. "In fact…" She gasped. "Almost ALL the worlds outside Equestria have humanoids as dominant!"

"So we're stuck like this?" Rarity wailed as Pinkie Pie lost her balance and tipped over.

"Unless we find another world where we turn into something else," Twilight said. "I guess we'll just have to get used to this."

"Why didn't Celestia tell us?" Fluttershy asked.

"We wouldn't have believed her," Twilight answered. "Besides, I don't know if this is something you can prepare anypony for." Twilight suddenly gasped. "Oh my gosh! I just remembered!"

"What?" Rarity asked. "What is it?"

"In most human cultures," Twilight said, "it's really offensive to go naked! We need clothes!"

"That's why Celestia asked me to bring so many!" Rarity realized. "Well, I suppose I can whip something up for each of us. I'll have to modify what I brought, and that might take some time…we're not at all the same shape as what I brought with me…but I can make something. Erm, what areas do I have to make sure to cover?"

Twilight showed Rarity a diagram of a human as drawn by the Guide, explaining to her the minimum requirements for fashions. Rarity then took off at once for her quarters.

In the meantime, Twilight stepped out in front of the full-length mirror in the lounge to examine herself. She'd noticed that while everypony's bright colors had neutralized out to the duller tones of human flesh, the hair upon their heads remained the same as their manes. Rarity's purple curls had still been present and cascaded down her back in full. Twilight played with her own hair, a short cut that retained the purple and pink pattern of her old mane. Pinkie still had her shock of pink curls, Fluttershy had a luxurious fall of light pink, Applejack retained her blonde ponytail as well as her hat, and Rainbow Dash sported a short cut of rainbow hues. Based on their physical appearances and ages combined with what she knew about humans, Twilight deduced that they were probably around the ages of early twenties by human years. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were also the only two to retain a piece of their old bodies; blue wings sprouted from Rainbow Dash's shoulder blades, and Fluttershy's yellow wings did the same, though both pairs now looked bigger so they could carry the new bodies to which they were attached. Finally, Twilight noted the cutie marks. The marks on their flanks were now transferred to their right shoulders, though the patterns hadn't changed at all. The matching necklaces of the Elements of Harmony remained around their necks.

"I feel so strange," Fluttershy said. "Humans do walk on their back legs, right?"

"Right," Twilight confirmed.

"But it's hard!" Pinkie complained after falling to the floor a second time.

Rarity burst through the door to the lounge, now dressed and carrying five other garments. "It's done!" she cried.

"That was fast," Fluttershy remarked.

"I've had a lot of years to practice," Rarity said, "and I only modified our gowns from the Gala. I gave each of them a special touch to reflect your personality. After all, I've read some of the tales about humans, and I know how much their fashions can vary."

Rarity herself was clothed in a very elaborate ballgown of dark pink, with a full skirt and a long train. Her sleeves were puffed out at the shoulder and had lace edges; her neckline was square and remained at a conservative height. When she took a step, the others saw that she had abandoned the glass slippers that usually went with that ensemble for a pair of old-fashioned, button-up high-heeled slippers in a paisley design that matched the gown. "And yes," she said, as though reading everypony's mind, "I was able to mold shoes for everyone too."

She doled out the clothes, which the others put on at once. Twilight slipped into a blue gown with off-the-shoulder straps and an A-line skirt that was shorter in the front than in the back, exposing her knees but trailing on the floor behind. A pair of glittering high heels finished it off. When Twilight looked back into the mirror, she remembered the few stories she'd read about humans that featured sorcerers and witches. She looked very much like one in this new dress.

Pinkie Pie's dress retained its blue-and-white-striped sleeveless bodice with small white poufs over each shoulder and a pink bow at the base of the neck. Her pink skirt, with its over-layer patterned with candy, was shortened considerably – above the knee – and puffed out to almost resembling a tutu. She laced up a pair of pink ballet slippers with blue bows on top. "This is perfect for dancing in!" Pinkie remarked.

"You might wanna master walkin' first," Applejack pointed out. Her outfit was actually in two pieces: a green and brown shirt with a collar and a bolo tie and a green skirt with a fringe that stopped below the knee. A pair of green cowboy boots with red and white accents offset the ensemble.

"Oh, my," Fluttershy said, stepping into her dress, a short, sleeveless green sundress with flowers on the hem and a blue sash. "It's beautiful!" She slipped her feet into a pair of green sandals.

"Aw, man!" Rainbow Dash groaned. "Do I HAVE to wear a big old skirt around everywhere?"

"I thought you might not want that," Rarity said, handing over the pieces of Rainbow Dash's new outfit. "So I made you something a little different."

Rainbow Dash slipped into a bright purple T-shirt and a pair of rainbow jeans that flared out at the bottom hems. She laced up a pair of golden sneakers to go with them. "Hey," she said, "this is actually pretty cool."

"I didn't account for the wings," Rarity admitted. "I didn't actually see you still had them at first. I'll work something out later so you and Fluttershy can still use them. But for now, this will have to do. Oh, I'll have to reconfigure all the outfits I brought if we're going to stay like this…or if we keep changing to new things!"

"But you did a great job!" Fluttershy complimented. "We all look perfect!"

Rarity blushed. "Well, I couldn't let you look any less. Hmm…you know, this could be a new challenge. Designing for entirely new shapes!"

"You're gonna hafta tell us more about humans," Applejack admitted. "I haven't read as much of that mythology stuff as the rest of you."

"Neither did I," Rainbow Dash added. "Are humans monsters?"

"Sometimes," Twilight said. "Sometimes not. It really depends. Say, Rarity…were you still able to use your magic when you made these clothes?"

"I hardly even thought about it," Rarity admitted. She took off a shoe. With a wave of her hand, she was able to levitate it up and down. "It looks like even with our horns gone, we still have our powers."

"Hmm…" Twilight turned and pointed at Pinkie Pie. A bolt of magic shot from her finger and hit Pinkie's face; a large mustache grew from Pinkie's upper lip.

"Hey!" Pinkie cried. She then looked in the mirror and cracked up with laughter. "I look funny!"

Twilight dismissed the mustache with a snap of her fingers, an action that came to her almost instinctively. "Yep…we still have our powers, all right."

"So where are we going that we have to look like this anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We could probably find out in the cockpit," Twilight realized. "If we're getting close to somewhere that's actually…somewhere, the map might have it labeled now."

"So lemme see if I got this," Rainbow Dash spelled out as the six made their way to the cockpit. "Even though we stayed on the ocean the whole time, we completely left Equestria or Fourth Equestria or whatever that Guide calls it?"

"Exactly," Twilight answered.

They entered the cockpit, and the screens now showed a new map. The Starlight was approaching a large island. Text upon the screen labeled the island: "Avalon."

"Avalon itself!" Twilight gasped.

"So what's the story on this place anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It's supposed to be the place where a great king went to sleep instead of dying," Twilight answered. "He promised to come back after sleeping for a while. That's the most famous story about it, anyway. The stories always say it's one of the most magical places in existence, even though it can't be found in Equestria. I never thought about the ponies who lived there as not being ponies, though. Now that I think about it, the stories never really said whether they really were ponies, or whether they were humans. I always just assumed. I bet the writers of the stories did too."

"It must be a powerful story," Fluttershy said, "to have come from this world all the way to ours."

"Trust the mists," Applejack said, remembering Celestia's parting words. "Well, we're supposed to be here. Looks like we better dock and see what we can see."

"It's really happening," Twilight said softly. "This really is…something big."

"I can't wait!" Pinkie said excitedly.

The six friends, now human, stared up at the screen and watched as the Starlight drew itself closer and closer to Avalon.

AVALON

It was nighttime when the ship docked on the coast of Avalon. Rainbow Dash rushed above decks to toss down the anchor, locking the ship in place. Twilight knew that wasn't necessary; the ship wouldn't move from where it had been called until it was ready to do so. Rainbow Dash and Applejack heaved the gangplank over the side, and the six friends walked down onto the misty, sandy coast shrouded in darkness.

At first, they saw only the trees beyond the sandy strip of beach. They walked closer, looking at the forest before them. Every tree bore fruit. Some had oranges, some had pears, and some even had apples. Applejack plucked an apple from one of the larger trees. "This looks like the most beautiful apple I ever did see," she remarked. "Safe to take a bite, or is this food like that Tartarus place you told us about?"

"It should be safe," Twilight said. "All the plants on Avalon are benevolent. At least, that's what the legends say."

Applejack took a cautious bite of the apple. Her eyes widened. Without swallowing, she exclaimed, "This is the most DELICIOUS apple I ever did see!"

A rustling in the bushes caused Fluttershy to leap back and cry out in fear. Six heads turned to look at the underbrush. From the plants trundled an adorable creature, a white mammal about the size of a puppy. Its body and face looked like those of a baby seal.

"Oh, aren't you cute!" Fluttershy knelt and extended her hand to the strange animal. It walked closer to Fluttershy's hand, pressing against it; it was obviously used to being handled and petted. "You're adorable," Fluttershy reiterated.

"It's a mistmaker," Twilight identified. "I didn't read all that much about them, but I heard they like music."

Fluttershy decided to experiment with this concept. "What is this place, filled with so many wonders?" she sang. "Casting its spell, that I am now under! Apples on trees and mistmakers cute as bunnies, mists on the sea and the fruit taste like honey!"

"Aaaaah," the mistmaker sighed. "Aaaahhh…" A fine mist exuded from its mouth and nostrils as it sighed.

Fluttershy gave a little squeal.

"Let's keep going," Twilight suggested. Reluctantly, Fluttershy left the mistmaker behind.

The forest became deeper and darker, but never seemed frightening, instead of giving off a sense of security. Birds chirped from the upper branches, and the breeze rustled the leaves gently. At the end of the forest, the six came out into a grassy, hilly clearing from which the coastline was visible to the left.

"Look," Twilight said hushedly. A strange creature was sitting on a rock, combing her hair. She appeared to the others to be like a sea pony, but with the upper half of a human instead of an equine, and with a tail that looked more like that of a fish than a seahorse. "I think they're called mermaids," Twilight whispered.

Fluttershy looked ahead and let out a great scream. The others turned to see what she'd seen and gasped accordingly. A great blob of black slime, as big as all six young women combined, was sliding by, its two red eyes focusing on the strangers to its island. It rolled its eyes at their screams and continued leisurely.

"It's just a Brollachan," Twilight realized with a sigh. "Some of them are harmful, but not that one."

"This place just keeps gettin' weirder," Applejack pointed out.

Suddenly, the voice of a child pierced through the dark air: "Magus, look!"

Coming over the hill was an odd duo indeed. The child who had spoken was a girl who looked to be the age of five by human standards, and her frame was humanoid, but she definitely wasn't an actual human. Her skin was gray like stone, and her hands and feet ended in claws. Large, batlike wings protruded from her back, the span of them twice as wide as her body. A tuft of dark hair topped off her innocent, smiling face. Twilight identified her immediately as a gargoyle. The other was human, and at first, Twilight mistook him for an old man, only to realize that he was about her age; his hair, white as snow, had thrown her off. His robes were the same white color as his hair. He led the child on towards the group with a look on his face as though he'd been expecting them.

"Welcome," the young white-haired man greeted. "I see you're new to Avalon."

"We are," Twilight replied.

"I wonder if you are the six everyone's been talking about," the white-haired man continued. "How did you come to this place?"

"We sailed," Applejack answered.

"All the way from Equestria!" Pinkie Pie added.

"We're students of Princess Celestia," said Twilight. "She and her sister Luna apparently sailed on the mists once."

"Legends speak of Celestia and Luna," the white-haired man said. "They were before my time, but they left their marks indeed. They contained a cosmic force that some beings said was more powerful than any Avalonian: the Elements of Harmony."

"You mean these?" Rainbow Dash pointed to her necklace.

"You see," Fluttershy said nervously, "we're sort of the new Elements of Harmony. The princesses told us we needed to sail on some sort of mission to stop an angel of darkness."

"Then you are the six the legends speak of!" the white-haired man said, giving a double-take. "Excuse my rudeness. I should have introduced myself earlier. You may call me the Magus. Everyone else does." At the insistent tugging of the child on his sleeve, the Magus added, "This is Angela."

"Hello!" Angela said with a wave.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight introduced, and the others followed suit:

"Name's Applejack."

"I am Rarity!"

"Um…I'm Fluttershy…"

"I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash!"

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"It is a pleasure," the Magus said.

"Pardon me if I'm bein' rude," Applejack spoke up, "but we don't really have a clue what's goin' on in the first place. I mean, we know the Elements of Harmony are powerful stuff, and we gotta stop the multiverse from bein' turned all bad, but what are we even fightin'? How do these mists even work? What's all out there in the multiverse? Sounds like you know much more than we do."

"As inhabitants of the island go," the Magus said, "I am relatively new. However, I've been here long enough to hear many of the stories that surround Avalon. Won't you come with me so we can speak?"

"Let's go back to see Catherine!" Angela suggested.

"Sure!" Pinkie agreed.

With the Magus and Angela leading the way, the eight traveled over the rolling hills of the isle, arriving eventually at a stone bastion nestled in a crop of mountains. They walked up the steps, and a host of young gargoyles peered out at them from the towers, gossiping.

Inside the castle, a young brunette woman dressed in royal finery waited in an antechamber. "Magus!" she cried, rising to greet her friend. "Who have ye brought back?" Her voice carried a thick accent that those from Earth territories would have recognized as Scottish.

"These are the Elements of Harmony," the Magus explained. "You've heard the tales, haven't you?"

"Why, yes!" the woman exclaimed. "Just like Celestia and Luna!"

"I also think they are the six from the prophecy that Merlin left behind," Magus added.

"They're really nice," Angela said, with all the innocence of youth. "So I think so too!"

"Greetings," the woman said to the six newcomers. "I am Princess Catherine."

Twilight immediately bowed, and the other five followed suit.

"May I present…" The Magus suddenly stopped, looking down at Angela. "Do you remember their names?"

"Oh, yes!" Angela nodded. "That's Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack, and Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie!"

"It's an honor to meet you," Fluttershy said. "Are you the princess of this island?"

"Nay," Catherine answered. "My throne is far away and long gone. The true king of this island lies sleeping. However, the other creatures who live here have passed on many stories to me about this island. The hags, the mermaids, the fey…all have spoken of the princesses Celestia and Luna, who visited here long ago."

"Why were they here?" Twilight asked.

"To spread the gifts of the Elements," Catherine replied. "A simple mission, but an important one."

"We have a lot of questions," Rainbow Dash brought up.

"I should imagine so," Catherine replied. "What do ye wish to know?"

"What we're supposed to do," Fluttershy said.

"What evil we're fighting," Rainbow Dash added.

"How do the mists work?" Twilight contributed.

"And what's in the rest of the multiverse?" Pinkie finished.

"That last one is a complex question," Catherine admitted. "Very few beings know that in full. The only way to know that is to actually see it for yourself."

"That's where the mists come in," the Magus said.

"The mists of Avalon don't send you where you want to go," Angela said. "They send you where you need to go!"

"For the most part," the Magus said. "They can take you across worlds, through space, and even through time. If you give your destiny over to them, they will carry you. However, the mermaids say that Celestia and Luna found a way to harness the power of the mists in a sort of machine, something they called an 'engine', so they could direct their ship wherever they wished."

"The engine from the ship!" Twilight realized. "It must run on the mists!"

"If you can find a way to take the mists with you for the engine," Catherine said, "you're welcome to do so. Avalon will never run out of mist."

"I bet I can take the mist with me," Twilight said. "I'm a pretty powerful unicorn…not to brag." She caught herself. "I guess I should call myself a 'witch' now that I'm human."

"Ye weren't human?" Catherine raised an eyebrow. "Then how did ye become one?"

Twilight had to think of how best to say it. "Anyone who was human would become a pony if they went to our world," she finally said. "We were ponies, so when we left, we became human. I read that most of the worlds are populated by humanoids, so it looks like we stay like this for a while."

"The world the Magus and I came from were populated by humans," Catherine said, "though there were many other creatures as well. Like the gargoyles. We brought them here because they were in grave danger in our world. We hope they can grow up here in peace."

"So do I," Fluttershy said.

"I like Avalon," said Angela. "It's my home!"

"Let me see if I got this," Rainbow Dash reiterated. "If we don't know where to go, the mists will take us where we need to be. But if we do know, Celestia and Luna's engine can take us wherever we want?"

"Correct," the Magus confirmed.

"I guess that answers what we need to do," Twilight said. "Even if we don't know, the mists will. We should take some for the engine anyway for when we figure it out."

"That still leaves the question of what we're up against," Rarity remembered.

"This island carries with it a rich history of all things cosmic and magical," Magus said. "We know of the prophecy about you because Merlin, one of the greatest wizards ever to live, left it behind. Others have come and left behind their stories. That's how we know about the Old Ones. They say that in ancient times, there were beings that enveloped different worlds in darkness and chaos. They stood for disharmony and unrest, playing with the multiverse as though it was a game. Goodness and love eventually triumphed, banishing the Old Ones, but they couldn't be destroyed. They were like malevolent gods…immortal. They had powers beyond anyone's imagining."

"Plays with the multiverse like a game…immortal…stands for disharmony…" Twilight's eyes widened. "Sound familiar?"

"Discord!" the others cried.

"Who?" Catherine asked.

"An evil being that tried to turn our entire world into chaos," Rarity explained. "It was dreadful! He mixed up day and night, he turned our town upside down, and he changed us all so we would ruin our friendship with each other!"

"But we defeated him!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "When we figured out we had to stand together, and we used our powers as the Elements of Harmony, that guy didn't stand a chance!"

"So…the Elements of Harmony are more powerful than the Old Ones?" Pinkie guessed.

"Or just as powerful," the Magus asserted.

"Are there good Old Ones?" Twilight asked, thinking of Celestia.

"There are benevolent immortals who stand for harmony and love," Catherine affirmed. "But the majority of them were born after the Age of Chaos when the Old Ones reigned."

"That's good, at least," Fluttershy said in relief.

"If the angel of darkness, who we can guess at best is not a true Old One but may still be very powerful, triumphs over existence," the Magus said, "he may bring the rest of the Old Ones with him. That seems like the only way to truly make a multiverse made of nothing but disharmony."

"But make no mistake," Catherine said. "As the Elements of Harmony, you shouldn't only focus on the powerful. What the angel of darkness would need is a multiverse that would allow such things to happen. A multiverse has already given over to war and fighting. Great acts of evil have been done when the least powerful did not recognize love and tolerance. The Magus and I fled our world with our friends and the gargoyle eggs after mortal humans took it upon themselves to attack us for power. Even we have made our mistakes…we doomed our own greatest friends to an eternity of sleeping death because of our anger and bad judgment."

"Do not blame yourself," the Magus told Catherine sharply. "The mistake was mine. I will shoulder the blame."

"I don't think you should feel bad," Fluttershy said. "It happened a long time ago, and you know what you did wrong. You know better now."

"That does not undo the curse upon our friends," the Magus snapped.

"But almost every curse can be undone," Twilight pointed out. "You never know. Whatever happened, there's a chance that it can be fixed someday. And if…no, WHEN it does, you'll be waiting right here to say you're sorry!"

Catherine smiled. "I do hope you're right. You're quite optimistic ones. A good thing, if we're to face all the miseries the multiverse has to offer."

"Miseries?" Fluttershy trembled at the thought.

"Don't worry," Rainbow Dash said, slinging an arm around Fluttershy's shoulder. "We can handle anything, so long as we're together! As Catherine said, we just gotta be optimistic! And like I said a long time ago…you have me!"

"I think we understand now," Rarity said conclusively.

"We are glad to have met the six of the prophecy," the Magus said. "It is good to know that you are on your way."

"And I think what we have to do in the beginning," Pinkie deduced, "is use our powers as the Elements to remind everyone of the friendship and love they can have in their hearts. Then the angel of darkness won't stand a chance!"

"I'm not sure it will be that simple," Twilight said. "I mean, I'm sure we can do it…but we have no idea what's out there waiting. I just wouldn't assume anything. Anyway, I'll take the mists with me to use on the engine. Then we can see where we need to go." She turned to address Catherine and the Magus: "Thank you for answering our questions. To tell you the truth, I'm glad that our first stop led us to people as good as you."

The Magus was about to argue that he couldn't possibly be called a good person, not after what he'd done, but he remembered Fluttershy's assertion that he had indeed learned from his mistake, and Twilight's belief that all curses could be lifted. He did not hold back from arguing simply because he did not want to contradict what his guests had said; he held back because, after thinking about what they had said, he believed himself to be less of a bad person.

"I wish you the utmost luck on your journey," he said at last.

"As do I," Catherine said.

"Me too!" little Angela chirped.

"And I wish you good luck raising all the children," Fluttershy said with a smile directed at Angela.

"We will take nothing but the best care of our eggs," Catherine affirmed. "We mustn't keep you any longer from your duties."

"Right," Twilight said. "Hopefully, we'll all meet up again someday. I mean, since Avalon is kind of a hub of the worlds, we have to, right? Anyway, thanks for everything."

"Goodbye!" Pinkie said, waving enthusiastically as she and her friends turned to leave.

Twilight was able to gather a fairly large ball of the mists in her hands, holding it like a solid substance, and carry it back to the ship. Once onboard, she carried it immediately to the engine room. Rainbow Dash hauled up the anchor, and Applejack brought the gangplank onboard. Then they and Rarity and Pinkie followed Twilight, and they knelt to examine the complex machine.

"How's this thing supposed to work anyhow?" Applejack voiced the thought on everypony's mind.

"Try putting the mist in here!" Pinkie suggested, pointing to a glass chamber. She pressed a button, and it opened. Twilight lay the mist inside experimentally, knowing she could always get more from outside if it didn't work. Pinkie closed the chamber, and the mist spread out, taking on its gaseous quality again. Without warning, Pinkie thumped several parts of the engine, making all sorts of clanking noises.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I have no idea!" Pinkie announced proudly.

Suddenly, the engine roared to life, whirring pleasantly.

"Pinkie!" Rarity gasped. "But how did you do that?"

"No clue!" Pinkie said happily.

The six women returned to the cockpit. The navigation screen was now replaced by a larger map, one that resembled a star chart. Twilight tested a few of the buttons on the dashboard to find that she could select a course if she wished. One key opened up another menu in which she could enter coordinates or simply select "Take the course of the mists." Twilight chose that option. The Starlight turned itself around smoothly and sailed directly away from Avalon.

"I guess we just let it take its course from here," Twilight said, and the friends left the cockpit to attend to their own devices. Rarity retired immediately to her chamber, inspired in two ways: to make more clothes to fit the new humanoid frames, and to make clothes inspired by the lush greenery of Avalon and the finery worn by Catherine and the Magus to send back to Equestria for her studio. Applejack moved to the kitchen, looking through the stockpiled rations to see what food she could make for the others. Pinkie Pie just shut herself in her room and turned on some very loud music; over in her room, looking over the Guide, Twilight could hear the bass of Pinkie's music as well as the thumping of feet that indicated that Pinkie was fervently dancing. Fluttershy sat in the lounge where they had all become human, looking over a sketch pad. She'd never drawn much before, but it was something she'd always wanted to try, and the journey would certainly give her the free time; she began by sketching the shape of young Angela's face.

Rainbow Dash eschewed the belowdecks area entirely, choosing to sit up in the misty air and watch Avalon slip further and further away. Once it was out of sight, she would turn her view forward to see what was coming.

THE SPACE BETWEEN

"Hey! HEY! GET UP HERE!"

Rainbow Dash realized the others couldn't hear her from belowdecks, so she rushed downstairs, running through the hallway that contained the doors to their private chambers. "HEY EVERYPONY! YOU HAVE TO COME to SEE THIS!"

"What is it?" Rarity sighed, peeking out of her chamber. "I was in the middle of one of my best new creations!"

"Trust me," Rainbow Dash urged, "you HAVE to come to see this!"

She convinced Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight to come with her, then tracked down Applejack and Fluttershy before leading everypony above decks.

"What could ya possibly have seen," Applejack muttered, walking up the stairway, "that could be so…" When she reached the deck, her jaw dropped. "Well, I'll be…"

The ship was no longer sailing upon the water. Somewhere along the crossing of the lines from one plane of existence to the next, it had left the sea far behind. It now sailed in space, among stars and supernovas set against pitch blackness. Despite the open deck, the Starlight still allowed its passengers to breathe air, presumably another enchantment added for convenience.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie stared in awe, watching their vehicle slip silently through the greatness of the cosmos and thinking about how much there really was out there that they still didn't understand.

Father's Day

View Online

SOMEWHERE IN THE SEVEN DESERTS

"No," the red macaw protested, hovering as usual over the thief's right shoulder.

"And why not?" the thief asked in his rich, deep voice. All of his face but his eyes were obscured by blue fabric.

"Because," the macaw explained, "the guy who lives there is a psychopath. One wrong move, and we're grease spots on the wall!"

"That's why he'll never know we were here," the thief replied. "I take it you've been here?"

"More times than I like to remember," the parrot groaned, tearing at his feathers with his wings. "Look at this, Cassim! I'm already molting from nerves!"

"You worry too much, Iago," Cassim said decisively. "You can confirm the owner of that fortress is evil?"

"Like the spawn of Ahriman."

"Then it's only fair that he get a taste of his own medicine, don't you think?" Cassim winked. "I always did love robbing the people that really deserved it."

"Two words!" Iago screamed. "DISPROPORTIONATE! RETRIBUTION! You steal so much as one thing from him, and HE WILL KILL YOU! And more importantly, HE'LL KILL ME!"

"Sounds like just my kind of job." Cassim jerked at his horse's reins and rode onward into the night.

"Wait a minute!" Iago cried out in a panic. "DON'T LEAVE ME OUT HERE IN HIS TERRITORY!"

Cassim didn't rein in the horse until they were inside the village. "Kind of dead," Cassim remarked, "don't you think?"

"It used to be alive," Iago explained, "BEFORE THE GUY CLEANED EVERYBODY OUT!"

"I'm feeling better and better about stealing from this one," Cassim said happily. "Though I wish he'd set up his fortress with a few more entrance points."

The only way up to the fortress that didn't involve scaling steep cliffs was to go through the village and right up to the fortress' door. "He's gonna kill us," Iago moaned. "He's gonna kill us, he's gonna kill us…"

Cassim shushed Iago and took his horse around the fortress' edge. Iago noted with relief that none of the guards were out tonight. Then it occurred to him to wonder why.

Cassim finally found what he was looking for: a wide arch window set about two stories up on a tower at the rear of the fortress. He removed from his saddlebag a rope attached to a grappling hook he'd had especially forged for this purpose. It only took him one throw of the rope to catch the lip of the window, and upward he climbed, leaving the horse and walking halfway up the wall with the rope in hand.

"If you don't want to come with," Cassim offered Iago as a last resort, "you can stay behind and let him find you out here."

"I just know I'm gonna regret this," Iago whined, following Cassim up the wall and into the tower.

The inside of the fortress was almost as dark as the outside, though a few lamps here and there lit up the dark blue walls. Cassim slid silently along them, checking around every corner for guards or anyone else that could alert the master of the fortress to his presence. Time and time again, he was met with nothing.

"He knows," Iago whispered. "If he hasn't tripped any defenses on us by now, he knows, and he's waiting…"

"Or he has no idea," Cassim whispered back. "Now, which way to what he holds most valuable?"

Iago sighed and extended a wing. "That hallway."

Cassim slipped down the hall quickly and quietly. At the end stood a door; Cassim pushed it slightly, peered through the crack to confirm the room was empty, then flitted through the door without a sound, holding it open just long enough for Iago to follow before closing it behind him.

"This," Iago said, almost a lament, "is the place."

They were in the center of a room stocked with all sorts of oddities. A table stocked with beakers, flasks, and other lab equipment was pushed against one wall. In one corner of the room, a large wheel, almost like a table, was set up with carvings of famous landmarks from the Seven Deserts upon it. Several shelves on the wall held glittering crystals, statues of mysterious creatures, and thick books bound with leather and gold.

"Perfect," Cassim said, reaching toward the shelf.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The warning came so casually, almost teasingly, that Cassim didn't register it as the problem it was at first. Iago, on the other hand, let out a wordless scream at top volume as he turned to face the lord of the fortress.

Cassim also turned, beholding a young man dressed in blue finery from his gold-embroidered turban to the blue-black cape that cascaded down his back. He sure did dress like royalty, Cassim thought patronizingly, for the ruler of such an empty kingdom. The youth smiled broadly, suggesting an air of sinister happiness that he'd been able to meet Cassim. "When I noticed you on the borderlands," he said, still with that teasing tone, "I very nearly gave the order to kill you. Then I recognized you, as well as your little pet. You should count yourself lucky that I did. I gave all the guards the night off so that I could have the chance to see you face-to-face. Oh, and speaking of which…I'd like to actually SEE your face."

"A fair request." Cassim removed the blue headdress, exposing his coffee-brown skin, his dark hair streaked with gray, his handsome face with its shapely brow. "How did you see me from all the way back here?"

The youth put out his right hand, and Iago instinctively ducked behind Cassim, afraid of an attack. Instead, the young man made a beckoning motion, and a small device floated off the shelf to rest in his palm. Cassim made note that the young man wore a leather gauntlet on his right hand, but his left hand was bare. "The Eye of Ra Spyglass," the young man explained, the smile never leaving his lips. "It was a pain to get, physically AND mentally, but in the end, I think it was worth it."

"You certainly live an odd life," Cassim observed. "Surrounded by magical objects, striking fear into the hearts of those around you…who exactly do you think you are?"

"Oh, you don't recognize me?" the youth answered melodramatically. The smile finally faded from his lips, and his face turned to a derisive sneer. "It figures you wouldn't. You always did have a habit of forgetting me. Leaving me behind in the marketplace. Playing with your precious favorite child while you didn't even know I was in the same room. But I remembered you, Cassim. I couldn't possibly forget. Do you think you can ignore me NOW? NOW, DO YOU EVEN WANT TO DARE FORGETTING ABOUT ME?"

"Wait a minute," Iago said, peering out from over Cassim's shoulder. "You two…you two KNOW EACH OTHER?"

Cassim could only stare, dumbfounded. Now he recognized the youth before him. The black curls, the pale hue of his skin, the slender frame. "Mozenrath," Cassim said softly. "I had thought you were dead."

"You would," Mozenrath growled. "But I guess you could call what I'm doing 'living'. No thanks to you."

"DID I MISS A MEMO?" Iago screeched. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? HOW DO YOU KNOW EACH OTHER?"

"Do you want to tell him?" Mozenrath dared. "Or are you too ashamed to admit it?"

"He is my son," Cassim said straightforwardly to Iago.

That pushed the macaw to his mental limits, and Iago passed out.

AGRABAH, THE SEVEN DESERTS

When the Starlight finally reached land, it passed through a vision-obscuring mist until it was suddenly riding on a small river cutting through bright sands beneath a scorching sun. The ship stopped there without Rainbow Dash having to toss the anchor overboard.

"We're here," Rarity announced. The six had gathered in the main lounge again so Twilight could brief them on what she'd learned from the Guide and the computer system about this new world.

"It's an Earth territory," Twilight said, "but generally, when cosmic beings refer to it, they tend to call it by the name of the most prevalent landmass, the Seven Deserts. We're currently parked outside Agrabah, one of the most bustling metropolises in the entire Seven Deserts. The culture here tends toward a variation of 'Arabic', a word that I guess would make sense if you were from an Earth territory, but doesn't really mean anything to me. To tell you the truth, I'm a little afraid of making a cultural faux pas."

"Come again?" Applejack tilted her head.

"A mistake," Twilight clarified. "I'm not even sure we're dressed right. What if the people here dress really different than how we look?"

"Not a problem!" Rarity boasted. "I'll simply take a little stealth mission outside to see how the civilians dress. When I come back, I'll be ready to costume us all appropriately!"

"A stealth mission?" Rainbow Dash laughed. "In THAT getup?"

"I also made myself a stealth suit," Rarity explained. "For this very situation. You see, I had thought of this a while back, that we might need to dress completely differently to blend in with the locals of wherever we might land."

"Good," Fluttershy said. "I was worried that dress would get too hot for you in the sun."

"But of course," Rarity agreed. "Now, I'll only be a few minutes." She rushed away to her cabin. Shortly after, she returned to the lounge, dressed in a fitted black suit with soft sneakers and a black hood over her hair. "Ta-daaaa! My stealth suit!"

"I'm impressed!" Twilight complimented.

"As you will be with the clothes I make for you when I get back," Rarity bragged. "I'll see you later!" With that, she left.

The river turned out to be within view of the city walls of Agrabah. It certainly was a big city, Rarity noted, even if most of the buildings weren't very tall. From what she could see, the surrounding city walls were a beige color that meshed with the sand, and the far end of the city was decorated with a gleaming white palace topped by golden tower domes.

"Now, whoever lives in THAT palace must live in absolute luxury!" Rarity remarked to herself before moving in closer to the city.

Once inside the walls, Rarity immediately ducked behind a row of barrels set against the side of a building. Even her stealth suit stuck out like a sore thumb here. The buildings of the city were mostly the same beige color as the outer walls, reaching perhaps three stories maximum, and the civilians dressed in muted tones, blues and browns and greens – no one in black. Most of the women wore skirts and had at least a scarf for a head covering, and most of the men wore tunics and baggy pants.

From her vantage point behind the barrels, Rarity watched the passers-by. The people she'd observed were mostly what she determined to be the relative middle-class. Every now and again, a beggar or thief would pass by, nicking a daily meal from the food stalls in order to survive, and Rarity noted that the lower classes of both genders tended to wear plain shirts and pants. She decided to move along subtlely to see if she couldn't glimpse anything a little more radical.

She stopped outside a tapestry stand, hiding behind the rolls of fabric on the ground as she listened to the vendor advertise his work. "An artist's rendition of the heroes of Agrabah defeating the many rogues of the Seven Deserts!" he called out. "Sultan-to-be Aladdin banishing sorcerer Jafar from the palace, eventually to meet his doom and never cast his shadow over our city again! Princess Jasmine matching wits with the witch Sadira, who is now a reformed citizen! Their genie friend fending off hordes of thieves, including the disgraced Abis Mal!"

Rarity looked over the tapestry with interest. First of all, the names and the subject matter intrigued her, and she was sure Twilight would have more to say on the subject. Second, she now had a better view of how princesses and sorcerers dressed in this territory, and would incorporate that into her work. Satisfied, she somersaulted and slunk her way out of the city walls and back to the Starlight.

Once on board, Rarity called the others to her chambers immediately to speak to them while she worked on their new fashions. "I've already learned a bit about the city," she explained. "Apparently it was in all sorts of dangers in the past, but the royal family has taken it upon themselves to protect it."

"Just like Celestia, Luna, and Cadance!" Pinkie cried happily.

"There are a lot of royal families, even on our own world, that would just take advantage of their citizens and leave them to their own fate," Twilight pointed out. "Or worse…they could even BE the biggest danger to their citizens." A shiver ran down her spine as she thought of Chrysalis. The changeling queen had certainly been a leader to her armies, but given what Twilight knew of Chrysalis, she couldn't see her as the protective sort…even with all her talk of concern for feeding her changelings. Instead of dwelling on that, she forced herself to make the example less extreme by saying out loud, "Imagine if Prince Blueblood ruled Equestria."

"NO!" Rarity barked angrily. "Anyhow, they apparently are friends with some sort of magical creature called a 'genie'. Have you read of anything like that, Twilight?"

"Of course," Twilight responded. "Djinni are magical spirits that show up in all sorts of stories. A lot of times, they come trapped with ties to some sort of object, and they have to serve whatever human picks them up. Free djinni are incredibly powerful."

"Sounds like this world is gonna be fun already!" Pinkie squealed. "I just know it!"

After some deft sewing, Rarity finished the six new ensembles. "Well? What do you think?"

Twilight donned her new robes, multilayered garments that cascaded to the floor in a gradient of blues as a high collar rose behind her neck. Rainbow Dash had a blue pair of baggy pants, a blue tunic, and a light green vest over top. Applejack also received pants, but brown instead of blue, and with a white tunic. Fluttershy and Pinkie wore variations on the same outfit: a simple, loose tunic over a floor-length skirt. Fluttershy's garments were a soft green while Pinkie's were bright pink. Finally, Rarity donned her own clothing, which seemed the most outlandish of all. She'd copied her ensemble after that of the depictions of the princess, and wore maroon pants and a matching sleeveless top that bared her midriff. Everypony wore the same flat shoes, all black but Rarity's, which were maroon; Rarity's shoes also turned upward at the toe.

"And don't forget these," Rarity said, passing out headscarves. "Most of the women wear them like so." She wrapped hers over her head, completely covering her plum-colored curls. The others followed suit, but couldn't help but notice the stark difference between Rarity's headscarf and the others. Twilight's was light blue, Rainbow Dash's was the same green as her vest, Applejack's was brown, Fluttershy's was green, and Pinkie's was pink, but all were plain. Rarity's maroon headscarf bore a spangling of glitter and sequins on the fringe.

"Aren't you gonna stick out a little bit?" Twilight asked.

"Admittedly, I did copy what the royalty wears for this one," Rarity said somewhat sheepishly. "But it was just so stylish!"

"Well, let's put it to the test!" Twilight said with determination. "Agrabah, here we come!"

The civilians of Agrabah mostly had brown skin and black hair. Rainbow Dash tugged at her headscarf (or "hijab", as Twilight had informed her) nervously, afraid of what would happen if her multicolored mane became visible.

The people stared anyway. Murmurs ran through the crowd: "Is she a princess?" "She must be from outside Agrabah!"

"They're talking about you," Twilight hissed to Rarity. "You're way overdressed!"

"I rather like the attention," Rarity said defensively.

The six walked into an open marketplace where vendors vocally advertised their wares. "Sure wish we had some money to spend around here," Applejack mourned. "Them apples look delicious…and what're those things?" She pointed to a basket of small, round fruits. "There's more of 'em here than apples!"

"They are fresh dates!" a vendor told Applejack. "You would be hard-pressed to find a more delicious fruit in all the world!"

Applejack could only stare at the dates with curiosity and longing.

"These fabrics are divine!" Rarity grasped at some rolls of silk and twirled in them, wrapping them about herself. "I simply must return when we have attained some of the local currency!" She looked to the vendor. "You, er…you don't happen to accept bits, do you?"

"Are bits the currency of your kingdom?" the vendor asked, transfixed by Rarity's beauty.

"Oh, no, no, no, you don't understand," Rarity explained. "I'm not a princess. I just have the style of one!"

"Your beauty almost matches that of our princess Jasmine," the silk vendor replied. "Are you familiar with our royalty?"

"We're from out of town," Twilight said, edging into the conversation. "Out of the country, in fact. But we heard all about how the royal family works to protect this kingdom!"

"Indeed they do." The vendor broke his gaze from Rarity to converse with Twilight. "In fact, they are helping to rebuild the Southwest district after the great fire that swept through."

"The royals are out in the city?" Rarity asked, taken aback. "Right now?"

"Yes," the vendor replied. "It is strange – our sultan never left the palace grounds unless he was on an adventure or official business until the sultan-to-be showed up. But Aladdin has almost completely transformed the palace."

"I reckon we should meet 'em," Applejack spoke up. "After all, if we're gonna get to know this place and why we're here, we gotta know the royals."

"And besides!" Pinkie added. "They sound really nice!"

Twilight looked up at the sun's position in the sky. "That way to Southwest," she said, pointing. Before leaving, she told the vendor, "Thanks for all your help."

"And I will return for these," Rarity said, pointing to the silks in earnest.

"I shall await that return!" the vendor replied, watching as the beautiful woman who dressed like a princess left the main marketplace with her five friends.

The city was a labyrinth of streets running through various buildings. Homes, shops, and carts peppered the byways, and here and there a larger landmark, like a fountain, appeared. Finally, Twilight led her friends into a part of the city that was markedly different. Instead of bright beige accessorized with colorful awnings, here, everything was burned black. The charred remains of carts littered the streets, as did their wares – melted pieces of gold and bronze, date pits, broken mirrors. Doors, shutters, and everything else not made of stone were burned away from the buildings' façades. The street was deserted of life, and almost empty of noise.

Fluttershy picked up the first hint of sound. "I hear someone," she said. "A couple streets over."

"Let's go." Twilight led on, towards the sound of the noise. They turned to see a bustling sight down one of the fire-ravaged roads.

A young man dressed in a purple vest, white pants, and a maroon fez knelt on the stones of the road, reattaching a wheel to a cart. A small brown monkey clothed in a matching vest and hat piled bronze decorations onto that cart. Up in the air, an airy sky-blue spirit, one with the head and torso of a human but a lower half that drifted into blue smoke, pointed at buildings with missing segments of their walls; in bursts of magic, the walls rebuilt themselves. A young woman, sporting a long black ponytail and dressed in the teal clothes Rarity had seen on the princess in the tapestry, climbed a wooden ladder to hang an awning upon one of the buildings the spirit had just rebuilt. Another spirit, this one green and female with a voluminous ponytail, swept down the street, the ash disappearing under wherever she passed her hands. A woman dressed in pink clothes also resembling those royalty, her hair strangely blonde for her complexion, nailed planks together into a door while a little girl of about eight years, clothed in a very simple dress of brown rags, attached the doorknob. When that was finished, an overly muscular man wearing only royal blue pants and a matching headband lifted the door, exchanging a flirty wink with the blonde before he took the door to place upon a building. A tall woman dressed in white clothes again more resembling those of royalty than civilians spoke to a younger and shorter woman with shaggy hair and the shirt and pants of a beggar; the younger woman looked up at a ravaged building, pushed her hands outward, and caused a spray of sand to shoot up from the ground and form a new wall…one that was lumpy and crooked. The older woman patted the younger on the head as the younger sighed in despair.

"HELLO!" Pinkie cried out, and everyone stopped work to look up at the newcomers.

"Um…hi," Twilight said. "We're new to this city, and we were wondering – "

"If you needed any help with that," Applejack said, surveying the scene. "That fire musta been a real doozy!"

"Oh, it was," the young man fixing the cart said, getting up from the street to walk over and greet the newcomers. "We've mostly got it under control…but a few more pairs of hands wouldn't hurt."

"Aladdin!" The woman in teal hopped down from her ladder, rushing to the young man's side. "They're new here! We can't just put them to work!"

"So you're Aladdin!" Rarity realized. "And you must be Princess Jasmine!"

"I see you've heard of us," Aladdin said with a gleaming smile.

"Only a little," Twilight clarified. "We're from a very faraway land, you see, and we don't know much about Agrabah at all." Her gaze turned upward. "Are those…real djinni!"

The blue and green spirits floated toward her. "Ex-genie-of-the-lamp, to be precise!" the blue boasted. "The one and only!"

"And don't forget the genie of the bottle!" the green added. "The one and only…Eden!"

Twilight's face lit up. "Real djinni…I've only ever read about you in storybooks! You're just as powerful as they said! I'm sorry, am I being rude?"

"Rude?" the blue spirit, who would never give the others anything to call him other than "Genie", replied. "You're being downright flattering!"

"So what brings you to Agrabah?" Aladdin asked.

"A great quest of importance!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"I've been on a few of those," Aladdin said with a wink. "What kind of quest are we talking about?"

"Uh…we ain't exactly sure," Applejack admitted.

"We know we have business here," Twilight tried to explain, "we're just…not sure what it is yet. It's kind of like a…prophecy. Actually, that's exactly what it is."

"Well, you're welcome to stay in our kingdom as long as you like," Jasmine offered.

"Then we might as well get some work done," Rainbow Dash said. "Consider us part of the cleanup crew!"

"Is everyone here part of the royal family?" Pinkie asked.

"Just Jasmine and me," Aladdin answered. "Well, and Genie and Abu, by relation."

Answering to his name, the brown monkey hopped up on Aladdin's shoulder and waved, squeaking what sounded like a "Hello!"

"Oh!" Fluttershy found her will to speak to these strangers for the first time. "He's so adorable!"

Abu leapt onto Fluttershy's shoulder. She extended her right arm, and the monkey climbed down to her wrist, hanging from it by his tail and giving a squeaky monkey laugh.

"He likes you!" Aladdin remarked. "So, what're your names anyway?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," Twilight began. The others all echoed their names in what would soon become routine:

"I'm Applejack!"

"Rarity! Er, the one and only."

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Um…Flutter…shy…"

"Pinkie Pie!" With that last introduction, Pinkie added, "Ooh, ooh! Who are all of you?"

"Let's introduce you to the cleanup crew!" Jasmine said.

"You already know Jasmine, Genie, Eden, Abu, and me now," Aladdin pointed out. "Everyone else here is one of our friends. Come on."

The six Equestrians followed the royal family of Agrabah down the street, stopping first at the pair that had been assembling doors. The blonde and the young girl continued assembling planks while paying attention to the introduction.

"This is Fatima," Aladdin said, referring to the blonde, "and that's Dandi." Now he referred to the girl. "Dandi is Eden's master."

"Eden's really more like my mother," Dandi admitted.

"So…you're the master of the other djinni?" Twilight asked Aladdin.

"Nope!" the Genie answered. "I am one hundred percent free, with no contractual restrictions! Well, except for being downgraded from phenomenal and cosmic to semi-phenomenal and nearly cosmic, but you know what they say – there's no such thing as a free lunch!"

"I didn't know djinni could be free," Twilight said, almost to herself.

"Why, darling!" Rarity pointed out Fatima's clothing. "You look positively gorgeous!"

"Thank you," Fatima replied. "I was known a little bit for my beauty in certain circles."

"A little bit?" Aladdin laughed.

"You were known as the most beautiful acrobat in the entire city!" Jasmine giggled.

"Could I ever be that pretty?" Dandi asked.

"Of course!" Eden replied.

"You just need some of the right style," Rarity said. "Perhaps I can help you with your wardrobe later!"

"That would be great…" Dandi faltered.

"Rarity," Rarity reminded her.

"That would be great, Rarity!"

Aladdin and Jasmine led the group on. "This is Minos," he said, introducing the man who fastened the doors to the buildings.

"A pleasure to meet you," Minos said with a bow.

"You sure got some muscles on ya," Applejack observed.

"That was my fame as Fatima's was her beauty," Minos replied. "That is why I have taken the task of carrying the doors."

"I betcha I can help with that," Applejack said.

"Oh, really?" Minos raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a lot stronger than I look," Applejack bragged.

Now the group came to meet the two women rebuilding the walls from sand. "This is Deluca," Jasmine said, introducing the taller woman. "And this – "

"I'm Sadira!" the younger woman interrupted. "The last living Witch of the Sand!"

"You still have a way to go before you can call yourself a true Witch of the Sand," Deluca reminded Sadira, who hung her head.

"My spells can get a little messed up," Sadira admitted.

"A little?" Aladdin teased. "Like the time you made me think I was a knight on a quest to slay a dragon? Or the time you resurrected three evil witches by trying to make soup?"

"Okay, okay!" Sadira snapped. "So I'm a lousy witch. I'm learning!"

"A real witch!" Twilight gasped. "I'm a witch too!"

"You sure dress like one," Sadira pointed out. "You look like you stepped right out of the Age of Sorcery."

"The Age of…what?" Twilight asked.

"A little something from my time," Deluca said. "Don't worry. If you stick around Agrabah, you'll hear about it soon enough."

"All right," Applejack concluded. "Now that we're through with the introductions, let's get to work! What can we do?"

"I'd like to see you try and lift the same doors," Minos challenged her.

Applejack hoisted a completed door into the air, though she strained more than Minos had to do so. "How's this for strength?"

"Impressive," Minos remarked.

"Abu was helping put the vendors' things back on the carts and stalls," Aladdin told Fluttershy. "You wanna help him, since you two were getting along so well? Watch him closely – make sure he doesn't steal any of it."

"I'm sure this little darling wouldn't do that," Fluttershy said sweetly.

Feeling the pressure of guilt under Fluttershy's gaze, Abu removed some pilfered bracelets from inside his vest and dropped them on the floor.

"No!" Fluttershy scolded. "You did a very bad thing!"

The monkey squeaked a sound that resembled "I know."

Fluttershy smiled. "It's all right. We all make mistakes. Do you want to show me where the things are that we can put back?"

Abu immediately perked up and ran off, beckoning Fluttershy to follow.

"I can help with the carts!" Pinkie knelt on the street alongside Aladdin, fitting another wheel onto the cart. "So, I hear you're the sultan-to-be! How'd that happen? And does it mean your life is like a big party?"

Aladdin had to laugh at that. "I only wish my life was a big party. No, there's a lot more responsibility to it…but it's worth it. You see, I used to have to steal things from this city's marketplace just to live through the day. But then I met the Genie, and he changed everything, starting by being one of my best friends. After that, I fell in love with the most beautiful and kindest woman in the whole kingdom…and the rest is history."

"Who was the woman?" Pinkie asked, the implication having sailed over her head.

Aladdin gestured to where Jasmine had climbed up the ladder to hang awnings once more. "Her."

"Awwww!" Pinkie cried. "That's a beautiful story!"

Rarity set up a ladder next to Jasmine, climbing it to hang a bright red awning. She changed her mind when she noticed the pink awning Jasmine was putting up, and exchanged the red for a soft blue. "It goes better with the color," Rarity explained.

"Are you the princess of your kingdom?" Jasmine asked.

"Actually, no," Rarity explained. "I guess I really did overdress for the occasion. I only wish I was a princess! But alas, it was never meant to be. Now, you are the real thing! Tell me, what's it like?"

"It used to be boring," Jasmine said. "Staying inside the palace all my life, learning proper decorum…but let's just say I broke tradition. As the princess, I think it's my duty to help the people of this kingdom and make peaceful relations with others. I'd have to say the best part, though, was getting to marry my prince – even if he did start out living on the street."

"Oh, do tell more!" Rarity begged. "How did you find him?"

"I broke out of the palace," Jasmine said. "Then he broke in, disguised as a prince. Sort of like how you got everyone thinking you're a princess."

"A complete accident!" Rarity defended.

"Destiny just took its course then," Jasmine finished. "Now we're married, and next in line to be sultan and sultana – but first, my father has to finish out his time, and he's got a few more good years in him!"

"You're incredibly lucky," Rarity sighed. "I wish my charming prince would show up so easily. I'm sorry – that was rather selfish to say. I'm very happy for you, both of you."

They climbed down the ladders together. "I was going to hang yellow next," Jasmine told Rarity. "What do you think?"

"Keep it away from the red," Rarity advised.

"So," Twilight said to Sadira, "you're still working on your magic?"

"I'm a self-taught witch," Sadira replied. "It's a work in progress. What about you?"

"I studied my magic under a powerful alic – a powerful sorceress," Twilight answered. "The princess of my country, actually. I can do a lot of different spells. Mind if I give the sand a try?"

"Go ahead," Sadira said. "But it's harder than it looks!"

Twilight doubted that. She looked to a hole in the wall, then focused her energies upon it. She pushed her hands outward; a rush of sand flew toward the wall. To Twilight's dismay, only about half the wall built itself, and instead of a smooth stone surface, it bent inward. "I don't understand," she said. "I guess sand magic must be different from the magic I learned."

"There are many different kinds of magic," Deluca confirmed.

"But I always thought I was sort of an expert in magic," Twilight said dejectedly. "I mean, I didn't like to brag, but back in my country, I was one of the most powerful unico – witches there!"

"I was once the most powerful sorceress in Mesmeria," Deluca said, "but my powers would have been useless against the necromancy of the Sorcerers of the Black Viper, or the sun powers of Shamash. Even my power was borrowed from another. The world is full of different sorts of magic."

"Not to mention the universe," Aladdin chimed in.

"What do you know about…the universe?" Twilight knew to tread carefully.

"I know there's more out there than just this world," Aladdin answered casually. "I'm not sure how much, but there's definitely more."

Rainbow Dash looked upward to where the Genie and Eden continued their aerial work. Then she looked down to the shutters Dandi and Fatima had finished putting together. Finally, she looked to the wooden ladders. "If I could fly," she muttered to herself, "I wouldn't have to use ladders…"

"Try your wings," Rarity said at normal volume, having passed Rainbow Dash. "I sewed folds in the back of your shirt for them."

Rainbow Dash's face lit up as she realized she could slide her wings out through the sleeves Rarity had sewn into her shirt. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" She grabbed a shutter, a hammer, and a handful of nails and soared up to the higher windows to place them.

"Whoa…" Aladdin looked up to see one of his new acquaintances flying upon light blue wings. "You really aren't from around here, are you?"

"Nope," Rainbow Dash answered.

"People around here don't usually have wings," Twilight asked, "do they?"

"Only sometimes," Fatima said with a cringe.

"Do you all have wings?" Jasmine asked.

"Just me and Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash answered. "Now, I don't like to brag – "

"Not true," Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie all muttered under their breaths.

" – but I happen to be the fastest flyer in our whole country," Rainbow Dash finished. "I bet I could even outfly your two djinni there."

"Is that a challenge?" the Genie said, crossing his arms.

"I think that was a challenge!" Eden replied happily.

"You two think you can take me?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Please. I could outfly you any day!"

"Bring it on," the Genie and Eden replied.

Those on the ground watched as the three positioned themselves in the air. Aladdin, sensing an opportunity, whistled for another ally to make an appearance from around the corner.

"To the end of the street," Rainbow Dash proposed. "First one there wins…and doesn't have to do any more work for the rest of the day!"

"You're on!" the Genie replied.

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash called down. "Wanna count us off?"

"On your mark," Fluttershy said so softly they could barely hear her. "Get set…go!"

Rainbow Dash, the Genie, and Eden took off. Rainbow Dash easily outpaced the two djinni, pumping her wings as hard as she could. Those on the ground stared in awe at the rainbow trail her body left in the air.

"Ha ha!" Rainbow Dash cackled. "I so totally have you beat! I – "

Before she crossed the designated finish line, a blur zoomed past her. "Hey!" she cried, crossing the line and staring down the victor. "What gives?"

Aladdin stood upon an intricately woven blue-and-gold carpet that hovered in the air. "I just couldn't resist," he said with a shrug.

"You may have beaten me this time," Rainbow Dash said, "but that's just a one-time thing, you hear?"

"Oh yeah?" Aladdin smirked. "Carpet and I will take you on in a rematch anytime, anywhere."

"You know," Rainbow Dash said with a smile, "I like you. You're pretty cool."

Down on the ground, Twilight gave a little hop and a squeal. "A real magic carpet!" she squeaked. "It's so beautiful!"

After that, the group settled back into work.

"I'm very glad you all decided to help us," Jasmine told Rarity after some time.

"It's nothing," Rarity said. "Helping others is…well, you could call it our destiny. We're always glad to lend a helping hoof! Er, hand."

"And we're almost done!" Twilight observed. "Just a few more adjustments and – "

What happened next left Deluca, Sadira, Minos, Fatima, Eden, and Dandi mystified. Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, the Carpet, and the Genie simply disappeared.

"What happened?" Dandi asked.

"Powerful magic," Deluca answered.

THE LAND OF THE BLACK SANDS, THE SEVEN DESERTS

"You must understand," Cassim defended. "I had thought you were taken by the shadow walkers! Everyone had said so! If I had known you were alive…"

"It doesn't matter," Mozenrath growled. "You hated me from the start."

"I didn't hate you!" Cassim argued. "I'll admit, I never understood why your greatest ambition in life was to be a sorcerer of the evil arts…"

"Says the thief."

"I chose my life in order to secure a better one for your mother, your brother, and yourself! You chose your path because of your odd fascination with power and evil! Whenever your mother read you stories, you always rooted for the evil sorcerer or the deceitful thief."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Mozenrath clarified. "I don't blame you for what I've become. In fact, I became exactly what I wanted to be! I have a spacious kingdom of darkness, a vault of magical artifacts, and a host of willing minions. What more could I ask for? Still, recognition would have been nice. It would have been nice not to have been lost in the shuffle while you taught your favorite son how to fight, played games with him, gave him your best dagger…"

"I was remiss," Cassim admitted. "I am sorry. Your mother…she was the one who understood you best."

"And WHERE IS SHE NOW?" Mozenrath yelled.

"Gone," Cassim said plainly.

"I think you've been away from her for too long," Mozenrath concluded. "You should go meet her. Here…let me send you to where she is, and finally have the pleasure of seeing the look on your face when I finally do you in!"

Cassim was expecting the attack. Mozenrath raised his right hand, shooting from it a blast of blue energy that would have certainly been lethal had Cassim not ducked from it, rolling to the wall. He paused a moment to gather the unconscious Iago into a fold of his cape, then, cradling that segment of his cape carefully, Cassim lunged forth. Mozenrath took another swipe with the gauntlet, leaving five finger-trails of blue electricity crackling in the air; once again he missed, and Cassim aimed a punch at the sorcerer's stomach, catching Mozenrath off guard and causing him to double over in pain. Recognizing the source of his son's power, Cassim reached out to Mozenrath's flailing right arm and peeled the gauntlet away in one swift motion.

He gasped, nearly dropping Iago and the gauntlet at the sight. The arm beneath, from elbow to fingertips, was but a skeleton without flesh. "This…gauntlet," Cassim said. "What has it done to you?"

"Given me my power," Mozenrath growled.

"Giving your right hand? Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"Not for this," Mozenrath replied. "In fact, I've given my whole body and soul for this. But it's worth it."

"It's killing you," Cassim realized.

"So you finally care whether I live or die," Mozenrath retaliated. "Unfortunately, I only care about if you die. Living isn't an option." He reached back, threw open the doors to the hallway.

Now Cassim saw the guards Iago had spoken of. The shambling undead, a horde of them, their flesh rotting.

"Cassim, meet the Mamluks," Mozenrath said, that teasing smile returning to his lips. "They used to be the people of this kingdom, back when Destane ruled it. I may be the only person to say he was too merciful on them. Now, they work for me. Mamluks, meet my father. He has two things I'd like you to take away from him: my gauntlet and his life. Now GO!"

Cassim tossed the gauntlet to the ground. "If it means so much to you…keep it!" Still keeping Iago wrapped in his cape, he used his free hand to draw his sword. The undead soldiers charged into the laboratory, their own swords drawn. Cassim dodged, slashed, and kicked. To Mozenrath's horror, Cassim fought a pathway through the army, all the way out into the hallway.

"DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Mozenrath screamed. The undead soldiers nodded, chasing Cassim, but the thief was fast, darting down the hallway and out the window. Cassim slid down the rope he'd put up, mounting his horse once more and spurring the animal into a fast gallop. More of the undead burst from the doors of the fortress; Cassim rode around them, menacing them with his sword, and his horse charged away from the fortress and down through the kingdom of empty buildings.

"I'll have you someday," Mozenrath growled to himself. "This isn't over, Cassim. Not by a long shot."

Cassim's horse took him out of the streets and into open desert, riding between the starless sky and the pitch-black sand. He noticed Iago stirring.

"Oy," the parrot remarked, rubbing his head with a wing. "I just had one heck of a dream. You decided to be all crazy and go try to rob the Land of the Black Sand, and somehow it ended in you telling me Mozenrath was your son."

"He is my son," Cassim replied, keeping his eyes on the sand ahead.

"WHAT?" Iago screamed. "THAT WAS REAL? No. No, that couldn't have been real, because we're still alive."

"I managed to fight my way out of his undead army," Cassim said, "as well as outrun that gauntlet of his. Tell me…is it really killing him?"

"Well, it's sort of this weird kinda curse. It gives you pretty much unlimited power, but it sucks your life force the more you use – WAIT A MINUTE! WHY ARE YOU THE ONE WHO GETS TO ASK THE QUESTIONS HERE?"

"All right," Cassim said. "Ask whatever questions you have."

"HOW COME YOU NEVER MENTIONED HAVING ANOTHER SON? HOW COME YOU NEVER MENTIONED HE WAS A PSYCHOPATH?"

"I told you long ago that I left my family to find them a better life," Cassim explained. "When I returned, I could not find my wife, Aaliyah, or my son Aladdin. I asked all around Agrabah. No one knew of Aladdin's whereabouts, and there were rumors that a sorceress had kidnapped Aaliyah, though those stories were dubious at best. However, most seemed to agree that Aladdin's twin brother, Mozenrath, had been taken away by the shadow walkers…strange beasts that roamed the city and kidnapped children. I had heard of these shadow walkers before. Perhaps you have – "

"Yeah, yeah," Iago muttered, "been there, done that, defeated that ancient evil, bought the T-shirt."

"You faced the shadow walkers?"

"Yep. And it was every bit as pleasant as you think it was."

"I chose to forget him," Cassim said. "After all, he was dead for certain in my mind. What would have been the point of dwelling on it? It didn't sink in that Aaliyah was truly dead until years later. Aladdin was the last one I gave up on. Mozenrath was right, you know. I…did favor Aladdin. I regret it, but I did."

"I can see why," Iago scoffed. "Lemme guess. Aladdin was the kid who always played nice with the other kids, and Mozenrath was the freak who built torture devices in his room."

"That's a quite accurate description, actually." Cassim smirked. "He always had a fascination with evil. He told me he wanted to become a villain like those in stories. I thought it nothing but a childish fantasy, and yet I still never understood it. He had a stronger mind, and Aladdin a stronger body. It was easier for me to relate to Aladdin. We were both adventurous, athletic…Mozenrath was a loner, a reader, an inventor. His mother understood him better than I ever could have."

"I don't get one thing," Iago pointed out. "You two look nothing alike!"

"Because he is the spitting image of his mother," Cassim replied. "I met her on one of my earliest adventures, back when the Land of the Black Sand was an actual thriving kingdom…one with sunlight. Shortly before the reign of terror that was Destane. She was a curious spirit, and wished to accompany me on my travels. She came with me all the way back to Agrabah…we settled down there, made a life."

"You know, somehow I don't see you as the settling-down type."

"As you can see," Cassim said, "I'm definitely not settled down now."

"I wouldn't suggest settling down until you're as far away from the Black Sand as possible," Iago griped. "I'm putting my foot down: our next mission is something easy and safe. Like exploring the ruins of Mesmaria! They're abandoned! Nothing there but old treasures! Oh, and the treasures we could find…"

"I know what our next mission is, Iago," Cassim replied sternly.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like this?" Iago groaned.

"I have to make up for my shortcomings," Cassim said plainly.

"I can see where this is going," Iago replied, "and the answer is NO. DID YOU NOT SEE THAT HE HAS NO INTEREST IN BYGONES?"

"It still isn't right," Cassim said. "I did him wrong when he was but a child…and I've done him wrong ever since."

"So what are we gonna do?" Iago groaned. "Pick up some corny apology gift and send it to him with a note saying, 'Sorry I've been a bad dad, please don't kill me'?"

Cassim smirked. "More or less…"

AGRABAH, THE SEVEN DESERTS

"Where are we?" Twilight asked, looking around. All she could see was rock tunnel branching out from where she, her five companions, Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, the Carpet, and the Genie stood.

"The tunnels below Agrabah," Aladdin said.

"And how did we get to the tunnels below Agrabah, exactly?" Applejack asked.

"You came here," a slightly hoarse voice said, "because I brought you here."

From further down in the tunnel, a man appeared: a tall man with white hair and a white beard, clothed in blue rags. He wore a strip of cloth over the upper half of his face, obscuring his vision, and yet he moved as though he could see clearly where he was going.

"Phasir!" Aladdin cried.

"Who?" Twilight asked.

"A powerful prophet," Jasmine answered.

"At last," Phasir said, "the Six have arrived."

"He knows!" Pinkie gasped.

"Of course I know," Phasir replied plainly. "It has been passed from prophet to prophet, that the Six would arrive on this world one day in their quest to spread Harmony and stop the Old Ones from overtaking the cosmos."

"You're not from this world," Aladdin realized, "are you?"

"When we said we were from a faraway land," Rarity explained, "we rather meant…some good lightyears away…"

"The Mists of Avalon brought us here," Twilight said. "We have business on this world, even if we don't know what it is." She eyed Phasir suspiciously. "You're a prophet…do you know what it is?"

"You will arrive in the Seven Deserts more than once," Phasir answered, "and leave it more than once. I have come to inform you of your destiny during this visit. It is a destiny that concerns all eleven of you…the Elements of Harmony, the diamond in the rough, the princess, and their friends."

"Elements of Harmony?" Jasmine repeated.

"I've heard of those!" the Genie said excitedly. From thin air, he materialized a basket, giving each of the others present an apple from it. "Generosity!" He slipped on a pair of thick glasses with a false nose attached. "Laughter!" In a snap, the glasses were gone, and he now held a bouquet of flowers, which he pretended to bashfully offer to Twilight. "Kindness!" The bouquet was gone, and in its place a brass badge which he pinned to his chest before saluting. "Loyalty!" The badge was gone, and he put his right hand over his heart. "Honesty! And the sixth element, which is a mystery!"

"Magic," Twilight finished. "We're them. Magic is my element."

"You may not have known it," Phasir told Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie, "but when the Elements of Harmony appeared to you, you made six very powerful friends, friends who hold the fate of the universe in their hands…or hooves, as it may be."

"It would be nice if someone could say that and not omit what exactly we're supposed to do with said fate of the universe," Rarity grumbled.

"In time, your duty will reveal itself to you," Phasir said. "As will the angel of darkness. Until then, hear what I have to say. Remember these words, and you will all know what is to come. A great upheaval in the Seven Deserts."

"We're listenin'," Applejack said.

Phasir then appeared to enter a trance, speaking in rhyme: "An issue thought long put to rest will come to reinstate the quest. Retrieve the gift from siren's sea, and face the blades that number three. The Old Ones make a deadly bet, and oldest foes will be reset. The young one takes it on with pride, and to him all your fates are tied. First he wants and gets control, this world you will again make whole. With you he wishes to be done, so second will doom all but one. Beware the choice he makes as three; a twist arrives in Harmony. Success or failure in your hands, for desert and its borderlands. If you win remains unknown, but certain is one thing alone: a blow is dealt to magic's heart, and what seems done is just the start." Silence fell over the tunnels before Phasir said, "That is all."

"Can't you be any clearer?" Applejack asked frustratedly.

"For those like myself, clarity and honesty do not mean the same," Phasir said. "I have not lied, Element of Honesty. If I were to tell you exactly what to expect, it would sway your actions. If I had not given you fair warning, however, you might have passed your destiny by, perhaps believing that the Mists of Avalon had sent you here to repair a fire-torn roadway." He smirked. "I can clearly advise that you remain together, for it is in bonds of friendship that you find your strongest magic."

"Friendship is magic," Twilight paraphrased. She turned to Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie, with Abu and the Carpet looking on. "So…obviously we have some explaining to do…but will you help us?"

Aladdin nodded. "Of course. Whatever Phasir means you have to do…we'll help you."

"I shouldn't keep you from your work any longer," Phasir said, waving his hands.

Then before them was the street. Phasir was gone, as was the tunnel. Eight humans, one djinni, one magic carpet, and one monkey were returned to the street under repairs, where Minos, Fatima, Eden, Dandi, Deluca, and Sadira looked at them in confusion.

"Sorry 'bout that," Applejack said, breaking the silence. "So…how's about we finish up repairs, then?"

The street looked as though there had never been a fire. The carts stood again, and while they had fewer wares than before, they were ready for their owners to return to them. The buildings were reconstructed, and the ash swept away. Colorful awnings lined the road, giving it shade, and every empty frame was fitted with a door or window.

As the sun began to set, Aladdin and Jasmine declared it was time to return home, with a wink towards the six from Equestria that they should follow. Those eight, Abu, the Genie, and the Carpet turned to set out for the palace while the others waved goodbye and Sadira in particular yelled, "It was nice meeting all of you!"

"So," Aladdin asked, "how'd you end up all the way in Agrabah from 'lightyears away'?"

"Well, actually…" Twilight began.

"Can I tell the story?" Pinkie begged. "Please, please, pllleeeeeaaaaaase?"

"Sure," Twilight said with a smile.

"Okay!" Pinkie took a deep breath. "So it all started when we were back in Ponyville, where, believe it or not, we were all PONIES! So one day…"

"…and that's how Equestria was made!" Pinkie finished as the group reached the palace steps.

"And more importantly," Rarity added quickly, "that's how we ended up on our journey."

"Don't worry," Aladdin said. "I'm kind of the big hero around these parts. If there's an 'angel of darkness' on the loose, I'll help you take care of it."

"As will I," Jasmine promised.

"Doing battle with the forces of evil?" the Genie said with a wink. "Does that ever take me back to the Bronze Age! Count me in!"

"Thank you," Fluttershy said. "You all seem so very kind. We're lucky to have met good friends like you!"

"So…the Sultan of Agrabah," Twilight said, changing the subject out of worry. "He sounds pretty strict and tough. Not letting the family leave the palace walls for years and years?"

"He was worried about me," Jasmine said, "and a bit sheltered himself."

"Halt!" A large man stopped them at the great towering doors to the palace. He wore a black shirt and white pants as his uniform, topped off with a white turban, and a couple missing teeth betrayed that he'd been in quite a few tough scraps. "Who are these intruders?"

"They're not intruders, Razoul," Jasmine said, almost playfully. "They're our guests. We're friends."

"If you say so," Razoul muttered, but as the group passed by, he muttered so Rainbow Dash could hear, "But I'll be keeping an eye on your 'friends'…"

"You wanna say stuff like that to my face instead?" Rainbow Dash yelled, whirling to face Razoul.

With a worried squeak, Rarity grabbed Rainbow Dash by the arm and tugged her along before she could pick a fight with the captain of the palace guard.

Twilight smoothed out her robes and ran her fingers through her hair as Jasmine said, "I'm going to introduce you to Father right away. I'm sure he'll love you!"

"I hope," Twilight breathed quietly.

Jasmine led the way not to a throne room, but instead to a rather large toyroom filled with clockwork models and stone figurines of all sorts. Thin paper kites hung from the ceiling, setting off the mood of the room. "Look at all these toys!" Pinkie cried.

In the midst, a short man dressed in the white finery of royalty and sporting a beard of the same color knelt as he wound up a clockwork camel and watched it gallivant across the floor. Hearing Pinkie's exclamation, he stood and spread his arms. "My, my! Are you all guests of my daughter and son-in-law? Do come in! Oh, and you, young miss…feel free to try out anything you like! I'm quite fond of this camel, myself. Much speedier than the real thing!"

"Oh boy!" Pinkie cried, pouncing upon a clockwork bear displayed on a nearby table, winding it up to watch it rear into the air and emit a semi-realistic growl.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Somehow, she didn't think she had to worry so much about impressing the Sultan anymore.

"Our new friends are from kinda far away," Aladdin said. "They didn't have anywhere to stay for the night, and seeing as I am the prince, I didn't think it would be out of bounds to offer them rooms for the night."

"Of course not, my boy!" the Sultan exclaimed. "Welcome to Agrabah! I am the Sultan! Now, tell me, it is a most beautiful city, isn't it? I've put a lot of work into it, and I'm quite proud. Though I do have to give credit where it's due – my daughter and son-in-law have done much to improve it."

"You have a beautiful kingdom, Sultan…" Twilight tried to remember if he'd said his name.

"Oh, I have a name," the Sultan said, "but hardly anyone ever uses it. You can just call me the Sultan…less embarrassing."

Twilight grinned when she heard the Genie whisper the name "Bobo" into her ear. "Well, everything looked great when we came through. I'm Twilight Sparkle. I see you already met Pinkie Pie."

"WHEE!" Pinkie cried, watching a clockwork horse-drawn wagon race a clockwork dragon across a table.

"I'm Rainbow Dash," Rainbow Dash chimed in, "adventurer extraordinaire!"

"Oh, my!" the Sultan replied. "And what manner of adventure brings you here?"

"Just a couple of prophecies," Rainbow Dash said, waving her hand. "No big deal!"

"It is a big deal," Jasmine iterated. "Father, Phasir told us that these women would be instrumental in saving Agrabah from a terrible fate."

"Then by all means," the Sultan said, "let them stay here! There isn't any expense too great for the heroes of Agrabah!"

"More like the heroes of the whole Seven Deserts," Rainbow Dash boasted.

Before she could go on, Applejack broke in. "That's mighty kind of ya, sir. My name's Applejack."

"Fluttershy," Fluttershy whispered. By this time, Abu was sitting on her shoulder again, and he seemed to be the only resident of the Seven Deserts thus far she really felt comfortable with, flashing him a bright smile after giving her name to the Sultan.

"And you are their princess?" the Sultan asked Rarity.

"No," Rarity said. "I just made it a point to dress like one. I'm Rarity."

"We're grateful you let us stay here," Twilight said. "We promise not to ask for much."

"Well, maybe a little," Applejack said. Twilight shot her a dirty look. "What?" Applejack defended. "I'm just dyin' to know what one of them dates tastes like, and I ain't got any money!"

"No money?" The Sultan was taken aback. "How did you get this far?"

"We actually have plenty of money," Rainbow Dash said. "Just nothing that's worth anything in this kingdom."

"We could at least give you all something to eat," Jasmine pointed out.

"How about a feast?" Aladdin suggested. "After all, we are the royal family, and it's not every day we have guests."

"One feast extraordinaire, comin' up!" In a puff of blue smoke, the Genie summoned an apron and a chef's hat that looked distinctly not like any hat native to the local fashion designs, holding a highly anachronistic pen over a pad of paper. "What will we be having tonight? Italian cuisine? French gourmet? Would you like fries with that?"

"Whatever the local special is," Applejack said. "But preferably with dates."

The others all nodded in assent, and the Genie sped down the hallway toward the dining room with a "No problem!"

"Applejack," Twilight whispered, "now that we're humans…we might have to eat meat. Our digestive systems can actually handle it, and a lot of human bodies need it."

"Oh…" Applejack looked concernedly at the royals. "Y'all don't eat horse meat, do ya?"

This caused an outburst of laughter. "Of course not," Aladdin said. "Don't worry."

"Tonight, we're serving lamb!" the Sultan announced proudly.

Applejack swayed, looking sick. "I got some good friends who're sheep," she muttered to Twilight.

"It's okay," Twilight said. "Um…can Applejack and I have a minute?" She pulled Applejack into the corner of the room. "I did some research on this in the Guide. Societies that eat animals don't eat talking animals. Back home, we'd count as talking animals, or Animals with a capital A if you need to differentiate. Ponies with a capital P. Here, the animals don't talk, and probably aren't even as smart as Winona. More like…Fluttershy's friends. It's still good to respect them, but they're part of the food chain that makes up natural order. We'd be eating lambs with a lowercase L…but that's only when you need to differentiate. Does that make you feel better?"

"Only a little," Applejack admitted. "It's still weird!"

"You don't have to eat it, you know."

"We'll see at the table."

"WHEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkie rode by in a small clockwork car that was just big enough to accommodate her, breaking up the conversation. "Mr. Sultan, I love your collection! It's so fun!"

"That's one of my personal favorites!" the Sultan pointed out happily.

"I can't believe it," Applejack said at the long dinner table, seated with her friends and the royal family. "It's so wrong…but it tastes…so right…" She put another bite of lamb into her mouth. "Man, I GOTTA learn me how to cook this!" Another bite. "But all y'all can't tell ANYPONY I like this, ya hear? Urgh, it's so wrong…but so delicious…"

"And the highly anticipated dates?" Rarity asked with a wink.

"Delicious and sweet!" Applejack rated. "Not as good as apples, mind you, but pretty darn good! Genie, this stuff's hoof-lickin' delicious!"

The Genie rose into the air, bowing as a rain of applause he summoned from nowhere thundered.

Razoul burst into the room. "Your Highnesses!" he cried. "Another intruder to the palace…but one all too familiar."

"Do you just assume everyone's an intruder?" Rainbow Dash snapped.

"What Rainbow Dash means," Twilight said, "is that maybe you should give some people the benefit of the doubt."

"Perhaps," Razoul said with a sneer. "Then again, this particular intruder is a thorn in the palace's side, and he brought with him the OTHER old thorn in our side. Bring him in!"

Two more guards in uniform brought in a man dressed in blue, one who bore a striking resemblance to Aladdin despite being much older. Above his shoulder, a red macaw hovered, spouting in perfect speech, "I TOLD you this was a bad idea, Cassim!"

"The most wanted thief in Agrabah," Razoul said. "Of course, we can't do anything without your judgment…"

"Don't hurt him!" Fluttershy yelled, a knee-jerk reaction.

Aladdin slowly rose, a look of confusion on his face. "Dad?"

"I had hoped we could have met under better circumstances," Cassim said with as much of a shrug he could give with his arms held.

"Let him go," Jasmine commanded. "Suspend all his sentences!"

"That is your father?" Rarity asked.

"He showed up just in time for dinner!" Pinkie cried.

"I thought you'd ridden off into the desert for good," Aladdin said. "Why did you come back here?"

"It's a long story," Cassim said. "I'm on a sort of a quest, but I can't do it alone – or even with a trusted animal sidekick. But that can wait. After all, who am I to simply show up and ask favors?"

"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked softly. "Is your father…mean?"

"No," Aladdin answered. "We just come from…different worlds."

"Cassim left here one of the most notorious thieves in Agrabah!" the Sultan insisted. "He led a gang of forty despicable criminals!"

"But he is your son-in-law's dad," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"There's a free seat over here!" Pinkie cried.

"It seems your new friends have invited me to dinner," Cassim said. "A bit surprising, seeing as I was dragged here by guards…who, by the way, have been ordered to stand down."

The guards dropped Cassim, slinking away guiltily; Razoul eventually followed.

"Well, everyone deserves kindness," Fluttershy said. "And you did come all this way to see your son."

"Heh…" Aladdin shrugged. "Sure, why not? Join us for dinner."

Cassim sat down next to Pinkie Pie. "Who are your new friends, anyway? They're very accommodating…and quite beautiful."

"I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie introduced. "And we're the Elements of Harmony! So, what's your story? How'd you end up being one of Agrabah's most wanted?"

"Well, you see," Cassim explained, "I was absent for most of Aladdin's life. I once led a band of forty thieves, and we had planned to rob the royal wedding. Then, when I found out the prince-to-be was my son, things changed. It's a long story, but we eventually parted ways…though I must say," he said solemnly, looking Aladdin in the eye, "My love for my royal son hasn't lessened any." He gave a smile.

"Aaaaaaawwwww!" the six Equestrians chorused.

Aladdin couldn't help but smile back. "Y'know," he admitted, "it is kinda good to see you again."

"And what about ME?" the parrot spat. "I put the best years of my life into this stinkin' palace, only to get no welcome whatsoever?"

"I've never seen feathers so red!" Fluttershy remarked.

"Welcome back, Iago," Jasmine laughed. "Everyone, Iago lived in the palace with us for a long time, but he decided life on the move was better for him."

"A decision I didn't regret until recently," Iago muttered. Cassim shot him a dirty look, prompting him to shut up.

"Was he always such a complaining loudmouth?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"HEY!" Iago fluttered right up to Rainbow Dash's face. "Who're you callin' loudmouth?"

"You. Because you are."

"WHY I OUGHTA…"

"What? What're you gonna do to me, huh?"

"Well, they really do make a pair," Twilight said. Something occurred to her. "Wait…so, Cassim, you thought you wouldn't ever be back in Agrabah?"

"Indeed, I thought I had left for the last time," Cassim confirmed.

"An issue thought put long to rest," Twilight muttered, "will come to reinstate the quest…"

Rainbow Dash stopped her quibbling with the parrot long enough to turn to Twilight and say in disbelief, "You MEMORIZED it?"

"It was a prophecy!" Twilight defended. "Prophecies are important! You should never forget one once you hear it!"

"But it was so long!"

"I still remember all of it," Twilight said.

"But that reminds me," Rarity said, "Cassim, was it? You said you had a favor to ask. Perhaps we could help."

"It's a bit embarrassing to admit," Cassim began. "What I need is something long lost. Something I…already gave up. It turned out I wasn't done with it."

"No," Aladdin said in disbelief. "It can't be…you don't mean…"

Cassim said, very simply, "I seek the Hand of Midas."

The Grotto to Everywhere

View Online

AGRABAH, THE SEVEN DESERTS

"But why?" Aladdin asked in disbelief. "You said you didn't need it. You threw it back to the ocean!"

"The what now?" Pinkie asked.

"The Hand of Midas," Cassim said. "An artifact that turned all it touched into gold. Aladdin and I went on our last adventure to find it. I had thought it a good riddance when I cast it away…but as it turns out, Iago and I need to live off something. I've only robbed those I believe truly deserve it, but that isn't enough to pay for food and necessities. I do not intend to use it for anything else."

"Oh, that's just a load of – " Iago began, but another dirty look from Cassim shut him up.

"Finding it will be impossible," Jasmine said. "The great turtle went back undersea for who knows how long!"

"Great…turtle?" Twilight was confused.

The Genie morphed into the shape of a great blue turtle. "The Vanishing Isle! Home of the Hand of Midas and other popular tourist attractions! Currently submerged in an unknown location!"

"The Hand of Midas is destructive," Aladdin asserted.

"We would only use it responsibly!" Cassim argued. "Or I would. I wouldn't let HIM touch it at all." His eyes wandered over to Iago, who groaned and didn't say anything. Applejack thought the whole conversation somewhat suspicious.

"If anyone can help me find the Hand once more," Cassim said, "it is you. That is why I come asking your help. You must realize that it is an utmost necessity for me."

"I won't do it," Aladdin said. "Not after last time."

"I don't think this can get any more like an issue put to rest," Rarity pointed out.

"It does fit with the prophecy," Twilight said.

"What's more, though…" Rarity faced everyone at the table. "I think we should help him."

"Rarity," Aladdin chastised, "there's a lot about this situation you don't understand."

"What's to understand?" Rarity asked. "He's your father, and he needs this Hand of Midas quite badly. You could help him find it…and it may just be what we came here to do in the first place."

"I agree!" Pinkie said. "Why not help out?"

"It would be the nice thing to do," Fluttershy said.

"Hang on," Twilight interrupted. "Maybe we don't understand enough. I mean, it does turn anything into gold…and that's dangerous! Besides, there's obviously something going on with Cassim and Aladdin's relationship – "

"Blah, blah, blah," Rainbow Dash cut Twilight off. "This is our chance to actually get out there and DO something!"

"Helping with the fire was something," Fluttershy pointed out. "But I still think we should go."

"They have a point," Jasmine told her husband. "If Cassim needs the Hand…"

"Please," Cassim said humbly.

"I don't know." Aladdin turned to the one Element of Harmony he hadn't heard from. "What do you think?"

Applejack eyed Cassim with suspicion. "If he really needs it that badly," she said sternly, "we should help him get it."

"Fine," Aladdin huffed. "We'll help you find it."

"I truly am sorry," Cassim said. "You…you have no idea what this means to me."

Applejack took note of that as well.

"Yeah, but how are we gonna find the stinkin' thing?" Iago brought up. "It's gone! Underwater! Lost!"

"Retrieve the gift from siren's sea," Twilight said. "If the Vanishing Isle is underwater, that fits too. So we ask a siren? Do you know any sirens?"

"Only one," Jasmine said. "Saleen."

"Actually, Saleen would be more of a water elemental," the Genie pointed out. "But I can see how Phasir would get the two confused. Easy mistake to make!"

"No, it isn't," Twilight grumbled. "Sirens use their hypnotic voices or manipulations of their victims' hearts' desires in order to deceive others. Water elementals can be anything from mermaids to…"

"And she's lost in the desert of endless pointless knowledge," Rainbow Dash sighed. "What's the deal with this Saleen?"

"Come to think of it," Jasmine said, "she has magic water that allows land-dwellers to breathe under the sea, and portals to almost every source of water in the Seven Deserts. If we could use her ocean, we could find the Hand easily."

"And the catch is?" Applejack asked.

"She's evil!" the Genie replied.

"That is rather a setback," Rarity said.

"I'm sure I can trick her into letting us into her ocean," Aladdin said. "After all, I tricked her once. I can do it again."

"D'you always solve things by trickin' people?" Applejack asked. "As the Element of Honesty, I ain't sure I endorse that."

"But there's no reasoning with her," Aladdin explained. "If we ask her outright, she'll try and turn us into sharks or imprison us underwater forever."

"So she uses magic," Twilight said. "I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle. Well, okay, I was a little rusty with the sand magic, but I'm sure this time will be different."

"Hang on," Rainbow Dash interrupted. "If we're going on a serious quest, I want a sword."

"How do you even know we'll need to be fighting anyone?" Rarity asked.

"It's just in case!" Rainbow Dash folded her arms. "And swords are cool!"

"The prophecy did say we'd have to face blades of three," Twilight reminded everyone.

"It sounds like a complex prophecy," Cassim said.

Fluttershy gave a squeak of fear. "Three blades…I really would rather not fight anyone…" Abu, noticing her concern, gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Then it's settled," Aladdin said. "Tomorrow morning, we set out for Saleen's grotto." His eyes were still locked with those of his father.

"My, this is exciting!" the Sultan gushed. "Shall I accompany you?"

"Someone needs to stay here and keep the throne of Agrabah," Jasmine reminded him.

"Oh, right!" The Sultan declared, "Then tomorrow, I shall have you all outfitted with everything you need for your quest! That includes a sword for Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash pumped her fist. "Yes!"

None of them noticed the tiny clockwork beetle, not one of the Sultan's various toys, climbing up the wall and flitting out the window.

Hidden in the tangle of streets of Agrabah was a most disreputable place: the Thieves' Guild. Here, the city's most prominent criminals gathered to have a bite to eat and try and outdo each other with tales of their deeds. Some preferred to stir things up and cause brawls, while others simply used the Guild as a home away from home in order to plan schemes. One such of the latter sat at the back table, a short, balding man dressed in a red tunic and a draping white toga with a great monocle upon his right eye to complete the vision. He waited, silently, patiently.

The clockwork beetle flitted into the guild, dodging the swats of many a criminal, and landed upon the table before the waiting man. It then began to emit a series of clicks and clacks, a code the man had invented, and the man took care to document the code on a nearby sheet of parchment with his quill. The beetle ceased its clicks, and the man looked at what he'd written down.

"Aladdin has teamed up with six strangers and the former leader of the Forty Thieves in order to retrieve…THE HAND OF MIDAS?" he read out loud before gasping. "The famed Hand of Midas, which turns all it touches to gold? Ohhhh, you have brought me valuable news, my pretty!" He patted the beetle before continuing to read what he'd documented. "The grotto of Saleen…of course! It would lead them right to the Hand! And if it leads them…it will lead me…and then I can check 'obtain treasures of untold worth' off my to-do list for conquering the known world!"

"You and those lists," a sarcastic voice droned, and the man looked up to see the thief who continued to insult him, mocking his shrill voice: "Ohh, I say, I will eliminate my sworn enemy the dust bunny from this world, quite so, henceforth!"

"Don't mock me!" the monocled man shot back, recognizing his insulter: a short, round man dressed mostly in gray. "Abis Mal…I should have known YOU would try and interrupt my plans, you disorganized lout…"

"You and your big words, Mechanicles," Abis Mal retorted. "You know what they say about guys like you that use big words? They say you're all…a bunch of snobs that use big words!" He then turned to the man beside him, his ever-loyal sidekick, tall and willowy with darker skin than anyone else in the Guild. "Haroud…'lout' is an insult, right?"

"Yes," Haroud sighed. "And a particularly bad one."

"No one calls Abis Mal a lout and gets away with it!" Abis Mal threatened. "Why, I oughta just…just…word that means cut up into tiny little pieces…"

"Mince, sir," Haroud groaned.

"MINCE you!" Abis Mal finished.

"As though you'd ever have the chance," Mechanicles snapped. "Disorganized, unprepared, uncouth…you couldn't touch me."

"I don't have to!" Abis Mal said proudly. "You see, you just did yourself in when you talked to yourself! Why do you do that, anyway? Are you insane or something?"

"Lots of geniuses talk to themselves!" Mechanicles defended. "And I am the greatest genius in all of Greece!"

"Well, you're not in Greece anymore!" Abis Mal pointed out. "And that makes the greatest genius in all the land…"

"Probably Aladdin," Haroud snorted.

"Probably Aladdin!" Abis Mal repeated. "Which means NOT YOU! So, you wanna hear what I'm gonna do to make you mad and get a ton of money for myself at the same time?"

"Not particularly," Mechanicles answered.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do!" Abis Mal announced. "I will find the Hand of Midas before you OR Aladdin, and then you won't have it! Also, that means I will have it, and I'll have all the gold I could ever want!"

"You wouldn't even know where to start looking!" Mechanicles shot back.

"Oh, I think I do," Abis Mal retorted.

"You see," Haroud explained, "you did state rather clearly to yourself that the Hand of Midas could be found through Saleen's grotto, and probably by following Aladdin."

"I…but…you…" Mechanicles couldn't deny that. "GAAAAAAH! YOU ALL FRUSTRATE ME SO MUCH!" He slammed a scroll of parchment with a long checklist upon it down on the table, using his quill to add a new item to the bottom. "Number 137: find a way to shame Abis Mal and Haroud in order to prove that I am the superior thinker!" He rolled the scroll up. "If that's the way you want it…we'll race for it! Tomorrow morning, when Aladdin sets out with his strange new friends, we'll both follow them by our own paths, and the first one to the Hand of Midas gets to keep it and have all the gold AND the rights to conquer the world with it!"

"Did someone say the Hand of Midas?" A tall, skinny thief wearing a tall turban and maroon clothing skidded over to the back table. "The artifact that turns everything it touches to gold?"

"Who are you?" Mechanicles asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, wait a minute," Abis Mal said. "Ain't you the guy everybody calls Butterfingers?"

"That is NOT my name!" the skinny thief insisted. "It's Amin Damoola!"

"Is he someone we should worry about?" Mechanicles asked.

"Word on the street has it he's the worst thief in the entire Seven Deserts," Abis Mal answered.

"So no," Haroud clarified.

"I intend to change all of that!" Amin declared. "And I shall start with taking the Hand of Midas before either of you!"

At that, both Abis Mal and Haroud burst into uncontrollable laughter. "YOU?" Abis Mal jeered. "YOU beat us and him to the Hand of Midas?"

"I'll take this to mean I don't need to put shaming you on the list," Mechanicles muttered.

"I will show you!" Amin vowed. "Tomorrow, all of us will set out by three separate paths! And I will beat all three of you to the Hand of Midas!"

"Do you even know where you're going?" Haroud asked.

"I…thought I'd follow Aladdin and see where he went," Amin admitted.

"Hmmm…" Mechanicles looked back over his translation. "I wonder if these 'six strangers' are anything to worry about…"

"It doesn't matter if he brings a thousand strangers," Abis Mal vowed. "I'll still get that Hand before ALL of you!" With that, he stormed off, and Haroud followed.

"Well," Mechanicles huffed, rolling up his scroll and tucking the beetle away in his pocket, "I could get that Hand if Aladdin brought an army of TWO thousand!" He then walked away haughtily.

"And I could get it if he brought…admittedly about three," Amin said to himself before leaving the Guild as well.

The Sultan had provided the six Elements with spare bedrooms in which to stay. Each settled down in her new temporary quarters, ready to sleep before the following day's adventure, except for Applejack. She stayed up, walking with the royal family as they showed Cassim to his quarters. The Genie, the Carpet, and Abu eventually dissipated as well.

"Go on ahead," Aladdin told Jasmine. "I'll be there in a minute."

"I'll be waiting." Jasmine kissed Aladdin on the cheek before walking away to their bedchamber.

"Somethin' about this whole deal with your dad's buggin' ya," Applejack asked, "ain't it?"

"It isn't just that he came back here asking for favors," Aladdin sighed. "We really do come from two different worlds…metaphorically speaking. I'd still help him with anything else he wanted. He is my dad, and…I love him. But when we found the Hand of Midas together, he didn't just throw it away because it was dangerous. He told me he didn't need it anymore because he already had the greatest treasure of all." Aladdin sighed. "Me. I guess it was too much to expect…he'll never change. I just wish he remembered that. It feels like he's undoing everything he said by asking for that Hand."

"That don't mean he don't love you," Applejack pointed out. "Heck, if I had a dollar for every time a member of my family went gaga for some nifty new plow or a fancy bow, I'd'a been rich enough to buy my Granny Smith a hip replacement three years ago. But we stick together, and when it matters, we pick each other over the little things. Just 'cause he wants that treasure don't mean he don't want you, and it definitely don't mean he don't think you're his greatest treasure of all."

"I guess you're right," Aladdin said. "It just felt…I don't know."

"I understand your concern," Applejack said. "If I'd'a heard the same thing from my brother after somethin' like you said happened when you first found the Hand, I woulda felt hurt too. But I know he loves ya. I could see it in his face." Her demeanor shifted. "That bein' said, that ain't all I could see in his face."

"What do you mean?"

"Somethin' ain't right about all this," Applejack admitted. "I could see it when he told the story. His excuse made no sense, especially knowin' what you just told me. He kept lookin' at Iago like he didn't want him to say somethin', like he's hidin' somethin'. And when he said you didn't know how much it meant to him? Sounded like it meant a little more than just buyin' food. More than just bein' greedy, too."

"What would he have to hide?" Aladdin asked. "He isn't part of the Forty Thieves anymore. He doesn't have any of their secrets to keep, or any of them breathing down his neck. Not to mention…I thought we were past the days when we'd hide things from each other."

"Then it must be somethin' real important," Applejack said. "If he ain't tellin' you…it's gotta be big. Tell ya what: when we set out, I'm gonna work on him. See if I can't get him to spill the beans."

"I just don't know what he could have to hide," Aladdin reiterated. "Anyway…thanks, Applejack. It's not exactly a load off my mind, but it's a bit."

"No problem, sugar cube," Applejack replied. "Now you go and get some sleep, and I'll try to do the same. Ain't used to livin' in such a big fancy place like this."

"Tell me about it," Aladdin laughed.

They parted and made for their separate bedchambers.

MIRAGE'S SANCTUM, MORBUS

Floating in the starry, cloudy void that was Morbus, the pyramid blazed with the flames of its torches, becoming a beacon of light. On the threshold of this pyramid was where Discord materialized. Unlike the other travelers from his world, he retained his old form, the body of the draconequus. He did have a human form he could have taken…but here in Morbus, he saw no reason for it.

He strode casually into the pyramid, walking down hallways decorated with murals and hieroglyphics that spoke of famines, pestilences, and plagues. Some of the scenes of destruction gave him the giggles. At last, he reached the inner chamber, where he saw her. She looked every inch the daughter of Bastet that she was: a tall, willowy anthropomorphic black cat with a shapely hourglass figure, dressed in a red skirt and short red top edged in gold, with a golden, snake-topped crown upon her head and a shock of black hair cascading down the back of her neck.

"Guess who!" Discord cried, spreading his arms and grinning. This gave the Old One standing before him a shock as she turned to face him. Slowly, she grinned.

"Discord, my old friend!" she cried. "How long has it been?"

"One thousand years for me," Discord answered. "But after all, between worlds, time is relative. I'm surprised to see you out and about!"

"Most of us were sealed away," Mirage responded coyly, "but as you can see, I am as free as I please. I'm surprised to see you. How did you escape your prison of stone?"

"Some upstart thinking she can control us let me out," Discord answered. "Nothing to worry about. If I see her again, I'll show her what's what. Please, tell me you've been using your time to the fullest!"

"Kidnapping children," Mirage listed, "destroying villages, casting sleeping spells, trapping people in illusions, generally spreading evil across the land…I guess you could say I've been quite busy."

"Now that's what I like to hear!" Discord applauded. "You always were better at pure evil."

"I left the chaos to you," Mirage snorted. "Your brother, on the other hand, decided to pay me a visit and try to make me more…spontaneous."

"Chaos Junior?" Discord replied excitedly. "He's free, too? Oh, this is too rich! Then again, he never could hold a candle to me."

"He's nothing but a self-righteous brat!" Mirage spat. "You, on the other hand…" She purred seductively. "You are MUCH more tolerable."

"Seeing how the two of us are already free," Discord said, "and Chaos Junior to boot, why don't we make it a party and find all the others? This could be our big break!"

"I like the way you think," Mirage said. "Of course, I've been too busy with my work. There aren't that many of us left, you know. I have a lot of ground to cover, and there are far too many do-gooders out there who think it funny to thwart me."

"I've always been good at multi-tasking," Discord reminded Mirage. "We'll split the difference: you keep doing what you're doing, and I'll expand my scope. If we work fast, we might even be able to dig up the old hangout!"

"But it's gone," Mirage pointed out. "The Atlanteans did rather a number on it. It only makes me that much happier that they got their comeuppance later. In the meantime, why don't we pick a shorter-term goal?"

"Hmm." Discord placed his bird-claw against his chin, stroking it thoughtfully. "What territory are you working on now?"

"The Seven Deserts is a particular favorite stomping ground of mine as of late," Mirage said solemnly. "It's nearly an addiction. Creating evil there is so easy, but it is so quickly extinguished. I simply can't let the challenge go."

Discord snapped his fingers. "I have JUST the thing!" His hands glowed with magic, and he swirled them around a spherical area of air, creating something that he held behind his back. "Try and guess!"

"You know I hate this game," Mirage sighed. "Something that holds the doom of the Seven Deserts?"

Discord held out an obsidian-black oil lamp. "Ta-daaaaaa!"

Mirage gasped, placing a hand over her heart. "It cannot be! It doesn't make any – "

"Sense?"

Mirage's shock turned to glee, and she smirked. "You never were one to make sense. I forgot the extent of your powers."

"It's a simple reset button," Discord explained. "It's been set before, right?"

"Once," Mirage said. "By a powerful user of the darkness. A faerie sorceress."

Discord raised an eyebrow. "A mere faerie used the reset?"

"Yes," Mirage groaned. "She imprisoned Aladdin's djinni, restored that lamp, and even fixed the Cave of Wonders."

"What did she look like?"

"What you'd expect. Pale skin with a touch of green to it. Black robes and a hood with horns. A staff with a green crystal sphere. Raven sidekick. How typical."

Discord thought back to the alicorn that had freed him. "Interesting…anyway, if I remember correctly, this baby would cause the greatest possible chaos in the Seven Deserts. It should make your job much easier! I just need one thing from you."

"And what is that?"

"Give it to the one person who deserves it LEAST," Discord said with a grin. "The one person who will misuse it to its greatest potential. Now, I've been asleep for a thousand Fourth Equestrian years, so I have no idea who's who around the Seven Deserts. You do." He held out the lamp.

Mirage took it, cradling it like a baby and making sure not to rub it by accident. "Ohhhh," she purred. "I know exactly who to give this to."

"I look forward to the results," Discord said.

"Leaving already?" Mirage asked, disappointment tinting her voice.

"Oh, I'll be back soon," Discord promised. "And I plan on leaving my mark on the Seven Deserts in more ways than one. You see, six beings I absolutely LOVE to toy with just landed there. Not to give them all the chaos I could possibly rustle up…well, it just wouldn't be me! Until then!" He snapped his fingers, and he was gone.

Mirage looked again to the black lamp, anticipating the moment when she would grant it to its new owner.

AGRABAH, THE SEVEN DESERTS

"Rainbow Dash…wake up…"

"I don't wanna," Rainbow Dash complained, rolling over in her bed.

"But we have to get going!" Twilight insisted, shaking Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Our quest for the Hand of Midas, remember?"

"Two more hours," Rainbow Dash muttered.

Twiilght smirked. "Okay…but the later you sleep in, the later you'll get your sword…"

Rainbow Dash rolled back over and leapt out of bed. "What are we waiting for, Twilight? Today's questing day!" She then ran out of the room.

Twilight shook her head before following.

Most of the palace's subjects engaged in a morning prayer before going about business; the six Equestrians, having never really thought about worshipping any deity beyond paying respect to Celestia and Luna, bowed respectfully but mostly just observed. Then, after a hearty breakfast, the group finally banded together at the atrium of the palace, ready to move out.

"I managed to snag one of the best swords in the royal armory," Aladdin told Rainbow Dash, handing her a short sword with a curved blade and a deep purple sash with which to strap it to her waist.

"So…awesome…" Rainbow Dash looked at her reflection in the blade, admiring its shine, before tucking it away in the purple sash.

Outside the palace doors, Aladdin and Jasmine moved immediately atop the Carpet. "Carpet can carry about three," Jasmine realized. "We'll have to figure something else out…"

"Still this business with flying carpets!" Cassim groaned. "What's wrong with horses?"

"They're slow," Iago pointed out.

"HEY!" Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Applejack yelled.

"What?" Iago looked frantically at each of them, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong. "What'd I say?"

"What Iago means," Aladdin corrected, "is that Carpet can cover more distance than humans OR horses can."

"Don't worry about transportation!" the Genie said with a wink. "I've got that covered!" He transformed into a small open-roofed jet plane that could seat six, with two rows of three seats. "All aboard the Genie Express! Remember to turn off all cell phones and laptops before takeoff!"

"Uh…what's a cell phone?" Applejack asked.

"I have no idea," Aladdin admitted.

Twilight began to move toward the Genie-plane, but Applejack put out a hand to hold her back. "I think you should ride on Carpet, since you've always wanted to see a real one up close and personal. Cassim don't seem too set on carpets…so he can sit by me. That is, if Al and Jasmine don't mind."

"Not at all," Jasmine said, and Twilight settled herself on the carpet with a squeal.

"If it's all the same," Rainbow Dash said, "I'd rather fly. I bet I can keep up. Fluttershy, you game?"

"I'd rather not," Fluttershy said timidly. "After all…I'm wearing a skirt."

Fluttershy settled in next to Rarity in the Genie-plane, while Pinkie sat behind them. Abu clambered onto Fluttershy's lap. Applejack and Cassim sat up front, with Iago on Cassim's shoulder. Cassim couldn't help but pick up vibes of disapproval from the woman beside him.

"Prepare for liftoff!" the Genie commanded. The Carpet rose into the air with Aladdin, Jasmine, and Twilight on board, and the Genie-plane ascended similarly. Rainbow Dash spread her wings, taking off straight upward. The Carpet, the Genie-plane, and Rainbow Dash turned toward the sea and took off, sailing through the air, leaving in their wake only a thin rainbow trail.

"He probably thinks he's so superior, all the way up there in the air," Abis Mal grumbled. "Well, what's wrong with horses? Why do they need some stupid carpet anyway?"

"Perhaps it's because horses are slow," Haroud suggested.

"You know," Abis Mal retorted, "if I was a horse, I would be very offended by now."

The partners in crime spurred on their horses to follow the rainbow trail, not even stopping to wonder who or what was making it.

"A winged woman leaving a rainbow in her midst?" Mechanicles pocketed his spyglass after watching the party leave via air. "Hmm…odd. Well, all things to be dealt with in time." He brought out his checklist, adding "Find out who the rainbow woman is" to the very bottom before rolling it up again.

He sat on a chair embedded into the back of a giant metal scorpion, about the size of a train car. Pulling a few levers, Mechanicles caused the scorpion to roar to life and click-clack its way across the desert after the rainbow trail.

"So he thinks he can fly, does he? Well, little does he know…I kept my flying shoes!"

Amin Damoola flew more or less smoothly along in the sky, using clouds to cover his path as he kept a good distance from the Carpet, the Genie-plane, and Rainbow Dash. However, he still couldn't keep the shoes from causing him to occasionally tip head over heels or occasionally switch direction altogether. Because of this, he progressed even more slowly than the metal scorpion or the thieves' horses, despite having the power of flight, but he too followed the rainbow trail.

THE COASTLINE, THE SEVEN DESERTS

"It just seems like a big thing, is all," Applejack said. "You sure there's nothin' you want with it other than to get food and necessities?"

"Absolutely sure," Cassim said without batting an eyelash. "What more could I want? But a man has got to eat, after all."

"You sure you're tellin' me the truth?" Applejack pressed.

"Why would I lie?" Cassim retorted. He didn't know how this woman could possibly even suspect his reasonings.

Ahead, on the Carpet, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Twilight discussed a plan for getting around Saleen. "…in that case," Twilight commented, "Rarity's the perfect one for the job. Still, I want to see if we can settle this by discussion first."

"She won't listen," Aladdin reminded Twilight.

"So we keep Rarity out of sight," Twilight said. "If Saleen really won't listen…then she won't have seen Rarity with us, and she won't suspect that Rarity's our agent!"

"You're sure Rarity will agree?" Jasmine asked.

"We've done stranger undercover missions before," Twilight reassured. "Besides, she always enjoys having someone to discuss fashion with, no matter what."

"Genie!" Aladdin yelled over to the other craft. "Let's land a way back so Saleen doesn't see us coming!"

"Roger that, captain!" the Genie replied, beginning his descent.

"Race you to the ground!" Rainbow Dash yelled, zooming past.

"Oh, that is not fair!" the Genie cried. "You had a head start!" He plummeted after her so quickly that Fluttershy and Rarity screamed in terror, and Abu and Iago clung desperately to Fluttershy and Cassim respectively so as not to be flung off.

"You're on!" Aladdin cried, steering the Carpet after Rainbow Dash and the Genie. Jasmine and Twilight gripped the edges of the Carpet, exchanging the rolling of eyes.

Rainbow Dash planted down behind the rocks of the coast first. The Genie swooped into a landing soon after, and the Carpet touched down third. "Ha!" Rainbow Dash cried. "Beat ya!"

"Now try doin' it without a head start," Applejack said with a wink.

"NO!" Iago screamed. "DON'T TRY DOING THAT AGAIN AT ALL!"

"Rarity," Twilight said, "we thought of a plan to get around Saleen. But we'll need your help."

"But of course!" Rarity said eagerly. "What is it you want me to do?"

"You see…" Aladdin took her aside to brief her on the plan.

After hearing her assignment, Rarity nodded. "I'll be on standby, then. Although I hardly think that anyone with such an interest in good hair could be all bad…"

"Believe me," Aladdin moaned, "she is."

Rarity knelt in hiding behind the rocks as the others crossed to the sandy beach, looking out over the waves.

"This is the place," Jasmine said.

"Looks innocent enough," Cassim observed.

"Saleen?" Twilight called out. "Saleen, we're here to talk to you! We just have a small favor to – "

Twilight was interrupted when a gigantic wave rose from the ocean, headed right toward the beach. Everyone but Twilight screamed and ran back to the rocks of the coast; Twilight held her position.

"TWILIGHT!" Fluttershy screamed.

Twilight threw up her hands, flattening her palms. A square shield of pink magic formed upon them, spreading out to a large mass. The water collided with the shield, pushing against it, constantly fueled by a rush from the sea.

"We…are going…to TALK!" Twilight insisted.

She faltered; the pink shield cracked, fell away, and dissolved. The wave crashed down, sweeping her out to sea.

After being knocked head over heels, Twilight surfaced, gasping for air. She was a few feet out to sea. Beside her, another humanoid form surfaced, rising up so that she was above water from the waist up. It was a pale-skinned woman with voluminous orange hair cascading down her back, wearing a golden tiara, earrings made from seashells, and a strapless orange bodice.

"What do you want, you inferior little land-dweller?" the woman spat.

"You must be Saleen," Twilight said with a nervous smile. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and I – "

"And you thought your magic could outdo mine," Saleen snapped.

"No, no!" Twilight said hastily. "I just thought you started out by acting kind of rashly, by sending in that wave and all, and I – "

"Listen," Saleen barked. "You came here with the royal family of Agrabah, who I happen to hate. I wouldn't go easy on them. What makes you so sure I'm going to spare you?"

"I don't know what happened between you," Twilight said, "but I'm new to this whole situation. Maybe I can help you work things out! Why do you hate Aladdin and Jasmine, anyway?"

"Because," Saleen said, putting her hands on her waist. "They wouldn't let me have my way. I was going to take Aladdin away from his precious princess. I very nearly had broken them up for good, and they had to go and ruin everything!"

"Oh," Twilight said softly. "So…you were in love with Aladdin, and he was already betrothed to Jasmine?"

"I never said I loved him," Saleen replied. "Stealing him away was a challenge, and I NEVER lose a challenge."

"Well, that seems a little unfair," said Twilight.

"Unfair?" Saleen raised an eyebrow. "What do I care about fair? I don't play fair when I sink the ships on this ocean, I don't play fair when I'm trying to steal someone's heart, and I don't play fair in a challenge!"

"You really are evil!" Twilight snapped. "Or at least incredibly selfish!"

"Did you want something or not?" Saleen asked snippily.

"Is it too much for her highness to let us use her magical waters to find one underwater location for just ten minutes?" Twilight spat.

"It wouldn't be," Saleen said, "but the answer is no. Now, since you're new to this, I'm going to let you off with a warning. But try and interfere with my ocean again and I'll drown you. Got that?"

"You can't - !"

Back on the coast, the others watched as another great wave rose up. As it crashed down on shore, it deposited one very soaked and disheveled Twilight.

"I take it the discussion didn't go well," Cassim observed.

"Just get Rarity," Twilight growled.

Rarity wandered down among the tidepools at the edge of the coast. "Why?" she sobbed in mock melodrama. "Why must these things always happen to me?" She lay down on the edge of one of the tidepools, adding crocodile tears to its supply of water. "Are all stallions the same? I hate him! I hate him so much! And of all things, he had the nerve to call me…UGLY!"

The waters stirred. Saleen rose from them, showing herself from the waist upward once more. "What's this I hear?" she said with interest. "Boy trouble?"

"An awful, awful boy!" Rarity moaned. "He completely shattered my heart! Ooh, they're all the same!"

"Land or sea," Saleen agreed. "Who was he to call you ugly? I'm not saying you couldn't use a makeover, but you do dress better than most of the land-dwellers around here."

Rarity had to restrain herself from responding to Saleen's suggestion of a makeover. "He was a prince," Rarity said. "Prince Blueblood! I've never met a more stuck-up man in my life! And what's worse, he was friends with this completely uncouth and deceitful but enticingly handsome OTHER prince!"

"Let me guess," Saleen replied. "Aladdin of Agrabah?"

Rarity fell back into fake sobs. "That's the one!"

"You poor thing," Saleen said with genuine pity. "Here. What you need is a genuine style makeover. Come with me."

She grabbed Rarity's wrist and dove; Rarity plunged under with a scream. Once underwater, she could see Saleen's body in full, and observed that below the waist, she had the tail of a fish, much like the being she'd seen combing her hair on the shores of Avalon. Rarity found, strangely, that she could breathe underwater, a testament to the power of Saleen's ocean.

Saleen dropped Rarity down on a vaguely chair-shaped rock sticking out of the sandy ocean floor. "Armand!" she called, and an enormous octopus slithered into view. "Do something about this land-dweller's hair."

"Whatever you need to do," Rarity said. "As long as it takes!"

Saleen removed Rarity's hijab, looking over her purple curls. "We've got a long way to go, Armand," she told the octopus.

Rarity suppressed a grin. Just as planned.

Armand began by tilting a narrow shell over Rarity's head and dumping some sort of shampoo-like substance onto her hair. He then picked up a cracked half-shell of a purple sea urchin from the sea floor and placed it upon Rarity's head, winding locks of hair around the spines.

"So tell me more about this Prince Blueblood," Saleen said, regarding Rarity with interest.

"Well," Rarity began, "every year, my kingdom – which is to say the kingdom I live in, not the kingdom I rule, I'm not a princess – holds a great festival. A gala of sorts. This was the year I was finally going to attend the gala with a VIP invitation and meet the most dashing prince in our royal family: Prince Blueblood…"

"It worked!" Twilight rushed down to the tidepool where she'd seen Rarity and Saleen plunge under. "Okay, everyone…I should be right back!"

"Be careful," Jasmine advised.

"Oh, I will," Twilight assured before slipping quietly into the water feet first.

The others had been right; the water was magic, and she could breathe under it easily. She was sure she could manipulate it to become a breathable supply once they reached the underwater Vanishing Isle. She turned and dove downward.

She spotted Saleen and Rarity right away, along with the gigantic octopus fiddling with Rarity's hair. Twilight made sure to steer clear of them, touching ground out of Saleen's sphere of sight. She looked around. The grotto was made up of several blue coral walls, many of which had windows in them that looked out onto vastly different vistas. Out one, Twilight could see a coral reef. Out another, a sunken ship. Twilight looked up to the rocky roof; she could see the tops of buildings through some of the holes in it, indicating that the water opened out into urban wells.

"…and so I created the perfect gown," Rarity continued her tale, part fabrication, part memory. "It was absolutely beautiful. Pink with gold edging. A full tiered skirt."

"With your hair?" Saleen shrugged. "I suppose it could have worked."

Twilight slunk along the coral walls, making sure Saleen was distracted by Rarity's story. She looked out window after window. There, a mess of shadowy caverns. There, a great sleeping squid. There, a great turtle resting upon the ocean floor in the distance, a city upon its back…the Vanishing Isle!

Twilight shot up toward the surface.

"And what, then, would you have suggested?" Rarity asked Saleen as Armand teased her hair into even smaller, finer curls.

"Probably white with gold accents," Saleen suggested. "A loose skirt, something I could dance in without being too restrictive…oh, you meant for you, didn't you? Well, I guess white would work on you too. Just not as well."

Twilight's head broke the surface of the tidepool; the others watched her from the coast. "I found it," she announced. "We'll have to go in one by one. Rarity has Saleen pretty distracted, so we should be able to make it if we're all quiet!"

All eyes turned toward Iago. "What?" the macaw cried defensively.

Aladdin slipped underwater first. Twilight formed a sphere of the water of the grotto around his head so he could use it to breathe once he entered the wider ocean. Twilight briefed him with directions to the Vanishing Isle, and then down he went.

"…so I yelled at him, 'AFRAID TO GET DIRTY?'" Rarity continued, gesticulating emphatically.

"They always are," Saleen remarked. "Princes are so vain, don't you think? I don't know how I could stand someone that vain and self-centered."

Rarity decided to leave that one alone. Behind Saleen, she spotted Aladdin, slinking along the coral wall before ducking out one of the windows. Determined not to betray the others with her wandering eyes, Rarity continued: "So I flung the icing at him, and he was positively horrified at the prospect of even getting one little bit on his precious suit!" Now Jasmine was slinking through the same window. "Well, needless to say, that was when I knew he was nothing but a filthy heartbreaker. Metaphorically, of course. He wouldn't even let a speck of dirt touch him." Now Cassim made his way to the window and out of the grotto. Rarity continued to embellish her story as she discreetly watched the Genie, Fluttershy, Abu, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Iago, Pinkie Pie, and even the Carpet follow the same trail.

"…so I smashed the slipper on the steps to make sure he could never find me!" Rarity said, expecting Twilight to descend.

"That would have been one fairy tale you wouldn't want to come true," Saleen commented. "Your hair's done, by the way."

Armand held a mirror up before Rarity. She had to admit the octopus had done a fabulous job. Her hair was now a glorious mass of tight curls, a portion woven around the spines of the urchin shell. "It's gorgeous!" she said honestly.

"You're starting to bore me," Saleen said, putting a hand on Rarity's shoulder. "Is this Blueblood anywhere around here or not? I need to know if he's worth stealing."

"After all that bad-mouthing, you still WANT to steal him?" Rarity asked in confusion. "Well, my home kingdom is far away anyway. You couldn't get to him."

"Hm…pity." Saleen pushed Rarity roughly off the rock chair. "Now get out of my grotto before I – "

Saleen turned to face the window in the coral wall, and her jaw dropped. Twilight was almost to the window, and stopped, giving Saleen a sheepish grin once she realized she'd been caught.

"YOU!" Saleen cried. "You tricked me, didn't you? Well, I'm not letting you get away with this!"

She waved her arms, sending a wave of multicolored energy toward Twilight. In a panic, Twilight cast her own arms out, summoning the most powerful reflection spell she could imagine. Saleen's energy bounced off Twilight's spell and headed right back for its source.

"NO!" Saleen screeched as a whirlpool formed around her and spun her round and round, dizzying her. Rarity quickly swam toward Twilight, who cast a sphere of the grotto's water around her head before adding one to herself. Then the pair paddled through the window together, dropping onto the wide plain of open sea leading toward the sunken turtle.

When the whirlpool finally released Saleen, the mermaid clenched her teeth in anger. "I could just drown the next mortal that comes this way!" she growled.

A large splash alerted her to the metal fish sinking into her domain. "No!" Saleen screeched, turning and blasting her energy at the contraption, forcing water in through the cracks and disabling the submarine's motor.

Inside the fish-shaped submarine, Mechanicles screamed in terror as salt water soaked his toga. "NOOOOO!" he screamed. "THIS WAS MY FINEST SILK!"

Saleen, now on guard for any noise whatsoever, was alerted to the sound of hooves along the beach. "Don't even think about it!" she yelled, summoning up a great tidal wave.

"Here we are," Abis Mal told Haroud as the two reined in their horses upon the beach. "The coastline of – "

His statement was interrupted as a gigantic tidal wave swept over both thieves, soaking them thoroughly and carrying them out to sea.

"URRGGGGGGH!" Saleen cried. "That Twilight frustrates me to no END!" She thrust her fists in the air, sending up two sky-high sprays of water just to release her anger.

Amin Damoola, having finally made it to the sea on his unreliable flying shoes, looked downward at the ocean just in time for a spray of water to hit him in the face.

THE VANISHING ISLE, THE SEVEN DESERTS

"There it is," Twilight said in awe. "The Vanishing Isle."

The water stolen from Saleen's grotto allowed sound to carry from one adventurer to another. "Here we go again," Iago moaned.

"The Hand is in there," Cassim said, pointing to a spot in the city atop the turtle. "We should be able to retrieve it with no trouble."

"Except for the blades of three," Twilight reminded him.

"Now, Cassim," Applejack attempted, "before we go rushin' in, I gotta say that somethin' just don't feel right about – "

Sensing where Applejack was going, Cassim rushed ahead. "We may as well make this quick! How about another race, Rainbow Dash?"

"Underwater?" Rainbow Dash asked, running to catch up. "Are you kidding me?" At the thought of a challenge, her face lit up. "You're on!"

"He's hidin' somethin'," Applejack said. "I just know it!"

"We'll figure it out later," Twilight said. "Now come on!"

The group rushed across the ocean floor toward the sunken metropolis.