> One Way
>  by jroddie
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1: of Trains and Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter one

James burst into the room. "That's not a bad costume, Ed."    
"I thought I told Em to stop you at the door." I replied stiffly while holding pins in my mouth, not looking away from my costume. James glanced around the room, taking in the scenery he had seen a million times before. He walked behind me, looking at my work.
"Like Em could stop me from doing anything. I bribed her with lychee soda." he said as he slammed down onto one of the many bean bags tossed around the cluttered room.
"That isn't fair. You know how she never has the chance to buy any herself. Be careful with that bean bag, okay? It's made of leather, cost me a nice chunk of change." I said, glancing at him while still pinning on the costume. He thought about this for a second.
"Who cares, it's a bean bag. So, you done yet?" James replied flippantly.
"If it was done would it look like this? It looks like this dude had a bad day at the acupuncturist." I retorted, gesturing to the pins. James, reaching into his ever present backpack for something, replied seriously 
"You better get it done soon, or we are leaving without you."
"It isn't like you are driving all by yourself, is it? Besides, I'm almost... there!" I spoke, as I finished sewing a small patch of fabric on the costume. I felt a slight sense of accomplishment as the costume was completed. I sat down in the bag next to him and admired my handiwork. James pulled two warm cans of soda out of his bag, and handed one to me.
"You did pretty good." James admitted. I laughed.
"I did really good." I corrected. James laughed, popping the top of his can. I sat there, relishing in the sense of achievement. Warm soda was as good a reward as any.
"Guys! We have to leave now!" said a small voice in the hallway. I sighed, swishing the can. James groaned loudly.
"How could you have possibly gotten Em?" said James, trying to roll out of the beanbag.
"I have honestly no idea. I think that she actually flipped a coin." I replied sarcastically. James has a hardcore pudge, smokes overly much, and has the tendency to snort when laughing
"Yeah, I'll bet." James said. He rolled out of his bean bag right onto his face. I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Now go get Em and then change. She hasn't seen this yet." James said nothing, but just grumbled under his breath.
That left me time to prepare. I jumped lithely to the desk, fumbled with the drawers for a minute, and pulled out a small blue box. The smooth velvet felt odd under my dry hands.
“Such a small thing...” I whispered to myself. With haste I shoved the blue box into the pocket of my costume, already knowing the plan. 

“Come in” I said distractedly, hearing the rap at the door. 
Although it has been years since I have seen a human, I remember her with vivid detail. The short hair, dyed the most electrifying shade of blue, her eyes the color of dried leaves. 
“Wow” She ogled at my costume. I laughed. 
“Keep it in your pants, Em. Anyways, there is this seam in the pocket that I just cant seem to reach, can you pull it out for me?” I asked. 
She looked up at me, and I said “Right pocket” She dug, and I still relish in her face of surprise as her skinny fingers brushed velvet. 
“Pull it out” I replied. She did, and I walked up to her, held the box in her hands and said
“Emily Lauren Banks. We have known each other for a while.”
“Oh god, Ed, are you serious?”
“Yes. I want you, so much that will devote the rest of my life to you. Marry me, em.”
“Ed...” she said, tears in her eyes, looking at me. I raised my eyebrows at her, and she giggled. “Of course I will, Ed." She whispered.
I held her tight. She snuggled into my chest, and hummed.  It was a good thin when Em hummed, but she did it rarely. When Em was happy, She hummed, like how a cat purrs or a dog wags its tail.
“Love it when you do that” I mumbled into her hair.	She hummed a confirmation.
“We should change into our costumes.” I reasoned. It was getting late. She hummed an off note.
“We kinda have to, Em.” I retorted. She let go, untying her arms from me, with her skinny fingers trailing. She looked up at me innocently. I chuckled.
“Go on now. Put the ring on, if you want." I said, still smiling. 
“I thought you would never s-”
“HEY GUYS!” Em and I jumped.  
“DROP YOUR LINEN AND HIDE YOUR WOMEN! WE GOTTA GO!” screamed James from outside the door.
“It’s official. Go get changed.” I told her.

We were all out in the car, decked out in our respective costumes. James was Dante from dmc, Em decided to go traditional and be Leia, and I was Ichigo from bleach. We were all going to comic con Florida, which was about 50 miles from us. Em was the one with the best endurance, so she was the natural choice to drive.

James and I slowly fell asleep.

We were slowly awakened to Em swearing.

Goddammit, this car sucks.
Hey, guys? We need to go get some gas.
Guys?
Hello?
Hello?
HEY! WAKE UP!

Is that a train?!

We woke up to Em screaming at us and a blinding light. The train was so close. So close...

Then time slowed. I could see the train, which was interesting only because it was loud and big. Because it would kill me. I could see Em crying, her freckled face running with tears for a life not lived, the children she would never see, the man she would never marry. I felt the impact. Everything was in vivid detail, and I saw glass flying from the window. One shard was getting close to me. Getting closer. Closer. CLOSER. I looked at Em. She was covered in glass. The train flew into her teary face, drying her tears, and smashed her into a pulp. 
I saw James scream in words that would fall upon ears that cannot hear. He was crying too. He tired to open the door before he died. It was locked the whole time, but he didn't know that. I saw the train fly into him, making his mutilated form fly into me so slowly. 
The shard that I was busy not looking at punctured my neck. I felt every centimeter of its ragged length as it flew into me. I might have bled to death if the train was not there. But, sadly, it was.Then the train flew into me. It was finally my turn to die. I embraced it.
My body felt like it was being ripped apart, mauled, by hands I couldn't see. It hurt. I felt my arms rip and tear and pop out of their sockets, and they were slowly torn into chunks of flesh and ligaments and bone. It hurt. The same with my legs. My torso. My head.

Then I didn't have a body to feel. 
And it didn't hurt any more.
> 2: of Rebirth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter two


I woke up. 

An odd thing to do when you don’t exist. The light was blinding. I tried to remember how to use hands, which was a struggle. I try to flop, and some grey things flop around me. I try to flop an arm, and a grey blob flops next to me. I used my new found power of movement and motor control to  move a blob up in front of my face. By the look of it things in front of my face were less blurred. Looks like my blob doesn't really have fingers, but beats being dead.
Time passes, and it becomes darker. My senses are coming back to me. I can feel. The hard rock under my... body? My hands must be numb, because I cant feel much with those. I can hear. much better than when I was alive. I can hear things in the bushes. small things, mostly.  Things that chirp, things that hum. Then I cry. It’s best not to listen, I've found out. I can taste. Crisp, clean air. Like there never was when I was alive. I taste dust every now and then.
Time passes, and it is lighter now. I heard the oddest noise, which was accompanied by another odd sound.
It was almost like... language. I can see, quite well, enough to discern that I am in a.... forest. The trees, I can smell them. The bitter whiff of evergreen, the sweet scent of rotting leaves. I think about Em, James, the train. I think I am strong enough to stand.
My eyes open from sleep. There are things above me. Very vibrant colors, Blues and oranges and yellows and browns. These colors become detailed, form lines, and finally conform into blurry faces and bodies.
“What are you?” I rasp.
“We could ask you the same!” an orange one gruffly spat.
“Easy, easy now. he doesn't look in the best of shape.” replied another face, a blue one.
“Well don't just stand there gawkin’ at ‘im! We gotta do something!” a brown one exclaimed. With that, the faces quarrelled amongst themselves

never seen anypony that pale.
-the Librarian? we could-
no, Zecora would be closer.
What? take ‘im to ‘er? 
cutie mark, never seen one like-
Why not? she could fix him. 
eh?

“Please... Water!” I spoke in a gravelly tone. They all looked at me, seemingly surprised by the fact I had the strength to make such a statement.
“Enough of your squabbling, We take him to Zecora!” yelled the orange one. They lifted me up, grunting beneath my weight. My ribs began to hurt, excruciating, as the world turned black.

I woke up to a harsh smell, like rotting vegetables and ammonia. 
“Ah, he is awake. I knew that this poultice would take.” a deep voice declaimed.
“Is he going to die?” said the gruff orange.
“I do not think so. Although last time i saw something like this, it was years ago.” replied the deep voice.
A bubbling sound emenated from a far corner. The faces shuffled around, as the deep voice, i assumed, clanked and bustled around. A door opened and closed.
“Why cant I see?” I blurted out
“Cause you’re wearing a blindfold, innit?” I recognized the voice from earlier, remembering that the face was brown. 
“Can you take it off?” i asked
“I mean, we could give you a good viddy at us, but that would be downright horrid, wouldn't it?”
“What do you mean? I don't understand!” I replied, exasperated.

You think we should, Mark?
No, but ‘ee should rather see it where we can contain ‘im if he goes bonkers.
Agreed. 


“Do you have a name?”  said the brown one, mark.
“Edwin. my friends call me ed.”
“Edwin. i am going to take off your blindfold.  do you object to that?
“No. Why would i? What is going on here?”
I felt something prodding my face, and the cloth slipped off. Everything was so detailed. There were masks all over the walls, and vibrant gourds hanging from the ceiling, bubbling cauldrons in every spot of floor. I looked around, and finally saw the faces. 
I found the strength to sit up.
“What the HELL are you?!” I spat angrily at the brown one
“Now son, i can see wh-” cautioned  Mark
“TELL ME NOW!” I shouted at the blue one, who was deathly afraid. I tried to grab him by his shoulders, but my fingers wouldn't work. He ended up just falling over backwards. I looked at my hands.
“Oh god... oh god...” I moaned to myself sickeningly. I turned and vomited into the nearest cauldron.
“I don't know what you are getting all worked up about, son.” said the orange one. “We all look like this.”
“But what ARE you?” I all but cried.
“Are you daft son? We’re ponies.” He said simply. It all made sense. the noses, the hair, the... hooves. They all vaguely reminded me of something that I knew about when I was alive. 
“How did this happen?”
“Well... When a colt finds a mare, and they love ea-” haltingly started the orange one
“No, I mean where did my fingers go?” I interjected.
“What are fingers, son?” Inquired Mark.
I had to think about this. As the cauldrons bubbled, Zecora came back from outside with hooves full of mushrooms.
“Are there computers or a library around here?” I asked impatiently. The blue pony shifted, and we all looked at him, Zecora included.
“Go on, Alec, spit it out den.” said Mark
“Er- i’m not too sure about what a ‘computers’ is, but I know where a library is. It’s in Ponyville, which is also where the nearest inn is.”
“Then we go to Ponyville at first light.” declaimed the orange... pony. The rest of them settled around a cauldron, visibly relaxing. Zecora brought out some seed rolls and water, which i devoured with a vengeance.

“It tastes so good!” I said through a mouth-full of seed roll.
“Calm down Edwin. there is enough for everypony.” said Alec. I stiffened at the odd word.
“You don't know what I've been through. It’s been a hell of a day.” I mumbled. The crowd grew visibly restless at this and said nothing
“I'm going to go outside if you don't mind.” I said curtly as i stood up. Alec tried to get up and follow me but orange stared him down. I walked out the door and immediately felt the air. What cool, what flavor, it was unlike anything when I was alive.
I stood there and thought to myself, looking out at the lush forest unfolding around my circumstances. they did not look good. losing a human body in exchange for this... this thing. I decided to investigate my new found form, which was the brightest shade of white. The hands resembled the feet, both stubby and hard at the end. My hair was jet black. The most puzzling thing, however, was that there was an odd symbol on my... thigh?
“Good evening young colt. I hope you did not plan to bolt.” said Zecora, walking up from behind me
“Zecora...” I started, hesitant.
“Speak up, son. Have something to say or let it be done”
“I’m not used to this new form. I don't even know what happened to me, one minute I was dead and the next I... Was. I just was. I had a body, with these little wiggly bits where feet should be-" I said, wiggling one of the wiggly bits in question. Zecora stopped me from going on.
"They are called hooves. They help you to move." She rhymed in her heavily accented voice.
"How do you think this happened?" I asked. She said nothing, but stood stoically looking forward.
“I once met a filly like you. But I could not help her, I simply could not do.” She replied, looking away from me, seemingly in sadness. A tear streaked down her face.
We paused and stared at the beauty of the Forest.
“Zecora, could you tell me what this is?” I said after a long pause, gesturing to my thigh
“Ah, my boy, that is a cutie mark, you see. It is what shows what we are inside, tells us what we are to be.” said Zecora in a deep accent.
“So mine means I'm good at math or something?” I asked jokingly. Zecora looked at my cutie mark, and her face grew gaunt.
“What’s wrong? Does it mean something bad?” I worried openly. Zecora looked at me, and said;
“You will come with me, to find out what the Librarian can see.”

Zecora ushered me under cover of darkness through the forest, which was a lot less beautiful when you were stuck up to your... hooves in mud.
“So why did you kidnap me?”
“I told you, daft child! To find out whether this is important or mild!” She said in a rough tone. I thought about that as we ran- no, galloped, through the forest. galloping was so much better than running, the speed was incredible. 
The wind whipped past my face as we were reaching the edge of the forest, where it grew a little bit brighter under cover of moonlight, but not much. The sky was amazing, all the stars could be seen, but... none of them were constellations. This worried me enough to wonder where I actually was. Worrying took up a good portion of the time, and before too long a modest skyline appeared. 
“What is that, Zecora?” I asked
“Ah, the most charming place, Ponyville, has a slower pace.” I did not reply, because before too long the buildings were rushing up to meet me. Zecora was weaving through the buildings at breakneck speeds,  but slowed down when we got to the opposite side of Ponyville.
“Zecora, what are we looking for?” I asked, growing impatient with walking around.
“The purple tree! That is where the librarian will be.” She replied with energy. 
“Like that one?” I inquired while pointing my hoof. Zecora looked from under her traveling cloak and squinted. 
“Ah, a keen eye this pony has.” she mumbled to herself. Zecora looked around and knocked twice on the door. She cocked an ear, and waited a second, and knocked once more. 
The door opened immediately, but there was no one in the doorway. Zecora and I walked 
inside of the tree and looked around. It was the most magnificent collection of anything I had yet to see, with books jammed on shelves carved out of the living tree. I gasped.
"Hello, Zecora. who do we have with us today?” said somepony who I could not see.
“A very good question, one of mine is the same. tell us, pony, what is your name?” said Zecora with a suspicious tone.
“M-my name is Edwin. My friends call me Ed.” I said, immediately wary of the unseen voice.
A pony appeared from behind a bookshelf and walked up to me. She was purple. Her coat was a light purple, and her mane was composed of all different shades. She looked at me puzzlingly, like I was a peculiar bug or an interesting trinket, and said:
“Nice to meet you Ed. My name is Twilight.”
> 3: of Books and Vegetables
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Chapter 3

“Twilight?” I said jokingly. “What an odd name.”
“Zecora, thank you so much for bringing him here. I wouldn't really have trusted the musketeers to bring him back unharmed.” said Twilight, completely ignoring me as she nudged a clinking sack on her desk
“It is the least that I can do for a pony such as you.” said Zecora, putting the small sack in her saddlebags. Zecora continued on as she hurried out of the door. “Flight, I must take, for the musketeers will soon awake.”
I watched Zecora bustle out of the door as Twilight began to look through her books. I turned away as the door closed and looked at Twilight, and nearly shat myself as I saw a book floating in front of her face.
“W-what are you doing?” I stammered.
She glanced at me without taking her focus off of the book.
“Reading.”
“B-but why is it floating?!” I shouted.
She stood erect at this statement, taking her focus off of the book. She turned away from me to follow the book as it floated to it’s shelf. When it was placed on the shelf and I worked up a good fear sweat, Twilight brought her gaze to bear and studied me as if i was one of her books. I fidgeted under the force of her eyes. 
“It has been centuries.” said Twilight ominously.
“Centuries since what?” I asked 
“Since there has been a Ghost amongst us.” She whispered somberly. She spun around and mumbled 
“And even longer since a Numbered.”
This was confusing. Sure, I was dead, but i can touch things. I am pretty pale in this world, and I DO have a cutie mark that is a number. an ornate five. 
“Twilight, this kinda makes sense.” I decided, and she looked at me as if I just suggested that we should burn her library. 
“What?” her horn glowed and numerous books shot from their shelves, already open. I shuddered as her expression grew more confused.
“ But none of the others ever really understood.” she reasoned to herself, her eyes shooting from book to book. “And the only documentation of Numbered.... folklore... old mare tales...
“Hello?” I said.
Twilight studiously did not divert her attention away from her books. I began to realise that this might be a flaw in her character, and I sought to heal her of that. I trotted up to her desk, jumped up and slammed my front hooves on the nearest book. Her horn stopped glowing and all of the books fell as she looked up at me.
“Twilight! You tell me what is going on right now! I don't care what you aren't sure about! Because what I know about ME doesn't even hold a candle to what YOU know about me!” I shouted at her, leaning on one of her open compendiums with my hooves. She cringed away from me in fear. She looked like she was sobbing.
“I'm... I'm sorry Twilight.” I said, trotting over to her side of the desk.
“It’s just so confusing, waking up when I thought I was dead, in a world I do not know and with a body that isn't human...” I was getting closer to her. She looked deathly afraid of me. 
“Don't be afraid of me Twilight. I couldn't hurt anybody.” I tried to console her.
Twilight seemed to muster the courage to say “Anypony. Besides, you could destroy our entire town if you wanted to.” Her horn glowed, and a book floated over to me. 

Mysteriouse legends and monstrosities.

The ghoste is a fearsome creature, who arrives in Equestria by unbeknownste means. 
Under the guise of a pone, they stalk the countryside waiting fore disasters.
Ghosts are creatures of great power, able to connect to the very force of nature, not unlike pegasus ponies or the Princess on high. Ghosts manipulate the very threads of power to create what they see in their mind...

“You see now, Ed. We can learn so much about you, being in these modern times. There hasn't been a ghost in centuries, and...” Twilight flourished her hooves at me “Here you are.”
“But what about that Numbered stuff? What is that even mean?” I asked confusedly. 
“Well...” said Twilight doubtfully. I watched as Twilight made more books hover and spin, her face growing doubtful with each passing page.
“Well, Twilight?” I asked sarcastically
She looked at me and said:
“There really isn't any hard proof that they actually ever existed other than legends.” said Twilight. she continued: 	
“And those are abound in our region of Equestria as well as others.” in a matter of fact tone, her face still streaked with tears.
“I'm... sorry I stood on your books, Twilight.” I said shamefully.
She looked at me and smiled, then looked at the trodden-upon volume.
“It’s fine, just don't do it again, okay?” Twilight said jokingly.
Twilight looked back to her books. My stomach growled. Twilight looked at me grinned, and said 
“There is a fridge downstairs. I'm pretty sure that there is something in there for you.”
I looked around and found a staircase hidden behind one of the books. walking down stairs with this body was very hard, but apparently you just go backwards. After stumbling down the stairs, I found the fridge. I thought of my human life, and how this artifact was so commonplace there. Such a frivolous place, I realized when I died. so few have so much, when so many have so little. it is no use worrying about such things, I've noticed. staring at the fridge, contemplating mortality. 
Screw it, I want food. There was a large assortment of vegetables, and I leaned down to pick up a carrot with my mouth. Chewing was a bit difficult to get a hold on, but I figured it out. I only dropped the carrot three times. I heard Twilight call my name from the main room of the tree. I tried to climb up the stairs, and was rewarded to find that it was much easier to climb up than down. I had trouble not banging my hooves together, but I finally emerged in the large central room of the tree. Twilight was looking at me.
“Ed? I think you should sleep. you looked tired.” She said. There was definitely truth in that statement, I thought to myself. But I didn't know where I was going to sleep. Twilight seemed to pluck the thought out of my head when she said:
“I have a spare bed upstairs that you would be welcome to. I am afraid that I can’t go to sleep right now, I notified Princess Celestia about you and she bid me to go to the palace. I told Fluttershy to come meet you here in the morning.” Not even wanting to know who this Princess Celestia was, I decided to not look a gift... horse in the mouth. I grimaced at the bad pun as it formed in my mind.
“I-” I stammered. Twilight raised her eyebrows at me, quizzical in her bearing
“I h-hope i get to see you again, Twilight.” I said red-faced. she smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. she looked away from me as she said
“I hope I see you again too, Ed.” She said without emotion.
I paused, thinking. Finding the stairs on the edge of the tree, I climbed up to find two beds facing each other. Taking the one that wasn't purple, I crawled in and curled into a ball.

I dreamed. The dream was of twilight in a car as it crashed into a train. I watched the glass fly into her face, blinding her for the rest of her very, very short life...

I awoke screaming to sunlight outside my window. my lungs heaved as they prepared to exert themselves against a threat that wasn't there. I looked around, and found a small yellow pony in the corner, shuddering.

“I-I'm sorry... A-are you Fluttershy?” I asked, ashamed. the pony perked up at the name, and stood up.
“Yes, i am. you must be Ed, I think.” she said in a quiet tone. I smiled. This pony was so composed and shy, I couldn't help myself but laugh.
“What are you laughing about, Ed?” said the embarrassed pony softly. I grinned at her, she was such a soft spoken pony.
“Nothing. is it too early to show me around your town?”
“Do you want some breakfast first, Ed?” she said. My weakness. I haven't had food since Zecora’s seed rolls, and I don’t even know what counts as pony cuisine. That, and when she mentioned food, my stomach began to growl.
“Would you mind if I take you to breakfast before we see the town? If that’s alright with you and all...” replied Fluttershy to my stomach. It growled even louder at the proposition.
“Well, let’s go, then.” I said.

Fluttershy didn't go into the middle of the town like i thought she would, but instead followed a path around the back of the library, which led into a little alcove in the trees. We walked for about five or six minutes, then I saw  the most beautiful little cottage with a chicken coop next to it. It was one of those things that they just didn't have when i was alive.

“I take it that this is your house?” I inquired playfully, looking at Fluttershy. She nodded, saying 
“Oh, yes. I decided to eat breakfast up here, because I am not much of a fan of the food they sell in the town. N-not that it is bad or anything... My front door is broken so we have to go through the basement...”
“No, it’s fine. I would swear it has been eons since I have had good food.” I said bluntly. She smiled as she opened the door to her basement, and gestured me inside. I walked in cautiously, wiping my hooves on the doormat. inside of the house there was a wondrous assortment of burlap bags, cages, and tiny beds. I carefully edged my way over to a couch that was out of the way of all the things. 
“Oh, my... I'm  very sorry, this isn't very organized, I usually just fly over it, but I can clean it up...” she said, trying to cover for herself.
“It’s, perfectly fine, I'll figure a way out of here...” I said, jammed between a feed bag and a stack of beds.
“Are... are you sure?” she asked, skeptical of my reasoning.
“Um... yeah, just go do whatever, I'll be out in a second.” I awkwardly replied, finding myself inverted over an ornate cage.
“Well... okay then...” She said unbelieving, and flew into a different room of the cottage. I thought about how to get out of here, and closed my eyes. It would be a lot easier if there was just a straight path to the other room through all the clutter...

Sighing, I finally opened my eyes and couldn't believe what they told me. Apparently there WAS a path through the clutter, just not in the direction I was looking. Swearing at my own stupidity, I climbed over some more cages and beds and landed in a perfectly clear but small path through the clutter.

“I survived.” I said to Fluttershy as I climbed the stairs into the house. She looked at me, surprised, making what seemed to be vegetables of some kind.
“I thought it would have taken longer to get out of that, the way you were stuck.” said the yellow pony with a grin on her face.
“Not for the amazing Ed!” I declared, grabbing a spatula off of the counter, holding it like a sword. 
“Ed the experienced! Ed the extractor!” I swung my spatula, make believing that i was slicing through clutter.
Fluttershy was staring, ogling me, really. which was confusing.
“How are you holding that?” she asked innocently. I stared at her, simply trying to figure out how she could ask a question like that.
“What?” I asked incredulously.
“Oh, I just meant how are you holding that spatula?”  she asked in the same innocent tone. I looked in my hoof to see the spatula i was holding. come to think of it, i had never seen a pony hold something with one hoof before. 
“I don't really know...” I said, setting down the spatula on the counter. 
“Well, it doesn't really matter... it could have been magic...” she said, pondering the vegetables on the cutting board while holding the knife with two hooves.
“Wait! Try it again!” She said hurriedly, gesturing toward the knife. I was skeptical that i could do it when i intended to, but i would still try. 
“But don’t you have to have a horn to use magic?” I asked questioningly,  reaching for the knife. 

I touched it, and could feel the knife. Not just the part of the knife that was touching my hoof, but it was like the knife was a part of my hoof. Like how a leg or an arm was a part of me. I knew immediately that it would do whatever I wanted it to.

I looked at Fluttershy as i picked up the knife, raising it slowly into the air.

And started cutting vegetables.
> 4: of Defense and Attack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fluttershy looked at me in amazement as chopped vegetables with one hoof. I looked at her looking with an air of incredulity.
“Is this really that amazing?” I asked her. she looked at the vegetables, and back to me. 
“I've never met anypony that can do this as good as you can, Ed. at least not without magic.” She replied quietly. I ran my other hoof through my mane as I chopped, pretty sure I was looking like a total badass.
“Really?” I replied, still amazed that this little pony has never seen anyone pick up something with one hoof.
“Really.” She said, assured of the truth. I put down the knife before I could get ahead of myself with mutilating the vegetables.
“Is this all there is for breakfast?” i asked.
“Um... yes, it is.” she said while looking at her hooves. I shrugged
“That’s fine by me...” I said

After breakfast I convinced fluttershy to take me into town to see the sights. Not knowing if I could stay in Equestria really made me want to see all of it. Although, it required some persuasion on the part of Fluttershy.

“C’mon Fluttershy! it isn't every day that you get to see Ponyville!” I said, practically begging.
"Well, for me..."
"Pleeeeaase?!"  I pleaded.
“Oh, I don't think I can do that, Twilight told me-” 
“Fluttershy! I really would LOVE to go see the shops and stuff.” I said.
“Oh, but I couldn't possibly do that, Twilight said-”
“Look,  I'll back you up if Twilight gets mad, okay?”
“Well... okay, I guess I can do that...

We were walking through the town, admiring all of the buildings. There was a quill and sofa shop, along with several shops selling various sweets and treats of all kinds. There were various stands for candy, books, and one for apples, and another for-
“Well if it aint Fluttershy! I haven't seen you in days!” Said a voice with a deep south accent. Fluttershy squeaked. I looked at her with a grin on my face and started laughing.
“Well what in tarnation is going on here?” Said the voice incredulously as I started wheezing from laughing so much.
I was laughing so hard now that I was literally on the ground, barely able to breathe. 
“Um. Ed... this is A-Applejack.” Fluttershy said between my gaspings.   
“N-nice to meet you HAHAHAHAAA!” i screamed out, trying to contain myself.
Applejack bit my hair and moved me. She pulled me behind her apple cart and stood in front of it. i was there for a few minutes, laughing my ass off...

When the world stood still. The breath stuck in my throat. I could tell because Applejack stopped fidgeting. She had just one hoof floating in the air. I knew what to do, somehow. 
I snuck out from under the cart, edging around applejack, and stood up on all four hooves. I looked round, and everything was frozen. Leaves were floating in the air, and everypony was still. There was even one who was frozen in mid-jump. But, there were two things wrong. 

There was a pony who looked confused, a light brown one with a slightly darker mane, and it was moving. 

There was a small white orb floating next to Fluttershy.

“Hey, hello?” I said to the brown pony. He immediately looked up at me, his expression turned from confusion to absolute delight.
“Well, would you look at this! Not every day that you see a Ghost!” It said with a delighted tone.
“Who... who are you?” I asked, in awe. this pony just seemed so carefree, so lax, in such a surprising scenario.
“Never get tired of that question, never do...”  He replied mystically, looking at a nearby leaf floating. I waited for a response. 
“You see, Edwin, this is not the first time that i have met you. but, it is the first time you have met me. Edwin...  I'm the Doctor.” I was confused to no end by this statement.
“What do you even mean? You're a doctor? And why are you the only one that can move?” I said, exasperated by the lack of sense he made. 
“I'm not A doctor, I’m THEE Doctor, you see. I didn't stop moving because I didn't want to. that, and I’m supposed to tell you to touch that thing.” he said, gesturing at the white orb 
“And other than what I just said, I am to tell you nothing.” He qualified. I raised my eyebrows at him, which is a hard thing to do without eyebrows.
“Go on.” he said “Touch it.” Walking over to the orb, I reached my hoof out to it, and tried to touch it. My hoof slid right through, like it was just air.

“Oh, wait...” said the doctor absentmindedly, as he trotted away from me. “They said to grab it.”
Looking at the doctor with a not-amused look on my face, I reached for the orb again and grabbed it.
the whole of creation tore itself asunder. the feeling was pure torment, my body was pure pain. My hoof was glued to the orb, and through it waves of pain flowed. The only thing that was like this was getting hit by the train, and not even that comparable. This was like being set on fire.

I writhed for what felt like hours in a sea of pain, and would have done anything to escape it. The orb seemed like it plucked the thought out of my head, and the orb no longer affected me.  For a few seconds there was sweet bliss. Then the pain flowed through me, still making my scream and writhe, but it flowed out and to the other ponies. 

Time resumed, and i never heard or saw anything more horrendous in my life. 

AH! AH! AAH!
It burns, mommy! It burns!
Jim, run! save yourself! 
-wont leave- you- 
-take the foals-
WHAT’S HAPPENING! AAAAARGH!

“NO! NO! DON’T BRING THEM INTO THIS!” I screamed at the orb, which I had unleashed upon the innocent masses. 
“You fool.” Spoke the orb into my mind. I stared at the orb, and never felt hatred so harsh and swift.
I looked around, trying to see something that I could kill the orb with. I had to bear the faces of the crying, screaming ponies littered around me like forgotten toys. Their screams and lamentations fell upon my suffering, yet helpless, ears. I looked at Fluttershy, at her fragile body wracked in the throes of pain unearthly. She somehow manages to look at me through the searing fire and tear-streaked eyes and whispers:
“Save us... Ed...”  These words were enough to make my hatred for the orb all the more deadly.
“I KNOW NOT WHAT YOU ARE! BUT I WILL DO ANYTHING TO KILL YOU!” I spat to the orb.
“Ha!” The orb spoke into my mind, “A mere pony? Defeat the likes of me?” It projected, forcibly inserting its thoughts into my mind. I screamed in a deafening voice that was not my own, the chords of my neck bursting, my body flowing with strength i never had. Rage, swift and unmerciful, flowed through me into the orb, dragging the pain through with it, and the orb grew darker. 
“What foul power is this?” Projected the orb. I cared not to satisfy it with an answer, but focused the pain and rage in my head. I stared at the orb, and I sensed fear. I opened my mouth and screamed at it. The world turned white with unleashed power as the orb quietly collapsed on itself. 
I fell to the ground, my lungs heaving with exertion. My body seemed empty of the power it showed when grappling with the orb. the corners of the world grew dark. Right before i blacked out, I saw a pony lean over me, then reach down to grab me. There was a flash of blue, and then the world grew dark.


My body felt warm, like lying in the sun on a spring day. I lazily flickered my eyes open, seeing what there was to see. There was only white.

I do believe he is waking up, Othello.  
give it time, Evangeline. He has been through the tribulation. You were not so well yourself, were you?
I say we wake him up now, Othello.
remember your place, Gespard. he is still recovering.
Othello, please! We shant be too hard on the boy, but we can’t let him lie there forever!

“The orb... t-” My words were cut short by a pain in my chest.
“Marcus, go help the boy” said the voice belonging to Othello. 
“Easy now, son.” said what I assumed to be Marcus, as he hoisted me up. I felt like I was floating, and landed on something very soft. 
“Please wake him up, will you?” Said the deepest voice. I felt a constricting around my hooves, which were splayed about me. They were irritating, which caused me to shuffle around on the softness. I opened my eyes, trying to see what was pestering me.

I was looking at four of the oddest ponies I’ve ever seen. they were all different colors, all of them bright, vivid hues. The tallest was red, the second tallest was purest blue, the third was a woman pony, and she had a bright yellow coat, and the smallest was a brilliant green. I tried to get up, but the finesse of muscular control escaped  me. There was no way to move at all.I slumped, my head burying itself in the soft thing. 
“Who... who are you?” I said with my mouth full of soft. All of the bright, tall ponies smiled, seemingly in unison. The tallest, the red, stepped foreward on gigantic crimson hooves.
“Edwin, we are the league of Numbered.” He declaimed in a loud voice.
> 5: of Numbereds and Death
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5

I looked at these ponies with a face filled with awe.
“We brought you here because you were too weak after the battle with the angelic to survive in normal Equestria for much longer.” said the tall red, Othello.
“That, and we were much too late in informing you of your powers.” said the yellow mare, Evangeline. She continued:
“In the past, we managed to take a numbered whenever they appeared in Equestria, but all of us were here in the Nether when you attained existence in this dimension. By the time we mobilized you were gallivanting all across the whole of Equestria, with a ragtag bunch of bounty hunters and sorcerers! why, if it was back in my d-” Evangeline was waved off by Othello, her small head dwarfed by his massive crimson hoof.
“We have been awaiting the arrival of the Fifth for centuries.” declared Othello, his thunderous voice booming inside of the confines of this room. He continued when he saw my look of confusion “Every time a numbered is summoned into this world, it heralds a grave disaster. We Numbereds carry a great blessing, and bear a grave curse. We are called to face the grey horseman, death, long before our allotted times. We are selected because we are needed to save the lives of many, which justifies the deaths of we few.” said Othello sadly, as if he still mourned his own death. Othello got down on his knees and looked me straight in the eyes.
“I will not be flippant about your death, Edwin. It is a tragedy when one must die, necessary or otherwise. But i must stress to you what the responsibilities of a Numbered are, and encourage you to lose all ties to your past life.” he said gravely.
“But Othello, isn't there a way...” He was already shaking his head before i finished the sentence
“But would you want to? Edwin, when you fought the Angelic, what did you see?” He retorted. I thought back to the screams, the children... Fluttershy, her frame convulsing...
“Terrible things. things that I would not wish on anypony.” I said, disgusted by the horror of the memory.
“And that is why you must fight! For every last pony in Equestria! What that Angelic did, what it wanted to do, was absolutely nothing! Mere foals’ play! There are thousands more with far eviler goals in mind than just torture!” said Othello, with fire in his voice. It was almost scary to see him speak with such emotion, as if his passion could break bones. Looking at his huge body, it probably could.
“I only have one question.” I said.
Evangeline looked at me and said “and what could that possibly be?”
“You guys have any food?”

I was grumpy. Apparently the Nether got in an argument with food once and said “fuck you, i don’t need you, food!” or something to the cosmic effect of that, and then food was not required to sustain life in the Nether. I talked to Marcus, head of transportation here in the nether, and told me that if they time it right, they can send me back to long before the orb appeared, and in Princess Celestia’s chamber. Marcus was explaining the finer points to me in the transporting and demolecularization of myself when I heard light hoof beats behind me, too light to be a Numbered.
“Well! Lucky me!” said a familiar voice. “Not every day you get to see the same ghost twice.” I smiled, because I knew that I was really going to like what I was about to do. As soon as the colt was close enough to me I spun around on my back hooves and punched him in the face. The feeling of my hoof making contact with his face was satisfying in a primal way. I watched him as he fell to the ground.
“OI! what did you do that for?” said the Doctor, as he held a hoof up to his face
“You knew exactly what the Angelic would do! Why didn't you tell me?!” I shouted at him.
He gazed back at me with his bloodied face, eyes glazed with centuries upon centuries of sadness. There were no words for what this pony has seen. I can see that i have done nothing to him other than make him want something that he could never have. Death.
I fell to my knees and wept, like a child, blubbering all over my hooves. I couldn't help myself, he just bared my soul and told me how much of a petulant child i was. But, under that... there was something else.
“I didn’t tell you because there was no way that you would have believed me, Ed. I know you better than you know yourself.” He got onto all four of his hooves, and leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“I've seen suns explode, empires demolished, whole planets vaporized killing millions upon millions of innocents. I've seen people I love electrocuted, burned, incinerated, compressed, exploded, imploded, dessicated, gutted, transmuted, eviscerated, and hung.
“You think that a handful of ponies getting singed for a few minutes would faze me?” He calmly whispered.
I managed to stop weeping for a second to say something.
“You sick bastard, you think that that is any excuse? Just because you’ve seen worse, makes torturing innocent creatures acceptable?” I managed to look him straight in the nose, which was as close as i could get to his eyes without crying.
The Doctor was taken aback by this, and his eyes softened.
“It is always the young ones who prove me wrong, in the end. Marcus?” he said, as if nothing had happened.
“Yes sir?” Marcus said cautiously, unsure if the doctor would direct his wrath at him next.
“Marcus, tell Othello that you need not send him back so soon. You can keep Mr. Edwin Shell here as long as you please. I will take him back to Equestria when Othello requests it of me.” the doctor said in a voice full of authority. And please don’t call me sir.”
“Yes sir.”  replied Marcus as the Doctor trotted away, leaving me weeping as a confused Marcus carried me through the hallways.

We walk through a random doorway to find a deep blue pony contemplating what seemed to be a fish tank with everything but the fish. He glances back at us.
“Marcus, if you would leave him there for me, I’ll take him to Othello.” said Gespard, flourishing a hoof at a nearby sofa. Marcus let me down gently on the the said sofa and trotted out of the entryway.  I looked at Gespard, his cobalt mane flowing majestically down his neck. He was standing on his two back legs as he ran his hooves though the tank of water on the table in front of him.
“I would understand if you are very confused right now Ed.” Gespard said in a soft voice as he turned around to face me “The changes we all went through as we earned our mantle as Numbered are not easy ones. If we were to go about this the conventional way, you would spend a few months in the Nether being trained in the proper way to use your given ability. There are a few problems with going about it in this fashion. The first problem is that you are a ghost. Your coat is a pure white color, which gives us no idea what your power would be. In the case of all of the Numbereds except for you, our coats indicate the powers we have.” he flourished a hoof over to the tank of water, where to my surprise a large glob of water floated out and followed the path of the hoof back to his lap, where he prodded and poked it. Gespard continued as if nothing special happened.  
“The second problem we have is time. You should be lucky that the Doctor has offered to help us in this endeavor. The Lonely god is beholden to none, and goes where he pleases upon his sea of time.” He flicked his hoof and the ball of water flew back into the tank.
“I was the previous Numbered to enter this world, the fourth. Sadly, my talent was not very useful in the cataclysm that I was selected to prevent, but I was still powerful enough to defeat the danger that threatened Equestria.” He said rather smugly, but with a hint of regret in his eyes. He laid on the raised mat, saying nothing for a while. The blue colt lay on his mat, contemplating ages past. I thought about what he just told me, when a question sprang to  mind.
“Gespard... how... how did you die?” I asked him cautiously. He seemed taken aback by this question, as if it was one he was never prepared to answer. Tears welled in his eyes as he contemplated.
“I-I was...  a soldier, in the war of 1812. My ship was a powder mule on the battle of lake Eire. The  ship was boarded and set aflame. I watched my crew mates burn before the fire spread to the galley. The ship exploded, and that is that.” there was a lone tear running down his face.
“You... didn’t have to say... I didn’t know...” I stumbled awkwardly.
“It’s fine. and, it does give me warrant to tell you that Numbereds that are selected from their timeline do not transpose themselves directly into Equestria, but are transported to the time that they are most needed, which also leads to the next subject I must tell you.”
“The power of the Numbereds are not based on their actual number, meaning that the lowest number isn’t the most powerful, or the least. I myself, the fourth, am actually the least powerful of the Holding four.” he said in an explanatory tone.
“Othello, whose power is the wielding of fire, is actually the second most powerful, but the strongest in terms of physical prowess. The strongest in terms of gift would have to be Evangeline.”
I was surprised to hear this answer, because I expected her to be the least powerful. she seemed so feminine, yet... had an air of ability about her.
“Why? what can she... wield?” I asked, doubtful.
“You’ll find out soon.” said a smug voice in the doorway. We both looked up to see Evangeline in the doorway. She looked at Gespard and spoke
“Othello requires the Ghost in the arena, he has sent me to fetch him.” She said as she gestured at me to get up. Gespard looked at Evangeline disbelievingly. Evangeline, looking at him with a coy smile on her face, said
“You are always welcome to join us, Gespard. Othello would not even dream that he could keep you confined.” said Evangeline in an amused  tone. Marcus seemed to return to his senses at that statement.
“Of course i will, it would be quite enjoyable to see that.” said Gespard enthusiastically, getting up from his mat.

Gespard and I followed Evangeline to the largest room i have ever seen. it was gigantic, absolutely enormous, because it was a large swath of wilderness. Trees, a river, and even sunlight streaked through the patch of land.
“Gespard, Othello asked you to join him in the bleachers.” said Evangeline. Gespard looked grumpily at Evangeline and jumped lithely up a sheer crag, bounding from rock to rock, and finally disappearing over the top. Evangeline tuned to look down at me, being a full head taller.
“In a few moments, you will be fighting for your life.” said Evangeline without inflection. “You should expect to give no quarter, for no quarter shall be given to you. You will face me, and do your very best to kill me. I will also be trying to kill you. Understand well, foal, that the contest will not be over until one of us dies, or Othello calls an end to our contest. Edwin, do you understand to the best of your ability what I have just told you?” I looked her straight in the eyes.
“I do.” I spat out, and flung a hoof up to her face. she lithely sprung out of the way, sprinting across the face of the crag. she stopped halfway across it and stepped onto the open air.
“Come, now, Edwin! you think that a childish little thing like that could even effect a Numbered who has held her mantle for millennia?” she laughed at me as she spoke. I growled as I galloped towards her. Using a small rock as a springboard, I jumped up to her, nearly flying, and cocked a hoof at her. I screamed as I flung it towards her, loosening all of my bodily strength. She stepped to the side of me as I looked at her in awe. She moved so fast, I could hardly see it. The ground rushed up to meet me as I contemplated her speed.
The landing jarred my body, with one of my forelegs bearing the brunt of the fall. I looked up at Evangeline, who seemed to be glowing somewhat. She reared up on her hind legs as she floated in the air, spreading wide her forelegs as if she was about to hug somepony. She stood in this pose for a few minutes as I tried to look for something to fight her with. The trees would do nothing against her, and I really couldn’t pick one out of the ground. The world grew dark. I looked up to Evangeline, whose entire body was glowing a bright gold. I paused in my movement, I had never seen anything as stunning in my entire life.
She opened her eyes, and i could see that they were a bright white. She turned those eyes at me, and immediately they turned red.

Time froze, and she fired a beam of pure red at me. I tried to move out of the way fast enough, but it didn’t help. My right foreleg, where the beam hit, was completely gone, leaving a crisped stub of flesh in it’s place. I tried to not cry out in pain, but it was too strong. I sobbed quietly and limped through the forest, trying to find the crag where Gespard climbed. It was nearly impossible to do with one foreleg, but I managed to find the cliff. I looked up at the cliff, not knowing if I had enough time before she fired whatever that was at me again. I looked up the crag, and closed my eyes, imagining me up in the air, standing like Evangeline was. I stood there, smelling the burnt flesh of my leg as a profound amount of nothing happened. I fell to the ground. I laid there for a second, hopeless, as my body waited to be singed to a crisp. I sat there for a second or two before i realised that the ground was rather flat where I fell. I opened my eyes tentatively to see that I was floating above the ground, high above the crag where I intended to be. I looked down at Evangeline, who was again bright golden and staring at me. Her eyes turned red and flashed, the red beam slicing off my left foreleg.
I collapsed on my air pillow, screaming, my hind leg on fire. Through tears I looked at her, the edges of the world growing dark. In one last ditch effort, I pointed my only foreleg at her, and concentrated.

I heard a large detonation, and felt my strength renew. I could feel the lightning before I could see it. It moved at a lazy pace, streaking down to the golden mare. But it was  so much faster than Evangeline, who doesn’t look up. Not wanting to kill her, I make it streak by her face, leaving a few tendrils of electricity to completely paralyze her. Her body slowly floated down to the forest floor. I concentrated on my remaining hoof, watching the energy visibly grow and arc. I stared down at Evangeline’s broken form and smiled, and flew down at her unmoving body. My remaining forehoof bristled with deadly intent. Unpausing time so I could watch her die, I landed next to her and flung my electrically charged hoof down towards her pretty golden face. There was a single bead of sweat on her large muzzle. 
“STOP” boomed Othello. The sheer will of his statement made me stop dead in my tracks, my hoof inches from the golden snout I wanted to crush. Strands of electricity were arcing off of her shaking face. Othello appeared beside me, put a hoof on my shoulder, and said
“She does not deserve what you will give her Edwin. Put it out!” he said, gesturing at my lightning-filled hoof. I severed the flow of energy to that hoof, and closed my eyes. the pain was so intense. I concentrated on my legs and arms, wishing them into existence. When I opened my eyes, I severed the flow of magic that kept me upright, and fell onto all fours. The joy I felt when i was able to use my legs was amazing. Othello looked down at me, His eyes livid. 
“Walk with me.” He said without emotion, and strode out of the arena.
> 6: of Princesses and Doctors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6

Othello strode off into the Nether, his long, powerful legs leaving me galloping to catch up. Once I caught up to him, He was silent for what seemed like hours, striding with his powerful crimson legs through the alabaster halls that would not permit food nor sleep. I marvelled at his sheer size, towering well over me, which earned him the title of stallion. The muscles under his blood-red coat could betray no weakness, and contracted and flexed with each stride. The only thing that betrayed his age was the ink-black one inscribed on his flank.
“Edwin, there are some things that I must tell you.” Othello spoke softly, his voice echoing down the halls. I looked up at his face, straining my neck.
“We Numbereds are rare in this world, for there are only five of us to date. We have all the powers of the magical realm. We Numbereds have no wings, yet can soar to the highest peaks. We Numbereds have no horns, yet can weave the most complex spell. But, this is not even our most formidable gift, being able to cast any spell and fly to any height.” Othello stopped walking. He craned his massive head down to my eye level.
“We Numbered also have the power over a specific ability, one that is not our choice. I was given fire. Marcus, plants. Evangeline, light. Gespard, water. You, Edwin Shell, have been granted control of God’s might, Lightning. This is a magic unusually rare in alicorns, and rarer still in unicorns. I myself have only seen an alicorn summon lightning once, and that was in the middle of a rainstorm. You summoned a gigantic bolt of lightning in broad daylight, and made it do as you please.” I could see the look of amazement in Othello’s eyes.
“In addition to this, which in and of itself is a miraculous achievement, you unleashed lightning inside of your own body. This is deadly, not only in the fact that it is a formidable offensive ability, but also could easily go awry. In theory, if you direct lightning in a path that crosses your heart, you could die.” Othello said gravely.
“Edwin, I have asked the Doctor to join us in the Observatory, where we Numbereds oversee the whole of Equestria. It is there we will decide where your powers are most needed.” said Othello, starting to walk off again in giant strides. Deciding that there was no use in arguing, I followed the enormous stallion through the white halls.

“Oh! good seeing you lot, then.” said the Doctor as Othello and I entered the Observatory. The Observatory was not really much of a room, no windows or fixtures except for a pillar in the middle of the floor next to a large, blue box. Walking past the pillar, I marvelled at the box.
“What an odd place for such a thing...” I wondered out loud, admiring the blue thing. The Doctor laughed at my comment.
“It wont be there for much longer. Othello, you know what to do.” said the pale brown pony as he walked into the box. Othello walked over to the pillar, looking at the blue box in awe.
“No matter how many times i see the box...” said the crimson stallion, his eyes wide. He turned to look at me.
“Can you not feel its power?” said Othello, staring at me with the eyes of a younger colt.
I shook my head, unsure of what he was talking about
“It is to be understood. You have never been a passenger” said Othello offhandedly. Othello touched the pillar with a massive red hoof, inhaling deeply. I stood there awkwardly, waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, Othello exhaled and took his hoof away from the pillar. When he looked at me, the fire in his eyes was never brighter.
“You must tell the Doctor this: Celestia’s chambers, three days ago. Go, Edwin, face your destiny.” the stallion declaimed, his voice strong in the confines of the room. when I was slow to move, he gestured at the box.
“Go inside.” He said with authority. I looked at the box doubtfully, and nudged open a blue door with my hoof.

It was so big... My human/pony brain with its geometric concepts of area and space simply refused to comprehend. Othello was right, there was a power to it, something that made your hair stand on end, made you want to look over your shoulder. While my brain took its sweet time in deciphering this spatial anomaly, the Doctor was fiddling around with a console in the middle of the large room. Every now and then he pointed what seemed to be a pen in the air that made a high pitched buzzing sound. By the time he finally noticed me, I was curled into a ball in the entryway.
“And to think that you are the only hope for Equestria.” the Doctor remarked as he walked up to drag me by the hair, drag me deeper into his machine.
“Roo free, Fedwuun,” the doctor tried to explain through a mouthful of hair “Deh turrdus esh bigguh un deh enshud.” The Doctor continued as he dragged me over some cabling. “Eht es bugguh un deh enshud bechuh whun eht whus grod” he tripped over a loose panel, pulling some of my hair. The pain seemed to bring me back to consciousness and reality, because I tried to stand up. The Doctor noticed this and let me go. I struggled to get to my hooves as i tried to evacuate myself from a large pile of electrical wire.
“What is this place, Doctor?” I asked haltingly, trying to fight an extension cord and losing.
“This is the TARDIS.” replied the doctor eagerly, his eyes alight with joy.
“The what?” I asked, still wrapped up in an cord.
“Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, ergo, TARDIS.” He rattled off, his eyes showing youthful vigor. I stopped struggling with the cables and looked at the pale brown pony.
“What does it do?” I asked in an innocent tone. The Doctor just looked at me as if I just asked him why the sky was blue, or grass was green.
The doctor slammed down onto a threadbare yellow sofa, sighing deeply.
“I guess you could say that it moves.” said the Doctor in a puzzled tone. I thought about this some, and said
“So it’s like a car or wagon or something like that?”
“Good God, Ed! This is much, much, MUCH more than just a car!” said the Doctor, His eyes brimming with passion. He jumped up and started pulling levers and pushing buttons, his body filled with energy. He paused his hand over one lever, looking at me
“What did Othello tell you after he touched the pillar?” The Doctor asked in a sly tone.
“Um... Celestia’s chambers, three days ago.” I said while wrapped around a particularly strong cable
“Then Edwin, let me be the first to welcome you into the Royal Estate.” the doctor said in a playful tone as he slammed down a lever. There was a deafening, beautiful noise as the tardis shook violently, throwing me all over the cabin. The noise and the shaking continued for minutes, when finally, it stopped. The Doctor pranced over to the door, jumping over my struggling form, still entwined in the cables. I was getting tired of the cables. I simply thought that I was tired of the cables and they fell off of me. Perturbed by this, I followed the Doctor to the door, where he was waiting for me. When i was close enough, He pushed the door open.
The scene was amazing. There we were in the most sumptuous hallway imaginable, with velvet draped from the windows and gold adorning nearly every surface.
“We...” I gulped
“Are no longer in the Nether, yes. And actually, we should probably be moving, Royal guards are not the biggest fans of trespassers.” I looked back to the tardis
“Is it going to be alright if we leave it here?” I asked with a concerned inflection, looking back at the tardis.
“It’s old enough to take care of itself, Edwin, now let’s get a move on.” the doctor replied with a bored tone, trotting down the halls. I followed him, admiring tapestries and golden objects, which seemed fitting in a place such as this.
“Doctor....”
“Yes, Edwin? What is it?” He asked impatiently, his pace growing quicker through the ornate halls
“Sometimes, like back when I fought in the Nether... I envisioned something in my mind and it became reality.” I said tentatively.
“Yes, and?”
“Well... I really have no idea how that happened.” I said embarrassed.
“Edwin, you see-”
“INTRUDERS! INTRUDERS IN THE CASTLE!” a distant voice shouted. The doctor looked at me, and said
“Run.” He said bluntly
We galloped through the hallways, running for a while
“Doctor, why are we running away? I could easily kill those guards.” I said proudly. The Doctor contemplated this for a moment, and then said
“Princess Celestia wouldn't take too kindly to that, would she? And it’s a bit rude to electrocute the living hell out of somepony when they are just trying to do their job.” The Doctor’s logic was irrefutable, even if it was odd.

We rounded a corner at full speed as we ran into a group of armored unicorns.
“GO ED!” The Doctor shouted at me as he leaped over the group. I felt the power swelling within me as lightning shot out of my mouth, striking the nearest guard. The electricity bounded from guard to guard, making them fall unconscious or paralyzed at our feet. The Doctor and I leaped over the guards, and sprinted towards a door at the end of the hallway.
“Is that it?” I asked the Doctor.
“The throne room? Yes, yes it is.” replied the Doctor. His coat was glistening with sweat, his lungs panting with exertion.
“Then let’s go in.” I said, pushing open the door with a hoof.

The Throne room was even more decadent than the hallways were. There were tapestries and ornaments as far as the eye could see, which was quite far. The room had no ceiling, but the walls stretched up as if they could grab the stars. I really had very little time to enjoy this before the horns of several pale, angry unicorns were pointed at me.
“Princess Celestia! how good to see you!” exclaimed the Doctor, talking to somepony who was out of view.
“Would you mind calling them off?” The Doctor asked politely, gesturing at the guards.
“Doctor! I must say that I am glad to see you again, but under the circumstances I think the guard is quite necessary. Why in Equestria would you want to barge into my castle and attack my guards?” Said a soft, feminine voice.
“Well, long story, that. I’d be a lot easier If I just showed you.” The ancient brown pony replied. During their whole exchange I was curled in a ball, with about 5 Unicorns pointing their horns at me.
“Ed, get up, you.” the Doctor said nudging me with a hoof. I looked at him untrustingly, but the look in his eyes compelled me to get up. The unicorn nearest me grunted and poked me with his horn as I got up. I looked it in the eyes and growled.
“Princess Celestia, I would like to introduce you to the Fifth.” the Doctor proclaimed as I stood. I could see the pony that was talking to the doctor, She was an alicorn with long, flowing hair. She was adorned with a crown of gold and matching collar. Both were inset with a large purple gem. She had longer legs than most Ponies, she was tall enough that she could nearly look Othello in the eyes. Her legs were skinny and fragile. She had a very long horn, and eyes so piercing that i felt like i was being gored by her intent.
“Doctor, you indeed bring good tidings.” she said, pronouncing each syllable perfectly. 
“But, your good tiding follows is following swiftly on the heels of bad news. My spellcasters and myself have detected evil magics brewing in-”
“Ah, i believe that would be this little bugger right here.” the Doctor cut off Celestia, pointing his hoof at me as he spoke. “I have brought him back through time before he actually appears in Equestria. He has already visited the Nether, where he has discovered his ghost and Numbered powers sufficiently.” the Doctor seemed assured in his speech. Celestia relaxed on her throne, visibly assured with what the doctor said.
“Then, what ever will you do with him in the next few days?” said Celestia, wonderingly.
“Ah, my dearest princess, it is what YOU will do with him the next few days. I have made up my mind to leave as soon as I can to rendezvous with him in the future, where I will take him back to where i originally displaced him on the timeline, when he first encountered the angelic.” at this, the Doctor began to stride back to the hallway where I stunned all of the guards. The guards closest to the Doctor began to shuffle and growl, pointing their horns at him whenever he moved.
“Oh, give it a rest! I own furniture older than the continent you live on!” the Doctor remarked at a unicorn who came too close. The unicorns backed off at that, more in confusion than in actual fear. Each one of us watched the Doctor walk out of the door, His mane rippling in the wind of an open window. I heard the buzzing from the pen the doctor used in the tardis as the door closed slowly shut behind him.

The guards shuffled as they wondered what to do next, and then remembered why they were there. All of them pointed their horns back at me.
“State your intent!” shouted one of them at me.
“Um... It actually just walked out of the door.” I explained shamefacedly.
“State your intent!” shouted the same unicorn. One of the unicorns behind me poked me with his horn that singed my flank. I looked back to stare at him, incredulous. He stared at me with dark brown eyes, filled with rage. My body filled with anger, flowing through me. I heard the boom of thunder in the distance. I heard the faint crackle under my hooves, with the knowledge that it would do as i willed it. The crackling grew louder, with small tendrils of electricity arcing off of me onto anything nearby. I felt satisfaction as I saw the brown eyes of the pony water in fear.
“EDWIN! CONTROL YOURSELF!” Princess Celestia shouted, her hair waving faster than before. I was shocked that someone so fragile could even make such a sound, it faintly reminded me of Othello. In my surprise, the anger died inside of me.
“I will simply not permit such insolence in my castle!” declared Celestia. “The Doctor may behave in a foolish manner around royalty, but you are beholden to me, as long as you claim Equestria as your sole residence.” she said.
“I, for one, have no use for a Numbered at the current time, so I will see if Luna would require your assistance.” She turned away from me as she finished her sentence.
As she said this, two of the guards gestured for me to follow them, looking apologetic. As the guards and I walked out of the door, I tilted my head to glance at Celestia.
“It was good to meet you, m’lady.” I spoke softly. She smiled a crooked smile, one that didnt quite reach her eyes.
“I wish could say the same, Edwin. May we meet again, under happier circumstances.” She replied, her voice layered with unintelligible emotion. This made me sad, but left me no time to contemplate. The guards whisked me out of the room, and the door shut behind me with a grim finality.

The guards stopped me in front of an elaborate door, not unlike the one outside of the Throne room. One of the guards looked at me, and said
“Well, this is it.” I looked at him, realizing that he was the same unicorn that singed me. I shrugged it off, not knowing or caring to inquire of his name. I knocked on the door, and heard a sweet voice say
“Come in...”The voice said smoothly. I nudged open the door with my muzzle, peering my eyes inside, when I saw a dark blue mare lying on a pale blue rug in the middle of the floor.

I’d never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life.
> 7: of Peaches and Blankets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7

I ogled the small blue mare lying on the rug. Her eyes were probing me.
“And you might be?” she said, her brow arching above her bright blue eyes.
“I-... uh.... Edwin.” I spoke, dumbfounded. She grinned at this, but there was shock in her eyes. She got up off of her rug and slowly walked over to me.
“Your last name... wouldn’t happen to be Shell, would it?” The blue mare said inquisitively. Her eyes seemed to plead with me as I stumbled over my answer
“H-How did you kn-know?” I stuttered, unable to look away from this mysterious pony, who seemed utterly overjoyed at my confirmation. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she tried to blink them away. I took this chance to look away, and focused my attentions at a small, dark blue vase in the corner, in which was a white rose. I could feel Luna approaching, She leaned up, placing her snout right next to my ear
“Thank you Ed. I-” her voice broke off in a sob, tears streaming down her face. She buried her head in my shoulder and began to weep. I took my attention away from the vase as i looked down at her. Her blue body shook with emotion, my shoulder quickly growing damp with tears.
“it’s okay, Luna” I said awkwardly, trying to put my hoof up to pat her shoulders. I almost fell over the first time I tried, so i used my Numbered magic to keep myself off of the ground. She seemed to calm herself under the touch of my pale hoof. She stopped crying and dissolved into a low whimper, her body shaking much less. Every now and then I mumbled “It’s okay” to her, and she calmed visibly when I said that. I have absolutely no idea who I am to her that makes me something worth crying about. Maybe it isn't  even me that she is crying about.
After about an hour of having Luna glued to my shoulder, she begins to grow limp. I look down at her, wondering what was happening, then saw the glint of sunlight over the horizon. She must sleep during the day, I thought to myself. I magicked her over to her small rug, and set her down gently. Closing my eyes, I envisioned a blanket the same color as Luna. I opened my eyes and placed the newly created blanket over her. When I was done, I shuffled over to a corner of the floor and curled into a ball. I created a blanket for me, pale white with a five on it, and basked in the simple warmth of it. I dreamt.   


“luna, what are you doing? we cant park here.” said I
“what do you mean we cant? I dont see why not.” said Luna
“HOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO” said the train.
“is that a train?”
the doctor looked at us
we looked at him.
glass flew.


I awoke screaming to knocking at the door
“Edwin Shell!” A guard shouted from behind the door. I fumbled around my blanket, drenched in sweat from my dream. As I stumbled to the door, I looked out the window to find that it was already nighttime outside. I looked to where I left Luna, only to Find that she was gone. Finding this odd, I opened the door. A pale grey guard was standing there in shiny gold armour, looking up at me
“Yes?” I asked in my best impression of the Doctor.
“Princess Luna requests your presence in the Dining hall.” Said the guard without inflection.	         	
“And where might that be, uh... what is your name?” I asked. The guard looked taken aback by this comment, and said
“My-My name is Antony.” He said haltingly.
“Good to meet you, Antony! If you would be a Dear and direct me to the Dining hall, I would be much obliged!” I said to the pony, bursting past him into the hall.
“I- I am needed in-” The Antony blurbed out
“Nonsense! Just walk with me to the Dining hall. I would be glad to excuse you from whatever duties you have to attend to.”
“Oh, well, if you say s-” Antony was unable to finish his sentence as I pushed him down the hallway.

“Antony, tell me about yourself.” I asked, as we walked down the halls.
“What do you want to know about me?” the guard asked, surprised.
“Anything.” I said.
“Well, I joined the Guards corps during the War of the Factions, about twelve years ago. The war was a brutal, cruel thing. Horrible magics were let loose on the battlefields, some of which still remain.” Antony’s tone grew somber
“It must be a terrible thing, war.” I agreed.
“Oh, I was never a part of the war.” said Antony.
“What?” I said incredulously, my eyes wide.
“I tried to join the Army, but I was instead sent to apply for the Royal Guard, because of my ability."
“And what would that be?” I asked, intrigued.
“I can summon.”
“What? Lots of unicorns can summon.” I remarked.
“Ah, Edwin, it’s  not that I can summon, it’s what I summon. Do you mind if I show you?” Antony asked.
“Go for it.” I said eagerly, truly interested In this little pony. His horn glowed, and he squinted his eyes a little.
“Well, there it is.” He said, his horn glowing still.
“What are you talking about? I don’t see anything.” I remarked.
“Look behind you.” Antony said with a grin on his face. I turned around, and came to face with a large gleaming sword directed right between my eyes.
“T-That’s a nice talent, Antony.” I spoke hesitantly, unsure if i should kill him or not. He magicked the sword away from my face over to him, admiring his reflection in the curved blade
“Yes, it is. I am getting better at it, look at how ornate the crossguard is.” He said as I directed my attention to the crossguard. A small pattern of two alicorns chasing one another was engraved in a small circle. He squinted his eyes again, and dissolved the sword with magic.
“To summon swords... Such a formidable ability, Antony... I must learn it.” I said, my eyes filled with awe.
“It must wait for another time, Numbered, for here is the hall.” The grey colt said, gesturing to a door.
“I can say that my life has been all the more better for meeting you Antony. May we meet again.” I said, with an air of appreciation.
“Likewise, Edwin.” Antony said, and trotted into the labyrinth of hallways.

I nudged open the door with my hoof, and walked in. The second largest room I’d ever seen in Equestria, the largest being the Arena in the Nether. I immediately saw Luna in the far corner of the hall. I trotted over, knowing that it would be a few minutes until i reached her. I thought of what I would say to her, wondered if she even remembered what happened last night. This took up a good amount of the time to get to Luna’s table.

“Edwin.” she spoke softly into her plate of daffodils. “I’m... sorry about last night.”
“It’s alright... Want to talk about it?” I asked in a gentle tone, sitting on my haunches next to her.
“I... I can’t. I’ve made a promise. One I am loathe to keep.” She said, her voice filled with disgust. I looked at her beautiful face wrenched into such an emotion, feeling sad that I had no way to stop it. I thought about what she could possibly have promised, and realized i knew next to nothing about her. I watched her eat a flower off of her plate, slowly chewing it.
“Why did you ask for me, at this hour?” I asked legitimately, wondering what use Luna could put me to so late at night. She looked up at me, her eyes lightened.
“Edwin, how can i make it up to you? For last night?
“You don’t need-” I began, and then I remembered Fluttershy showing me around Ponyville, and how much fun we had.
“Show me Equestria, Luna!” I shouted, my voice full of passion
“What?!” She exclaimed, her eyes full of surprise.
“Yes! Take me to see the outside world, Luna! I crave adventure!” I yelled, my eyes pleading with her.
“Well... There is a garden in the courtyard we can go see..."
“Lead the way!” I said with passion in my voice.

"What is this one called?” I asked, holding a deathly pale flower up to her nose. She snuffled it away.
"It is called Alicorn’s tears.” She replied in a soft tone, her nose twitching.
“What about this one?” I asked again, holding a hardy red weed up to her face.
She blew it away from her, saying:
“Witches bane. Edwin, why are you asking me about all of these things?” I scooted up close to her and held out my hoof, gesturing at  a nearby peach tree.
“Out there, out into the wild lands of Equestria, is an entirely new world that my mere pony eyes have yet to see. Thousands, perhaps even millions of other trees like this exist in every region of Equestria.” I bounded away from Luna up to the tree, my face ending up close to a lone peach. “Under the cover of your night lies an entire continent, ripe for the picking. And you know what, Princess?” I said, looking into her eyes.
“What?” she said, looking back at me with large blue eyes, filled with awe.
“I intend to reach out and grab it!” I said, snatching the peach off of the tree. I admired the round, firm fruit and bit into it, moaning of the sheer flavor of it.
“The flavor... It is of things unexplored!” I shouted into the night, rearing up on my hooves, laughing with joy into the night. I looked down at Luna, looking at me with rapt attention
“Edwin...” she said with a longing in her voice. “It has been years, nigh on centuries since I have seen someone with your passion for anything, let alone the whole of Equestria. I would really like to-”

Time paused.
I looked at Luna, her mouth half open, wondering about the words she was about to say.
“Well, if it isn’t the Numbered. Edwin, I presume?” said a voice behind me. I turned around, expecting to see the Doctor, but saw something i could not put a name to. It was in a pony guise, with a coal black coat and ashen grey mane. His horn matched his coat. It’s eyes... It’s eyes were definitely not belonging to that of a normal pony, for they were red as fresh blood. I shuddered at the metaphor.
“What kind of creature are you?” I asked to the pony, approaching it slyly.
“Why, Edwin, how can you not know? Has Othello been lax in his teachings?” The red-eyed creature said, his voice smoother than velvet.
“Just tell me, beast.” I spat, trying to move the pony away from Luna.
“I will not harm the Night, for she is needed. I only come for you.” The pony said as it seemed to pluck the thought out of my head. The pony looked me in the eyes.
“I do not have to kill you, Edwin. But I will if i have to.” The pony spoke in the velvet voice, free of inflection. I locked down my muscles, feeling the electricity flow from my core. I pointed at the creature I knew to be an Angelic and flung the lightning from my hoof, the thunder knocking the wind out of me. I watched the bolt fly and strike him. It was strong enough to cook a regular pony. I cut the flow of energy to my hoof. I looked to see how damaged the angelic was, and was surprised to see him standing, his mane smoldering.
“What a magnificent talent, Edwin.” Said the pony as he looked me right in the eyes, his pupils wide. I fell to the ground as I felt the familiar, crippling pain, burning like fire. I stared at him as I summoned another bolt, this one from the sky. It struck him and he laughed.
“Step aside, foal. This fight is for those stronger than you.” he spoke with quiet authority. He pushed me aside with magic as he unpaused time, striding towards Luna. I summoned a ball of lightning, screaming with the effort it took to contain it. I hurled it at him and watched it streak twords his face. He laughed it off like it was a beach ball, flicking it out over the horizon with a flick of his hoof.
“Silly child, why fight that which must be?” the angelic spoke in his smooth voice, as if he just finished walking through a park rather than electrocuted. He strode toward Luna, his eyes filled with intent. The princess stared at him with wide eyes, suprised to suddenly see me battling an angelic when seconds before i was exclaiming the beauty of peaches.
“Luna, It would be best if you came with me, I do not wish to cause bloodshed.” The foul beast spoke in a voice belonging to the rustling of fall leaves. The Princess looked at him as her horn began to glow. The angelic stopped dead in his tracks, fearing what magic the princess may cast on him. When nothing happened, he advanced on Luna with knowing eyes. I imagined his black hooves reaching for her. This filled me with disgust, imagining him near Luna, whom I was bidden to protect. My feelings of rage and defenselessness melded into an odd strength. I lashed out with my mind at the angelic, feeling energy lash out at him
I heard the most horrific scream. I opened my eyes to see the Angelic standing over me, blood streaming down his angry face. He was bleeding profusely from a stump where his leg was as well.
“You have injured me, Numbered. But, when I am back, pray that I am lenient.” The Angelic snarled as it faded into thin air, his eyes matching the blood rushing down his face. I panted, Rolling onto my side. 
“Luna...” I panted, exhausted from the battle.
“Edwin!” she screamed, rushing over to me.
“Get a doctor...” I whispered as the world turned black.

> 8: of Fighting and Rainbows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8


“But what do you mean he was attacked?” Said a deep voice
“We know nothing until regains consciousness.” said a smaller voice, filled with concern.
“Were there any witnesses?” the deep voice demanded.
silence.
“One...” said the voice,trembling with emotion. I rolled onto my side.
“Ah. He is waking up, you should attend to him.” the deep voice spoke. I heard heavy hoofbeats walking away.
“Where are you going?” asked the concerned voice.
“I must speak with Celestia, if things are really this bad.” answered the deep voice.
A door closed.
“Hello? Are... are you okay?” said a small voice. I opened my eyes to see a small yellow pony with pink hair
“Fluh... Fluttershy?” I asked, my mouth dry. I seemed to be lying on a bed.
“Y-Yes, but... I have never met you before. How do you know my name?” asked the small pony, her eyes alight. This left me with cause for thought, because I was sure that I met her before.
“Ah, Edwin! let me explain this conundrum to you.” said an enthusiastic voice
“Doctor?” I mumbled, squinting my eyes at a pale brown blob.
“Yes. You see, Fluttershy knew your name back in the Library because she has met you before, in literal terms, right now. In your own personal timeline, you met her two days ago, while she hasn’t met you in the unaltered timeline. So, Edwin, it would be best to introduce yourself.”
I stared at the doctor, trying to comprehend what he just said.
“I’m the Doctor, Edwin. Nopony ever gets me their first go.” The doctor replied to my look of disbelief. I turned to look at Fluttershy.
“Hello Fluttershy, I’m Edwin. You can call me Ed.” I said to the yellow pony.
“H-Hello Ed... I’m Fluttershy...” replied the pony meekly. I hoped she wouldn’t squeal again, because I might hurt myself laughing.
“You guys done?” said another voice from behind me. I rolled over on my back and saw Antony in the corner, curled up on a table. He looked at us, picking his teeth with a summoned pocket knife. He looked at me, then back to Fluttershy.
“You done with him, Doc? Celestia needs him, and frankly, I have a promise to keep.” said Antony, dissolving the pocket knife. I grinned at him, remembering.
“Well, um... I don’t know if he is okay to be moved... Is it alright with you, Ed?” Fluttershy said quietly, turning away from Antony to look at me. I moved around, and nothing seemed to hurt.
“I feel great. I’ll be sure to ring you up next time I need a doctor... a MEDICAL doctor, that is.” I added, seeing the Doctor smile.
“Well, we are to be expected in the throne room at about eleven... So that leaves you and Antony some time for... What are you two up to, anyways?” the Doctor asked.
“He is teaching me magic.” I said stiffly, stretching out of bed. Antony shuddered on his table and fell off. I rolled out of bed, making a good thump. Fluttershy jumped, surprised. The Doctor just laughed.
“Oi! You lot done yet? We’ve got places to be!” the Doctor said, galloping out of the door. Antony looked after him and groaned, still stretching on the ground. I lied there on the ground, looking over at Fluttershy’s hooves.
“Why are you yellow, Fluttershy?” I asked, my face smooshed to the floor
“I... I think that you had too much of the poultice...” Fluttershy stammered as i crawled over to her forehooves.
“They are so soft...” I mumbled dreamily to a pastel yellow hoof, rubbing it with my forehooves. I started laughing, which surprised Fluttershy.
“Hey... Antony...” I said groggily, giggling.
“You’re stoned, Ed.” Antony replied, getting up off of the floor.
“D’you... D’you think that I’ll get th- three wishes if I rub it?” I said, laughing into the floor.
“I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I’ll fix this.” He stumbled over to me, magicking me away from Fluttershy.
“Oh, it’s okay... It really doesn't-” Fluttershy was cut off as I laughed harder than ever, realizing that I was floating.
“LOOK AT ME, ANTON-EEE!” I shouted, having fun in the air.
“Ed! Shut up!” Antony shouted, staring at me. This remark made me stop laughing, long enough for Antony to fling me out of the room. I crashed into an old suit of pony armor. The noise was deafening. Antony cringed, screwing up his face. He clomped over to me, staring at me with a mad look in his eyes.
“Edwin! No matter what is wrong with you right now, that is no excuse for how you have acted around a mare! When we are done training for today, you are going to apologize to Fluttershy for the way you have acted!” He spat at me in a hushed tone. I realized the import of my actions and how atrocious my first impression was on Fluttershy. I sobered.
“Of course, Antony... I will.” I said, ashamed of myself.
“Then let us be off to Celestia’s chambers, for we have an important meeting to attend.” Antony spoke as he galloped off into the maze of hallways. We were silent for a long while, when I asked him
“Antony, what is the meeting about?” Antony seemed to contemplate this for a moment.
“As the heads of the guard companies, you and I are to be in attendance to a gathering on why and how the creature tried to abduct Princess Luna last night.” Antony spoke without inflection, focusing on galloping. I thought about this for a minute.
“I am the captain of a guard company?” I asked, surprised. Antony looked at me, then grunted.
“Yes, you are the captain of the forward guard. The last captain died, and we were looking for someone to replace him when you showed up with that Doctor and his blue box. You arent really about to die anytime soon, so we chose you.” Antony said, the breeze of running flowing through his grey mane.
“How did he die?” I asked. Antony coughed.
“He was impaled, if you must know.” He replied. We flew down a windowed walkway, and I was amazed by the beauty of the countryside. Rolling hills dotted with trees. I only had a moment to savor the hillside as we swept into the halls again.

“Right here, Edwin.” Antony murmured, pointing to the right of the throne room. I saw nothing there, except for an ornate statue. Antony walked up to it, knocked on the wall once. there was three knocks in response, to which Antony knocked four times. A portion of the wall swung in as an armor clad pony waved us in.
“Quickly!” he grumbled in a rough voice, and ushered us in.

The room was well lit, and i could see about 20 ponies assembled around a short square table. There most of them were browns and greys, but there was one pony that had a bright blue coat and rainbow mane. I looked at her again to see if my eyes could have possibly deceived me, but they were right. Antony led me around to the far side of the table.
“I call this meeting of the Royal guard to order” He boomed, his voice carrying across the table. All of the ponies turned to stare at him.
“As some of you may be aware, there was an unwelcome creature that appeared in the courtyard evening of last with intent to capture Princess Luna.” Antony spoke. The ponies murmured, but became still when he spoke again.
“The Numbered here wounded the creature, where upon it made leave of the Royal estate. It left no bodies, no alarms set off. This must mean that it entered the courtyard by magic.” The ponies murmured, but again fell silent when Antony spoke.
“We have nothing to go on. We do not even know why the beast wished to kidnap the princess, but we do know that-” Antony was cut off by a sharp rap at the door. The gruff pony that escorted us in walked over to the door, and knocked three times. The response was four knocks. The gruff pony pulled the door in, and let what seemed to be a young colt, almost a foal, into the room.
“Captain Antony! Permission to speak sir!” squeaked the young colt, his voice cracking.
“As you will, Mordecai.” spoke Antony.
“The lower outpost has detected enemy troops on the cliff face, Sir! They are climbing quickly!” The assembled ponies burst into cacophony at this statement, arguing amongst themselves.
“Edwin, I will handle this. Go over to the blue mare and tell her to mobilize the third forward airborne. Go with her.” Antony spoke with calm intent, looking up at me. I walked over to the mare and said  what Antony told me to. She began to walk out of the door before I finished.

“Can you fly?” The rainbow mare asked, her eyes looking at my lack of wings. She was dressed in a black bodysuit, covering everything except for her face, mane and wings.
“You would be surprised at the things I can do. What’s with the clothes?” I asked, gesturing.
“Windburn hurts.” She replied as she walked up to a window, and opened it. She whistled an odd tune, and waited. Black shapes flew past the window, screaming.
“That’s our cue.” She said as she jumped from the window. I rushed up to the window to watch her fall. I remembered what Antony said about following her, and flung myself from the castle. I fell freely for a few seconds because the feeling was exhilarating. The wind flung my mane back, as gravity was so keen on killing me. I oriented myself with magic in position to the cliff, and fell down. I saw the flying black shapes swing down to touch the cliff, and fly back out again. I tried this, and found myself face to face with an Angelic. I grabbed his pale grey mane, pulling him off of the cliff. He shouted at me as he made the pain course through my body, but I was used to it now. I called upon the lightning, making It flow through my appendages. The lightning flowed through my forehooves, making the Angelic convulse. I released the lightning through my hind legs, expediting our arrival to the ground. I felt the speed push my face back against my skull, and watched the ground rush up as I held the Angelic. I shot lightning from my hooves, pushing him away from me so I could pull out of my dive. The Angelic screamed as its’ body drove itself into the ground, literally digging his own grave. I pulled out of my fall, hovering a good hundred feet away from the cliff. Looking up, I could see the problem.

There were literally thousands of Angelics scaling the cliff, trying to enter the Palace. I stared at them in amazement, wondering how they could amass such a force. I saw the rainbow mare fly by, and shouted.
“OI! YOU!” I boomed, trying my best to get her attention. She arced around to fly back to me, and hovered. She said nothing
“What is your name?” I asked, impatient
“First Lieutenant Dash of the forward third.” she spoke hurriedly, glancing back to the battle.
“Lieutenant Dash, tell your ponies to get away from the cliff. I don’t want anypony to get hurt.” I replied quickly, noticing her anxiety. She flew away, rustling my mane as she flew past.

I closed my eyes as the flash of color named Lieutenant Dash streaked towards the cliff, focusing inward. The part of myself that was Ghost was different than the Numbered part, and I’d only used my Ghost powers to summon blankets and limbs. What I was about to do was something completely different from what anything that anypony had ever tried to do. I thought back to the first night, in Twilight’s study. The book she showed me.

Ghosts are creatures of great power, able to connect to the very force of nature...

I concentrated on the cliff, just on it. I seemed to feel it was there, the castle, the trees on the top, and the Angelics crawling up the side. I envisioned the cliff face falling off, taking the Angelics with it. Nothing happened. I envisioned rocks crushing ashen manes and boodred eyes.
Nothing happened, but i grew fatigued. The air froze in my throat, and I opened my eyes.

I was in a forest. A humid one. The air made my lungs work harder. I could hear a fire, crackling. I looked behind me, and saw a snow white pony with bandages wrapped around his face. He was poking at a fire, on which was a small reptile of some kind. I gulped.
“H-Hello?” I asked tentatively, and the bandaged pony looked at me.
“Ah, you must be the neophyte. Come, sit by my fire.” The white pony spoke in a wizened, sharp voice. Heeding his command, I walked over to the fire and sat.
“Let us cut to the chase, boy. You tried to cause a disaster. That isn’t necessarily frowned upon, but we try not to do it that often. Pray tell, son, why would you do that when you are untrained?” The pony looked at me with his good eye, quizzical.
“To save Equestria.” I said, my voice grave. The old Ghost looked at me, and laughed.
“HA! You are an interesting one, foal! I guess I could...” The pale pony trailed off.
“Could what?!” I asked, grasping onto his leading statement, eager to return to the battle.
“Allow you to cause a disaster... It is a power given to experienced ghosts, but... I guess that isn’t your cutie mark for nothing, now is it?” The Ghost said, gesturing to my flank. I stared into the fire, wondering about what happened to Lieutenant Dash. She seemed too... Fragile, to be a guard. The withered Ghost looked at me, and I noticed that his unharmed eye had no iris. Unsettled, i fidgeted and looked at the reptile. It had three sets of legs when it was alive, and was a bright red at the tip of the nose, and a brilliant glossy black at the tail. the underside of it was burnt to a crisp. The White pony coughed, and I looked up at him.
“I have decided to allow you to create disasters in Equestria. Only you will know when to use it, and only you can decide how. I cannot advise another Ghost on how he uses his gift.” The white colt spoke, his voice carrying a tone that can only be attained by age. It was a tone I often heard the Doctor use.
“I will send you back to where you were when I took you.” the porcelain colt continued. He closed his eyes.
“Wait! What is your name?” I asked, truly curious. The alabaster colt opened his large black eye, and looked at me like I was something that he lost, forgot about, and then found.
“I have no name... Goodbye, Edwin.” he replied, closing his eye with a heavy lid.

I found myself seconds later exactly where i was before the Ghost took me. The dust was sharp in my throat, the air hot. I could see Lieutenant Dash racing toward the cliff, where the other ponies in the Airborne third were flinging Angelics off of the rocks. I closed my eyes, opening my powers to the world.

I could feel... Everything. I could feel the bugs, the trees, the Angelics, everything. I could feel the cliff, and knew exactly what to do to make it break. I unleashed my power upon the cliff, and opened my eyes. It was amazing. The entire south face of the cliff sheared off from the rest, rocks clattering and smashing and twisting in a terrible cacophony of noise. I could hear the Angelics screaming. The guards were flying out of the way of the falling monolith. I could see one guard who was grappling with an Angelic, unable to get away. I flew at him, accelerating quickly. I could feel something pulling me back, but it only drove me to fly faster. I could feel the flesh in my face being pulled back. I was so close to the shelf of rock, to the trapped guard, when the world seemed to tear at the seams. I felt a huge detonation as the thing that was pulling me back seemed to let go. I flew so much faster, grabbing the trapped pony as I curved down away from the monolith. I saw everything rush by so quickly, it took all of my concentration and strength not to fly into a rock. I weaved between falling boulders and Angelics, loosening the occasional bolt. The pony I saved was screaming on my back, which made me want to laugh. I twisted and turned, flying over and in between rocks. We finally got to the other side of the falling cliff, reaching the back of it. I curved around it, flying straight for the castle. I let go of the pony on a balcony, where he fell on his back, still shouting from surprise. I kept going up, managing to slow down as I tried to find the window I jumped from. After searching for a few minutes, I realized that it would be impossible to find it without help. I looked to the ground and saw the huge boulder, which broke into multiple pieces. I could still see the ponies trying to fight the remaining Angelics, but ponies just aren’t that good at fighting. I rocketed down to the battle as I saw it.
> 9: of Thrones and Flames
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9

It... It was enormous. Huge, utterly so. It was gigantic. It could easily have  turned me into a stain underfoot. I stared down at it, and raised a hoof. I could feel the lightning bend to my will, and streak down to the beast. The burning electricity seared the air, making my mouth dry. The bolt flew down to the coal black abomination and struck. The detonation of the thunder made me deaf for a few seconds. I was blinded by the flash. I waited for my eyes to return to normal so I could see the corpse. I watched the white, as it slowly faded to the real world.

It was staring at me. It looked me right in the eyes, with a dumb animal rage. It roared, shaking the air around me. Flapping its enormous wings, driving fierce wind underneath it’s body as it tried to meet me in the air. It opened its deadly jaws, lined with pointed fangs. He flapped his wings again, pushing himself into the air. He roared again, loosening a stream of flames at the startled Pegasi. The foul beast flung himself into the sky, accelerating with frightening speed. I stayed still, frozen in shock. The Beast, moving too fast for me to move out of the way, opened his mouth and snapped, taking half of my left hindleg  with it. I screamed, shooting lightning with my hooves as i flew away from it. the beast shook it off, much like how the Angelic in the courtyard did. I concentrated, focusing the crackling electricity. I opened my mouth, inhaling. The beast looked at me, curious, yet still eager to kill me. I shouted at the creature, unleashing the charge. My body expended itself, the lightning emptying itself, pouring all its might out into the scream. The creature screamed, a scream of feral pain. I opened my eyes and saw what I had wrought. The beast had his skin ripped off of his face, exposing the bare muscle and sinew. The now hideous beast was angry, and looked at me to vent. I was at a loss. I had no more charged lightning, and bolts did not effect him. I closed my eyes as the beast lunged at me, and concentrated. I immersed myself into the flow of Ghost magic. I thought of a coat of purest gold. A pony of elegance, yet of strong power and retribution as painful as it is swift. I thought of the only living being that could kill an Angelic dragon.

I thought of Evangeline.

My eyes shot open. My muscles were taut, bursting out of my white coat. I could feel the extremes of energy flowing through me, attempting to summon a Numbered. The dragon was frozen in front of me, struggling to even think around such a manifestation of ability. My teeth clenched, I fought with the invisible force that kept me from summoning. I growled, my body funneling an unseen force. My muscles unclenched, and I roared.

“What in Equestria is this? Who are-” the golden pony said, immaculate in her bearing. She looked at me, bleeding and torn, and was aghast. I screamed at her, cutting off her own exclamation
“KILL THE DRAGON! KILL THE DRAGON!” I screamed hoarsely, my body broken. Evangeline took one look at the creature, and held up her arms. She grew to a glowing, vibrant gold in a second. She opened her mouth, and the world flashed bright red. There was no sound. One moment, there was a bright flash. The next moment, the dragon fell to the ground, with a large hole bored through the middle. Evangeline turned to me in astonishment. I looked up at her as I lay in the open air, quivering and bleeding. Evangeline walked over and placed a hoof on my shoulder. I felt my strength return as the magic flowed through me. She took her hoof away when my body was whole. I wiggled my left hoof, feeling the satisfaction of a limb restored. I shuffled to my hooves, standing on a mile of thin air. Evangeline scowled at me, unsatisfied.
“Whoever you are, please explain to me how you possibly summoned a me from the Nether.” she said, her tone curt and offended.
“I used my-” I tried to explain, and she shook her head.
“It matters not how you did this. However you did this, I must show you to Othello. Come with me, Ghost.” she spoke in an inflectionless tone, flying up to the castle. I shouted down to Lieutenant Dash, who wasn’t that far away.
“Dash! Take care of the rest of them!” I said, following after the golden mare. I looked down at the dragon, his form broken and mutilated on the rocks below. The remaining Angelics were fleeing, realizing that they had no hope of victory. comforting myself with the fact that the ponies would be safe, I flew up to meet Evangeline.

“Othello will decide whether we will keep you alive, Ghost. Most of your kind are too dangerous to be kept alive. No doubt it was your presence that summoned the avalanche.” she spoke, flying to an open window. She landed softly on the padded floor of the hall, making no noise at all. I tried my best to emulate her, and was proud of my near-immaculate landing. Evangeline looked at me, her bearing showing no emotion.
“What brings you so close to the Royal Estate, Ghost?” She asked, as she walked down the hall.
“To make a long story short, It was the Doctor.” I said, trotting after her down the halls. She looked at me like I was crazy.
“The Doctor does his best to remain anonymous in this world. The fact that you know of him is... Interesting, to say the least. We must make haste, creature.” Evangeline broke into a trot, making me go even faster to keep up. I spied Antony down a branching hall.
“Antony! Get over here!” I hissed. He looked up, his eyes growing wide at the golden mare. He began to trot over, looking at me like I suggested that we should wear hats made of cotton candy. He came up alongside of me, and said
“Edwin! What in blue blazes do you think you are doing?” Antony exclaimed, hissing at me under his breath.
“Apparently she is going to find out if I am to be executed or not.” I replied nonchalantly. Antony stared at me in disbelief.
“What?! Who is this...” Antony couldn’t find a proper word to describe her. I looked at him, amused.
“If you two are done squabbling, I would like for you to enter.” We were in front of the throne room, and I figured out that the branching hallway was the war room. I looked up at Evangeline. She was the picture of passive, staring at us like we were something she had seen a thousand times before. When we continued to murmur about her, she pierced us with vibrant, golden eyes. I stared back at her defiantly, while Antony faltered and looked away. She made an amused sigh.
“Go, Ghost. Enter the Throne room. And pray to whatever it is that you worship that Othello will be lenient.” She spoke emptily as she gestured to the door. I looked at her once more, and then pushed open the door with my hoof. I entered, with Antony and Evangeline close behind. Celestia was sitting on her throne, with Othello speaking to her, a hoof raised in embellishment. Luna was off to the side, pawing through a bushel of apples. Gespard was leaning against the Tardis, his blue coat matching the box perfectly. I couldn’t see Marcus anywhere, which was odd. The ponies that were assembled turned to look at me with varying emotions.
Gespard didn’t look at me. He was falling asleep.
Celestia looked at me with amused indifference.
Luna turned to look at me with an apple in her mouth, grinning.
Othello looked at me with deadly rage.
Othello was the first one to move. He charged at me, his hooves closing the long distance. He leaped, lighting his whole body aflame. I could see every inch of his trajectory, watching searing red tongues lick his muscled frame. He landed with a gigantic whoomph, snorting. I growled at him, my body crackling with murderous intent. He stared at me with red eyes, the only part of him not on fire.
Celestia moved second, in reaction to Othello. She leaped from her throne, demanding to know what was happening.
“What are you doing, Othello?!” She all but screamed. The guards at her side galloped up to Othello with their horns trained on him. He looked at them and grunted, tendrils of flame licking up his sides. The guards were steadfast in their resolve. They moved not an inch when the Numbered turned to face them, his body radiating blistering heat.
Luna gasped, dropping her apple. It made a muffled thump as it hit the carpet. It rolled over to Gespard, nudging him. He shuffled, oblivious to the disaster that was occuring. Luna simply looked at me, in shock.
I felt a hoof land on my shoulder. I turned to see Evangeline, brilliant gold with shining white eyes. She was fully charged, waiting to kill me with the slightest provocation. She grinned, seeming truly filled with emotion for the first time I’ve ever seen.
“Try anything, Ghost. Your seconds are numbered.” She spoke with a voice that was horrifyingly honest.
Nothing happened for a crushing few seconds. Othello stared down the guards, Luna looked stupefied, Gespard snored, Celestia looked outraged, and Evaneline was perfectly still.
There was a creak in Luna’s corner of the throne room, and everything snapped. Evangeline looked up away from me and released her charge, making the room bright red. The charge struck the tardis, making a large black scorch on the blue paint. Luna dropped to the ground and squealed, holding her hooves over her head. Othello roared and spewed flames all over the room. The guards stood stock still with their horns glowing to repel the blistering flames. Celestia did much the same as Luna, dropping to the ground when the charge struck. Gespard awoke, screaming. He rolled around on the ground for a little bit until he could find his hooves. I took the opportunity and charged a hoof, tackling Evangeline. I held the hoof to her muzzle, much like I did in the Arena. She tried to charge again, glowing golden. I looked her straight in the eyes and released electricity. Miniature bolts bound from my chest, hitting her right in the neck. She involuntarily locked her chest muscles, her head pointing away from me. The room was deadly still again.

The Doctor poked his head out of the tardis, looking surprised. He walked out, everyone pausing again at the sheer calm he was under. He looked at us all, amazed at the state of things. Gespard stopped rolling around. The Doctor eyed him. Gespard froze, breaking into a sweat. The Doctor moved away from Gespard, walking to Celestia. He nodded his head, “Princess.” he murmured under his breath. He walked out into the middle of the room, next to one of the small carpet fires. He stepped on it.
“I leave you lot alone for I swear, not TEN measly seconds, and look at what you do!” The Doctor exclaimed, looking at each of us. The Doctor turned to Othello, staring at him with accusing eyes.
“Look at his cutie mark, Othello.” The  Doctor said. Othello did as advised, turning to look at me through a flaming mask. His emotions were unreadable through the fire. He looked at me for a good while. He extinguished himself as he turned to the Doctor.
“But he has not yet been summoned! How is this-” Othello was cut off
“Please, Othello! Have we not been through this a million times before?! TIME and relative dimensions in space. You have been a passenger before, have you not?” the Doctor said in an accusatory tone. Othello turned away, looking at me.
“Do you have a name, Numbered?” he asked, his tone sincerely ashamed.
“E-Edwin Shell.” I replied, still holding Evangeline at leg’s length.
“You can let her go, Edwin. She was only doing as she was told. She has no grudge with you.” Othello said in a sad, deep voice. He looked about as meek as I had ever seen him. I jumped off of Evangeline, releasing the flow of power to my limbs. She gasped and heaved her lungs, struggling to get air.
“Edwin, I am very sorry about what I did. I must talk to you later, however, on how you managed to extract Evangeline from the Nether. But, for now, unless Celestia will object, You may leave if you so wish.” Othello said. Celestia nodded to me from under her hooves. I could see Luna scooting over to me, still on the ground.
“Luna, you can get up now.” I said, almost laughing except for the fact that we all almost died. Luna shuffled to her hooves, and bounded over to me.
“Sister, I do not think that I will be needed here anymore. I will go now.” She spoke with an air of authority. She strode off from the chambers, leaving a group of severely confused ponies in her wake. I gestured to Antony to follow me, and walked out of the room.
“Edwin! I’ll meet up with you in a minute!” the Doctor shouted at me as the door closed.

“Celestia’s Shoes, Edwin!” Antony exclaimed as we were out of hearing of the throne room.
“Yeah, quite a spectacle there.” I replied, still shaking from the altercation. Antony looked at me and rolled his eyes.
“‘Quite a spectacle’ indeed! Not every day it is that you see a fight in the Throne room! And In the presence of Celestia Herself! I’m surprised that they didn’t kill you right there!” Antony nearly shouted, prancing down the halls. Feeling quite giddy, he stopped next to a suit of armor. He imitated the pose, and asked me as I walked past him
“Where in Equestria are we going, Edwin?” He asked, following me as I trotted past the armor.
“We’re going to Luna’s quarters. She won’t mind me there, and besides, she is probably out in the courtyard. She really likes it there, and is barely ever awake in the daytime.” I replied, trying to find the right door. Luna told me much about herself when she showed me the courtyard my first night in the castle.
“No... No... Not this one...” I murmured to myself.
“Edwin you are frighteningly terrible at this. It’s right here.” The pale grey colt jumped and bucked over to a door on the opposite side of the hall. He waited for me to reach the door, and pushed it open with a foreleg. I could see the rug with Luna’s blanket, with the one I summoned for myself in the opposite corner. I thought of how warm and soft my blanket would be, and sighed. There would be time for sleep and blankets later. Now was the time for something else.
“Edwin, why are we here?” Antony asked, his tone interested. I paused before I answered, thinking.


“You must teach me to summon blades.” I said.
> 10: of Tardii and Fillies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10

Antony sighed. He sat down and gestured for me to do the same. I settled down across from him. Sunlight streamed through the window, showing dust motes swirling in the air. I looked at Antony, who had his eyes closed. I looked at him, I really looked. He had a pale grey mane, and a darker grey coat. He had a scar slashing down over one eye, leaving a hairless streak. His cutie mark was the impression of two crossed swords. I realized how much this power meant to him, and that him sharing it with me was no easy thing. I pawed at the floor under my hoof, suddenly feeling awkward. Antony’s horn glowed, and he summoned a brilliantly ornate sword, thin and curving. When the sword fully materialized itself, Antony’s horn stopped glowing. I expected the instrument to fall to the ground, but instead it stayed put in the air. Antony opened his eyes and gazed at what he had created. He smiled, like how a mother may smile at a newborn child.

“Edwin, there is a special term for what I am. They call me a Bladesinger. This is because when the swords I summon move, they hum.” Antony explained. The sword in front of him wiggled, and hummed a wavering note. I looked at the sword, my spine tingling at the raw capability of it. Antony looked at me while the sword stayed stock still in front of him. His eyes seemed serious.
“Edwin, what is this?” He asked, gesturing to the sword. I looked at him with eyes full of confusion.
“It’s a sword, isn’t it?” I said, feeling stupid for stating the obvious. Antony made an amused humph. The sword moved up to his face, making a soft, high pitched hum. Antony admired and inspected it as he replied.
“That is where you are wrong, Edwin. Certainly, it looks like a sword. Of course, it can bite like one. But, Edwin... This is no sword.” Antony stated, his voice even. The sword set itself back between the middle of us. The sword hummed a flat note. I was more confused than ever.
“Then... What is it?” I asked, honestly wondering what it could possibly be.
“This is the part of me that emerges when I fight. This sword is everything that I fight for. It is me. It is everything I love, everything I care for. A physical manifestation of what it takes to defend what we love. It is, in essence, love.” Antony spoke, passion burning in his voice. I was surprised by the raw emotion he showed. He probed me with his eyes.
“What is it that you fight for, Edwin?” Antony asked. My mind flipped through a million different responses. My mind flashed to a picture of Luna, but I pushed it out. I was at a loss.
“I... I do not know.” I said, ashamed. Antony sighed, getting up.
“Then I am afraid I cannot teach you, Edwin. You must know what you fight for, before I can tell you how to Manifest. If you find out, come tell me. I have a feeling that you could find me even if I do not wish to be found.” Antony dissolved his sword as he stood. He walked over to the door.
“Edwin... Get some sleep. From what I understand, you almost died today. That, and you’re looking at that damn blanket like a blind pony seeing the sun for the first time.” Antony smiled at his little joke, and walked out of the room. The door latched behind him. I sighed, getting up off of the floor. The window was sickeningly bright as I walked past it. I looked out, and saw Luna. She was sniffing a sunflower. I smiled. Thinking that she would be safe for a few hours, I decided that it would be best to go see my blanket. I spied the little bugger in the opposite corner from where I was. I walked over to it, passing the window for the second time. I looked out again, and saw Luna. she wasn’t sniffing at a sunflower anymore, but had her nose smooshed up against the glass.
“Fred! cohm awt ahn luk aht dah flowars!” She shouted, her flattened nose distorting her words. I looked at her face, filled with joy. I smiled.
“I’ll be out in a minute.” I replied, trying not to laugh.

Luna was waiting for me under a lattice arch covered in ivy. She looked at me, and smiled.
“Come here Edwin! Come look!” She replied, bounding off into the courtyard. I followed her as best as I could. She looked back at me as she rounded a large hedge. I followed her around the edge, when suddenly there was a sharp, aching pain in my back. I looked behind me to see an Angelic, holding a dagger that was buried between my ribs. I flinched as he twisted the knife. I fell over, completely unaware of what was happening. I could see Luna dissolving, turning into the unicorn Angelic that tried to kidnap Luna.
“No...” I said, hot blood spurting out of my mouth. I coughed. The pain was incredible. I spewed blood everywhere, coughing even harder. I could see the real Luna in a fold of the hedge, whimpering and bound with ropes. I felt a pain deeper than the dagger pierce me. I failed her. I watched a lone tear, pale against her deep blue coat, flow down her face. The edges of the world grew dark.

I woke up screaming, my face buried in my blanket. It was worse than all of my other dreams... It was so vivid. I scrambled to my hooves, afraid. I looked behind me to see if there was a knife sticking out. There wasn’t. This dream was the most horrifying thing I ever had to face in Equestria.
But it was also my greatest blessing.
I looked out of the window, to see the time. It was dusk. I thought for a moment, wondering what to do next. I smiled to myself, contemplating. I closed my eyes, and concentrated. I felt a slight breeze. I opened my eyes to see myself on top of the cliff that held the Palace. I looked around, trying to find her. I managed to see a small blue blur, streaking across the sky at amazing speed.

“Quite a sight, innit?” said a very small voice behind me. I turned to look, and saw a small orange filly with purplish hair. I looked at her, amused.
“She is.” I assented. I trotted over to where the small filly was sitting. I sat down next to her. She looked at me, amazed.
“You’re pretty big for a pony. You get in a lot of trouble, dontcha?!” She said, enthusiastically. I looked down to see the orange pony. She was a puzzling creature.
“Maybe too much.” I said somberly, thinking of dragons and Angelics. She looked at me again, this time at my flank.
“That’s a pretty funny cutie mark. How didja get it? Huh? What does it mean?” the filly asked, prodding me with her hooves. I looked at her, a huge grin spreading across my face. This little filly was so outgoing that I couldn't help myself.
“I’ve always had it. And it means that I have a big job to do.” I tried to be as vague as possible without lying. She stared at me, disgruntled.
“Whaddya mean, you’ve always had it?! Nopony is born with their cutie mark!” She objected loudly.
“Well, I’ve had mine as long as I've been a pony.” I said, telling the truth.
“What’s your name?” I asked, trying to stay away from what I was. She didn’t need to hear that. Her smile brightened, and she puffed up.
“I’m Scootaloo! And I’m going to grow up and be just like her!” she shouted, pointing up to the sky. I looked and saw the pale blue mare fly in to land.
“How did you show up like that, anyhow? One moment there was nothing and then POOF! You were there!”  The orange filly asked, curiosity lighting her eyes.
“Um...” I tried to find a way to dance around that one. Lieutenant Dash finally walked up, saving me from an awkward reply.
“Scoot, you messin with this guy?” the rainbow mare asked playfully. Scootaloo stuck her tongue out at her. Dash laughed, the noise of it bounding off into the open air.
“Dash? Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?” I said tentatively, glancing at Scootaloo. Dash turned to look at the foal.
“Scoot? You remember those exercises I taught you?” Dash asked of the foal.
“Yep!”
“Well go do ‘em. I’ll be back in a minute.” Dash said to the orange filly. Scootaloo shot off to a pile of rocks over too the side. Dash sat down, sighing. I looked at her, curious.
“Is she yours?” I wondered aloud.
“No, but she might as well be.” The mare said, looking over to Scootaloo with affectionate eyes. I remembered the way Antony looked at his sword.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked curious. I sat down beside her. She shuffled on her haunches. She looked sad as she responded.
“Scootaloo’s parents died when she was very young. She was sent to live with her aunt and uncle, my parents. I was off at Flyer's school for the semester, and when I came back, she never left me alone. One day, she just came with me to Ponyville. She lives with Twilight when I am gone for my guard stuff, but I bring her with me sometimes after my shift. Like today.”
“I’m sorry.” I said.
“It’s fine. It’s worth being a guard, in my eyes. I feel that by me doing this, I can make a world where she can grow up safe.” Dash sniffed. I looked over at her. She was looking at the sunset.
“Sorry. It’s just that... I’ve never really killed anything before today.” She managed to say. Her eyes were brimming with tears. I looked at Dash, feeling ashamed. This was something private to her, I felt.
“It is not something to be proud of, Dash. But, this is what we do. To defend what we love.” I tried to reason with her. She looked over at Scootaloo.
“Yeah. It’s just that... They’re ponies.” Dash said, her voice breaking.
“They aren’t. They just look like it.” I reasoned. She broke into sobs. I noticed that she was absolutely inconsolable at this point. It never did occur to me that pones were peaceful beings. The whole of my life in Equestria, I was bidden to fight. It never did effect me, and I thought nothing of the mindless violence of which I was a grisly instrument. I decided to leave.
“I’ll see you again sometime, Dash.” I said, closing my eyes.
“Thanks for coming to see me, Edwin. I’m... sorry.” The mare said through her tears. She struck a chord of sadness inside of me as I closed my eyes. I thought of Antony. I felt the cool breeze, and I heard a quiet squeak. It reminded me of Fluttershy as I opened my eyes.

I was embarrassed to find Antony and a plum-colored mare laying on a rug. Her face was bright red. Antony had his mouth closed on her ear, completely still and staring at me with wide eyes. I tried not to smile.
“Am I interrupting something?” I asked, red-faced. Antony, with his teeth still on her ear, nodded. The plum pony nodded as well.
“Do you want me to come back later?” I asked. Antony carefully shook his head, his lips firmly latched to the mare's ear
“Tomorrow, if you please, Mister Shell.” The plum pony replied to me, still red-faced. I turned around and almost ran out of the door. When it closed behind me, I fell to the ground and laughed. I rolled around, trying my hardest not to make any noise as I shook with laughter. My eyes were teary as I got myself off of the ground. I tried to brush the dust off of my coat. I looked around, not exactly knowing where I was. I seemed to be in the yard of a small cottage. The cottage had a small flower garden in the front of it. There was a narrow dirt path leading away from the door. I looked in the opposite direction from where I was facing and I saw the tardis. I walked up to it to see if the Doctor would let me in. I looked at the doors of the great blue box, which had no handles. I pushed on one trying to see if it would open. My hoof met a firm resistance. I stepped back to look at the box. It was tall and imposing. I could feel something, too. Othello referenced it the first time I saw him in the Nether. There was a... Feeling, an emotion radiating from it. It was indiscernible, but it was there. I tried to figure out how to get in the tardis. I thought about the doctor for a while. The pale brown colt with an hourglass cutie mark. A piece of dust got in my eye and my eyes smarted. I managed to get it out, but when I opened my eyes again, I was in the Tardis, looking at the Doctor. The doctor was facing away from me, his front end buried in an open panel in the floor. I could hear the familiar whining of his pen. I looked at him for a while. He did nothing.
“Hello, Doctor.” I said. The humming stopped. His back hooves scrambled to try to get out of the hole in the floor. He struggled for a few minutes, trying to extricate himself. I watched on, amused. He finally manages to get out of the hole holding the pen in his mouth. He looks at me like I’m a seagull that just spoke swahili.
“What in the bloody hell are you doing in here?!” The Doctor exclaimed, spitting out his pen onto a pile of springs. He looked at me incredulously, demanding an awnser.
“It WAS an accident, if that consoles you.” I replied. The Doctor looked at me like I just got that much more crazy.
“Edwin, nobody ever enters the tardis on purpose when I dont want them here, let alone on accident. Tell me how. And tell me now.” The Doctor said, not even smiling at his rhyme. He reminded me of the Doctor that I punched in the Nether. I gulped.
“I was thinking about you and dust got in my eyes” I replied, knowing that this was a terrible excuse. The Doctor looked at me, and shrugged. He turned back to look at the hole in the tardis
“Wishful thinking can get you farther than most, Edwin. But you musn’t keep yourself immersed in the Flow. You have to get out and do things yourself every now and then.” The Doctor said as he leaned down to pick up his pen. I watched him, relieved that I got off with a reprimand. I did as I was advised and closed my connection to the Ghost powers. The Doctor leaped up, holding his pen in his mouth.
“Well, Mister Shell! The Doctor is in!” he shouted, leaping up to a chair, holding a hoof aloft.
“The whole of pony creation lay before you, and what is it that you will do?!” The Doctor asked, his playful eyes demanding a response. I thought about this. My smile widened as I figured out what I wanted to do.
“You know how Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years?” I asked.
“Of course I do. Why? What could you possibly be planning?” The Doctor said as he kept his hoof up.
“Let’s go. about... Ten? Ten years after.” I said in a knowing tone. The Doctor burst out laughing. He leaped off of his chair, rushing to the controlls. He was about to pull a lever, when his hoof paused in midair. He slowly turned to me.
“There is an old saying from a place quite dear to me. Words of great power and wisdom, a consolation to the soul in times of need.” The Doctor spoke, his tone grave.
“What would that be?” I asked.
“ALLONS-Y!” The Doctor shouted as he threw himself on the lever.
> 11: of Regolith and Frogs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 11


The Doctor got up, rubbing his jaw. I shook my head, trying to get the pain out of it. I forgot how rough it was, riding in the tardis. I looked around to see pipes and tubes and wrenches everywhere. There was a whole couch wedged in one of the odd Y shaped pillars surrounding the console. I got to my hooves. The Doctor did the same, looking about. He picked up his pen, which was wedged in a small cup holder in the console. The Doctor snatched it from it’s pocket, and bounded over to the door. He looked back at me his mouth full of pen.
“Edwin, outside of this door is a Princess, cursed by fate. She is dignified and sophisticated, and frankly, emotionally scarred by loneliness. I’m the only other pony she has seen for the past ten years.” The Doctor said cautiously. I made a move to the door.
“Edwin... Keep in your mind that she is a formidable magician. She could kill you in a million different gruesome ways without even batting an eyelash.” The Doctor warned additionally. I looked at him undeterred.
“Are you sure you still want to see her?” The Doctor inquired, his hoof reaching to the door.
“Yes, I am.” I said determinedly. The Doctor sighed.
“Okay, Edwin. I won’t say that I didn’t warn you.” The Doctor pushed open the door as he spoke.
The Landscape was barren. Insanely so. There was so much... Grey. Small peaks and craters dotted the landscape. The tardis was on the edge of a gigantic crater. On the inside, there was a small blue speck.
“Is that her?” I asked.
“Yes. Let me go ahead, Edwin. She is a delicate creature.” The Doctor said, bounding out of the tardis. He seemed to fly out of the blue box, landing well inside the crater. He walked for a few minutes over to Luna. I was extremely nervous. This would be the first time I met Luna in her timeline. I had absolutely no idea what I was about to do, but the Luna that I met would know exactly what. I walked back into the tardis, thinking it would be a while. I walked around the gigantic machine. It not only was bigger on the inside, but completely airtight as well. I wasn’t suffocating right now, something I was grateful for. I looked at the couch in the Y beam. It was small and Victorian, not to mention pink. It was extremely worn. I looked away, trying to find what else made the tardis so amazing. I looked to the Console. There was a magnificent assortment of buttons and knobs and levers and switches. One thing that stuck out was a small picture frame, duct taped to one of the screens. It was distinctive because the picture was not that of a pony. A blonde woman, a human. She was smiling. I looked, not knowing how the Doctor could have a picture of a human. It was a puzzling conundrum indeed. I was interrupted by a harsh, painful buzzing. I looked around, trying to acertain the cause. There was nothing. I heard the Doctor’s voice echo inside of the tardis
“You can come out now, Ed. She wants to see you...” His voice faded near the end. I never heard him speak in such a caring tone. I trotted out of the tardis.
There was a grace, an art to walking on the moon. It was definitely not a rigidly defined science. I stumbled and fumbled and fell up more times than I could count. I quickly grew aggravated. Moon dust wasn’t like regular dust, either. It was pointy. You could seriously mess yourself up falling on moon dust. I fell on my face. Extremely mad, I decided that flying would be a better choice. I hovered over to the center of the crater, where Luna and the Doctor were facing away from me, looking at something on the ground. I hovered to a halt, touching down on the regolith.
“Luna, If I may introduce you to Edwin Shell.” The Doctor said. Luna glanced over her shoulder.
"Hi.” she said, and looked back to her front. I was intrigued by what elicited this response. I hovered closer, looking over her shoulder. I saw a small plastic tank. It had a small rock in it, upon which sat a small, green frog. I looked at the thing, so small, so fragile.  It made me smile to see such a thing surviving so far from it's home. The Doctor reached a hoof down into the tank. He held out his light brown hoof to the frog. It looked at him, cocking it’s head. It wiggled its legs and jumped onto the Doctor. The Doctor smiled, looking at the small creature. He held out his hoof to Luna. Luna squealed softly, holding up a single deep blue hoof. The frog looked at it, and jumped again. Luna looked so extremely happy. She was crying with happiness as the frog wiggled. She looked up to the Doctor, her face streaked with tears.
"Thank you, Doctor. They always were my favorite.” Luna whispered as she placed the frog back in its tank. I stood behind them, trying to hold back tears of my own as Luna turned to me.
“Hello Edwin, My name is Luna.” The blue mare said. I smiled.
“Yes, I know you very well, Luna.” I said, drawing an odd look from the goddess. I took this chance to ask her what I came to ask.
“Do you miss Equestria, Luna?” I asked, knowing the awnser. She looked down, pawing the regolith. There was true sorrow in her voice as she replied.
“More than anything else in the whole of Creation. I would do anything to go back...” she trailed off. I looked at the Doctor.
“What if, Luna... What if I could take you back?” I asked the pony. She laughed at me mockingly.
“It has been ten long, cold years on this rock. Every time that I see the Doctor here, I beg and plead with him to take me back. He has sworn an oath never to interfere with the native populace, except in time of great duress. I only wish that he would make an exception...” Luna trailed off again, sadly contemplating her wrongs. I grinned, and looked her straight in the eyes.
“The Doctor may do things his own way, Luna. But, he has never told me, not a single time, that taking souvenirs is not allowed. And I have happened to have found myself the prettiest little moon rock.” I said knowingly. Luna looked up at me, her eyes wide.
“Would you... Could you... Really?!” Luna said, flabbergasted. I looked at her, smiling.
“Yes. Come with me, Luna. Come home.” I whispered. She looked up at me, her eyes alight. She was begging with me. Pleading with her eyes. I looked to the Doctor, with the threat of death in my eyes. He cringed slightly under my gaze.
“Um... Well, I don’t know if I...” I looked at the Doctor again with powerful loathing. He looked awkwardly at a rock. He rolled his eyes as he looked back up at me.
“Oh, bloody hell, Edwin! Why must you always do this to me?!” The Doctor exclaimed. I grinned wildly at Luna, and she looked at me with happy eyes. She squealed.

“I have no bloody idea what you wretched ponies did to make me do this.” The Doctor said sullenly. Luna was staring at the couch stuck in the Y beam, fascinated. I turned to the Doctor, grinning like a madpony.
“Cheer up, Doctor! You did a good deed, helping a poor, elderly mare!” I reasoned sarcastically.
“Wank off, Edwin! She may be horrifyingly ancient, but she is not elderly!” The Doctor exclaimed, truly frustrated. He hopped up to a chair next to the console, and curled into a ball.
“Where and when are we taking her, anyways?” The Doctor asked, hiding his face with a hoof.
“Wait... The Summer Sun Celebration, right? The thousandth one.” I wondered aloud, looking at the Doctor for confirmation. The Doctor raised the hoof covering his face, looking at me with a wide smile.
“What a sly devil you are, Ed!” The Doctor leaped from his chair, and flew to the controls. HE was flipping all of the levers and knobs when I turned to look at Luna. She was sitting on the couch, levitating popcorn into her mouth.
“How did you even get up there?!” I asked, not even wanting to go near the popcorn. She flared out one of her wings in explanation. I looked at her. I flew up to her couch, and landed. I eyed her popcorn, which was in a red stripey box.
“Can I have one?” I asked, pretty hungry. Luna answered by floating a chunk of popcorn my way. I bit into it.
“Muh... Butter...” I moaned. Luna giggled at me. The Doctor was busy with his levers and switches as Luna and I enjoyed popcorn in a small victorian sofa wedged in a tardis.
A simple pleasure, that. The Doctor swore as he bumped into a small table. Luna looked at me, a coy smile on her face.
“I... I can never repay you for what you have done, Edwin.” Luna said quietly.
“Good, because you won’t need to. I actually wanted to do this, Luna. Because I know you from the future. And-” I was cut off by a loud thump. I looked down to the Doctor. He had a large mallet in his mouth and was hitting the console with it. He hit it once more and seemed satisfied. I turned to Luna, who was looking at me with wide blue eyes. I felt a surge of emotion.
“Luna, I-” I began. The words halted in my throat. Luna looked at me, puzzled.
“What is it, Ed?”
"ALLONS-Y!” shouted the Doctor as Luna and I were flung from our couch.

I got up from the corner of the tardis I was flung to, brushing off dust and nicknacks and wrenches. The couch was sitting on the far edge of the tardis, near the rim. I looked around groggily. I could see the Doctor, who had rolled onto his back in transit. I turned around, looking for Luna.
“Doctor!” I heard her shout in a strained voice. I couldn’t see her at all, but the Doctor must have.  He was holding his hooves together in front of him. A look of sad shock hit his face.
“Oh no, Luna...” He said in a soft voice. I looked at him, trying to figure out what he saw. I got to my hooves and walked over to him. I saw it.
“Oh God, Doctor.” I exclaimed. The Doctor looked to Luna, and then to me. His eyes showed his agelessness.
“There isn’t anything we can do.” The Doctor said saidly. I couldn’t look away, it was too gruesome. She had half of her face sheared away, and blood was streaming down in runny rivulets. She was missing one of her hooves, and a bloody stump was all that was left of one leg. Blood spurted from the broken Princess. She moaned in pain, trying to move. I couldn’t bear the sight of it. I looked away, feeling nauseous. The Doctor met me horrified gaze.
“What even happened?!” I asked, completely mortified. The Doctor didn’t break his stare.
“She Spliced.” The Doctor remarked offhandedly, like he was commenting on the weather.
“What?!” I screamed. The Doctor lied there, reclining on a pile of tubing
“She Spliced. Sometimes, the tardis can’t move everything through time. When that happens, the tardis Splices out what it can’t hold. One of the reasons why I do not often take passengers.” The Doctor explained. I felt unbidden rage well inside of me.
“What are you going to do about it?” I asked him, shaking with anger.
“Nothing. She can only heal herself, but... It is a dangerous, risky thing. You have to convince her she has something worth living for, or she won’t. She has grown suicidal tendencies on her trip to the moon. She may not want to come back.” The Doctor spoke softly as his eyes welled with tears. His emotion did nothing to quell my fury.
“Go to her, Edwin. Give her a reason.” The Doctor said, slowly rolling onto his hooves. I looked over at Luna, the puddle of blood she was lying in growing quicker by the second. I rushed over to her, getting low to the ground. Her skinless face looked up to me. I nearly choked.
“I can’t take my pretty moon rock home all smashed up.” I tried to say, my voice breaking mid-sentence. Luna coughed, blood spurting out of her mouth. The muscles articulating on the skinless side of her face was horrifying.
“Fix yourself, Luna. Please.” I begged.
“Why should I?” The blue mare asked, blood leaking out of her mouth. I looked down at her, crying.
“Because I love you, Luna. I love you, and I would do anything for you. Please, Luna. Do It for me, for you, for anyone. Because if you die here, I’ll never be the same again. Please, Luna... I-” My voice broke off in a sob as I looked at her broken, mangled body. Luna looked at me with her one remaining eye. It’s deep blue iris seemed to probe my very soul. I could see the eyelid slowly reach down across the eye. I watched her die. The breath left her in a gust.
“No...” I whispered. I saw the broken form of the pony beneath me, so strong in life. Yet so fragile in death. I looked upon the blue mare. She was nothing now but memories. I felt nothing but emptiness. The Doctor slowly walked over to me, his hooves clopping on the metal floor.
“Edwin... Come away... It isn’t doing any good.” The Doctor replied. I was lying on the ground by now with my forelegs covered in blood. I sat up. I looked at my hooves, painted crimson with Luna. The Doctor nudged me with a hoof.
“Come along, Edwin. We-” The Doctor was cut off by me leaping to my hooves.
“I don’t know what the hell you have ever loved, Doctor, But what I love is right there.” I said, jabbing a hoof at the pile of blue flesh. The Doctor tried to say something, but I cut him off again.
“And frankly, Doctor, I don’t give a damn about you. Or your tardis! Or your human! Because everything I ever cared about just died right in front of me. Don’t try to say that you know what it is like, either. Because you are just a lonely pony with nothing. Absolutely nothing but a fancy ride.” I spat, seething.
“Now, Edwin, I don-” The Doctor was cut off again.
“LOOK AT IT! LOOK AT IT!” I screamed, pointing to Luna. The Doctor cringed at my anger. This made me even madder. The air began to crackle.
“Edwin, let’s not be too-” The Doctor was cut off again as I shouted at him with a primal rage. I felt the power course though me. I pointed a hoof at the Doctor.
“EDWIN NO!” The Doctor tried to shout over me. I laughed grimly as I hurled a bolt at him. The thunder ripped apart everything inside the tardis, with tubing and papers and shoes and wrenches flying absolutely everywhere. The Doctor was nowhere to be seen in the maelstrom, but I was not surprised by this because the bolt would have vaporized any normal pony. I waited a few seconds for the storm of debris to subside. The Doctor was standing in front of me, with a gigantic hole through the middle of him. The blood spurted and gurgled through arteries, splashing on the cold metal floor.  I looked at him, surprised. For a creature so ancient and long-lived, he was so strong. He didn’t fall to the ground. He stood. I lowered my hoof, confused. He gasped. His body clenched as he flew up to his hind legs. He spread his forelegs wide, like he was trying to hug somepony. I looked at him, truly frightened.
“Edwin Shell.” The Doctor spoke, his voice layered. He burst into flame. He screamed, his body convulsing as it was engulfed by a hideous fire. I averted my gaze. I looked at Luna’s lifeless form, drenched in blood. The scene saddened me, drove me to madness. Luna, dead. Doctor, dying. I crawled away from the conflagration and hid. Hid from everything. From Luna’s corpse, from the Doctor, and from the picture of the smiling human. I shut myself off from the world
And I cried myself to sleep.
> 12: of Ghosts and Oranges
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 12

I awoke feeling sore and hungry. Something was tapping. On what, I had no idea. I had no urge to open my eyes and see. I heard a muffled voice from far away.
“Edwin. Wake up.” Said the voice. I wanted to tell it that there was no reason to wake. There was nothing to live for anymore. I curled into a tighter ball. There was nothing left for me. The tapping continued. I ignored it
“Get up, Edwin. We have places to be.” The voice said, clearer than before. I didn’t open my eyes. I felt a whoosh of fresh, cold air. I gasped.
“Get up. You aren’t fooling anypony.” The voice said, almost as crisp as the air. I opened my eyes. I could see the blurry outline of a pale brown pony. I rubbed my eyes with my hooves, trying to rub away the sleep.
“D-Doctor?” I asked, unbelieving. The pony threw back his head and laughed.
“Yes, Edwin. Now get out of there, it must be frightfully uncomfortable.” The Doctor said. I looked at him in awe. I crawled out of the small, cramped space I was in. I looked around me, finding myself in the tardis. I blinked, my vision still blurry. The Doctor was wearing clothes, which was odd. A threadbare brown suit. He was holding his pen out of the corner of his mouth. I looked at him, unable to believe what I am seeing. The Doctor walked over to the console.
“Am I dead?” I asked innocently. The Doctor spat his pen into a cupholder, and turned to look at me.
“If you are, you’re doing pretty well for yourself” He noted. He turned to the console and pushed a few buttons, making a map appeared on a nearby monitor. I stared at him, still unbelieving.
“But... I killed you.” I said simply. The Doctor laughed as he looked at the map. He glanced back at me as I spoke.
“Stronger and more powerful creatures than you have tried, Edwin. And I happen to be quite healthy.” He looked back to his map as he finished his statement. I was so confused. I walked to a nearby ottoman, which was exactly the right size for a pony. I jumped on it, coiling myself. I thought.
“Edwin... I have lived the last ten years of my life away from Equestria. I have travelled to planets and times far and wide. I have lived in hate, in anger. I have seen peoples distant, landscapes foreign. Yet, there was something missing in my life. Something that kept me awake nights, something that filled with regret. It was Equestria, Edwin. This land has charm to it that no other dimension or planet does. There is a magic in the air, a scent in the breeze. Equestria is my home. Today, just a few minutes ago, I let you out of the stasis chamber that you crawled into all those years ago. I have forgiven you, Edwin.” The Doctor said. I looked at him, touched. I thought about it for a good, long while. The Doctor walked around his console, pressing levers and buttons and poking things with his nose.
“What did you do with Luna?” I asked him, the memory sharp in my mind. The Doctor stopped what he was doing, the sounds of the tardis paused. He hopped off of his console, and looked at the floor.
“I buried her.” He said, walking off to the side.
“Where?” I asked, demanding. He did not move his gaze away from the floor.
“Someplace that she loved to be  when she was alive.” The Doctor said softly.
“Take me there. Right after you buried her.” I said in a firm, unwavering tone. The Doctor looked up at me.
“I can do that, Edwin.” The Doctor said in his soft tone. He reached down with his head into a small chest and pulled out a rubber mallet. He walked slowly to his console.
“I’m... Sorry, Edwin.” He said through a mouthful of hammer. I looked up at him, perplexed.
“No one had ever Spliced in a tardis before, pony or otherwise. It was a purely theoretical scenario. There was nothing I could do.” The Doctor explained sadly. I looked up at him and I said nothing. He placed his mallet on the console and pushed a lever. There was a whirling, swirly noise. It kept up for a second or two. It stopped, and the tardis jostled.
“We’re here.” The Doctor said. I got up off of the ottoman, and walked to the door.
“Where is she, Doctor?” I asked as I placed a hoof on the door.
“I’ll show you.” The Doctor said. I pushed open the door. The tardis was in a sunlit clearing in the middle of the forest. The grass was long and swaying among the fragrant trees. Sunlight streamed through the overhanging branches, making the light a mottled green color. I heard the sound of rushing water that heralded a nearby creek. I looked around, seeing why Luna would love this place.
“It’s beautiful, Doctor.” I whispered. I stepped out into the glade. I was warmed by the sunlight as my hoof crunched down onto bristly grasses. I closed my eyes, savoring the warmth and the pleasant aroma. The Doctor walked up beside me, his hooves crunching along.
“She’s over here, Edwin.” He said. I opened my eyes to see the Doctor walking off into the grass. I followed him as best as I could. He stopped a few paces ahead of me. I walked up alongside him. There was a small space where grass was not, the smell of freshly tilled earth emanating from the ground. I could see a small blue gem at the head of the mound. It was in the shape of a crescent. Sadness welled inside of me as I thought of Luna. The way she snuffled flowers away from her face when I showed them to her. Tears welled inside of me.
“Thank you, Doctor.” I choked out. “She would have l-” I broke off in a sob. My eyes shut against the flow of tears. I choked on my own tongue as I tried to keep my composure.
“It’s okay, Edwin.” The Doctor said softly. I leaned on him, weeping through my teeth. I glanced back at the grave, my wounds fresh. I wept.
“I love her, Doctor.” I said, my voice shaking. The Doctor reached up with a hoof and patted my shoulder. I bit down on my lip. The smell of wet dirt was strong in my nose. I tried to pull myself together. I tried to control my tears over Luna. I looked at the grave again, seeing the small jewel at the top.
“Rarity helped me find that.” The Doctor said.
“Who?” I asked hoarsely, tears still dripping down my muzzle.
“You’ll meet her someday.” He said blankly. I looked up at him through blurry eyes. I thought about him, remembering better times.

Oh, they said to grab it.
not every day you see the same ghost twice!
ALLONS-Y!
Wishful thinking can get you farther than most...         	
Well, Mister Shell! The Doctor is in!

I had an idea. A crazy, stupid idea. The kind of idea that doesn’t even make sense in a dream. But an idea nonetheless. I stood, getting up from the ground. I looked upon the grave. The reeds flowing around it, like they were made of water. Sunlight sparkled from the perfect blue gem, curved in a crescent.  I stared at the grave. The gem moved up to my face. I looked for a second, and it flew away off to the side. I looked at the earthen mound. The dirt was pushed out and away from the middle, looking like a gigantic anthill forming. The dirt spilled off of the sides. I saw a patch of dark blue poke out from the pile. The mare floated out of her grave. Dirt shed off of her body as her corpse moved up to eye level. Her face was pristine on one side, but terrifyingly horrid on the other. Dirt stuck to her exposed muscles, intermingling with dried blood. I felt pain deep in my heart, making my breath hitch. I closed my eyes.
I thought of Luna prancing through the glade. I thought of Luna snuffling a flower. I thought of Luna.
I could feel the power flowing through me, but it was going nowhere. I was just funneling energy into a chunk of meat. I looked at the dark blue mare, my eyes welling. The breath stuck in my hitching throat. I blinked.

The air was very humid. I could see the alabaster pony sitting by his cooked lizard. The fire was merely embers by now. The bandages on his head were a little bit dirtier than the last time I saw him.
“Edwin, My boy. Come, sit by me.” He spoke in a wheezy, wizened voice. I walked over to him and sat next to a log and a small clay pot. He looked at the flickering embers for a second, patting the dirt with one of his forehooves.  He turned to me.
“You see, Edwin, We Ghosts can manipulate bodies minutely. Simple commands. Like how I just did with you.” He reasoned in a calm tone
“But-” I objected
“But indeed, Edwin Shell! Trying to raise the dead! What a foolhardy goal. You would have better luck trying to make a chicken bark without magic.” He exploded. I looked at him.
“Why can’t I raise the dead?” I asked angrily.
“Because only the strongest amongst our ancient order may summon lost souls. You have not yet been granted this ability, for you know not the consequences of such an action.” He said bluntly. I seethed at this. I looked at the old pony, absolutely infuriated. I stood up abruptly, knocking back a small pot that was behind me. He stared at me, his one remaining eye wide with surprise. There was a smell of ozone in the air as I struck the pony straight in the nose. I could feel it crunch under the force of my blow. The lightning in my fist flew out into him, knocking him clear across the clearing. I bounded over, landing on top of him as he hit the ground. 
“You will allow me to summon the dead, Colt.” I growled at him. He looked at me for a second. I watched the blood leak from his nostrils. He cackled suddenly, throwing his head back on the dirt.
“And why should I do that, Foal?” The porcelain pony replied, still laughing. He closed his eyes. Pillars of stone shot out of the earth. They wrapped around me, pulling me closer to the ground. The Colt jumped, landing lithely on his hooves. He walked slowly around me, admiring his handiwork. He circled to face me.
“You lecture those much stronger and more powerful than you, Edwin. You are impudent, foolish, and young. You have no idea of what you ask for, other than the fact that it serves your own selfish motives. You may be powerful in the realm you exist in, but here? Ha! Here, you are merely a foal tripping over it’s own hooves.” The nameless pony said. He proved his point by tightening the pillars of rock around me. I grunted under their crushing strength. The Colt turned his head to me, his greasy hair hanging limp over his bandaged eye. He leaned down to look at me as I was crushed by the summoned stones. I could see the individual strands of his ink-black hair sway as he spoke to me.
“Edwin, the summoning of the dead is an art, dangerous in the extreme. It is only given to a select few, and all of them Ghosts. The energy needed to retrieve a soul from the clutches of death is extreme. Only Ghosts can connect and draw upon the reserves necessary, namely the Flow. The Flow is where our power comes from. It may come out of our bodies when we weave, but our bodies is not where it originates.” He said grimly. The tubes of stone constricted. I gasped, feeling my ribs bend slightly under them. He smiled as he continued.
“When you summon the dead, Edwin, you forge a link between the two bodies, the two souls. What happens to the summoned soul happens to the summoner. If flesh is rent and torn in the summoned, thus happens to the summoner. Our order has only called from the grave very, very few ponies, and nearly all of them are Ghosts.” He said. I looked up at him, my teeth bared against the pain of the rocks . He sighed and flicked a hoof at me. I flinched as I waited for the stones to crush me. To my surprise, they sunk back into the ground. I heaved my lungs, trying to reclaim lost air. The nameless pony looked at me in disgust.
“With this warning, Edwin Shell, I return you to Equestria. May you make the right decision.” He said as he closed his eyes. I felt cool wind.

I blinked and found myself back in the clearing. Luna’s corpse was floating in front of me. Her hair was covered in dirt. I felt a pang in my stomach as I saw her lifeless body. I looked back at the Doctor. He was staring at me, his eyes wide.
“What are you going to do, Edwin?” He asked, frightened. He looked the youngest I had ever seen him, because his eyes were filled with so much fear. The corner of my mouth reached up in amusement. The Doctors eyes grew wider.
“I am going to give her Life.” I replied, immersing myself in the flow. I turned back to the blue corpse. I stared at her mangled body. Missing limbs, half of her face gone. I closed my eyes to her.
I thought of a happy Luna. Luna bounding through the glade, Luna breathing. Luna snuffling away flowers. Luna raising the moon, a spectacular sight in and of itself. I thought of all this, bending the Flow to my will. I felt it, like I would have felt a limb. The power built and expanded inside of my body. I opened my eyes. My muscles spasmed and clenched, holding me completely still as the energy ripped through me. I screamed, the pain of it overwhelming. I could see Luna’s flesh weaving itself together under my gaze. Her muscles were re-forming, the individual tendrils reaching across her face. The crippling pain washed through me anew, making the muscles and skin and bone weave faster. Skin latticed across her face, covering the bare flesh and bone. She was mended before my very eyes. Her body was in pristine shape, perfect in every regard. The Flow released me, It’s job done. Luna still hung in the air. I knew exactly what to do. I stepped up to her floating body. I looked at her, contemplating what I was about to do. I gulped. I craned my neck to touch my nose to hers.
I opened my mouth and exhaled. I could feel my strength flowing from my legs, my body. I fatigued quickly as my legs shuddered. I nearly lost consciousness. Luna was doing absolutely nothing, my energy flowing into her dead, perfect form. I kept this up for a few more minutes, persevering through extreme exhaustion. I could bear no more, and fell over. Luna’s body fell to the loose earth of her grave with a muffled thump. I looked at her, tears flowing anew.
“No, Luna...” I whispered. My body was completely drained of energy. I looked at her perfect dark blue mane, Her cutie mark a pale, pale white sliver against her flank. A twisted part of my mind wondered who would raise the moon now. I crushed that thought before it could become something that would haunt me. I looked at Luna, feeling an overwhelming depression over me. The edges of the world grew dark as I lost consciousness.

“Edwin, get up! Edwin!” The Doctor shouted at me, prodding me with a hoof. I looked up at him, aggravated.
“What do you want, Doctor?” I asked, my voice filled with venom. He looked at me with excitement, practically bursting.
“It worked, Edwin.” he said. It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. I looked at him for a minute more, trying to figure out why he would tell me this.
“Come look at her, Edwin.” he said. I got up from the reeds, up from my bed of sorrow and dispair. I looked around the clearing for her, looking everywhere. I saw her. I saw her. She was sitting. She was sitting next to a tree on the opposite end of the clearing.
“I did it, Doctor.” I whispered. He looked at me.
“Yes, You did.” He said, surprised. I looked back to him, grinning
“I did it!” I exclaimed, exuberant. I threw my head back and laughed at the sky. I could feel the cool breeze, could smell the fragrant flowers. The world with Luna was a world worth living in. I walked over to Luna as quietly as I possibly could. I finally reached her, sitting next to a tree. I looked over her shoulder. She was holding a small green frog in an upturned hoof.
“Hello Luna.” I said. Luna made a small squeal. The frog jumped off of her hoof, surprised. She turned around quickly. Her blue eyes were wide as she looked at me, her face perfect and pristine. I smiled out of the corner of my mouth. She reached her hooves around my neck.
“Thank you, Edwin... I cannot thank you enough for what you did.” She said, nearly crying. I tried my best to be nonchalant about it.
“I couldn’t take my pretty moon rock home all smashed up, now could I?” I said, looking at her teary face. She laughed once under her breath, looking down.
“It was still very gallant of you, Edwin. First, you come with the Doctor, of all ponies, To come and save me from my prison. Even my death didn’t stop you from your goal. You pulled me from the very clutches of death, only to bring me back to Equestria. Not many would do that, Edwin.” She said, her eyes probing me. I looked down at her in amusement.
“I guess you could say that I am rather talented.” I said, trying my best to brag. She giggled a little. I looked down at her pale blue irises. She looked back into my eyes, and for a moment, time had no say. The wind rushing past the reeds, the babbling of a nearby creek, and the creaking of old trees was the entire universe, with Luna at it’s center. She leaned closer to me, tightening her grip around my neck. Her lips were parted ever so slightly as I leaned in to meet her.         	
“OI!” The Doctor shouted, making Luna and I jump.
“We’ve got a summer sun celebration we have to go to! Let’s get a move on!” The Doctor shouted. I looked back to stare at him in supreme annoyance. He was standing in the doorway of the tardis.
“Celestia almighty, Doctor! It’s a time machine, isn’t it!?” I exclaimed. The Doctor looked thoughtful for a second.
“Yes... But, I do like to at least feel punctual. Let’s get a move on, shall we?” He asked, disappearing into the mysterious blue box. I looked back at Luna, her cheeks purple. I looked at her for a minute before I realized she was blushing.
I’ll make it up to you, Luna.” I said. She perked up at that statement. I waved a hoof, gesturing for her to hurry. She pranced up to my side.
“Come on, best not to keep the Doctor waiting.” I said to the midnight blue mare as we walked to the tardis.
> 13: of Buttons and Gardens
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 13

The tardis was a welcome sight, made even better with Luna by my side. I practically pranced up to the door, skipping ahead of her. I pushed it open with a hoof.
“After you, Princess.” I in a snobbish tone. Luna pushed me with one of her forehooves.
“Not all of us are complete prats, Edwin. You of all ponies should know this by now.” She said jokingly. She walked in, her tail swishing behind her. I could smell her as she walked by. She smelled like oranges. I tried to shake the smell out of my head so i could do things like talk and stand and breathe. I walked in the tardis, seeing the Doctor hopping all around his console. I walked up beside Luna, who was watching him with rapt amusement. He was holding a mallet in his mouth, slamming it on a particularly tricky lever. Luna and I stared at him as he slammed the mallet into the console. He slammed it a few more times for good measure, and threw the mallet off to the side. It made a good thump as it landed on a tube. He looked up at his machine, laughing. He looked back at us.
“About time you lot came back inside.” He said. I looked at him, still annoyed.
“We were enjoying the scenery.” I replied, disgruntled. Luna shuffled her hooves beside me... The Doctor smirked.
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” He asked sarcastically. Luna made a soft noise in her throat. I looked at her, feeling warm. I thought about all the times we had together, in the courtyard, meeting her for the first time. I glanced back to the Doctor, who was fiddling with his console. He swore softly under his breath and continued smashing his hooves on the panels. I looked at Luna, who was looking at me. She averted her gaze, her cheeks purple again.
“So, Luna... What was it like?” I asked, truly interested. Her eyes flew up to me, surprised.
“What was what like, Ed?” She asked.
“Dying.” I said bluntly. I knew what it was like to die, but I didn’t know what happened  afterwards. Luna looked sad for a moment, remembering her death.
“It was... Cold, Ed. One moment I was in the tardis, covered in blood. You were standing over me, begging...” She choked on her words, looking away.
“You don’t have to talk about it, Luna. I meant what came after.” I said. She looked back at me, seemingly grateful. 
“There wasn’t much, Ed. Just... Black. No sensation, no light, nothing. Just your thoughts to console you. It was... Unpleasant, to say the least.” She said somberly. There was a large clash on the opposite side of the tardis, startling both of us. I looked over to see the Doctor’s legs sticking out under a pile of tubes and wrenches. Luna giggled a little, and her long horn glowed a iridescent blue. The pile of junk glowed the same color and floated off of him. She blinked her eyes, and the pipes winked out of existence. Her horn stopped glowing. The Doctor looked at her with a bored look on his face.
“I’m going to need those back, you know.” He said matter-of-factly. I laughed once. Luna and the Doctor looked at me. 
“It’s not like they’re your only ones, right? Besides, can we even use them, being ponies and all?” I replied, gesturing to a nearby pile of wrenches. The Doctor sarcastically laughed at me as he rolled over to his hooves. 
“Ha Ha, Edwin. Some of us happen to like our wrenches.” The Doctor replied, walking to the console. I smirked as he pushed a lever with his hoof. The tardis make a whooshy, watery noise for a few seconds, then stopped. The Doctor looked at me.
“Okay, Edwin. You’ve brought us this far. What in the name of Celestia’s horn fungus are we going to do now?” The Doctor asked, his tone incredulous. I looked at Luna, who was looking at me with wide eyes.
“Well, Where are we?” I asked.
“We’re at the one thousandth Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville.
“We need to figure out how to make you,” I said, gesturing at Luna “Look like Nightmare Moon.”
Luna thought about this for a second, closing her eyes in concentration. She was like this for about a minute or two. The Doctor and I shuffled impatiently as we waited for Luna to do something. Time was of the essence now that we were at our destination. 
Luna’s horn glowed with a mystical, erethral blue. Her outline shuddered once, blurring her form. She opened her eyes. Her irises were a sharp teal, and her pupils were slits. I was shocked by this, but had no time to recover from it. Her outline shuddered again, and her mane and tail turned into a wispy cloud of sparkling blue. It was the exact same color as the glow around her horn. She was still for a second, her outline still slightly blurred. She looked down at her hoof, still a deep, midnight blue, and rolled her eyes. Her horn glowed blue again, and her outline blurred. She turned completely black. She opened her eyes. 
“Wow.” The Doctor said. 
“Yeah.” I agreed. Luna was exactly the spitting image of Nightmare Moon. It was almost frightening how much she looked like the dark creature. I thought the illusion was nearly perfect, but the Doctor had other ideas.
“Um, Luna?” He said questioningly. Luna turned her horrible teal eyes to look at him
“Yes?” She replied. Her voice was exactly the same as the regular Luna, which placated me.
“You’re a little bit short for Midnight, aren’t you?” He said awkwardly. Luna looked down at her hooves.
“You’re right.” She said. Her horn glowed once more. Her legs and neck grew, seemingly stretching. She towered over me when she was done. I admired the dangerous beauty of her.
“You clean up alright, kid.” The Doctor said sarcastically. Luna giggled once under her breath. I grinned at her. She looked down at me.
“I can never thank you enough, Edwin.” She said, looking down at me with wide teal eyes.
“You never need to, Luna.” I replied. She leaned down to my face. The faintest smell of oranges wafted down to me as I could feel my chest tighten. 
“I think that I do, Edwin. You have more than earned it.” She whispered in my ear. I gulped as her flowing blue hair tickled my cheek. She slowly drew her head away, her black coat glistening in the low light of the tardis. She locked eyes with me, her slitted pupils half hidden under lazy lids. Her head inched toward me ever so slightly. I closed my eyes as she met my lips. She tasted slightly sweet, like a fresh fruit. Her lips were soft and tender. Even though this was amazing, I could only think how far I had come. Only a week ago I was making a costume for comic con, And now I was kissing royalty in the tardis. She pulled away. The Doctor looked at us and sighed.
“Okay, time to get you out of here. We have a schedule to keep, you know.” The Doctor said as he pushed Luna out of the door. I caught a sad glance from Luna as she was forced out of the tardis.
“This isn’t goodbye, Luna. I promise. I love you.” I said seriously as the doctor butted his head against Luna’s knee. Luna visibly relaxed and allowed herself to be pushed out of the tardis. The door closed with a loud thump. The Doctor fell over, his lungs heaving.

“I’m never... Taking you... With me... AGAIN!” the Doctor shouted through strained lungs.
I laughed. He looked up at me with angry eyes.
“Please, Doctor! It wasn’t that bad looking back, now was it?” I said, joking with him.
“Luna died and you murdered me.” He said bluntly. The laughter died in my throat.
“But... It all ended well, didn’t it?” I asked, disappointed. The Doctor looked at me and laughed once, his voice harsh.
“It may have been a romp through the park for you, Edwin, But for me? It was the longest ten years of my life. I’ve had enough adventure to fill a stocking.” the Doctor complained. 
“A stocking?!” I said, taken completely unaware. The laughter bubbled back up in my throat.
The Doctor rolled around on the ground, trying to right himself. This made me laugh even harder, craning my neck down because I was gasping for breath. I was wheezing by the time the Doctor got to his hooves. 
“You alright, Ed?” The Doctor asked in an unsure tone. I wiggled one of my forehooves at him and fell over, still wheezing. I rolled around on the ground, unable to contain my mirth. The Doctor paid me no attention as he pushed and pulled on his levers and buttons. I gasped for breath on the floor. The Doctor looked at me incredulously.
“You done?” He asked. I was done. I wiggled a hoof at him again for him to continue. He snorted once. I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I heard the swishy, slooshy noise of the tardis moving. I rolled over onto my hooves. The Doctor was looking at me from the opposite side of his console. 
“We are outside of Antony’s cottage, about two hours after I displaced you to go see Luna on the moon. He would be happy to teach you about summoning blades now, I think.” The Doctor said, glancing at me with passive eyes. I looked at him long and hard.
“Why are you mad at me, Doctor?” I asked. He turned to me with anger in his eyes. It was frightening, truly. His gaze bared my very soul out for all to see. I was defenseless against it.
“She knew me since she was a filly. She grew up with me by her side. Even when her own sister left her for naught on the moon, I was still there for her. It broke my heart that i could not save her from her torment in her grey prison, but I have sworn to not interfere for fear of altering the timeline. But, you, Edwin. You.” The Doctor exclaimed with fire in his eyes. I shrank from his gaze, the space between us offering me no protection. He rounded the edge of his console, slowly advancing to me. I was curled up on the ground shivering, unable to break eye contact.
“You show up and expect everything to go all hunky-dory, ‘Let’s save Luna’, be back home in time for tea! Do you really think that I haven’t thought about doing that a million times already?! I didn’t do it because it was dangerous! What could have happened DID happen! And you think that it was hard to watch her die? I watched her die, then I died, and then I had to bury her!” He shouted at me, advancing towards me hoof by hoof. I shuddered, remembering her blood gushing from her broken body. I whimpered as the Doctor approached even closer to me.
“You know nothing of life, Edwin. Yet you are given such gifts. Gifts of power, gifts of grace. You were barely alive in your original existence, and have barely lived in this one. I feel sorry for you, Edwin. Forced into a life where you must fight, fight for a cause in which you barely know, let alone believe in.” He whispered at me, craning his neck down. I stared back at him, covered in a cold sweat. The Doctor looked at me again, his upper lip curling slightly at one corner. It wasn’t like he was smiling, but like he was sneering.
“Get out of my tardis.” He whispered, turning his back to me. He walked back to his console, and pushed a few buttons.
“But-
“Get out, Edwin Shell! Get out of my tardis!” The Doctor spun around and spat at me. I flinched at the venom in his voice. I flinched. He turned back to his console.
“Doctor-” I started. The Doctor gestured for me to stop without looking away from the console. 
“I may come to forgive you in time. The one thing I have so much of.” The Doctor said. He folded his forelegs and leaned over a control panel. He sighed softly.
“Do you know how infuriating it is to watch someone die?” He asked roughly, turning his head to the side. He was still leaning over the console.
“What?” I asked, finding his question nonsensical.
“I am Immortal, Edwin. I cannot die. Disease, physical trauma, the ravages of time... I am immune to all. I have lived for over three thousand years, Edwin. Celestia and Luna are much older, but they have purpose. A reason to live, Edwin. They are in charge of an entire empire. The lives of millions depend on them doing their job. It’s what keeps them going.” He said, his voice growing somber. I looked at him quizzically, my hoof reaching for the door.
“I have nothing but a blue box. A blue box and all of eternity. It was interesting for the first three centuries... Then the Daleks started a time war.” He said, his voice hitching.
“Both sides were annihilated, driven to extinction. I was the only surviving Time Lord left in the whole of creation. I had nowhere to go, no home to return to. I was... Alone.” He whispered. Tears were dripping on the console. 
“I spent the next six centuries trying to console myself to fate. I explored planets unknown, sights unseen. It did nothing. I started taking people, normal creatures, with me to see sights. I lived vicariously through them, seeing the sights through their eyes. It... Helped.” He gulped. My hoof was hovering, inches from the door.
“They were worse off for it. I watched them die in front of me. Murdered, mostly. They were my only weakness. I may be immortal, but my heart died long ago. The human in that picture... Rose was her name. Rose Tyler. She was my favorite. She made me look at things so differently. I traveled with her for years. We finally came to a point when I couldn’t bear the suspense. She could die at any moment, and there was nothing that I could do to prevent it. I sent her home.” He said, his face soaked with tears of ages past. He broke down, slamming his head down on the console. He wept. He slammed a hoof down hard on the console, snapping off a button. it rolled across the floor, bouncing. It rolled all the way over to my feet. I looked at it. It was big and red. It had an worn and faded yellow exclamation point on it. I was surprised by it, and picked it up with magic. The Doctor was too busy grieving all over the console to notice me slip out of the tardis door. I closed the door silently behind me, and found myself back in front of Antony’s cottage. I sighed deeply, falling on the ground. Unconsciousness doesn’t count as sleep, I decided. The ground was soft, and I was tired. Sleep came quickly, and was a dreamless blessing.

“You’re in my garden, Edwin.” Said a voice. I felt something hard poke my face.
“Merrr...” I said, rolling away from the poking. 
“Edwin, you’re on my carrots now. Get up.” Said the voice, gruffer this time. I neighed and rolled over again. I heard a peircing sound, like music, but it was too harsh,
“You’re scaring Berry, Edwin. I suggest you get up.” I opened my eyes, squinting. What I saw made me open my eyes wider. Antony was staring at me, his teeth bared. His eyes were squinting at me, his large lavender pupils carrying the deadliest of intent. The scar slashing down across his left eye made it all the more threatening. But what caught my attention was not his stare, but the large dagger he had pointing at my face. It’s pommel was adorned with a plum colored gem that sparkled in the sunlight. 
“I suggest you get up Edwin. I will not ask again.” Antony promised. I stared at him, my jaw agape. The dagger floated forward and touched my nose. I scrambled to try and get to my hooves. Antony watched me fumble around, still pointing the dagger at me. I stared at him, scared for my life.
“What in Equestria would make you wake me up like that?!” I shouted at him. He shrugged.
“You were scaring Berry.” He said simply. He looked at his dagger, which floated up to his face. It made a warbling hum. Antony opened his mouth slightly as he looked at it. 
“Huh.” He said.
“What?” I asked, still mad from my rude awakening. Antony was looking at his dagger, lost in thought.
“That gem... Was never there before...” He trailed off. He stared at it for a few minutes more. I coughed. He turned away from it to look at me.
“I take it the Doctor left you here, eh?” He asked.
“Yeah, he did. How did you know?"
“He was just inside for breakfast, wasn’t he?” Antony said sarcastically. “Come on, let’s get you some food.” He said, walking back towards his cottage. I could see what I assumed to be Berry looking at me in the one small window in the cottage. She blushed when She saw me look. 
“That sounds great.” I replied, following Antony into the cottage.
> 14: of Stars and Salads
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 14

“This is amazing, Berry.” I said through a mouthful of salad. The Plum mare blushed lightly and looked away.
“Thank you, Edwin.” She replied quietly. Antony smiled at her with crinkled eyes. She giggled, looking back at him. I ate some salad inconspicuously. They shared their moment. I coughed. Antony looked at me.
“So, Edwin.” Antony asked, placing a forehoof on the table. His horn glowed a pale purple as he summoned a small pocketknife. He began to pick at his hoof with it.
“Not at the table, Antony.” Berry said. Antony’s eyes grew wide, surprised. He looked back at berry, then at me.
“Sorry, force of habit.” He said as the pocketknife dissolved into thin air. He held a hoof up to his mouth. He cleared his throat, and put the stone grey hoof back on the ground.
“Tell me, Edwin. What brings you to my home?” He asked, looking at me. Berry looked on as well.
“You promised me that you would teach me to summon swords, Antony.” I said. Antony smiled out of the corner of his mouth. He brushed a hoof through his mane and chuckled.
“You most certainly a persistent pony, Edwin. If you will help me with my chores for today, I will teach you to summon blades.” Antony said. I could hear the smile in his voice. I thought about his condition, finding it deceptively simple.
“Are you sure that’s it?” I asked, perplexed. Antony lifted up a steaming cup with magic and sipped it.
“Yes. I hope you aren’t averse to it. Having another magician help me would make it go so much faster.” He reasoned as he wafted the cup under his nose. He closed his eyes and hummed, relishing in the scent.
“Tea from our peach tree. Would you like some, Edwin?” Antony asked.
“Yes, please.” I said. I really was not a big fan of peaches when I was a human, but for some reason my pony senses just loved them. The taste, the soft feel, the smell. They were all so much better in this body. Antony set down his cup, but his horn continued to glow. I could hear soft noises in the kitchen. I was curious about what it was, and I got up to go look. Antony waved for me to sit. He chuckled again.
“I’m making your tea, Edwin.” The stone grey pony said. I sat down, feeling rather stupid. Antony pawed the ground under the short table. Berry blew some of her puffy plum hair out of her eyes. I looked around the small dining room of the cottage. It was warmly lit by a small window on the opposite wall from me. A painting hung on the wall to the left of me. It was of a small blue foal laying next to a wrinkled  old colt. They were in a large fall clearing, with a book open on the ground beside them. The old colt’s cutie mark was of a curved scimitar. 
“That blue foal is my father, Edwin. My grandfather was teaching him how to summon in this painting. Nature itself is a considerable part of magic, and thus summoning swords. We will go into this later, but now, your tea is ready.” Antony said, A small clay cup was floating toward me, it’s contents steaming. I could smell the tea, with the faint smell of peaches wafting toward me. The cup set itself down in front of me. It had a large handle on the side of it, apparently for putting your hoof through it. I picked it up with magic, floating it over to my mouth. I tilted the cup, and the warm tea flowed into my mouth. It tasted amazing. I sat there and chugged the hot tea, scalding my throat. When I was done I floated the cup back to the table. I gasped, trying to get air into my mouth. Berry and Antony were staring at me, eyes wide. I chuckled once, embarrassed. 
“It was very good. Thank you, Antony.” I said in my defense. Antony shrugged.
“It’s Berry you should thank, it’s her tree.” Antony said. I looked over to Berry, who had a large lettuce leaf in her mouth.
“Thank you, Berry.” I said. She stopped chewing on her leaf. She looked mortified.
“Yoor Whelcum, Edwuun.” She said, her mouth still clamped on her leaf. Antony looked at her, and smiled. She smiled back, chewing on her leaf. Antony looked back to me.
“I think it’s time we go, Edwin. We have to do much, and have very little time.” Antony spoke. He sighed, getting to his hooves. He craned his neck forward, stretching. His muscular frame shuddered. He opened his mouth wide and yawned. He shuddered again, and drew back to standing normally. He walked away from me to the door. He stopped next to berry.
“We’ll be back in a few hours, Berry.” He said. He leaned down his head and kissed her on the cheek. She blushed a deeper shade of pink than she was already. Antony straightened himself and walked out of the door. 
“Thank you so much for breakfast, Berry.” I said, following Antony out of the door. Berry poked me as I walked past her. I looked back at her.
“About last night, Edwin-” She started nervously, her expression filled with worry. I smiled.
“I didn’t see a thing.” I replied. She visibly relaxed, knowing her secret was safe with me. I walked out of the door, out into the morning sun. 

“Why are you doing that, Edwin?” Antony asked, trotting down a dirt path. I looked down at him, floating through the air.
“It’s very enjoyable.” I replied, wafting on a breeze. I leaned back, placing my hooves behind my head. Antony chuckled.
“Why don’t you join me, Antony?” I asked, looking down at the grey colt. The wind gently blew through his mane. He looked up at me, confusion spread across his face.
“What?” He questioned.
“Why do you spend all of your time on the ground when you could fly? You are a magician, aren’t you?” I replied. Antony threw back his head and laughed. I stopped my wafting and looked at him. 
“What’s so funny?” I asked, my tone serious. Antony walked under me, still laughing. I floated fast enough to keep pace behind him.
“I asked my father that once when I was young. There was a spell going around amongst foals, like fads often do, that could make you fly. He told me: ‘Why would I want to get where I am going faster if I enjoy the journey it takes to get there?’ I never flew again, taking his words to heart.” He said. I felt touched by his short story. 
“That does make sense...” I said, floating gently to the ground. I cut my magic about a foot from the ground, dropping the rest of the way. My hooves made a small cloud of dust as I landed. It reminded me of the moon. Luna.
“Antony... I must do something, I am afraid I cannot help you today.” I said as I immersed myself in the flow. Antony looked back at me, his expression dissapointed.
“Well... If you must, Edwin. We can do this another day.” He said, continuing down the path. I closed my eyes on the scene of a bird flitting past him as he walked down the dirt path. I thought of Luna. The cool night wind blowing through her mane, her powerful wings spread wide.
I felt a cool breeze. I opened my eyes to see Luna sleeping on her blue rug, my blanket wrapped around her. I inhaled, feeling satisfied. The smell of oranges assaulted my nostrils. I smiled. Luna always found a way to make me smile. I looked at her laying on her rug, her chest moving up and down lightly. 
“Moon...” She mumbled, rolling over on her side. She dragged the blanket around with her, exposing a wing. Strong blue feathers were layered all over it. I smiled as I leaned down to whisper in her ear. The scent of oranges was strong in my nose.
“Sweet dreams, Princess.” I whispered. She hummed a soft note. I smiled, walking back to the door. I pushed it open with a hoof and walked out into the hallway. I could feel all of the animals and ponies around me. There was a meal going on in the dining hall, the ponies down there milling about. Celestia was in the throne room, talking to an entity I was unfamiliar with. But what caught my attention was the pony hiding behind the curtain in front of me.
“Hello Doctor.” I said. He swore loudly, coming out from behind a curtain. 
“How could you possibly know I was here?” He said, shaking dust out of his mane. I thought about this for a second. 
“I guess I’m still in the Flow.” I said, cutting myself from the power. Immediately, all of the creatures around me faded from my senses. The Doctor looked up at me, disgruntled.
“Hmph. I suppose so. But I’m here because Celestia and Marcus want you in the throne room.” He said, dragging his hooves to try and get the dust off of them. He left light grey tracks in the deep purple carpet. 
“How did they know I was here?” I asked. 
“I am not the only one who notices what goes on between you and Luna.” He said, smirking at me. I stomped my hoof, making a surge of electricity flow under the carpet to him. It shocked him, making him practically jump out of his skin. He fell and made a solid thud as he hit the ground. I walked up to him as he shuddered on the ground. I craned my neck down to him, nearly touching his nose with mine. He looked up at me, completely shocked.
“I do expect you to keep quiet about our little trip to the moon, Doctor. I have a feeling that Celestia would not be too happy if she was to learn about me tampering with her sentence for Luna. As an accomplice, she would not be too happy with you either, I think. Best we keep it between ourselves.” I threatened him in a calm voice. He looked up at me, his wide eyes full of shock.
“I think you are right, Edwin. Now help me up.” He said. I craned my neck back up. I picked him up with magic. He wiggled around in the air, not used to being airborne. I set him down. He landed on his hooves awkwardly, but managed to stand. I looked at him. He looked at me. He coughed into a hoof. He walked down the hallway.
“Let’s go, Edwin.” He said as he broke into a gallop.

“Ah, Doctor. It’s good to see you again.” Said Celestia as we walked into the throne room. Her hair waved as if there was a gentle breeze in the room.
“Likewise, Princess. I brought along Edwin, I heard you wanted to see him.” The Doctor spoke in an off-handed way. I could see Marcus standing to the side of Celestia, his deep green coat glowing in the morning sunlight. He had a strong jawline, accented by his corded neck and stocky build. He reminded me of a smaller Othello. He looked at me and smiled. Celestia cleared her throat. We all looked up to her. She looked at me, her light purple eyes spearing me to the carpet. I gulped. She smiled out of the corner of her mouth, and began.

“Edwin, I have been meaning to talk to you. I have seen that my sister, Luna, has taken quite a shine to you. Far be it from I to interfere with her whims, but I am not above interfering with you. She may be a grown mare, but she has responsibilities. She cannot comport herself with the likes of you. Be you immortal? Yes. Be you strong enough to defend her? Yes. But you are far from what Luna needs, Edwin. The two of us have safeguarded Equestria from the moment of it’s very inception! Yet you, a pony merely days old, think that he can claim one of the Princesses on high for his own? Madness! Pure insanity! You must shed yourself of such childish notions. She is old enough to be your grandparent a hundred times over! You cannot continue this way with her. Please, be done with her Edwin.” She slaughtered me with her perfect elocution. 
My hopes of being with Luna were smashed, decimated. I had left Angelics in better condition than Celestia just left me. I gasped, the breath held during her speech finally leaving me. I could feel something brewing inside of me. I felt cold. Yet...
“Now, Edwin, I have brought Marcus here toda-” Celestia began.
“No.” I whispered firmly. She perked her ears, looking at me. Her hair stopped waving for a second.
“What was that?” She asked, her voice spiked with venom.
“No.” I said, stronger this time. Her face broke into an expression of disgust
“I do beg your pardon, Edwin?” She said with a tone to match her face. 
“No, Celestia. I will do nothing of the sort. I would kill myself before I parted with her willingly. You would have to pry my cold, dead hooves away from her.” I said, my voice growing stronger.
“I hope you know full well wha-” She started.
“I do! I do know what I am doing, Princess Celestia! I would do anything for Luna! Anything at all! I would climb the highest peaks, dive to deepest depths! I would slay one hundred dragons! A thousand! No, I would kill all the dragons in Equestria, just to see Luna smile! Anything that I could for her to make her the slightest bit happier, consider it done!” I shouted. My lungs were heaving from the passion of my words. Celestia looked shocked upon her marble throne. She stared at me for a second or two. She then grinned, getting up from her haunches. I could feel the room grow hotter.
“Silly foal.” She said, placing one long, gilded leg in front of the other. I would have sworn that it made a small hissing noise as it touched down. The room grew hotter still, and I began to sweat. She stepped again, setting her long legs down in tandem. She continued to walk towards me.
“You know not the import of your actions.” She declaimed, her perfect voice spiked with hate. The room grew hotter still. I was still panting, but now with the effort it took to draw the hot air into my lungs. I was dripping with sweat. Celestia placed another hoof down, this time making a noticible hiss. The carpet flared with a small tongue of fire. I could feel Celestia walking closer to me, the searing heat radiating off of her in waves. I gulped, but there was nothing to swallow. My mouth was completely dry.
“You should not interfere with your betters, Edwin.” She said softly, walking with a slow laziness that drove me mad. The air grew even hotter, and I could barely breathe anymore. my ears drooped, dripping with sweat. I looked up at her with no expression at all. She placed a hoof down, making a flame shoot from the carpet. The flame spread, slowly licking it’s way across the carpet. Celestia’s horn glowed, and everything went black.
“You are lucky, Edwin.” She said, floating in front of me. I inhaled, drawing nothing. I gagged, trying to inhale. I gasped and sputtered and choked, unable too draw any air. The heat was gone, but Celestia drew ever closer to me, her hooves not even moving. I wheezed, struggling to get air.
“I have killed ponies in more gruesomer fashions for far less than what you have done.” She said, her horn glowing. She spun me around, turning me. I knew why I couldn’t breathe. I was in space. I was looking straight at the Sun, My eyes burning. It was all but the grace of Celestia that kept me from shooting into it.
“Goodbye, Edwin. I hope that Othello will forgive me.” She said. She pushed me. Gravity took hold, hurtling me to the sun. I spun as I fell, turning back to look at Celestia. She had a smug grin on her face. I opened myself to the flow. I could feel the flaring of her presence. I could feel magic bubbling within her, about to take her back to Equestria. I looked at her with wide eyes. I closed my eyes. 
I imagined Luna. Luna, frolicking through the clearing where the Doctor buried her. Her dead body, levitating in front of me. I thought of Antony, kissing berry on the cheek. His dagger with the plum gemstone. His humming swords. 
No... I thought. I looked at Celestia. Her head was thrown back in laughter.
NO! 
I broke the hold of gravity, shooting back to Celestia. She looked at me flying to her with a look of surprise on her face. I could sense the magic flowing from her before I could see her horn glow. I closed my eyes as I could feel the world rip. I thought of Luna, and Antony’s swords. I wrapped my hooves around Celestia's long neck as she left the Sun.
“NO!” I screamed. I lashed out at Celestia with my mind. I heard a sharp sound, and Celestia screaming. I opened my eyes. Celestia was looking down at me, a shallow slash across her face. It was bleeding. 
“I would bathe Equestria in an ocean of it’s own blood before I would give Luna up!” I shouted. Celestia looked down at me in surprise. I was staring up at her with wide eyes, panting. My teeth were bared at her.
“You really are lucky that Luna and I are so close, otherwise you would have killed me.” She said in her perfect tone, gesturing to something off to the side. I looked in the direction she pointed. It was a sword. I looked at it in awe. The blade was the exact same color as Luna’s coat, the crossguard was in the shape of two crescent moons placed end to end. Even looking at it, I could tell it was hideously sharp. There was a brilliant teal gem mounted in blued steel on the hilt. I was taken aback by my burst of magic.
“Get out of my throne room, Edwin. Take your sword with you.” She said, turning her back to me. I followed my heart and ran headlong out of the room.
> 15: of Swords and Evenings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 15

I stood on the cliff looking down at the Palace below me. The sun was reaching the horizon, casting an orange glow across the sky. Wind flew past, whipping my black mane across my face. I looked at my sword to my side. It was beautiful. The blade was wide, about a hoof wide, compared to Antony’s skinny saber. The crossguard was on level with the blade. It was in the shape of two crescent moons, overlapping on the closed side. The edges of the moons were sharpened. The hilt was blue string layered on black metal, forming a waffle pattern. A large teal gem was mounted in the hilt. The blade itself was curved slightly near the tip. I looked at it the way a mother looked at a child. It felt as if Luna was standing right next to me. I moved the sword. It made a low hum as it floated past my face. I looked at my reflection in the blade as it floated past me. It hummed low. I flicked it with my mind. It screamed a hum as it flung itself into the ground beside me, slicing through the rock like butter. It was sticking straight up in the grey stone. I looked back at the horizon. There was natural lightning off in the distance, accompanied by grey clouds. The view was simply stunning.
“Hello, Edwin.” Said a voice. I flung my sword out of the ground and pointed it at the noise. I turned my head to see Marcus standing on his tips of his hooves, the sword firmly touching him under his chin. He gulped.
“Please don’t stab the messenger, Edwin.” He said, his voice full of fear. His large frame was struggling under his own unbalanced weight. I sighed, pulling the sword away from him. I placed it halfway between he and I. Marcus gulped. It was surprising how much I depended on the sword now, even though I had only had it for the past few hours.
“The Princess asks for your presence in the throne room, Edwin. She says that she is sorry.” He said, trying to convey as much sincerity as he could.
“Celestia says a great many things, Marcus.” I replied coldly. A warm breeze wafted by. Marcus looked at me, disappointed. He turned back to fly down to the palace. I closed my eyes.
“Oh, and Luna says hello.” He added. I grinned. I immersed myself in the Flow, feeling all the creatures around me. I could feel Marcus floated down the cliff. I thought of Luna. I felt the cool breeze and I opened my eyes. 

Celestia was on her throne, talking to Othello on her right. She bore no scars or other sign of injury from our altercation earlier in the day. The tardis was in another corner of the room. I could see Luna standing in front of a bushel of apples. I floated up beside her.
“Well, if it isn’t my pretty little moon rock, safe home at last.” I whispered in her ear. She gasped, dropping the apple she was holding with magic. She slowly turned to me. I saw her blue hair slide away to reveal her wide eyes.
“It’s... You.” She whispered. I smiled, knowing exactly what she meant. I was not the Edwin that showed up at her door. I was the Edwin that saved her. The Edwin that fought against all odds to bring his moon rock home.
“I missed you, Luna.” I said. She laughed once under her breath.
“I missed you so much more.” She replied. I shrugged, floating back to the ground. I landed with a soft thump. Luna smiled, her eyes welling with tears. She whimpered.
“My white knight.” She said. 
“What?” I asked, completely oblivious. 
“Whenever I thought about you, before I met you again, I always thought of you as a... Protector, of sorts. A white knight. You saved me, Edwin.” She said. I smiled. 
“I love you, Luna.” I said, leaning down to her face. She lifted her chin. She parted her lips ever so slightly. Her were closed as she reached up to meet me.
“If you two would kindly join us, we have business to attend to.” Said a perfectly regal voice. I growled, looking over my shoulder. Celestia averted her eyes from me, looking down at a golden shod hoof.
“I think that you at least owe me this one, Celestia.” I mumbled angrily. She looked back up at me.
“I truly am sorry, Edwin. I had no idea that she meant that much to you. The Doctor told me what you did. I myself am grateful to you, Luna means more to me than anything else. It was no easy thing, what you did. Bringing the dead back to we who are living is not only a hefty spell, but also a dangerous decision. Yours made sure that you would be tied to her forever. This, and the form of your summoned blade makes me feel that you are fully committed to her, and that this is no mere passing fancy.” She said. I looked back at her. Luna was looking at me in confusion.
“Just this morning you tried to hurl me into the sun. An odd pony it is that can change their mind so quickly.” I remarked, drawing a gasp from Luna.
“Tried?!” Luna exclaimed under her breath. I turned to her. Her mouth was agape.
“Yes. I did what I thought the situation justified. I have been known to lose my temper, Edwin.” She added when she saw my look of outright disbelief. Luna looked at me, aghast.
“Edwin, she just doesn’t try to throw something into the sun! She throws things into the sun! What did you do?!” She asked me in a hushed tone. Othello was looking at all three of us, confused by our exchange. He raised a hoof awkwardly, as if to emphasize a statement, and then set it down. 
“I fought back.” I said simply. Luna’s mouth dropped open
“You did WHAT?!” she shouted. I looked at her, in shock. I had never heard her raise her voice before.
“I fought. I fought for you.” I said. She looked at me, her face frozen in a look of surprise. 
“What do you mean, ‘fought’” Luna asked. I held a hoof up to my mouth and coughed.
“Your sister didn’t want me to be with you, and I argued with her about it. Push comes to shove, and she tries to hurl me into the sun.” I remarked bluntly. Luna’s face went from surprised to enraged. She turned to Celestia.
“What, I am not allowed to be with a Numbered?! What a hypocrite you have become in my absence, sister.” She said with venom in her voice. Celestia looked awkwardly at Othello, and then back to Luna. 
“It is a hard life, Luna. They are the only ones capable of giving us companionship, being one of the few immortal creatures in our world, but they have serious responsibility. I was a different pony then, Luna. I still have feelings, just... Subdued. Edwin especially will be consumed with responsibility, for the upcoming Event is his own to avert. The fate of Equestria depends on them, not us. They are what keep our kingdom from destroying itself. They are the great arbiters of our race, saving us from the Angelic threat. A Numbered is one of the very, very few that keep darkness from inheriting our land. Thus being said, they are always busy.” She said in a solemn tone. Luna’s expression grew softer, but was still angry.
“I am not some filly! I am a Princess! You think that if he were to go off on an adventure of some kind, that I may not follow him?” She exclaimed. I looked at Luna, feeling shocked myself. I had never heard her speak with such authority. Celestia looked at her, her eyes caring and soft.
“I suppose you are not, Luna. I will meddle no more between you and Edwin. But, ironic though it may be, the Doctor has something to say. Doctor?” She asked, craning her neck to see  behind us. I turned around to see where she was looking. The tardis was sitting there, not doing much. A door swung open. The Doctor strolled out, holding his pen in his mouth again. He nodded his head at Luna, then Celestia
“Princesses.” He said through a mouthful of pen. The formality made me smile. He walked up to the first step on the throne, spat his pen on the ground, and turned to me.
“Edwin, when you entered the Nether after your first battle with the Angelic orb, I took you into the past. Remember?” The Doctor said. Othello looked at him, surprised, but Luna and Celestia betrayedno emotion.
“Yes.” I said. The Doctor continued:
“Well, you are actually arriving in Equestria originally in about... oh, an hour? Yes, I think that’s right. Well, you stayed at Twilight’s tree for one day, and was in Zecora’s for about half,  which means that you will have two days until I have to replace the old Edwin on the timeline with You. Which means that you will be continuing on in Ponyville as if nothing had happened. Ergo, You will have to leave the palace until we need you again.” The Doctor finished. I looked at him, extremely confused by his explanation. The Doctor sighed. 
“Nopony ever does understand me.” He said in a tired voice. He leaned down to pick up his pen. We all watched him walk back into the tardis, and heard the door slam shut. We all looked at each other.
“Well that was odd.” said Othello, breaking the awkward silence. Celestia turned to him, nodding.
“Yes, the Doctor is an strange creature indeed.” Celestia agreed. She turned back to Luna and I.
“Edwin, he meant to say that you have two more days before you have to go to Ponyville. I have no use for you because Othello has decided to stay in Equestria for a while, so you may spend the next two days as you please. I just request of you that you be in easy reach to contact if we actually do need you. With this, I bid you adieu.” She said. I looked to Luna, who looked back at me. She began to grin. 
“What on earth are you thinking, Luna?” I asked. She just grinned wider, backing away from me.
“Luna...” I said playfully, advancing towards her. She giggled, still backing away. I smiled. I got into a crouch and snuck over to her. She backed away from me.
“Hey Ed.” She spoke in a happy voice.
“What, Luna?” I asked.
“Betcha can’t catch me.” She turned and shot off to the doors. I laughed loudly, breaking into a sprint. We cleared the doors to the throne room, entering a lush purple hall.
“I’m gonna get you, Luna!” I shouted, watching the blue mare pull away. She squealed, still laughing. We were reaching the turn where the hall to the Throne room branched off into a perpendicular hall. I didn’t see Luna turn, which worried me slightly. She was still laughing when she jumped out of an open window. I was shocked, but it was too late to turn. She fitted perfectly through the small square, flinging herself into the evening. I leaped. Everything was in slow motion. I could see Luna’s pale blue tail flowing in the warm evening breeze, and saw her dark wings unfold slowly. I jumped, squeezing myself so that I could fit. My left foreleg brushed against the window frame, jarring me. I could see Luna flap her large wings, the feathers straining against her weight. Time sped back up, and I was falling through the warm night. The air was a tangible thing around me, whipping my jet black mane up. The sensation of falling was one of the best things about flight. I watched the Place fall past me, relishing in the sensation of weightlessness. I fell for a few more seconds before I pulled out of my dive. I shot back up to Luna flying lazily away from the Palace. I could feel the wind rush past my face, my mane flung back against my neck. I could see Luna silhouetted against the purple sky. I rocketed up to her, laughing. She looked down at me with a surprised expression. I slowed down and pulled up next to her. I poked her with a snow white hoof.
“Got you.” I said smugly. Luna stuck her tongue out at me. I looked around, taking in the fresh night.
“So what are we doing out here, Luna?” I asked. She kept her eyes ahead, staring at the setting sun. A mere sliver of orange was visible. 
“When I first met you, Edwin, you said you wanted to see Equestria. I take it for granted, because I traverse the whole of it daily. So, Edwin, we are going to see the night life.” She said. I looked at her, confused.
“What?” 
“We are going to see Equestria.” She said simply. I looked at her, stupefied. She glanced to me, then did a double take.
“That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?” She said worriedly. I looked at her with a spreading smile. I floated gently over and bumped her. She looked at me with wide eyes, slapping my opposite side with her long wing.
“It was, Luna. Thank you for taking the time.” I replied. She looked off to the horizon.
“I don’t think of it as being kind than being greedy. I don’t see half as much of you as I would like. Think of this as... Take your Numbered to work day.” She said. I laughed at her unexpected comment. She began to giggle. I was roaring with laughter, literally doubled over in the air. She watched me, giggling. I somehow managed to control myself after a few minutes of laughing. I wiped the tears from my eyes with a hoof. I chuckled for a minute or two more, then managed to calm down. Luna was hovering beside me, her large wings flapping lazily. 
“Are you okay?” She asked, her eyebrow cocked. I smiled. 	
“Yep. Where are we going, Luna?” I asked her. her face lit up at this question.
“I don’t know.” She said, her face filled with vigor. I eyed her questioningly. She flapped away from me, picking up speed.
“It wouldn’t be an adventure if we knew where we were going, now would it?” She shouted, flying away from me. I shot off after her.


“Oh! How about that one?” I asked, pointing to a campfire. She eyed the small speck of light in a considering manner. Her horn glowed for a minute or two.
“No. Pegasi.” She explained. I looked at her beligerantly.
“Come on, Luna! Do they have to be earth ponies?” I asked in a whiny tone. She stuck her tongue out at me.
“Yes, they do. I barely ever get to see earth ponies. Remarkable creatures, they are. Always filled with determination, never willing to give up.” She reasoned. I considered this statement as the evening wind cooled my face. Luna had a practice of dropping in to see earth ponies that were camping. I considered it to be biased, but the few earth ponies I did see had a certain air about them. I squinted, trying to eye a fire in the distance. 
“What about that one?” I asked, pointing with a forehoof. Luna looked to where I was pointing. Her horn glowed for a second. She grinned as her horn stopped glowing.
“Yes, we can go see them.” She said. I didn’t say anything, my lack of sleep was beginning to take a toll. My eyes fluttered as I dropped a little in the sky. This scared me awake enough to fly straight. Luna looked at me worriedly. 
“We can walk if you like, Edwin.” She said in a soft tone.
“I’m fine...” I trailed off, struggling to keep my eyes open. I dropped again, unable to keep control of my magic.
“Walk, Edwin.” She said firmly. I looked at her lazily. 
“But... Flying.” I tried to reason. Luna would have none of it.
“I’m not taking you home in more than one peice, Ed. Get on the ground.” She commanded. I looked at her blankly. She huffed and flew above me. I didn’t look at her. I stared blankly at the distant glow in the forest that signified warmth. I smiled stupidly, imagining the crackling flames. I imagined the smell, smoky and warm. I felt hooves wrap around my torso. 
“Come on, Edwin.” Luna said above me. I looked up at her. I saw her head outlined against the bright white moon. I knew what she meant, and released my hold on the magic that kept me flying. Luna kept flapping her wings. I could feel the cold wind driven under me. I struggled to keep my eyes open while I opened myself to the Flow. I closed my eyes finally, I no longer needed them. I could feel Luna above me, her strong wings straining against our combined weight. She was panting lightly with the effort. I moved my attention to the campfire. There were three ponies there, one of which was very small. I suspected it to be a foal. I could begin to sense the small insects below me, which heralded our approach to the ground. It was amazing how much life there was in the most barren of landscapes. The forest, lush as it was, was absolutely teeming with the minutiae of all forms of life. The ground grew ever closer as I pondered the life in the forest. Luna’s wings brushed my sides as they flapped harder, in preparation for landing. The ground was a few feet below us. 
“Okay, Edwin?” Luna asked. I opened my weary eyes and looked down. I could not only see, but I could feel everything around me. Luna, the plants, the insects, and the ponies in the distant campfire. I bolstered my flagging strength with energy from the Flow I could feel my legs grow stronger with the limitless energy from the Flow, then I severed my connection when I had enough. 
“Okay, Luna.” I said. She let go of me with her hooves, and I dropped the few feet to the ground. I made a solid thud, landing on my hooves. I looked up at Luna, still flapping.
“Will you join this most humble pony on the ground, O highest Princess?” I asked, trying my best to sound sophisticated. She smirked at me.
“Shut up, Edwin. I’ll be down in a second.” She said jokingly. I chuckled once, watching her large wings driving the air under her. Her flaps grew shorter as she approached the ground. Her blue-shod hooves grazed the long grasses under her. She raised her wings and dropped a foot or so. She folded her wingtips as she flapped down again, just keeping altitude. She raised her wings up again, this time landing lightly on the ground. The grasses around her were shoulder-high, enough to see past her neck. She was absolutely beautiful. Her dark blue tiara glistened in the full moon. She was in her element. I ogled her, dumbfounded. She shook the dirt from her wings, then looked at me. She cocked her brow at me.
“What are you staring at, Edwin?” She asked. I smiled out of the corner of my mouth.
“My midnight princess. I do love you, Luna.” I said. Her large teal eyes grew soft around the corners. She looked down at her forehooves. 
“I love you too, Edwin. But for reasons other than those obvious.” I turned my head slightly to the side, showing confusion. She looked up at me, her pale blue mane bouncing.
“You saved me, Edwin. More than once, I might add. Where other ponies would stop and declare the cause for naught, you laughed at Death itself, bringing me back from it’s cold clutches. I could not thank you enough for this, Edwin. You have earned my devotion a million times over. Why you have chosen me, of all ponies, I have no idea.” She finished in a somber tone, looking back at her hooves. I looked at her, feeling touched. I walked over to where she was standing, wading through the tall golden grasses. She didn’t look up at my approach. 
“Luna.” I said. She said nothing, but continued looking at her hooves. I reached up with one of my pale forehooves and placed it under her dark blue muzzle. She raised her head to look up at me.
“I love you, Luna. You. I did all of those things because I love you. Saving you from the moon, bringing you back to life, arguing with your sister, I did it all for you. Even if it was up to me, I would choose no other mare. You are perfect in every way, Luna.” I said. Her eyes were crinkled with happiness, and her nose was twitching above my snow-white hoof.
“I love you, Ed.” She whispered. I said nothing, but leaned in. Luna did nothing, but just stood there. I touched her nose with mine. I could feel her warm breath shuddering. 
“You know I do, Luna.” I whispered. I could feel her soft nose against mine. She closed her eyes and just stood there. I enjoyed the moment, feeling her shallow breaths against the soft flesh of my nose. We stood like this for a while. The grass swayed gently against us, the golden fronds trying to get our attention. Sadly, their cries for attention had to go unheeded. The wind gusted and blew, but it could not separate us. I opened my eyes. Luna was looking at me. Her bright teal eyes were smoldering under their half-closed lids. 
“Do you still want to go see those ponies?” I mumbled quietly.
“They can wait.” She mumbled back. I hummed in assent.
“I hoped you would say that.” I said, nuzzling her with my nose. She giggled softly under her breath.
“Oh dear, I do hope that I am not interrupting anything.” Said a velvet voice. I stiffened, recognizing it at once.
> 16: of Grasses and Manes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 16

I plunged into the Flow, drawing forth the energy necessary. I could see the golden stalks of grass waving slowly. I watched the sword materialize itself from the cool night air around it. I could feel my hooves sink slightly into the wet ground as I spun to face it. The sword seemed to glow just as Luna did in the moonlight, the teal gemstone in the hilt sparkling like it never did in the sun. I could feel the sword brush over the grass, clipping off the occasional golden tip. I could see it arc beautifully through the air. It was beautiful. Not only because it was ornate, but because it worked. It was intent incarnate. I could feel it as a pony could feel a hoof or an ear. I saw it glide blissfully over the grass, and felt it fly out to the unseen threat. The blade whistled a sharp note as it flew to the velvet voice. I had no eyes for anything other than the sword. It flew up and shot away from me, like a spear. I blinked, watching my slow lids droop over my eyes. The world was black for what seemed like eternity.
I heard and felt the blade lodge itself in flesh, slicing through muscles. I could feel it as it slid through skin. The blade cut through ligaments and bone as through warm butter. I felt hot blood spurt over the cold blade. My eyes dragged open slowly. The blade exited the creature, flinging it’s blood everywhere. I heard the blade sing a deeper note as it flew from the body. My eyesopened just enough to see a font of crimson erupting from a swath of dark grey hair. I locked down my body, feeling a rush of shock. Antony was the first thing that came to mind. Could I have made a mistake? But Antony would have defended himself, I thought hurriedly. Surely he knew how to defend himself from a fellow bladesinger. The sword-induced perception of time began to wear off. The grass begin to look like it was waving through water instead of syrup. I could hear the thud of the head hitting the ground, and then the body followed soon after. I leaped over the long waving grass to the body. I landed lithely next to it. Luna was still holding her neck out to an Edwin that was not there.
“Luna.” I said. 
“Ed? how did you get over there?” She asked confusedly. I started to realize that the creature was killed in a mere fraction of a second, far faster than normal perception. I watched it as if it were suspended in gelatin. This worried me. Not only was I such a deadly pony, but I was so quick to kill. I could have blindly murdered an innocent traveller. I could have killed an innocent pony. I looked down at the corpse. But I didn’t
“Edwin? What are you doing?” Luna asked. Her voice was wary. I stared down at the body. Blood leaked from the body, forming a sticky patch of dirt. I could feel the heat rising from the corpse in waves.
“Are you okay, Luna?” I asked, looking for the head. She had no idea what had happened right in front of her.
“Yes I am, Ed. What happened?” She asked, her tone going from wary to annoyed. I smiled somewhat perversely at the answer that formed in my mind.
“Something wonderful, most likely.” I said off-handedly. I spied the head. The pale mane wrapped around the black, black head. I could see the horn sticking out of the top. I stepped over the corpse to get to the head. My hooves made small indentations as the cold dirt gave way beneath me. The head was so close to my nose. I could smell the blood dripping from the neck. I magicked the head up to look at it. Cold, dead red eyes looked back at me. The eyes were still twitching. I shuddered as I imagined what it would feel like to be this head. It’s mouth lolled gently open and closed. Even though it was contorting itself in terrible emotions, I felt relieved. This was the Unicorn that tried to abduct Luna in the courtyard. I could see it’s now short hair wave in the gentle breeze. It rolled it’s eyes to stare at me. It speared me to the ground with it’s dead stare. The eyes may have been unseeing, but it was still horrifying to watch. It was hard to look away, but I finally managed to. I released my hold of magic on the head and it fell. I turned away from the body to an anxious Luna. She eyed me curiously.
“Ed?” She asked. I was still slightly crouched from looking at the head.
“Yes, Luna?” I replied. She eyed me with an air of suspicion. I was sure that the grass was too tall to see the body. I glanced back at it just to be sure. I found myself unable to look away. I did not want to worry Luna with the sickening truth about what happened. I barely could stand it myself. I would not want to expose Luna to this if she didn’t have to know. She seemed... Innocent, in my eyes.
“Ed, what is this?” Luna said. This question piqued my interest. I looked away from the body to see Luna staring at my sword. It was laying parallel to the ground above the waving grass. Luna craned her head to look at it from above.
“Ed... come look at this.” She said, enraptured. I walked over to her side. Her tail brushed against my shoulder as I pulled up alongside her. I admired Luna looking at it. She stared at it for a while, then looked back to me.
“It looks like me.” She said simply. She seemed confused to no end by this fact. I smiled at her as she tried to wrap her head around it. I also felt relieved that she was distracted from the body.
“Yes. It does.” I replied warmly. She did a double take back to the sword.
“Why is it here, Edwin?” She asked. I pawed the ground, trying to figure out how to explain it.
“I summoned it.” I said. Luna looked back at me, completely befuddled.
“But the only pony that I’ve ever seen summon swords is a-”
“Guard, yes. He was the one who taught me the skill.” I finished for her. She looked up at me.
“I feel flattered.” Luna said, rubbing her shoulder against mine. I looked at her like she was crazy.
“What?” I exclaimed. She didn’t take her eyes off of the sword.
“I’ve spoken with the guard. He’s told me about the basic mechanics of... Bladesinging, I think it was. He described much. From what I gleaned from him, the summoned implement gains the characteristics of what means the most to you. This means a lot to me, Ed.” Luna said. She leaned her head against mine and we both looked at the sword. It was glinting beautifully in the moonlight, the grass swaying under it. 
“Why do you think it glows like that, Ed?” Luna asked, still leaning on me. The sword seemed to emanate more light than was actually there. The gemstone was almost blinding, reflecting the full moon. This was a puzzling conundrum.
“I have to think about that one. Do you still want to go see those ponies?” I asked her. Luna hummed an iffy note.
“Not sure. Besides, we have to go meet Celestia soon.” She said. I turned to her and almost poked my eye out on her horn. Luna was just the slightest bit shorter than I was. 
“Ow. Why?” I asked, reaching a hoof up to my injured eye. Luna looked up and giggled at me.
“Oops. Sorry. We have to... well, ‘pass the torch’, if you will.” She said. I rubbed my eye, looking up at the moon. The full white orb was approaching the tree line.
“I guess so. How far out are we, anyways?” I asked. 
“Thirty, forty minutes?. If we left now we would have the palace to ourselves for an hour. We could get some breakfast.” She teased. I looked at her, contemplating. I turned back to the direction of the campfire. I could barely glean the glow of the fire through the trees.
“I don’t know, Luna. Other ponies.” I reasoned unsteadily. Luna looked back up at me.
“Oh, Ed. I’d bet that they would have a whole bushel of peaches in the kitchen.” Luna said. I groaned as I turned to look at her. She was cheating and she knew it
“That’s not fair, Luna! You know how much I love peaches.” I whined. Luna smiled and spread her wings. 
“Come on, Ed. Let’s go.” She said, stepping back from me. She flapped her wings, making my mane blow past my face. Her hooves lifted off of the ground as her powerful wings pulled her into the air. The long grasses danced under her as she flapped again. She ascended faster, climbing the cold night air on large blue wings. I was struck speechless by the beauty of it. She swept her wings again and shot off into the air. I watched her from the ground shoot through the sky, flying with incredible speed. She cast a shadow over the whole clearing as she swept in front of the moon. She swept through a smooth arc back to me, gliding through the chilly air. She flared her wings in front of me, bringing herself to a halt. She flung her wings forward to keep airborne. A single blue feather brushed my nose, filling it with the faint scent of oranges. I began to salivate as she turned her wings to face me.
“Come on, Ed. Peaches!” She said. All I could manage to do was stare at her dumbly. The fact slowly registered to my clouded mind that she was a goddess. I was merely a pony with a job to do. Who was I to claim her for my own? These sleepless thoughts had a point. Who was I to claim her? I had no idea. I had to find out. Luna was hovering right in front of me, her beautiful blue body glistening in the moonlight. Her teal eyes shone with the magic she exuded to keep the moon aloft in the sky. It grew harder for me to breathe.
“Who picked who, Luna?” I asked. She was about to shoot into the air again, but she turned back to look at me. She had a look of confusion in her glittering teal eyes.
“What?” She asked
“Who picked who? Did you pick me or did I pick you?” I asked. I had no idea why, but I needed an answer. She looked at me confusedly, trying to decipher my question. I could see when she understood. She looked at a hoof.
“I don’t know, Edwin. You met me on my timeline before I met you on yours. It is a tangled web we weave when we associate ourselves with the Doctor. He is a confusing pony, to say the least. Although, he leaves more good than ill whenever he interacts with us. It would be best to ask him, but in my opinion, It doesn’t really matter if we love each other, Ed.” She said. I looked up at her curiously glistening eyes. The magic emanating from her eyes made her lone tear shine. I realized that She was also thinking the same when I asked her. We did not choose ourselves. The Doctor chose us. He may not have done it with his full knowledge, but he did it. I thought about this as my hooves lifted from the ground. The magic that was lifting me into the air was not my own. I looked up to Luna. Her horn was glowing with a deep blue aura. I had no control over my body as she lifted me to her.
“I digress, Edwin. It was your choice to save me from the moon. You didn’t have to, and cast yourself out of the Doctor’s favor by doing so. I thank you for this. You truly are my white knight, Edwin. No matter what anyone says, you did save me.” She said. She looked over to me, I was still imprisoned in her magic. She released me and my own magic took hold to keep me aloft. I looked over to Luna. 
“I’m sorry, Luna.” I said. She held her head aloft, looking at her moon. The lone tear was still in her eye, sparkling with the magic held in her body. She looked over to me, Hovering closer. I could feel her wingtips brush my side. 
“Edwin.” She said. It was just the one word, yet it held such emotion. I could feel her passion burning with each syllable she uttered, her lips moving around each letter. I felt as if she would never say anything in that tone again. I felt proud that she chose to say my name in that tone. I loved her all the more for it. She kept her eyes trained on the moon.
“Edwin, stay with me. Never leave me, not ever. I don’t care what the Numbereds say. We will never be apart. Even if the Doctor and my sister and all of the dragons of Equestria were between you and I, I would brave all to see you.” She said, turning to me when she finished. Her sparkling eyes speared me. The breath caught in my throat. She craned her neck so her head was much closer to mine. Her wings brushed against my shoulder, tickling slightly. I gentlecoltly kept looking up at the moon. I could feel her warm breath on my cheek, slightly heavy from flapping her wings.
“Edwin.” She breathed in my ear. I shuddered. I tried my hardest not to look at her, feeling embarrassed for some reason. She panted lightly in my ear.
“Look at me, Edwin.” She breathed. I turned my head reluctantly. She was right in my face, her eyes half shut. She lunged at me, catching my mouth with her own. She kissed me softly, her lips moving in harmony against mine. Her scent of oranges was strong in my nose. She moaned softly in the back of her throat. I could barely handle it. Ponies were much more sensitive than people. It felt amazing. She pulled her neck away slightly, kissing me once more. I could feel her pull away. I opened my eyes to a purple cheeked Luna. She looked up at me with happy eyes.
“Ed...” She said. She nudged my nose with hers. It was so soft. I nuzzled her back and she giggled softly. 
“Love you, Luna.” I mumbled. She smiled.
“I love you too, Ed.” She replied. I was about to say something else when an angry roar interrupted me. I spun around in the air to see a strange creature. Luna gasped behind me.
“A manticore...” She whispered in awe. I looked back to her, in confusion.
“Are they dangerous?” I asked. Her cheeks were still purple.
“Incredibly so. But they are also incredibly rare. Try not to kill it, Ed.” She worried. I looked back to the beast, trying to figure out if it was that necessary to kill it. The beast stared at me stupidly, huffing. It had the body of a lion, yet it had the wings of a dragon. If that was not enough to make it deadly, It had a large scorpion’s tail. I looked it straight in the eyes. It stared back at me defiantly, flapping it’s large wings. It roared at me again. I felt the electricity build in my body as I heard the roll of distant thunder. The creature leaped into the air and flapped it’s wings, soaring towards Luna and I. I looked back to Luna.
“Go to the Palace. I’ll try to catch up with you.” I said hurriedly. Luna’s eyes grew wide as she flapped her wings harder, pulling away from me. I turned away from her to see the manticore behind me. It was soaring up faster than I could avert it. I summoned the sword quickly to avoid being mauled. The bright claws of the beast struck the flat of the blade, making the sword screech a discordant note. The claws scraped off of the blade, eliciting a sickening squeal. The creature seemed to get even angrier at this. It pulled back it’s arm again to swing at me a second time. I raised a hoof, but it already was swinging it’s arm down again. I moved the sword up to block the deadly claws, already glistening with the blood of it’s last victim. The creature flung it’s hand on the edge of the blade. It passes straight through, the blade slicing the hand clean off. I felt the hot spurt of blood on my face as the hand left it’s arm. The creature roared even louder. It ducked it’s head to expose it’s tail. I got a look of the club-shaped bulb shooting towards my face. The creature was so fast that I barely had time to react. I felt a blow to the face and I fell out of the air. The magic of flight left my body, and the manticore hovered in the air. I crashed into the ground with a jarring thud. I could hear my foreleg snap underneath me before I could feel it. I screamed in pain. I saw a black hoof in front of my face through streaming tears of pain. I followed it up with my eyes to see a blurry smug expression set between crimson eyes.
“Well. I suppose I must have been interrupting, if that was the welcome I receive.” Said a smooth, velvet voice.
> 17: of Venom and Thunder
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

17

I stared up at the Angelic with eyes full of tears. He looked down at me with an expression full of satisfaction. 
“Edwin, for shame. To think that you could assault someone in such a manner! How rude! And then to think that you could kill me with such weak magic.” He tutted. He looked over to the sword, which was floating over the grass. I followed his gaze. The sword was losing it’s color, turning grey. I could see the tip of it fading from existence, turning into dust. The Angelic eyed it carefully.
“Looks like the venom is taking effect.” He muttered. I tried to move. I grunted in pain, feeling the broken bones in my leg gouging the flesh. The Angelic blew lightly on the sword. The entirety of it dissolved into dust, flowing away with the breeze. He turned back to me.
“You see, Edwin... The most dangerous thing about manticores is not their speed, nor their physical strength, nor sharp claws. The most dangerous aspect of a manticore is it’s venom.” He articulated in a voice sounding like water flowing over smooth pebbles. It was so luxurious and smooth, which was in stark contrast to the pain of my broken leg. I looked up at him, with loathing fresh in my eyes . His ashen mane flowed around his black head.
“A most curious thing, manticore venom. Not only does it kill, but it also annuls magic. Theoretically speaking, if a unicorn were to be stung by a manticore, they would lose the gift of magic until the venom completed it’s cycle through their body. This leaves the pony unable to cure itself with magic, rendering it effectively dead. Then the manticore may peruse it’s kill as it pleases, often elongating it’s suffering for hours on end.” He explained. I could feel a harsh feeling in my veins, as if someone had rubbed alcohol on an open wound. I moaned with the pain. The Angelic chuckled lightly.
“Tis but a hint of what you have in store for you, my most troublesome Numbered. To tell you the truth, I actually hatched this manticore myself, when I was reconstituted after the Fourth had destroyed me. His name is Boe, if you were wondering. You probably weren’t.” He added, noticing me grunting in pain. He continued, deriving a small smile from my suffering.
“The venom will course through your body for the next few hours. It will literally dissolve your own muscles, turning you into a mushy lump of protein fragments. It will slowly detach your cerebellum from your spinal cord. Your movements become jerky and rough within the first few minutes of being stung. Within the next hour, you will be unable to move your own muscles, however little of them there may be left. You will be able to breathe, but not blink or move. A few hours after that, breathing will become laboured. You will find that your own body does not listen to what it is told. Your eyes will most likely dry to beyond being able to see at about the same time. You will gasp for breath, listening to your own heartbeat grow fainter, fainter, fainter still. Then... It will stop. You will live for about twenty minutes after that, then your brain will die of oxygen starvation. Your sentience will slowly degenerate over that twenty minutes, leaving you so stupid as to wonder why you are dying. It is the worst twenty minutes that any creature would ever have to endure.” Said the Angelic. I growled at him through bared teeth, clenched against the burn of the venom. He leaned down to meet my angry gaze. He was smiling as if he had just seen a laughing child, or held a baby animal.
“And frankly, Edwin... To me, it will be a most enjoyable twenty minutes of any of my lives. That is, if Boe decides not to eat you first. Pray to whatever you worship that he does, Numbered, for it would be a much kinder death than if he were to not.” He whispered. I yelped at him, feeling something paw my back legs. I tried to make it stop, but I could not. My magic had left me entirely. All I could do was wiggle my hindlegs invitingly. The Angelic stood upright, rubbing one of his blood-stained hooves on the grass.
“I, for one, have business to attend to; I cannot simply stand and watch ponies die, Edwin. I have princesses to steal.” He said happily. I sputtered at him through my teeth, unable to find a rebuke sinister enough. He winked at me with one of his large crimson eyes. His horn glowed with a blood red aura, and then stopped. He turned to dust before me, blowing on the wind to far away places. I grunted and moaned, trying to move. 
The venom was already affecting my movement, making what would normally be smooth and controlled actions into spasms and jerks. I could feel my mouth foaming from dryness. The manticore was pawing me and licking me every now and then, making me burn even more whenever it touched me. Nothing happened for a good long while.
I heard myself wheeze. This worried me to no end, remembering what the Angelic had said. It took me longer to breathe than it had before. I couldn’t move any of my legs or my neck. I could hear the distant thunder. I could barely feel anything anymore, other than the licks and pawing of the manticore and the fire of the venom pulsing through my veins. I could hear the rolling thunder, much louder now. I felt a drop of rain land on my ear, giving me a moment of blissful cool through the fiery pain of the venom. Another drop landed on my body, making me feel even more grateful. The manticore made a high piercing keen. I would have winced, but I could no longer move the muscles in my face, if they were even still there. The rain began to fall much heavier, and I could hear the thunder even clearer. I thought about the time when I was the cause of such a noise, and it made me sad. A raindrop landed on my dried eye, which felt amazing. I could not feel happy about the rain, because I would not be able to enjoy it much longer. I heard my breathing growing more raspy by the second. And for a long while, nothing could be heard or seen except the swaying grass or the patter of rain. The manticore had long fell silent, which I assumed meant that it was sleeping.
I tried to console myself to fate. I would never see Luna again. Her light blue hair, the way her cheeks turned purple when she was embarrassed. I would never again hear her squeal with delight. I could never hear her voice again. Her soft, delicate feathers were something that I would never feel again. The scent of oranges was something that I would never again smell. I would have cried, but I didn’t have the muscles to cry anymore.
I would never again see the Doctor. His odd mannerisms were a thing of the past. I would never again ride in the mystical blue box, taking me to places and times unknown. The vast cosmos splayed before me, with the only thing limiting me being my ability to choose.
I would never again see Antony. I would never be able to show him my sword. I would never see him again. He was a true friend, sticking with me even when it looked like I was to be killed by my own kind.
My life in Equestria was everything I could ask for, and then even more than I could ever have dreamed of. I lived. I loved. I fought. I cried. It was much, much more than anything had when I was a human. Who was I to complain? I had already cheated death once, and I supposed that this was just a way of it catching up to me. I had only been alive for a few days, yet I did more than most could do with an entire lifetime. A dark corner of myself felt greedy to be begging for more. I cried silently where nopony could see.
The slight drizzle became a storm. My eyes became blissfully damp under the torrent of water. I could see the flash of lightning on the grass. The manticore’s outline showed for a brief moment in the storm. I could hear the thunder, even louder than before. Then, suddenly, everything was white.
The world seemed to be on fire. The grass, the trees, everything. I could feel my body, every single inch of it, burning. This was worse than the venom, because it was real fire. I did not know if it was some heinous adaptation of the manticore. But. 
With the fire came an odd sensation. It was pain, yes. But I could move. It was as if my body was rebuilding itself after the fire swept across my broken form.
I felt my foreleg twist and wrench itself into position. I screamed through my teeth as it fused itself back together. I could scream. The flames rushed over me, making me shudder with it’s odd magic. It healed me. The burn of venom was slowly replaced by the tongues of flame.  tried to move my hooves. They wiggled on the grass. I felt overjoyed at this. I wiggled them more, relishing in the sensation. I rolled around, trying to put out the fires on me. The burns were nothing compared to the joy of movement. I rolled onto my hooves, then stood. I could see the manticore in the trees, growling. It lunged from the treeline to attack me. It seemed to be frozen in midair as it flew. I thought of how dangerous a creature it was, of how it was so deadly. I felt an immediate hatred for it, and had a strong desire to see it dead. No sooner than the thought entered my mind that a gloriously bright bolt of lightning shot down and speared it to the ground. In my perception of time, it seemed as if the manticore was suspended in a pillar of  purest white marble. I smiled at this as I shot into the sky. I felt so happy. My first thought was to see Luna. Luna, smiling and happy. I closed my eyes as rain hammered into my face. I thought of her when I told her I was going to take her back to Equestria. I opened my eyes. I was shooting through dry night air, my mane flung back against my head. I blinked, and the world exploded around me.

Unconsciousness is much akin to sleep. It gives the body rest, and is a way for the body to recover from trauma, but the similarities end there. 

“Damn, Doctor.” Said a voice.		
“I know.” Replied a smooth tone.
“He’s pretty bad.” The first voice remarked
“I know.” Confirmed the second voice. There was the creak of a door opening, and then the sound of hooves on stone.
“Do either of you two know what happened?” Said a regal, feminine voice. There was no reply.
“I will be sure to tell you in a minute or two. I want to be here when he wakes up.” Said the regal voice. I groaned, stretching my self supine across whatever it was that I was lying on. Everything in my body popped. I hummed in satisfaction.
“Edwin?” The first voice asked. I rolled over to the direction I assumed it to be in.
“Yes?” I replied. I opened my eyes. There were three blurry shapes in front of me. I rubbed my eyes with my hooves, and the scene focused in front of me. The three ponies were sitting with their backs facing a stone wall. Celestia was sitting to the left of the Doctor, who was in turn sitting to the left of Gespard. The Princess’ hair was waving to the right, blowing in the Doctor’s face. He was nearly buried in her waving, multicolor mane. It managed to conquer the Doctor to reach over and tickle Gespard on the cheek. He was stoically avoiding paying the offending lock of hair any attention. I looked at the ponies assembled.
“I draw quite the crowd, don’t I?” I said jokingly. The Doctor scoffed at me
“‘Quite the crowd’ indeed, Edwin. Not to mention that you blew a hole in the Palace last night! Not to mention that we had to scrape you off of the side of a cliff! Not to mention that we couldn’t even heal you because your unconscious mind happened to erect a shield around your body, not even allowing us to contact you! Both of the Princesses’ talents combined were not enough to surpass the wall you erected to separate yourself from the rest of the world! This would be no cause for such a crowd, only that you accomplished such a feat unconsciously!” The Doctor huffed. He was rather mad, by the look of his askew hair and his aggressive bearing. My eyes widened at his exclamation. Both Celestia and Gespard turned to stare at him. The Doctor did nothing, but continued to stare at me. Celestia raised a hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat.
“Well, Edwin, now that you are awake I can finally tell the events of what transpired evening of last. At about two in the morning, there was a loud detonation on the western side of the palace. Guards in that section reported all of the glass gone from the windows, and there were even reports of an entire room forcibly removed from the Palace, floors, walls, and all. Nopony was in the room at the time, but still. Further investigation found all of the metal surfaces to be imbued with a strong electric charge. Further investigation still found a large crater to be in the edge of the cliff. The Airborne Third was dispatched to find what they could. Leiutenant Dash came to my chambers at three this morning to tell me what she found. A white pony was found in the bottom, or should I say top, of the crater. It took myself and three of my most talented unicorns to extricate you from the cliff. You exhibited powerful magics indeed, Edwin. When we tried to heal you, your mind lashed out against the healing magician.” She said slolemly. 
“Is that pony alright?” I asked, worried. Celestia looked at me angrily.
“We’ll tell you when we can find all the pieces.” She said with a shaking voice. I felt regret wash through me. Celestia continued.
“We could touch you physically, but contacting you with magic was impossible. We were able to bandage you, and that is what we did. Luna tried to fix you with magic, and I had to forcibly remove-” Celestia was cut off. I had no desire to hear her finish the rest of her story. When she said Luna, the midnight blue princess was all I had eyes for. I immediately closed my eyes and thought of Luna. I felt the cool breeze and opened my eyes. Luna was curled up on a blanket in the middle of the room. She wasn’t wearing her crown or her shoes. I walked up to her, and nudged her with my nose. She mumbled softly.
“Luna, it’s Ed.” I mumbled. She rolled over to face me, still half asleep. She brushed her nose with mine. My nose filled with the sweet scent of oranges. A scent I thought I would never smell again. I felt my eyes well with tears.
“Medwun?” She mumbled, squinting her eyes at me. I smiled. 
“Yes.” I said. She smiled, her sleepy eyes still not opening.
“Cahm to behd, Medwun...” She muttered. I struggled to keep a sob from breaking out of my chest. After reconciling myself to death, this was all too much. I’m not sure who I made happy to deserve a life like this, but it was the best decision I ever made.
“Okay, Luna.” I whispered, my voice hitching with the sheer joy of the moment. I lied down behind her, curling up in the warmth of the blanket. I snuggled against her neck. She hummed a happy note.
“I love you, Luna.” I whispered, trying not to cry.
“Ah love you too, Ed.” She mumbled. A lone tear streamed down my face. I reached a hoof around Luna to hold her closer. He hugged it with her forelegs. The struggle against sobbing was a losing one. I gently wept. Tears freely ran down my face. Luna turned her head to try and look at me.
“What’s wrong, Ed?” She asked, suddenly worried. I looked up at her with teary eyes and said
“I’m so happy, Luna.” I managed to say. She smiled.
“Good.” She replied. I reached up to kiss her on the cheek. She giggled softly, laying her head back down.
“I’ll see you in the evening, Ed.” She mumbled, going back to sleep. I hugged her tighter to me. Her soft wings were pressing against my chest.
“Good morning, Luna.” I replied. She hummed low. I slowly lost my grip on the daytime and sunk into sleep
My dreams smelled like oranges.
> 18: of Moonstones and Stardust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 18

I opened my eyes to the warm sunlight. I pulled a hoof up to rub my eyes. I yawned, still tired. I rolled away from Luna with the scent of oranges seemingly stuck in my nose.
“It’s rude to interrupt, Edwin.” Said a perfectly composed voice. I groaned loudly, recognizing it at once. I rolled onto my back and splayed my hooves across the floor. 
“Please, Celestia. Give a pony a break.” I muttered. I felt myself lifted by my hind leg roughly, which made me bang my head on the stone floor. I was floated over to face a disgruntled Celestia.
“What are you d-” I stuttered
“Haven’t I given you enough ‘breaks’, Edwin? If you were any less necessary, I would set you on fire right now! I would fling you into space! I would... I would... I would kill you, Edwin. You are so extremely lucky that you are not in the dungeons under armed guard! You killed my best unicorn! And you didn’t even know that you were doing it! And here you are, happy as could be, wrapped around my own sister as if she were some common mare!” She huffed. I was sweating and afraid. I was extremely frightened by what Celestia would decide to do. The temperature in the room was suddenly extremely high, most likely brought on by her outburst. The hold on my ankle tightened. A tear streaked down Celestia’s face.
“Her name was Moonstone.” She whispered, her large purple eyes full of sorrow.
“What?” I replied, completely discombobulated.
“The unicorn that you killed. Her name was Moonstone.” She whispered again, her voice hitching on the word her. She was looking at something behind me.
“I’m... I’m sorry.” I replied. Celestia chuckled once, but there was no humor there.
“Tell that to a husband. Tell that to two foals without a mother.” She whispered again. Another tear joined the last, falling down her cheek and making a small hiss as it evaporated on the stone floor. I felt the import of my actions bear down upon me.
“What will happen to them?” I thought, truly worried. The pale princess sighed.
“They will fall under my patronage. They may choose to stay in Canterlot, or to move to another city. Maybe the memories of their life in Canterlot with their mother and wife may be too much to bear. They might go to Manehatten, or Salt lick City, or maybe even Cloudsdale, they are all pegasi. Whatever they choose, My influence will make sure that they want for nothing. They will have warm accommodations, plentiful food, and a good job. It will never be enough to replace what they had. But it is indeed better than nothing.” She said, her voice growing back to her normal tone. It still carried a hint of sadness. The air in the room became slightly less stifling as her voice grew softer.
“I would like to see them some day, Princess.” I said, using her title for the first time. She looked to me, surprised.
“They would not be happy to see you, knowing what you did.” She reasoned with me, a hint of sadness still in her voice.
“It doesn’t matter. I need to talk with them. I need to make amends.” I said, a sense of urgency sweeping over me. Celestia smiled lightly.
“You truly are coming unto yourself, Edwin. These aren’t the words of a murderer, but those of a wise pony.” She said, looking at me with a slight tenderness. She let me down gently, lowering me to the floor. I stayed on the hot stone floor for a second, staring at a golden shod hoof. I was amazed by how compassionate this strange deity could be at times. I got up to my hooves. Celestia looked down at me.
“I will allow you to see them one day. But it will have to be when this calamity is over. For now, needs must be met, and things must be done. My purpose in coming here was to tell you that you are needed by the Doctor. Apparently, you are late.” She enunciated perfectly. I took a moment to think about what she said. I finally understood that today was the day that I was attacked by the Orb. I immersed myself in the flow, thinking about the Doctor. A thought came to my mind and I opened my eyes again. 
“Princess...” I ventured. She grinned lightly, the smile crinkling her eyes.
“Yes, Edwin?” She replied.
“How was I hurt last night?” I asked.
“When you entered the space around the Palace, you teleported into a patch of hot air. You were going so fast already that you Rainboomed.” She explained.
“What’s a rainboom?” I questioned, unfamiliar with the term.
“I do not know the full mechanics of it, but I am fairly sure that a Rainboom is when you are moving so fast while in flight, that the air in front of you cannot move out of the way fast enough. You push on the air, and the pressure builds and builds until it finally just... pops. The air just isn’t in front of you anymore, allowing you to go so much faster.” She reasoned. I considered this.
“Why does that happen?” I asked, unsure of why that would happen. Celestia cocked her head slightly, as if she was trying to hear something.
“I’m not sure, Edwin. If you want to know more about it, you should probably ask Lieutenant Dash. She is much more familiar with the concept than I am. You should probably go now, Edwin. The Doctor is quite impatient, at times.” She said. I smiled at the observation, and closed my eyes. 
The familiar cool breeze was there, and then was not. I opened my eyes to see Evangeline laying down next to the Tardis in a plain stone room, snoring lightly. I walked up to her and nudged her shoulder. The bright yellow appendage lolled under me.
“Wake up, Evangeline.” I said. She muttered something softly. I stopped nudging her and watched. When she inhaled, her body seemed to glow a light golden. When she exhaled, she seemed to grow much darker. I looked at this in awe for a few seconds, admiring the brilliant gold mare. Suddenly, the door of the tardis opened and nudged her. Her eyes flew open, and they were bright white. Her body seemed to glow the brightest I had ever seen it. Her eyes turned red for a second, and then the room erupted with the red light. I lunged out of the way, trying to avoid the path of the charge. It exploded against the stone ceiling, showering the two of us with sparks. An acrid smoke spread through the room, smelling like burnt hooves. I doubled over coughing with the stench. Evangeline started coughing as well, overpowered by the strong smell.
I looked up through the acrid stench to see a brown hoof push open the tardis door. I ran in, jumping over Evangeline. The fresh air of the tardis was a welcome repreve from the acrid odor outside of the tardis. I glanced around for the Doctor, but he was nowhere to be found. 
“Edwin! Help me get her inside!” The Doctor shouted from behind me. I turned around to see him with a mouthful of flaxen mane in his mouth, tugging urgently. I rushed over and picked her up with magic, hovering her into the tardis. The Doctor pulled the doors closed behind me. I let down the gagging Evangeline onto the steel grates of the tardis floor. I could hear the Doctor walking up behind me. I turned to look at him
“What was that?” I asked. The Doctor looked at Evangeline, who was slowly returning to herself.
“I parked the tardis far below the cliff on which lies the palace, where the catacombs are. Many ponies from ages long past lie here, slumbering on beds they will not awake from. Untold riches lie right outside those doors, held in the clutches of the dead. Many of those buried here were paranoid and placed extremely dangerous hexes and traps to protect their undead greed. Evangeline-” The Doctor leveled a glare at her, which she barely noticed due to her coughing.
“Happened to fall asleep fully charged, which Othello and I have told her time and time again to never do, and activated one of these traps.” The Doctor finished. I looked back to Evangeline, who was wheezing heavily on the ground.
“What was the smoke?” I asked. The Doctor shrugged, thinking.
“Powdered glass, most likely. Could be something a little more sinister, but I highly doubt it.” Evangeline heaved her lungs as if to cast doubt on the Doctor’s words. I eyed her carefully.
“Is she going to be alright, Doctor?” I asked, slightly worried. The Doctor scoffed.
“Please, Edwin. She averted the most dangerous catastrophe that Equestria ever had to face, and did it alone, no less. I’m sure a little bit of smoke won’t hurt her.” He said flippantly. He strode over to his console, stepping over a gagging Evangeline. I walked up to her and knelt down to her. She eyed my lazily with a large golden iris as she wheezed. I placed a hoof on her and let magic flow out of me. She immediately breathed more steadily than before. I removed my hoof and then looked at the Doctor. He glanced back at me.
“You two done yet?” He asked uncaring, as if the answer really didn’t matter. I got up slowly from Evangeline’s side. I slowly advanced to the platform that held the console. The Doctor did not notice my approach, but continued to push on his buttons and pull on his levers. I raised one hoof and looked at it, like I was seeing it for the first time. It cracked and zapped slightly, with electricity arcing off of itself. I placed it down gently on the metal grate. The Doctor immediately seized up against the console, all of his muscles straining against the invisible force. The veins all across his skin seemed to be bursting out of his skin. I walked up to him, releasing the electricity to all of my hooves. Whenever I picked one up, the electricity connected me to the metal grate. The air was full of the scent of ozone. I finally managed to come up to the side of the Doctor. I looked down at his console. It was full of blinking lights and knobs and sliding switches. It was a curious thing. So many buttons for the choosing. I imagined that each one correlated to an exact time and place. I reached up with a hoof to fondle a small blue switch. I looked back to the Doctor. He had his teeth bared and clenched, and a big vein in his forehead was popped against his forehead. I smiled slightly and flipped the switch. I could hear the slight swirly, swooshing noise that meant that the tardis was moving. I looked up to the big pillar in the middle of the console. The lights inside of it were flying up and down, making pistons move and gears fly.
“What a device, Doctor. I wonder where we are now...” I thought. I looked back to Evangeline.
“Eve?” I said in a pleasant tone. She looked back to me, her gaze conveying a slight worry. Her brow arched over her eyes.
“Could you be a dear and open the door for me?” I asked. She said nothing but got to her hooves and walked to the door. I turned back to the Doctor. He was staring at me, his eyes slightly watering. I grinned at him, and turned back to the console. There was a small black circle where a button should be, but wasn’t. I looked back to the Doctor.
“What goes here?” I said to myself. There was no way that the Doctor would be capable of answering, being electrocuted as he was. I thought about this for a second, remembering all of the times that I had seen the Doctor in the tardis. Nothing much came to mind.
“Edwin... Come look at this...” Said Evangeline near the door. What she said was not unusual, but the way she said it was. It was as if she were rendered speechless. I turned to look out of the door.
We seemed to be on a completely different planet. The dirt was red, and yellow air hung thickly. I looked up at the sky to see two large stars, one red and one blue, chasing one another. They were both flung into teardrops by the gravity of their partner. It was a beautiful sight.
“What a gorgeous landscape for a pony so twisted and dark.” I remarked coldly. Evangeline turned to look at me, completely shocked. I turned back to the Doctor, who was also shocked in all senses of the word.
“You are a cold, dark creature. You have been given anything and everything a pony could ask for, yet you are depressed and malicious. You can go anywhere, be anything, and yet you torment us ponies. You shrug off our most serious injuries. You scoff at our pain. You can even find some kind of perverted sport out of tormenting those who are unable to protect themselves.” I said, remembering Fluttershy writhing in pain at the hooves of the Angelic orb. I looked back to the console and pushed a random button. The swishing sound could be heard again. I looked back out of the door. I assumed we were back in Equestria, because I could see a cottage that looked very similar to Antony’s. This made me think. I looked to the dark spot on the console, remembering.
“I know what goes there, Doctor.” I said crisply. I closed my eyes and thought of a round red button with a faded yellow exclamation point on it. I opened my eyes to see the very same button in place where the dark spot once was. I moved my hoof from the random button I pushed to the large red circle.
“I wonder whose cottage that is... A mare? A consort of yours? Does she know what you truly are? Does she know the Doctor full of glam and sparkles and adventure? Or does she know the true Doctor?” I asked in a rhetorical fashion. The Doctor said nothing, but a lone tear rolled down his face. He was sweating profusely under the electricity.
“Edwin, stop!” Evangeline shouted. I turned to her. She was staring at me, her eyes filled with concern.
“You will kill him if you keep this up! When you were stung by the manticore, you were struck by natural lightning soon after! Numbered power increases exponentially after we contact the natural form of what we wield! The power you posses is not the one you know!” She screamed at me. I looked at her, understanding. I looked back at the Doctor. He was trying to keep me from touching the button. He was grunting and whimpering through his bared teeth. I wanted to hear what he had to say. I placed a hoof on his shoulder and forced the electricity to exit his body there. His head was immediately free to do things like breathe and talk. I placed a hoof gently on the button. The Doctor gasped, trying to get air into his lungs.
“Why, Doctor, should I not push this button?” I questioned in a quizzical manner. He looked at me, his eyes filled with fear.
“Please don’t Edwin. I love her.” He pleaded with me. I smiled out of the corner of my my mouth. 
“But this button will simply whisk us away to a far away time.” I reasoned back. The Doctor gasped for air again, shaking his head.
“It’s the panic button, Edwin. It doesn’t take us anywhere. Please don’t push it, for the love of Celestia!” He begged, his voice straining on the words.
“I don’t love Celestia, Doctor. Tell me what it does, before I get curious.” I threatened. 
“I can’t Edwin. Please don’t do it.” He said, practically sobbing the words out. I wanted to see him suffer. I depressed the button. It made a loud click as it was pushed. The Doctor screamed, straining against the invisible chains that bound him
“NO! NO! EDWIN, NO!” He screamed. I looked at him, feeling a perverse satisfaction. All of the lights in the tardis suddenly turned a violent red. A loud siren wailed a deep klaxon throughout the tardis. I was so surprised by the earsplitting noise that the electricity stopped flowing from me. The Doctor slumped over the controls, his hooves flying. He was pushing buttons left and right, trying to stop whatever was happening. He slammed his hoof down on a green panel, and the noise of the tardis moving could be faintly heard over the klaxon. I looked out of the door to see the small cottage fading from view, replaced by the red planet with the yellow air. The alarm grew even shriller. The Doctor turned to me.
“Now you will see what the panic button does, Edwin.” He said sadly, the tracks of tears still running down his face. I looked at him, completely taken unaware by his cool nature. I expected him to be enraged. I stared at him, waiting for him to exact revenge. He stared out of the door sadly. 
“I’m not mad at you, Edwin. You have made me see light. I have been a cruel and heartless pony of late. I have indeed played on the sympathies and manipulated your kind for my own gain. But... This is a recent development of myself. There is a me that existed for thousands of years before you met the Doctor and his blue box that was kind and caring and compassionate.” The Doctor’s words were interrupted by the blaring siren within the tardis.
“Evangeline, would you close the door?” He asked softly. She looked at the doors and they swung shut. The Doctor turned to look at me. The red lights in the tardis reflected in his eyes.
“The next time that door opens, you will see the consequences of a vengeful heart. Let it show you that revenge is a dish best served not at all.” He said, the experience of ages past layering his voice. The siren sounded once more in the Tardis, and sounded no more. The red lights all winked out, only leaving the pale blue light from the console to see by. For a moment, the only thing that could be heard was breathing. Then, a bright pillar of white light shot up from the middle of the console. A roaring, screaming noise accompanied it.
“Don’t look directly at it, Edwin!” The Doctor shouted. He was staring straight ahead at the door. I looked straight ahead as well, looking at Evangeline’s faintly glowing form. The only thing that didn’t glow on her whole body was the pitch black three on her flank. The screaming noise from the middle of the tardis was starting to grow shrill. I squinted my eyes, trying to keep the noise from becoming too painful. The noise grew even louder still, then ended. I looked over to the Doctor, who was mouthing something. I could not hear the words he was saying. He was gesturing for me to go to the door. I followed his direction and walked toward the door. I looked at the white doors. There was something on the other side of that door. I had no idea what. I placed a hoof on the door and found it to be extremely warm, almost to the point of pain. I pushed against it lightly, and it swung open smoothly. I never forgot what I saw. I had nightmares about it sometimes.
What was a dark red planet with yellow air was now completely barren. There was no air. There was no red dirt. There was only blackened soot and an unobstructed view of the cosmos. Every now and then there was a shiny patch in the soot. I walked over to one and inspected it. It was hot glass. I sensed footsteps behind me.
“This is the product of rage, Edwin.” Said the Doctor clearly. I looked behind me. I could see him standing behind me, in the doorway of the tardis. He stepped out onto the soot. He walked to me.
“You wished this on an innocent young mare and filly. Their only crime was knowing me. Rage so distorts our reasoning and thought that you would have glassed the ponies that you were bidden to protect.” He said.
“What could possibly do this?” I asked, looking around at the devastation.
“The panic button, when pushed, takes all of the stored energy in the tardis and directs it outward. This could be in the form of fire, electricity, or even weather. But, my own tardis releases pure energy. Searing fire know nothing compared to it. The harshest of storms pales in comparison.” said the Doctor. I looked back to him.
“I will try to be the caring and loving Doctor of my youth, Edwin. I promise. Now come back to the tardis. I’m sure that you are very tired, so I will put the tardis directly inside of Luna’s quarters. You may spend your last day with her there.” He said, turning from me to his home. I got up from the small patch of glass and followed him inside.

I closed the large blue door behind me. It faded slowly from existence, along with the rest of the tardis. I looked behind me, expecting to see Luna sleeping on her rug. Instead I saw her sitting at a small desk, with an open book in front of her. Her horn glowed as a page turned under her.
“Hello, Luna.” I said. She looked up from her book with a tired smile on her face.
“Good morning, Ed.” She replied, the fuzziness of sleep still in her voice. I walked up to her desk, looking down at her book. It seemed to be a compendium of spells. The words were written quite small.
“Looks like a page turner.” I remarked. Luna laughed.
“It was a few thousand years ago when I wrote it.” She replied. I smiled out of the corner of my mouth. She looked back down to her book. I reached up with a hoof and placed it gently on one of the pages of the book. I leaned over the desk. She looked up to meet my nose nearly touching hers. I reached out and kissed her on the nose.
“Why would you be awake at such an ungodly hour?” I replied, knowing her nocturnal habits.
“I was thinking.” Luna muttered. 
“About what?” I asked. She looked off to the side.
“Nothing... Let’s go down to the dining hall. I’m rather famished, and I think that they are serving lunch now.” She said. My stomach growled as if to add validity to her words. She laughed lightly as she walked out from behind her desk. I still had my hoof on the open tome.
“Come now, Ed. If you play your cards right, I might convince one ofthe cooks to give you a whole bushel of peaches.” My stomach growled again as I looked back to her.
“Oh, Princess... That just wasn’t fair.” I said in a mock tone of chastisement.
“All’s fair in love and war, Ed. Now come on.” She said, walking out of the door. 
> 19: of Clouds and Bushels
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 19

“A Grand whating what?” I asked, perplexed. Luna rolled her eyes and laughed lightly.
“The Grand Galloping Gala. And you're going.” She remarked. I stomped all of my hooves at once, staying planted on the deep purple carpet
“But I don’t like parties.” I argued. It was true. From the memories that I still had from being a human, all of them loathed parties. She continued to walk, her light blue tail whisking slightly as she walked.
“I need to spend more time with you. And besides, you would meet a great many ponies.” She retorted as she crossed a corner. I stood there for a second, then followed her around the corner. She was already halfway down the hall, in front of two gigantic wooden doors.
“Peaches...” She teased. I made a show of groaning and pranced over to her. She smiled at me sleepily the whole time. I bounded up to her. She looked up at me.
“This will be our first official appearance... Together.” She said. I smiled out of the corner of my mouth at this.
“Are you afraid, Princess?” I teased. She pushed me lightly with one of her hooves, but her expression was serious.
“Slightly. I am somewhat of a new addition to the Palace for these ponies, and they put up with me because courtesy demands it. Of course, some guards such as Antony have warmed on me, and that is very nice. But...” She trailed off, looking away from me to a large tapestry on the wall.
“But?” I prompted. Luna looked back up to me. 
“I’m worried about what they will think, Edwin. They are my subjects, and I do not want to show favoritism amongst the guards. You are a Captain, last time I checked, and with quite a following after the Battle of the Dragon.” She reasoned.
“They’ve already named it?” I asked enthusiastically. Luna looked at me unamused.
“Stay focused, Ed. We need to comport ourselves with the utmost dignity, and do it in a somewhat regal manner.” She said. I scoffed.
“It isn’t that bad, is it?” I asked. She started nodding before I could finish.
“Yes.” She said. 
“Really?” 
“Yes.” She confirmed.
“It can’t really.” I doubted.
“Edwin, think for the long term. We are both immortal, and given that we are not stabbed or poisoned or something to that effect, we will live forever. We must think of how generations to come will interpret our entering of this hall.” She said. I considered her words for a moment while my stomach growled.
“Well, I’m not too sure about you, dearest Princess, but I plan on being remembered for ages to come, but not for being the only pony ever to die of hunger outside of a cafeteria. Let's go eat.” I said bluntly. She laughed.
“Okay, Ed. Lead the way.” She said jokingly. I smiled and turned to the open doors. There were hundreds of ponies assembled of all different colors and hues. Some of them were wearing gilded helmets or scarves of different colors. I could see red, green and white scarves among some of the ponies. The red scarves were the most plentiful, followed by a smattering of green. I could only see two or three white scarves. I looked back to Luna, who was walking up to my side. I looked back to the Dining hall, and walked forward. I could see long windows on the walls, reaching up to the ceiling. There were small clouds floating, with ponies flying from one to the other. I walked on, in awe of the size of the room. When I had sensed the hall before when I was immersed, I thought that it was simply a few floors. But it was all one room. I looked back down to where I was walking. A smallish pale yellow pony wearing a red scarf looked behind his shoulder with a mouth full of leaves. His eyes landed on me, and his mouth fell open. Without looking away, he nudged a large maroon colt to his left wearing a green scarf. The maroon pony looked behind his own shoulder, then did a double take. His large green eyes widened. I looked away from the two ponies, only to find the same thing happening at other tables. Ponies all around were doing much the same as the other two were. I self conciously kept my eyes foreward. I leaned over to Luna
“Do they always do this?” I muttered.
“No.” She replied quietly. I leaned back to keep my head level. I spied what seemed to be a small blue filly asleep on her plate, smooshing a sandwich under her head. Her cutie mark was a rose. I smiled at the innocence of the small filly, knowing that she was exactly what I fought to defend. I stopped walking forward to look at her. She snored lightly on her sandwich. I walked up to her quietly, as all of the chatter around her had died down. I reached out with a hoof and gently nudged her side. She sputtered, and her eyes opened. They were exactly the same shade as her coat. She looked at me, the haze of sleep still in her eyes. I could see her begin to recognize me. Her eyes became wide. I smiled as I lowered my lids. I thought of a small red rose, and I could feel the energy of the Flow pour out to make my will into reality. I opened my eyes, and I saw something unexpected. It was not a red rose, but a pure white one with a single black petal on the fringe. Her eyes grew even wider. I reached out with magic and grabbed it. It floated over to her and she reached up with a hoof to hold it. It floated lightly onto her hoof, and she marveled at it. I looked away from her to see a large purple colt wearing a white scarf. His eyes were full of tears, and he was smiling at the small blue filly. She turned around to show him the rose and he broke into sobs. He smiled through the tears at the small blue girl. He looked up to me through his teary eyes.
“Thank you, Captain.” He sobbed out. 
“You are ever welcome.” I said with a smile, and turned back to walk down the path to the food. All of the ponies in the hall were deadly silent.
“He saved Ensign Breckan!” A pony shouts from far on the other side of the hall. This drew a cheer from the ponies near him. I continued walking down the corridor formed by the long tables. A pony next to me stood up abruptly. It was a small orange colt. His cutie mark was of a scroll tied with red ribbon, and he was not wearing a scarf.
“He fended off the invasion!” The colt shouted. The nearby ponies raised their hooves and cheered. Yet another pony stood from the opposite table, He was pale green with a green scarf, and his cutie mark was of a spear.
“HE KILLED THE DRAGON!” The green colt screamed at the top of his lungs, and that drew the loudest cheer of all. The ponies nearest me shot up from their seats and ran up to me. one pony picked me up and carried me across the crowd. I was laughing the whole time, filled with the joy of the outburst. All of the colts and mares and foals assembled were cheering. Pegasi swooped down over me, laughing. The crowd bore me over to the table where the food was being served. A tan unicorn was staring at the assembled crowd with his mouth agape. The crowd set me down across the large food-laden table from him. The tan pony stared at me for a second, forgetting how to talk. He seemed to return to himself after a moment.
“And what will it be for you, Captain?” He asked quietly. I thought, remembering Luna’s promise from the clearing. I gestured with a hoof for the tan colt to lean forward. I did the same.
“I’ll have a whole bushel of peaches.” I said through a grin. The guards around me laughed. 
“Aye! Give the hero his peaches!” one of the guards shouted from behind the crowd. I laughed. The tan pony paled slightly. 
“Iff’n you’ll give me a minute, Captain. I’ll have those right out for you.” He said. He turned away from the table, opening a door behind him with magic. He disappeared for a moment. All of the ponies turned to me.
“Tell us the story!” One of them shouted. An approving cheer resounded from behind me. I laughed
“Such tales are meant to be told on a full stomach!” I answered back. The throng of ponies laughed at the joke. I turned to see the tan cook levitating a small basket of peaches. I grinned. He handed the bushel off to me, and I hefted it with magic. I glanced around, trying to find Luna.
“Where is the Princess?” I asked. I looked about, trying to see around all of the ponies. I put the peaches down and shot up into the air. This drew startled gasps and shouts from the ponies below. I could see Luna milling about the now empty tables. I grinned, noting her avoidance of the crowd. I flew through the air, spinning in a tight corkscrew. I was laughing as I caught the inattentive Princess with my forelegs. I could hear a sharp whoomph as the air flew out of her lungs. I pulled up and shot towards a cloud. I flew past it by a good ten feet, and cut off the magic of flight. Luna and I reached the tip of the parabola, and the glorious sensation of falling began to take hold. I held Luna tightly, basking in her orange scent. We began to fall towards the cloud. It was a thrilling few seconds as we plummeted like a stone. The cloud seemed to reach up and catch us, it’s wispy tendrils wrapping around me. It fell with me, trying to expend my momentum. It slowly stopped moving and began to float upwards again. I looked up at Luna over me. Her hair was mussed and she was completely startled. It took her a minute to recover.
“You are nothing if not unorthodox, Ed. Were I a lesser Goddess I would have damned you or some such.” She said. I laughed at her strange comment.
“Oh, Luna.” I said, nuzzling into her neck. The sweet oranges infiltrated my nose. She hummed.
“I think that you would stop that, Ed.” She said. I looked up at her, shocked. 
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I believe that one of your subordinates is coming to see you.” She said. Luna rolled off of me, trying to brush her hair into order with her hooves. I jumped up, trying to see who she was talking about. My gaze finally touched on Lieutenant Dash, wearing a white scarf. Following her were two other ponies wearing green scarves. One of them was a light orange with a dark orange mane, and the other was an extremely pale blue with a much darker mane. They slowly winged their way over to my cloud. All three of the ponies bowed their heads when they came nearby. I was confused slightly by this, but then I remembered that Luna was royalty. Lieutenant Dash looked at me.
“Captain Shell. Would you mind if we were to join you?” She asked strongly. I smiled at her show of authority. 
“Certainly, Lieutenant. Pull up a cloud.” I said. She gestured to the pale pony, and he shot off for a cloud. He arrived not seconds later with his neck sticking out of a cloud. He stopped moving and the cloud continued to move. It joined our cloud, forming an even larger one. Lieutenant Dash and the two unnamed ponies landed lightly on their half of the cloud. Dash looked back to me, her rainbow mane flowing gently down her shoulders.
“Captain Shell, these are Second Lieutenants Spitfire and Soarin, respectively.” She said, gesturing to the orange pony first, then to the pale one. I nodded to both of them. Dash looked over her back to Soarin. She seemed to mutter something. Soarin muttered something back, and then flew away. 
“Captain, we would usually have one of the acting captains or one of the Princesses give this to you, but Captain Bladesinger has asked me to give this to you myself.” She said, holding out a hoof to her side. Soarin appeared behind her with a tuft of fabric in his mouth. He spat it into Dash’s mouth. It was a small lump of golden fabric.
“And what does that do, exactly?” I asked, slightly wary of the lump of damp cloth. Spitfire stifled a laugh.
“It hangs around your neck, Captain.” Said Dash. I felt stupid as I reached out for the golden scarf with magic. It floated over to me and fastened itself around my neck loosely.
“Congratulations, Captain Shell. You are now officially a Captain of the Royal guards.” She said in a mock tone of importance. I laughed once. Spitfire stepped forward and spoke in a calm, smooth voice.
“Captain, when you repelled the enemy forces from the cliff, you lopped off a pretty big chunk of it. Right now, we have the Forward fifth and fifteenth divisions working on how to reattach it. It’s division from the cliff has made the Palace somewhat unstable on it’s foundations. If you could follow me, Captain?” She asked. I nodded, and she jumped from her cloud. She reappeared a second later on the opposite side. I looked at Luna. She was snoring softly on the cloud. I felt that I could leave her alone for a second. I floated up from the cloud and followed the Second Lieutenant to one of the tall windows. She arrived there before I did, and stared out at the window. I floated up beside her into the late afternoon sunlight pouring from the window. I looked down to see the large sheet of rock, now fractured into multiple pieces. One large boulder was held up above the rest of the slab, with many ponies milling around under it. 
“Spitfire is safe, but I’m not too sure if that statement will contain truth for much longer.” Said a cool, regal voice. I looked back to it in shock. Spitfire was there, but her eyes were blood red. I gulped. The voice continued.
“You now know why we are so dangerous, Edwin. We Angelics can go anywhere, do anything, and be anypony.” He said, his voice flowing over the words like water would flow over pebbles.
“You vile beast! I’ll electrocute you right here!” I threatened in a hushed tone, wary of all the nearby ponies.
“Oh, Captain! Why would you do that to me, a poor defenseless pony! And your subordinate, no less!” The Angelic said, switching back to Spitfire’s voice. I grimaced at the flawless transition. The Angelic laughed in it’s own voice.
“You have no idea to what extent we have infiltrated the Palace, Edwin. Every single pony in here could be an Angelic in disguise. Why, even your own Princess Luna could be one of us. Even most of our own number here in the Palace do not know of each other’s existence.” The Angelic threatened. I felt a cold shiver down my spine as I reached into the Flow.
“If all of these ponies are artifice, then they would not react badly to this.” I said, reaching out with magic. I closed around the Angelic’s throat, squeezing the life from it. It sputtered and gagged, gasping for air. The red irises were slowly replaced by the orange. This brought to mind a worry that I had. Was the Angelic merely casting an illusory Spitfire around himself? Or was he actually inhabiting his host? If it was the latter, I could kill Spitfire and leave the Angelic unharmed. I grappled internally about this while I throttled the impostor. I finally threw my magic from her, unable to kill an innocent pony. The Angelic reached an orange hoof to a matching throat.
“You are lucky, Numbered. I woul-” The Angelic seemed to freeze in midsentence. I looked at it for a second more, trying to find out if it was playing a trick on me. After a long time staring at it, I decided that it was not. I then spent the next few minutes trying to come up with a reason not to kill it. I was about to reach out and crush it’s neck when I heard a small cough behind me. I turned around to see a deathly pale white colt with black hair, and bandages completely covering one side of his face. He was standing on a respectably sized boulder floating on the air. It took me a second to recognize him
“Do you tire of the forest, Colt?” I asked lightly. He sighed.
“I do like the scenery of the Controlled world every now and then. But that is besides the point.” He said. I thought about the curious creature.
“Have I done something wrong?” I asked. The Colt chuckled, shaking his head.
“Not this time. But I am here to make sure that you do not get killed.” He said. The leading statement confused me to no end.
“What do you mean? I have survived much more than small Angelics.” I reasoned. The pony coughed.
“Indeed you have. But I am here to warn you about something more hideous than a manticore, more dangerous than a dragon, and smarter than an Angelic.” He said. This made me all the more intrigued about what I was about to encounter.
“And what could such a creature possibly be?” I probed. The porcelain colt knocked his hoof twice on the rock he was standing on, and it began to fade from existence.
“I advise you strongly to remove yourself from the Flow, Edwin.” The Colt said. I turned away from him to see Spitfire move slowly.
“-d have made you suffer.” She began to say. I smiled lightly. I removed myself from the Flow, feeling all of the life disappear from that sense. 
“Well, Angelic, you do have me at a loss. I have no idea of what I could possibly do.” I said, feeling truly defeated. If the beast was telling the truth, there was no way that I could continue to fight them, if they could truly disguise themselves as such. It smiled, showing a row of sharp, pointed teeth.
“You killed Boe. I was quite fond of him. How did you even survive?” He said in a hungry tone. A long tongue slipped out from between the teeth, tasting the air.
“I was struck by lightning.” I said. The Angelic laughed, the orange coat of Spitfire contorting over articulating musculature and bone.
“How quaint.” Said the Angelic in a heated tone. It opened it’s mouth wide and lunged at me. I summoned my sword, feeling it slide into existence. I lunged back, preparing to spear the creature. Suddenly, time went much slower. I felt a cold seep over my body quickly. I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. I glanced and saw a very, very dark shadow on the stone wall. I didn’t have time to do anything before a white body shot out of the shadow. It flew right in front of me, grabbing the Angelic Spitfre. I could see it suspended in the air for a brief moment. It was perfectly white, with a pitch black mane and tail. It had electric green eyes. It was wearing nothing except a pitch black scarf, not unlike the one that Dash gave me. It grabbed her around the neck and shot off to the other side of the hall. It disappeared with the Angelic Spitfire neatly into another dark shadow on the opposite wall. I gulped, feeling time speed up once they were both gone. I was shudering with the nervous energy that my body was prepared to expend to survive. I gulped again, trying to calm my nervous body. I floated down to the bottom of the window, which had a stone ledge. I stood on the ledge, my legs shaking. I fell over, landing hard on the stone sill. My head swum, and I could dreamily see Lieutenant Dash flying over. She landed on the sill, looking down at me with a deeply worried expression.
“Captain Shell?! What happened?” She asked. I looked at her. Her vibrant mane was shining in the afternoon sunlight. The cold of the creature never did leave, and the sunlight did nothing to dispel it.
“It... was a Ghost.” I muttered, and quickly lost my grip on consciousness.
> 20:  of Long Lives and Sunsets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 20

I arose from unconsciousness suddenly. I tried to inhale but only drew water into my lungs. I struggled against arms that I could not see, trying to get above water. I could feel myself rising out of the water, and I gasped loudly as my head emerged. The cold air shocked me, making me shiver. I sputtered, completely soaked. I couldn’t see anything through my wet mane hanging over my face.
“Again, Gespard.” Said a deep voice. I was again plunged into cold, cold water. The water got into my eyes and burned. I coughed and retched when I was taken back out.
“Over here.” The deep voice said. I was moved through the cold air and placed on a hard surface. I tried to get my mane out of my face as I heard a pony trotting over to me. I parted my sopping mane from my eyes to see Othello staring at me intently, not inches from my face.
“Tell me what you saw, Edwin.” Othello said in a desperate tone. 
“What?” I asked, the fog of unconsciousness still polluting my mind.
“Tell me what you saw! Before you lost consciousness! TELL ME WHAT YOU SAW!” Othello boomed at me, his mane waving with wind that was not there. I cringed away from his violent anger. I knew immediately exactly what he meant.
“It was a white pony! It was wearing a black scarf!” I pleaded with Othello. His eyes grew wide. He straightened himself, rising to his full height. 
“Are you sure that it was wearing a black scarf?” Othello asked. I nodded.
“Are you sure that its hair was black? Did its tail match?” He probed deeper. I nodded again. His expression grew stony. I looked up at the towering Numbered, afraid. He could do anything and I could do nothing to prevent it. I gulped, knowing that he could kill me. He looked back to Gespard. I looked back as well, seeing the blue pony nod. I could see that we were in a cold stone room, not unlike the catacombs where the Doctor parked his tardis. I coughed, inhaling dusty air.
“I am going to talk to Princess Celestia for a moment, Edwin. Being a ranking officer in the Royal guards, I would ask you to accompany me to keep the peace. Our discussions tend to get the slightest bit... Heated, if you will.” Said Othello. I looked up to him, my mane completely plastered to my face. Othello noticed.
“Sorry, let me get that for you.” He said. He closed his eyes and the room grew much hotter. I could feel the heat radiating off of him, nearly burning my face. My hair was drying out quickly. I got to my hooves and shook the water out. When I was done, I looked to Othello. He looked over my shoulder. We were in a small stone room, but it had a small stone pool in the middle of it. I turned to see what Othello was looking at. There was a single small window, through which I could see the deep orange of dusk. Othello sighed, and I turned to look at him.
“This is a very important matter, so we will be teleporting into the entryway of the throne room. I would usually like to walk there, but this is of such import that we do not have the luxury of time. I would like for you to go first and announce my arrival, if you would, Edwin.” He said much more calmly than his earlier words. I nodded. I closed my eyes and thought of the grand doors of the throne room. The cool breeze felt slightly chilly against my wet body. I opened my eyes to see the large, ornate doors of my imaginings. I walked up to one, and knocked on it. The loud sound reverberated through the hall that I was in. The door creaked open to reveal a medium sized grey pony wearing a golden scarf. He didn’t open the door all of the way, but stuck his head through the opening.
“Antony! It’s been a while.” I said, feeling happy to finally see him. Antony smiled as well.
“It certainly does seem so. What brings you here?” He asked quietly.
“I’m here to ask the Princess for an audience on behalf of Othello.” I said. Antony’s eyes seemed to betray a wariness. 
“I don’t know if she would be too happy to see him, but I will announce you anyways.” The grey colt said, retracting himself from the door. It swung slowly shut behind him. I looked behind me to see Othello.
“What did he say?” He murmured, his voice carrying through the halls.
“He said that Celestia would not be to happy about it, but he would see if she would let us in.” I replied. Othello sighed.
“I do miss the peacetimes, Edwin. So much less complicated, so much less busy. I could sit down and read without anyone coming to tell me something or other went wrong. It was a simpler time...” He trailed off, remembering the times between cataclysms. I looked down at the thick purple carpet, wondering about whether I would live to see it. He seemed to pluck the thought out of my head.
“Don’t be so glum, Edwin. One day this will all be over and peace will again reign in Equestria. It is a much different place when it is not in danger.” he said, fondly reminiscing over times long past. I looked up to him, truly seeing what the pony was. He was an arbiter. A keeper of peace in all senses of the word. Fighting may come easily to him, but he does not go easily to it. The crimson stallion was a pacifist, drawn to defend the sacred trust of his order only in times of gravest danger. The idea of a pacifist Numbered made me smile, thinking about how much more happy I would be if I were not required to fight all of the time. I was thinking of this when I heard a quiet creak behind me. I turned around to see Antony sticking his head out of the door.
“The Princess will see you now.” He said. I walked forward, but Othello coughed. I looked back to him. 
“I would like to talk to her, Edwin, so if you would stay by the door by Antony.” He said. I nodded, finding this slightly odd but not wanting to object. I walked in to find Celesita talking to a small green pony to her side. The green pony had an large assortment of fabrics draped across her back.
“Yes, the blue one I think, Luna would like that.” She murmured quietly. My Numbered ears picked it out of the air as clearly as if she had said it right beside me. The green pony nodded once and disappeared behind her throne. She turned to Othello and I. I stopped at the door, waiting next to Antony while Othello continued on to the middle of the room. Celestia smiled as she saw us.
“Othello and Edwin! What a pleasant surprise. What brings you two here today?” She said cheerfully. Othello said nothing, but continued on to her throne. He bounded up the steps leading up to her and stood over her imposingly. He reached behind his shoulder with the opposite hoof. He slammed it back down and struck the Princess across the face. Her face followed his hoof down, leaving her looking at the ground to her right. There was a small trickle of blood coming out of the corner of her mouth. Antony growled behind me, and I could feel him release his magic. I turned back to him to see his horn stop glowing. I heard Othello grunt as I turned back to him. He looked like a grim pincushion. I could see three hilts with glowing plum gems in the pommel sticking out of him, with the tips sticking out of his belly, dripping blood. There were two daggers sticking out of his long, crimson neck. Celestia turned one large, surprised purple eye to the two of us, then up to the dying red stallion. Her mouth hung agape as she stared up at him.
“You know how dangerous they are, Celestia! Yet you aided it and let it into the palace! It could have killed something! It probably did!” Othello managed to say. The Princess just looked at him, completely stunned.
“He made me an offer I could not refuse, Othello! I had to!” She said with the same intensity. 
“You are a Goddess! You could have said no at any time! To be held hostage by a small white pony? It is unbecoming of you, Princess!” Othello retorted, his voice growing weaker as the pool of blood under him grew larger. 
“He said that he could find all of the spies in my Palace! I could not turn it down!” Celestia said, looking up at the dying colt. Celestia turned back to Antony and I with a scared look of shock on her face.
“Get rid of them, Captain Antony!” She shouted. His horn glowed and the swords disappeared. The blood flowed even faster from Othello, like a faucet being opened. He fell over, landing with a loud thump. I leaped over to him, bounding across the room up to the throne. I placed my hooves on Othello and poured my energy into him I could see the wounds slowly closing on his sides. He looked up to Celestia with a tired eye.
“We killed them for a reason, Princess. They were too dangerous to be left to their own devices. One would get bored after millennia of dormancy, kill an entire city, and then run for years. It took us centuries to find all of the wild Ghosts and kill them. And you are keeping one like a pet.” He said, wheezing on his words. A trickle of blood ran out of his mouth. Celestia looked up to me, completely scared.
“Save him, Edwin.” She said, her voice full of urgency. 
“I’m trying.” I replied angrily. My magic was barely working to heal him. Othello coughed, and we both looked down at his bleeding body.
“The only reason we kept Edwin was because he could have killed us all if we tried to kill him first. That’s how it was to begin with, but with time he became... Trustworthy. He was not inclined to the mindless violence of his brethren. He was-” His voice hitched and He coughed up blood.
“Princess... Look after Edwin. He is- He is all we have left. Our only hope against the Angelic horde, and the only one who can start the ceremony to summon the next Numbered. You must trust him implicitly, and do everything that you can to help him...” He trailed off. I could feel him growing colder under me. I pushed harder with my hooves, trying to force the magic to flow into him faster. It was a small trickle of magic into him, making his wounds heal at an incredibly slow rate. It was almost as if he was resisting my efforts.
“No, Othello. Don’t die...” I said, trying to force my magic into him. The wounds began to heal somewhat faster, but that was not the problem. He was losing copious amounts of blood. Celestia and I were both standing in a puddle of crimson.
“Edwin... No... Don’t. This is my time. I’ve lived a long, full life. Two of them. I’ve fought, I’ve laughed... I’ve loved.” He said, looking at Celestia. She laughed once through the sobs now shaking her shoulders.
“Don’t go, Othello.  I wouldn’t know what to do without you. I’ve known you since I was a little filly. You were always there to help. Please don’t go. There is so much more. So much is yet to happen. So much more to see.” She whispered. He smiled in a knowing fashion.
“And I’m about to see it. Goodbye, my Princess... May we meet again on warmer shores...” He whispered. He closed his eyes. He drew one more ragged breath, and then it left him. He grew limp. His whole body drooped. The blood stopped flowing from his wounds. Celestia sobbed louder, leaning down to look at him. She wept over him, getting lower to the ground. She lied down on the ground next to him in the puddle of his blood, looking down at his dead body.
“Princess...” I said tentatively. 
“Leave.” She said. She was not looking at me, but had her neck draped over Othello. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.
“What?” I asked.
“Leave!” She shouted, turning to me. Her horn glowed for a second, and I felt a strong blow to my chest. It sent me flying through the air and slammed me into the large wooden doors. The blow made all of the air go out of my lungs, and I landed hard on the throne room floor. I looked over to Antony. His face was contorted into a look of confusion and pain. I got slowly to my hooves and looked at him. He looked back to me.
“Edwin... What have I done?” He said, looking down at the floor. I paused for a second, truly wondering the import of his actions. I choked with the finality of Othello’s death.
“Your job.” I said, walking out of the door. 
> 21: of Glass and Torture
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 21

I walked down the purple halls, wondering what I could possibly do. Othello was dead, Celestia grieving, and I had no idea what Luna would be up to. The Ghost was the one thing that kept reverberating through my mind. I thought that I was the only one, next to the old colt. The bright green eyes and heavily muscled body seemed to be in every one of my thoughts. I kept myself open to the flow as to not be surprised by any approaching ponies. I could hear the faint whispers of life around me, and I could see their glowing vitality when I closed my eyes. I could feel Antony walking a good ways behind me. I closed my eyes as I thought of him, and the cool breeze made me shiver. I opened them to see Antony walking ahead of me. I could only think of how he coldly murdered Othello.
“Antony?” I said. The grey pony nearly jumped out of his skin, and his horn started to glow. I stomped my hooves on the ground and hands of stone jumped from the walls. Antony yelped as they rushed to grab him. Their fingers enveloped him and squeezed him tightly. He gasped, feeling the crushing hands around him. The arms retracted so that his back was touching the wall. His horn continued to glow, and I could hear the sword before I saw it. I reached out with my mind to grab the erethral blade, and gasped. I could hear all of Antony’s thoughts through it, fractured though they may be. I could feel everything he could feel. His emotions rushed through me as if they were my own. My head swam with his thoughts and emotions. He was afraid for his life.

...sweet Celestia what is he...
...Berry will be...
...what is he...
...I can hear his...

His thoughts grew silent and his emotions subsided. His eyes closed, and he wrinkled his forehead in concentration. I could glean nothing from his thoughts. I turned to look at his summoned blade. It was pointing down at me, only inches from my face. I could see the air shimmering colorlessly around it, like how air shimmers above hot pavement. It was only my colorless magic that kept it from flying down and killing me. I looked back to Antony. He was still in my stone clutches, and his look of stern concentration was still etched onto his face. I looked closer, taking a step in his direction.
“Antony... Put the sword away. I have no quarrel with you.” I said firmly, looking at the pony. He flicked his tail.

     ...can’t let him...

“Please, Antony, don’t do anything that you will regret. I’ll let you down if you remove the sword. Othello’s death is a tragedy, but you can’t let that shape your life. You are not a violent creature. You are a pony. Now please, please remove the sword.” I said cautiously. His shoulders wiggled.

...promise...

“Okay.” I agreed. I could hear the odd brrong as the sword dematerialized. I looked up and it was not there. I opened the fingers holding Antony, and he fell to the ground. The arms retracted back into the wall. Antony was gasping on the ground. The stone arms did not hurt him, but they were not to gentle either. I walked up to him and knelt on my front legs.
“Are you okay, Antony?” I said. He started to speak, but then ended up coughing.
“Scared and winded, is all. Help a pony up, would you?” He asked. I held out a hoof to him and he raised up his own. He pushed off of mine and awkwardly stood on his shaky hooves.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, seeing how wobbly he was. He picked up a hoof and placed it tentatively down on the ground. It held firm, and he took another step. It shook slightly, but it held his weight. I looked to him, and he smiled.

“I’ll live. Where are we going?” He asked. I started to walk down the hall, and he followed me not too far behind. I could still hear the whispers of life around me. The flow made strength pulse through me at regular intervals, like blood pulsed with a heartbeat. I blinked and saw the glow of everything around me. I kept my eyes closed to see. There were a large group of ponies gathered in what I assumed to be the Dining hall, in the center of the palace. I opened my eyes and the whispers returned.
“Is there a meal going on right now?” I asked. Antony looked contemplative for a moment.
“No, Dinner should have ended about two hours ago. Why?” He inquired. I closed my eyes again, and saw the large group of ponies. They were all just a large glob of energy from what I could see, but they were individual creatures. I opened my eyes to see Antony. He was staring at me, with one ear cocked behind him. I could hear it too, but not with my ears. The whispers of the Flow alerted me to a pony approaching. It was coming from the left side of the intersecting hall that led to the main hall of the throne room. I crept up to the corner of the hall to see a small pony galloping towards the intersection. It took a few seconds for me to step out into the main hall slowly as to not alarm it, and see the pony properly. It was a dark, dark green, almost black. It’s horn stuck out of a messy mane of a slightly lighter color.. It was wearing a red scarf. Antony walked up to my side.-
“Who is that?” He asked. I turned back to him. Honest surprise was written all over his face.
“It isn’t yours?” I asked. Antony shook his head.
“No, I don’t think. We will find out in a minute.” He said. The pony galloped for another second and then pulled up to us.
“Captain Shell!” She said, her voice unusually high. I smiled at the formality
“Yes... Um...” I trailed off, not knowing her name.
“Ensign Glimmer of the Foreward eighteenth.” She said. I looked back to Antony. He was still wobbling slightly.
“Well, Ensign, what brings you here today?” I asked. The mare gulped.
“It’s the Dining hall, Captain. There was a pony caught torturing a guard in the upper dormitories. They’ve taken the culprit to the Dining hall, and they want permission to kill her.” She said hurriedly. I was completely taken aback. I looked back to Antony, whose mouth was hanging open in disbelief. I looked back to the Ensign.
“Are you sure?” I asked in complete disbelief. She nodded. I rolled my neck and it popped. I was about to teleport to the Hall when Ensign glimmer interrupted me.
“You have to stop them, Captain. It’s only a filly.” She pleaded with me. I looked at her sternly.
“What is only a filly?” I questioned.
“The pony that they want to kill. Please help her, Captain.” She said, a tear bubbling up to her eye. I looked back to Antony. His mouth was hanging open and he was staring at me.
“What are we going to do?” asked Antony.
“Grab onto my mane.” I said. He reached out and got a mouthful, and I closed my eyes. I could feel more of a gust than a breeze, but then I opened my eyes. Not only was Antony still behind me with a mouthful of my mane, but Ensign Glimmer, a table with an antique vase on the top, and a complete suit of pony armor were all in the middle of the hall. I could feel Antony’s hot breath on my hair, then he let me go. He walked toward the large doors to the hall, wherein muffled arguing could be heard.
“Come on, Edwin.” He said, striding up to the doors. I folowed him, looking over at Ensign Glimmer. She was staring ahead with her mouth hung open. I paused, looking at the dark green unicorn. I picked up a hoof and waved it in front of her face. She stared through it unblinkingly. I paused my hoof, and poked her on the nose. Nothing.
“She’s petrified, Edwin. You scared her half to death. Let’s go.” Said Antony. I turned from the Ensign to Antony.
“Will she be alright out here?” I asked, looking back to the young mare. Her pale blue eyes were focused on something that she could not see.
“Yes. Now let’s go, we have to stop this.” Said Antony. I turned from Ensign Glimmer to see Antony’s grey tail disappearing through the tall, ornate doors. I ran up to the closing door, dodging the table with the vase. I squeezed through the door just as it closed.

I bumped into Antony as I entered the hall. He was stopped right in the entryway, looking at the assembled ponies. I looked, and I could see why. There was an ear shattering din, with all of the ponies arguing about what they should do with the accused. I tried to worm my way through the crowd, but the enraged ponies made an impenetrable living wall. I kept trying to get to the middle of the room, but I was constantly repelled by the flowing barrier. I finally got fed up with this and flew above the ponies. They were all squabbling loudly amongst themselves, but there was no real center to their bickering. The racket was growing piercing, leaving me unable to think. I reached into my mind and unleashed my Numbered magic. A flash, and then a deafening thunderclap could be heard, shattering all of the windows on the far side of the hall. All of the ponies were gathered at the front of the hall, but they all still jumped out of their skin. Some of them screamed. They all stopped arguing. I floated down into the middle of the crowd. All of them were staring at me. I touched down on the hard stone floor, trying to find a pony that matched Ensign Glimmers’ description. Not a single filly or even a young mare could be found. I looked around at all of the assembled ponies, taking in the colors.
“Where is the filly?” I asked in a stern, even tone. The nearest pony, a blue unicorn with baby blue hair gulped audibly. My eyes shot to her, and she shrunk back slightly.
“Do you know where she is?” I asked calmly, my voice betraying no emotion. The blue mare said nothing, but started to shiver. I leaned down with my neck to look her in the eyes.
“I won’t hurt you” I whispered to her. “Just tell me where the filly is.” I finished.
“C-Corporal Trixie knows not where the filly is... But...” She trailed off, looking off to the side.
“Yes?” I prompted. She looked back to me, and then immediately looked away.
“Corporal Trixie saw the filly over there a few minutes ago. She may have moved.” She said quietly, staring at the ground and pointing to her right with a wobbling hoof. I looked to where her hoof was pointing. I started to walk in that direction, and the ponies parted around me like water would part over a rock. All of the ponies were just staring at me in shock. I looked around to try to see the filly. I ended up in front of a wooden column. The column had ropes around the lower part of it. I closed my eyes, trying to listen to the whispers of life. I could sense a small entity on the other side of it. There was broken glass everywhere on the floor, and I crunched on it as I cautiously turned to look at the filly. I could see the filly’s white neck hanging limp over the ropes that bound the rest of her body to the pillar. Her oily black mane hung down over her face, obscuring her eyes. I leaned down to look her in the eyes.
“Show me your face.” I said softly. She slowly turned her head and the hair parted to show bright, neon green eyes. I gasped slightly as I recognized Celestia’s private spy. She looked up at me dumbly for a second, and then urgency flushed her expression.
“Save me, brother!” She whispered urgently. I said nothing, but continued to stare into her bright green eyes. I had no idea how the powerful, muscled colt that kidnapped Spitfire could now be this small, delicate filly.
“We ghosts have more to us than just summoning and the flow, Edwin. Now save me! Hurry up!” She whispered, pulling the thought from my head as if I had spoken aloud. She pulled and struggled against her bonds. This filly was a most intriguing creature. I thought about why she could not just teleport away.
“They rubbed manticore venom on me. Stop staring and untie these!” She whispered in an aggravated tone.
“I thought that manticore venom was incredibly deadly.” I said, remembering my brush with death in the grassy clearing. The filly’s eyes grew much wider than they already were.
“Applied topically, it is harmless and only annuls magic. How did you survive?” She asked, her eyes alight with curiosity.
“I was struck by lightning. And get out of my head!” I growled. She grinned mischeviously.
“It’s something that you pick up along the centuries. Saved my coat more times than I could count. Now help me get out!” She started struggling again, twisting under the tight ropes.
“You may be too dangerous to be set free.” I reasoned. She stopped struggling and looked up with surprised green eyes.
“You could be an Angelic, for all I know.” I continued. The small white filly turned her head and spat on the ground. She turned back to me, enraged.
“Do you really think that I would conduct myself with that filth?!” said the filly in a tinkling voice. I would have laughed if the moment was not so serious.
“Why were you torturing the mare?” I inquired.
“I was trying to drive the Angelic from her. If you hurt them enough, they leave their host. Then you can kill them.” She said, her brilliant green eyes burning with passion.
“You monster.” I replied, feeling sick to my stomach. The filly smiled out of the corner of her mouth.
“It’s not like the host could feel anything. And it would have worked too, except that the orange mare has a great pair of lungs. Her screaming woke up half of the Palace. Push comes to shove, and I end up tied to a pole.” She finished, sighing. I thought about what she said.
“You aren’t really a filly, are you?” I asked. She nodded.
“I am, it’s just that I usually make myself bigger with magic. And a colt. It’s slightly more intimidating than a little angry white filly screaming at you.” She said. My brow arched over one of  my eyes, finding this too odd to be true.
“Do you have a name?” I asked. The only other ghost that I knew had no name.
“Sebastian.” She said. I stared at her incredulously.
“It makes more sense being a gigantic colt with the name Sebastian than with a name like Twinkle or Moonshine or something silly like that! Celestia's fleas, they sure do name foals oddly these days.” She retorted to my gaze. I shrugged and righted myself, rising back to my full height. I walked away from the small filly. I could hear her grunting and struggling against her ropes.
“Save me!” She shouted, drawing the glances of the ponies that were brave enough to approach when I was talking to Sebastian. I chuckled as I walked away from her.
“No. I might take you to the Colt later, though. He wouldn’t be too happy with you drawing attention to our kind. It would be interesting to watch what he would do.” I said. This made her settle down for a moment. I walked on, the only sound being my hooves crunching on glass. The filly started to scream.
“GET ME OUT OF HERE EDWIN! YOU OWE ME! THAT ANGELIC WOULD HAVE KILLED YOU!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. All of the ponies that gathered around her in my absence skittered away, crunching the glass underhoof. I only laughed.
“I’ll think about it. That manticore venom will wear off soon... About another three hours or so?” I said jokingly, walking away from her. She screamed incoherently as I strode up to Antony.
“Do you know where they are keeping Second Lieutenant Spitfire?” I asked seriously.
“Yes, in the upper dormitories.” He replied.
“I need you to take five of your best unicorns there and make sure that nothing leaves her room or enters it. If Spitfire herself tries to leave, do everything that you can to stop her. Don’t try to injure her physically, but if she tries to leave, you will stop her. Do you understand me, Antony?” I asked, making sure that he would understand.
"Edwin... I am a captain too, and I will not be ordered by my-”
“Do you understand!? She is a danger to herself and others and she may attempt to hurt somepony or something. She is an extremely violent pony and will take any means necessary to exit that room.” I said with the utmost seriousness.
“Edwin, please! She is only a pegasus.” Antony retorted.
“And I am an earth pony, Antony. And look at what I can do.” I argued back.
“What do you think that she might do?” Antony asked, slightly worried.
“Any number of things. She may go through a killing spree through the whole Palace, She could make the Palace explode, She could set us all on fire. The possibilities are endless. She may even try to make a run on the throne room or even...” I trailed off, finally reaching the logical conclusion. Every time I saw the Angelic, He only wanted one thing. He did not try to kill me the first time, only because he wanted something else. He tried to kill me the second time, only because I was in the way. He tried to eat me the third time, only because I was an obstacle. He only wanted one thing. He only needed one thing. And I knew exactly what it was.
“Edwin? Edwin! Are you okay? What will she do? What will she do?!” He was shouting, completely oblivious to the disaster that was happening as he spoke. I looked back to him, filling my mind with energy from the flow, knowing that I would need every bit of it that I could get.  I could feel everything around me more intensely as my brain was flooded with the power. I could even slightly feel the emotions of the ponies around me. They were mostly curious, but with an undercurrent of fear.
“Try to steal Luna.” I said bluntly.
> 22: of Memories and Tears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 22

Antony stared at me dumbly, trying to understand what I said. I could see his eyes alight with fear as he understood me.
“What will we do, Edwin?” He said breathlessly. I looked around at the assembled ponies, tasting the emotions around me. They all mixed into a strong sense of confusion. Sebastian stood out as the only angry pony, still screaming in frustrated rage. I returned my attention to Antony.
“I suggest that you round up the nearest company of unicorns and go to the throne room.” I said. Antony nodded, starting to walk away from me.
“If Spitfire is as dangerous as you say, I should do exactly that.” He said, turning from me and galloping out of the hall. I closed my eyes and thought of Sebastian. I could hear her screaming before I opened my eyes.
“IF YOU DON’T GET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW EDWIN, I’LL-” Sebastian screamed at me, her neck held high with her eyes closed. I interrupted her by poking her with my hoof.
“You aren’t in much of a position to make threats, Sebastian. I suggest that you keep quiet.” I said sternly. Sebastian looked at me with her large green eyes.
“Or what?” She said, her voice filled with inpetulance.
“Or I’ll kill you right now.” I said. She scoffed.
“No you wouldn’t.” She declared.
“Yes I would. All of these ponies were about to kill you anyways. I would be doing them a favor. It would be simple, too. Your neck isn't as well muscled as a grown pony... It would be easy to snap, like a dry twig.” I threatened. Sebastian gulped loudly.
“Please don’t. I’m only a filly.” She whispered. I sneered and stomped my hooves, making the shards of glass crunch under me. Sebastian flinched. I could feel my legs thrum with energy as I summoned my sword. It hummed lightly, the music of it too high to hear, except for the occasional warble. Sebastian’s wide green eyes were almost big enough to see the sword in. It inched closer to her face, and it appeared in my field of view. It’s long, slender blue length reached out to touch Sebastian under her shaking chin. I could see my own reflection as I looked down at the blade. I looked terrible, with sunken eyes and a frizzy mane. A distracted part of myself thought that I should be getting more sleep.
“You liar. You may be small, but you’re probably older than all of the ponies here combined.” I said through my bared teeth. Sebastian seemed to be shaking as I said this. I felt a sharp, stabbing pain in my shoulder.
“You’re bleeding, Edwin.” She whimpered. I looked down, and saw the wound on my shoulder. A small bead of blood was growing in stark contrast to the snow white coat. I looked back up to Sebastian. The sword pushed against her throat. She shrunk away from it, but it only pressed harder.
“What did you do to me?!” I shouted. Sebastian cringed.
“Edwin, stop that at once.” Said a deep voice from behind me. I turned to see the old Colt. The bandages on his head were a pale, pale grey. His hair was shiny and hung limply over his face, as if it had just been washed. All of the ponies behind him were frozen in their respective poses. The old Colt walked up to the two of us. I was still kneeling in front of Sebastian, with the tip of my sword pressed against her throat. The Colt cut an imposing figure, looking down at us with entirely black eyes. I looked him in those black eyes. I immediately regretted it. I had never made direct eye contact with him before, there was just something about him that just drew away from the eyes. I knew that they were black, but this... This was horrific. His eyes were completely black. Not just the iris, but the entire eye. Even the whites, or should I say blacks, were the same color. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, followed by a nervous sweat. This was the creature that the Numbereds had hunted for centuries. This was the creature that killed mercilessly and without reason. This was the creature that went bump in the night. This was the creature that gave us nightmares. This creature was the Ghost that haunted my waking dreams. This creature was fear incarnate. The pale, pale pony looked down at me. A mischievous grin sprouted from the side of his mouth. I was shivering by the time that he decided to speak
“Please stop, Edwin. Enough Ghost blood has been spilled by the Numbereds. I would hate for you to become a hypocrite.” He said in a smooth, smooth voice. It was a voice years, years younger than the pony I met beside the fire. His voice shocked me back to reality. Nothing that caring should belong to a countenance so vile. My teeth began to clatter as the ancient creature continued, turning to Sebastian.
“Sebastian, Edwin. We ghosts are a old, cold husk of our former selves. Once, we were as plentiful in this land as dragons, or even griffons. Now? Ha! Now we are only a footnote in fairy tales, if we are even that lucky. The Angelic horde, which you, Edwin, have been bidden to quell, grows stronger with each passing day. Their coal black masses seek to destroy everything. We Ghosts are protectors of the Controlled dimension, albeit in a roundabout manner. And as protectors, we should protect. They seek to destroy our very construct, our very way of life. This is a certainty if we Ghosts, few though we may be, do nothing to avert this. As I speak, one of the Princesses is being killed by an Angelic. We must combine our resources and recall this dimension to before it was sullied by the Angelic filth. I, for one, w-”
“What did you say?” I asked, rising from the shock of his stare. I slowly rose from my kneeling position to look at the colt. I was a few inches taller than he was, which made me slightly confident in the crazy part of my brain. He looked up to me with a surprised expression on his face.
“A great many things, Edwin. Now, if we depart for the Overworld now, we can-” He was cut off again, but this time by the tip of my sword pressing up into his throat.
“You said something of a Princess.” I remarked coldly. He swallowed once, but said nothing. I growled and pushed the sword slightly higher.
“My patience will only go so far, Colt, before I get curious as to the color of your blood. Speak!” I shouted. The colt swallowed, and then cleared his voice. To his credit, he was remarkably composed for being so close to death.
“The Princesses, both of them, were set upon by Angelics. The recent death of the First has brought them all out of hiding and their hosts, throughout the castle and most of the surrounding countryside ponies are returning to themselves. Two fairly large groups of them have attacked the Princesses. Celestia, a master of the offensive art, disposed of them quite easily, or is doing so as we speak... Princess Luna, on the other hoof...” The colt trailed off, his large black eyes crinkling as he lit up with a grin. I felt somewhat sick to my stomach, and my injured shoulder throbbed, as if it was getting much worse. I grimaced in pain. The Colt turned to me, somewhat surprised.
“Ah. I seemed to have forgotten... You resurrected her.” He said softly.
“He did what?!” Sebastian squealed. I was busy grimacing in pain to respond, but the Colt turned to look down at Sebastian.
“I believe, if memory serves me correctly, that Edwin summoned Princess Luna’s soul from the Void after she died in some sort of accident or another... And if what is happening to Edwin is any sign, the Princess is fighting a losing battle. We must return to the Overworld if you would like to breathe for very much longer.” He said. I fought against the pain, which came slowly because of the frozen state of time.
“No... I must go to her!” I said through clenched teeth, blood running down my right foreleg. I tried to walk forward, only to stumble drunkenly. I flopped on for a few seconds, drunkenly swaying. I fell down on a fairly glass-free patch of ground. My thigh landed on some small shards of glass, enough to make me gasp with the pain. I heard the Colt walk up behind me
“The last time we reset was back when we had Cleo, and I don’t think that she is about to show up anytime soon. Is Edwin strong enough?” Sebastian asked in a tinkling voice. The colt tapped his hoof twice on the stone floor, and I felt the floor buckle under me
“Maybe. We probably can’t wait for him to get stronger, if he isn’t. If one of us dies, we all do. Each of us are intertwined by the strands of magic most dark. Get up from there, Sebastian. You look completely silly.” The colt remarked.
“Manticore venom, you idiot. I have a good three hours before I can use magic again.” Sebastian retorted. I opened my eyes to see myself on a raised stone table. I looked up with one of my eyes to see the Colt standing over me.
“Edwin, we must return to the Overworld. You will die if you stay here much longer, and we need you desperately. We need a minimum of three Ghosts to return Equestria to the beginning. Now, If we would g-” The Colt was cut off by the strangest noise. It struck a familiar chord in my memory, and the discordant music of it rang through my mind. I looked ahead, trying to see what was making the noise. A large blue box faded slowly into existence.
“Doctor...” I whispered, finding myself suddenly weak.
“Damn that Doctor! Sebastian, we need to go!” The Colt shouted to Sebastian. I could hear her struggling against her ropes. I looked forward to the blue box, fully solidified and tangible. One of the doors creaked slowly open, revealing a small brown pony with dark chestnut hair.
“Edwin, come on, we need to...” The Doctor said, but then stopped talking as he saw the ponies that were just outside of his door. His mouth hung open slightly, and he was silent for a while. Each Ghost, Sebastian, the Colt, and I were staring at him. For a torturous few minutes, nothing happened.
“Doctor? What’s happening?” Said a strong, feminine voice from inside the tardis.
“Glass him.” The Doctor whispered so quietly that I was sure that I was the only pony that heard him.
“What?” The feminine voice said again. The Doctor turned back into the tardis
“GLASS HIM, EVE!” The Doctor screamed. He ran back into the tardis, leaving the door open. There was a odd noise, like paper shuffling over a grate. A second later, Evangeline sprung out of the door. She landed right in front of the colt, nearly hoof to hoof. She was glowing brilliantly, practically blinding me with her stored sunlight. Evangeline was so tall, nearly as tall as Celestia, so she towered over the Colt. She stared down at the pony with brilliantly glowing white eyes. He stared back up at her with his horrifyingly black ones.
“Columnus, you soulless bastard. How many times have I killed you?” Evangeline spat down at the pony. He growled. Something budged under his bandage.
“Twice. What brings you to disgrace this palace?”
“I could ask you the same question, Columnus. The Princesses actually welcome my kind into their campus. As a good guest, I should see you out.” Evangeline seethed.
“Ah, My sunny Evangeline. I would like to see you try. The sweet Equestrian air beckons, always calling me back from my well-earned grave.” The Colt said with a slightly warmer tone, but still drenched in contempt for the towering mare.
“I’ll make sure that you won’t be ruining that perfectly good air for much longer.” Evangeline said. The Colt laughed mockingly.
“Good luck. We Ghosts are a hardy species.” The Colt said. Evangeline smiled out of the side of her mouth
“Well, you do know what they say, Columnus.” Eve retorted, her voice growing more amused.
“What?” The colt Columnus asked.
“Third time’s a charm.” She said, and her eyes changed to bright red. The world flashed silently to a brilliantly blinding pale red. I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I could see all of the ponies start to move again. Evangeline was no longer glowing, but a dull, glinting gold. Her lower neck was splattered with crimson. The only thing that I could bring my focus to was the jet black three on her flank. Evangeline turned to me.
“Come on, Edwin. We have to go.” She said, and did not wait for me to move. I felt myself hoisted with magic, and hurled into the tardis. The brilliant colors of the Equestrian populace flew past me blurred. I crashed into something soft that made my neck pop, then dropped onto something equally soft. My eyes closed while the bustling and worries of consciousness ran amok about me.
“What do you mean, it was Columnus? I thought we had dealt with him already.” Said a angry male voice.
“Gespard, the very fact that I’ve had to kill him twice means that he is more than just an average Ghost.” replied what I assume to be Evangeline. There was silence in the tardis.
“What do we do, Eve?” asked a calm male voice, different from the last.
“We must save the Princesses. Without them, Equestria will fall into most certain ruin.”
“What should we do?” The second voice asked again, still slightly impatient. Nothing spoke for a few minutes. The only thing that could be heard was the tardis, making it’s regular noises. One of the ponies coughed.
“Well, while you three decide, I need to get the tardis out of the Palace. Princess Celestia would not be too fond of me allowing you to kill a Ghost in her estate.” He said. My eyes were closed, but I could hear him jump up onto his console to push his buttons and pull his switches.
“Where are we going?” Evangeline asked. The clacking and clicking continued as the Doctor spoke.
“A favorite thinking place of mine. There is an unoccupied planet in the adjacent star system from Equestria, and I am going about 800 years into the past. I usually go into the future, but I’m not now in case the Princess actually...” His voice trailed off awkwardly.
“Yes.” Gespard replied awkwardly.
“Well, this will gives you two the chance to heal Edwin, and figure out  wether you want to take him back to the timeline he occupied. Literally speaking, you have all of the time in the world. If you lot don’t mind, I’ll think that I’ll step out for a moment.” He said, hopping down from the console. His hooves made a clacking noise on the metal grate as he walked off of the platform that held the console. The door creaked open, then closed shut with a solid bang. Evangeline huffed.
“Marcus?” She asked tentatively. I heard a slight shuffling on the opposite end of the tardis.
“Yes, Eve?” He replied. I had not heard him talk much before, and I was shocked by how much he sounded like Othello. His voice lacked a certain inflection, a certain timbre that differed him from the crimson stallion just enough to be recognized as a different voice.
“Please heal Edwin. I am tired from killing Columnus, and you are much better at the art  of healing magics than Gespard or I are.” She said, sounding exhausted. I heard a pony getting to his hooves, and walking closer to me.
“Is there any dirt outside?” Marcus asked, his strong voice making me shiver.
“No, I checked. It’s completely barren out there. Not even any natural air, the Doctor just expanded the sheild.” replied Gespard. Marcus tutted.
“A pity. This would have gone so much faster.” Marcus said sadly. “Edwin? Can you hear me?” He added, his clarion voice ringing through the tardis. I moaned.
“Good. Can you speak at all, Edwin?” Marcus inquired in the same clear voice. I lifted my head and put it back down on the soft surface. I was far too tired and weak to do anything other than groan, and Marcus understood my halfhearted no.
“Edwin, I will be speaking aloud my observations so to make sure that you understand your injuries. You seem to be bleeding rather profusely from the shoulder, with a small amount of bone protruding from the wound.” Marcus finished and placed a warm hoof right above my shoulder, right where my neck and shoulder met. I felt warmness spreading from his hoof, not unlike the feeling of a numb appendage submerged in warm water.
“It looks like you have some glass in your lower back...” Marcus said, trailing off. He places another hoof lower, near my kidneys. The same odd, warm sensation spread through me. Marcus did this for the next hour or so, trying to fix me. His voice, later joined by Evangeline’s soft snoring, was the only thing that could be heard in the tardis. I was soon walking around. I occupied myself by floating aimlessly in the tardis while Marcus and Gespard were trying to figure out what to do next. I heard a knock at the tardis door. I looked to the front of the wonderous machine to see the Doctor standing in the doorway. I paused in my floating while he tried to muster something to say.
“Could... Could you join me out here, Ed?” The light brown pony asked. I said nothing but floated right out of the gigantic interior of the blue box out into the unknown planet. I sailed out into the air, passing  the Doctor in the doorway, only to come to a screeching halt in midair. The two suns in the sky, or should I say lack of, Were spinning each other into teardrops, feeding on themselves. They were two huge, brilliant points of crimson and cobalt in the vast, vast cosmos. I looked down to the ground. A blanket of dark, black ash coated the ground, interspersed occasionally by a shiny, glinting patch. I hovered down to one, and tapped my hoof against it. It made a solid sounding clank.
“The product of a vengeful heart...” I whispered to myself. I landed on the barren planet, throwing up a miniature black cloud. I looked around me, and my gaze finally fell upon the tardis. Such an odd think to the ignorant eye, but to a pony that knew, it was a beacon of hope shining in the bleakest circumstances. The Doctor leaned against his only possession, his eyes closed. I did not walk towards him, leaving the considerable gap between us like an entire pony.
“Is he really dead.” The Doctor asked, his voice carrying no inflection or hint of a question.
“Yes.” I replied, feeling the sadness wash over me. The Doctor raised a hoof up to rub his eye.
“I knew him ever since I dropped into Equestria, before I was a pony. He was not the first pony that I met, but he was the first one to call me human. We talked, and I discovered the oddest interdimensional adaptation ever. Not only did Equestria summon bodies to defend herself, but she summoned their souls from an entirely different dimension.” He said, looking down at a small patch of glass. He shook his head  in amazement, swimming through his memories.
“You were a human? In Equestria?” I said in dull surprise. The Doctor chuckled humorlessly, and then looked up to the stars.
“Yes, for a little while. Othello and I thought it to be fun to annoy a dragon. Needless to say that both of us almost died. I was about to regenerate by the time that Othello got me to the tardis. When I woke up, I was a pony. That was that.” He said, telling the story like one would tell the weather. A glistening, sparkling tear bubbled up to his eye.
“You knew him very well.” I commented. The Doctor, with his head still held aloft, nodded.
“For his entire life, ever since he was a young foal of ninety. He aged, which was something that none of the other Numbereds did. He was the first, and he was summoned to Equestria as a child, a small one. I even asked the Princesses, and he has been around as long as they were, if not longer.” He said, still staring at the suns. I turned to look over my shoulder to look at them. The teardrop stars spun slowly, trying their hardest to consume the other, but their own attempts were what kept them from reaching their goals. This hefty thought branched off into an inquiry to myself. I could find no answer, so I asked the Doctor.
“Do you think that the Angelics will ever be gone for good?” I asked. The Doctor shrugged.
“Not sure. Never did think to look and find out. Speaking of which, Edwin...” The Doctor remarked, piquing my attention.
“Where do you want to go? Being as this is ‘your show’, so to speak, I think that it is only polite to ask you. Gespard, Eve, and Marcus may decide on what they want to do, but only you can decide what you want to do. She is yours, you know.”  The Doctor spoke bluntly.
“Take me to where she was attacked, Doctor. We need to save her, and I’ll literally die if she does. We need to save her.” I said. The Doctor nodded.
“Well, Edwin, let’s go. Unless you care to enjoy the scenery of Sigmus Five for much longer.” The Doctor added, gesturing to a nearby patch of glass. I thought about this for a moment, before I replied with a smile.

“Equestria is my home, Doctor. Take me there.” 
> 23: of Plants and Jars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 23

The Doctor walked to the door, and pushed it open with a sooty hoof. He walked in, but he seemed to remember something and turned around.
“Oh, we need to visit Celestia first, so unless you can come up with a clever plan to not get injured again when we visit her, I’m going to shove you in the stasis chamber.” He remarked bluntly, then disappeared through the open blue door. I started to raise a hoof to object, but he was already out of view. I took flight and shot through the open door. The Doctor was already pushing buttons and reading displays on his console. I floated over him, waving my hooves and trying to get his attention. He studiously kept to his console.
“Doctor! I don’t want to go into the stasis chamber!” I said emphatically.
“Too bad. I don’t want you to die of blood loss, gross trauma, asphyxiation, or whatever else is happening to Luna right now. Temporarily removing you from the time stream is the only option I can see as viable.” The Doctor replied bluntly. I gasped in shock.
“The last time I went in there, you didn’t let me out for ten years!” I exclaimed. The Doctor said nothing, but continued to preside over his console, mashing and smashing his hooves onto the different control surfaces.
“Doctor! Please, I can stay inside the tardis, and-” I was interrupted by the Doctor. He turned around, jumping to his hind legs, and grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
“I will not have another Numbered die today!” He screamed at me, his eyes wild. He frightened me, and I tried to fly away from his grip. He stayed firmly planted on the ground, and his grip around my neck did not lessen.
“Othello was like you, Edwin. Brash, bold, and willing to do anything for those he loved. He was passionate, like you, and he was powerful, like you. But look at this! Afraid to enter a stasis chamber to save your own life!” He spat at me. He was staring at me with his large brown eyes, filled with anger and grief. I felt the skin under my coat grow clammy as he stared at me with those eyes. The Doctor’s eyes could convey a sense of abandonment, a sense of loneliness that no voice nor expression belonging to a mortal creature could convey. The Doctor stared at me, switching from one of my blue eyes to another, as if he was trying to find something. He did this for a minute or two, when his expression glasses over with sad indifference. His pale brown legs slid over my neck and landed on the ground with a solid clank. He turned away from me to face his console.
“You are going into that stasis chamber, Edwin. I don’t want anypony else to die today.” He commanded in a soft, sad voice. I heard something clear its throat to the right of me. I turned to see Gespard and Marcus staring at me, and Marcus was holding a hoof over his chest.
“Doctor?” Marcus asked, his deep voice seemingly reverberating through my mind.
“What is it, Marcus?” The Doctor replied in a monotone.
“I might be able to solve this quandary. Do you have any dirt?” He asked. The Doctor stopped poking buttons and pulling levers for a moment. He slowly turned to look at Marcus.
“What?” The Doctor asked, extremely confused.
“Dirt? Do you have any?” He asked again. The Doctor paused for a second, and then he nodded.
“Yes, I do, give me a second...” He replied, turning from the console. He walked around the console and walked around to the opposite side from where I was floating. He ducked down beneath the console, and ducked under it. I could see his tail flicking in the air, followed by a loud bump and swearing.
“Do you want any help, Doctor?” Marcus asked. There was a muffled grunt. Marcus blinked, and another loud bump was followed by swearing. A large lidless glass jar surrounded with a bright green aura floated out from under the console, placing itself gently down in front of Marcus. Marcus reached into the jar and scooped out a hoof-full as best as he could. He held it up to his nose and inhaled.
“Ah... Nutty and dry, but with faintly sweet undertones. Western Equestria subsoil, Doctor?” Marcus inquired.
“Very impressive, Marcus.” The Doctor said, reading displays on the opposite side of the round console. Marcus looked to both sides of him, as if he was trying to find something. He twisted around to look behind his shoulder at Gespard.
“Gespard, I need it damp.” Marcus said. Gespard knocked on the metal grate of the tardis floor twice with a loud bang, and the dirt in the jar grew noticeably darker. Marcus turned back to look at the dirt with a stony face. He settled back on his hind legs, and raised his hooves up to touch the glass on either side of the jar. He closed his eyes, with his brow furrowed in concentration. His hooves began to glow with the same green aura as before. I stopped hovering and landed on the ground, amazed. I could smell the magic in the air, the scent of ozone filling my nostrils. I walked up to Marcus, and looked down in the jar. There was a small tendril of green poking out of the dirt. Marcus lowered his hooves from the sides of the jar, and looked up at me.
“I advise that everypony move away from the jar. Slowly.” He said, backing away from the jar. Gespard did the same, and the Doctor paid us no mind.
“What?” I asked, watching the wary ponies back away from the small plant. Gespard shushed me, and Marcus nodded.
“Don’t startle it, Edwin. Back away very, very slowly.” Marcus said in a hushed tone. I scoffed.
“What in Equestria could a tiny little plant do to m-” I tried to ask, but was interrupted by a loud explosion. There was a flash of green, followed by a suffocating pressure. I tried to escape it, sending a charge through my body. The pressure then increased, and seemed to writhe. The closest thing that my mind could find that was comparable was being buried in live snakes. I could still breathe, but the air that I inhaled was moist, hot, and smelled of rotting leaves. I screamed and writhed, but the the limbs only squeezed tighter.
“Don’t struggle, Edwin! It will not hurt you if you do not hurt it!” Shouted Marcus, walking around the jar hurriedly. All I could do is strain against the snakes.
“Sweet Goddesses, Marcus! What is it?!” The Doctor shouted. I could hear Marcus’ muffled walking around me, and him prodding the snakes.
“I don’t know.” He replied calmly.
“You don’t know?!” The Doctor exclaimed.
“Well, It doesn’t have a name. I’m fairly sure that it has not been discovered by mortal ponies yet. But, it is definitely a carnivorous tentacular, most likely of the Canatidae family...” Marcus trailed off, leaving me extremely worried.
“Carnivorous?!” Gespard exclaimed. If Marcus answered, I could not hear him. I pushed an even stronger charge of electricity out of my limbs, feeling it crackle and zap through my bones, making the tentacles constrict around me even tighter. I could feel the breath rush out of me, my ribs bending under the ministrations of the plant. Marcus began to move faster around the plant, his hooves clacking under him.
“Edwin! Do not hurt it! Keep calm!” He shouted. I struggled with the plant for a few more seconds, during which Marcus’ words assembled into sense. I stopped the charge that was flowing through my body, and almost immediately the strong vines of the plant relaxed around me. It flowed away from me, no longer constricting me, but forming somewhat of a small room. I looked around at my surroundings as the vines began to form into a small cube, just tall enough for a pony my size to be comfortable in.
“What is this, Marcus?” I asked as soon as I was able to find my voice.
“One of Equestria’s most useful organisms, in my opinion.” Replied Marcus, his booming voice muffled by the walls that enclosed me.
“What does it do?” I inquired again. Marcus chuckled.
“To tell you that, I must explain to you a small bit of pony biology. Ponies, like humans, breathe and metabolize an eighty-twenty nitrogen-oxygen blend. But, while somewhat lethal to humans, ponies can breathe a gas called ethyl bromoacetate, with somewhat spectacular results.” Marcus stated. The joy in his voice was plain, even through the walls that surrounded me.
“What is so spectacular about it?” I wondered aloud.
“When a pony inhales ethyl bromoacetate, it works absolute miracles for their body. Breathing rate increases and becomes much more efficient, conducing almost complete oxygen metabolism. Dietary metabolism rises, making the calories burned to calories wasted ratio become almost one to zero. Eyesight becomes hawk-like, making you see from five hundred feet what an average pony can see from twenty. Conscious stimuli responses, like catching falling objects and reacting to visual ques, become nearly immediate. But, all of those are not even the best effect of ethyl bromoacetate.” Marcus finished. This little speech made me all the more curious as to what the mysterious substance did that was so great. I drew a long breath, savoring the feel of the air. It tasted alive, like how air tasted next to running water. I pondered his impromptu lecture for a moment.
“I give up, Marcus. Tell me what it does.” I said, sitting down on the vines under me. They had a pleasant give to them, like sitting on a firm cushion. I smiled and bounced slightly, testing the vines with my hooves.
“It heals wounds instantaneously, just as good and sometimes even better than magic would.” He said. I laughed.
“Sounds amazing. Sounds illegal, to be honest. Know where I can get any?” I inquired yet again. Marcus laughed.
“Right where you are.” Marcus said. I chuckled.
“Really?” I asked.
“Really. This organism is like other plants, in the fact that it inhales carbon dioxide. But, while other plants would exhale oxygen, this plant exhales ethyl bromoacetate, which makes it rather useful in situations like this. Doctor, I think that we can go now.” Marcus finished.
“Right you are, Marcus! Just a hop, skip, and a jump and we’ll be right in the throne room. We might even get fed! The Doctor said cheerily. I could hear him walking around the console.
“So, Marcus, when you said that the plant was carnivorous, what exactly-” I was interrupted.
“Too late for that, Edwin, ALLONS-Y!” The Doctor shouted. I heard a loud slam, and could hear the tardis making its’ wonderful noises. Halfway through, I felt one of the oddest sensations that I could have possibly experienced. A long gash opened up my shoulder, exposing flesh, sinew, and bone to the open air. I gasped with the suddenness of the injury, and could feel warm blood spurt out of it. I shuddered. Before I could do anything, I felt the two sides of the gaping wound close, and the underlying musculature knit back together. I reached a hoof up to touch my shoulder, noticing that it was the very same one that I thought that Sebastian had injured. While I was massaging the newly healed shoulder, a long, thin line of blood inched it’s way up my foreleg. I was surprised by the injury, but I had no time to think of it before it closed of its own volition. I removed the leg in question from my shoulder and examined it. The snowy leg articulated under my will, making the muscle flex and bulge under the skin. For an odd moment, I remembered what it was like to have hands. I could still remember how they moved, but I no longer had the ability to move them. I smiled lightly, remembering with fondness the body that I would never again inhabit. I could see every single individual hair on my leg, each one doing its part to cover alabaster skin. I set myself down on the vines of the plant, feeling them sway with motion. I rolled over to my side and splayed my hooves, soaking in the wonderful feeling that the plant was giving me. My eyelids slowly drooped, and I fought to keep them open.
“Edwin?” Said a slightly reedy voice. With my tired mind, it took me a little bit to place it with a name.
“Gespard?” I asked sleepily. I heard something moving in front of me. I opened my eyes to see a blue head poking into my little plant house.
“Marcus says that you have been in the plant long enough to inhale a significant dosage for it to be safe for you to exit the plant. We are in the throne room right now, and if you would like, Marcus says that you are able to join the rest of us outside of the tardis. He does warn that it will be a... Confusing experience.” He said, looking at me with alert cobalt eyes. I was shocked to the extent of what I noticed about him under the influence of the strange chemical. He seemed so full of detail that it was almost surreal. His mouth and facial muscles slipped and flexed around each syllable. I gulped.
“Okay.” I mumbled, clumsily trying to stand. I stood still for a moment, trying to discern whether or not I could walk for any sort of distance. I placed a hoof in front of me, put pressure on it, and stepped forward. I kept doing this until I reached the opening in the plant that Gespard was sticking his head out of. He was no longer there, and also nowhere else, but I could feel the strength returning to my limbs. I poked my head out of the tardis and inhaled the seemingly stale air of the tardis. It had a certain energy of its own, but it was nothing like being inside of the plant. I jumped from the plant, which was towering three or four feet above the tardis. I gasped, standing perfectly still as I looked around me. It was the interior of the tardis that I saw, but it was the way that I saw it that made me exclaim. I could see every scratch, every swirling mote of dust, every button, every blinking light, every wrench, every single thing in the tardis. My mind was working so incredibly fast to organize the plethora of information that was flowing into my eyes. I stood in front of the plant, simply blinking in awe. I took a few cautious steps forward, as if the illusion of detail would disappear with the slightest movement,
“Edwin?” Said a tired voice behind me. I turned to see Evangeline. She was brushing up against the side of the plant. I said nothing, but stared at her in awe. I’ve heard humans talk about a ‘morning glow’, but for Evangeline, it was a literal concept. She shined lightly, casting a faint golden glow against the plant she was leaning on. It reached out slowly with its limbs to touch her, rubbing itself against her in the hopes of absorbing her light.
“It likes you.” I said simply. She raised her neck to nuzzle the plant, her eyes closed with a smile on her face. Small vines unfolded from the main cube to caress her face. She giggled lightly.
“Marcus’s summonings always do. I personally think that he is somewhat infatuated with me, and that his plants are an extension of his personality. Or, it could just be that I have an overinflated ego and the plants are rather undernourished. Either way, they always make me feel happy.” She said. My supercharged body was busy cataloging every single detail about her, from the number of tiny hairs in her face to all the different shades of gold in her eyes. She smiled, noticing me staring at her.
“I remember my first time on ethyl. So much detail... It’s rather discombobulating, isn’t it?” She asked. I nodded. She walked up to me, straying to my right. She bounded over to the grate that led down to the open door, articulating her limbs gracefully. She landed lithely, making a soft clank on the grate that seemed disproportionate to her size. Her long tail swayed as she walked over to the open door and the throne room beyond. I noticed that she was just a little bit shorter than Princess Celestia.

“I never could get used to it, but sometimes it is a necessity. If you want to, you can come on out to see the Princess. She would be happy to see you.” She said, her flaxen tail swishing as she disappeared from view. I gulped, trying to come to terms with the encounter. I understood every detail intimately, from the swirling air around Evangeline to the slowly writhing vines of the plant behind her. The plant looked much like a light bulb, with the swirling mass of the plant held up by a thin bundle of vines that reached down into the large glass jar of dirt. I turned from it to look out of the tardis door. The golden and purple carpet that distinguished the outside of the tardis to be that of the Palace beckoned me to step on its luxuriously soft self. I walked down the ramp to the opening of the tardis, but stopped halfway down. I could see a dark brown blemish on the usually immaculate carpet, and my nose picked the faint scent of burnt hair out of the air. I slowly walked forward, and saw a blackened hoof poke into view. It was the underside of a hoof, and it was burnt lightly. I gasped in shock, and ran out of the tardis. What I saw was the stuff of nightmares. I stood looking at my surroundings, simply in shock.
It was terrible, even if it was necessary. Princess Celestia sat on her throne, levitating an apple in a cloud of bright yellow magic. Marcus, Gespard, Evangeline, and the Doctor stood around her, in the various stages of eating apples. None of them seemed to notice me. But this was not the shocking thing.
The bodies of about twenty ponies were littered around them. Their black coats and ashen manes distinguished them as Angelics. They were all clearly very dead. Each and every single one of them seemed to be in different stages of being cooked, from slightly crisped to resembling large charcoal briquettes. There was even a smoking skeleton in the corner. The only Angelic that was not burnt was split cleanly down the middle, like a gory cross section, with each half on opposite sides of the room. I stood there, simply taking in the sheer violence around me. Princess Celestia was levitating a small wedge of apple in front of her mouth when she noticed me.
“Ah, Edwin! Come sit and have an apple.” She said cheerfully. I gulped, not even trying to see the overwhelming detail of the baroque room.
“You do know...” I started, but was unable to finish. The corpses littered about me like forgotten toys made me stop talking, their dead crimson eyes taking in scenery that they could not see. Celestia nodded.
“I do. I will explain in a moment, but come have an apple for now.” She said. 
> 24: of Tyrants and Griffons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 24

I walked up between Gespard and Evangeline, relishing the softness of the carpet under my strong, ivory hooves. Marcus was on Eve’s left, and the Doctor was on Gespard’s right. All of us formed a haphazard semicircle around a bushel of apples.
I looked at the bushel, with its splintered wooden sides bound with rusted metal. There was just the slightest dusting of reddish orange on the carpet under it, but I was sure that I was the only one able to see it. I looked at the apples in the container. This captivated my attention, because each of the apples seemed to be a world of its own. The skin of the apples had little tiny bumps and pores and hairs on them, not to mention the extremely vivid colors. I stared at them for a few minutes until I noticed that the Princess was trying to get my attention.
“Edwin?” She asked patiently, but my supercharged senses could pick the annoyance out of her voice as easily I could have picked an apple out of the bushel. I looked up at her, and was struck dumb by the detail present in her. Her hair was waving brilliantly as always, but now I could see it was not individual strands like a normal mane, but a flowing sheath of energy. Her hair waved and pulsed according to the movements of the surging power it contained. I stood dumbly and stared at her hair as she smiled lightly. I heard a shuffling noise to the left of me, and my head immediately snapped to it. It was Marcus, and he was rubbing a hoof over the carpet in an embarrassed manner.
“I might have left him in the plant for too long, Princess.” He said. I heard a slight rustling, and my head snapped back to the Celestia nodding. She turned to look at me with one of her large purple eyes.
“Yes, I can tell.” She responded to Marcus, with her eye still trained on me. She locked onto me for a moment as her head turned. Her eye... The plain purple gradient of her eye appeared to me as what it really was, a vivid shade of purple that my mind leaped to label Tyrian. They were large blooming canyons and valleys and caves suspended in the glassy substance of her eye. I was forced to direct my attention away from her vivid eye as she turned to look at the Doctor, on my right side.
“Doctor, do tell me why you are here. You already came here once. Why again?” She said, her steady voice carrying a regal inflection. I did not turn to look at the Doctor, I was too busy looking at Celestia’s hair.
“To make sure you didn’t die. Quite a few Angelics would not mind adding killing a Princess to their list of accomplishments. But, I can see, that my side trip was unnecessary. You seemed to have made very short work of them, as we can well see.” The Doctor said, and his ending statement was followed by a small brushing noise. My head snapped to the noise to see the Doctor gesturing to a nearby angelic corpse. The lower half of its body was not cloaked in flesh; It was only a smoldering skeleton. It did not even have hooves anymore, but blackened ends of bone where I assumed that legs would have been at some point. I heard the rustling that indicated Celestia opening her mouth to speak. I tried not to turn to the noise, but my head again turned to face it faster than thought, which, for me, was quite fast.
“Where were you planning on going originally?” She asked. I heard the Doctor make an odd noise, as if he were trying to avoid trying to tell a filly about how foals were made.
“Oh, I’m sure that it won’t matter to you, you have much greater things to attend to... “ The Doctor said, gesturing to all of us at the same time. Evangeline, Gespard, Marcus and I slowly backed away toward the tardis, understanding his vague gesture in synchrony. I heard a faint rustle, like gift paper sliding over gift paper, which was followed nearly immediately by the yellow glow of Celestia’s horn. A startled yelp soon followed, and I saw the Doctor floating toward Celestia, enveloped in a golden cloud of magic. Her hair was waving much faster than before, and the energy under it was spinning at an incredible rate. She faced him angrily.
“You are hiding something from me, Doctor. I know you well enough to be able to tell.” She threatened.
“We were going to the future, there was an event that I wanted to show-” The Doctor hurriedly explained, but he was cut off with another yelp. He squirmed in the cloud of yellow magic, seemingly in pain. Celestia looked on angrily.
“Where were you going, Doctor?! Tell me!” She shouted. The Doctor started writhing, screaming in pain. We were doing all that we could to help the Doctor. Nothing. None of us dared to interfere with Celestia for fear of retribution, or to be added to the suffering. All we could do was stare at the Doctor, suspended in the throes of pain unearthly. This kept up for an agonizing, dragging few minutes. The Doctor finally grew limp in the undulating cloud of magic, moaning.
“Tell me where you were going. And don’t you dare lie to me, Doctor.” She said, her voice growing a passionate edge. Her eyes twinkled lightly, and I could see the nearly full moon in the reflection.
“Luna...” He gasped. “Angelics...” He added in an equally tired tone. Celestia said nothing, but threw the Doctor away from her. I immediately reached out with my mind and grabbed him, keeping him from flying into a wall. Celestia’s eyes twinkled, the same way that Luna’s did when she raised the moon. Her hair, the sheath, folded in on itself, and the energy underneath combusted into a conflagration of light and blistering heat. The flaming Princess floated lightly, taking the weight off of her hooves and letting the extreme heat of the air carry her upward. I had to squint; the burning aura surrounding her was nearly blinding, and I was only able to look directly at her because of my heightened vision. She spread her wings, allowing them to catch the billowing air around her, with each pristine white feather carrying her weight. She immediately shot straight up into the air, leaving a white glow where she was. My eyes followed her accent, which ended with Celestia disappearing out of a small hole in the ceiling, most likely expressly built for this purpose in mind. The world around me grew extremely dark in absence of the brilliant flames. I blinked a few times, and my surroundings became easily visible. I looked around. Each of the Numbereds were blinking, and Gespard was lying on the ground. Marcus was busy jumping on his hind legs, trying to reach the Doctor floating above him. I released the Doctor, and he immediately was caught in a glowing cloud of brilliantly green magic. Marcus lowered him to the floor, placing a hoof on him. Marcus looked back at me.
“Edwin! Evangeline! Follow her!” He shouted, not getting up from the Doctor’s side. Evangeline looked at him, then back to me. Her glowing golden eyes conveying a deep sense of fear. I watched this for a nearly infinite fraction of a second, and then Eve shot up into the air, disappearing out of the same hole that Celestia did. I stood there for a second, just in awe of what had just happened in front of me. I plunged myself into magic, and soared into the sky. I could feel the air try to keep me back, but I would have none of it. I persisted onward, with the air snapping my mane against my neck. I strained myself against gravity as I shot through the hole in the extremely high ceiling of the throne room.
I could see Evangeline as a yellow blur streaking off toward what appeared to be a comet, both of which were flying away from me at incredible speed. I landed on the ledge of the roof, and then jumped off of it. I saw the ground approaching smoothly, the force of gravity making it so eager to kill me. I watched it approach me for a second or two, then flew straight down to meet it. The acceleration of gravity and my own magic was hurtling me downward at blistering speed. I watched the precipices and jutting towers fling themselves past my face, making a deafening noise. I saw the ground get dangerously close, then pulled myself away from the castle.
The air exploded around me. I felt my body being compressed and squeezed, like toothpaste out of a tube.  I could feel something... strange. Something did not feel right. What I thought to be air flowing around me was actually my physical surroundings.The rapidly disappearing scenery was being warped and contorted in front of me, like folding a piece of paper with a drawing on it. I tried not to look at it, and tried even harder not to crash into anything. I weaved and flung myself off of cliffs and ledges, sending my body hurling through moving pillars of stone, tumbling through the empty air around flying boulders, where there should have only been rolling, grassy hills. I tried to think my way out of the twisted, fractured, and fluid world around me. Stone would flow much like water, water stayed immobile and hard as rock, and there was no sky. It was like the world had folded around me into a tube that wanted me dead. Fists of stone would sometimes leap out of the wall of the tube and break against the opposite wall. The landscape around me seemed to defy the concepts of rational space, and shapes often would often not allow themselves to be seen just for the sheer impossibility of their form. I plummeted and flew through the stone tunnel for what seemed to be hours.
I caught a break. There was a globe of dark blue, like the far horizon of the sky at sunset. It weaved and raced and even flew through the stone around it, sometimes even floated through the walls of the tunnel. I knew, somehow, that it was the only way out of this stony hell.
“Edwin.” Said a voice, free of inflection. As soon as I heard it, I immediately couldn’t remember how it sounded. The dark globe of the sky had a streak of white in it for a moment. I was flying as fast as I could to reach it, and my efforts were rewarded. I touched the globe with a hoof, and I was sucked out of the tunnel, into the regular geometry of Equestria.
I skidded through the grassy field, getting a mouthful of everything. I must have been travelling at speed in the tube, because I skidded over the damp grass for about forty yards. I only stopped moving because I collided with a very hard surface. I nearly upended myself, because the back half of me clearly wanted to keep going forward. I was content with just staying there on the wet grass for a moment or two. It had been a very trying day. Othello and Columnus had died, Second Lieutenant Spitfire was kidnapped, and Luna was in danger. I just wanted to sleep for once. A full night, or preferably a full day of sleeping uninterrupted by nightmares of my death or guards wanting to talk to me would be very, very nice...
There was the creaking of a door, followed by an odd clacking noise. I would have said that it was the clack of hooves on concrete, but I would have been wrong. There were far too many of them too close together, and the sound was off.
“He’s right here.” A voice said. I could not place where I had heard that voice before. I definitely had, because it had a faint familiarity to it. It was a female voice, like the one that would tell you the floor that you were on in some elevators.
“Really? How convenient of him. Well, go on then! Let him in. We have places to be.” Another voice said, also hauntingly familiar, but I was able to place where I had heard it before. I felt myself lifted up by magic, feeling the warm, trickling force flowing around me like a spider web. I felt myself lowered down onto a firm thing, like a couch. I lied there for a minute.
“So, Cleo. It has certainly been a very long time.” Said the voice, definitely male. There was a faint clicking and scraping accompanying this.
“Yes. It’s hard for me to associate with the outside world, these days, for fear of encountering him.” The other voice said in a slightly sad tone.
“Well, Evangeline killed him earlier today. Or, at least I think was today. Or, it will be today... Will have been? What day is it?” The male voice asked. There was a click, followed by a low sound, almost too low to be heard.
“Tuesday?” the female voice, Cleo, ventured.
“Must be. Never could get the hang of Tuesdays. So, what brought you out of hiding?” The male voice asked. There were a few more clicks, and I suddenly knew who the pony was.
“Events in Equestria move apace, Doctor. I would be a fool to miss history being made right outside my door. No Colt, however oppressive, would stop me from seeing this.” She said firmly.
“Right you are, Cleo, right you are... Edwin! Get up!” The Doctor said. I opened one eye to look  at him. I was lying supine on a pink Victorian couch, and the Doctor was talking to a... I was not too sure what it was. It had the body and front legs of an eagle, but the back end of a lion. It’s wings were enormous, and I was sure that one of the feathers would have dwarfed me if it were standing on its end. It was an enormous creature, but it was also completely white. The only exception were the brilliant orange eyes and yellow beak. The Doctor coughed. I looked to him, much slower than I would have. I was pretty sure that the effects of the plant were wearing off.
“Edwin, I would like to introduce you to Cleo, one of the few Ghosts in Equestria not under the authority of Columnus. Say hello, Edwin.” The Doctor said. I looked back to Cleo, then back to the Doctor.
“What happened to her?” I hissed. The Doctor looked confused, then made a gesture for me to elaborate.
“I’ve never seen a pony like that before. What’s wrong with her!?” I hissed again. The Doctor just laughed.
“Ah, Edwin...” The Doctor said, raising a hoof to wipe a tear from his eye. “That’s because she isn’t a pony.” He added.
“What is she?” I hissed again.
“I am a Griffon.” She said. I looked back to her, extremely confused. She saw my look, then began to explain.
“You see, Edwin, the vast majority of Ghosts have been ponies. Although, it was not uncommon to have a Griffon, Zebra, or even a Dragon Ghost. It just did not happen as often. Also, Ghosts that were not ponies were accepted into their communities more than their pony counterparts because of their ability to weave magic. My species does not have any natural-born “unicorns”, so Ghosts were accepted as the only spellcasters of my race. Sadly, the Numbereds hunted and killed every Ghost not under Columnus’ influence, and a grand amount that were. I saw reason and joined Columnus against the Numbereds. I was young, and I was passionate. I had not the ability to see what would happen if I joined his forces. He had a stranglehold on our lives, dictating when we would do everything. Not a single pebble was moved with magic without Columnus knowing. We were killed by the Numbereds, all except for a filly, Columnus, and myself. I was lucky enough to escape from his iron grip, and have been hiding ever since.” She said. I gulped.
“So you can live in Equestria now? You can go back to the Griffons?” I asked, my heart heavy with her sad story.
“No. Columnus... Columnus never dies.” She said seriously.
“I’m pretty sure that he is quite dead.” I said, remembering Eve splattered with crimson.
“No, Edwin, you don’t understand. All of the Ghosts wanted him dead. We would plan for months, sometimes years. Then we would act. We’ve set him on fire. Boiled him, cooked him, starved him, dried him, drowned him, stretched him, flayed him, quartered him, impaled him, we even tore the muscle from his bones. We’ve crushed him and clubbed him and stabbed him and poisoned him more times than I could ever count. . Oh, his body would die, and he would not breathe anymore. We would celebrate a tyrant’s death. But a month or so later... He would be walking amongst us as if nothing had ever happened. He doesn’t live, Edwin. He endures.”
> 25: of Inertia and Histories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Chapter 25

“What do you mean, he doesn’t die?” I asked. Dying was a part of life. It shaped everything, including me. Especially me. Cleo shook her head, the soft feathers on her head swaying slightly.
“We never found out how he did it. One day, he would just come back and not say anything. But, those who conspired against him just... Disappeared. We would never see them again.”
“What?” I asked, completely confused. Cleo shifted slightly, and sighed.
“Looks like you need some back-story.” She said to herself. She continued;
“When it became evident that the Numbereds were hunting Ghosts, it was not unheard of for five or six Ghosts to band together for a common defense. We deluded ourselves as a species; we thought that the Numbereds were not a significant threat to us. We were right, for a time. Almost three thousand years ago, there were only two Numbereds in Equestria. A Ghost being killed by a Numbered was a very, very rare occurrence. For about five hundred years, there was a tense peace between the two races.” Cleo said. I struggled with my now-foggy mind to see the correlation between this and Columnus.
“Why only five hundred years?” I asked. Cleo opened her beak, but it was the Doctor who responded.
“Do you know how old Evangeline is, Edwin?” He asked. I shook my head, responding;
“I’ve never had cause to find out.” I replied. The Doctor smiled, reaching up with a hoof to adjust a monitor. It resisted, and he hit it with one of his hooves.
“She will be celebrating her two-thousand, five hundred and seventh birthday as of this May.” He replied. I sat dumbly, looking from the Doctor to Cleo, them back to the Doctor, and again to Cleo. I was staring at a feather on Cleo’s head when the gears of my mind slowly meshed together and formed an answer.
“Evangeline killed you.” I whispered. Cleo chucked.
“No, Edwin. I was lucky. But sadly, not every Ghost was as lucky as I. Not a single creature, maybe save for Evangeline herself, knows why she decided to kill every last Ghost she could find. Maybe she saw a rouge Ghost kill a pony. Maybe she just did not like the way our species looked. Maybe, maybe, maybe. All we can do is speculate as to the cause, but the result? It is more than evident. I am one of only four Ghosts that exist in Equestria as of today.” She said, her voice growing low and somber as she finished. The Doctor coughed. I looked to him, and saw him standing with his hooves resting on the lip of the console. His neck was hunched down, as if he were holding some incredible weight on his shoulders. He turned his neck to look at me, still hunched, and began to speak.
“Evangeline... She is a wonderful creature, one of the most powerful immortal beings in Equestria, if not the most powerful. She is caring, kind, and generous. But no facet of her character, no kind smiles or caring acts can atone for what she did. She systematically hunted and killed every single Ghost she could find. She led them to death like cows would be led to slaughter. Each and every Ghost she saw was just as good as dead. In her early years, however, she was too busy doing exactly the same thing to Angelics to kill Ghosts. Sadly, her rage and anger would not dissipate after she dispersed the Angelic horde. She directed her blinding xenophobia to the next best thing. 
“Ghosts.” I whispered. The Doctor smiled grimly.
“Yes. It was genocide, plain and simple. She hunted them like you would hunt a wild animal. Surely, in her eyes, they were no better than any dangerous animal. She saw them all equally in her eyes. Scum. No matter the past deeds of a certain Ghost, however beneficiary they were to their community, she would kill them like they were beasts. Needless to say that there were Ghosts that deserved death, violent sociopaths that blindly murdered anything that they saw. But this was only a tiny fraction of the populace that was adeptly handled within their own ranks. The genocide of the Ghosts is one of the major crimes that the immortal populace of Equestria must one day atone for. If we were in your original dimension, Ed, I would not hesitate to abduct Evangeline and make her stand trial at the Shadow Proclamation.” The Doctor finished bleakly. I felt emotionally and intellectually drained. I slumped against a nearby Y-pillar, using its strength to hold me up. I shuddered.
“Columnus was one of the more successful leaders, in terms of keeping Ghosts alive. He thwarted Evangeline for this entire time, almost twenty-five hundred years so far. He did... No, he still does by restricting almost all individual action, controlling the lives of the Ghosts under him with an iron grip. Nothing was done in his collective that he did not know about.” The Doctor said, dropping off in the middle of his exposition, seemingly lost in thought.
“We need to go.” Cleo said. The Doctor nodded turning back to his console and raising his head.
“You’re right. Let’s go.” He said, reaching up with a hoof to push a yellow square. The wooshing noise sounded through the tardis, filling me with calm. The noise was a constant. No matter what happened in the outside world, this noise would remain. The noise assuaged my troubled mind.
“What’s this?” The Doctor said. There was a faint beeping on top of the noise of the moving tardis, seemingly in response to his query.
“That cannot possibly be right.” He said again, but the beeping continued. The tardis was still moving, which was odd. It was usually done by now. The beeping persisted as the Doctor bounded around the console.
“What is it?” Cleo asked. The Doctor shushed her angrily, and continued to poke and prod and occasionally strike the console with his hooves. The beeping did not cease, but the wooshing noise did. I was starting to grow worried.
“What does it mean, Doctor?” I asked, my worry evident in my voice.
“Be quiet!” The Doctor whispered angrily. The beeping continued, then stopped. He visibly relaxed, and all of the anger flowed out of his face.
“You see? It worked perfectl-” The Doctor was interrupted by a shoe. A brown, shiny leather penny loafer, cleverly shaped like a pony’s hoof, rolled down the grate, passing Cleo and I. It made a dull thunk as it stopped on the other side of the Tardis.
“Oh no.” The Doctor said quietly. I looked to him. The beeping started again.
“No, no no no no no no NO!” He shouted, running around to the other side of the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers. He paused on the side closest to us. He leaped up with his forelegs to the lip of the console, and reached out to hover, trembling, above a red button.
A red button.
A red button with a yellow exclamation point.
My mind slowly put the pieces together.
“Don’t do it! Please, for the love of Celestia, don’t do it!” I screamed. The Doctor did not answer me, but hovered above the button as if he were grappling with some internal struggle. He looked back to me, then turned to Cleo.
“I’m so sorry.” He whispered. He turned back to face the console, and pressed the button. It made an audible click as it was depressed. I was crushed, obliterated. The Doctor doomed the whole of Equestria to face certain obliteration in less than two minutes. I sat there, leaning against one of the pillars ringing the console, slack-jawed.   
“Why did you do it?” I whispered, feeling an overwhelming depression seep over me. The Doctor opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the all-too familiar wailing of the klaxon. The shrill alarm drove me from my stupor, and I flew from the pillar. I shot off to the Doctor, and leaning over him, grabbed him with my forelegs and shook him.
“Why would you do that to me?! I had a future out there! That was my home!” I shouted, shaking the Doctor. His head connected with the console while I was doing this, and his eyes rolled back into his head. I shook him harder.
“Edwin...” Cleo said, but I was too far lost in my misery and anger to stop shaking the Doctor. I felt something cold wrap its way around my waist. I was going to turn back to see it, but the cold thing squeezed around me and yanked me away from the Doctor. I flew backwards through the air, and crashed into the opposite wall with a loud bang. I hit the back of my head on the tardis wall, stunning me for a moment. I lost awareness of my loud, angry, and complicated surroundings. I my vision faded and blurred as my mind tried to keep a slippery grip on consciousness. The ringing in my ears was then overshadowed by the wailing of the siren. I opened my eyes.
I was in what seemed to be a long, glass vial, covered in metal on the outside. The tube was not exactly spacious, but it was not stifling either. It had a long space on the front of it where it was not covered in metal that allowed me to see outside of the tube and into the console room. There was really nothing much different, except for the complete absence of the Doctor and Cleo. On closer examination of the outside of my tube, I found about twenty coppery metal cylinders affixed to the wall of the tardis, with a long window down the front of them. My aching head took a moment to identify them as duplicates of my tube. On further examination, I saw the Doctor and Cleo occupying their own separate cylinders. I looked at them, but I could not draw either of their attentions. I raised a hoof to bang on the window. The Doctor’s eyes immediately shot to me.   
“Do not attempt to exit the inertia chamber.” a cool, female voice said.
“Doctor?! What’s happening?! Get me out of here!” I shouted. For a moment or two, there was no reply.
“This is not a drill.” the female voice said, and continued; “You are perfectly safe. Do not attempt to exit the inertia chamber. You have been placed here for your own safety. This is not a drill.”
“Doctor! Help!” I shouted, getting scared. I tried to bang on the glass again, but the Voice interrupted me.
“This is not a drill. Do not attempt to exit the inertia chamber. For best probability of survival, stay as still as possible for the duration of the attack. This is not a drill.” the Voice said, tormenting me with its blissfully calm voice. I felt my hooves pulled against the wall of the tube, and I began to hear a slight hissing noise.
“Prepare for compression. Aching joints, headaches, and bleeding ears are not uncommon occurrences and should not be cause for worry. Do not attempt to exit the inertia chamber. This is not a drill.” the Voice said. the hissing grew into a gigantic torrent of air, blowing my mane over my eyes. From what I could see outside of the tube, the exact same thing was happening in the other tubes. My ears popped as the pressure increased, and my head began to throb.
“Ow.”
“Estimated pressure for survival today is 2.34 bars per cubic half-meter. Do not attempt to exit the inertia chamber. This is not a drill.” The Voice said, and then was silent. There was no hissing. There was no noise. The Doctor and Cleo were not doing much in their chambers, just looking exactly as worried as I was. Then, it happened.
Everything, every single thing in the tardis not bolted down floated into the air. I gazed in wonder out of my tube, and suddenly everything floating crashed down to the ground. I had little time to contemplate this when everything that was floating suddenly started flying into the air randomly. Shoes flew this way, wrenches flew that way, and papers floated around everywhere.
“Oh, wow.” I whispered to myself. From my point of view, it looked like the inside of a snowglobe. It was beautiful in a strange, random way. I gazed in awe at my surroundings when a wrench suddenly collided with my tube. It cracked the glass, spreading a glistening spider web across the glass.
“Do not attempt to exit the inertia chamber.” the Voice said, and I suddenly understood what was happening. The last traces of the ethyl bromoacetate must have expended themselves suddenly, because I saw everything in frightening clarity. The “snow” was actually meant to kill everything inside the tardis. The inertia chamber was keeping me from being killed. Flying wrenches did not take too kindly to things being in their way, and they liked to express their distaste through violence. I shrank to the back of my tube, suddenly afraid.
“Depressurization detected in chamber five, bay three.”  the Voice said, aware of something that I was not. Through the flying shrapnel, I saw the Doctor banging his hooves on the glass, staring at me. He was mouthing something, but I could not tell what. I could hear the slight hiss in the chamber again, but it did not turn into a torrent of air.
“Pressure in chamber five dropping rapidly. Increasing pressure to 4.45 bars per cubic half-meter. Do not attempt to exit the inertia chamber.” the Voice said, and the hiss of air again turned into a gale-force wind. I looked at the Doctor’s tube again, and I could finally see what he was saying.
“Get out of there!” The Doctor was saying, blinking forcefully. “Get out! It’s not safe!”
I was extremely worried. I looked at the Doctor blinking, but my eyes drew me to the growing spider web of broken glass. It cracked, and then grew to a frightening size. It covered about a fourth of the window now. I looked back to the Doctor, who was still blinking. I understood.
I immersed myself in the Flow, feeling the life around me. I could not feel anything outside of the tardis, but both Cleo and the Doctor were extremely strong presences. I closed my eyes and thought of Luna. I felt a chilly breeze over the gusting of the chamber, and suddenly both were gone. I opened my eyes.   

I was in some heavily wooded forest. I could hear wood snapping and trees falling falling over distantly, but I could not concentrate on that.
Luna was bound and gagged with glowing red ropes around her hooves and midsection. She was struggling and her own horn was glowing, but apparently it was futile. There was a smallish Angelic stirring next to her, sitting on his haunches. It’s horn was glowing. I stood there for a moment, trying to comprehend the scene in front of me. Luna opened her eyes and saw me. She started wiggling with renewed vigor, making all sorts of noises.
“Mmph! Mmph! Mmm!” Luna said, struggling against her magical bonds. This drew the attention of the Angelic next to her. He opened his eyes. I had no time to summon my sword before he noticed me, but I reached out with my mind and grabbed his horn. I could hear his thoughts.
His thoughts. He must have been severely intelligent, because I could hear no less than nine separate trains of thought going on. I was overwhelmed by the speed, clarity, and quantity of his thoughts. The Angelic noticed me by now, and then I snapped his horn off. The thoughts immediately stopped, and the red ropes surrounding Luna slowly faded from existence.
The Angelic screamed. It was loud and bloodcurdling, and it made me shiver. It wasn’t because of the intensity of the shout, but of the raw emotion behind it. He was sad. He screamed for his lost talent, a life that he would never live again. For a confusing moment, I felt sympathy for the creature. But the bout of empathy quickly passed.I tossed the horn aside, and I walked over to Luna. The Angelic stopped screaming, and he squinted at me. I paused, expecting something to happen. Nothing did, and the Angelic began to sob. I walked up to Luna, and knelt down. She spat out the gag.
“Edwin, quick, we need to leave!” She whispered intently.
"What do you mean? We’re all alone here.” I said normally, but the sobbing Angelic wailed and proved me wrong. She shusshed me angrily.
“Don’t say anything! They have ears everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was already here!” She whisprered again.
“Who?” I asked. I heard a faint rustling of leaves behind me, and Luna raised a shaking hoof to point. Her eyes widened in fear.
“Him.” 

> 26: of Torment and Saviors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 26

I spun around to face... something. I’m not quite sure what it would be called. It was quite similar to a pegasus, in the general anatomical features. Four hooves, two eyes, one mouth, nostrils, tail, mane, wings, cutie mark. It had a light orange coat with darker orange mane and tail, and the cutie mark was a flaming lightning-bolt. But the similarities ended there. It’s teeth were arrayed into sharp triangular daggers, and they opened to reveal a long, pointed red tongue. It flicked out of it’s moist home every now and again, tasting the air around it. Strange things poked under the skin of the face, like a cat would try to poke out of a bag. It was like the muscle and bone would not quite fit under the skin. It’s eyes were the most startling shade of red that I had ever seen. It was wearing worn, brown leather saddlebags. I watched it sway slightly, almost as if it were a grim clockwork created by a depressed sadist.
“You bastard.” I whispered. The Creature laughed, displaying the disgusting musculature in it’s face.
“Are you surprised, Edwin? We Angelics are hunted for a reason. This,” The Creature said in a smooth voice, gesturing with a forehoof at the body that he occupied. “is one of them. Spitfire? Yes, the host’s name is Spitfire. Very good flier.” I could do nothing but shake angrily in response. My hooves wobbled under me with my rage. I delved into the depths of my mind, trying to pull out the magic held within. I struggled with my mind while the Angelic smiled with his serrated teeth. A flap on the saddlebags flipped over, and a corked glass vial floated out of it, surrounded by a glowing red aura of magic. I looked at it float up to the Angelic’s face.
“We knew you would come for the Night.” He said, hissing slightly. The vial floated over to me, so I could get a better look at it. There was yellowed and faded parchment affixed to it, but the print was unreadable. It looked as if the vial were filled with heavily diluted milk. I could see things on the opposite side of it, but not very well. The Angelic began to speak as I gazed at the mysterious container.
“I believe that you are intimately familiar with Manticore venom. It is very easy to make traps out of, as it is rather viscous and does not evaporate. You could spread some over the ground, or pour over branches, or even make magical triggers for it. Theoretically speaking, if one were to, say, place an zonal transposition spell on a vial of manticore venom that responded to a certain pony, it could easily be triggered by that very same pony entering a certain area. If you could lift your right forehoof, Mister Shell?” The orange Angelic inquired. I growled at it, not moving from my spot. I yelped as my entire right leg was lifted in front of me by a glowing red cloud.
“Let’s not be rude, Mister Shell. Ah, there it is! I’m still proficient after all this time.” The Angelic said, and I distractedly wondered how his disturbing mouth could possibly make such smooth and controlled noises. I looked down, under my hoof, and saw broken glass. I looked closer, and saw a faded yellow piece of parchment. I gasped, looking back to the Angelic. He had a quizzical look on his face, which quickly turned into a look of desparate hunger. The tongue lolled out of his mouth as he stared at me.
“Try to cast a spell. I dare you.” He whispered hungrily. I closed my eyes and searched within myself for my magic. I was extremely worried to find that it was not there at all. I looked back to the Angelic, suddenly frightened. He chuckled lightly, advancing toward me slowly. He placed an immaculately clean orange hoof in front of him, making the dry twigs and needles snap and creak under the hooves that did not belong to him.
“For three hours from this exact moment, you are subject to my will. Magic, both of pegasus and unicorn, will escape you for the duration of the venom’s cycle. I can do anything that I want to. Do you know what an Compound fracture of the Large Metacarpal feels like?” He asked. I shook my head, and he smiled.
I felt a pressure on my leg that was held up by the Angelic, which immediately grew to be unbearable. I grit my teeth against the strange pressure, and suddenly I heard a snap. I watched in horror as a bloody shard of bone burst out of my leg and into the open air. I screamed in extreme pain, biting my tongue. I felt hot tears running down my face as the pain in my leg immediately became excruciating. I averted my gaze from the injured limb as I felt the hot blood run down my hoof. I screamed again through my teeth. The Angelic laughed.
“Compound fracture of the Large Metacarpal, severing the Deep Digital flexor nerve, rupturing a slew of vascular sub-structures, and puncturing the Soleus and Peronius Longus muscles. How are you feeling, Numbered?” He asked kindly, as if he were asking about how a child was doing in school. I spat at him. He tutted once, and the pain in my leg grew even more painful. I screamed again, shouting my torment out into the chill night air.
“Stop it! Stop it, please!” Luna shouted from behind me. I was so lost in pain that I nearly forgot that she was there. The Angelic leaned to the side to look behind me, and smiled.
“I’ll save you for later, Princess.” He said, low and knowing. I struggled against my bonds to try and strike the Angelic, but he flicked his eyes to me and twisted my suspended hoof lightly. I screamed again, and did not try to resist after that. The magic imprisoning my leg suddenly released me and I fell, weeping, to the ground. I felt something set itself down by my face.
“I think that I am done here, for now. I would just love to torture you further, Edwin. I really would. But the affairs of Angelics do require attention. I will be back.” He said. There was a gust of wind, and suddenly the thing by my face was gone. I felt the pointy needles of the trees, the cool night air, but above all, I felt the excruciating puncture in my leg. I moaned on the cool ground while my leg throbbed.
“Edwin? Edwin?” Luna asked worriedly. It was hard to concentrate on anything other than the pain, but I managed to open my eyes and look up at her standing over me. She was beautiful, even in a tragic setting as this. Brilliant pale blue mane, clean dark-blue coat, soft wings. The only thing that was amiss was the extreme worry on her face. I managed to smile through the pain.
“Hey.” I said roughly, wincing as I did. She nervously smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.
“Ed, I’m so sorry.” She whispered. I shook my head.
“Don’t be. It’s my fault. I should have been prepared. I should have known that he would anticipate my actions. I-” I spoke, rasping slightly. Luna interrupted me.
“He told me that he had you, Ed. He told me that if I came with him, that he would let you go. I believed him.” She said, a single glistening tear running down her face. It saddened me that I was the cause of this.
“Luna...” I whispered. She looked up from the ground, to my eyes.
“I won’t let him hurt you, Luna.” I said. She smiled.
“I think that it will be me that won’t let him hurt you.” She said. I found this slightly odd, and my mind, clouded by pain, struggled to find a reason why. After a few minutes of silence, I finally touched upon what was troubling me.
“They didn’t give you Manticore venom.” I stated. She nodded. “Why?” I asked.
“I am needed. They can’t keep me from using magic because I carry the nocturnal cycle on my shoulders. If I were to suddenly stop using or become unable to use magic, the oceans would cease their tides, general disaster, and bad things like that. For some reason, they want Equestria intact.” She said. I grimaced as the pain in my leg was getting horrifyingly sharp. I tried to keep my body as immobile as possible while the fit subsided. Luna kept watch over me as I recovered from the attack of pain
“How bad is it?” She asked, gesturing to the leg.
“Please fix it.” I asked, pleading. Luna seemed to choke up as I finished my plea.
“I can’t. There is something to Angelic magic that makes it extremely hard to change. The ability to heal Angelic-inflicted wounds escapes me. I’m so sorry, Ed.” She said, sobbing. My pain in making her sad was more than the pain of my shattered limb. It made me hurt even more that I could not do anything to assuage her.
“Stay with me, Luna.” I asked. She looked down at me, her shining, glistening eyes staring at me with fervor.
“I would never leave you.” She said. She lay down next to me, in front of my legs, and simply sat. We would occasionally speak to each other, but we were not trying to keep up a conversation. We enjoyed each other’s presence in only the way that two lovers faced by permanent separation truly could. An amount of time passed. It was both fleeting and infinite at the same time.
I looked down at the bloody grass. It was my love for Luna, made manifest. I would gladly shed my blood, the fire of my very veins, if it meant that she could be safe. I would chop of my own limbs for her protection. I would protect her from every single thing that would ever wish her harm. I slowly dawned on the realization. It was not for Equestria that we Numbereds fought. Surely it was the original banner of our cause. But, each Numbered assumed their own pennant that made their own conflict with Angelics a personal one. Othello, with his love for Celestia, fought to ensure her a safe kingdom. He even died trying to protect her, even if it was from herself. Marcus fought for the promise of new life. Evangeline, whether she knew it or not, fought everything that she thought could harm Marcus. Gespard... Gespard fought to preserve the sanctity of nature, with which he was intimately linked though his gift. I fought for something more precious than all of those things combined. I fought for love. My adoration fell upon a blue alicorn, with soft wings and tender eyes. She was my world. She was everything. She was a Temple where my worship found credence. A world without her was indeed a world not worth living in. I looked up at her smooth, feminine form while I pondered both of my lives.
“Luna.” I croaked. She turned away from my subtly muscled body to look at my eyes. She was so, so sad. I hated what I was about to do, but it was a necessary thing.
“Luna. We did good.” I said. She started shaking her head.
“Don’t say that, Ed. We still are.” She whispered, her mane bouncing slightly.
“It doesn’t look good for us.” I re-iterated. She continued to single-mindedly shake her head.
“No, it’s going to get better, it’s going to...” She trailed off as her eye caught something that was behind me. “Tia!” She shouted. I thought for a moment, but a gilded white hoof stepped into my field of view, killing my train of thought.
“What happened?” Celestia asked.
“An Angelic broke his leg, he can’t use magic, please help him!” She shouted, rising to her hind legs to grab her sister’s shoulders. I looked up at the flowing, multi-color mane. The large pony craned her neck down to look at me, and Luna let go of her shoulders to look at me as well.
“Where is the Doctor?” She whispered. I struggled to remember, my mind was trying to think through blinding hope and pain.
“I don’t know... He pushed the button! He trapped me inside of an Inertia chamber!” I said. The pale princess stiffened at this comment.
“Then we must go help him.” She said. Her horn began to glow with a yellow aura, and my leg slowly began to twist itself into shape. I gasped as the flesh weaved itself together. I moved the hoof in question as it was done being healed. It was blissfully free of pain. I looked up at the Goddess.
“Thank you.” I said. She said nothing, but walked away. I got to my hooves and followed her behind Luna. The trees bent away from us gently as we walked through the forest.
“Angelics would not dare attack you two while in my presence. However, we should not tarry in the forest. We will find the Doctor, then leave immediately. If the button was pushed, we cannot trust the Tardis as a viable transport any longer.” She said, radiating purpose as she strided through the forest. The creaking of trees and the snap of broken wood became louder.
“Tia, what is that noise?” Luna asked. The towering Princess paused.
“I do not know, but it is even more important that we must hurry.” She said, and then began to gallop through the forest. Luna and I followed her, galloping behind,.


“Tia! Slow down!” Luna begged. I wanted to agree, but my lungs would not let me. Princess Celestia was not only a Deity, but a very tall one. Her stride matched two of mine, and she soon left Luna and I in her dust. Luna could have flown to keep up with her, but she did not want to leave me alone in the forest. I could not blame her, for I was completely helpless for the next three hours. We had been running for what seemed to be the last hour.
“Can’t.” She replied, elongating her strides. I sighed, or at least tried to, and continued on. I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing my running to become mechanical. I immediately ran headlong into something hard, warm, unyielding, and ticklish. I fell to the ground. I opened my eyes and looked up at Celestia’s rear end, which was explanation enough. The splintering of trees and creaking protest of wood became nearly deafening, but the harsh snap of wood was less frequent than it was before.
“Oh no.” Luna said. I rubbed my eyes, and managed to stand up. I looked to where Luna and Celestia were staring, and I finally saw what elicited the response.
“Oh no.” I parroted. It was the only thing that could say. Complete devastation was splayed before me. Splintered trees, wider than some of the towers in the Palace, were laying like splintered toothpicks all over the ground of a newly-created clearing. There was a good hundred foot radius of complete devastation, with splintered boughs and trunks and whole uprooted trees across the entire space. The cause of the devastation, however, was much more than apparent.
There was a smallish, shiny metal box in the middle of the clearing. It was mounted into the ground with what seemed to be gigantic metal claws. It was not the cause of the destruction, but it kept the cause from flying into the air. There was a long, snaking metal tube that ran from the box. It had shiny metal cuffs spaced about every ten feet. The cuffs and rope led to a large metal claw. The claw itself looked very dangerous and sharp. But it was what it held that captivated my interest. The tardis, lying on its side, was being held lengthwise by the claw. The Tardis seemed to be doing a profound amount of nothing, but it suddenly shimmered, as if it were moving. The tubing leading to the claw immediately stiffened, and it flung the still-confined tardis to the opposite side of the clearing, making a profound crash as it did so. It was like listening to a rock slide. The tardis, now on the opposite side of the clearing, began to shimmer again. The tubing stiffened again and flung the tardis closer to us.
“Move!” Celestia shouted, and threw us away from her with magic. The tardis, in the grip of the deadly claw, was flying down at her with blistering speed. I collided roughly with a tree trunk and was momentarily stunned.
“Tia, No!” Luna screamed, worried for her sister’s life. There was a constricting silence for a fraction of a second. Then, there was a loud tinkling noise, almost like breaking glass. I opened my eyes and the scenery slowly focused to reveal Princess Celestia behind what seemed to be a glowing yellow semi-sphere of cracked glass. On the other side of the glass was the claw and the tardis, held at bay with her powerful magic. She turned to Luna and I, grimacing with the strain of keeping the tardis from crushing her.
“Destroy the box!” She shouted, and then turned back to the tardis. The claw raised again, and then slammed back down onto the shield. The loud tinkling could be heard again, and a few shards of the magical defense fell onto the grass. I felt something prod my shoulder. It was Luna, gesturing for me to follow her. I got up and she immediately ran into the clearing. She bounded lithely over the splintered boughs and reaching branches, unfurling her wings slightly to add length to her leaps. I did my best to keep up with her, tripping over the occasional decapitated trunk. Luna beat me to the cube, but I caught up after a while. I fell onto the ground as we reached the cube, my lungs protesting my exertion
“Being an earth pony sucks!” I gasped as loud as I possibly could. I raised a wobbling hoof to try to right myself, and it was successful. I walked over to where Luna was. She was leaning over the cube, looking inside of a glowing window.
“What is it, Luna?” I whispered hurriedly. She said nothing, so I decided to find out myself. I leaned over the cube, which was slightly shorter than me, and through a small viewport into the inside of the machine. I gasped.
"It can’t be.” I whispered in shock, looking back to Luna. A tear was bubbling on the eye facing me.
“It’s terrible.” She said softly. I knew what was in there. I met it multiple times. One of the first ponies that I met in Equestria. She shared her home and her refrigerator with me when I had nowhere else to go. She helped me in my time of helplessness. Now it was my time to help her in hers.

Twilight Sparkle was inside the machine.
> 27: of Stetsons and Protocol
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 27

My skin began to grow clammy. I looked down through the small window through which the small violet unicorn could be seen. She was connected to the box by bundles of tubes and wires. The top of her head could not be seen, because she seemed to be wearing a large, heavy metal helmet. The helmet was connected to the entire box via luminescent purple wires and hoses. She seemed to be wearing a respirator of some kind. Her body had numerous electrodes attached to it, and I could barely see the wires leading away to a tiny little screen that looked like an ECG machine. She was not lying down, but was somehow keeping herself afloat in the air. The entire interior of the machine was glowing with a brilliant reddish-purple. I looked back to her head. It was almost completely covered in metal, wires, and tubes. I understood what the respirator was for.
“They’re keeping her alive.” I whispered, in complete horror. I turned to Luna, who was looking at me with the same expression. 
“We need to save her.” She said. I nodded, and placed my hooves against the metal box. I closed my eyes and concentrated.
“What are you doing, Edwin? We need to help her!” She said, taking into consideration my extreme lack of magic.
“It’s something that Marcus taught me when I was originally in the Nether.  We’re rather strong when we need to be. Numbereds don’t need to use magic to manipulate things, most of the time. The world around us speaks, tells us what it wants, what it needs, what it sees. Sometimes, all you need to do is listen.” I said, and I began to feel the dull pulse of the monstrous machine. It was trying to keep Twilight alive, but I had no idea why she was even in it to begin with. I ran my hooves all over the side of the cube. I paused over a certain space, feeling the swirls and eddies in the metal that formed while it was being forged. I placed my hoof over one of the whorls, and I opened my eyes. My hoof was in the upper left corner of the cube, next to one of the claws that kept it mounted in the ground. I looked back at Luna. She was staring at me with a slight longing in her eyes that I could not figure the cause of. I turned back to the vile machine, and pressed into it with my hoof. 
The metal was immediately caved into a bowl with a resounding thump, as if it was just hit with a baseball bat. I removed my hoof, and looked at it. Nothing bleeding, nothing hurt. I looked back to the dent in the cube and saw the impression of my hoof inside of a shallow crater. I smiled, and punched the metal with my other hoof. I was pleased to hear and feel the thick metal squeal and break, creating a puncture in the armor. I hooked my hoof through the hole, and closed my eyes again. I flicked my ears about and around, trying to hear what there was to hear. I opened my eyes in a flash. Heaving my entire body to the right, I pulled on the puncture. the metal squealed and shrieked in protest, but peeled back. I looked at it surprisedly, and then heaved my body again. The metal protested again for a second, and then let itself be pulled back the rest of the way. I unhooked my hoof from the thick sheet and stomped. My limbs felt all funny, like I was laying on them for a long time. I shook myself to get rid of the strange sensation. I looked back into the container.
“Wow.” Luna said, astonished. I turned my head to look at her.
“What?” I asked.
“Are you sure you can’t use magic?” She asked, completely in awe of what I just did. Her expression was in complete contrast to what I felt like. I was extremely tired and afraid for my life.
“What’s the big deal?” I asked, and she pointed with a hoof past me.
“You just ripped a hole through two inches of steel with your bare hooves. Not many ponies can do that.” She said. I turned back to the wavy ribbon of rent metal, understanding what I just did. I turned back to Luna and tried to explain.
“It’s like you... I mean, it’s... Well, Numbereds don’t have strength like normal ponies. We can be physically strong, but... Strange things happen around us. Some ponies would call it ‘good luck’ or something like that. Things usually go our way.” I tried to reason while remembering Marcus’ lecture in the Nether. Luna made a face of disbelief.
“Good luck? You just tore open a solid steel container like it was cardboard box.” She said, doubting my explanation. I shrugged. 
“I don’t fully understand it myself, it’s just that-” I was cut off in the middle of my exposition by a pained moan. I turned to look at the imprisoned unicorn. Her hooves were twitching, and she seemed to glow brighter than before. The tether of the claw stiffened, and the tardis was thrown.  She continued to moan, almost crying, like something would moan after it got punched in the stomach. I immediately rushed up to the mare. I reached up a hoof to tear off the cords and wires attached to her, but the glowing purple aura around the devices would not allow me to touch them. It wasn’t that they were causing me pain if I touched them, but they would simply not allow themselves to be touched. My hoof stopped a fraction of an inch away from the glowing purple wires. I lowered my hooves, confused.
“Here, I can do it.” Luna said, navigating carefully around the sharp edges of the box. She looked down at the imprisoned unicorn, and her horn began to glow. Twilight immediately relaxed, and she slumped over the wires and cords that were her jail. The purple glow immediately left the cords, the unicorn, and the entire cramped space. Gravity took hold of her and she fell, snapping the few tubes and things that were under her. Luna turned to me after this transpired, and said;
“You have three minutes until she can use magic again.” She said, and backed away from the pony. I rushed up to the periwinkle mare, ripping the machinery off of her. The electrodes fell away, followed by the dual clangs as the respirator and helmet fell off. I gasped as I could see her without her coverings. Her face was deathly pale, and one of the purple streaks in her hair seemed to have turned a solid grey. She wheezed as she inhaled. Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping. I paused for a moment, simply unable to comprehend what this mare went through. My bout subsided and I lifted her off of the ground and onto my back. I turned to Luna. She said nothing, but ran to the tardis. I followed as best as I could. 

“‘Bout time you two showed up!” The Doctor said, crawling out of the blue box. Luna and I looked at the box questioningly.
“Will it still work?” I asked. Twilight wiggled lightly and muttered something on my back. The Doctor got out of the toppled tardis, brushed the dust from his shoulders, and turned back to look at it.
“Not within the next hour. I need time to right it. The internal dimension is not calibrated for being on its side, and the console itself is extremely difficult to access. You would be better just teaching it to tap dance.” The Doctor said. I was about to say something, but Luna interrupted me.
“Where is Cleo?” She asked. I looked to her incredulously. The Doctor did not turn away from the tardis. 
“She’s busy trying to get out of her chamber. It had a slight problem with the door, just a teensie bit jammed. I figured that she would be well enough on her-” He was interrupted by a voice behind Luna and I. 
“You’re very meddlesome, Mister Shell.” Said a flowing, masculine voice. I stiffened at once, about to turn and face him, when the Doctor said something startling to the orange Angelic that I knew to be there. 
“Under the authority of Equestrian Immortal Affairs Council, I invoke clause fifty-three of the Ta’eik protocol.” He said with a voice of overpowering authority. I shivered slightly as I turned my head to look at the Angelic. I could see Twilight on my back, and the Angelic doing something very odd. He was hovering in mid-air, hoof outstretched, and wings unfurled. The wings were not flapping, which placed the Angelic in the ‘odd things’ category. He seemed to be completely frozen in mid-air. I was about to turn to the Doctor to ask the obvious question when Luna beat me to it.
“Why is he floating like that?” She asked, obviously afraid. 
“I invoked clause fifty-three of the-”
“Yes, but what does that mean?” I stopped him before he could get ahead of himself.
“Well, pretty much, the Ta’eik protocol is like a general assortment of restrictions and rights imposed on the immortal populace of Equestria. About twenty years ago, a strange, strange group of powerful unicorns wove a spell that when a certain sequence of words were spoken, an immortal would be either prevented from doing or become able to do something. The day after the spell was wrought, a rulebook was sent to every single immortal being in Equestria. It’s rather nice, bound in red leather, gilt trim-” 
“Focus.” Luna said. The Doctor looked at her for a moment, but then seemed to find his lost train of thought. 
“Ah. Yes, well, clause 53 specifically prohibits immortals from killing other immortals. The exact wording escapes me currently, but that is the general gist.” The Doctor said, again turning to his upended machine. He sighed heavily. 
“This is going to be trouble.” He muttered quietly. I turned away from the Doctor and the claw to stare at the Angelic. The body he occupied was fit, most certainly. It’s shoulder and back muscles were extremely toned, making its legs look slightly disproportionate, but barely. The orange wings were splayed outward, the flight feathers extended. I leaned in and sniffed. I was surprised by what I found, so I sniffed again. I was correct, she smelled like a campfire. I was about to turn away from it when I saw a flutter of movement out of the corner of my eye. It was another Angelic, holding Twilight’s throat in an outstretched hoof. She appeared to be conscious now, as she was grabbing at his hoof, trying to get him to let her go. The Angelic itself seemed to be very different than other Angelic I had seen before. He was tall, rather lanky. He was wearing a black leather stetson, but there was something odd about him that I could not place a hoof on. He grinned at me with perfectly white, square teeth. 
“Boss ain’t gonna like you runnin’ off with this here engine.” He said with a light southern drawl, giving Twilight a little shake. She coughed lightly “Tain’t yours, is it?” he added. I sneered at him.
“She isn’t yours, either. Let her go!” I shouted as menacingly as I could. The Angelic shook his head, still smiling. I noticed what was different about this Angelic. He wasn’t a unicorn.
“Don’t think that I will. We done burned through five engines before we found disun. Besides,” He paused, snaking a long pointed tongue out of his mouth to lick Twilight’s cheek
“I kinda like how disun tastes.” He said when the tongue returned to his mouth.
“Listen, Angelic, I-
“Slim.” He retorted.
“What?” I said, letting the rebuttal seep through my threat.
“M’ name’s Slim.” 
“You don’t need names. You’re all the same.” Said a strong feminine voice behind me. I turned to stare at Evangeline, glowing a bright golden with luminescent white eyes. I turned back to the Angelic, Slim, who looked significantly more afraid than before. He gulped, and Twilight struggled with renewed effort. 
“This ain’t any a yer business, Three. This between me and ‘im. That, ‘n I got his lady right here!” He said, giving Twilight a shake. Evangeline sighed.
“You must be the most ignorant and stupid Angelic that I have ever met.” Evageline said, her voice dripping impatience and hatred. She rolled her eyes, but it lost effect because her pupils were not visible. The Angelic looked at her confusedly, and Evangeline pointed to Luna in explanation. The Angelic’s expression visibly sagged.
“Oh.” He said.
“Yeah” Evangeline said. There was a crushing moment of silence, while everypony sized up their opponents. I dissected the scenario in my mind, flipping through multiple scenarios where Twilight would be separated from the Angelic. I decided on a course of action when Evangeline’s eyes turned red and she fired at the Angelic. The searing red beam of energy blinded me for a moment, but not for a very long time. I saw the red beam flying, and then something odd happened. It was a familiar sensation, one that I had felt before, when I almost died chasing Celestia. Reality itself seemed to warp and bend, like a wet piece of paper. I watched the beam of brilliant red shoot straight for Slim, and still following a straight line, arced away from him and flew up into the sky. I stared at this blatant disregard for the laws of physics as long as I thought that I could get away with it. Slim whistled in admiration, and wiggled his black stetson above his curvy grey mane.
“It’s been quite a while, Eva. Ahm a lil’ rusty, and  Ah really don’t think that I can be up fer another one a dem, least not tonight.” He said, panting lightly. As he finished, the Tardis materialized with the familiar wooshy noise. I looked back behind me, at the Claw, and I still saw the blue box in the grasp of the deadly metal phalanges. I looked between the two tardii, extremely confused. Slim sighed, and dropped Twilight into a gasping heap onto the forest floor, strewn with the broken tree limbs.
“Aw, shucks. Ah suppose yew can have ‘er. That Claw is really just a one-shot deal, and I suppose it dun been fired. Besides...” He trailed off, licking his lips with his long, pointed tongue.
“The best things in life are worth waitin’ fer.” He said knowingly. Twilight shuddered, and was lifted by an aura of blue magic and levitated over to Luna, Evangeline, and I. The Doctor, as if by cue, stuck his head out of the upright tardis.
“I should really say, at this point, to get in the tardis, no time to explain, but that just isn’t true right now. I’m just in a hurry. Get in.” He said, and disappeared inside of the Tardis. Our small group looked at each other in confusion, and then walked over to the awaiting box. I looked over to the Angelic, Slim.
“I’ll kill you next time, Slim. It’s a promise.” I said. Slim laughed and set himself down on the ground, curling up into a ball. He tilted the coal black stetson so it covered his eyes.
“Ya jus might, Five. Ya jus might.” He said, and began to snore lightly. I thought about killing him for a moment, but set myself against it. No more fighting, not today. I walked into the awaiting tardis.
“Good, Edwin, Let’s get a move-on. Put Miss Sparkle right in there, if you don’t mind, Luna.” The Doctor said, pointing from his console to a green inertia chamber. Twilight, surrounded by a wavering blue aura, floated inside of the machine. There was a hiss and a panel slid shut, concealing her from the rest of us. I suddenly found my surroundings too much to cope with, and my mind retreated into unconsciousness. 

“Ed?” Asked a voice lightly. I opened my heavy lids to see blue. I smiled and closed my eyes again, smelling oranges.
“Luna...” I muttered. “What time is it?” I asked groggily. She understood the underlying meaning of my question.
“You are confronting Sebastian right now, I think. The Doctor said that he would come in a few hours to come and answer some questions. You can sleep if you want to.” She recommended. I shook my head, trying to rise from the rug. I found myself to be intertwined in Luna’s wing. I smiled, knowing that she covered me with it while I was unconscious. I smiled, lying back down on the rug that was our bed. I looked at the bookshelf, and one title jumped out at me. I pulled the red tome from its happy home, and read the golden lettering on the spine as it floated over to me.
“Ta’eik Protocol.”  I said aloud. Luna shuffled, presumably looking at the book.
“Yes, I can’t believe that I still have it. You can read it later if you want.” She said. I hummed an assent, but found something wrong.
“Later? Why not now?” I asked. Luna chucked lightly, snaking a warm hoof over my side to lay across my chest.
“Because I’m not intending on sharing you with anypony for the next day, book or otherwise.” She whispered into my ear. I grinned and rolled over to face Luna. She was smiling, her eyes reflecting the early morning sunlight outside of the window.
“I think I like that.”
“You better.” She said, and silenced me with a kiss.
> 28: of Explanations and Leather Tomes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 28

“What?” I asked incredulously. Luna looked up from her bowl of rice and her crossword puzzle. Her brow arched over her tiny half-moon glasses, and the hovering pencil next to her set itself down on one of the desks in her study.
“Which clause?” She asked. I gestured to the silly red book on the low desk that I was using.
“Forty-five! Seriously, how can they possibly think that that is an action that should be prevented!?” I shouted, exasperated by the sheer stupidity of the regulation. Luna got up from her desk and walked over to me. She sat down by my side, leaning over the desk to peer at the paragraph in question
“‘Clause forty-five; Immortals are barred from participating in, being an accessory to, or coordinating events that involve... Tap dancing?!’ That cannot possibly be right.” Luna remarked, looking at the old red book with doubt.
“It says it right there.” I reasoned. Luna harrumphed.
“Well, then. I don’t know about that one...” She trailed off, losing coherency in favor of her thoughts.
“Have you ever tried it? Tap dancing, that is?” I asked. Luna seemed stuck in her thoughts for a second, but finally snapped out of them to answer me.
“Tap dancing?” She inquired. I nodded. “I’ve never really wanted to, I’ve been too busy. Besides, I never did like wearing shoes.” She said. I smirked at her comment.
“What?” She said, noting my expression. I pointed to her set of glittery blue shoes in the corner, with her necklace and tiara on top of them.
“That doesn’t count. They’re for work.” She said. I laughed once, and then turned back to the book. Luna was about to go back to her rice and copy of the Canterlot Herald when I hooked her around the waist and pulled her back to me. She protested for a moment, then snuggled up to my side. She shivered lightly.
“It’s a little too cold for this time of year. I need to talk to Tia about that. How do you stay so warm?” She said, nuzzling up to my shoulder. It had been a little bit too cold for the past couple of days. I smiled, thinking of my reply.
“A little blue Alicorn tends to the fire in my heart.” I muttered loud enough for Luna to hear. She giggled and leaned against me a little more.
“Where you come up with those one-liners, I’ll never know. Turn the page.” She said, and I turned the yellowed sheaf over. The next clause on the list, number forty-six, was a little bit more interesting.
“Immortals are barred from... Conceiving?” I asked, slightly confused. The word must have fallen out of my lexicon when I died, because the meaning of the word escaped me. I had a faint whisper of definition attached to the word, so I associated it with that.
“Conceiving of what?” I asked again. Luna sighed.
“Foals.” She said, almost longingly. I looked down at her. She looked up at me to meet my gaze.
“We’re infertile, Edwin. We’re not sure which gender is to blame. It could be both, for all we know. But it was impossible for Immortals to beget offspring, even before the Ta’eik protocol. I’m not too sure why they put that in there...” She trailed off, looking away from me as she did so. I looked down at the book again, trying to move away from this sad subject. But, however I tried, however many more ridiculous or practical clauses that I read, I could never get anything more than a half-hearted reply from Luna. I finally had to broach the subject.
“Do you want a foal?” I asked. Luna was quiet for a long while. I thought that she didn’t hear me, and I read through three more pages of the yellowed book. She replied while I was in the middle of turning a page with magic.
“I do.” She whispered. I immediately stopped turning the page and looked straight ahead. I was staring at a photograph of a young Luna and Celestia. The Elder Princess had bubblegum pink hair. I found this interesting, but now was not the time to pursue the subject.
“We could adopt.” I suggested. Luna curled up slightly against my side, and lifted a wing to hold me closer. I felt the strong feathers pull me closer to Luna.
“I have. We have. Celestia and I both.” She said. I said nothing, but raised a hoof to place it on Luna’s shoulder opposite from me. 
“It’s so hard, Edwin. Their lives are so short. Fleeting. I can’t bear to watch another foal reach adulthood, have their own foals, then wither and die while I remain unchanging day after day. It’s... Heartbreaking, Edwin.” She said. She started to sob, and I turned away from the book so I could hold her. She trembled in my arms as I tried to help her calm down. I heard a knocking at the door.
“Go away!” I said as loudly as I could. The knocking stopped for a moment, but then continued again. I was extremely irritated, and stayed by Luna’s side. I sat with Luna for a long while until her sobs dissolved into soft whimpers. I was still loathe to let her go, but I was afraid that the pony would knock down the door. I got up and stepped over the desk to get to the door. I summoned my sword silently, not allowing it to hum. I was extremely angry at this pony on the other side of the door. I pushed the door open and pointed my sword in the face of the pony that was there. There was a sharp clatter as the tray that she was carrying with magic dropped. She was a unicorn, with a dark grey coat and electric blue eyes. She was wearing a silver helm, decorated with black stenciling. She wore a black scarf. She was obviously scared, she was shaking with my sword in front of her face.
“What do you want?” I asked as menacing as I possibly could. The mare gulped.
“C-Captain A-Antony wishes to see you.” She stuttered.
“No.” I replied calmly, removing my sword from the mare’s face. She relaxed visibly.
“B-But-”
“Tell him I’m busy. I have more important things to attend to.” I said, and turned away from the pony. 
“What shall I tell him you are busy doing?” She asked. I stopped walking back to Luna for a second, and thought. I half-turned to look at the mare.
“Whatever you think he will believe. I’m too busy right now to tend to my Captain duties.” I said while closing the door with magic, cutting off the protests of the mare. I turned to Luna, and saw that she was staring intently at the Ta’eik protocol. I walked up to her from the opposite side of the desk and leaned over to read one of the clauses.
“Fifty-nine is interesting.” Luna said. I looked at the clause.
“I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t know that it was such a sensitive topic.” I apologized. Luna said nothing, so I left the subject for dead and read clause fifty-nine.

Clause 59 of the Ta’eik protocol.
-Immortals, through inaction, neglect, intentional or unintentional action, cannot 			
allow a member of a mortal race (earth, pegasus, unicorn, inclusive) to come to 
harm; or allow another Immortal not under the authority of the Protocol to injure or		
otherwise harm a member of an aforementioned mortal race.

I finished reading the clause. It was rather short, comparatively. Some of the other clauses took up an entire page or more. This seemed linguistically spartan. 
“Othello made up a name for that one when we got the rulebook.” Luna said. I raised my brows, and she looked up to me.
“He thought that it was so familiar to what he said to new Numbereds that he called it ‘The Numbered clause.’. It never really stuck, but I thought that it was funny.” Luna said. I could see the tracks of her earlier tears glistening on her now indifferent face. I felt a pang of sympathy, then an overwhelming difference of age between the two of us. But, maybe unsurprisingly, love did find a way.
“I love you, Luna.” I said. Luna smiled, and her eyes softened.
“I love you too, Ed.” She said, and then her stomach growled loudly. “Do you want to go get some breakfast?” She asked. I thought about this for a moment, but my stomach growled in agreement.
“Okay, but then I need to sleep. I haven’t slept in days.” I qualified. Luna smiled.
“You’re adorable when you sleep.” She said with a seductive air about her. I felt my ear-tips grow warm as Luna got up to walk out of the door. Her tail swished as she walked, suffusing the air with the faint scent of oranges. I began to salivate slightly.
“That’s not fair, Luna.” I commented.
“I know.” She replied, and walked out of the door.

“I really don’t want to go in there. Can you just grab me some peaches and-” I said, trying to get away from the gigantic wooden doors of the dining hall. Luna lifting me with magic and carrying me in made that task even harder to achieve. I tried to swim through the magic away from the door, but I might have well have been trying to tap dance for all the good it would do me.
“No. If you want peaches, you are going to have to go get them yourself.” she interrupted me before I could gain any logical leeway. I sighed and slumped in my magical prison of bluish magic. Luna carried me inside of the hall, and she was met by a wave of bowing. She paid them no mind, but continued to walk to the front of the hall. Practically all of the ponies did not pay me one single bit of attention, as if I was not there. I felt grateful. I would have died of embarrassment if somepony noticed me getting colthandled like this. Luna continued up the aisle with me in tow without incident, and she approached the table laden with food. A tan pony that I recognized from my last time in the Dining hall approached Luna. When he was within reasonable distance, he bowed.
“Princess! It is always an honor.” He said, getting up from his kneeling position.
“Likewise, Candide. What is the special for today?” She asked. Candide, as I now knew to be the tan colt, smiled.
“Ah, dandelion sandwiches with just a slight hint of mustard. I was out picking some of them in the fields myself earlier this morning, and I can assure you that they are delectable.” He said, his voice overflowing with enthusiasm. Luna seemed to appreciate what he said.
“My favorite. One each for Edwin and myself, please.” She leaned in, and gestured for the colt to do the same. “Three peaches, in addition. I would appreciate if you could send somepony to deliver them to my quarters. I have a guest that needs attending to.” She said. Candide nodded, and turned to walk off to one of the doors behind the table. Luna turned and walked down the hall. We were silent for a moment.
“I was unaware that we had a guest.” I said. Luna chuckled once.
“He isn’t one for appointments, to be sure. I only just now sensed him in our room.” She said, and I smiled. 
“Our room” I stated. Luna looked up at me, floating in the cloud of her magic.
“Yes, I like the sound of it, too. I thought that the Doctor would appreciate a peach, which is why I asked for three. He’s allergic to dandelions, however.” She said.
“Huh. Why is he in... Our room?” I said, still mulling over the unfamiliar usage of the word. I really did like it. 
“He and I spoke after you lost consciousness. We agreed that he should come over and answer any questions that you may have after you recovered.” She said. I wiggled.
“Can you let me down?” I asked.
“No.” 
“Why?”
“Because I rather like it. Being in control of such a powerful stallion...” She trailed off, listing to the left. I let her daydream, and watched her collide with a large maroon pony with a mouthful of sandwich. I laughed silently as they exchanged embarrassed apologies. Luna continued on to the end of the hall, stepping through the ornate entryway. She dropped me with her magic, and I walked a little bit shakily.
“I’m not all that I’m cracked up to be, you know.” I said, trying to figure out which hoof went where. I was not succeeding.
“I think that you are. Have you ever noticed how ponies react when they see you?”	
“No.”
“To turn a phrase, you make waves. Your presence does not go unnoticed. Ponies stop and stare when you enter a room, if even for just a moment.” Luna explained.
“What?” 
“The air around you smells like ozone.” She said. I sniffed, unable to smell anything. Luna made an amused harrumph. 
“Trust me.” She said. I did not reply, but contented myself with siding up beside of her and walking back to our room. 

I pushed open the door to our room, and was not the least bit surprised to see the Doctor sitting in front of his majestic blue box. He had an shiny silver pocketwatch open on the floor in front of him. He looked up at us when we entered. 
“It’s good to see you lot.” He said, motioning for us to sit down. I could not help but feel that this gesture had somewhat of a formal connotation to it. Luna and I did as instructed and walked up to the Doctor. When we finished, he reached out 	with a hoof to push the watch away from himself. It clattered as it crashed into the wall.
“The Angelics are becoming even more powerful, even more diverse. They have mastered forms of magic that should not even exist, let alone be used. I can understand if you would have any questions, and I am here to answer them. An informed decision is almost always the best one.” He said. Luna and I were silent for a moment, but then a question immediately sprang to mind.
“The claw.” I said. The Doctor nodded. 
“I was extremely surprised to see one intact in this dimension. They were Dalek machines from the Time War. I have absolutely no idea how the Angelics managed to get their grubby little hooves on one.” He said. I was slightly confused still.
“Why did you teleport into it, if you knew it was so dangerous?” Luna asked. The Doctor smiled.
“Therein lies the reason why the claw is so dangerous. It can actually intercept the course of a Tardis and compel it to land within reach of the claw. Edwin, the shoe moving was actually the herald to the Claw picking the tardis up.” The Doctor said. 
“Why did you push the Panic button?” I asked. 
“The Panic button’s purpose is exactly what the name implies: You only press it when you panic. The Tardis’ internal computer banks constantly monitor my actions and goes through logged past actions to determine the course of action that it would take, given the chance, in order to preserve the safety of the occupants and the safety of the vehicle itself. A very tricky piece of machinery. When the button is pushed, the tardis overrides the manual control surfaces and gives the main computing banks full reign of the Tardis. It is a rather risky thing to do, because the Tardis could do something that it deemed to be safe, but was in fact extremely risky and dangerous. I pushed the button because I was afraid.” The Doctor gulped, then continued to speak.
“I... I was scared for my life, Edwin. I didn’t want to die.” He whispered, his head hung low. I did not ask him another question, because I could see that he was distressed. Luna did the same, and the two of us waited for him to recover. When he did, Luna decided to ask the next question.
“The Angelic that was with me when Edwin found me... He was extremely skilled, mentally.” She stated.
“Yes.” The Doctor confirmed.
“Then why was he assigned to look after me? And how did the other Angelic find Edwin and I so quickly?” She inquired. The Doctor sighed, and raised a hoof to rub the space between his eyes.
“The Angelics have a very intriguing evolutionary mechanism which is a very recent development in the species, about three thousand years in the making. Evangeline saw a very primitive iteration of the trait. Angelics have the very strange inclination to be creatures of a ‘hive’, so to speak. They can share each other’s thoughts to a limited degree, and the Angelic watching you, Luna, was a sort of ‘hub’ for the local hivemind system. Due to his extremely sharp and clear mind, he was able to boost the range of the hivemind to a radius of nearly ten miles. When Edwin snapped his horn off, every Angelic within ten miles knew that something was happening. You two are lucky that it was only the one Angelic.” He explained. I could hear a knocking at the door. 
“Ah, that will be the waiter, I do think.” The Doctor said, getting up. Luna turned to get the door, but the Doctor got up to leave. He was halfway to the door of the tardis when I stopped him.
“Where are you going?” I asked, halting the Doctor as he placed his hoof on the door. He paused for a moment.
“I don’t know.” 
“What?” I asked.
“That’s the thing about adventures, Edwin. You never know where they end up.” He reasoned, walking into the tardis.
> 29: of Armor and Meetings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 29

I sat and watched the Doctor enter his tardis. I sighed. Would I ever understand him? Would I even live long enough to be able to? These questions of mortality assailed my immortal mind. Meanwhile, Luna was taking to the mare that delivered our food. They exchanged formalities, and then the mare went off to go do something else. Luna softly closed the door, and I turned to face her. She was levitating the tray with magic, and I could see the two sandwiches and three peaches sitting on the tray. She looked somewhat surprised.
“Where did the Doctor go?” She asked. I shrugged. 
“He didn’t tell you?” She asked, placing the tray off to the side. 
“He didn’t tell me because he apparently did not know.” I explained. Luna smiled, walking closer to me. 
“He often does that. The Guard companies are having a meeting later and it is mandatory for you to be in attendance, so you should probably go find your scarf.” She said, arriving in front of me. 
“What scarf?” I asked. I did not remember ever owning a scarf in Equestria. Luna seemed somewhat shocked.
“Lieutenant Dash never gave you your Captain’s scarf?” She inquired. The memory dawned on me of the shiny golden scarf that the Lieutenant gave me. I struggled to remember where I left it. I opened myself to the Flow and conjured an image of the scarf. I could feel something soft brush against my neck, and then tighten. I opened my eyes and looked down at my neck. There it was, the golden scarf, tied loosely around my neck.
“Cool.” I said. Luna giggled. I was about to walk over to get the peaches on the tray when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. I gasped and nearly fell, but Luna ran up to catch me. My shoulder was throbbing, and I could barely set any weight on it.
“What happened?” she asked, startled. I clenched my teeth.
“It’s the one that got hurt.” I said, gasping.
“Is it getting worse?” She inquired worriedly.
“No, just set me down, it’ll go away.” I said, feeling the hoof on the injured leg shake slightly. Luna picked me up with magic and opened a door to the bedroom. She set me down on the big ovoid depression in the floor that was filled with pillows. I layed down on the soft surface and waited for the fit to subside. Luna stared at me intently the entire time. It took a good ten minutes for it to go away.
“Ow.” I said. 
“How long has this been happening?” Luna asked.
“That was the first time it ever happened.” I said. I got up shakily, testing the injured leg before I sat up. Luna scooted up next to me on my injured side and looked at my injured shoulder.
“Want me to take a look at it?” She asked. I looked at her with a surprised expression.
“Are you a doctor?” I responded. She laughed and shook her head.
“No. In my younger years I was rather bored with being a Goddess, so I decided to go to a college. I picked the massage therapy major at Canterlot University, and two years later I became a registered masseuse.” She said.
“Huh.” 
“Yes, It was a strange choice, but I was young. I tried my hoof at owning my own... Masseusery? I’m almost quite certain that that is the wrong word for it, but every pony that came in felt that it would be wrong to get a massage from their Deity. So, I turned away from that and became a Goddess once again. It was an interesting sabbatical, to say the least.” She said. 
“Huh.” I said. Luna rubbed her hooves together and started to rub my shoulder. It immediately became better, and my tension seemed to be pushed away under her skilled hooves.
“You’re very talented, Luna.” I remarked. It felt amazing, and Luna smiled.
“You’re very biased, Edwin, but thank you.” She said. She leaned into my shoulder, and a particularly stubborn knot was massaged into oblivion. I nearly fell over, but then there was a knocking at the door. Luna removed her hooves from my shoulder, and I got up to open the door. I put a hoof on the door, but I hesitated. I turned back to Luna, and then she smiled. 
“Go on, then.” She said, and I pushed the door open to see Antony with a hoof half-raised.
“Oh.” I said, feeling somewhat guilty. He nodded.
“Do you know who I just got finished speaking to?” He asked accusingly. I shook my head.
“Lieutenant Drizzle of the rear fifteenth. She told me that Captain Shell could not come and speak to me because, I quote, ‘He is fighting a pan-dimensional Hyperboar that spontaneously appeared in his quarters.’”
“She’s a terrible liar.” I commented. Antony nodded
“I felt the need to come and help you excise the ‘pan-dimensional Hyperboar’ from your quarters if that was indeed true, and found you alone with a Princess in her bedquarters. Now, if you are too busy... Personally... To come and talk to me, just say so. But do not lie to me, Edwin.”
“Oh, we weren’t- I mean- We were just-” I rambled as I felt my ear tips grow warm.
“You blush like a stoplight, Edwin. Just come with me, we need to get you in order for the meeting.” He said. He leaned over my shoulder.
“Is it alright with you if I borrow Edwin for the next few hours, Princess?” He asked respectfully. 
“Yes, It’s perfectly fine.” She said in an embarrassed fashion. Antony nodded his head and turned from me. I had no choice but to follow him through the study. I stopped him before we could get into the hallway. 
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t come earlier, Antony, but I was-”
“I don’t really care what you were doing, Edwin. I’m just glad that you aren’t impaled on the tusk of a ‘pan-dimensional Hyperboar’” He said somewhat sarcastically.
“Look, I’m really sorry that-”
“It doesn’t matter now, Edwin. We need to get you your armor and get you to the formal meeting room.” He said as he walked out of the door. I could see Lieutenant Drizzle with her silver helm and blue eyes, and Second Lieutenant Soarin’.
“Captain Shell.” Soarin’ said, nodding.
“Soarin’.” I replied. Our entourage preceded down the hall. without any more fanfare. I noted the absence of Lieutenant Dash, which struck me as odd.
“Where is Lieutenant Dash?” I asked of Soarin’.
“She asked for today off nearly three years in advance. A birthday of one of her friends down in Ponyville.” He explained. I nodded. We walked down the halls for much longer, then we reached a junction on the hallway. Soarin’ bumped into me as we turned, and I looked at him to apologize. He was staring at me intently.
“What happened to Spitfire?” He whispered hurriedly. I was too shocked to answer immediately.
“What?”
“We all know she’s gone. I want to know why.” He continued in a hushed tone. I gulped, not prepared for this. Soarin’ blinked, then looked at the floor.
“She would tell us. If she was going to leave. She isn’t like that, just up and fly away. She would tell us.” he repeated. He looked up, making eye contact with me
“She would tell me.” He corrected. I blinked, suddenly understanding. He needed to know because it was personal.
“She didn’t leave because she wanted to. Something made her.” I whispered back. Soarin’ shook his head.
“She would have told me if it was like that.” He retorted. I thought about this for a second, not sure how much he was allowed to know.
“I could tell you, but then you would be in danger.” I said, extremely hurriedly. Soarin’s expression melted into extreme confusion.
“What?” He asked. 
“Every single pony that I have ever talked to is in danger. Did you hear any rumors about Princess Luna last night?” I asked.
“Yes, but they were all completely made up. None of them could possibly be-”
“She was kidnapped.” I replied, and Soarin’s mouth fell open.
“I thought-”
“I will tell you eventually. But, Soarin’...” I trailed off.
“What?” 
“Trust nopony. I can’t tell you anything else, so don’t ask.” I said. He did as I advised and did not ask me anything else. I could see Antony talking to Lieutenant Drizzle, but they were doing so in hushed tones. I looked at Drizzle a little bit closer than before. She was a Unicorn, with a grey coat, just a little bit darker than Antony. She had a bouncy mane and tail, and both of them had pale grey highlights. I couldn’t see her cutie mark very well, but I could safely assume from what I saw of it that it looked like a cloud. I found this to be interesting, because most of the cloud cutie marks that I have seen were on pegasi. I thought about this as we continued to walk.
“Edwin?” Antony asked, turning his head to look at me. I looked at him, expecting a response.
“Would you say that you are... averse to bearing heavy loads? How much weight can you lift?” He asked. I pondered this.
“I think that I could if I needed to, but I would rather not. I don’t know pony units of weight, so I can’t really answer very well.” I said. Antony glanced to lieutenant Drizzle, and she shrugged. Antony rolled his eyes in a here-we-go kind of way.
“The smaller set will do.” He mumbled to himself. He rounded a corner and we were in front of two large doors. They were quite like the doors to the dining hall, but they were made out of metal. 
“Where are we, Antony?” I asked.
“The Armory.” He said. There was a small round hole in the door at about shoulder level. Antony raised a hoof and put it inside of the hole. The doors made a gigantic, resounding boom, and then creaked open. Antony gestured me inside, leaving Drizzle and Soarin’ outside. Antony pushed the doors closed with another loud bang. 
“Wow.” I said.
“Yeah.” Antony agreed, looking around at the scenery. The Armory was not as big as the dining hall, but it was certainly as tall. Gleaming helms and plates of armor filled the tall shelves to the ceiling. There was the occasional spear, the rare sword, but the majority of equipment was armor. Antony began to walk down the hall, and I hurried to keep up. I spied a small shelf full of many dirty, small glass bottles. They were all corked and had paper labels affixed to them. I stopped following Antony and examined one of the larger bottles. It was filled with a bright orange substance, and I raised a hoof to poke it. It stuck to the opposite side of the container, like cold honey would. I tried to read the label on the bottle. It was in a flowing script, and had a few too many e’s, but I managed to read it
“Dragon’s blood...” I said out loud. I immediately heard a sharp clatter behind me, like metal hitting the floor. I turned to see Antony rushing up to me. He grabbed me with his hooves and pulled me away from the bottles.
“Don’t do that! You do not want to touch those.” He cautioned. I looked at the unassuming bottles of liquids and smirked.
“But they’re just-”
“Incredibly dangerous. Let’s get away from them as fast as we can.” He retorted hurriedly, pulling me away from the unassuming shelf as quickly as possible. I got the gist after a few feet and walked of my own volition. Walking through the confined hallway, I soon forgot about the strange bottles in exchange for all of the other mysteries of the Armory. I noticed one thing to be missing from the grand hall of shiny things.
“There aren’t many weapons.”
“Mmhm.” He said.
“Why” I delved further. He sighed.
“Ponies aren’t a very aggressive race, on the whole. That, and most ponies that can use weapons usually have offensive magics of their own.” He said, as if that was summary enough. It was not, but I held my tongue. We continued to walk through the shiny halls. 

“How much longer, Antony?” I whined. He gestured to a shiny golden door to my left that was hiding behind an adventurous shelf of helms. 
“There.” Antony replied. I walked up to the door and pushed it open. It slid open on well-oiled hinges and revealed two pony mannequins on stands. They themselves were rather plain and dusty, but they were wearing... something. It made them look dignified, nearly frightening. One of them was wearing golden plates, silver mail, and was gilded from head to toe. The other one was a little bit less gaudy. It was made entirely of blued steel, with light silver trim. The silver trim, almost stenciling, was thin and woven together into curves and gentle loops. There was a large shoulder plate with nothing but a silver crescent moon on it. 
“You want me to wear all of this?!” I asked. The amount of metal on this little manniquin made me wonder why the little beam under it didn’t snap under the weight.
“No, only the left shoulder and the helm.” He replied. I shrugged and unlaced the left shoulder of the suit and set it down on the floor. I donned the helm, and felt the weight of the protection. 
“Why do I have to wear these?” I inquired as I figured out how to put on the shoulder.
“The monthly meeting of the Royal Guard is a formal affair. We don’t have much in the way of cloth uniforms, so we make due with armor instead.” He explained. I was belting on the last brown leather strap of the plating as Antony finished. I looked up to him, and was nearly blinded by the reflections of the perfect surfaces.
“Wow.” I exclaimed.
“I could say the same. It suits you.” He remarked.
“Really?”
“Yep. Take a look.” He said. I turned around and looked at one of the heavily dusted mirrors in the room. I looked pretty good. The helm was completely different than the other ones that I have seen, it was kind of pointy. It had two pointed bars ending just before the end of my jaw, and there was no plume. It did not have as much stenciling as the other peices of the suit did, but it had its fair share. I turned to Antony and he smiled lazily.
“Time to go.” Antony said, and started to clang out of the room. 
“I don’t want to walk back, grab my mane.” I said. He blushed.
“Edwin, You aren’t really my-”
“Shut up and grab my mane.” I replied. He walked over to me, and reached out to grab a mouthful of my mane. As soon as I was satisfied that he had a good hold, I thought of Second Lieutenant Soarin’. The cool breeze was joined by the windchime-like tinkling of Antony’s chainmail. I opened my eyes to see a shocked Soarin’ and Drizzle sitting in front of a square of parchment. Lieutenant Drizzle’s horn began to glow green and the parchment immediately disappeared in a puff of red smoke. She began to cough heavily. Soarin’ patted her on the back and she got better.
“Let’s go. It would be horrible to be late to our own party.” Antony said, and galloped down the hall. We all followed him down the lush purple halls.

“Here.” He said, stopping in front of a statue. It was of a rearing pony wearing armor not unlike Antony’s. Antony hopped up on the dais that the statue’s plinth was sitting on. He walked behind it an was about to raise a hoof t knock on the wall when he turned to us.
“You three might want to get up here.” He blurbed. The three of us hesitated, but then ascended the platform. Antony grinned, then he knocked on the door once. The response was three knocks, and he replied in kind with four knocks. The entire floor shifted under me and began to turn. I wobbled and saw that the entire wall was turning as well. I watched as an entire room became visible, filled with ponies in various types of armor. Antony walked around the stature and off the dais into the dark room. It looked much like the other meeting room that I had seen, except that it was much bigger, and there was seating past the first row of chairs. Antony gestured to the front of a large table nearest us, and I walked with him to meet it. Soarin’ and Drizzle broke apart to sit on opposite sides of the table. Antony sat down, and gestured for me to do the same. There was a large, flat, rectangular stone on top of the table, which was littered with various maps. Antony lifted a small marble cube that was by his feet with magic, and slammed it down onto the flat stone on the table, making an extremely loud bang. I nearly jumped out of my skin, but managed to control myself. Antony started to declare in a loud, authoritative voice;
“I call this meeting of the Equestrian Royal Guard Corps to order.”
	
> 30: of Threats and Politics
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 30

Antony’s horn began to glow as soon as he set the small marble cube next to his feet. Two stacks of paper to the right of the small stone slab were surrounded bu a light lavender aura and floated off of the short table. One stack floated over to me, while the other stack floated over to Antony. The stack that was in front of me separated into nine different smaller stacks and were showed to me. They just sat there, hovering in front of me, so I decided to read the middle sheaf.

Joint report by fifth and fifteenth companies, respectively.
The cliff on which Canterlot and the palace are situated has become unstable after the battle of the Dragon. Many of the citizens of Canterlot have been evacuated to nearby cities or have been lodged with relatives until the portion of rock removed from the face can be returned to its original position. The estimated time for this project is three weeks, barring interruptions and other unforeseen circumstances. The public brief cites political extremists wishing a change of government in the palace. We would suggest-

I could not read the rest of the report because another piece of paper was placed in front of it. It was a hastily written note.

Edwin-
I am holding these reports for you because Princess Celestia and I have decided that it is to our advantage if as few ponies as possible know that you are more than you appear. Try not to do anything that an earth pony would not do, eg., flying, picking things up with magic, lightning. Try to look as serious as possible. There are some ponies with every long memories and it would be a bad choice to offend them by looking bored.
P.S. You don’t really need to read any of these reports, it’s only your first meeting.

I reached up to push the note away, and it fluttered away from me. I tried to read the other reports because I was actually interested in most of them. They talked about everything that could possibly be going on in the palace, from vegetable shipments to possible spies. My eye caught one that was entirely about sugar prices per pound in Canterlot markets compared to other cities. It made me laugh a little. Suddenly, the papers all turned so that they were facing the ceiling instead of me, and floated back into one pile. It was joined by Antony’s stack of papers and they both floated back onto the table in front of us. Antony raised a hoof to clear his throat.
“Reports of the Rear guard companies in sequential order.” He declaimed. A small brown pony at about the middle of the table wearing silvery armor stood. He raised a hoof to touch a lone piece of paper in front of him. He peered down at it questioningly.
“Report of Lieutenant Flick on behalf of First rear. The Princesses are travelling to Salt Lick City later this week to attend a funeral of a prominent scholar, and they have requested the forward third airborne and Captain Shell to accompany them. They plan on travelling ahead of time by wing but intend on leaving a false trail that they will travel by train. When they arrive-” Lieutenant Flick rambled on for a while about the ins and outs of the Princesses arrive and all the places they plan on going to, all of everything that could possibly happen, contingency plans, etc. It was extremely boring. I tried my best to keep up appearances and appear interested, and was pleased to find out that I would be making a trip to another city. I hadn’t seen new ponies in a while, and I was happy to know that I would be seeing more. Sometimes I forgot that I was a pony, and during those times I found the shapes and colors of these alien beings fascinating, even if it was only for a moment. I sighed happily. The report from the second company passed quickly, followed by the third, fourth, and fifth. The sixth company report was the one about the sugar prices. I smiled when I heard the big maroon colt talk in the most serious air about rising sugar and confectionery prices. Then followed the report by the next few companies, and then it was time for the fifteenth company to finally give their report. Lieutenant Drizzle stood up. She did not have any papers or reference materials that she was preparing or shuffling into order, which was odd. Every other Lieutenant had some kind of notes. Drizzle coughed, and then began to speak
“On behalf of the Fifteenth rear I opt out of presenting my report in public due to the sensitive information it contains. I will deliver it in private, Captain Bladesinger.” She said, and then sat down. The Lieutenants all started talking to each other at her statement, gesturing to embellish their comments. Antony lifted the marble cube and slammed it into the flat stone rectangle. All of the ponies immediately stopped talking and stared at Antony. He stood up and placed his hooves on the edge of the table.
“I will have order. Another outburst and I will adjourn this meeting immediately.” He said, his voice filled with overpowering authority. He paused and allowed this statement to settle amongst the ponies. After a moment or so, Antony got down from the edge of the table.
“I give Captain Shell the floor.” Antony said, and passed me a small piece of paper. I looked at it, and I could see that they were instructions.
“Reports of the... Forward guard companies in sequential order.” I said. A large green pony stood up. I had to look at him a second time because I could not believe how big he was. 
“Lieutenant Ryo of the Forward first.” The green pony grumbled, his voice like gravel. I was slightly worried for the small mare sitting next to him. His gravelly voice was so intimidating that I could barely pay attention to what he was saying. When he was done, a small purplish-pink mare next to him stood. She was a unicorn, and I couldn’t see her cutie mark very well. I looked closer and I could see that she was the only pony in the room wearing a jet black scarf
“Lieutenant Pix of the Forward second.” She said in a high, lilting voice. She then went on to describe information that various guards have collected stationed all around Equestria. The realization dawned on me that the forward Second was the company that was in charge of espionage. I mulled this over in my head and listened intently to what she had to say. According to her information, if it was anything to go on, the ponies in Cloudsdale were the most affected by Angelics. She of course did not refer to it outright, but skirted around that conclusion, as if she did not know what Angelics were. I thought about it, and decided that that could be a very real possibility. She said that many ponies were not following regular routines, many ponies had quit their jobs recently, many ponies were acting strangely, many ponies had lapses in memory. She attributed these symptoms to a mysterious illness.  I interrupted her.
“Have any of the guards stationed in Cloudsdale suffered similar... Symptoms?” I inquired. She paused for a second.
“To my knowledge there is only one.” She said.
“I would like to see the pegasus in question. Come see me after the meeting.” I said. She nodded, and then hesitated to begin her report again. I waved a hoof for her to continue. The rest of the report was a quick summary of events in the other large Equestrian cities. She was done, and then she sat back down. Soarin was next in line, but he paused a moment while he got his papers into order. It was a sizable pile of documents, but I had the feeling that he was not going to use them much. He stood.
“Second lieutenant Soarin of the Forward third. Lieutenant Dash has requested a personal day.” He started, placing a hoof down on his notes.
“Our company was an active combatant along with the forward ninth during the battle of the Dragon. I cannot speak for Ninth company, but the Third suffered no casualties. Only one pony was wounded. Ensign Breckan was scraped up and had a very sore throat from screaming too loudly.” He concluded, much to the amusement of the other guards. He tilted his head and screwed up his face, like he was thinking of something. It almost seemed as if something pained him, and he was reluctant to speak it.
“We have also suffered the loss of Second Lieutenant Spitfire, who has not appeared to her station or her shift today. Furthermore, as of last night, she was under armed guard to remain in her quarters by order of Captain Bladesinger. My sources inform me that she was to be kept there until released by a ranking officer. Captain Bladesinger, to my knowledge, never did find Spitfire in her quarters, but four of his most talented unicorns unconscious lying next to the splintered remains of the door. Those of you that know Second Lieutenant Spitfire personally know that she does not have the physical strength to do something like this.” Soarin reasoned aloud, 	looking around at the ponies. His statement was met my soft murmurs and nods.
“I have nothing left to say, so I will surrender the floor to the next report.” Soarin said, and then sat. His report was the shortest, but he said the most with his words. He sewed seeds of doubt in the room, which was his revenge for me not answering his question properly. The next Lieutenant stood, gave his report, and sat down. This happened twelve more times with absolutely no fanfare. The remaining ponies talked about the battle of thee Dragon, mostly. The fifth and fifteenth companies did their report together, talking about their reconstruction efforts in regard to the cliff. They had an entire team of ponies trying to find a spell that could attach rock to rock, and they had another team of unicorns whose job it was just to pick up heavy rocks. I found it to be rather interesting. Once the ponies were all seated and their reports were done, Antony stood to speak.
“I will not be flip and say that the past few weeks have been calm. The past few weeks have in fact been the most dangerous, at least for me. We have had a group of unknown purpose and motive target the Royal sisters, and we have done our best to thwart them. Captain Shell,” Antony gestured to me “Has in fact earned his mantle by protecting the Princesses with his nearly dying breath. I have made my own sacrifices in the past weeks, as have all of you. But I hope that all of you will continue to do such in future, as you have done countless times when our palace is under threat of attack. I now open the floor to questions and concerns. Stand to be recognized.” Antony said, and then sat down. There was a moment’s hesitation, and then one of the rear Lieutenants stood. He was the Lieutenant of the Sixth, the gigantic maroon colt. 
“Captain Shell, I wish to make an inquiry of you.” He said. I nodded.
“How long have you been a Guard?” He inquired. I sniffled.
“A few days.” I answered. The Guards around him seemed to find this outrageous, and displayed their emotions openly.
“And you have been a Captain for... How much of this time?” He asked.
“All of it.” I said. The ponies around the colt again found this outrageous, and whispered comments to each other. The Lieutenant smiled just a smidge.
“Those are all the questions I have, Captain.” He said. He sat, and many of the ponies around him pestered him to answer their questions. He waved them off with a large maroon hoof, and they immediately fell silent. I could see how the ponies around the nameless Lieutenant respected him. I smiled, and then Lieutenant Ryo stood. 
“Captain Shell, I also have a question for you, if you would like to answer it.” The Lieutenant said in his gravelly voice.
“We won’t know unless you ask it.” I replied. Ryo made an amused sigh.
“Captain Shell, The question I am about to ask is in the minds of many officers in this room, as well as in my own. You seem to be an... Earth pony, am I correct?”
“Yes, I am.” 
“And you have only been a guard for the past few days, am I correct?” Ryo queried.
“Two for two.” 
“Then, the question becomes apparent. What exactly are your qualifications for being a Guard of such a high rank?” He asked. I sniffled again, smelling something odd.
“Are Earth ponies barred from holding such an office?” I asked.
“No, but to my knowledge, not a single Earth pony has ever held that office in the entire illustrious history of the Royal Guard.” Ryo explained with a certain diminutive bearing in his voice.
“What are you saying, Ryo?” I asked, leaning forward from my seat.
“I am saying that you have no business sitting where you do, wearing that helm. I call that you be removed from your station and stripped of your title, rank, and all accompanying privilges.” Ryo said, and all of the ponies around him started talking amongst themselves, decrying how shocking it was that such a pony could hold such an office without question for so long, and how one pony had finally questioned it. Antony nudged the marble cube over to me, but I pushed it back to him, content with waiting for the babble to subside. It didn’t. The whispers and hushed comments soon escalated into a full blown altrication, with insults and accusations hurled like stones to either side of the room. It was my opinion that the only thing keeping them from strangling each other was the table that kept them physically separated. One pony was actually about to throw a heavy scroll of parchment at  particularly impassioned pony on the other side of the room when I found that the argument had to stop. I stood and calmly walked up to the flat stone on it, and waited for a moment. I suddenly felt angry, and raised a hoof. I slammed it onto the stone, shattering it with a loud report. The creaking and squealing of the breaking stone snapped everypony out of their rage. They all turned to stare at me. I was almost snarling by the time I could say what I had to say without  screaming at everything
“I will have order!” I shouted. The ponies seemed to make a collective gulp. 
“Lieutenant Ryo, if what’s who you actually are, are you done casting your aspersions?” I snarled. Ryo made an amused harrumph. 
“I think that you have sufficiently proved you ‘claim to fame’, Captain. I have no quarrel with you.” He said, gesturing to the shattered rock under my hoof.
“But I have one with you.” I replied, calming myself. Ryo raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. I walked up to the table, and jumped onto it. Apparently this was something that nopony was expecting, because it drew many shocked gasps.
“Lieutenant Ryo, I accuse you of treason and impersonating an officer of the Royal Guard. What is your plea?” I asked. Lieutenant Ryo scoffed.
“Such a preposterous claim! I’ve been an officer in the Guard for nearly ten years! What evidence could you possibly have for such a claim?!” He nearly shouted.
“I can smell you.” I said. He immediately grew pale.
“What?” He said, his strong gravelly voice warbling.
“You smell familiar.” I said, walking closer to Lieutenant Ryo. Lieutenant Pix and Soarin looked slightly afraid. I felt the cool armor move with me, like a seamless extension of myself. I liked it. I rounded on Lieutenant Ryo, getting up to his face. I took a big whiff of him.
“I know you.” I whispered. Lieutenant Ryo shivered, and he broke into a sweat. I crouched so I could make eye contact with me. He avoided my gaze.
“Tell us who you are, Ryo.” I said aloud, making Ryo jump.
“L-Lieutenant Ryo of the-” I stopped his lie by grabbing his throat. I pulled him up from his seat, but not so high that he would choke.
“Tell us who you are!” I said.
“I-”
“Why don’t you show us what that pretty little make looks like, Lieutenant Ryo?” I sneered. Ryo gulped. 
“Unhand him, Captain Shell! You simply cannot treat subordinates like this because they say something you do not like!” Antony shouted from the front of the room. I turned to look at him.
“Don’t interfere.” I growled, and he sat down meekly.I turned back to Ryo, who immediately looked away from me. I leaned in to place my mouth next to his ear
“Show us your mane, Ryo.” I whispered. He shuddered, and I could feel the magic pour out of Ryo. All of the ponies in the room made a collective gasp, and I felt immensely satisfied. I pulled away from Ryo to see the flowing jet black tresses flowing down his body, where only seconds earlier there was a short militaristic buzz.
“Never impersonate one of my officers again.” I whispered. Ryo shivered, and I took a step back and threw him against the wall. I could see every single inch of his trajectory, every single mote of dust flowing around him. He collided with the wall, exploding with a cloud of green dust. I coughed, along with all of the other ponies in the room, waving away the green dust with my hooves. The dust cleared, and I was treated to a white mare with long flowing black hair lying on the ground. I walked up to her and crouched down to talk to her. I waited until she looked at me with her large, electrifying green eyes.
“Never impersonate one of my guards again, Sebastian. Where did you hide Ryo?” I growled through my teeth. Sebastian gulped, and closed her eyes. She immediately disappeared with a small pop. I frowned, and then sighed. 
“Captain Shell?” Antony asked, and then coughed.
“Yes, Captain Bladesinger?” I replied.
“If you could come up and explain what the bloody hell just happened, I think that everypony would appreciate it.” 
> 31: of Chemists and IV poles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 31

I walked back to the front of the room, feeling all of the ponies staring at me. There was not a single thing in this room that wasn’t staring at me. I placed immaculate ivory hoof in front of immaculate ivory hoof, feeling the sinuous grace of my movements. 
“Lieutenant Pix.” I stated.
“Yes, Captain.” She replied immediately, in an extremely crisp tone. I smiled as I walked back to my seat, knowing where her loyalties lay.
“Find Lieutenant Ryo. I have a feeling that he will be somewhere in the Castle.” I replied in a clean tone.
“Yes Sir.” She replied, and stood to walk out of the door at the rear of the room. I heard the clip-clop of her hooves on the stone floor, and then the creak of the door opening and closing. The blued steel plating on my left shoulder seemed to move with me, like it was water instead of metal. I could feel the beauty of my actions seep into the air around me. I took my time walking to the end of the table. When I reached it, I bounded off it it and onto the ground. I turned to face the ponies staring at me as I took my seat, and was pleased to find many of them with mouths agape.
“Well.” I said. This snapped many ponies out of their trance, and prompted me to continue.
“I’m quite sure that many of you would like an explanation of what happened just now.” I said. Many of the ponies murmured uncontentedly.
“I’m also quite sure that the walls have ears. We are not safe from interruption. We no longer have the luxury of privacy within these walls, as you have just seen.” I said. I slowly turned my head to look at all of the ponies in the room. Only a few were able to maintain eye contact with me.	
“I will not tell you what just happened. Nor will I explain the reason for my secrecy. Those who need to know already do, and understand the reasons behind the caution.” I said. The ponies started mumbling and talking amongst themselves when I was finished. The arguing soon escalated again, but not so severe as before. The only thing that kept it from getting so loud was a single knock on the door behind me. I turned to face the dais, statue, and curved wall that was my entrance into this room. The wall slowly turned, grinding on the stone around it. I stared at the rotating wall, watching it simply move. I wondered who had summoned it. There was soon just a curved stone wall protruding into the meeting room. There was a deathly silent pause for a moment, where a profound amount of nothing happened. The wall started to creak. The stone wall moved, revealing a blinding light. I was forced to avert my gaze from the light, turning away from the growing source. The curved entrance wall finally curved away to reveal pure white. It was blinding, and I could barely see anything. I squinted into my shoulder while I waited for the white to subside. It slowly did, and I turned to look at the source. The dimming flare revealed a slender, elongated pony. My adrenaline-clouded mind took me a minute to recognize her as Celestia. My vision returned to me slowly, revealing her in all of her brilliant detail. Her eyes, her form, her waving hair all seemed to be more clear, more defined. I had the strange urge to bow, and I thought that I might as well be polite and do so. I kneeled down on my front legs as Celestia walked down from the dais. She took her time, placing her hooves down with almost cautous movements. She stopped when she was standing between the two of us, with her rear left hoof right next to my face. I stood up slowly, and then I noticed her guest. Twilight was with the Princess, and I had no idea why. She still looked somewhat sickly, and I could see her foreleg  grasping a thin metal pole that had a little glass bottle hanging from the top. There was a little tube running down from the bottle, but it’s destination was hidden from me. She was staring at me. She was staring at me, completely shocked.
“Ed?” She mouthed silently. Her manner made me grin a little, as did the circumstances. Two tiny ponies talking under the knees of a God. I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to look serious.
“There are many ponies in this room.” Celestia began, with an air of gravity and importance that only she could attach to language. She continued.
“Royal Guards, each and every one. You have all eared your titles and the seats you sit in due to my trust, and due to your actions. You all place your faith in me every single day. I keep you alive. I keep you from freezing. You all place your trust in me, but I place my trust in him.” Celestia said, gesturing to me with a slow laziness of her left forehoof. I was a little bit surprised, but I tried my best not to show it.
“Captain Shell has earned what he has. Though the work of his own hooves. Through the astuteness of his own decisions. Through the courage of his own actions.” She said. She was looking at all of the ponies, then turned to look at Antony.
“Captain Bladesinger, I fear you must complete this meeting on your own. I have a need of Captain Shell at the moment.” She said. I could only imagine Antony’s response before Celestia turned to ascend the platform. Twilight followed as best as she could, rolling her little metal pole along. She had a little bit of trouble getting it up the steps, so I grabbed it for her and helped her up. She smiled weakly and climbed the steps to the platform. I waited for her to get up before I did, walking awkwardly with three hooves. I set down the pole, and nearly fell over as the floor began to turn

“I cannot thank you enough, Captain Shell.” Celestia said, walking down one of the posh corridors of the Palace. I was levitating Twilight, her pole floating not too far away, because she had fallen asleep while she was walking. I was just worried now about scaring her if she woke up to being held in the air with magic by an earth pony.
“You don’t need to call me Captain right now, Princess. There’s nopony here.” I commented in an embarrassed 	fashion. Celestia scoffed.
“I never bandy titles about for the benefit of others. I only use them in regard to ponies that have earned them. And you, Edwin, have earned yours.” She said, eyeing me with her large purple iris. I met her look, and then turned to look at the gently snoring figure of Twilight. I was aware that she was a mare, but I only saw her a little child. It made my chest feel sore to see the lone grey streak in her mane that was the only sign of her imprisonment. It was my duty to protect ponies like Twilight from creatures like Slim. It was the only thing worth doing in this world, protecting ponies. It made me glad to know that Twilight was safe, but it puzzled me to see her in a setting such as this.
“What is she to you?” I inquired of Celestia. She hesitated, which was so unlike her. I turned to look at the Princess.
“She... She is my student.”  She said in a stalting voice. I paused for a nearly imperceptible moment. My supercharged Numbered mind flipped switches and made connections in a fraction of a second to supply me with a reason why.
“You adopted her, didn’t you?” I asked. The Princess immediately stopped walking and looked at me. I also stopped, thinking it would be rude to continue.
“Yes.” She whispered. Her eyes began to water, and I immediately regretted asking. 
“I’m sorry, I-”
“No, you should know. You may need to face the same problem I did, one day.”
“What?” I asked. The Goddess continued walking again, staring at Twilight as she did so with a caring eye.
“I’m going to tell you a story, Edwin.”
“Okay.” I said, continuing to walk down the completely empty corridor.
“Luna and I, a very long time ago, began to grow lonely. We wanted foals. Sadly, Immortals cannot reproduce, as you well know. So, we took the option that became apparent. We would pick foals and take them under our patronage. They grew and flourished, developing their talents and skills, taking hobbies and the like. We were so happy for them, we were proud. I remember one... Thousands of years ago. She loved to play piano. She could play the birds out of the trees, she could play love into your heart. She would tap her little white and black keys, and she tapped her way right into my heart. She was a little blue mare, and she was brilliant. I can still close my eyes and see her bright pink eyes, filled with some childlike dream of hers. She composed sonatas and orchestral pieces and accompaniments and everything else you could possibly imagine. I would often go to her room here in the palace in the middle of the night and see her scribbling pages and pages of sheet music, tapping little tuning forks as she did so. She was magnificent, adorable, everything a mother could ask for...” Celestia trailed off, wondering. She seemed to choke on something.
“She aged. She grew older while I stayed the same. Her body whithered, but her mind stayed as sharp as ever. She continued to write beautiful pieces, and played them often for me. She was rather famous in her old age, but not so in her youth, when she could sit in front of the piano for days at a time. A pity.”
“One day, she fell. She was old and decrepit. She broke her left foreleg. The doctors told her it would never work the same again. She... She would never be able to play piano. Not like she used to.” She said in a halting voice. She was sobbing silently as she remembered the mare.
“She lived in a small house when she was not in the palace. It was a beautiful view, with little trees and valleys dotting the landscape. She lived near a canyon, one of the lesser known in Equestria. She found it quiet, and it helped her to write music. One day she just went out to her house. She walked out to look at the canyon. And jumped.” She finished, choking on each word she said. I was aghast. The concept of suicide in this world was mind-shattering. It was nearly impossible to imagine such a thing existing in a place with so much happiness. But, as I of all ponies knew, Life was a two-sided coin.
“Her son played at her funeral. He was just as good as his mother. But I refused to take him as an apprentice, a son, anything. I had my fill of attachment. During the funeral, everypony saw the pieces that my little pianist left of my heart.” I had to think about this for along while before I could come up with an answer
“She couldn’t live in a world without music. Could you blame her?” I asked. Celestia blinked.
“No.” She whispered. We continued to walk after that, not filling the empty air with conversation. Twilight muttered something incomprehensible as she slept.
“But... What does that have to do with Twilight?” I finally asked. Celestia paused. 
“She brought me out of hiding. She drew me out of my shell that I crawled into all of those years ago, and I love her for it.” Celestia said, drawing back up to her full height. While she was telling her story, she slumped over, almost as if under the weight of memory.
“Oh.” I said. I couldn’t possibly think that I would ever need something like that, but I didn’t think of pressing the point. 
“Why did you take me away from the meeting?” I wondered aloud.
“I don’t think that you are quite ready for the burdens of Royal Politics. You are too... Incorrupt. You don’t need to be around those kind of things.” She said. I was extremely confused by her lack of logic.
“What do you mean? I’m one of the most dangerous things in Equestria at the moment.” I responded.
“You would not say that if you knew what Equestrian politics is like. It’s a rather subtle sport, but it is only played by the most influential and most powerful. It can be dangerous if you make the wrong enemies.” She reasoned right back. I found this interesting.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We’re taking Twilight to her room, and then I’m going to show you something very interesting.” She said. I became very curious as to what it could be, and I whiled away the time thinking about what the interesting thing could possibly be. We soon arrived at Twilight’s room, which could also be called a laboratory with a bed.
“She sleeps in here?” I blurted, setting her down on the bed with her silver pole nearby.
“She doesn’t usually, but she has been working on one of her projects recently. She’s trying to develop a chemical that increases respiratory metabolism for ponies that scuba dive.” Celestia replied. I looked at her with a smirk
“Scuba diving?” I mocked.
“Is a very popular and rewarding activity, yes. Pressurized gas is not a very easy thing to attain, because it requires a skilled unicorn to create and the spell is a rather challenging one. I will teach it to you one day, if you want me to.” She offered. I shook my head, saying
“I don’t know... Is there a quill around here somewhere?” I asked. Celestia was about to answer when I spied a stopped ink well and a quill lying next to a stack of parchment. I immediately unstopped the bottle and dipped the quill, picking a sheet off of the stack. I started writing with the unassuming brown quill, rasping the nub across the paper as I did so. I could feel the Princess look over my shoulder as I did so.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
“Giving Twilight an early Christmas.” I explained, straining to remember human chemistry. I hoped that it had much in common with its Equestrian kin.
“What’s Christmas?” The Goddess asked innocently. I ignored her question and continued to write my note.
“Done!” I proclaimed triumphantly, corking the ink and setting down the quill next to a glass beaker filled with what appeared to be blue water. The note read-

Miss Sparkle-	
CH2BrCO2C2H5
-Edwin

“What is that?” Celestia asked.
“It’s something she may find valuable. Let’s go.” I said, walking out of the door.

“What is it?” I asked, walking drunkenly into the room with my eyes closed.
“Don’t open your eyes yet. Follow my voice.” Celestia said, walking away from me. I tried to follow her to the best of my ability, turning my ears every which way to find her. I bumped into a few tables and chairs as I did so, trying to navigate the maze of stubbed knees and stoved hooves.
“Ow.”
“Persistence will be rewarded.” Celestia qualified, almost sensing my unwillingness to continue. I gruffed and floated up into the air, cursing myself for not thinking of it sooner. My equilibrium was flawless, and I found the Princess almost immediately.
“Okay, open your eyes.” She said. I did. 
“Oh wow.” I whispered. Celestia smiled with sad eyes.
“I still have it. After all these years, I still do.” She said, her voice growing faint.
“Who made it?” I asked, trying to look at the instrument at as many angles as I could.
“Othello, of course.” Celestia said. I stared at the mystical white sword. It did not much resemble mine, but it shared a faint semblance. It was much skinnier, with a pink waffle string handle where mine was blue. It had a sun etched into the middle of the blade on both sides, right below a blood groove. The hilt was a little pink rectangle, with a sun stamped onto it.
“You really meant that much to him...” I mumbled to myself. 
“How did he make it?” I asked aloud.
“He invented bladesinging.” She said, and I immediately knew that this piece was the first sword ever created with magic.
“It must be ancient.” I remarked in awe.
“It is a few hundred years younger than I.” She said, admiring the deadly tool as much as I was. I continued to stare at the magical blade, not wanting to take my eyes off it even for a moment. I had to, though, to ask a question.
“Why are you showing it to me?” 
“A good question. It is the most valuable work of art in my private collection, and I do not proffer a visit to my museum lightly. Twilight has only been here twice. I also rarely show this piece, and you are the only pony in living mortal memory to have seen it. I showed you because I want to tell you that we are not too different. It also comes with a favor...” She said, losing coherency.
“What favor could you want of me?” I asked.
“I want you to find Othello.”
> 31: of Nightmares and Pastries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 31

I backed away from the Goddess, completely shocked.
“What?!” I exclaimed. I saw Othello die, right in front of me. There was nothing of him that I could find in Equestria other than his corpse. Celestia’s eyes lit up with some unidentifiable emotion.
“But the sword is still here! I did not know if it was until I saw it with my own eyes just now. It means that he is alive, Edwin! It means that he is still using the magic keeping this sword in existence, somewhere in Equestria. He lingers, Edwin!” She said, the passion filling the words she spoke. I shook my head.
“There’s no way. I saw him die! You saw him die!” I said, citing reason while she cited her needs.
“He has to be alive, Edwin. This sword still exists, and that means that he must still be using magic.” She said, growing impassioned as she continued to press her indefensible point. I started to back away from her. 
“He can’t be alive. We were both there. Nopony could survive that, not even him.” I reasoned, hoping that Celestia would understand. I collided with a chair as I was backing away from him.
“No, Edwin. He is still alive! He must be! He couldn’t leave me! I need him!” She said, her expression growing dangerous. I began to realize the danger that I was in by not agreeing with her, and I turned and ran. I fled through the maze of priceless collectibles, running as fast as my hooves would carry me. I ran this way, dodged around vases and swerved in front of tapestries, and hoped and prayed that she would not catch me. I noticed the hypocrisy in my words, and I only hoped that she would not catch me. I ran and ran and ran as fast as I possibly could. I ran till it felt as if my lungs would burst out of my chest, and then I ran some more. It took me a long time to calm down enough to think my way out of this labyrinth of art. I plunged into the Flow, feeling all of the life around me, and allowing the limitless energy to flow into my limbs. I could feel the pulsing strength ready to do whatever I wished of it. I was pleased to find the Princess not a long way away from me, but separated by several walls. I thought about the only pony that could possibly save me from this baroque hell. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar cool breeze. I opened my eyes.
“Doctor?” I asked, looking around the Tardis. It seemed rather vibrant, but it was cold and empty. There was the occasional click and whirr of some machine, but there was no overseer to speak to. I walked over to the door of the Tardis and pushed open one of them tentatively. 
The scene in front of me looked much like a moodily lit room, in shades of orange and red and yellow, accented by swaths of loose-hanging fabric on the walls. There was a piano on top of a small stage, and an innocuous dark blue pony tapping out a soft jazz tune. I stepped out of the tardis and looked around. There were a few ponies sitting at tables, and a few ponies milling about the bar. I walked up to the bar and sat, trying to figure out what was going on. I couldn’t see the Doctor, but I was fairly sure that he would be near his machine. A golden-yellow pony with a darker mane walked up to me from behind the bar, polishing a wine glass with magic.
“Welcome to the Blue Alicorn. What can I do for you?” He asked. I gulped.
“Cranberry juice?” I replied tentatively. The unicorn scoffed.
“You don’t look like one for cranberry juice. You don’t look like one for money, either. Do you even know what bits look like?” The unicorn inquired with a knowing tone.
“Bits?” I responded stuipidly. The Unicorn smiled, and leaned his hooves on the bar, then crossed them together.
“You’re an interesting one. Coming into a bar without any bits, and don’t even know what bits are. I’ll keep an eye on you, even if it’s just for amusement.” He responded. I took the opportunity to ask a question.
“Have you seen somepony?” I inquired. The golden unicorn smiled.
“I’ve seen a lot of someponies. Can you be specific?” He asked in a warm tone.
“Brown.”
“Yeah, that narrows it down quite a bit.” He said sarcastically.
“He has an accent, a tiny little pen that buzzes, and he came out of that big blue box over there.”
“Not ringing any bells.”
“He goes by Doctor?” I continued, exasperated. The unicorn’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, the Doc! He’s right in the back, let me take you to him.” He said, walking our from behind the bar. He gestured for me to follow him, and I did.
“We don’t often see ponies in costume here.” He stated.
“What?” I exclaimed. The bartender looked over his shoulder lazily.
“Let me guess. You don’t know what armor is, either?” He asked, his voice dripping sarcasm. I suddenly remembered that I was still wearing my armor for the meeting.
“It’s for work.”
“Oh, even better! A royal guard thousands of miles away from Canterlot, trying to buy drinks without any money!” The unicorn continued, becoming obviously overjoyed. I didn’t want to satisfy him with a response, and thankfully he did not continue his tirade. He walked down a long hallway, passing several doorways covered in the warm fabric that was draped outside. He stopped outside of one,  hesitating.
“Your name is?”
“Edwin Shell.” I answered. The bartender ducked a head into the room.
“Doc, I’ve got an ‘Edwin Shell’ here to see you. You want ‘im?” The unicorn asked in a hushed tone, thinking that I would not hear him over the soft piano and the heavy fabric. Something inside made a coughing noise
“Oh Goddesses, Yes! Send him in now!” The voice said in between coughs. The unicorn backed out and looked at me awkwardly.
“If you need anything, ask for Sam.” The bartender said, and then walked away without any prompting. I hesitated before I entered the room, then took a big breath and ducked inside.
I was immediately treated to the Doctor curled up on a thick rug, with a mare not too far away from him. I could immediately tell that the mare was Sebastian, with her somewhat curvy figure and her extremely long black mane and tail, but also her lack of a cutie mark. I stiffened immediately, but the Doctor waved a hoof at me.
“Calm down, Edwin. We’re all too long-lived to hold grudges. Take off your helm, stay a while.” He said, gesturing to a large plush mat not too far away from either of them. I took a seat and levitated my helm off of my head. I set it next to me as I sat down on the red mat. The Doctor was playing with a bit of Sebastian’s tail that was pooling around him. He looked up to me.
“You must be excellent at hide and find.” He said. I laughed.
“I got you good, Doctor. I have a few questions.” I said.
“I’m sure you do, but here comes lunch!” the Doctor said, and a tray laden with all kinds of baked goods floated in on a cloud of silvery magic. It set itself down between the Doctor and I, and I did not hesitate to grab a pastry and shove it in my mouth. I could not believe how insatiably hungry I was until there was food in front of me.
“Goddesses, Edwin!” The Doctor exclaimed. I looked up at him with a mouthful of danish and two hooves filled with apple tarts.
“Whut?” I asked, and crumbs flew everywhere.
“I should really feed you more often. I can’t have you acting like this everywhere I take you.” The Doctor said.
“Bhut Ah Furnd Yeh.” I said, reaching for another danish
“And I’m sure that that ‘Furnd’ was ‘Bhuted’ quite well, but that is no excuse for bad manners. But I suppose that starvation may be an exception...” The Doctor trailed off, talking to himself more than to me. I took another opportunity to cram another pastry into my mouth.
“Celestia asked you to find Othello, didn’t she?” The Doctor asked. I looked to Sebastian before I answered, and I could see that she was sleeping. I turned back to the Doctor and swallowed my food.
“He can’t be alive, can he?” I asked.
“No. I delivered him to his funeral personally. But that does leave the question of why his sword still exists.” The Doctor tried to reason.
“It shouldn’t matter, should it?”
“It does. If a bladesinger dies, any blades that he has summoned that still exist usually just flicker into oblivion. Othello’s blade should not be held to that rule, but it certainly cannot be ignored as some kind of...” The Doctor trailed, waving a hoof in the air.
“Aberration?” I supplied. The Doctor smiled and nodded.
“Yes, as some kind of aberration. There is a source of magic somewhere that is keeping the blade in existence, but I don’t know what it could possibly be.” The Doctor said, swirling around Sebastian’s flowing hair with a lazy hoof. 
“Do you think that Celestia could be doing it to delude herself into thinking that he is still alive?” I wondered aloud. The Doctor shook his head immediately.
“No. She loved him in life, and idolized him in death. She couldn’t possibly violate the sanctity of her most precious gift from him.” The Doctor explained. I thought about this and inhaled another pastry. Sebastian mumbled something and stirred lightly.
“Try to be quieter, Edwin. She’s been though a lot in the past day.” The Doctor said softly, rising from his mat. Sebastian seemed to mutter louder, and her stirring became a little more active. The Doctor placed a hoof on her shoulder as he closed his eyes. Sebastian immediately stopped muttering, and her shaking became far less pronounced. The Doctor, on the other hand, became much tenser, with the tendons in his neck flexing, and his eyes were moving under his closed lids. I was about to approach him and see what was going on when he stopped me.
“Don’t do anything, it will be over in a minute.” He said, and he continued his fit. I watched worriedly as his breathing became stressed, and his shaking became worse. I wanted desperately to help, but all I could do was watch as the Doctor shook. He finally opened his eyes in a flash, taking a big gasp as he did so. He panted heavily for a few moments, nearly collapsing on the mat. I rushed up to him.
“What happened? Did she-” The Doctor stopped me by placing a hoof on my shoulder.
“We... We all have... Our demons, Edwin...” The Doctor said, panting between words. “Sebastian... Just has more... Than her fair share.” He concluded, wheezing as he did so.
“Do you need anything, can I go get-”
“Give me time, Edwin... The one thing I have... so much of. I will become better shortly.” The Doctor said, lying down. He curled into a loose ball, and his forehooves began to shake.
“She was there, Edwin. I never knew she was there.” He said after a while. I looked up from an interestingly-frosted doughnut. The Doctor was lying there, with wide eyes and his limbs tucked into his chest.
“She was where?” I responded.
“The Genocide. She was there when Evangeline slaughtered the Conclave.” He whispered. I looked at the Doctor a little harder than before. He seemed... afraid. He was never afraid. He mistook my look to be one of confusion, and started to explain in a soft whisper.
“The ghost met once every hundred years to discuss problems. Some of which they caused, but not all. They had worries about food, land, and other things. The last Conclave ever held was the Five hundred and eighty-fourth. Evangeline found out where it was being held and snuck in. There was only one survivor.” He said, his whispery voice growing even more unsteady as he spoke. I felt disgusted.
“I can never look at Eve the same way again.” I muttered to myself. The Doctor seemed to recover slightly, and rose to a sitting position.
“Do you want to see it?” The Doctor asked.
“See what?”
“Her dream.” He said. I laughed.
“Like that’s possible. I might as well walk on clouds, or breathe underwater.” I said mockingly. The Doctor grinned.
“But you can walk on clouds, Edwin. Come here.” He said, drawing me to him with his hooves. I walked forward tentatively, and the Doctor grabbed my head with his hooves. He bumped his forehead up to mine, and began to speak,
“Close your eyes and empty your mind.” He said. I closed my eyes and tried my best to lose my connection to thinking. A bright spark of something popped up in my mind, and it soon flared into an overwhelming torrent of information, flooding my senses. I could smell the crisp air, I could feel the cold in my hooves. I could see. I could see the little ponies around me that looked just like I did, with the manes and tails matching. There was a dragon. I liked the dragon. He was big. Bigger than me. We played on him, climbing over him and under him and in his ears and under his scales. He laughed, a big rumbling noise that made my teeth clatter and my bones shake. The trees shivered when he laughed. We were all playing, with the grown-ups talking away from us. We laughed and played in the cool winter sun. I remembered the warm white scales under me as I snoozed. I was his favorite. I knew I was. It made me happy. I fell asleep under a translucent white wing as I thought about it.
Something was wrong. I woke with a start, noticing that the scales underneath me were moving. I tried to get up but the wing over me would not let me out. I remember asking a question
I can’t let you out. a rumbling deep voice said. I complained. It was too hot. My hooves were stiff.
I can’t let you out. We have to leave. The voice said again. I remember crying. I wanted to see mommy. Why couldn’t I see mommy? The voice was very sad when it answered.
I... Mommy went away for a while. She will come back soon. The voice said mournfully. I managed to crawl up through the wing to look at him. His long, angular head had suffering etched onto it. Where are we going?
Away. Somewhere safe. Where she can’t find us. The voice answered. I looked up to him, his head blocking the sun. I could hear noises, loud ones. I wanted to know what they were
Never you mind what they are. We have to go. He repeated. I could tell he was lying. I could always tell. I could hear his lies before he told them. Where are we going? I want mommy. Where are you taking me?
I... the voice stammered. I stared up at his bright red eye. It had a single tear in the corner of it. I listened for what I could hear. I saw a picture of her, in his mind. Her long legs, her strong body. Her golden hair. Her.
Now you know. We can’t go back. He said. What about mommy?
Mommy... She... Had to leave.
Why would mommy leave without telling me? I want to talk to mommy! Where is she! I was shouting. The Dragon shushed me, hunching down his shoulders and grabbing me with one of his hands. He held me up to his face.
We have to be quiet. She cannot find us. We are all that is left. We-
“Trying to run, Alucard?” A strong voice asked. I could feel the pearly white scales tense a little bit as his face grew a scary snarl.
Evangeline. Mercy upon the innocent.
“You speak in paradoxes, Alucard. There are no innocents where your species is concerned.” The strong voice said. The Dragon growled.
She is just a hatchling. She knows nothing of your hate. 
“When I have my way, she won’t know anything at all.” The strong voice spoke smoothly. The Dragon looked at me, he whispered.
I need to go now, Sebastian. he sobbed softly. No. Don’t go. I need you.
Such is life, Sebastian. Things change. It is best that you learn that now by choice, rather than later by necessity. I must leave you now. He whispered as best as any dragon could. I could feel his magic, throwing me away from him, pushing me into the flow completely. I existed more in the flow than in the real world. I was the Flow. The Flow was me. There was no discerning between the two. I could feel the Dragon call upon me, and he took my energy to try and fight the Mare. He was winning. He was winning. I felt exuberant that the evil creature would finally die. She tricked him. She blinded him, kept light from his eyes. He swiped with his strong claws, trying to hit her. But she was so fast. I couldn’t watch. I turned away from it. I couldn’t watch. But I felt it. I felt him die. I cried where nothing could see. I was the Flow.
I rode the flow. I searched and searched for others like me. I traversed the Threads themselves to try and find them. Years. I looked for years. I found one. He used the flow. Masterfully, skillfully. I found him and held him. Who are you? I said. Who are you that uses me like this, with such skill? I asked.
C-Columnus. He stammered. I smiled. I poured myself out onto his dimension, like how cold honey would pour onto a cookie sheet. I attained form. I was. I simply was, after so long of not being. I cried in happiness, feeling the sun on my face. I collapsed onto the grass-
I tore myself from the dream, gasping. I couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t bear to live another second in the hazy dream-world. I collapsed, sprawling backwards onto the mat in the room with the Doctor and the pastries and the sleeping mare. I let myself lie there, trying to reject the dream that was forced upon me. The Doctor tutted, and picked up a pastry. He sniffed it, then put it back down.
“Now you know.” He said calmly. I wanted to scream at him, to shout until my throat bled.
“Ignorance... Is bliss...” I managed to gasp out. The Doctor smiled patronizingly.
“Not for ponies like you. Ignorance is a luxury that you cannot afford.” He said. I grumbled, but I wanted to scream and writhe and tear my skin out
“Cruel... Doctor...” I said.
“Maybe. But I would rather be cruel than caring if it meant that you would be safe.” He said. He said nothing else, and all that could be heard were my gasps and Sebastian’s innocent snores. 
> 33: of Engines and Licorice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 33

I was content with lying there for the rest of my life. After Sebastian’s nightmare, I felt as if all my willingness to move and do things was gone, with a dull sense of existence replacing it. I went over who and what I was while I tried to remember why I had to stand. The dream was so deeply ingrained into her psyche that some of her memories rubbed off on me. I was thinking of myself from Sebastian’s point of view, as if I was her. I could remember things that I have never seen before. A bright red flower with blue stripes down the petals, surrounded by buzzing insects and colorful dragonflies. A single dandelion sticking out of a snowy hill. The feel of icy water on burned flesh. I started to try and say everything I knew to be true, which helped me recover from the horrific nightmare and my lost sense of self.
My name is Edwin Shell. I was human once. I am a pony now. I was engaged to Emily Lauren Banks for three hours and forty-two minutes. We were involved in a fatal train crash, along with our mutual friend James Willcox. I died, and then woke up as a pony. I met three ponies who I know to go as the ‘musketeers’, a botanist named Zecora, a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, and a pegasus named Fluttershy. I then met the Doctor, who in turn handed me off to the ‘League of Numbered’, whose task it is to protect Equestria from Angelics. I met Colu-
“Get up, Edwin. It’s time to go.” whispered a voice urgently next to my ear. I flicked the voice away with the ear being whispered to, but the source of the voice blew in my ear. I jumped up with a start, skittering away from the unpleasant interruption. I was up against the opposite wall, staring at the Doctor with what I imagined to be an extremely unpleasant look on my face.
“Do you know how unpleasant it is to have somepony blow in your ear?!” I nearly shouted. The Doctor shushed me angrily.
“No, I do not, but we need to leave now, and do it quietly.” He said. Sebastian was still sleeping behind him, her curvaceous form rising and falling with her breaths. I was captivated slightly, and just stared at her for a moment. I could feel my cheeks flush and my ears tingle. Almost before I could enjoy the sensation, the Doctor shoved a string of black licorice in my mouth. He got up close to me and stared at my eyes.
“Chew.” He whispered, and looked behind him like he was doing something wrong. I did as I was told, and immediately felt the blush fall out of my face. The bitter taste of the licorice was overwhelmed by my confusion. The Doctor was about to walk out the door when he did a funny little pivot on his hind leg and turned to face me.
“Sebastian has more than a few tricks up her... Sleeve? Anyways, it would be best to stay near black licorice if you don’t want to get involved in a rather... Complicated scenario.” The Doctor said, parting the curtain sneakily and walking out of the doorway. I was just left there with a sleeping mare that was unconsciously trying to seduce me, a platter full of pastry, and a small bundle of black licorice. I slumped down to sit and decided to grab one of those foxy apple strudels that has been eyeing me since I got in the bar. I licked my lips and watched it float towards my face with magic. I was about to bite into it’s warm and delicious appley center, oozing with the promise of sweet cinnamon and delicate pastry when a white hoof batted it aside, making it crumble against the wall on the opposite side of the room. I stared after my lost delicacy, feeling the sorrow of a strudel gone before it’s time. I turned to look at the murderer, and saw myself face-to-face with a fully awake Sebastian, with her straight black mane waving slightly as it hung down to the floor. Her brilliant green eyes held a strange curiosity in them, and I could feel my ears begin to tingle. Not a second had passed with my tingly ears when Sebastian shoved a piece of black licorice in my mouth. I chewed it, not wanting to understand why ponies were trying to feed me dreadful candy.
“I didn’t wake up today thinking how wonderful it would be to shack up with a Numbered. Carry that.” She said, pointing with a hoof to the nondescript brown paper bag with a few black licorice ropes sticking out. I picked it up with magic and balanced it precariously on my back. I turned back to Sebastian, but all I saw was the swaying curtain of the doorway. I was left slack-jawed for an awkward moment. I stared back at the danish on the opposite side of the wall, almost longingly, when I heard a rustle by the door. I turned to see the Doctor leaning in, with only his neck and head visible. He had a highly impatient look on his face.
“You may be excellent at hide and find, but you move like a rock.” He said, staring at me. I just looked at him,  and he nearly jumped.
“Let’s bloody go, Edwin!” He whispered loudly, and pulled his head out of the doorway. I did not hesitate to chase him out of the door. I was immediately treated to a disturbing sight.
“Doctor, what happened?” I asked, trying to step over an unconscious and bloodied pony. 
“Slim happened.” He said tonelessly. I knelt down to the pony that I just stepped over, and I placed a hoof on his neck. I released raw magic into him, purposeless and idle for his own body to decide what he needed it for. He was a unicorn, so I left him confident that he would not have an averse reaction to the raw magic. I trotted down the now-sullied hallway, strewn with ponies in varying degrees of injury. I stopped and helped the ones that were the most injured, much to the discontent of the Doctor, who insisted that they were all alright and needed no help, that they were going to be fine, and damn it, Edwin, we have to leave. I ignored him and continued down the hall slowly. Once we reached the end of the hall, we found the bar and lounge in shambles. The bar itself was actually cracked in half, with the two separate pieces forming a shallow V with the bartender in the juncture. Many of the tables were overturned and broken, and the piano on the stage was on fire. There was not a single pony in the room other than The Doctor, the bartender, and I.  The tardis itself was standing stoically in the middle of the room, like a marble column standing amongst ancient rubble. The Doctor gestured silently for me to approach the tardis as he himself did so. We took a few steps forward, and an angelic appeared from behind the machine. I tensed, and the Angelic smiled grimly. I pointed to him with a hoof, and felt a stream of magic flow out of that limb. The Angelic immediately shuddered, then seemed to lock up. His shoulders and legs were shuddering and shaking, and his mouth began to foam. He fell over, shaking and harmless, seizing against the tardis. The Doctor looked at me questioningly, and we continued to walk towards the machine. I could see another black hoof step around the tardis, and I raised a hoof to incapacitate it. I immediately felt and saw something fly at me, black and writhing, looping itself around my leg. I tried to shake it off, rubbing it all over the ground. I saw the rest of the Angelic that was behind the tardis walk around the edge of the blue box. I looked up his strangely long leg, past his thinly muscled yet robust chest, up his equally disproportionate neck, and came to rest on a black leather stetson. He looked down at me with his happy red eyes, and his mouth in a goofy grin.
“Hiya Five!” He nearly shouted. I had stopped rolling around on the ground, trying to get the writhing black things off of me. Slim chuckled, noting my predicament.
“Ah reckined that you might like those.” Slim said, gesturing to the twisting jumble of things. I stopped struggling for a moment to look at them. They looked like burning logs, with a cracked and blackened exterior showing red lines under the surface. They were moving in halting motions, looping and spreading up my leg. Slim leaned down to look at me.
“Ah noticed somethin’ differnt bout you, Five.” He said, looking me right in the eyes. I turned away form him, but he pressed a hoof down on my throat.
“Look at me, Five.” He said seriously. I didn’t, and he leaned on my neck, making me cough.
“Ah said look at me.” He ordered through his teeth. I had no choice but to turn back up at him. His horrifyingly red irises looked perversely satisfied.
“Ah noticed somethin’ bout you. You use your hooves quaht a bit. When it comes ta magic, that is. So I had me one a them ideas. What if Ah could keep you from movin’ them little hoovies a yers? I’d have me a Number that cain’t use magic. Least, not for a little bit. And ya know what, Five?” He asked, leaning closer to me. His breath smelled like choking, dry death.
“A little bit is all Ah need.” He said. I could feel the wriggling ropes wind around me, binding my hooves together. It was an odd sensation, not being able to use hooves. I struggled to use my magic without physical interference of my legs, but it was of no use. I had become dependent of them. The best I could do was wiggle and make the ground near my hooves shimmer and glow with my magic. I struggled stiupidly with my regular magic, when suddenly the idea to use the Flow appeared to me. I closed my eyes, intending to enter the Flow. I struggled mentally, trying to enter the mystical river of magical energy. I felt the hoof on my neck thrust down on me, making me gag. I opened my eyes in shock to see Slim standing above me, with his articulate tongue holding what seemed to be a tiny little metal bauble. He leaned closer to me.
“A Puxley-F Engine, if Ah am not wrong.” Slim explained, injecting his thoughts into my mind because of his occupied tongue. It was excruciating to be in such an intimate contact with this vile creature. I could see into his mind, and the twisting, contorted facets of his disturbed thought made me want to vomit just by only being able to know that they exist, let alone having it talk to me and rub against it with my own mind. I writhed and twisted under the hoof of the Angelic, desperately trying to get away from the fractured landscape of his thoughts.
“Alan Puxley was an interestin’ type a folk. He was one a them inventors, a real smart-hooves. He done had a b-e-a-utiful foal one of those days way back when, and he loved ‘er to death. But, as bad luck would have it, she was a Ghost. She lived a hard life, makin’ magic where none should be, floatin’ off into the air when she lost her concentraitin. Dem little fillies at the school done teased her for it, just because she was differnt, and that sure as sugar made her sad. She didn’t like bein’ a Ghost, not a single bit. All she wanted outta life was to be a normal Earth pony jes like her friends. So, her daddy took it on to himself to help his little girly out in the world, so he tried to invent somethin. Years ‘n years he sat and tinkered, only tryin’ to help his lil ‘un. A selfless pony there not ever was, if not ‘im. After nearly a decade of workin’ and workin’, he finally climbed up out a his basement with one a these in his hooves,” Slim injected, brandishing the little bauble with his strong, articulate tongue. “A Puxley Engine.”
“One of these things is worth more’n all the bits in Equestria, if you sell it to the right pony, that is. But, Mr. Puxley was a humble little unicorn, he warn’t interested none for money. All he wanted out of life was to make his daughter happy. And what would you know, he did just that! A course the first one warn’t exactly the best ‘un, but it done worked. He gave it to her, and she wore it like a necklace. Sure, it warn’t the prettiest thing, but to her, it was plum gorgeous. He would make her new ones, ‘n pass ‘em off as birthday presents ‘n the like, and she loved it. He made a bunch of ‘em, and this one was the last one he made before he died. His latest ‘n greatest, as the sayin’ goes.” He injected his thoughts again, reaching down with his tongue to place the tiny little metal oval on my side. My skin immediately began to ripple and flow, moving out of the way of the little machine. My coat actually opened up around it, revealing the muscle and throbbing veins underneath as I watched on in horror. The little drop of metal with its tiny little glowing lights and whizzing gears dropped down through the muscle like it was nothing more than air, and the skin sealed shut like nothing happened. I felt a sudden fatigue rush over me, and I could barely keep my head upright to stare at the perfect patch of skin. I set my head down on the bristly carpeting and panted. I couldn’t think about the Doctor, Luna, Sebastian, Antony, or anything. All I could do was just lie there and pant. Slim took the opportunity to place his tongue back into his mouth, working his jaw as he did so.
“Y’see, Five, Mr. Puxley never did give his daughter the Puxley-F Engine for her own personal use. He discovered somethin’ dangerus, somethin’ not quite right about it. Y’see, It would take away all the energy that ya ever took out of the Stream, or the Creek, or whatever it is yew pale little monsters call it, and put it right back where it came from. He thought that it might be dangerous, so he hid it away in a tiny lil box. So, right about now, I reckin, yer jes’ an Earth pony that has gone the past four or five days with roughly twelve hours of sleep and a few hoof-fulls of confectshinrey.” He said. I could not even talk, couldn’t even move, so I just lied there like a sack of potatoes, waiting for whatever slim would do next. I could faintly feel the blackened vines writhing around my legs, and I could faintly remember that they were a bad thing. I wiggled my hooves a little bit, and Slim laughed.
“That there is jes’ plain adorable, Five. Y’make me laugh.” Slim chuckled as he spoke, leaning down to grab me. The vines around my legs reached up to his hoof, and they enveloped the limb eagerly. He pulled on the entangled leg, hoisting me up into the air as if I were no more than a pile of feathers. He held me above his head, cocked his leg, and hurled me against the opposite wall. I slammed into the wooden walls, nearly breaking through the wall to the opposite side if it weren’t for the stud that I collided with, bruising my shoulder. I fell down to the ground unceremoniously with a loud gasp. My legs were balanced precariously above me, still trapped in the magical vines. I could not think about this for even a second before Slim grabbed me again and hurled me across the once-sophisticated barroom. I collided with the flaming piano on the small stage in a terrible, deafening cacophony of strings. I could feel something that was like a strong blow on my shoulder, and the watery clang of a bell. I clenched my teeth with the pain, trying not to moan. My legs were now pointing towards Slim, and I could see him and his crooked stetson walking towards me. I was afraid. I didn’t want to die. I still had things to do. I couldn’t die. I needed to live. Slim ascended the stage, and placed a hoof on the vines that were keeping me imprisoned. He pulled me closer to him so he could whisper in my ear
“Ah’m gunna enjoy this, Five. You’ve bin a thorn ‘n our side long enough.” He spoke softly, snalking his tongue out to touch the tip of my ear. I shrunk away from his touch, shivering. He snarled and hurled me away from him. I closed my eyes, awating the impact that would elongate my suffering, that would compound upon my tortures, and drag me ever closer to death’s door. I opened my eyes. I could see reality bending around me, straight stone lines curving as if they were only drawn on paper, tables and chairs folding in on themselves as if they were only the imaginings of an abstractionist. I saw linear space bend and curve, noting a haunting familiarity to something I once experienced, but something my exhausted mind could not account for. Space moved itself so that I was once more facing Slim. I was about to collide with him when he reached a hoof back and threw it into my chest. I could feel all of my breath run out of me immediately, and I tried to gulp, but nothing happened. I was immediately flying backwards, looking at Slim smiling after me. I felt sad that I would die here. It was not as if I deserved life as a pony. This world was far too good for people like me. I didn’t really need to live through another life. So many only lived through one. I got two. Lucky me. I could see Slim suddenly get angry, as if something was not going his way. I heard a familiar noise, and I could see Slim reach out with a hoof for me. I fell through the air, away from him, unable to do anything at all. I suddenly landed on something hard. Looked back at Slim, and I could see him flying through the air trying to get me. I could vaguely see two pale white doors close, shutting him out of my sight. I could hear a strong bang against the doors, and I felt slightly relieved. I looked above me to see the round things on the wall of the Tardis. 
“Safe...” I whispered. I closed my eyes and smiled. I enjoyed my happiness for a moment when I felt something clambering over me. I opened my eyes to see the Doctor above me, wearing some kind of shiny metal backpack, with what seemed to be a metal floor buffer attached to it.
“Doctor?” I asked. He did not respond, but produced a shiny syringe. He pulled the cap of it off with his teeth, then jammed the needle straight into my chest. He depressed the plunger, and I immediately felt more alert than before. The Doctor leaned down to my face.
“Adrenaline. I need you awake, Edwin. Can you hear me?!” He nearly shouted. I nodded, suddenly filled with nervous energy. I could feel my hooves shaking a little bit. The Doctor nodded happily, but with a cautious look on his face.
“Good. Can you tell me what Slim did?” He asked slowly, as if I were deaf or elderly. I struggled to think through my sudden burst of energy
“He said... Puxley.” I muttered, still feeling a little bit numb. My head lolled off to the side, looking at an interesting toolbox. The Doctor reached out and slapped my face lightly a few times.
“Edwin, concentrate!” The Doctor said. He looked up at something away from me.
“Marcus! I need you!” The Doctor shouted. I could hear Marcus approaching before I saw him, due to his bulk. Marcus entered my field of vision, looking worried. The Doctor gestured to the vines covering my shaky legs.
“Get rid of these.” The Doctor said, and Marcus’ hooves were immediately surrounded by a green aura. He placed the forehooves on the now docile vines, trying to get rid of them with magic. The Doctor shuffled awkwardly, and I turned to look at him. My right side was facing him, with Marcus working on my hooves. He hoisted the big floor buffer with the opposite hoof. He had a very hesitant look on his face.
“Edwin... This is going to hurt.” He warned, and pressed the floor buffer to my exposed side. It immediately began to whirr and click, and two grasping appendages extended and grasped me with their cold metal lengths. I was extremely worried, and unable to do absolutely anything. My mind was making frightened conclusions. The big machine that the Doctor was using began to beep loudly, in increasing intervals. A shiny metal plunger popped out of the top of it, extending more than it should have. The Doctor hesitated, and pushed down the plunger with his free hoof. I felt an immediate, twising pain in my side, like something grabbed my coat was trying to dry it out like a towel. I clenched my teeth and whimpered, trying not to scream. I could feel the cold, cold metal snake around my lungs and bones and veins, looking for something. It took an excruciating few minutes to find it, and each second of it was torture. I couldn’t stand another minute of the pain. My muscles began to shake from tensing so much in agony. Just when I thought that it would not end, just when I thought that my suffering would be eternal, the freezing invader snaked it’s way out of my body. I cold feel it twist and turn around my insides, making my body shiver. It finally exited my body, and I turned to look at the machine that was my tormentor. There was a small, windowed cylinder on the top of the large plate that grasped me, and suddenly a spurt of blood was splattered over the inside of the windows. I felt horrified, but some morbidly curious part of me made me watch. A faint glowing light appeared, and then a small, bloodspeckled ovoid shape floated out of it. The Doctor pressed a few buttons on the side of the machine, and the arms that were holding me slid and retracted back inside of the machine. He shrugged off his backpack, and he clamped his hooves on the small cylinder. He rotated the capsule with his hooves, and it immediately clicked, and he pulled it off of the main body of the machine. I felt slightly energized when he did this. I couldn’t stand, but I wasn’t shaking anymore. I sniffed, and I could smell something wonderful. I craned my neck to look around the Tardis, and my head was immediately grabbed by two dark blue hooves. I had no time to say anything before my face and muzzle was peppered with kisses.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again!” Luna said between attacks, and I smiled.
“Luna.” I stated hoarsely, trying to ward away the adoration with my nose, but it only encouraged more. I started to cough a little, and Luna settled down next to me and cradled my head with her forehooves. I could smell the faint scent of oranges getting slightly stronger. I could feel one of my hooves become free, and I reached up with it to touch Luna’s face. She looked down at me with a sad smile on her face. She looked as if she was about to say something, but I placed a hoof over her lips.
“Shh...” I said softly, and she leaned down to my head. She buried her face in my mane and whimpered.
“I’m never leaving you alone again, Ed.” She whispered. I hummed happily. 
“Let’s hope so.” I said. She began to shake, and I could hear her whimpers become a little louder. I snaked my hoof around her neck and began to rub her.
“Shh, Luna... It’s okay...” I said. She started to hyperventilate.
“I almost lost you, Ed.” She said. I continued stroking down her neck, started with her pale blue hair, and going down to between her shoulders.
“I’m fine, Luna...” I said, trying to calm her down.
“I can’t stand it, Ed. I can’t just let you run off and be in danger all of the time. You could die. I... I would never be the same.” She said. I could feel her shake, and I felt terribly that I was the cause. 
“I’ll do better, Luna.” I said. She sniffled, and pulled herself out of my hair, and she shifted her body so we were looking each other in the eyes.
“You will.” She said, and then looked up. 
“Doctor.” She commanded haltingly.
“Princess?” He responded.
“Take us to Him.” She said, placing special emphasis on the word ‘Him’. I could hear the Doctor huff and stomp his hooves.
“But Princess! I was saving him for later! I was going to bring Edwin to him on Ed’s birthday! I thought it would be a nice sur-”
“Doctor. This is not a debate.” She said sternly, with a trace of her earlier tears audible in her words.
“Bloody hell, Ed. It was going to be the best first birthday ever. But not now! No, now we’ll probably have to go to a fancy dinner on one of those stuffy canterlot resturaunts. I do detest them, detest them with a passion. They often serve pears with their hors d’ordurves. I loathe pears, they're just so-” The Doctor continued to hurl his distastes down from his pulpit, denoting how many different ways that pears were disgusting, even going so far as to say that some strange and perverse Deity collected all of the most undesirable traits of a fruit and jammed it all into one jumbled and oftentimes green package. I let him continue in silence, listening to the welcoming watery noise of the Tardis, watching Luna’s pale blue hair bounce slightly. The noise of the Tardis finally came to a halt, and I sighed.
“Once more unto the breach, Mister Shell.” The Doctor said. I immediately grimaced. 
“If there is anything on the other side of that door other than a bushel of peaches, a stack of warm towels, and a large bed, I’m going to garrote you, Doctor.” I said. The Doctor laughed, stepping over me to push the door open. He paused slightly.
“I am confident that I will not die when I open this door because of two things. One, that you cannot garrote something very well without hands. Two, that you will enjoy and treasure what I am about to give so much that you will forget all of your Equuicidal thoughts towards me and simply be in awe.” He said, and leaned over to push the door. It slid out with a nearly silent motion, revealing the most amazing thing that I have ever seen in any of my lives.
> 34: of Teachers and Hooves
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 34

I leaned up to an awkward sitting position, looking at the amazing view outside of the tardis. Luna did not let me go, but continued to hold me. I could feel her hooves tighten slightly.
“He’s so big.” I gasped, trying to stand. Luna held me back.
“Patience, Ed. Let the Doctor talk to him. He’s dangerous when he wants to be.” Luna reasoned, whispering in my ear. The Doctor smiled, noticing my eagerness to see the creature and the appropriateness of Luna’s comment.
“Be back in a few.” The Doctor said, leaping out of the Tardis. I finally noticed where we were. The black landscape, interspersed with glinting white patches, told me where in Equestria I was. Or, as the truth would have it, where in Equestria I wasn’t.
“The binary system of Sigmus.” Marcus said behind me. I turned to see him sitting in a strange chair that I had not noticed before, upholstered with worn beige leather with buttons and switches on the arm rests. I was surprised, and let it show on my face.
“The twin stars of Septimus and Culaan, orbited in turn by twelve nameless planets, only one of which holds life. Or, at least, it held life.” Marcus said, inspecting one of his hooves.
“Which one was inhabited?” I asked. Marcus tilted his hoof so he was looking down the front of his leg instead of the back.
“This one, Sigmus Five, if you could even call it habitation. A few colonies of insects, a few clumps of lichen. It was nothing special, but in few million years it might have evolved into the equuanoid live that you and I are so familiar with.” Marcus explained. I let that little blip of information stew in my head. I was about to open my mouth, but Luna asked the next question.
“What... What happpened to it?” She asked in a strong voice, but it still had hints of her earlier sadness.
“About...” Marcus paused, and tapped a few buttons on the arm rest of his chair. A screen that was usually stationary on the console moved out on a slender metal arm to face Marcus. He leaned forward and squinted as he looked at it. “Two-thousand years ago, there was some kind of planet-wide disaster that destroyed just about everything here. The atmosphere, the soil, and the life. The Doctor has done a few studies himself, and is suspect that there may be a few underground settlements of multi-cellular organisms may remain, but he is doubtful. The Tardis’ own computing banks have little information to offer on the cause of the disaster. That makes me think that it is not extra-planetary in nature, but also due to the hyper-orbital tracking simulations that say that there has been no major collisions with other planets or planetoids, which are the only things that have enough mass to be the cause of such a cataclysm.” Marcus concluded, reaching up with a hoof and gently pushing the screen away from him. It glided gently back to the central console. Marcus turned to me.
“I, for one, am of the opinion that it was-”
“Marcus, that is more than enough.” A heartily offended voice said behind me. I turned and saw the Doctor with an angry look on his face. I twisted my body to look back at Marcus, and saw him looking very sheepish.
“What do you say?” The Doctor asked, in the tone of one scolding their child.
“I’m... I’m very sorry for bypassing the isomorphic nature of your controls and compromising the secrecy of your private studies.” Marcus recited very somberly, but with an air of tediousness, as if this was something that had happened before. The Doctor looked satisfied.
“Good. Let’s hope that this never happens again and that I won’t have to lock my console whenever I leave you alone in it. ” He said sternly. I smiled lightly, but then the Doctor turned down to look at me.
“It’s time for you to see him.” The Doctor said. I gulped, and turned to Luna. She looked encouraging, but I was still rather frightened.
“C-Can Luna come too?” I asked. The Doctor chuckled lightly
“What kind of pony would I be if I said no?” The Doctor said, and gestured to the outside of the Tardis. I got up shakily with Luna’s help, and I looked at her to bolster my confidence.
“What if he doesn’t like me?” I whispered. Luna smiled.
“You’ll do fine, Ed. One step at a time.” She said with a motherly inflection, and we started to walk out of the Tardis. It was mechanical, the way that I walked. Luna by my side was the only thing that kept me from turning tail and running for my life. Luna and I kept walking towards him, and I could feel the warmth radiating off of him in waves like an extremely hot summer day. I looked up in the sky, and I could see the two stars of crimson and cobalt spinning each other into teardrops. They were so far away, nothing like the Equestrian sun.
“Things are different here.” Luna said. I looked away from the sky to look at her.
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a moon here, orbiting the planet. I can’t control it. It’s independent.” She said with a hushed tone of disbelief.
“Is that a bad thing?” I inquired in the same tone, turning my face but not my eyes toward Luna. She unfurled a wing and hugged me with it, pulling me closer.
“I don’t know. It makes me feel strange.” She said, shivering. I moved closer to her so that our sides were touching, and walked towards the mysterious being.
“You can stop there.” He said in a gigantic rumbling voice, sounding like a rockslide. I shivered, the weight of the voice pressing down on me. Needless to say that Luna and I stopped in our tracks immediately.
“Wh- Who are you?” I asked tentatively. The gigantic creature stirred, lifting his head to look at us.
“I have many names.” He said simply, hiding his head behind his enormous body. I waited for him to elaborate, but he did nothing.
“What should I call you?” I asked, trying to back away from the creature. The beast made a grumble that sounded like laughter.
"Teacher.” He said, not showing his head again. I looked at Luna, and she just shrugged.
“Why would I call you that?” I asked. The thing just chuckled with his rumbling voice.
“The last time I was in Equestria it was respectful to call your teacher by their title. Have things changed so much in the past two days?” He rumbled with a faint sarcastic tone. I was still trying to get away from the creature as fast as my hooves would let me, but Luna would have none of it.
“But- You haven’t taught- Me anything!” I said, trying to make Luna let me go. She was shooting daggers at me, with her hoof wrapped around mine so I could not move away. I suddenly stopped struggling and watched in terror as the creature unfurled itself. I shivered as it’s long, slender neck reached for me. It looked at me with it’s bright red eyes with a slight expression of surprise.
“You... You are like me.” He said, reaching out with a slender white hand to touch me. I stiffened, and Luna squeezed my arm. A long, thin talon came to rest right under my chin. It suddenly turned my head to the left, then to the right, then up, then down. I was deathly afraid of him, and could barely stand to be in such contact with him. He turned his hand so that the palm was facing up.
“May I, Princess?” He asked, trying to sound as polite as possible.
“I don’t own Ed.” She said, The creature smiled, showing row after row of dangerously sharp teeth.
“He might disagree with you about that.” He retorted, turning to me with his brow raised, obviously expecting some kind of answer.
“I’m hers.” I whispered. He immediately curled his neck back, making scary shouting noises into the sky. I tried to run away again, but Luna tightened her grip around my left foreleg.
“He’s only laughing. You don’t have to be so afraid.” She whispered into my ear.
“I can’t help it.” I whispered back, and the creature leveled his head back down to look at me.
“You are afraid of me. Why.” He said. I gulped.
“You are a Dragon, Teacher.” I whispered, my voice shaking. I could feel him lean closer, and I could feel his hot breath on my hair.
“Many things are more dangerous than I, but you do not fear them. Why me?” He inquired further. I gulped again.
“I-”
“Look at me when you answer. I will not tolerate cowardice.” He said sternly, and I slowly looked up at him. His head was only a few feet away from my head.
“I do not like dragons.” I said unsteadily, staring at his chin. The scales pointed down away from the body there, like some strange equivalent of facial hair.
“I am sorry to hear. Let me try to console you by saying that I do not intend on making you a meal.” He said with sincerity. I looked at his outstretched hand, by far much larger than I, and I sheepishly stepped up to it. I tensed my legs on the scaly floor as it was raised into the air, with the head of the dragon following my ascent.
“You are very lucky.” He said. I looked at him in surprise.
“Why?” I asked, not even stopping to be afraid.
“Any normal pony would not stop to agree with me.”
“I’ve never been a normal pony.” I remarked, my speech vitrified. The nameless dragon smiled again.
“She is beautiful, if you happen to be a member of the species.” He explained, with the cool observance of a scientist in regards to an experiment. I blushed and looked down at my hoof. It was a big mistake, because I could feel vertigo set in as I saw the tiny outline of Luna on the ground. I gulped and looked back up at the smiling dragon.
“You two make, dare I say it, a cute couple.”
“Thanks.”
“When is the wedding?” He asked. I started to sputter, not expecting such a question,
“Oh, we- That is to say- I mean-” The dragon stopped my stammering by waving one of his hands at me dismissively.   
“I assumed. It was ignorant of me, and I should have made sure of the validity of my belief before asking such a forward question. I am sorry.” He explained. I was starting to feel dizzy.
“Please don’t drop me.” I whispered.
“Do not worry. I will do no such thing.” He said formally. “Do you know why you are here?” He inquired.
“No.” I asked. The smile on the deadly face immediately turned into a frown.
“You are here because your instruction on the Flow, its manipulation, and the subtleties of those who use it have been lax. Actually, your instruction has been close to none at all, which is a problem indeed.” He explained.
“And you intend on teaching me?” I asked. He nodded, his great head moving many feet up and down.
“Yes. In Equestria, it was my duty to instruct the neophytes about the Flow, and to make sure that they did not injure themselves. Clearly, in the latter part of my duties, I have been negligent, but in the former part, I hope that I will be successful.” He rumbled eloquently, his voice making my bones shiver.
“What is your name, Teacher?” I asked, already having a sneaking suspicion of what the name may be.
“My name is Alucard. And yours?” He asked. I gulped. I could feel my legs shake lightly. “I will not eat you, if that is what you are so worried about.” He responded quickly, most likely noticing my legs.
“No.” I said. Alucard made a big whumph, exhaling in almost a snort.
“I have a title. I expect to be addressed thus.” He reprimanded sternly.
“No, Teacher.” I said, staring at the odd collection of scales on his chin. He smiled and made a happy vibrating noise that made my teeth feel odd.
“Good. Please, tell me your name.” He said.
“Edwin.” I said, suddenly remembering that he was a dragon. Every clack of his teeth, every snick of his inner eyelid closing, every humid exhalation made me want to run away screaming. My pony instincts were urging, pleading with me to get away from this dangerous predator. My mind knew that he would not kill me, but that did not change the fact that I was struck with a cold sweat, my legs were shaking almost uncontrollably, and my mouth was unusually dry. I gulped, and Alucard sighed. Or, at least the dragon equivalent of a sigh, which was a long rumbling exhale.
“Would you feel any better if I were to place you back on the ground? He asked. I nodded, unable to speak calmly. I felt the artificial air of the Tardis’ air shield fly past me immediately, with the wonderful sensation of a controlled fall accompanying me. A few exhilarating seconds later, I opened my eyes to see the scorched landscape. I jumped off of Alucard’s hand and trotted as fast as I politely could to Luna, who was making a little sculpture out of the blackened sediment of the planet. It was a little hill, and I walked up slowly to see her innocently continue. She did as such for a few minutes, not noticing me. I cleared my throat after a while to get her attention, and her head shot up to look at me. I had the pleasure of watching her face go from blank surprise to caring joy, and my heart leapt in my chest. I walked over to her side wordlessly, edging my way around the tiny hill, and sat down by her side. She was staring at the dragon, so I took my chance to kiss her cheek. She immediately blushed and looked down at her hooves. I edged my hoof over to hers, placing mine around the blue limb. I heard the most unusual sound that sounded like grinding gears, and looked back up at Alucard. He was watching the two of us with a strange fascination. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. He tried again to say something, and was a slight bit more successful the second time.
“Tell me about how the two of you met. I find social relationships to facilitate felicity in myself, and would like to know more about how the two of you came to be if I can truly understand why Edwin wants to learn how to defend his loved ones.” He said, elongating his body so that he was lying supine, with his gigantic head a safe distance away from the two of us. I looked at Luna, and she gestured for me to go first.
“Well, I met Luna,” I said, jostling her playfully, eliciting a small giggle, “My first night in the Royal Estate. She asked me who I was and spent the entire night crying on my shoulder.” I said. Luna raised a hoof to smack me playfully on the chest.
“It wasn’t anywhere near all night! Moonrise was almost four hours before that.” She said smugly. I laughed, turning back to Alucard.
“Well, she comes to me the next day apologizing, and I guilt her into taking me out on a date. She later came to call it-”
“Take your Numbered to work day.” We said in synchrony. I said it with a humorous air, while she said it tiredly, with a happy sigh at the end. I smiled. looking at her. She looked back at me with a lazily happy gaze. We stared at each other for a while, and were interrupted by a low rumbling growl. I turned to look at Alucard, with closed eyes, a smile on his face, and wisps of smoke curling out of his nostrils. He sat like that for a little bit, but then he opened his large red eyes at looked at Luna.
“And what of you, Princess?” He inquired with his throaty rumble. Luna seemed rather shocked that he would ask that question.
“What of me?” She questioned. He made a wheezy exhalation that could be passed as a laugh.
“Tell me how you met Edwin. I am quite sure that your account will differ slightly from his.” Alucard reasoned, and there was a slightly strange logic to his words. Luna smiled.
“My first time meeting Edwin was extremely different from his first time meeting me.” Luna said, her tone hinting of a story withheld.
“Oh?” Alucard asked, his eyes perking slightly. I smiled, already knowing the story.
“Yes. You see, I met Edwin during my period of banishment on the moon. I-”
“Princess, how could that possibly be?” Alucard asked shyly. Luna made an amused humph.
“The Doctor is a strange pony, even to you.” Luna reasoned, and Alucard’s sharp smile seemed to grow even wider, an I gluped.
“Quite right, quite right. Please, continue.” He said, and Luna did exactly that.
“I must impress upon you how extremely lonely and hard life was on the moon. No air other than what I could make with magic made it a struggle to survive, and sleep was almost always a luxury. I was watching odd weather forming in northern Equestria when the Doctor showed up for one of his regular visits...” Luna trailed off, her gaze listing to the side. There was an incomprehensible emotion behind those eyes that made me frown. It was like the sadness upon discovery that you could not solve a puzzle that you put a considerable amount of time into. She swallowed, and then plunged back into her exposition.
“How I treasured those visits, Alucard. They were the only thing keeping me sane in an entire world of grey and dust. That wondrous Doctor with his amazing Tardis. He would tell me stories, amazing stories that would make the coat shiver right off of your back... It was a joy when he came to me. I loved his visits. It reminded me of my childhood, when Tia and I would awake to find the blue box out in the fields... But this visit, this visit was very different. You see, he brought a pony with him. A colt. He was a tall pony, with amazing white fur and jet black mane. He was strong. He had power, I could smell it in him. He was very different. He flew with no wings, he made magic where there was none. He looked me in the eyes and told me that he was taking me home.” She said, her voice growing excited. I was so enraptured by her narration  that I had stopped watching Alucard’s reaction and was staring at Luna. She was so happy.
“He colthandled the Doctor into letting me into the big blue box. It was my first time inside of the box, and I was so excited. They even had a couch! I missed couches so much on the moon. They are so comfortable! We shared popcorn and laughed while I was waiting to go home. I couldn’t wait to go back home and tell Tia how sorry I was. All I wanted was for her to hold me and tell me that everything was going to be alright. But...” She said, her enraptured joy suddenly marred by a strange fear. I was confused for a moment, but the bottom dropped out of my stomach when I remembered.
“The last thing that I could remember happening was the Doctor shouting something. Then it was just all pain. I hurt so much. Everything was so cold. I could see him, the amazing white colt, standing over me and screaming for me to live. He was so sad and I was so tired. I finally closed my eyes.” She said, hunched over and covering herself with her wing. I got up and walked over to her side and snaked my strong white legs around her. She immediately relaxed, and shuffled her wing so that I was protected by it too.
“I remember waking up. He was lying next to me, barely breathing. It was a grassy glade that I remember from being alive the first time. I thought that it was the afterlife for a while, but then I saw the Doctor. He told me everything that happened, everything that that strong colt did, everything. I saw him like he was. He would do and did everything that was in his power to protect me from anything that wished me harm. He even snagged me from the cold clutches of Death to save me.” She said, rising again to her full height.
“From that point on, I knew that he was the one for me.” She concluded.    
> 35: of Foam and Baths
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 35

I said nothing when Luna finished her story. I only squeezed her tighter, treasuring her for what she was to me. Everything. Life without Luna was a life not worth living, as I have experienced before. I could feel her warm body around my forelegs, gently rising and falling with her breaths. Her familiar orange scent assuaged my mind, washing away my troubles. I could feel Luna’s wing tighten around me, the extremely strong spines of her feathers grasping me like long fingers, and her down tickled me softly. It was wonderful, and for a moment, I felt completely enraptured for an amazing moment. The wings, the smell, and the feel of Luna was absolutely amazing, and she was truly a world unto herself. I could be with Luna for the next century and not know everything that I could about her, and that was the only way that I wanted it to be. I could finally let go of her after a moment of just holding her close. I pulled my hooves from around her, but one of them snagged on her collar-thing that she always wore when she had to do anything official, like walk or breathe. I fumbled, trying to keep from falling over because of my tangled hoof.
“I’m sorry Luna, I-” I said hurriedly, but she turned her face and kissed me. She pressed me closer to her with her wing as she kissed me. It was a long, drawn out, passionate thing. She was the aggressor, but I soon reciprocated in kind. We went on like that, with my hoof still snagged and her wing around me, when I heard a strange cough. I tried to extricate myself from the embrace, but Luna stretched her neck so that I had to pull away, gasping for breath. I could see Alucard in front of us, looking rather embarassed. I turned from him, to Luna with her now-purple cheeks, and then back to Luna.
“I love it when you blush.” Luna said, looking at me with a knowing stare. I could feel my ears tingle as she spoke. I reached up with my hoof to rub the blush out of my face. I could feel it work, but Luna started laughing.
“Ed,” She said between bouts of laughter “Look at your hooves!” She finished. I looked down at my hooves.
“Oh no.” I said. my hooves were pitch black from the strange sediment on the planet, and I just rubbed it all over my face. I looked over to Alucard, who looked very pitying. 
“I will summon the Doctor. You can go home for now, and I will send for you tomorrow.” Alucard said, closing his eyes. He rose to his full height, and held one of his enormous hands open with the palm facing upward. His brow wrinkled, and I could see some strange sparks over his upturned hand, sputtering and fizzing. I suddenly felt a debilitating, huge burst of magic. I felt my knees shake and wobble as I could see a shadowy form begin to take shape. It wavered and shook like a tuning fork would, the vibrating lines slowly converging and intersecting, their erethral planes and underlying geometry unifying into the same space. I watched in awe as Luna dried a tear from her eye, still laughing slightly. The lines and angles shivered once more before before suddenly snapping into linear time and geometric space. Alucard’s hand hid what he summoned at first, but it gently lowered to reveal the Tardis. I watched the blue box as Alucard gently picked it up with three fingers from his other hand and set it down on the ground.
“How did you do that, Teacher?” I wondered aloud, completely in awe.
“The Flow, or Aethr as it was taught ages ago, can connect Ghosts together across the most extreme distances. It is a simple matter to connect two places instead of two Ghosts, and bring something through the space.” Alucard backed away from us after that, turning to the panorama of the sky and the setting Soulanis and Culaan.
“You have twelve hours to do as you please. Your first lesson will begin shortly after, and I expect you to be rested, uninjured, and prepared.” he said, and spread his wings. The crinkly white skin spread across the frame of his bones, catching the air with the billowing membrane. He flapped once, and the air exploded, forcing wind under him with a deafening roar. He flapped once more, and he launched himself into the sky. I was staring at him, flying off into the distance, wondering where he could possibly go.
“Maybe he has a house.” I muttered to myself. Luna perked up from her after-laugh laziness and looked at me.
“What?” She asked, either not noticing or ignoring the tardis.
“I was thinking about Alucard.” I explained. Luna nodded, getting up from the ground.
“He probably has something out here. But I can’t imagine what, or even why he would need it. It’s not as if it would rain on him here.” She said, shivering a little bit. I walked closer to her, and she met me the rest of the way. I noticed the entire bottom half of her was covered in the black ash.
“You need a bath.” I said. She looked back at me with a smirk.
“I think that we need a bath, Ed.” She said playfully, and my ears started to tingle again.
“Um...”
“Oh, be quiet Edwin. It isn’t unheard of for couples in Equestria to take baths together.” She reasoned. I felt extremely embarrassed.
“Uh-” I said, but Luna started to walk up to the Tardis.
“Come on, Ed. We’ll go get something to eat, then you’re getting a bath.”
“I’m not too sure a-” I started to say, but her retort was the was the opening and closing of the tardis door. I sighed and walked up to the door, pushing it open with a sooty hoof. I was immediately treated to a wailing alarm and the Doctor holding a fire extinguisher with his mouth. There was a small fire on one of the console wedges, and he was waving the fire extinguisher around while it spewed white foam everywhere. I immediately rushed up to the Doctor, who looked like an epileptic rodent. I took the fire extinguisher from him with magic and aimed it expertly at the fire, squeezing the handle. It immediately sputtered and a whole lot of nothing came out of the end. I threw it aside, looking for another fire extinguisher. I turned to the Doctor, and he just looked around frantically. I stared at him incredulously as he searched.
“I only have the one!” He finally shouted from the inside of a pile of rubber flanges.
“What?! You have more wrenches than there are hooves in Equestria, but you only have one fire extinguisher?!” I shouted. The Doctor flung his back hooves around, trying to extricate himself from the pile
“Toggle the blue button on the furthest console wedge from the door!” The Doctor shouted, still trying to escape from his rubbery confines. I ran over to the side of the console that the Doctor indicated, and there were no less than nine blue buttons, all arranged haphazardly across the back-lit console.
“Which one?!” I screamed to the ceiling. The fire raged on, and the Doctor yelled wordlessly.
“I forget! Try them all!” He shouted after recovering from his frustration. I growled angrily and hopped up onto the ledge that bordered the console. I mashed my hooves into all the blue buttons, and they all did a very large amount of nothing at all. I finally came to one button, a small blue triangle, that would not press. I mashed my hooves harder, and it stubbornly would not cooperate. I turned away from it, trying to find something to force the button. I found Luna levitating a sledgehammer with a smile. I kissed her for being so brilliant, took the hammer away from her with magic, and swung it at the button. It made a satisfying click. I saw a small nozzle pop out of one of the round things on the walls, and it began to shoot out a yellow foam. It landed on the flaming console in question and expanded, consuming the flame. Needless to say, much of the foam landed on things that were not on fire, such as wrenches, the floor, and innocent bystanders. I turned to Luna as we were being covered in the sticky yellow foam, smiling at her.
“Hey Luna.” I asked.
“Yes, Ed?” She said
“I’ll take you up on that bath now.”

The Doctor dropped us off near the baths in the Palace, with much grumbling about all of the cleaning that he would have to do. The bad thing was that the foam started out sticky, but then it expanded and hardened, looking very silly. The Doctor laughed at us and called us ‘Slitheen’, which I could not get him to explain for the life of me. He stopped me as we were exiting the Tardis. Luna continued to the baths, not wanting to stop for anything.
“Edwin, here.” He said, proffering a small, dark purple bottle. I looked at it questioningly through my foam mask that I managed to poke eye holes through before it hardened completely.
“What is it?” I asked, picking it up with magic.
“Solvent. It should help to get rid of the foam.” He said uncertainly, and pushed me out of the Tardis. I turned back to look at him, but the door was already closed. I did not want to be noticed either, so I hurried as fast as I could to the door that Luna went through. Sadly, I did not reach my goal before I was caught.
“Captain Shell!” A voice shouted behind me. A small, ironic part of my brain wanted to congratulate the pony for recognizing me through my foam guise. I turned slowly to face the pony, cracking some of the foam around my neck. It was Lieutenant Pix, with her white and purple mane waving from underneath her silver helm. I smiled awkwardly, trying to figure out why she was approacing me.
“Captain, I would like to inform you that we have found Lieutenant Ryo.” She said. 
“You are very good at finding things. Where was he?” 
“Sleeping in his bed. It seems that the impostor gave him some sedative the night before. He could remember nothing.” Pix said. I thought of Sebastian, and I was all too sure that she was fully able to convince a colt to do something that she wanted him to. I felt slightly sorry for Ryo for being seduced against his will, but I didn’t want to linger on it for much longer.
“Ah. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go now.” I said, turning away from the dark pink pony.
“Captain?” She asked, and I turned back to her somewhat annoyed.
“Lieutenant?”
“Why are you going into the Mare’s baths?” She asked. I grimaced. It was a particularly hard question to answer truthfully without revealing the relationship between Luna and I, which I was almost certain was not public knowledge
“There is somepony waiting for me in there, and I do not wish to keep them waiting for very much longer.” I said, and turned away from Pix once again.
“Sir, forgive me for saying, but that is extremely improper!” She nearly shouted. I turned back to her again.
“What?” 
“If you are indeed doing what I think you are about to do, It is something done on the confines of ones’ private quarters, and certainly not something done with a subordinate!” She said. I smiled and watched her face turn even pinker.
“What makes you think that she is a subordinate?” I asked.
“You are in charge of everypony. There is no way that she cannot be.”
“I assure you that I am only going in there for a bath, and that the mare in question is not a subordinate.” I reasoned, extremely tired. Pix seemed to grow even more indignant.
“Bringing a private citizen into the Palace for anything other than official business is most certainly not allowed! Forgive me, Captain, but I must send word to one of the Princesses at once!” She said. I smiled, proud of her blind adherence to the rules but also because of the  humor of my next statement. I pushed open the door to the bath, smiling.
“Would you like to tell one of them yourself?” I asked playfully. I saw the angry blush fall out of the Lieutenant’s face.
“Who is it, Ed?” Luna asked loudly from inside of the room.
“Nothing, I’ll be back in a minute.” I said, closing the door. Lieutenant Pix seemed completely flabbergasted.
“You- Her- What-” She managed to say before I got over to her with my foam encrusted body to explain quietly.
“You of all ponies, Lieutenant, know the value of being able to keep a secret. I am quite sure you would not like to have your personal life hung up for all to see like so much laundry. I am the same way, and I would appreciate it if you could keep this between you and I.” I pleaded in a low voice. Pix just sputtered a little bit, trying to find something to say. I smiled as best as I could with my foamface while I waited for her to find her tongue
“Does Princess Celestia know?” She asked.
“Yes.” I replied. Pix seemed to relax, and she did not look as stressed as she did a moment before. She reached up with a hoof to her mouth and coughed.
“Well, Captain. I must go now. The forward Second requires my attentions.” Pix said, turning and trotting down the hall. I sighed. It had been a long day, and all I could think about now was sleep, Luna, and peaches. I opened the door and walked into the room, knowing that at least one of the three was within reach. I looked around the room. It wasn’t very large, but it would have been under the category of small swimming pool when I was a human. There were stained glass windows high up on the ceilings, depicting scenes from what I assumed to be Equestrian history, letting in a colored light. I looked at the pool. The water was steaming, but there was nothing in it. I turned my head to see Luna to the left of me. She took of her tiara, necklace, and shoes earlier, and they were in a little neat pile next to her.
“Why aren’t you in the pool?” I asked. She gestured to one of the foam blobs.
“They make you float.” She said grumpily. I smiled and floated the bottle of solvent that the Doctor gave me over to her. She picked it up with magic herself, looking at it questioningly.
“Rub it on the foam, it’s supposed to make it go away.” I said. Luna opened the bottle and drizzled some on the foam. It immediately started to fizzle and dissolve. She repeated this again on the other globs of foam, and soon she was completely foam-free. She gave the bottle to me and lowered herself carefully into the bath, moving from the shallow end to the deep end, with only her head above the water. I hurried to get rid of all the foam so that I could join her, then I tore off the armor that I had been wearing this whole time. I  cursed myself for forgetting the helm back in the Blue Alicorn. I joined her in the water. The pool was steamy, and it was also extremely warm. I grinned, eyes closed, as I slid into the hot water. I could feel all of my clenched muscles relax, with all of my stress seemingly flowing away. I sunk down lower and leaned back so that only my nose and eyes were above the water.
“This feels great.” I mumbled, paddling with my hooves to keep above the water. It worked surprisingly well, so I just contented myself with doing that for a while. I felt more relaxed than at any time ever during my life in Equestria. I sighed happily, deciding to set my hooves down in the shallows. I hunkered down, opened my eyes, and looked for Luna. It was a quick search, because I found her sitting on the edge of the pool preening a wing with her mouth.
“Hi Luna.” I said. Luna took a particularly bent feather out of her mouth to look at me. Her eyes were happy, which made me happy too.
“You look adorable when you’re wet.” She said, her voice seductive. I could see her cheeks turn purple.
“I look adorable doing everything, don’t I?” I asked. Luna giggled a little bit.
“Sometimes more than others.” She said, and I stood up, rising from the water. I cracked my neck, and was satisfied to feel several cracks and pops. I saw Luna cringe as this happened.
“Edwin, that’s terrible for your neck.” She admonished. I blushed a little bit, looking down at my hoof. The water made it wavy and distorted. “Come help me preen my wing and I’ll help you with your back. It must be killing you right now.” She said, and I looked up to her. She was holding her right wing out. I smiled and climbed out of the pool, walking up to the wing in question. I looked at it for a moment.
“What exactly do you want me to do?” I asked. 
“Take the bent feathers and straighten them out with your mouth.” She said. 
“Why don’t you just use magic?” I asked, taking one of the long flight feathers into my mouth. It tasted weird, like an old blanket, but it smelled great. Luna’s smell did not diminish when she was soaked.
“Because it is safer. I might do something wrong and rip out the feather instead of straighten it, which is rather painful.” She said, and returned to the feather in front of her. We worked together to straighten out the feathers, and I soon found out that Luna had ticklish wings. The feather I was preening along the spine of the wings was pulled out of my mouth as I grabbed it near the wing shoulder. I was slapped several times with it as Luna was laughing. I watched her fit, waiting for her to finish with a somewhat disgruntled look on my face. She finally stopped a minute or two later, and turned to me, still smiling. She sobered up a little when she saw the pale feather-shaped patterns on my face.
“Sorry.” She said, shrugging and smiling apologetically. 
“Can I have that wing back?” I asked. Luna had finished the other one long before, and I cited my lack of practice preening wings. I reached for the wing, Luna squealed happily and pulled the limb away from me.
“No, Ed! You’ll tickle me!” She said, and bounded away around the pool. I laughed and chased her. She soon started flapping her wings, those extremely soft wings, and seemingly floated into the air. I knew that she was flapping them, but they seemed to glide on the air. I floated up into the air a moment later. We chased each other around the pool a few times, laughing and squealing the whole while.
“I’m going to finish preening that wing and you’re going to love it!” I shouted playfully, and Luna squealed and flapped faster. I grinned and sped up, trying to catch her. I was so close to catching her when the door opened to the baths. I froze in midair, staring at the pony door. Luna, still laughing, completed her circuit around the pool and few right into me, knocking us both into the pool. She grabbed me, trying to kiss me, and I was just staring at the pony in the doorway. Luna noticed me, and stared at me, slightly shocked for a moment.
“What is it, Ed?” She whispered. I said nothing, but kept looking at the door. Luna hesitated, and then turned to face the pony in the door. The pony was not saying anything, but she was crying silently.
“Oh, Tia...” Luna said, getting out of the water. I just stayed there in the water, unsure about what I could do. Luna clumsily got out of the water, and Celestia ran out of the room, sobbing openly.
“Tia, No!” Luna shouted, trying to get to her sister. Her horn glowed for a moment, and she became immediately dry. She ran over to her shoes, trying to get them on.
“Luna, should I-” I started to say, but Luna started shaking her head immediately.
“This is between her and I. You can’t help.” She said. She kicked her shoes off to the side, angry that she could not get them on fast enough, and ran out of the room, shouting for her sister. I just floated there in the water, trying to understand what happened. Celestia was never too happy about Luna and I, but she was never really sad about it. I was actually very surprised at the elder Princess for this reaction. I kept floating for a moment, wanting to understand what was going on between the two of them. If only there was some way for me to know... 
The realization dawned on me. I was a Ghost. I could do anything that I wanted to do, and all I had to do was close my eyes. I immersed myself in the Flow. It’s thrumming power filled me, threatened to burst, but it obeyed my every command. I could feel reality bend slightly to my will, willing to do anything and everything that I ever wished of it. I smiled. I had never been this deep in the Flow before. It frightened me, but there was a perverse sort of excitement about being so close to something so dangerous. I delved deeper, feeling myself becoming one with the energy, until the barrier between Pony and Flow was blurred. I dived, pushing deeper. I suddenly opened my eyes with a gasp. 
I am the Flow.
The Flow is me.
I know all. Lieutenant Ryo was drinking green tea to get rid of a particularly bad hangover. Ensign Breckan of the forward Third was eating a pear. He didn’t like the flavor of it much, but he was hungry. Berry was with her family in Salt Lick City. Her mother was happy to see her. Twilight Sparkle was mixing chemicals in her laboratory. Antony was taking off his armor in the Armory. There was a sunflower in the third-tier courtyard that was being eaten by a particularly bored pony by the name of Mo. He was a green pony and he liked sunflowers. I floated across the scenery. I passed so many ponies, noticing so many things that they themselves would likely never know. One pony had a weak left ventricle. One pony had brittle bones. Yet another pony was pregnant. I smiled. I had never seen a newborn pony, and I would have liked to see one one of these days. I moved on, sliding up the Threads to the upper levels of the Palace, where I knew the Princesses to be. I could not hear them, I had to be close for that. I soon settled in the upper Observatory, in one of the towers. The Princesses were not too far below.
“Tia...” Luna said in a caring voice. I knew that she was stroking her neck, and that Celestia was lying on her favorite pillow because it smelled like Othello. She missed him dearly.
“I can’t help it, Lu-u-u-na!” She said, sobbing over the vowel in Luna’s name.
“I know you miss him, Tia. I do too. He was a gentlecolt, a very nice pony.”
“He was everything...” She said, sobbing. I felt intrigued. I sensed all of Equestria, every lake, stream, ocean, rock, turtle, bug, hose, house, and  everything else that I could possibly think of. My Flow-augmented consciousness could find Othello absolutely nowhere.
“Tia. You remember when You met Othello for the first time?” Luna asked. Celestia nodded.
“I was jealous. He liked you better than me. I was sad for the longest time, but not because I wanted him. I wanted what you had, Tia. I wanted somepony to hold me when the nights got cold. I wanted somepony to hug me when I was sad, love me when I was lonely, and take care of me when I was sick. A pony that I could stay with for the rest of my life. A pony that wouldn’t be afraid of my responsibilities, a pony that could stand his own on the field of Equestrian royalty. A pony strong, attractive, kind, and good at kissing.” Luna said. Celestia laughed a little at the last comment.
“And?” She asked a little bit sniffly after Luna did not respond for a while.
“I found him. Don’t be sad for what you don’t have. Be happy for those that have things. Just because I have Edwin doesn’t make you alone. I’m always here for you whenever you need me, Tia.” Luna said kindly.  Celestia sniffled.
“Really?” She said, turning her neck to look at Luna. She squeezed her pillow just a little bit tighter.
“Really.”
“I love you, Luna. 
“Love you too, Tia.” 
> 36: of Promises and Secrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 36

I exited the conversation, allowing my consciousness to climb high. A hefty heart was what I gained by eavesdropping, as well as a sense of my youth. Luna and Celestia have been together for their entire lives, and I fell right out of the sky into Luna’s lap barely a week ago. I could understand that I was taking up time that would have been originally allocated for Celestia, hence her sadness. Truth be told, Luna was old enough to be my grandmother a thousand times over. But I would live just as long as her if something did not kill me first. I pondered this as I seemingly fell up, allowing my range of hearing to ascend. Being omniscient, it was impossible for me to know more about a certain situation by being physically present. I could comprehend everything, and actually using a physical form was useless. Physical bodies were only vessels of consciousness, and now I was free of my physical body. I suddenly grew a little bit frightened. If I knew everything, if I could be everywhere, if I could do everything, what kept me from never entering my physical body again? It frightened me, and I suddenly sensed my body. It was standing, eyes closed, in the shallow end of the of the Mare’s baths. A mare was actually walking to the baths with a folded towel draped over her back, and I felt amused as I imagined what she would see when she entered the room. A seemingly dead pony, standing in shoulder-deep water, with Princess Luna’s attire lying nearby. I wondered about Twilight when the mare in question screamed and ran for help. I had just enough time to get back to my body and get out of the baths before she came back with help. I quickly checked on Twilight. I was shocked.
Oh no.
I opened my eyes, flinging my head back, flipping my head, gasping for air. I had to get to Twilight. Now. I struggled to get out of the water, trying to lug my dripping tail behind me. I finally got out, scooping my shoulder plate up by the leather straps. I would put it on as I was going up. I rushed out of the door, trying to get my head through the leather straps. I ran through the halls, tracking wet hoofprints all over the lush purple carpet.

“Twilight!” I shouted, banging my hooves on the door to her room. She did not answer. I would have given her the benefit of the doubt and left, but I knew exactly what was going on. 
“Twilight! This is Edwin! Open up!” I shouted again, trying to get her to open the door willingly. She didn’t, so I had to kick it open. I turned around and kicked it open with my hind legs. I walked into the room, suddenly getting a big whiff of something hauntingly familiar. My pupils dilated. My breathing rate rose sharply. I sniffed again. My heart thudded in my chest. My eyes. I could see everything. The air moving in currents. Tiny little droplets of water vapor. The eddies in the air that hinted at an aerosol. I felt slightly happy for Twilight, but I had to make sure that she didn’t hurt herself or anypony else while she was under the influence of ethyl bromoacetate. I looked around the room, trying my best to find her. I shifted my eyes to the left, and I finally found the pony right in my face, with her crazily dilated pupils and her slightly askew mane.
“Edwin!” She said unusually fast. Surprise blossomed on her face, and then faded away just as quickly to be replaced by suspicion. 
“What are you doing here?! You’re letting all of the aerosol out of my testing room!” She said, slightly angry. A normal pegasus or earth pony was dangerous under the influence of ethyl bromoacetate because they could see any attempts to control them before you yourself did, but a Unicorn? I had no experience about how a normal unicorn would react to it. I had to take every precaution possible to make sure that she would not leave the room, interact with other ponies, or hurt herself. She was staring me down, backing me into a corner. I was still dangerously deep in the Flow, so I blinked and removed all of the excess ethyl from the room. My minutes were numbered, then.  Twilight had time to inhale and then later metabolize a much larger dose than I had, with nearly five minutes of exposure compared to my few seconds. I would only be able to contain her unaided for a minute or two, but I theorized that it would take about thirty for her to come off of her symptoms. I could easily keep up with her using the Flow, but I did not want to use it for fear of harming her. The ideal situation was to have a team of four unicorns to create a chamber that could safely detain her for the duration of the dosage. Twilight’s head suddenly burred, and she shot off to the left of me to watch the book fall off of a shelf in seemingly slow motion. It was fascinating, with its pages slowly fluttering open as it fell, revealing the inky black text on the white paper. I was extremely interested by the book, but I had to concentrate. Nothing in this room would kill me. Twilight was physically capable of killing me, but I’m not sure that she couldn't do that on purpose. I tracked back through my thoughts. 	
“Twilight, where are your notes? For making the gas?” I asked, shutting and locking the door that I entered in with magic.
“Book.” She said in a slurred voice because she was speaking so fast, pawing the now-open book on the floor. I left her alone and decided to look for them myself. I turned away from the living area of the lab to the actual lab. Tables covered in beakers, glass instruments, tubing, those metal containers that held compressed gas. I could see a small stack of yellowed papers next to that little brown quill and inkwell that I used to write her the note that started this whole incident. I sighed, trying to find it. I finally found the notes, written in a strangely flowing script. I blinked. The notes suddenly popped out of existence, leaving a lone note fluttering down to the table. It must have been in between some of the other papers that did not exist now. I read it.

Miss Sparkle-	
CH2BrCO2C2H5
-Edwin

I blinked again, and it too popped into that strange realm of not being. I turned back to Twilight. She scared me, because she was literally right in my face. I could feel my small dose of Ethyl leaving me. I didn’t notice her approach
“I can hear you see, Ed. What is this stuff?” She said quickly, with an air of extreme interest. 
“It’s dangerous. You can’t use it again.” I said.
“Then why did you give it to me?” She asked aloofly. I grimaced a little bit, not sure about
what to say about that.
“The Princess told me that you were working on a chemical to increase respiratory capacity. This chemical does that very very well, but I didn’t take into account the side effects, and- Twilight, don’t do that!” I shouted at the very end, because Twilight had hid herself somewhere in the room with her lightning speed. I felt a wave of the Flow rush through me, strengthening my limbs and bolstering my mind. I thought about it for a moment. Twilight could be anywhere in the room right now. There was a tiny little window in the room with wispy curtains, and I could see that it was open. I cursed myself and ran over to the window, looking out of it. I could see nothing except for one of the many gardens jutting out of the Palace. I climbed back inside of the window, shutting it. I walked back to the interior of the room, and plopped myself down. I heard a faint whisper from the Flow, alerting me to Twilight’s presence. She was hiding herself with magic, rendering herself invisible. I suspected that she was keeping her sample of ethyl safe from me.
“I’m not going to destroy it, Twilight. It’s your discovery.” I said, and I felt a flutter of magic as she became visible once more. She looked rather sheepish, holding a graduated flask filled with a translucent pale yellow liquid between her forehooves.
“You promise?” She asked sheepishly.
“Yeah, but only if you do exactly what I tell you to do.” I said. Twilight hesitated a little bit, but then reluctantly agreed.
“Okay.”
“Good. I need to go find one of the Princesses, so you need to do a few things. You need to stay here until a guard named Antony or Princess Celestia comes to see you. You cannot open this door for anypony other than Captain Antony or Princess Celestia. Don’t open that flask Okay?” I asked to clarify. She nodded. I smiled. 
“It’s good to see you again, Twilight.” I said, and then turned to walk out of the door. I nearly fell to the floor, extremely relieved to be away from that situation. I decided to try and see if I could find any food. The one place that was always filled with food was the Dining hall, so I decided to go there. I also decided to walk rather than just blink my way over there, I really needed the interaction with the other ponies in the Palace. I actually passed a few. One pony was just murmuring to himself, with an assemblage of scrolls and quills following behind him like a parade. They were writing something, but I had no idea what. I passed a few other ponies who asked me about Equestrian events, and I was embarrassed to find that my knowledge was very limited. I said what I could, and I inserted opinions that I thought would belong, and it worked out rather well. The ponies that I talked to just smiled politely when they asked my opinions on something. I had a feeling that they didn't quite agree with them. Oh well. Things were like that for me back when I was human, too. I was never registered with any political party, never voted, because I could never find another person who I completely agreed with doctrinally. Back in the real world, the ponies I talked to would excuse themselves, claiming duties in other parts of the Palace. I replied with a pleasantry, and we went along on our separate paths. I finally found myself in front of the colossal wooden doors of the Dining hall. I felt slightly dreamy as I pushed one of them open with my pale hoof. I could immediately tell that something was wrong. There was nopony in the room. Not a single one. The long benches, the clouds, everything. It was completely barren. I walked up to the table, which still seemed to be filled with food, and stopped in my tracks. Spitfire was sitting on my right, on the opposite side of the lead table. There was some odd shape in front of her. She was staring at me intently with her bright red irises.
“How kind of you to join me, Mister Shell. Would you care for some fruit?” The Angelic asked, gesturing with an orange hoof to a nearby bowl of peaches. My mouth began to water, but I could not accept.
“No.” I said stiffly. The Angelic tutted in a warm, masculine voice.
“That’s no way to show appreciation to a Host. Well, I do suppose that it isn’t that necessary for you to indulge. I need you focused.” She said in that strance voice that didn’t match her features, with that horrifyingly articulate mouth with the pointed fangs.
“See, Edwin? I even brought some food so that I would not be tempted to eat you. I consider that to be very accommodating of me, so you should appreciate what I have to say.” The angelic retorted, gesturing downwards with his lips. My stomach heaved as I figured out what it was.
“You... You...” I whispered, trying to find a word sinister enough.
“Monster?” The Angelic supplied, “Abomination? Offence against Nature? Everything must eat to survive, Edwin. Don’t condemn me for having tastes that differ.” He said, leaning down with his head to take a big bite. He grabbed the lower part of the leg with his hoof, stabilizing it as he ripped a big chunk out with his fangs. I could see the cutie mark of a musical note getting torn between the flesh in the mouth and the flesh still on the leg. My stomach lunged into my throat as I watched what was once a pony being eaten before my very eyes. 
“What was their name?” I asked quietly. Spitfire looked up at me, her red irises betraying a strange confusion.
“Do you ask a tree from which you take your peach its name?”
“That is no answer.” I whispered calmly, trying to rein in my emotions. The Angelic in Spitfire arched his neck back and gulped, his head bobbing several times as he tried to swallow the meat. He coughed a little when he finished.
“When I killed him, somepony nearby shouted ‘Blues’, but there is no way of knowing for sure, at least not now.” He said offhandedly, pushing the mutilated blue limb away from him. 
“Edwin. It is your job to annihilate our species. Genocide is the reason that Numbereds exist.”
“For good reason.” I said, shuddering with anger.
“A debatable issue. But, as the leader of my race, I implore you to consider something.” He said. I said nothing in reply, so he continued.
“One of your species, The First, is cold and dead. His body no longer carries the passion that shattered our first attempt at a life of our own making. His scorching, genocidal fire is something that Equestrian eyes shall never see again.” He stated bluntly, “Your kind is at a disadvantage. My race is countless, legion. Your race has only four specimens. You can obviously see your fight to be a losing one. Drop your cause. My kind has agreed to be less aggressive, to limit their consumption. All you need to do is walk away.” He said calmly, reaching down with his head to rip another chunk off of the leg. I had to look away while the sounds of ripping meat and crunching bone resounded through the empty hall. I shuddered every time I heard bone snap. He finally finished, and I turned to him. He had a little bit of gristle stuck in his mouth, and I shuddered slightly as I noticed.
“Think about it like this, Edwin. Either you stop killing Angelics, or Angelics start killing a whole lot more mortal ponies. It’s quite a simple choice, really. If you truly care for the mortal populace of Equestria, as the Numbereds often proclaim, it is a simple choice. You must stop attacking Angelics. You must.” He reasoned. I was loathe to go with him on this.
“What if I don’t agree?” I inquired suspiciously. The Angelic scoffed.
“The rivers of Equestria will run red with the blood of mortals.” He said, and then stood from his sitting position. He kept Spitfire’s body in good order, it looked very clean. There were bags under her eyes. He leaned down with his head to grab the limb.
“You have until the night of the Grand Galloping Gala to decide. We will come for you.” He said, and grabbed the cold limb, biting down. I flinched as the bone crunched. Spitfire spread her wings and flapped, rising into the air. She flapped again, and her body with the dead blue leg in its mouth soared out of an open window. I felt suddenly cold. I had to do something. I had to tell somepony. Luna? No. What would she be able to do? Celestia? No. She would do something drastic. The Doctor? Maybe. Alucard?
“Alucard.” I whispered. I had to tell Alucard. He would know exactly what to do. But I had to find the Doctor first. My mind was so jumbled. I had to get out of there. I turned and ran.

“Luna!” I shouted, banging on the door. She opened up immediately, but with a rather annoyed look on her face.
“Ed, I’m a little bit busy with Tia, I-”
“When is the Grand Galloping Gala?” I asked her hurriedly. She looked like I just said something rather shocking.
“It’s in about two weeks, but I thought that you didn’t want to-” She said, but I turned away from her before she could finish.
“Ed!” She shouted. I turned back to face her, saying nothing.
“What’s wrong, Ed? You... You’re never like this with me...” She said very softly, and I immediately felt extremely sorry that I treated her like this. I walked back up to her, getting very close. She looked up at me and I raised a hoof up to her face. I just rested it there, and she leaned into it. Her eyes closed slowly.
“Ed...” She whispered, her eyes still closed.
“Luna.” I whispered back, “I wish I could tell you what was wrong. I really do. But you don’t need to worry about things like that. You and Celestia have a kingdom to run. I have a species to protect. I’m so sorry. I’ll try and tell you tonight. We’ll go flying together.” I said. Luna smiled.
“Really?” She asked, opening her eyes just a little bit. I leaned down and kissed her. There wasn’t the heat or rushed feeling of out other kisses. This was slow, controlled, and gentle. We finally split. I stood there, resting my muzzle on hers.
“Really.” I said. We stood there together, and for a few blissful moments, Equestria and all of its worries did not exist
“I have to go, Luna.” I said, pulling out of our embrace. Luna shuffled a little bit awkwardly.
“Promise we’ll fly together tonight?” She asked. I giggled a little bit.
“Promise.” I said, and turned. I trotted away, and after a moment, I broke into a gallop. I would save Equestria. The Angelics do not deserve to live in my world. 
And I’m going to prove it. 
> 37: of Clouds and Cities
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 37

I ran through the halls. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be looking for. I passed door after door, trying to find out what to do. I really just wanted to have a normal week. Luna and I would go see a play. Luna and I would go to a restaurant. Luna and I would watch clouds in a park. Nothing spontaneous would happen. Nothing would pop out from behind a corner and try to kill me. Just an average week.
Damn. It would probably never happen. 	
I kept running. I had to do something. I saw an open window. I turned to it, skidding all across the carpet. As soon as I came to a stop, I ran towards the window. As soon as I was close enough, I jumped out.
The air. The wind. It was all so amazing, almost lucid. The hot afternoon air flew past me, quickly turning into cold wind. I fell for what seemed to be an infinite moment. It was amazing. I opened my eyes and started to fly. I had to move. I couldn’t be still. I had to move.
I was going so fast. I thought a silly thought as I flew. Maybe if I flew fast enough, all my worries and cares and troubles and obligations would just float away, like autumn leaves would float away if you brush them with a broom. I closed my eyes and let the searing wind fly past me. I thought about who I was.
Edwin Shell
My mind was happy with that. I was content for a moment. But Edwin Shell is what I was called, but not who I was. I thought harder.
Pony
My mind was a little bit happier. It wasn’t right, though. I let the flying wind fling my mane back, the ends of my hair snapping painfully against my neck. I clenched my teeth, held my eyes shut, and went even faster.
Numbered
A teensie bit better. I was indeed a part of a group that was extremely exclusive. I was a strong organism, with body crafted from the Threads of Power, mind summoned from my broken and weak human form. But, If I were to die, the highest Numbered could simply summon another Five. It made me frown against the raging wind. The thought of being replaceable was disconcerting.  My mind was still not satisfied, like some ravenous beast. I used my supercharged mind to think harder.
Ghost
My mind was befuddled. My eyes nearly opened, but I kept them closed. I am a Ghost, yes. My species, Ghostkind, would see my death as a detriment. I would be sorely missed if I were to suddenly disappear. It was a good argument, but my mind was still not happy.
Five
I am called Five. In some senses, I am five. The name implies both originality and adherence to a group. I am the only one that could be called Five. But, there must have been others before me to make the name of Five necessary. I smiled a tiny bit, but I still was not happy.
Fighter
I do fight. The title of Fighter does not imply righteousness, though. In the human world, people could fight for themselves, or fight for something else. Weak people fought to defend themselves. Strong people fought to protect themselves and others. Stronger people still fought only for others. I was stronger. I could fly straight to the Doctor, kill him, take his Tardis and live the rest of my life in the lap of luxury without even having to hear mention of an Angelic ever again. But I could not. Equestria needed me. Without the conflict of Angelics, my strong body and my sharp mind were useless. I could only be at peace, truly, when the Angelics were dead.
Lover
I do Love, but I am not a Lover. I have never ‘been with’ a mare in the conventional sense of the term, but I might be considered to be a Lover by some. Luna and I could very easily be mistaken for having a consummated relationship, but that was not the case.
Loved
I am loved. But it isn’t right, it doesn’t feel right, for that to be what I am. I need something more concrete, more solid. Something that, if taken away from me, would make the rest of my life terribly hollow. I thought and thought, until a majestic title seemingly floated right towards me
Luna’s
Perfect. My mind rested, at ease. I was truly Luna’s. That part of me was irremovable. I would be Luna’s until my dying day. I flew on to the horizon, just letting myself soar.

I was almost sleeping by the time that I heard it. Sounds of other ponies. I slowed down substantially, flicking my ears around. It sounded like a town, or even a city. I stopped, slowing down to a moving hover. It was so strange, the sounds. Like a gigantic metropolis, suspended in the sky. It was strange, so I moved along. I didn't want to interact much with other ponies right now. I just wanted to escape my troubles. I flew on, going even faster.

A few hours passed. I was thinking about my promise to Luna, and how I should probably get back to her. I was about to turn when I heard it again. The ponies. It annoyed me, so I opened my eyes for the first time in hours.
“Oh my God.” I said bluntly. There it was, defying logic, just floating there. I had no idea how something so huge could just be floating like that. I gaped, slowing down with my floating. Pegasi were flying all around it. I felt a strange excitement watching those ponies. It suddenly dawned on me that I was something that did not belong in the air. I had no wings, and I was fairly sure that Numbereds were not very well known in Equestria, so it would be hard to explain my lack. I just contented myself with just floating under the monolith, staring up at it with awe. I was doing this when a small blue blur flew straight into me. It drove the air out of my lungs, and I almost fell.The little blue thing soon revealed itself to be a tiny little pegasus.
“Oh hi!” It shouted. I flinched.
“Um...” I started to say, but it suddenly gawked at me.
“You don’t have any wings! How are you flyin’ like that? Huh? Huh?” He asked in a demanding tone.
“Well, I-”
“I have an uncle that doesn’t have any wings. He can’t fly like you, though. I go and see him every summer! But I don’t like walking on the big green cloud because it doesn’t move around like it’s supposed to. Do you have a friend? I have a friend. His name is Sparks. We build cloudcastles and have races and eat candy and go to school!”
“Oh, that’s-”
“Wait!”, The pegasus shouted, “I have to show you t’ him!” He zoomed off in a big flapping ball of feathers away from me. He stopped about twenty meters away.
“Come on!” He shouted, and flew off again. I sighed. Luna would have to wait for a little bit, because I was being kidnapped by a foal. I sighed miserably, wanting to go back home, and floated over to the foal.
“What’s your name?!” The little pony asked.
“Edwin.” I said. The pony gawked at me again.
“That’s a weird name! My name is Blue Bolt! I’m the third tallest colt in my class!” He said exuberantly. I smiled a little bit.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To Spark’s house!” He shouted again, extremely happy. I suddenly thought of myself as a little bird or something. He was treating me like a talking pet. I litstened to him babble on as we reached the rim of the city.
“What is this place?” I asked Blue. He snorted a laugh.
“What kind of pony never heard of Cloudsdale?” He said petulantly. I was slightly confused for a moment. I mouthed the word.
“Cloudsdale.” I whispered as I set myself down on the ground. It was a wobbly, shifting thing; The city was literally built on clouds. It shifted; it moved and convulsed. Cloudsdale was the best metaphor for change that I had ever seen. Even the ground, which was actually made of clouds, was completely liquid. I could even see the buildings shifting slightly, slowly inching their way across the surface. I smiled, and took a step.My hoof landed on a roiling cloud. That hoof immediately slipped out from under me, carried by the current of the cloud. I fumbled and scrambled, trying to regain my footing. I tried to walk unsuccessfully. I fell down a final time, and just spayed myself across the rolling ground of Cloudsdale. I looked up at the blue foal, who was laughing at me from the slope of a roof.
“You’re funny. It’s like you’ve never walked before!” Blue bolt said. I growled. He laughed at that as I rolled across the clouds, trying to get up. I got stuck on my back, and Blue laughed even harder.
“Are you going to help me?” I asked angrily.
“Nope!” He said, spreading his wings. He shuffled a little bit on the cloud he was standing on, then jumped. He fell like a rock, screaming and laughing. I was mad. I rolled around on the ground, trying to rise to a standing position. I rolled and struggled for a few minutes before I managed to get on my hooves. I did so. 
“Huh.” I said, slightly surprised. For being such a large city, Cloudsdale was rather... empty. The roads made of clouds spiraled around, weaving in and out, spiraling around waterfalls seemingly made out of rainbows. It was a fairly ornate and beautiful city. It was so sickeningly beautiful that it made me think of pamphlets that I would see in a travel office. I walked around Cloudsdale for a luxurious hour. It might have been inhabited by Pegasi, but the best way to get around Cloudsdale was to walk. It was breathtaking, the feel of clouds under my feet. ‘Walking on air’ came to mind, but I ejected that thought forcibly out of my mind because it was a terrible cliche. I smiled smugly, walking around the city. 
I walked for so long. It was extremely relaxing. Therapeutic, almost. I looked at one of the many strange buildings of the city. The lights were on inside. I smiled. I really wanted to see other ponies, now that I had gotten over my fear of confrontation. I walked up to the door, and knocked on it. My first knock resounded, and the door slid open with a creak. I poked my head in. I immediately regretted it.
Three different Pegasi were sitting hunched over a dead green pony. The dead pegasus was mutilated in the extreme; their rib cage was ripped open and all of the internal organs were missing. Not only that, but it looked as if the other pegasi had suffered what seemed to be mortal wounds. One of them had a long gash down their left spine, revealing ribs and a confusing, underlying blackness. I gulped. 
All three of the Pegasi turned to me. Their faces were clearly not normal. They had the fangs of an Angelic, but their eyes were different. Spitfire, Slim, and all of the other Angelics that I had met only had red irises, but these ponies... These ponies had no whites in their eyes. These ponies had blacks rimmed with red. It was as if their eyes were just one big pupil rimmed with the slightest bit of bloody iris. One of them, a white one with pale blue hair, clacked her teeth together once and growled. The other ponies, a pink one with blue hair and a plain green pony, growled as well. I began to shake. These weren’t Angelics. These were animals. I backed away from the door, afraid for my life. I shut the door with magic with a slam and sighed, slumping against the door. My legs shuddered with useless adrenaline as I remembered Lieutenant Pix. She once commented about how the Pegasi in Cloudsdale were suffering strange symptoms. If the massacre on the other side of this door held any weight, Cloudsdale was the Equestrian city suffering the most from Angelics. I shivered, cold and nervous, while my mind thought about what to do. The Angelics in Cloudsdale must be eradicated. I shook as I leaned against the door. 
A bloodstained white hoof smashed through the door, splintering wood and gouging flesh. It swung wildly, trying to get at something. I jumped up, skittering away from the door as fast as I could. I watched in horror as the white pony with the powder blue mane ripped open the wooden door. I was paralyzed for a deadly moment while the white Pegasus dismantled the door violently. I gulped. She stuck her head through the door and made eye contact with me. She growled at me again, but then she sniffed the air. Her face spread into puzzlement, and then she sniffed again. Her mouth spread into a wide grin, displaying the blood-mottled ivory. 
“Five.” She said triumphantly in a deep male voice. It made me shudder, the way she spoke. It was actually that voice that saved my life, because it shocked my out of my fear and made me run. I ran and ran, my hoofbeats silent on the cloudy streets. I ran through houses, down alleyways, all the while the nearly silent flapping and grunting behind me alerted me to the deadly chase. I ran until my lungs heaved. Then I ran some more. I galloped around almost all of Cloudsdale, until I found myself in some kind of clearing. It was like a town square, but circular; There were storefronts centered around a fountain that was shooting up liquid rainbows instead of water. I stopped in the clearing, due to the fact that I had not heard the flapping or growls that accompanied the chase for a few hundred feet. I hunkered my head down low, gasping for breath, thinking. Cloudsdale needed to be purged. I felt sorry for the dead, but I felt even sorrier for the survivors, who would never again be able to sleep peacefully their entire lives. The past few days in Cloudsdale must have been a struggle to survive. Each day going by, trying to not get noticed. Consoling foals who wondered where siblings and parents have gone.
I bent over and retched into a nearby trashcan. Angelics were disgusting, perverse, and an affront to nature. Unnatural beings, not fit to live in Equestria. I hacked again, trying to get vomit out of my mouth. I finally recovered, and I walked up to the fountain. I laid my head down against the railing, looking down an unobstructed alleyway to the horizon. Dusk. A beautiful orange smear across the horizon, A stroke from some mystical and godly brush, fading into darkest blue.and purple. A distracted and worried part of my brain was disappointed that I would not be able to keep my promise to Luna. I looked down at the fountain, and the pool of rainbows. I waved my hoof through it, smearing all of the colors. It was strange; the colors did not mix together,  but stayed rigidly separated in their separate hues. I lifted my hoof out, and stared at the dripping color on my hoof. How strange. Something so vibrant, so colorful, existing in such a depraved and sickening world. What contrast this beautiful substance exists in. Something so vibrant, existing in a world so dark. Something symbolic of hope, only to be brushed aside to reveal the twisted confines of reality. Morbid. I flicked my hoof, getting the excess rainbows off of it. I sighed, and turned from the fountain. I stiffened as I saw the white and blue Angelic, her fangs clenched. The two other Angelics that accompanied her rose out of the cloud ground, with equally grotesque expressions. I froze, unsure of what to do. The white pony rose a hoof, turned upwards, as if offering something
“Sit.” She said in a very commanding tone.
“I’m not going to-” I started to say. 
“Sit.” The Angelic said again, turning her hoof so that it was facing down. I immediately fell to my belly, as if something was pushing me down. The Angelic I faced grimaced, baring his teeth.
“You will be delicious.” The pink angelic with the blue hair said, “I’ve heard that Numbered flesh is as sweet as candy.” She said hungrily in a horrifyingly female voice. The white Angelic with the blue hair snarled at her and she flattened her ears, hissing.
“And how would you know, Ka’aal? Rumors. Hearsay. None of us were permitted to consume the First. Do not speak if your words will be so dense.” He said, snarling his words out. The pink pony, Ka’aal, whimpered.
“Forgive me, Elkai.” She whispered. Elkai, the white Angelic with the blue hair, grumbled.
“Careless.” He muttered, turning to me. I suddenly felt myself become very afraid. Elkai cleared his throat, and started to gag. He choked on something in his throat, something that I could not see. He leaned down and retched, and a pointed bone fell out of his mouth. I felt my stomach roil. The Angelic wiped his maw with one of his bloody hooves, leaving a smear of gore on his face.
“Your kind is not welcome in Clouldsdale.” The Angelic said. I did nothing but shake. I was afraid of this deadly creature. An Angelic who could use magic against me was nothing to be trifled with. I waited for him to say something else, knowing that his words could change my life.
“I do not have the authority to order your death. I can. I would. But I want to spend the rest of my life eating, not being eaten. My death would be drawn out and painful if I were to so much as touch you with my fangs.” The Angelic said, dropping down to a whisper and leaning down to my face.
“Let me give you a warning. Mortals are not permitted in Cloudsdale unaccompanied by their host. Any mortal not accompanied will be eaten on sight. Spread the word. Cloudsdale is not a safe haven for Ponies.” He threatened. Elkai drew up to his full height, and started to walk away. 
“I won’t let you get away with this!” I shouted, slumped against the rail of the fountain, trying to get up to a standing position. Elkai laughed.
“If it was possible for you to use offensive magic in Cloudsdale, you would have destroyed this city by now. And even if you could? Cloudsdale is a venerable fortress, and impregnable when properly defended. You could not take this City from Angelics even if it was given to you on a silver platter.” He said, walking away from me. He passed between the other two Angelics, who were openly lolling their tounges and salivating during the exchange. They fell in and followed him away from me. 
“Cloudsdale will fall! Even if I must tear it down from the sky, using my own bare hooves! CLOUDSDALE WILL FALL!” I screamed in rage, hurling my threat like a stone. Elkai and the other Angelics laughed. Elkai turned to face me over his shoulder.
“What’s stopping you?” He asked amusedly. 
“Nothing!” I shouted, screaming at the dusky sky. 
“Then come and get it while it’s still hot.” Elkai concluded, and trotted off into the city. 
> 38: of Toes and Lightning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 38

Elkai and his ensemble trotted down the alley while I leaned on the edge of the fountain. I was gasping, trying to get up to my hooves. My foreleg was draped over the edge of the fountain, the tip of the hoof submerged in the pooling rainbows. I was suddenly struck by an idea, and I raised my unoccupied hoof to point at the ghastly trio, walking down the cloudy street. I felt my rage, my anger, my unadulterated hatred for the Angelics, and I flung it from my hoof. I expected the force of the bolt to fry the Angelics into little pony-shaped charcoal briquettes. That didn’t happen. Instead, the lightning crackled down my bones, out of my hoof, and right at the trio of Angelics. I felt satisfied as the streak of energy was pointed right at Elkai. At the last moment, the Pink angelic with the blue mane jumped in front of it, waving her hooves in circles. I felt slightly annoyed as the smear of white rocketed towards her, but I had no complaints. An Angelic was an Angelic, either way. They all deserved to die. Only a few feet away from the lightning, the pink Angelic planted both forehooves down on the ground and flung one of her hooves up, as if she was backhanding the bolt. There was an overwhelming surge of magic from her, and the lightning flew up and away from the trio. My eyes grew wide and my mouth hung open. Angelics shouldn’t be able to do that. Angelics shouldn’t need to be able to do that. The pink Angelic was panting heavily, and her foreleg that deflected the lightning was bleeding profusely. Elkai paused his walking and turned to face me. He smiled grimly as he walked up to her, his pale blue tail swishing. He raised a hoof to her foreleg that was still raised in the air, dripping blood. He touched it, and the pink Angelic lowered it tentatively.
“Calm,  Ka’aal.” He cooed. Ka’aal, the pink Angelic with the blue mane, visibly calmed. Her dark black eyes cringed as she sat down and cradled her injured limb in agony. I scrunched up my face in disgust at the show of affection. Angelics are sub-equine. They have no need for emotion. It serves them no purpose. Ka’aal started to flap her wings and then rose into the air. Elkai stared back at me with visible hatred.
“If it were up to me, Five, I would gut you like a mortal right where you stand. Leave Cloudsdale immediately before I begin to wonder how you taste.” Elkai said, and then spread his wings. The wordless green pegasus accompanying them did so as well, and all three of them rocketed into the sky. I shook. Fear, anger, hopelessness. All of them found sanctuary in my mind. I shook as I crawled through a street in Cloudsdale. My legs were weak. My frame trembled. I finally couldn’t stand being in Cloudsdale anymore, and I plunged my hooves into the cloudy ground. I pried open the clouds, and I could see the green grass, shadowed by night. The day was longer in Cloudsdale, being so high up. I thought nothing, but leaned forward though the hole in the clouds.
Tumbling.
Head over heels
Ass over teakettle
I fell down to the ground, rolling and falling though the blistering wind. I tumbled through the crisp air, laden with the dregs of daytime heat. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to fall. Blissful. A dark part of my mind didn’t want to fly out of my fall. It wanted to tumble down to the ground. It wanted to lie on the soft plains, broken and bleeding, while my unconscious mind floated away. It wanted to leave Equestria in more capable hooves. But not mine. I was still human. My mind was not Numbered. My body was. It was strong, nigh invincible. It could do so much. It could do things that my old body could only dream of. It could control anything I wished it to, with only the blink of an eye. If only they gave me a mind to match.
I was just weak, skinny, pale Edwin Shell, stuck in a body that could destroy continents. I couldn’t handle it. It was strange. I know this body, and it is mine. The glorious Numbered form, crafted out of raw energy from the Threads of power. It could climb mountains. It could turn mountains into billions of tiny pebbles. It could even make mountains, if I really wanted to. But I didn’t. I wanted a nice little house by a river in the middle of the forest. I wanted a peach tree. I wanted a nice wool rug in the middle of my living room. I wanted to curl up with Luna in front of the fireplace during cold winter nights. I opened my eyes.
The ground was so close, and getting closer every passing second. I could easily just plummet to my death, leaving another Five to replace me when they summoned a new Numbered. But I couldn’t. I reached for my magic and pulled out of my dive in a smooth curve. I flew past trees, and aimed myself towards the distant Royal Palace. I felt the sharp boom as my flight became infinitely faster.

Luna was lying on her rug as I walked in. She had her official attire on. Shoes, tiara, and all. She had her hooves eagerly placed flat on the rug, staring at the door intently. She brightened up as she saw me, a gleeful smile on her face.
“Ed! You’re back!” She said happily. I didn’t smile back, but rushed into the room and layed down next to her.
“Luna.” I whispered, nuzzling against her neck. She seemed somewhat startled, and started to push me away with her hooves. She held me at leg’s length, staring like she was trying to divine something from me.
“What’s gotten into you, Ed?” She asked playfully. The smile faded from her face when she saw the look on mine.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, raising a hoof to my face. She held it there. The cold metal was far from soothing, but I appreciated the gesture. There was so much going on im my mind right now, but I couldn’t worry Luna overly much by telling her before I needed to.
“I promise I’ll tell you. We need to go talk to Tia. Is she still awake?” I asked calmly.
“Probably not.”
“Then we’ll wake her. This is extremely important, Luna.” I said. She frowned, clearly not pleased with my explanation. “Trust me.” I added. Her brow visibly softened.
“Let’s go, then.” She said softly, and rose.

“Tia?” Luna ventured quietly, pushing open the door with a tiny protest. She walked in, and then I followed her. I had to duck immediately due to the ornate vase flying at my head. It smashed into tiny porcelain splinters against the wall behind me. One of them slashed across my cheek. I gasped and held a hoof up to the now bleeding wound. I pulsed out a bit of magic, and the wound sealed up immediately. Luna glanced at me aplogetically.
“She’s an angry sleeper.” She whispered. I scowled.
“She’s about to be an angry waker” I mumbled, and I ran up to her bed. It was a strange thing, but not out of place. A gigantic four-poster bed with a canopy of gossamer fabrics. The colors were not strange; Goldens and reds that I would come to expect from someone of her stature. It was more like that the bed was too immaculate to be slept in, like it shouldn’t have a pony in it. But, the one pony that could pull it off was actually in the bed right now, snoozing softly. I walked up to her bed stiffly, and jumped up.
“Ed!” Luna whispered angrily, but I didn’t pay attention. I stared at the carefree, sleeping mare beneath me. Her hair was much less active when she slept. I smiled somewhat ironically as I prepared to wake her.
“Hey!” I shouted at her, making her flinch in her sleep. I stood over and watched her eyes flick under her pale white lids, and she finally opened them, revealing her purple irises. She looked around her in sleepy shock, and then finally looked up at me. For a breif, fleeting moment, she looked deathly afraid. But that passed immediately and was replaced with slight worry and surprise. I felt my scowl become more pronounced as I contemplated what I was going to say to her.
“Edwin? What are you-” The Princess began to ask, but
“Quiet.” I said, slightly irritated. I continued; “Have you been to Cloudsdale recently, Princess?” I inquired with a slight hint of anger. The Princess, looking slightly disheveled, only blinked at me. I leaned down to glare at her intensely.
“If you had, you would have burned it from the sky. A haven for violent Angelics, and in my opinion, home to some of the most dangerous specimens that the species has to offer. One of them constrained me with magic and another deflected a raw bolt of lightning with her bare hooves.” I explained. The Princess gulped with wide eyes, but said nothing.
“I am going to tell you what I am going to do, and you are going to stay quiet. I am going to poll all of the Lieutenants in the guard companies to see which Pegasi wish to volunteer for a siege on Cloudsdale. I will also poll for a team of skilled Unicorns. They will stay on the ground near Cloudsdale with Gespard and Marcus. These Unicorns will maintain protective enchantments on the Pegasi. These pegasi shall accompany Evangeline and myself in an attack on Cloudsdale in the middle of the day. The Doctor shall provide communication devices for all of the ponies involved, and shall park his tardis directly under Cloudsdale for the duration of the attack.” I explained, taking time to pronounce my words perfectly so no unintended meaning could be derived from them. The Princess looked extremely shocked.
“W-Why are you telling me?” She wondered quietly.
“Because you will be monitoring out mission. If at any time it goes awry, or if it even looks like the Angelics are going to win, you are going to destroy the city from the air. The lives of the ponies that will be there is a price that I am willing to pay to save the rest of Equestria.” I reasoned. Celestia blanched, averting her gaze from me.
“Just have Evangeline do it.” She whispered morosely. I was shaking my head before she even finished.
“No. She would be more than capable of it, but she may already be dead by the time that I need Cloudsdale destroyed. You are also infinitely more powerful than she is.” I retorted. Celestia shook her head this time.
“I may have been a few thousand years ago, but not now. The light flows from her, Edwin.” The now stricken Princess remarked.
“Even if it were true, I couldn’t have a Princess in the fray. Too dangerous. Celestia.” I said, trying to look her in the eyes. I stared at her until she looked back at me
“I... I need you. You could tell me no. It isn’t as if this would be of any benefit to you. Surely the thought of killing your own subjects is repulsive. But, sometimes, the sacrifices of the few are necessary for the safety of the many.”
“Why don’t you just have me fry the city without the pegasi in it?” The Princess asked. I had my answer ready immedately.
“Because there are still mortal ponies inside of Cloudsdale. If I could get them out and kill as many Angelics as is possible, we may be able to keep the city. That is the least likely scenario. Before two days have passed, Cloudsdale will be nothing more than a scorch on Equestria. I’ll leave you to think.” I concluded. Celestia turned away from me, looking pensive. I hopped off of her bed, and walked out of the door, starting to feel myself fall apart. I walked past Luna, with a lone tear down her eye and mouth agape. Out of the door. I fell onto the floor, a weeping mess. I cried. I missed home. I wanted to sleep in a normal bed again. I wanted to curl my toes. I wanted to walk on my feet. I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. I just ordered the possible deaths of thousands of ponies. I didn’t even bat an eyelash. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I worked my way over to a window. It was raining. Horribly. It was that kind of rain that made you take off work that day. I screamed at the window. Lightning streaked across the sky, painting the landscape with my anger and sadness. I screamed again, and this time the entire wall was ripped out of the palace, leaving the interior bare to the elements outside. The lightning screamed, the thunder roared. I wept. I fell to the ground, and the last thing I could remember was the faint smell of oranges, the feel of a warm hoof, and the screeching of the cold wind

I awoke to the smell of peaches.
“wussit” I mumbled, getting up from my sleep. I reached up to rub my fuzzy eyes. I could feel the warm limb around my neck tighten.
“Don’t get up” Luna said, pulling me back to her. I smiled through my grogginess.
“Luna.” I sighed.
“You lazy wank! 'Bout time you're up.” Something reprimanded. I opened my eyes, and was extremely shocked to see nothing but empty air around me. I gasped, turning around to grab Luna. She smiled as I grasped her with my hooves. there was an entire hallway behind me. I noticed that it was the exact same hallway that I lost consciousness in. Luna must have stayed with me through the rain.
“I love you even more, Luna.” I whispered into her ear.
“It stopped raining after you fell asleep.” She whispered back, understanding my meaning. The noise that reprimanded before apparently manifested itself as the Doctor.
“I heard that you made plans without me.” He remarked bluntly, setting down a silver tea set. I sniffed, and my ears perked up.
“Is that peach tea?” I asked, getting up slightly from Luna’s side.
“It will be if you make me happy. Why would you make plans without me?” He asked.
“You have a vested interest in this war.” I retorted. The Doctor chuckled.
“Noble, if not correct. You’re wrong. I can leave this dimension at any time I please. If Equestria becomes boring, I can just push a button and whiz away to some far away dimension filled with supermodels. Or ice cream. Or ice cream-filled supermodels. Or even supermodel-filled ice cream. You get the idea. I’m only here because I like it here.” He said, rather bluntly.
“Edwin, how many lumps?” The Doctor asked, with a spoonful of sugar balanced in his mouth. It was perched above a steaming hot cup of tea.
“None.” I said, and the Doctor dumped the sugar into my cup. He picked the tray up awkwardly with one of his hooves, and he hobbled over to Luna and I. Luna hovered the two cups of tea off of the tray and offered me one.
“Learn to love change.” The Doctor suggested as I sniffed the sweet tea with distaste. I gulped some of it, and I nearly coughed it back up.
“Sweet Jesus, Doctor! What did you put in this, salt?” I exclaimed.
“Synthetic poly-saccharides, among other things, manufactured by the Tardis. Tastes terrible, I know. But I don’t exactly need to eat. Not only does it give me a few weeks allowance of salt in the guise of sweetener, but also throws in a dash of protein just for fun.” The Doctor said cheerily, but with a completely unhappy visage.
“It’s like eating salted spam.”
“I think that the Tardis is trying to kill me.” He speculated openly
“It might be working.” I said, tossing my tea out of the gaping hole in the hallway.
“Well, you have a lesson with Alucard today. Sugar, Luna?” The Doctor said, gesturing to the small bowl of brownish salt.
“No thank you, Doctor. I’d rather have my blood stay in its liquid form.” She remarked politely.
“Suit yourself. Edwin, we’re going to go get some breakfast and then you’re going to Alucard. Okay?” The Doctor asked.
“Can Luna come?” I qualified.
“If she isn’t busy. Which she is. She has a meeting with her bed that I think that she is rather late for.” The Doctor said. Luna smiled.
“Thank you, Doctor. I’ll see you tonight, Ed. You owe me one.” She said, kissing me on the cheek. She bounded off, skipping down the hallways. I watched her swishing tail flounce its way down the hall, almost longingly, following her firm, blue-
“Edwin?” The Doctor said, waving his brown hoof in front of my face. I was shocked out of my staring. The Doctor paused, and then laughed. He soon finished, and wiped a tear away from his eye.
“Ah, to be young again. And also a Numbered.” The Doctor said, walking back to his Tardis. He opened one of the doors.
“You know what they say, Edwin. Allons-y.” He concluded, and walked into the Tardis.
> 39: of Learning and Moons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 39

“Wooshing, slooshing. Flippy flop, wham wham. Kerplunk, zing, skug. The Tardis speaks to everyone, but only those who understand what she says can speak back.” The Doctor explained. A rather strange thought crossed my mind, and I voiced it.
“How do you know it’s a she?” I ventured.
“Because I met her once. Now Edwin, I’m going to try and teach you how to speak to the Tardis.” The Doctor retorted rather cryptically. I decided to drop the subject, and take up a new one.
“Why?”
“Because one of these days, I might be unable to pilot it. You would need to immerse yourself in the telepathic interfaces, and pilot the Tardis with your mind.” The Doctor reasoned.
“That’s cool.”
“Yep.”
“Can you let me out?” I pleaded.
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Because to pilot the Tardis, it helps to have seen the time streams and wormholes that the Tardis uses to traverse time and space.” He rationalized.
“But why am I in an Inertia chamber?” I asked, extremely vested in leaving this small, cramped tube.
“Because I can’t open the doors while the Tardis is travelling and just let you see the time stream unshielded. But, I can throw things out into the stream of time. Like inertia chambers. Or ponies that ask a lot of questions.”
“I’m not liking this idea. I’m not liking this idea at all.”
“Tough.” The Doctor said, and pushed a bright green panel on the Tardis. There was a slight hissing noise.
“Welcome to TARDIS TT type forty, mark Three; pirated active defense system inertia chamber. You currently occupy chamber four in bay number three. This is not a drill. Ejection from a TARDIS is not reccomended or approved of in Gallifreyan society, and should not be used for recreation. Ejection is estimated in ninety-five seconds, through slice Alpha in the tunnel Praxis, number nine hundred and seventy-” The cool female voice announcing my travel plans was interrupted by the Doctor.
“Don’t listen to any of that prattle. We’ve got a job to do. You are going to be ejected into a jetstream of time that will deposit you at exactly the right time and place for your lesson with Alucard.” The Doctor said, with some interference from the speaker
“Doctor, I’m scared.” I whispered. The Doctor laughed, which sounded very grating through the speakers.
“Good. I would be worried if you weren’t.” He said.
“Ejection in sixty seconds.” The female voice said, as calm as ever.
“Any last words, Edwin? These might be your last minute alive.” He said somewhat jokingly.
“This isn’t funny, Doctor!” I shouted. The Doctor’s face immediately dissolved into a scowl.
“I’m not trying to be funny.” He said. I gulped.
“Tell Luna I love her.” I blurted out. The Doctor smiled a little bit, and his eyes softened up.
“How bland. Care to add to that?” The Doctor inquired. I took a little bit wondering.
“I was going to ask her to m-” I was interrupted by a big gust of wind, pressurizing the Inertia chamber. A little red notice popped up in front of me, which consisted of little red numbers on a red little display, counting down from a little red ten. A large opaque shield slid up between the outside of my inertia chamber and the rest of the Tardis. A small little hole opened up in the floor of the chamber. There was little blue and orange wisps, some red, with brilliantly terrifying blackness underneath. All I could do was look down at my hind legs, which were silhouetted by the strange background underneath me. There was a sudden silence; the wind had stopped. I immediately looked up. The little red numbers all read zero. I gulped.
Nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Woosh
I fell straight through the bottom of the tardis, screaming the whole way. I beat on the glass with my hooves, trying my best to get out of it. I looked down through the bottom of the chamber, and then all around me. I stopped screaming. It... It was everything. A sudden influx of knowledge. I knew everything that is. Everything that was. Everything that will be. The streams of time opened themselves to me, and let me take from them what I wished. Anything that I wanted to know, I knew. Nothing was hidden from me. I was there for hours, days, years, just learning. I knew that the stars Septimus and Culaan of the binary system of Sigmus became ensnared through a galaxial collision, and the binary stars caught each other’s gravity as the two galaxies passed through each other. I knew that the system of Equus, home to Equestria, was the only geocentric planet in existence. I knew, I knew, I knew. Suddenly, I knew everything. There was nothing else that the streams of Time had to give me that I did not have. I knew what I had to do.
“Tardis.” I commanded.
“Yes.” the cool voice responded from above me. I looked up. The ‘cork’ in the vial that I occupied was actually a complex life support and navigation system.
“Show me Slice Alpha, Tunnel Praxis nine-seven-three.” I ordered. The computing system highlighted a small yellow line fluctuating in a big blue tunnel to the slight left of me, along with various numbers that displayed important information. I was rather near the opening.
“Plot a course and give me intercept times. Execute when compiled. Disable artgrav, maintain inertial integrity at three.” I said sternly. The Tardis needed a firm hoof. Immediately, a set of numbers appeared before me and I floated up slightly to the exact center of the cramped vial.  I scrolled through the blue lists of intercept times with my mind, and I selected one that was a little over an hour. I leaned back in my chamber as I thought to myself.
“Captain Shell?” The Tardis computers ventured.
“Yes?” I asked, not opening my eyes.
“I have a small selection of music for you to choose from, if you wish.”
“How big is the library?”
“two exabytes.” She said. I whistled in awe.
“Play some earth music, if you have it. Classical, twenty-five decibels, with a gradient to ten decibels over the space of twenty minutes. Wake me when we reach Slice Alpha.” I said, and closed my eyes. Soft, sweet Beethoven played above me, and I relaxed. I slept the most refreshing sleep I had ever slept. I was not a android, but I dreamt of electric  sheep.
A light brrong awakened me. I opened my eyes groggily.
“Tardis. How far are we from Slice Alpha?”
“Point nine parsecs, an estimated three minute’s distance at our current velocity.” The computer spoke. I went through the entry sequence of the inertia chambers for the correct model of Tardis while I thought of the orders to give it.   
“At point three parsecs raise radiation shields in addition to blinders. Inertial dampeners up to twelve. Keep me updated.” I said. The Tardis wordlessly complied and prompted the times for the shields. They quickly ticked to zero, and a black smudge appeared on the bottom of the chamber. It quickly spread up the sides, protecting me from radiation and the blinding light of re-entry. A small red notice lit up on the wall of the Vial. It was another counter, with the innocuous heading of ‘Landing’. It was a two minute timer.
“Tardis, when landing sequence is completed, raise external air shields along with radiation blocker and blinders. Activate artgrav upon completion. Wait for my confirmation to open the doors.” I said. There was no rumbling, no shaking, nothing. The inertia chamber performed exactly as designed. I felt nothing, and the landing counter slowly ticked down to zero. There was a slight hiss, and the black all around me quickly receded. It showed the crisp, airless scenery of Sigmus Five. There were tiny patches of glass all around me. The inertia chamber was buried a few feet in the ground, revealing the black soot. I looked back up at the outside. There was a slight shimmering as the air filled the boundaries of the air shield.
“Captain Shell, orders complete and awaiting intent to exit.”
“Not yet. Wait.” I said. The computer tagged random particles stirred up by the air, labeling them with mass, size, distance, and composition. Suddenly, there was a priority tag on something a few miles away. I squinted at the hologram imposed on the object. It was pretty big, whatever it was.
“Tardis, justify priority tag.”
“Priority tag is specified as a danger or something of import in relation to the occupant. Tag has a significant mass and speed, with rather erratic vectors. Considered a weapon, recommend defense system activation.”
“Disregard recommendations. It might be a meteor.”
“Not possible. Vectors too irregular to be orbital in origin.”
“Get me a visual.” I said, and a square section of the Vial suddenly zoomed in on the tag. It was a wobbly white shape, still a few miles out. I squinted at it some more.
“Alucard.” I whispered. Pressed my hooves against the glass slightly. I remembered that the computer was awaiting my cue to open the doors.
“Priority tag nonthreatening. Open chamber doors.” I said. The plug in the top of vial hissed a little bit with escaping air, and then popped out audibly. I looked back up, and crawled out of the vial. It was at a slight angle, so I could climb out easily. I reached the ledge, and I saw the cork of the vial whizzing and whirring. I jumped out of it, and floated down on the low gravity of Sigmus. I looked up at the sky. Alucard was flying down to where I was. I grinned, wanting to see him. He finally reached me with a gigantic swoop of his wings. He landed in front of me, barely disturbing the dust in front of me. He smiled benevolently, his wide red eyes creasing at the corners. He said nothing for a long while, only staring at me contemplatively. He said nothing for a long time.
“Teacher?” I asked, but Alucard said nothing. He turned from me, and began to stare up at the two stars, which were moving together slowly.
“Tell me how this system came to be binary.” Alucard said slowly, his rumbling voice making me shiver. I thought for a moment.
“Septimus, the slightly larger red star, was the original inhabitant of the Sigmus system. A few million years ago, about five point three, there was another galaxy that intersected the orbit of this one. The Sigmus system went straight through another star system, and caught the younger star Culaan. It’s been classified as a binary system about one million years after that, when the orbits of the two became far less erratic and able to maintain constant temperatures for carbon, methane, and fluorine based life in the first three planets.” I exhorted. Alucard smiled.
“This dirt. What is it made of?” Alucard inquired again, furrowing the ash under his feet.
“It was silica with iron substrates, which was what gave the dirt its red color. Now it’s only the layer of soil under the silica completely carbonized. The energy from the Tardis burned off everything organic, with a few patches of glass where the silica remained.”
“Where did the silica go?” Alucard asked of me.
“Space. It’s currently forming a loose system of rings around this planet. Barely visible, and likely to stay that way.” I explained.
“Who was the fifth elector of the Gegmi Tau republic?”
“Taos the Invoker.”
“What are the prime numbered moons of Beta Centaruk?
“Hydrax, Syphix, and Noose.”
“Why is it called noose?” Alucard wondered. I laughed.
“Because it’s shaped like a doughnut.” I said. Alucard rumbled, laughing. It was a joyous noise.
“Good. The Doctor complied with my request.” He said, coming down from his standing position. He curled up in a circle, with his head facing me. He sighed, with smoke pouring out of his nostrils. He closed his eyes for a moment, relaxing slightly. He sighed, and spoke to me with his closed eyes.
“Do you know what happened to you when you viewed the streams of time, Edwin?” Alucard grumbled of me. I thought for a moment.
“I attained knowledge.” I said simply.
“Yes. More specifically, the knowledge made itself manifest in you. You know everything that you would ever need to know. Tell me how many digits twenty four to the ninetieth power has.” The large dragon rumbled. My mind did not hesitate to provide me with an answer.
“One hundred and twenty five.” I said quickly. Alucard smiled and made a strange gruffing noise.
“Good, good.” Alucard was about to say something else, and then he hesitated. “You are no longer afraid of me, Edwin.” He said somewhat surprised. I paused as well in silent shock.
“I suppose that I am not.” I whispered.
“Even better. Then I must breach the subject of today’s lesson to you, which is why I live on this planet, away from mortal life.” the white giant said somewhat grumpily.
“What is it that I am to learn, Teacher?” I asked. Alucard raised his head to look at the stars. He seemed somewhat distracted.
“You must learn to use the Aethr ruthlessly. Without hesitation, you must be able to kill things with the flow. There are simple ways to do this, and there are showy ways to do this, but all are useful. You must-” Alucard rumbled on tonelessly. I thought about what he was saying. I must learn how to become an animal, he was saying. I must learn to kill without thought. I must become violent and thoughtless, he explained to me calmly. The old me would have abhorred the concept. It would have argued vehemently. It would have sat down and done nothing. But that was not me. I am not Edwin Shell anymore. I am Luna’s. I would have done anything to keep her safe. And this was one of the things that I must do. Alucard finished, obviously concerned by my silence throughout.
“Let’s get started.” I coldly stated.
> 40: of Black Dust and Strong Hands
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 40

The first part of my training with Alucard consisted mostly of sitting. We sat for what seemed to be ages, just sitting on the ground. I questioned it very early on.
“How is this supposed to teach me how to kill Angelics, Teacher?” I asked quietly. He grumbled impatiently.
“If you can ask that question, you are not ready for my answer.” He responded rather curtly. I sensed the world around me. I used my ears to hear things, which was not much. Alucard sighing next to me, making my teeth clatter. I felt things with my hooves. The slowly shifting sediment of Sigmus Five It didn’t reveal much even to my Numbered senses, which I prided on being somewhat in touch with nature. I expanded my awareness out. I felt the other side of Alucard, the barren land, and then the nothingness of the space outside of the air shield. I shivered. Space was a cold, cruel thing. There is no sound in space. There is no sensation, or if there is, it doesn’t survive for very long. There was only a very finicky piece of machinery between me and a very quick death. I shivered slightly, and retracted my consciousness to inside of the air shield. There was a long pause where nothing happened, and I continued to watch the world inside of the air shield. Other than Alucard and I, there was nothing else living.
“Nature abhors a vacuum, Edwin.” Alucard said quietly as a fully grown dragon could. I drew myself out of the Flow and looked up at him. He had an extremely pensive expression on his face. He kept that for a moment, and then looked back down at me. “Even now, even though we are perfectly safe, our minds recoil from the sensation of nothingness. We know that we are safe, but our minds flee from the lack of feeling.” Alucard concluded, and fell silent. I contemplated what he said. More hours passed with the sensation of everything around me. Alucard cleared his throat, and I nearly went deaf with the noise. I was rubbing the ear facing him when he started to speak again.
“One of the many ways to kill something is to make it think it is dying.” the enormous dragon said.
“I do not understand, Teacher.” I said quietly.
“Consciousness resides within the mind, hatchling. Everything that you experience is translated inside of your head into tiny electrical signals that look like the real world. It is a simple matter to control those signals to make a creature think that they are dying. To them, however, it is far too real.”
“It must be horrifying.” I concluded. Alucard nodded.
“I’ve made things die using that method. Creatures have actually broken their own bones trying to escape whatever it is that they think is killing them. It is a gruesome and lonely death. But it is effective and you should not hesitate to use it.” Alucard qualified. He sniffed. I felt slightly taken aback. There was another long pause, which the two of us were loathe to fill with empty conversation.
“I miss my family.” I whispered. Alucard made a surprised snort.
“I was unaware that Numbereds have family. They aren’t produced biologically, I understand.” He said. I chuckled dryly.
“You’re right in one regard. Numbered bodies are created by the Threads and our pony bodies have no relatives other than the ones we make for ourselves. Our minds, however, are a completely different story.” I said rather cryptically, not wishing to explain. Alucard had a completely different idea.
“What do you mean?”
“I would rather not say, Teacher.” I said coldly. Alucard harrumphed, which was quite a frightening noise from a dragon.
“It would help me to understand you better than I do now. It would also help to teach me about how to help you learn.” He said. I sighed, and stole myself against the memories.
“Teacher, if you insist, you must understand how truly alien my original world was. The closest organism to my original form in this world is the griffon, but then even that is a pale comparison. My species walked on their hind legs, and hand hands on our forelegs to grab things. There was no magic to speak of. We were mostly all the same color, but with many different shades.”
“How strange. How many people existed in your dimension?” Alucard asked.
“When I became a Numbered?” I qualified. Alucard nodded. “About seven billion.” Alucard’s eyes went wide.
“So many...” He made the equivalent of a whisper. I laughed.
“It is really hauntingly similar the two dimensions are. Many things are the same, and sometimes I forget what I am. But then I see something that reminds me. An article of clothing made for a pony. A tapestry depicting Equestrian history.” I said, and stopped quickly. I didn’t want to continue to remember my old life. It hurt to linger. Alucard gave me an out.
“Tell me, hatchling. How was it that you arrived in this dimension?” He asked innocently with his enormous rumbling voice. I sighed, and my head dipped down a little.
“I died.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I died a violent death. My human body was completely destroyed, mashed into a mushy pulp. By my death, the ceremony that summoned a new Numbered body was completed and my consciousness was transferred to this dimension. The body I currently inhabit was designed so that my consciousness would be the sole inhabitant, so I immediately found this body and possessed it. The rest is history.” I said quickly, trying to be as blunt and vague as possible.
“I am deeply sorry, Edwin.” Alucard said after a long pause, sounding very guilty.
“Don’t be. You didn’t know. You didn’t kill me.” I said quietly. I looked up at the stars. Septimus and Culaan tried their hardest to consume each other, but to no success. I watched for a few minutes, enough to see one revolution of the twin stars.
“Have you ever thought about how frivolous it is, Alucard? How... needless it is?” I wondered aloud.
“Explain.”
“We could simply transport all of the ponies that live in Equestria to a place in this universe so very far from the Equus system, where the Angelics simply cannot get to them. We could just keep them from being reached by the masses that would eat them. The Doctor could transport them all off of Equestria at the exact same time and transport them to the new planet.” I reasoned, feeling proud of myself for divining my little plan. Alucard smiled a little bit.
“How will you prevent Angelics from entering the various Tardii picking up mortal ponies all around Equestria? How will you keep the various Doctors from interacting with one another? It is too dangerous and large of a plan to be completed successfully.” Alucard said, dashing my hopes. I sighed, but an idea struck me and I brightened up considerably. I dashed twenty yards or so to Alucard’s nearest limb, and I got down on my belly to plead with him. Before I could even open my mouth, he had an answer ready.
“No, I will not.” He said softly.
“How can you read my mind? I thought it was only Sebastian that could do that.” I argued.
“And who do you think she learned it from?” He explained with a small smile. I was still grumpy.
“Pleeeeease!?” I whined. Alucard shook his head.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Angelics are none of my business. I am a Ghost. I do as I please and nothing more. The affairs of the mortal populace are none of my concern. I only educate you because you are the only hope for the survival of my species.” He rumbled coldly. I felt suddenly alone.
“If the Angelics win, we all lose.” I volleyed back at Alucard. He frowned.
“You are correct, but not for the right reasons. I could destroy all of the Angelics in Equestria just by batting my eyelash at that little dot, right over there.” He said, pointing at a little wobbly yellow dot in the sky with one of his enormous talons. He lowered the limb as he continued. “But I won’t. This is your fight, Edwin. You need to save Equestria. You have earned that privilege. You need to finish what you started.”
“I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS!” I shouted at the great white dragon. He recoiled from my words.
“Edwin, you don’t have to-
“I NEVER ASKED FOR THIS! I HAD A GOOD LIFE! I WAS GOING TO GET MARRIED! MARRIED, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!” I screamed at Alucard, making him shrink back a little. It was slightly funny, I remarked. I was the size of a bug compared to him, but I was making him afraid.
“Edwin, calm down.” He managed to squeeze in. I would have none of it. I started to sob. I couldn’t bear to have it all bottled up anymore.
“I’m just a kid. I was twenty! I’m not ready for any of this!” I screamed at him again, but not as loud as the last time. He started to come back to me. He leaned forward, and he touched me with one of his talons.
“Shh, Edwin...” He said, exhaling on me. It was warm.
“I want to go home.” I managed to choke out through the tears. I looked up at Alucard through bleary eyes to see him nodding his gigantic head.
“Okay.” He said softly. I sniffed.
“Okay?” I slurred.
“Okay.” He confirmed. He picked me up with his enormous hands. I never really appreciated their size until now. You could easily play a basketball game on one. I have no idea how Evangeline killed him. He picked me up into the air, and formed a pointed cage with hos other hand. He muttered something incomprehensible and low while streaks of color and light streaked through the prison that his fingers had made. Suddenly, there was a a black silhouette that appeared in the middle of the cage, and the lights immediately began to shoot through it. It was a big rectangle, with obvious fixtures that identified it as the Tardis. Suddenly, one of the colors flew through the tardis and exploded. It was as if a drop of watercolor paint landed in a glass of water, suffusing it with color. This happened many more times, adding substance to the Tardis until it finally was a whole piece. I smiled weakly. Alucard grasped the Tardis with his claws and lowered it gently down to his scaly palm. I got up shakily and wobbled over to it, with my only intent being sleep. Alucard stopped me as I had my hoof on the door.
“Edwin.” He ventured, trying to get my attention. I looked up to him, but I said nothing. He hesitates slightly, his large red eyes exuding wariness. “I’m very sorry that I brought up your death. It was a tragedy, I know. I shouldn’t have trivialized it and brushed it aside so easily.” He said, his voice heavy with guilt. I swallowed.
“It wasn’t your fault.” I said, and pushed open the door. A strong smell of liquor and vomit met my nostrils. I gagged and entered the Tardis. I looked around for the Doctor. A very very short search found him slumped over the arm of a couch in front of the Console, with two mares draped over him. He was wearing two cone shaped party hats over his eyes, and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth. He was snoring loudly. The two mares seemed to be sisters, and had nearly the same color coat. One of them had a powder blue mane with a pink coat, while the other one had a pink mane with a powder blue coat. I smiled. A light noise sounded, and I perked my ears.
“Welcome back, Captain Shell.” The Tardis said in her light voice. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I bit back a colorful invective and calmly spoke back.
“Take me to the Equus system. I’ll navigate the rest of the way.” I said sternly as I walked back to the Console. The Tardis complied wordlessly, displaying the path that the Tardis would take, placing us smack in the middle of nothing in Equuan space. I pressed several buttons on the console, and the display showed me the plains in front of Canterlot. I pressed several more buttons, and a set of joysticks popped out of the Console, cleverly shaped for ponies. They were really more like short rubber cups than joysticks. I placed my hooves in them and slowly moved them around for the coordinates I needed. I smiled as they locked in on the Dining hall in the palace. I couldn’t go the whole hog and just pop right into Luna’s room. That takes practice. I fiddled with a dial that set the time to just after I left the Palace. About an hour. I fell backwards, popping a hoof out to click a lever. The wooshy noise started as I fell back onto the couch that the Doctor and his two mares occupied.
“Wubbfub” The Doctor mumbled, rather articulately for how drunk I thought he was. He made a big sniff, and he got up to look at me.
“Morning, Doctor.”
“I can’t see.” He said rather worriedly. I frowned and reached over to rip the party hats off of him. I pulled them off somewhat roughly, and he blinked rapidly.
“Much better.” The Doctor said, nodding off. I smiled and turned away from him to watch the piston in the middle of the tardis go up and down. The Doctor started to snore again. I felt extremely tired myself, and wanted to stay awake until I got to Luna’s room.
“Tardis.”
“Yes, Captain?”
“Coffee, if you have it. Two sugars.” I said, and there was not a reply. I heard a strange gargling noise, and quite shortly after, a steaming blue mug of coffee appeared on the arm of the sofa that did not contain a sleeping Doctor. I smiled and crawled over to it, thinking of the bitter sweetness that awaited me. I picked it up with magic when I was close enough to the arm of the couch, and I sipped some. The coffee spewed out of my mouth faster than I could drink it, and I hurled the steaming mug across the Tardis. I stuck out my tongue and rubbed it with my hooves, trying to get the taste out.
“Oh god!” I shouted, my tongue still out of my mouth. I finally got it back into my mouth, and I prepared my question for the Tardis.
“Tardis, what would you call that?”
“Coffee.”
“I call it liquid salt. How much did you put in there, anyways?”
“Two tablespoons.” The Tardis said, and I planted my hoof on my face in embarassment. I forgot that the Tardis synthesised its own sugar. I grumbled and got up from my seat. I looked up at one of the screens. It showed that we were a minute or two from my destination. The Doctor started to grumble.
“Happy that you decided to join us, Doctor.” I said blandly, without looking back. There was a small ripple in the Slice that we were navigating that I had to navigate through.
“Edwin... What are you doing?”
“Taking me home. What about you?” I asked. The Doctor fell silent. I looked back at him, expecting a response. He had his head hung low, with his hats hanging from his neck. I pushed a few buttons to set the tardis to navigate itself and turned to face him fully.
“What’s wrong, Doctor?” I asked quietly.
“I miss my home.” He said morosely.
“Me too. But at least you can go back, if you really wanted to.” I reasoned, about to turn back to the console. The Doctor sniffed, looking up to me. His eyes were filled with tears.
“No. I can’t. It’s not even there anymore.” He said, his voice on the verge of crying. I walked up to him, and sat right in front of him.
“Tell me about home, Doctor.” I asked. He sniffled again.
“It was beautiful. They called it ‘The Shining World of the Seventh System’. For good reason. One of the suns would rise in the south, setting the silverleaf trees ablaze with color. Oh, Edwin... It was breathtaking. There was the brilliant mountains, with the red red grass and the perfectly white snow... The rocks were all the colors you could ever imagine, and then some more. When I was a child, I used to look out over the plains from my parents’ house in the mountains. I would see the Panopticon, and then there was the Citadel behind it. The Citadel... It was our greatest feat of engineering. If Time Lord society could be jewelry, the Citadel would be the crown jewel. It was amazing, Edwin. You should have seen it.” He remarked, his hoof resting on his chin in awe of the memories.
“Why don’t we? Let’s go and see it.” I said, turning back to the Console. The Doctor stopped me by placing his hoof on my shoulder.
“We can’t.”
“Why not? It’s not to hard, I’ll get the coordinates in the Tardis and we’ll-
“Stop, please, Edwin. It’s not as it once was. There are no more trees, no more binary sunrises. Lakes of lava, craters, and cities in ruin. Not to mention the Time Lords themselves. They want to destroy time itself to kill the Daleks. They’re old, desperate, and violent. I actually placed them in Time Lock to keep them at bay.” He finished, silencing me. I felt sobered.
“Check the feasibility matrix, she’s looking a bit wobbly in the probability spectrum.” He commented tonelessly, curling back up into a ball between the two mares. I did as he asked, turning to look at the Console. I made the proper adjustments and watched the Tardis on the monitors fall from the timestreams and land squarely in the Dining hall. I sighed, and stood back up. I walked around the couch and out of the doors.

“Edwin!” Antony shouted, looking up from his soup. He stood up, galloping over to me. He pulled up by my side and started to speak.
“Where have you been?! We really needed you and-” I cut Antony off with a statement of my own.
“There is going to have a meeting of the Guard companies in an hour. Spread the word.” I said coldly. Antony seemed extremely puzzled. His helm wobbled slightly.
“Why? What’s going on, Edwin? Why in an hour?”
“I need to take a bath. I’ll tell you what we’re doing at the meeting.” I said, and I walked past Antony.
“Edwin!” He shouted at me. I turned to him wordlessly. “As your peer, I demand to know what you are planning on doing!” He said loudly. All of the guards in the room were staring at the two of us. I scowled, and walked up to Antony. I got my mouth right next to his ear.
“I have been through way too much today to have you order me around. Be in the meeting room in one hour.” I said, and I stormed away to get some food. 
> 41: of Green and Tubs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 41

The peaches bobbed in the tub along with me. I magicked peaches into my mouth whenever one drew near. It was blissful, and the pile of pits on the floor grew large.
“Come in.” I said quietly, expecting one of my Lieutenants or maybe even Luna, if I was lucky. There was a creak on the door as it was pushed open. The light hoofbeats narrowed down the pony to a mare, and a rather light one. I opened one of my eyes to look at her. I opened them wider when I couldn’t see one. I looked all around for her, and I had to grab onto the sides of the tub and hoist myself out. I looked around the room. One of the many rooms in the Palace that had a bathtub, filled with stained wood paneling and warmly lit, but sadly not one of the rooms with a lock. I looked around me. There wasn’t much. I heard another strange noise. I looked down.
“Aw!” I said unconsciously. There was a tiny little pony baby, with bright green eyes and a pale white coat. I knew it was Sebastian, but her tiny little eyes seemed to hypnotize me into not saying anything about it. She managed to get one of her hind hooves into mouth and gummed on it. I almost died of a brain hemorrhage, it was so cute. I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from telling the little tiny foal how insanely adorable it was.
“You’re pitiful, Ed.” A light female voice said from the door. I hated to drag my eyes away from the foal to see who it was. Sebastian walked in through the door, her adult female form entering the room like she owned it. I gulped. I looked down at little Sebastian, who was still nibbling on her hoof. Back to big Sebastian, who had sat down and was watching me with devious amusement. Back to little Sebastian, who had her forelegs open wide to ask me to pick her up. Back to big Sebastian, who had a hoof over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. My jaw hung open.
“Which one of you is real?” I finally said. The big Sebastian laughed.
“Which one do you want to be real?” big Sebastian asked jokingly. I looked back down at baby Sebastian.
“Probably that one.” I said, nodding at the little Sebastian. “She’s a whole lot more adorable and won’t try and kill me as much.” I said. Little Sebastian made some blubbery noises to emphasize my point. Big Sebastian clapped her hooves together once, as if to emphasise something.
“But then you would have to take care of a magically adept foal. She could actually kill you on accident.” She reasoned.
“It wouldn’t be intentional, and at least I can pass her off as my little sister.” I joked. Big Sebastian made an offended noise and threw a stray peach at me from across the room. 
“I could be your little sister!” She said with an audible pout. I chuckled and leaned back into my tub.
“I think that there might be some law against patricide in Equestria. Might!” I added, raising my forelegs to ward off another peach. She let the peach in question drop to the ground. I sloshed back into the tub, sighing. I raised one of my hooves to rub my forehead.
“So which one of you is the real one?” I groaned to myself. Big Sebastian chuckled. 
“Why does one of us have to be fake?” She asked. I lurched lower into my bath, lurking. Sebastian sighed. “I want in that meeting.” She said seriously. I laughed once.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Nope.”
“Yes!”
“Look, Sebastian. The last time that you came to one of my meetings, you were one of my Lieutenants that you seduced and then drugged the night before. Even if you weren’t disguised as somepony, It would be extremely hard to explain why you would be in the meeting. Besides, it’s not something I want you to know about.” I explained, floating a peach into my mouth. Sebastian scowled.
“Well then. I’ll just go and take myself with me.” She said, starting to walk over to little Sebastian. I sloshed out of the water.
“Don’t take her!” I complained. Sebastian looked at me incredulously.
“Have you ever been a foal, let alone taken care of one?” She asked of me accusingly. My ears drooped.
“No.” I mumbled morosely. Big Sebastian smiled.
“That’s what I thought.” She said, and picked up her smaller self with magic. The little Sebastian giggled as she was picked up. I looked after the adorable little thing longingly. She was at the door when she spoke again.
“I’m going to be in that meeting.” She said. I scowled.
“Do I get to know who you’re going to be?” I grumbled. Sebastian smiled.
“No. It’ll be obvious, though.” She said, and disappeared out of the door. I released a held breath and lurched back into the bath. The water sloshed. I raised a hoof up and splashed the water. I leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.
“I’ll never understand her.” I said to myself.

“I’ll be back in an hour, Luna.” I said, strapping on the shoulder of my armor.
“Promise?” She asked, eagerly standing behind me as I faced the door. I looked back at her and kissed her on the cheek.
“Promise.” I confirmed, and walked out of the door. I walked down to the meeting room. I passed several other ponies along the way that seemed much too busy to interact with me. There was even a pale golden unicorn that had three books, scrolls, and several quills that he was using to take notes with. I chuckled to myself as he passed. I soon turned a corner to the meeting room, and I saw several ponies quietly arguing with each other in front of the dais that was the entrance to the meeting room. One of them looked up at me, and the pony that she was talking to turned to look at me. By the look of his armor, I surmised that it was Antony before he actually turned. He turned back to Lieutenant Drizzle, and gestured that he would come back. He stomped over to me. 
“Edwin! Do you want to tell me what is going on?” He asked rather angrily. I frowned.
“No.” I replied bluntly. Antony sputtered.
“What do you mean, no?!” He almost shouted. For some reason, I found that statement to be somewhat funny.
“You’re really mad, aren’t you?” I said aloud. By the look on Antony’s face, he looked like he wanted to kill me.
“Of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?!” He said just as loud as before. Most of the Lieutenants behind him were staring. I frowned. If Antony didn’t stop soon, he would have found out how to force me to tell him. I summoned a dagger and pressed it to Antony’s throat. His eyes went wide, but my expression did not change. 
“You will understand why I did not tell you when you find out, Antony. It is something extremely important and it cannot be said outside of closed doors. If you do not want to be unable to attend this meeting, I suggest you stop kicking up such a storm.” I spoke calmly, ending with pressure on the dagger. Antony gulped.
“Very well then.” He whispered. I pulled the dagger away from his neck and looked at it. Antony was gasping. The dagger was rather simple. It would have been a bar of blue metal, but it had the same waffle string handle that my larger sword did. The blade itself was straight to a point on one end, but the other end had a nice curve about an eighth of the way down the blade that met the other side of the blade. The sharpened edge had a zigzag border that separated the unsharpened blade from the sharpened portion. I puzzled over it for another second, but then blinked it away. I looked back up at the Lieutenants that Antony was talking to earlier. Lieutenants Dash and Drizzle, along with Second Lieutenant Soarin and another pony that I did not know the name of. She looked like she was Drizzle’s second. I walked up to the ponies, and they seemed to be very serious. I was rather uncomfortable for a moment, but we all started to walk up the dais. It struck me that I had never seen Drizzle’s Second Lieutenant before. A bright pony, most certainly. Her pewter-colored helm was at odds with her lime green coat and red mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a strange looking thing, kind of a silver circle with a hole near the edge. There was writing on the circle, but due to social graces I couldn’t stare long enough to find out. We all got up on the dais. Antony looked at me, then I looked at Dash. She smiled and knocked one of her hooves on the floor twice. After a nearly imperceptible pause, the dais began to rotate. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was extremely tired. I was awake in the inertia chamber for a few hours, and the nap I got there was very unsatisfactory, looking back on the experience. My eyes drooped slightly as the meeting room was revealed. We all clambered off of the entrance and to our respective seats, with not a single word exchanged. All of the ponies assembled were looking at me shamelessly. For some reason, my earlier uncomforableness was not there, and I looked all of the ponies that were looking at me. A few of them looked away from my gaze. The ones that didn’t were very scary looking ponies, one of them the large maroon hulk that I had seen multiple times throughout the palace. I need to get to know that pony, I thought to myself. Dash and Soarin flapped over to their place near the back of the room, while Drizzle and her nameless Second walked over to their seats. Drizzle had her seat near the front of the chamber, on Antony’s side. Antony and I took our seats wordlessly, while I mentally prepared myself for the things that I was about to say. Antony nudged the little marble block that was the gavel. His deference gave me the authority in this situation. I lifted the block with magic and slammed it back down on the ground. The deafening clash resounded though the chamber.
“I call this meeting of the Royal Equestrian Guard Corps to order. Hold your questions.” I said, raising a hoof to a reddish pony from the rear guard. He sat back down awkwardly.
“Many of you are wondering why I have called this meeting with so little notice ahead of time. Some of you may have noticed that we have received little word from Cloudsdale as of late. I know why. And I intend to fix that.” I said, which made the ponies murmur amongst themselves. I picked up the marble cube and slammed  it down again. The ponies were all quiet. 
“I know the cause, and I also know the cure. It will certainly not be easy. It will not be an emotionally bearable journey, for most of us. But it is necessary. I will need to tell you what is happening right now. But first, I need a squad of unicorns, extremely proficient in protective and long distance offensive spells. I also need a squad of combat pegasi. Preferably two of each. Everypony else, I’m sorry that I’ve led you away from your daily duties. If you do not wish to volunteer squads, you must leave immediately.” I said. There was hesitation amongst many of the lieutenants. I slammed down the marble cube, and everypony started rushing out of the conference room very quickly. I waited for them all to file out. I looked down at my hoof while they got out of the room. It was a good twenty minutes before they all left, because most had to take the statue. Some unicorns just popped out of the room using teleportation spells, leaving behind a disgruntled second lieutenant. It was a while before I couldn’t hear the grating of the statue, then I looked up to see three lieutenants left. Pix, the large maroon colt, and then Dash. I was surprised at all three of them. I had expected something completely different, but who was I to judge? I locked myself down to try and tell them what was happening. 
“There are strange... Things, strange creatures, in Cloudsdale. They are extremely dangerous. My kind calls them Angelics, which is what I am going to refer to them today.” I said. The maroon colt kind of raised a hoof, flapping his wings a little bit.
“When you say ‘my kind’, what exactly-”
“You don’t often see numbers as a cutie mark, do you?” I asked, explaining. The colt, whose name I did not know, shook his head. “Well, I’d say that only four exist in Equestria right now. We’re all the same species. Anyways, These ‘Angelics’ are extremely dangerous. They have the ability to inhabit bodies of ponies. I am unaware if the pony remains alive during the process, but I have heard anecdotes that corroborate a pony staying alive after an Angelic is forcibly removed. Angelics are equipped with very formidable magic, along with superior strength and pointed teeth. They are very much Equuanoid in their original form. All of them have grey manes and black coats, along with red irises. The vast majority of them are unicorns. Also, the majority of ponies that I have seen inhabited by Angelics have been pegasi. There is a certain variation on the species that lives in Cloudsdale that are even more dangerous than the ones that inhabit the rest of Equestria. For some reason, their magic is even stronger than a regular Angelic, and they have been known to eat ponies. Now, I need you three here bec-
“I’m sorry.” Dash began, “did you say eat ponies!?” She exclaimed. I nodded. The maroon colt and Pix looked surprised. 
“You understand why it is so important to destroy them. Now, I am planning on having a team of Unicorns stationed on a cloud a fair distance from Cloudsdale, using offensive magic to try and kill Angelics from there. At the same time, the team of Pegasi will be storming the city and trying to find any survivors of the city. Also, at the same time, three ponies of my species, including myself, will enter Cloudsdale and kill whatever Angelics we can find. I am at liberty to say that Clouldsdale will be destroyed by the end of the battle.” I concluded. Pix said nothing, but the maroon pony and Dash were outraged. 
“What do you mean, destroyed?!” Dash yelled
“We cannot possibly participate! This place is our home!” The maroon colt said. I walked up to him. I looked him right in the eyes. 
“When you see what Cloudsdale has become, you would want to destroy it yourself. It’s just a hunting ground. I have seen an Angelic eat a part of a pony right in front of me. They aren’t natural.” I said softly to the maroon colt. He paled as I spoke. I walked back away from him.
“I need to know what is going to happen before I commit guards to this endeavor.” Pix said. I glanced at her, walking up to the statue.
“I don’t know what is going to happen. That’s why I need all of you. I’ll expect you all to give me your reports tomorrow.” I said. I could see them all as the statue turned to lead me out.

The lime green second lieutenant with the reddish hair was waiting for me on the other side. She was looking at me with an utmost seriousness. 
“Hello Sebastian.” I said. She punched the ground with one of her forehooves and swore.
“How did you know?!” She shouted. I chuckled a little to myself.
“Your mannerisms. That, and I’ve never seen that,” I emphasized by gesturing to her. “Before. You were better off with someone I’ve seen before.” I expained. Sebastian grinned.
“Now that you mention it, I did like that Ryo...” She said, trailing off. 
“You can’t have him. I kinda have a use for him, and I need him not hungover and seduced.”
“You’re no fun.”
“It happens when you grow up.”
“I’m older than you.” She complained.
“You don’t act like it.” I retorted. I started walking down the hall, and Sebastian followed behind me. I reached down with my teeth to undo the belt on my shoulder plate. Sebastian took the opportunity to complain.
“And I wasted a perfectly good disguise to get into that meeting, and my Lieutenant didn’t even want to volunteer! I feel downright cheated.”
“Lieutenant Pix is in charge of deep cover espionage. She had nothing to volunteer.”
“Still, though. It’s just wrong. Can you tell me!? What happened!?”
“I can’t tell you.” I said coldly, getting my tongue under a tricky little buckle. 
“Why not?!” She whined.
“Eh neh tu guet thus beckul eff.” I tried to say, trying to get this buckle off. Sebastian giggled a little bit. 
“What?” She asked, her voice amused. I finally got my teeth around the little metal piece in the buckle and ripped it off. The shoulder armor clattered down to my feet.
“I need to get this buckle off. And I can’t tell you because it is a state secret.” I explained, picking up the armor with magic and draping it across my back. Sebastian oohed.
“Sounds fancy. Can I bug you until you tell me?” She asked hopefully.
“No. Because now, I’m going to go see my mare and tickle her until she lets me preen her wings.”
“Kinky.”
“Not really.”
“You’re hopeless, Ed.”
“You’re just jealous.”
“Of her, or of you?” Sebastian asked. I laughed a little.
“Whichever one you want. But now I have to go get my ticklin’ hooves ready.” I said, trying to remember which floor of the palace Luna’s room was on.
“Good luck.” She said teasingly as I started to gallop.
> 42: of Daleks and Chameleons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 42

Tickling Luna did not go as well as I thought it would for three reasons.
The platoon of Guards in front of her room with express orders to keep me out was the first major obstacle.
Evangeline was the second.
The third was Princess Celestia. Needless to say that she looked rather mad. I looked around at the forty guards in the now cramped hallway. The helm of Lieutenant Flick, a small brown unicorn, bobbed near the Princess. His second was nearby, a rather slender Pegasus mare with a dark green coat. Princess Celestia walked up to me, almost seething.
“Captain Shell,” She said rather stiffly, “It has come to my attention that you have held a meeting without telling me about it.”
“You could have asked me without the help of Lieutenant Flick. And what the hell, Evangeline?” I asked, somewhat outraged, leaning to look past the Princess at the stoic Numbered. She was holding one of her hooves at about shoulder level, admiring it.
“I’m bored.” She said coldly. I frowned, and turned back to the Princess.
“Walk with me, Captain. We need to talk.” She said, and walked off into the halls. I sighed and walked with her. We were a fair distance away from the platoon. I sighed, and entered the Flow. Apparently Flick wasn’t a total idiot. He had sent several unicorns under extremely powerful concealment spells to trail Celestia and I as we walked down the halls.
“Perhaps we should move our conversation to another venue, Princess. The walls have ears.” I whispered. She nodded, and I pushed open a door to a branching room of the hallway. I could feel the frustration of Flick’s spies as the door slid shut quietly. I smiled and turned to the room.
“Wow.” I said. Celestia nodded in agreement. I edged past her to look at it.
“Is it really what I think it is?” The pale princess asked.
“I think so...” I said, and I leaned forward to sniff it. It certainly smelled like it. It certainly looked like it. But it didn’t, at the same time.
“Why is it red?!” I asked to myself. I reached up to poke it. It certainly felt like one. Hard and unforgiving, with a slight boom of wood. I frowned. It was a complete mystery. There was a loud noise from the inside, like a gong. I tilted my head. I looked back at the Princess and a sound of drilling came from inside.
“What were you going to say?” I whispered
“I don’t think it matters much.” She whispered back. There was another noise, like the click click of a striker. Then there was a large whoosh noise. I cleared my throat and listened harder. I had my ear up against the door and was listening intently when the door opened. I skittered away as fast as I could, and I stood up in a rather flustered way. There was a pony standing at the door of the red tardis, wearing an untied leather apron over his neck, a pony rig for a lit acetylene torch bolted to one hoof, and a metal welding mask. The pony was breathing rather loudly. He reached up with the torch arm and pushed his mask up.
“Edwin!” He said cheerfully. I was taken aback.
“D-Doctor?” I said haltingly.
“Quick! Get in the Tardis! No time to explain!” He said, rushing out to push me in.
“Doctor, what’s going on, I don’t-”
“I will set your tail on fire if you don’t hurry.” He said, gesturing with his torch hoof. I noticed that he had some rubber tubes that were snaking up to some tanks on his back. “Go on! Go!” He said, pointing the fire at me. I am of the opinion that nopony appreciates a singed ass, so I hurried on inside. The Tardis looked very different. There was some large metal container somewhat peeled apart near the top, standing near the Console. There was an extreme number of cables and cords hooked up to it, leading to a console wedge. The bottom of it was somewhat sloping, with fair sized hemispheres dotting the panels there in regular intervals. I looked up at it. It was a little bit taller than I was.
“Get away from my exosuit!” A halting, almost robotic voice said. I looked all around to see what it was. I looked down at my hooves.
“No way.” I said in disbelief. There was a little octopus looking thing in a little jar next to the metal container. I was surprised that it had the ability to speak. I leaned down to look it in its fat eyes.
“You’re really ugly, you know that?” I asked. The ugly thing blinked.
“We are made to be efficient!” the thing said, his gigantic brain throbbing with rage. I laughed.
“He’s pretty mad, you know. He doesn’t like me in his Archives. And I can’t figure out how to get the bugger out of his voice circuitry!” The Doctor said angrily, entering the Tardis. He seemed to sprint, nearly leaping onto his console. He was pushing buttons two wedges over. I looked on at the Doctor.
“So what is this thing?” I asked. The Doctor snorted.
“It’s a Dalek.”
“A who?”
“It’s not a who, it’s a what. Daleks aren’t people. They don’t even have emotions. That little thing in that jar, it’s a Dalek. That big metal thing, it’s a polycarbonate exosuit that the Dalek is dependent on for violent survival.” The Doctor said, detached. I turned back to the Dalek.
“Does it have a name?” I asked. The Doctor scoffed.
“It hasn’t told me anything yet. But there aren’t any more where he came from. He probably just got the wrong end of a temporal shift.” The Doctor said. I kept looking at the little blob.
“I could kill a dozen of them.”
“You couldn’t.”
“What do you mean? He looks like an octopus. They might even taste good.” I said, looking at the thing. He throbbed and squeaked a little bit. “Have you ever eaten one?” I asked.
“No. Besides, I don’t think that you can eat one. We are ponies, after all.”
“We should cook him.” I said, tapping the glass of the jar. The Dalek thrashed his tentacles a little bit, moving to the opposite side of the jar. “Where do you get all of these big jars, anyways?” I asked.
“There’s a shop in Salt Lick City that sells them.”
“How many do you have?”
“Around three thousand in my stores.”
“They must love you.”
“I have a card. Two free jars when I buy twelve.”
“You’ll run them out of business.”
“With as much money that I give them, they better be around for the next million years.” He said seriously. There was a long, drawn out pause.
“So what are you doing with this Dalek thing, anyways?” I asked. The Doctor grinned.
“I’m using the trace elements in his exosuit to try and rebuild my Chameleon circuit.” The Doctor said enthusiastically. I was at a loss.
“What?” I said flatly. The Doctor sighed, and pulled a lever. The wooshy noise of the Tardis moving was interrupted by his explanation.
“You know how the Tardis looks like a big phone booth, right?” He said simply.
“Yeah.”
“Well, It looks like that because the Chameleon circuit is broken. You see, when a fully operational Tardis arrives in a certain place and time, a technician would activate the Chameleon circuit to disguise the Tardis according to its surroundings. Well, the circuit in my Tardis was jammed long before I owned it. It was actually in a museum because of it, people thought it was funny.”
“A heartwarming tale.” I said sarcastically.
“Oh, it is! Because if I can fix the circuit, even for a single transposition, I can use it to enter Cloudsdale entirely undetected! We could enter the city without raising the alarm!” He said. I suddenly understood.
“That would be an immense help, Doctor.” I said. The Doctor nodded. “By the way, why did you get me out of there in such a hurry?”
“You were going to be assassinated.” The Doctor said offhandedly. I looked back up from the Dalek.
“Excuse me?”
“A crack team of about, oh, seven? Yes, seven Angelics were going to assassinate you as you were walking off with Princess Celestia. Rather bloody death, wanted to send a message. Open the door.” The Doctor said in his detached manner, walking back over to the Dalek exosuit. He flipped down his welding mask and went to work at it. There was a crackling noise and the Dalek started squeaking like a mouse.
“Finally!” The Doctor said, his mask muffling his exclamation. I opened the door.
“No way.” I said, breathless. We were in the Sigmus system, but not on a single planet. We were in space. The brilliant stars of Septimus and Culaan burned brilliantly in front of me, turning around each other slowly. I was nearly blinded.
“Doctor.”
“Yes, I know. Help me with this jar.” The Doctor said, his tone strained. I turned to see him trying to lift the jar with the Dalek in it. I grabbed the jar with magic without moving from my spot in front of the door.
“What do you want me to do with it?” I asked. The Doctor coughed.
“Just set it over there with you.” He said. I levitated the disgusting creature over to me and set it down on the doormat. It squeaked a little bit. The Doctor rushed up to me. He had something that looked like a clear ashtray in his mouth. It took me a moment to realize that it was the lid for the jar. The Doctor placed it on the top of the jar. It sealed with a slight hiss. The Doctor’s visage grew serious.
“Nameless Dalek.” The Doctor said coldly. The Dalek started to squeak.
“Your existence in this dimension is in violation of the laws enacted by the Shadow Proclamation against intraspecies genocide. What do you have to say to these charges?” He said slowly, making sure the Dalek understood. I had the feeling that he did, because the Dalek started to squeak and writhe even more.
“Your testimony is touching, if not true. I consign you to the void of space so that the rest of the universe may live in peace.” The Doctor said again, pushing the jar with one of his forehooves out of the Tardis door. It toppled silently, end over end, out into space.
“Is that jar airtight?” I asked. The Doctor looked out emotionlessly at the jar as it tumbled.
“No.” The Doctor said. His simple statement was punctuated by the Dalek inside of the jar exploding rather forcefully about twenty yards away from the Tardis. The Doctor reached out to close the door.
“I’ve always hated them.” He said, and he walked back to his console. He flopped onto a loveseat with various controls on the arms. He sighed heavily.
“Edwin, please do me a very big favor.” The Doctor said, slumped on his couch with his leather apron and gas tanks still on.
“You aren’t really my type, Doctor.” I said jokingly. The Doctor ignored me.
“Man the console and activate preset plural three.” He droned. I nodded and turned to the console.
“Hello Tardis.”
“Hello, Captain Shell.” The Tardis said in a light voice.
“Activate destination preset plural three, then give me a readout.” I said in an authoritative voice.
“Monitor preference?” The Tardis inquired innocently.
“Closest.” I said. Almost immediately a monitor popped out on a metal arm, reaching over so I could get a good look at it, to show me where I was going. It seemed to be a place in Equestria, and I tried to interpret the esoteric nature of the Tardis’ display to find out more.
“Where exactly is this, Doctor?”
“Push the lever and find out.” He said through his face in the couch cushions. I frowned. I read the coordinates of the destination.
“For the latitude and longitude of this destination, this coordinate is underground.”
“Trust me, Edwin. I’m a Doctor.” He said, not getting up from the sofa. I felt slightly annoyed. I knew that the Tardis wouldn’t let me transpose into solid rock, so I trusted it and pushed the lever. I looked up at the pillar above the console as it shone. I smiled slightly. I could go anywhere I wanted to. Literally, the entire universe was mine. When I stand in front of that console, I own everything that exists. I smiled as the Tardis transposed itself. I cleared my throat, and then I walked over to the door.
“Are you coming with me, Doctor?” I asked as I passed his couch. He grunted and waved a hoof at me.   
“No. I’m checking in to a spa.” He said in an extremely tired manner. I chuckled and opened the door of the Tardis.
“Wow.” I said. Ponies were milling about, doing all kinds of things. Most of it looked like clerical work. The only pony who wasn’t doing something office-like was a big maroon pony in the middle of the room, sitting and looking at the Tardis. He had a very strange contraption on his right foreleg that looked like a big metal sleeve. It ended near his leg-wrist, and I scolded myself for not knowing the proper terms for pony anatomy. I squinted. This was the Pegasus that had volunteered his guards for the assault on Cloudsdale. I walked out of the Tardis and walked up to the pony.
“Lieutenant?” I inquired warily.
“Captain. Come with me.” He said, turning from me and walking through an entryway. I followed him in a rather shy manner, trying not to be noticed. Much to my luck, I was not noticed.
Many of the ponies were just way too busy to notice a deathly pale earth pony that just walked out of a big blue box that just appeared a few seconds earlier. The Lieutenant I was following gestured to another guard near the corner of the room to take up his position in the middle. I followed the maroon hulk through a small stone hallway, which was lit rather well due to a few oil lamps.
“So, Lieutenant...” I trailed off, not knowing his name.
“Lieutenant Flint, sir.”
“Flint?” I asked. He nodded.
“My parents weren’t the most creative ponies when it came to names.” He said, rather abashed.
I had a turtle named Flint once. He liked to eat lettuce.” I said.
“I like to eat lettuce too.” He joked. I smiled.
“So, where are you taking me, Lieutenant Flint?” I inquired. Flint coughed.
“The Princesses wish to see you about your upcoming battle for Cloudsdale.” He said cautiously.
“To wish me good luck, I suppose?” I said sarcastically.
“Probably not.”
> 43: of Spies and Chains
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 43

“What?” I asked, slightly taken off guard. We continued to walk down the cold, rather claustrophobic stone hallway.
“Yeah, she seemed pretty mad.” He said. I calmed down immediately.  
“Just the one? Good. I can handle Celestia.” I sighed in relief. Flint looked rather surprised.
“That’s what caught me off guard, too. It’s actually Princess Luna that has rather... well, vocal objections to the upcoming battle. It caught me by surprise. I always thought that you two  got along so well.” He said innocently. I frowned.
“You have no idea.” I said, actually rather mad myself. There was no way that the Princess could have any objections to my plan. Dash and Pix surely have told Luna and Celestia every detail of what I had told them in the meeting. I steamed silently while Flint and I walked to see the Princess. He tried to start up a conversation, but I stayed silent. He soon gestured me to a stone door. I frowned and pushed it open. It was a very strange sight inside of the door. It seemed to be very close to a college classroom, the ones with the rows of seats like stairs leading up from a tiny desk at the bottom. The strangest part was an Angelic, right where the desk would be, literally mounted to the floor in heavy metal chains. I was surprised that it could stand, but then again, this was a pure Angelic. He was staring at me angrily, with his face contorted into an unearthly grimace of rage. I turned away from him. Marcus was sitting nearby, looking at the Angelic very seriously. Evangeline and Gespard were sitting on either side of Luna, who herself was above me in the room, sitting on one of the higher tiers. I looked around me. The Angelic started to sputter angrily. I looked him right in the eyes.
“My kind will kill you. All of you!” He shouted, turning his shoulder to scream at the room.I looked down at him with extreme contempt. He turned back up to me, smiling. “I would have killed you myself. We drew lots for who would eat you. I earned that right. You would have been so good...” He said, his long tongue running over his teeth. I could see the hunger in his eyes and it disgusted me. He was about to start up again before I walked over to him quickly and put my hoof under his chin and pulled his face up to look at me forcefully. 
“I’m going to draw straws to kill you.” I said to him. He looked happy. An insane kind of happy. The kind of happy that you can get locked in a little padded room for.
“We never die, Numbered. I’ve been killed by Othello nine different times. Evangeline, twelve. The blue one has killed me four times. Drowning is a terrible way for the body to die.” He said almost sadly. I growled at him, yanking his chin. 
“Nothing is too terrible for your kind. You deserve to die.” I said. The Angelic started to cackle. I stood on my hind legs and was about to hit it when Evangeline interceded.
“Enough of your games, Angelic.” Eve said calmly, gesturing with a hoof at the Angelic. He started to shake, and he soon was unable to stand. I released him and he lowered himself gently to the floor, his body trembling violently. The rattle of chains was all I could hear behind me as it shook itself to sleep. I waited for the rattling to stop to speak.
“Why are we keeping him alive?” I asked flatly.
“We need to torture it.” Marcus said, looking at levitating vial of a viscous orange liquid. His green magic moved the bottle around so that he could see it better.
“What are you doing with that?” Gespard asked, his voice afraid. Marcus grinned, walking up to the Angelic with his bottle in tow. I could see Luna watching on with grim indifference.
“Torturing, of course. What else would you do with a sample this big?” He asked rhetorically.
“I’d sell it, maybe.” Evangeline said, her voice very, very bored. “Where did you get that much, anyways?” She asked, turning to Marcus. 
“Alucard.” He explained simply. Luna, Gespard, and Evangeline all made noises of assent. Marcus was walking toward the Angelic very menacingly. He uncorked the bottle, and I could smell a faint whiff of sulphur. By now, Marcus was right next to the Angelic and I. 
“Marcus, what is that?” I asked. Marcus looked at me innocently.
“You’ve never seen dragon’s blood before?” He inquired. I remembered something. The Armory. The bottle that Antony tried to get away from me.
“What does it-” I started, but Marcus cut me off.
“You’ll find out soon.” He said, and tipped the small vial over. A bright orange tendril of the blood seeped out, smoking slightly. It dropped down onto the Angelic’s face. 
I’ve never heard anything scream like that in all of my lives.
He thrashed, he shouted, he begged for mercy. He asked us to kill him so many times. He burst blood vessels in his eyes, he was screaming so hard. He made eye contact with me twice when he was being tortured. Once was near the beginning. His violent red eyes shone with boundless rage. My heart caught in my throat when I saw that look. It was the look of a cornered animal. It was the look of something that would kill you at the nearest opportunity. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t afraid for my life when he looked at me like that. The second time was even worse. He was afraid. So far from the insanely happy Angelic that I had met only a few minutes before. It was crying. I stared down at it coldly. It didn’t deserve sympathy. It didn’t even deserve what we gave it. It only deserved to die.
“Marcus, stop.” I said, holding out a hoof. He looked at me. I was still staring down at the Angelic. He was whimpering. He was sniveling and whispering to himself. I placed my hooves on either side of his face. He just layed there. I felt the electricity crackle down my bones. It filled me with strange emotion. I finally looked down at the Angelic. He slowly turned to look at me with one of his big red eyes.
“Die. So that the rest of us may live in peace.” I whispered, and released the electricity through my legs. It jumped through the air, between my hooves, looking for something conductive. Angelics, like most creatures, are largely composed of water. Water is a very good conductor of electricity. Push comes to shove, and the electricity shoots straight into the Angelic’s brain. It locks up everything. He couldn’t see, probably. There was too much interference from the electricity for something as minute as sight to be processed. His heart clenched, unable to accommodate the strange, powerful signal from the brain. It couldn’t push blood where it needed to go. If a doctor were to look at the corpse, he might have said that it was a severe electrocution. But really, all deaths are just oxygen starvation. The brain can’t send the signal to the heart to push the blood, or the blood is too busy being all over the floor to carry oxygen, or the blood doesn’t have the right chemicals to carry oxygen. In the Angelic’s case, he died of a heart attack. A rather long one, truth be told. I removed my hooves from the lifeless body and sighed deeply. The death of an Angelic had never affected me so severely. Maybe because this one was not trying to kill me. Maybe because I actually spoke to this one. Maybe, maybe, maybe. I didn’t have time to think about it. I needed a hug. I picked myself off of my hooves with my Numbered magic and floated up to Luna. I passed Evangeline, who was sitting on a lower step, and Gespard, who was doing the same as Evangeline. I floated up to Luna’s side and sat very close to her. I was facing the wall that she was facing away from. I leaned over her neck so my head was on the opposite side of her than my body and looked back down at the scene. The Angelic mounted to the floor. Marcus, coldly capping his sample of dragon’s blood. Evangeline, looking at a bug near her feet. Gespard, staring at the Angelic. I couldn’t handle it any more.
“Leave.” I said softly. Marcus was the first to look up at me.
“What?” He asked incredulously. I felt sourceless anger rise into me. 
“LEAVE!” I shouted, making all three of the Numbereds flinch. They immediately popped out of the room, leaving me with the disconcerting moment of being completely alone with Luna. I leaned on her, tilting my head down until my head was touching her shoulder.
“Ed, what’s wrong?” She asked softly, showing no sign of noticing my earlier outburst. She craned her neck to look back at me with one of her eyes. It was big, blue, and beautiful. I sighed.
“I’m tired of killing, Luna. I’m just so tired of it.” I said. She sighed, pulling her head back up so that she was looking forward. 
“I know you are, Edwin. I see you almost every night, and with each passing day your eyes are older. Your ears droop. I hate seeing you like this, Edwin. Which is why I’ve given you a weekend off.” She said. I perked up a little, looking at the back of Luna’s head.
“What was that?” 
“I’m giving you a weekend off. I’ve asked for Evangeline, Gespard, and Marcus to cover whatever it is that you do when you run off with the Doctor and leave you with me.” She said rather excitedly. I smiled and got off of Luna. I beamed at her.
“Really?!” I asked. She nodded.
“But there are conditions, of course.” She qualified in a slightly reprimanding tone. I drooped a little.
“Like?”
“We have to go to a spa.” She ventured. I groaned.
“Why?” I whined. Luna frowned.
“If you had stood in front of a mirror this past week, you would know why.”
“Do I get to eat the cucumbers?” I asked.
“You get to eat yours. I want mine. Also, you need a suit.” She said. I grimaced.
“I never did understand clothing. Why do I need to dress up?” I complained aloud.
“Be quiet, that’s why. Also, the Gala is this monday. So there.”
“Cheater.” I mumbled. Luna continued
“I’ve also asked Tia to cover for me with my nighttime duties so that we can have this weekend entirely to ourselves.” She added, turning to look at me. “I took the liberty of renting us a bed and breakfast in Ponyville.” She said. I almost snorted.
“Why Ponyville?” I asked.
“Because it’s a rather small city where the arrival of a Princess and her Guard will not be heavily publicized or be considered scandalous. Also, it has a boutique and a spa within reasonable walking distance.”
“Boutique?”
“We’re picking up your suit.” She explained, and started walking down the stairs to the door. I followed meekly.
“I never liked suits.” I complained quietly.
“Would you rather show up to the most important social event of the year in Canterlot naked?” She asked. I chuckled.
“I go everywhere else naked.” I joked.
“That’s not the point.” She chastised me. I smiled to myself. We edged our way past the Angelic, draped in chains. I couldn’t look at it, but Luna stared as we walked past. She actually stopped and stared at it. I sided up next to her and stared at it too. “I don’t understand.” She whispered. 
“Don’t understand what?” I asked her delicately.
“How can ponies like that be so dangerous ?” She said to herself, in disbelief. I frowned.
“They aren’t ponies.” I said sternly. She turned to look at me.
“How can’t they be, Edwin!? Look at it!” She stressed a whisper. I looked. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, purple, and his eyes were rolled back into his head.
“They aren’t. I’ve seen what they can do. There’s no way that they can be natural creatures.” I said, slightly offended. Luna looked at me, her eyes hopeful for a moment, and then looked back to the dead Angelic.
“Even if they aren’t ponies, why are they so dangerous?”
“They eat us.”
“What!?”
“They eat ponies. I’ve seen them literally consume them, actually biting into a pony. It is a harrowing sight. Let’s go.” I said, walking past Luna as I finished. She clipclopped behind me for a few meters.
“Where are we going, Ed?” She asked innocently. I thought about it for a moment.
“Not sure. Other than the gross galactic coordinates, I’m not even sure where we are right now.” I admitted.
“Then let me enlighten you.” a masculine voice said from around the corner. I paused, hesitant to walk any further. I watched as a strange pony walked from around the corner. For a pony, he looked unusually gaunt and worn. His dull grey coat was at odds with his slightly curly dark blue mane that parted around his horn, but his eyes were a shockingly vibrant violet. He was unusually thin, with a black scarf tied loosely around his neck. I stiffened as I reminded myself that black scarves were reserved for Celestia’s chosen spies.I found him to be strangely familiar, and I could not place where I had met him before.
“Do I know you?” I interjected rather abruptly. He chuckled, his voice wheezing slightly.
“You may know my brother.” He said. His voice was rather raspy.
“And he is?” I asked. The pony reached up a hoof to clear his throat. He hacked for a little bit, but then flourished his hoof and bowed. I almost laughed.
“Asperx Bladesinger, at your service.” He said at the bottom of his bow. My mouth hung open. 
“Are you really his-”
“Yes, I really am. He looks more like mom, in my opinion. But I haven’t come here to talk to you about my family. The Princess needs to talk to you.” He said, with his violent purple eyes carrying extreme eagerness.
“Look, I’m not wanting to be rude or anything, but I just met you and all, and I don’t really-” I started, but Asperx’s horn started to glow a dull, glinting blue. A small square of parchment popped into existence, facing me. It looked fancy. Aged yellow parchment, wispy handwriting, and a few metallic stamps near the bottom. I didn’t have time to read it before Asperx started speaking.
“If you will not comply willingly, I have the authority under the Equestrian Secrets act to use whatever means that I find necessary to take you into custody.” He said, his voice carrying no semblance of a show of authority. It was like he was commenting on a certain dish in a buffet instead of placing me under arrest.
“Are you threatening me, Asperx?” I asked in a slightly demeaning manner.
“Only if you do not come willingly.” He said. I grinned, crouching down slightly. I started to circle Asperx. He did the same.
“I’ll meet up with you later, Luna." I said, not breaking my gaze from those purple eyes.
“Edwin, this is incredibly infantile and I will not just stand by and-” Luna started, but Asperx interrupted her.
“Princess, I must say that the good Captain is right. This is no place for a Princess. I’m quite sure that neither of us will come to harm,” He spoke as he circled, “But I would feel much safer if you were not nearby.” He finished. Luna humphed indignantly and stalked away. Asperx and I continued to circle.
“A very foolish thing to do, Captain.” the grey spy commented.
“I could tell you the same thing.” I said. Asperx said nothing. We circled. Like a lioness hunting her prey, like vultures over a wounded animal, we circled. We were sizing each other up. A tap to his foreleg, he favors it. A slice on the cheek, blind him with pain. Parry, thrust, jab. Block, attack, block again. The time finally came, after what seemed to be hours of silent planning and stalking our prey, we started. My sword was summoned quickly as I lashed out at Asperx. 
Our blades met with a note that only swords could sing.
> 44: Asperx' story
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 44


Asperx was a very, very strange pony. It’s almost impossible to describe how unusual he was among his species.

“Slacking in your form, Captain!?” Asperx spat at me as our swords clanged together. I gritted my teeth, feeling his unusual brand of bladesinging. The fight had been going for a few hours now, and I was unusually exhausted. His sword was more like a garden instrument than a sword. It started off straight near the hilt, but then started to get weird. Certain parts of the blade were very different from others, different shapes and sizes and angles and colors. It made the whole thing look like a piece of rainbow rock candy. It was almost a club, except that every facet was sharpened to perfection. It was very easy to swing, judging by the way that Asperx clobbered me with it. It made strange colored sparks every time that it came into contact with my blade. He was slightly shorter than I was, but he made up for it by just beating me around with that club of his. He pushed me around like he owned me. Looking back, I could have just entered the Flow and crushed him like a fly with my superior strength. I could have just electrocuted him until he let off. But I didn’t even think about it at the time. While I was thinking about what I could do, Asperx hoisted his club-sword high and shouted triumphantly. I took the opportunity to strike. My sword clipped his right foreleg just when he smacked it away before it could do any more damage. I looked at his wound. It was bleeding, I thought, but everything that was coming out was a bright, cobalt blue. I looked up at Asperx in disbelief. He chuckled.
“Spies aren’t just known for their ability to eavesdrop.” He remarked and swung his club at me again like a baseball bat. I lunged out of the way and right into Asperx’s face. I rose the sword up to his neck and pressed on it slightly. A drop of bright blue blood formed. Asperx panted with a wide grin on his face.
“A rare pony it is that can beat me with a sword.” He gasped out.
“You call that a sword? It’s more like a club!” I remarked in disbelief. Asperx chuckled, out of breath.
“I know, I know. Now please, let me go.” He said, extremely winded. I scowled for a moment, and he made a pleading look. I finally removed my sword and flicked the blood off of it. It sizzled on the ground, and I looked at it. I turned back to Asperx. He shrugged.
“I’ll promise that I’ll tell you later. We need to go now. An impatient Princess is nothing to trifle with.” He said, gesturing for me to follow him. I did so reluctantly. We walked together like we weren’t trying to kill each other a few minutes before. Some of the guards that we passed said hello to me, but they avoided Asperx like the plague. I noted that in my head and continued on without a comment. I finally had to ask him.
“You aren’t really a pony, are you?” I asked him after we passed one of the Royal scholars, surrounded in his normal attire of a cloud of books and papers. Asperx sighed, and his head slumped.
“I’m not now.” He remarked, sounding ashamed.
“But you were once?” I grilled. Asperx sighed heavily again.
“Yes, I was once. Let me tell you my story, it will help explain.” He ventured, and I nodded.
“Equestria during my childhood was not a very dangerous place at all. War of the Factions was about it, and that only lasted a few months when I was thirty.” He remarked, very blase.
“I thought it was a very dangerous and deadly war.” I questioned. Asperx snorted.
“Brother told you that, didn’t he?” Asperx inquired amusedly.
“How did you-”
“He always makes a big deal out of it. He got booted out of the army and right into the arms of the Royal Guards as soon as they found out he was a Bladesinger, but he always likes to make ponies think that it was a very very big deal and that he was a very very big part of it. He was in the army for about three minutes. Anyways, my childhood. I was a chipper young unicorn, looking up spells and whatnot in my spare time. You know what it was like as a foal.”
“I never was a foal.” I said, and Asperx looked at me with a quirky glance.
“Strange.” He said after a pause, and then continued. “Well, I was such an amazing student that my parents enrolled me into some magic school or another while I was still a very young foal. I can’t remember exactly which school it was, and I’m not too sure I would know it if I were to ever see it.”
“Why wouldn’t you remember the school? It must have been a big part of your life as a foal.” I said. Asperx stopped walking and stared at me openly.
“Do you know how impossible it is to try and tell a story around you?” He remarked indignantly. I felt slightly ashamed.
“Sorry.” I mumbled. The seemingly frail grey pony seemed to smile. His teeth were amazingly bright white squares. We started walking again, weaving our way around a whole gaggle of shouting foals and their weary teacher. We both laughed at the spectacle. It took a moment after that for his story to continue.
“I’ll get to why I can’t remember it later, as long as you won’t interrupt any more.” He chided. I pantomimed zipping my lips and he continued. “I was an exemplary student. I turned in all of my work, corrected my professors, and even met a princess. Some tiny little pink thing, I can’t remember her name right now. Anyways, I grew up. Mares became the subject of conversation instead of lunch or Mr. Kelp’s essay due tomorrow. There was one, I can’t remember what she looked like, but I knew what her favorite flavor of ice cream was. It’s sad. I can’t remember who she was or what she looked like or what her mane smelled like or what she liked to do in her spare time or even what color she was, but I know that she loved butter pecan ice cream more than Celestia herself. I’m good at rambling. But now we come to the important part. I was in my late twenties, working on an experiment with my chemistry professor, Dr. Scroll. The last thing that I can remember from that is that I titrated a solution. I remember specifically the dripping of the dropper, drop by drop by drop. There was a white flash. Everything went silent. What I’m going to say from this point forward is what I was told after the fact. The titration solvent was actually mislabeled. It was a solution griffon tears, which are extremely volatile when a correct incantation is said over them. The incantation was said beforehand in preparation for another experiment. The other experiment got a eighty-percent citric acid solution instead of a sixty-three percent activated griffon tear solution. It took a few minutes for the tears to heat up enough for them to react. I was told that they had to pick pieces of me out of the carpet from the floor below. That mare that I told you about, she found my liver, pancreas, and one of my eyes in her favorite garden on campus, a few buildings away. My brain and what little of my original body remained in the room were rushed to the medical research lab. Luckily, it was in the same building as my failed experiment. Dr. Scroll handed my remains off to Dr. Cap, who was a visiting professor at the time and, luckily for me, one of the brightest medical minds of his time. From what he told me, I wasn’t even recognizable as a pony. The metaphor he used was “Dragon vomit”. He worked on me for five days straight, trying to make me work again. He wouldn’t tell me how he fixed me, but I surmised one thing. The college, Canterlot university, has one of the largest research wings on Equine brain function in all of Equestria. Dr. Cap stole some brain matter from fresh cadavers, mixed it up into little pieces and then put them in my head so that I would have a complete brain. That’s why I can’t remember her name or what she looked like, or even my first magic school. But I can remember some things that I have never experienced. A shiny hearthwarming eve ornament, The smoky smell of hickory in a stallion’s mane, the bitter taste of black licorice, and the sound of a mare’s voice saying “It’s time for dinner”. You see, I’m not entirely myself. I’m little bits of different ponies, with the dominant part being my original personality. That’s why my sword looks so strange. All of those different facets, all of those colors, they all represent what means the most to one of the ponies in my brain. It’s strange. One of the pieces loves pecan pie. I used to hate pecan pie. The scent of a fresh one made me want to gag. Now, whenever I see one, It takes all of my willpower to not scarf it up right there.” He told me, and I felt harrowed. We were silent for a very long time after that.
“What about the blood?” I scrounged up the courage to ask. Asperx chuckled humorlessly.
“I never found out what it was. What I do know about it is that it has a high viscosity, a low boiling point, and has a pH of about eleven. It keeps me from freezing to death in climates that would make other ponies into fun shapes of icicle. The viscosity keeps me from bleeding to death whenever I have what could be a mortal wound. I don’t know what the high pH does, other than make me feel odd.”
“Odd?”
“My legs tingle whenever it rains.”
“That is odd.” I agreed. Asperx continued his story like I never asked a question, with his violet eyes conveying deep sorrow. I just then noticed that one of his eyes was a single shade of purple darker than the other one.
“I woke up the week before my funeral service. I got to see my gravestone, they already had it picked out. The epitaph read “A loving son, brother, and friend.” A few lines lower, there was another line. “He died doing what he loved”. I thought that was kind of funny, actually. I was a scientist, but If I died doing what I loved, they would have found my body with that mare. Anyways, I really had nothing to do with my life after that point. I had forgot nearly everything about being a chemist, and I could barely remember what my family looked like. I traveled. I went everywhere. As a foal, I could remember looking at all of the little dots on the map and wondering what they meant. I found out what they meant. I went everywhere. I saw Salt Lick City, Cloudsdale from balloon, Appaloosa back in its heyday. I went everywhere except for Canterlot. I tried to stay away from there. I was a published scientist in my other life, and ponies that I can’t even remember meeting before greeted me like we were foalhood friends. It was a sad place for me. Anyways, Princess Celestia went to Trottingham one year for the Summer Sun Celebration. I was abroad that year and decided to hop on the train and go see it. I couldn’t remember a full celebration from my previous life, so I really wanted to see one. Apparently, she was with a full complement of guards that year. Guess who was the commanding officer?”
“No idea.”
“Dear old brother, that’s who. He cried when he saw me. Rushed up to me and wouldn’t let me go. I’m about ten years older than he was, so he was still very young when my accident happened. My parents and I agreed to not tell him that I was still alive. It would be too strange for him, mom said. I agreed, because I wasn’t planning on staying at the family estate in Canterlot anyways. So imagine- Your big brother that you loved to death, come back to life and backpacking abroad. It pretty much destroyed him when he figured out that mom and dad were lying the whole time. I couldn’t blame him. But he pleaded me to come back with him. I didn’t want to, but I had to. He had already been hurt so much because of what I agreed to, and I couldn’t bear to hurt him anymore. I talked to the Princess on the way back to Canterlot. She nearly died of excitement when she found out I was a bladesinger. The Princess was also shocked by my story, but was intrigued enough to offer me a job. Second lieutenant of the forward second. Looks great on a resume and pays even better. So I bought a house in one of the Canterlot suburbs and commuted to work every day. It was good. I could go practically wherever I wanted, which meant a whole lot of time away from Canterlot. I was truly happy for once in my second life.” He finished. I was aghast. His story sounded frighteningly similar to mine.
“You remind me of me.” I said. Asperx looked at me like I was asking him if I could lick his eyeballs.
“Really?” He asked incredulously. I nodded.
“Yeah. I died once, too.”
“Really?!” He asked again, not even believing me any more.
“You see, I came to Equestria from an entirely different dimension. You know what a dimension is, right?” I asked. Asperx just shrugged. “Well, all you need to know about it is that it’s like here, but in a completely different place. Anyways, I was a human.”
“A human?” Asperx asked, completely in the dark. I had to think about how to explain what a human was.
“Imagine a Dragon. A really short dragon, but a foot or so taller than one of us.”
“Okay.”
“Now imagine this dragon without any scales.
“Um...”
“And this dragon has a very flat face. No real beak to speak of or anything. Very long legs, they kind of resemble the arms. And the hands of the dragon are very stubby and don’t really have claws. That’s what I was.”
“You might be weirder than me.” Asperx muttered, and I laughed.
“Maybe. But anyways, I died like you did, and I woke up exactly like this.” I concluded, gesturing to my perfect Numbered body. Asperx grinned.
“That’s very interesting. I have the feeling that I might get to know you very well.
“Cool.” I said. Asperx reached up to the left side of the hall and pulled down on a candle holder. A square opened up in the wall and he pushed me in. He was laughing as he closed the stone door behind me. He entered with me. 
"That was strange." I said.
"That was the door." He corrected, and we continued down another hall. We finally reached a large stone room in at the outlet of the hall. There was a large stepped podium up to a chair on the floor. Celestia was sitting there, looking very disgruntled.
"I have a bone to pick with you, Captain." She said very angrily.
> 45: The Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 45

Celestia sat on her throne, staring at Asperx and I. Mostly me. She glared with an inhuman rage, something that made me shiver a little. She got up. Her slender legs underneath her, she descended from her throne to make her difference in height between normal ponies a little bit more useful. She strode up to me and looked down at me. Asperx did nothing at all.
“Second Lieutenant Bladesinger.” She said forcefully. Asperx snapped to attention with an audible clack.
“Yes, Your highness!” He barked. I smirked at his complete change in attitude. 
“Do you know why I asked you to bring Captain Shell to me today?” She inquired with a slightly condescending tone.
“I- It is not my place to know why, Your Highness. I only do as told.” Asperx said, grasping for clues about why he was being questioned. Celestia made a long “Oh!” as she turned back to me.
“Do you see the differences between the two of you? He only does as he is told, Edwin! He never talks down to his superiors, he never goes over their heads, and he certainly never wakes them up in the dead of night and accosts them!” Celestia shouted at me, her perfect white face shaking with anger. I could feel the temperature rise in the room a little bit, and I know that I had to diffuse this situation before it got out of hand. 
“Princess, listen, I-” 
“Don’t Princess me. I have lived for far too long to be lectured by a pony not even a month old, even one of your caliber. I’ll roast you alive right where you stand, and Second Lieutenant Bladesinger won’t even bat an eyelash.” Celestia spat, her angry lavender eyes stabbing at me. I met her gaze, but not angrily. 
“Prin-”
“Just let me speak. You have scheduled an attack on Cloudsdale without my aproval, using my guards under my authority to destroy a city that is under my dominion. Not only that, but I’m fairly sure that your little ‘vacation’ with my sister this weekend is completely stupid and not advisable in the least. I have half a mind to chain you to my throne for the entire weekend and have you show up to the Gala naked.” Celestia nearly shouted. I laughed a little.
“That’s what I told Luna. The naked bit, that is.” I joked. Celestia didn’t lighten up, and the heat in the room increased a little bit. I was starting to sweat. I looked over at Asperx. He looked like he was about to faint. Sweat was dripping down his face, and he was panting heavily. His curly blue mane was plastered to his neck. 
“Princess!” I shouted. Celestia was shocked out of her anger and looked at Asperx.
“Oh no.” She said, remembering his low tolerance for heat. She picked him up with magic and rushed out of the room. Her hooves click-clacked quickly as she ran out.
“And don’t you dare leave!” She shouted after me as she left the throne room. She closed the door behind her with a loud bang. I slumped down to the floor, the energy in my legs leaving me. I had forgotten the last time that I was asleep, which was happening way too often during my life as a pony. I lied there on the steps of Celestia’s makeshift throne. I sighed. 
“When will it end?” I whispered to myself. Sometimes I wished that I had just died in that train crash. Sometimes I wished that I had been killed by an Angelic. Sometimes I wished that I could just kill myself. But I couldn’t. I didn’t stay dead because I’m a Numbered. I can’t be killed by an Angelic because I’m a Numbered. I can’t kill myself because I’m a Numbered. My life is no longer my own. I owe my life to the millions upon millions of creatures that inhabit Equestria. I sighed for my lost life of leisure. I closed my eyes slowly and surrendered my mind to the carefree land of dreams.

I walked through the lattice archway, with the scent of honeysuckle strong in my nostrils. I 
didn’t know where I was, but I knew the child. He was playing with a train set underneath a 
large peach tree. I walked up behind him and knelt down to look over his shoulder. He was making noises with his 			   mouth as the train moved. He picked up a tiny toy car and threw it on the ground, with a loud “Boom!”. I tapped the boy on the shoulder. He turned to me, startled. But not as startled as I was. This boy was clearly a human. Hair on top of his head, ears on the side of his face, and freckles on his cheeks. His eyes were a bright shade of blue. 
“What’s your name, Mister?” The boy asked, sounding congested. He sniffled.
“I’m Edwin. What’s your name?” I asked back. The little boy smiled. 
“You don’t get to know.” He said with a smirk, and turned back to his train. I smiled, watching the boy play with his train.
“What am I going to call you if I don’t know your name?” I asked. The boy turned back to me, his bright red eyes hungry. He lunged at me and bit my throat. I felt his sharp teeth puncture my neck. He tore off a chunk of-

“Edwin? Edwin!? Edwin wake up!” a faraway voice said, jostling me with his words. I opened my eyes and skittered away from the sound. I was panting when I could finally look. The Doctor was reaching for me, his hoof reached out to me. I looked past him to see it.
“Oh my god, Doctor...” I moaned, slinking back down onto the steps. I could feel the tears welling up inside of me. It walked up behind the Doctor, looking very concerned. I sobbed, trying to escape the thing. 
“Why is it here, Doctor?” I cried, flinging my hoof at the creature.
“‘It’ has a name, you know.” He said in his blase way. The creature edged around the Doctor, his bright red eyes showing sympathy. I sputtered and flung my hooves up to point at it.
“D-Don’t come any closer, or I swear to god I’ll kill you!” I shouted at the creature, my voice uneven. The creature paused, his expression hurt. I used my back hooves to edge away from it. 
“Edwin, get up. You’re a bloody mess.” The Doctor said. I was sobbing too much to make a coherent argument. The Doctor and the thing both started to walk toward me. I pointed one of my hooves at the Doctor. 
“I’ve killed you once, Doctor. I’ll d-do it again.” I said, scooting backwards still. I sniffled. The Doctor took another step towards me. I grit my teeth and shot out at him. The lightning struck him square in the chest, picking him up and throwing him across the room. He made a sharp crack as he hit the wall. He slid down the wall and onto the floor, collapsing into a limp pile. I stared at him for a moment, completely shocked, until I saw the creature move out of the corner of my eye. I rounded both of my hooves on him, the electricity flowing freely through my bones. There was the occasional crackle, the visible zap of the arcing lightning. The creature seemed pitying. 
“D-Don’t come any closer.” I managed to say, my voice nearly unintelligible. The creature smiled in gentle way and walked closer. My forelegs started to shake, and I finally scooted up against the wall. I was cornered. My eyes were wide as I watched the gigantic hulk come closer to me. Closer. Closer still. I stared up into its gigantic red eyes. 
“Don’t touch me. I’ll k-k-kill you.” I stuttered. The red monstrosity laughed.
“No, you won’t.” He said in a deep, deep voice. I was shocked out of my fear. I finally recognized it- Him, for what he really was.
“You can’t be. There’s no way. It’s not possible.” I whispered, aghast. He smiled again.
“You are no stranger to magic. It isn’t impossible.” He said. I shook my head. 
“No... You can’t be. You’re dead.” I whispered again, looking down at his hooves.
“Yet, here I am. Get up and give me a hug, Edwin.” He said again, and I looked up at him. The tears started to flow freely now, but for a reason completely different than fear. I struggled to get up to my hooves, and I stared up at the enormous pony. He smiled his big, awkward grin, and I jumped up to hug him. I cried.
“I missed you.” I whispered between sobs. He patted my back with one of his hooves.
“I missed you too, Edwin.” He assured. There was a loud creak and a slam of a door. I turned. There was Celestia by herself in the entryway to the throne room, standing in front of the Doctor’s corpse. She was staring at it. She finally managed to drag her eyes away from it and locked on the two of us. Her mouth dropped open. She was trying to make some kind of word, but her speech failed her. He pried my hooves from around his neck and walked over to Celestia. I crumpled up in a heap on the floor. He finally reached her. Celestia stared up at him, utterly speechless. The big pony wrapped his hooves around her neck and started to cry.
“I missed you so much.” He sobbed out. Celestia was completely flabbergasted. She was still slackjawed by the time I got to my hooves. She managed to get her hooves between her and the pony and she pushed him away from her. She held him and leg length and looked at him. Tears welled in her eyes when she finally understood.
“Othello.” She whispered.

“Bloody hell, Edwin. When you kill somepony, you do a really good job of it.” The Doctor said, rolling his neck. I grinned a little bit as we walked down the drab concrete hallway.
“Yeah, well...” I said, feeling a little bit guilty. The Doctor chuckled and punched my shoulder playfully. 
“It’s not that big of a deal. Besides, I got these puppies out of the deal.” The Doctor bragged, flapping his brand new wings. I rolled my eyes. He was going way overboard with the wings. He would even hide things just so he could ‘find’  them for us on a higher shelf.
“Somepony really needs to deflate your ego.” I said. The Doctor and I edged around one of the many scholars in this part of the... of the...
“What is this place, anyways?” I asked him. The Doctor shrugged.
“I don’t know for sure, but I can guess.” He said. I gestured for him to do so. “It’s probably a bunker of some kind. You know, like a panic room. After the failed attempt on your life, practically the entire palace must have moved into this place.” The Doctor said, emphasizing his theory with a little flap of his wings. “So what did I miss?” He asked.
“Not much. I had to drag you out of there before Celestia stuck her tongue down his throat. You’ve been in bed for a few hours. I’ll bet that they’re still glued together.” I said, slightly disgusted. 
“Now now, Edwin. Imagine it from her point of view. The only pony that she ever loved, the only pony that can reciprocate her affection, come back from the almost certain grave? What would you do?” The Doctor childed.
“I certainly wouldn’t try to lick his tonsils.” I commented snidely. The Doctor laughed. 
“You’re not really his type, I think.” The Doctor joked. I laughed. The Doctor stopped laughing and halted. I walked on a few feet before I noticed his absence. I looked back to him, slightly concerned.
“You okay?” I asked. The Doctor blinked.
“I can’t remember where I parked my Tardis.” He said with the utmost seriousness. I laughed once.
“You can’t be serious.” I said. The Doctor squinted his eyes. I burst out laughing again. “Sweet Celestia, Doctor, it’s not like you lost it in the parking lot!” I blurted. The Doctor floated up into the air and pressed his hooves to his temples. I howled down below him, rolling on the floor. 
“Shut up! I’m trying to think!” The Doctor said, and I tried to stay as quiet as I could. I looked up at him with my hooves covering up my ears. A Royal Scholar edged his way past us, not even giving us a passing glance. The Doctor hovered for quite a bit, thinking in the air. 
“Aha!” The Doctor shouted, rocketing off down the hall. I groaned and followed him, leaping up into the air.

The Doctor pushed open the door to the Throne room. 
“You know that we could have just teleported there.” I reasoned with a whisper. The Doctor shushed me.
“I don’t like the taste of your mane.” The Doctor retorted. I reached up with a hoof and pushed some of my mane next to my nose. The smell made me cringe.
“Luna deserves a medal.” I said to myself. I looked around the cavernous room. I smiled to myself when I looked at the ceiling. The room was actually a cavern, with stalagtites and stalagmites and everything. It was a huge room, and it was perfectly gaudy enough for a throne room. My eyes finally came to rest on the big blue Tardis, wonderfully out of place on the left side of the room. I rushed up to it, and pushed the door open. The big writhing ball of red and white in the middle of the Tardis was not something that I wanted to interrupt, so I closed the door just a little bit more quietly than I opened it. I looked up at the Doctor. I blinked once. He tilted his head and looked at me like I was tapdancing. 
“Why didn’t you go in?” He asked, pointing a limp hoof to the Tardis door.
“We might want to wait a few hours. Before going in there.” I qualified. The Doctor seemed slightly suspicious.
“Are they...”
“Yep.”
“In my Tardis!?”
“Last time I checked.”
“And you’re just going to-”
“Let it happen.” I finished the Doctor’s sentence for him. He huffed, crossing his forelegs, and promptly forgot to flap his wings and fell right on his ass. 
“Bollocks. What in Equestria are we going to do for the next few hours?” The Doctor wondered openly. I had a suggestion ready.
“Tell me what the hell happened.” I said. The Doctor shook his head.
“Not possible. I can’t tell you about your future.” He said bluntly.
“Aw, come on!” I whined. The Doctor remained impassive.
“Nope.”
“You suck, Doctor.” I complained. The Doctor laughed.
“Edwin, my boy, you have absolutely no idea.”
> 46: The Repairman
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 46

The Doctor and I decided to have a late lunch and talk things over before I had to leave for Ponyville with Luna. There was a small kitchen quite out of the way of just about everything in the Royal bunker that fit the need perfectly. The Doctor ordered hay fries for me, something that he swore was God’s gift to ponies. Soon after, two steaming plates of what looked like extremely long french fries were levitated over from the kitchen. 
“So Doctor.” I asked before he could smear his face with hay fry grease. The looked up at me, annoyed. “You gotta explain some things to me.” I said. The Doctor gulped and set his front hooves flat on the table.
“As long as the answer doesn’t require me to tell you about your future.” The Doctor said, and picked up a hay fry with his mouth. He chewed it with what seemed to be exaggerated expressions of pleasure. I thought for a bit and looked at my cooling fries. There were so very many things that I wanted to know about that I couldn’t figure out for the life of me.
“Tell me about Othello.” I said. The Doctor gulped up his dangling fry and looked at me for a moment.
“He’s a big red pony, big one on his flank.”
“Funny.” 
“I’m serious.” The Doctor reiterated. I plopped my forelegs down on the table.
“But really. Where did you get him?” I asked. He was silent for a moment.
“About four days in the future, I found him roaming around Southern Equestria. Beat up a little bit, needed a bath. He wouldn’t tell me where he came from or why he was in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t even know where he was. That worried me.” He said, his visage becoming stressed.
“That’s a bad thing?” I inquired. 
“In all of the two or three thousand years that I’ve known Othello, I’ve never known him to ever be lost. But I’ve never known him to die, either. Maybe it’s a trend...” The Doctor trailed off, trying to flag down a passing cook. A dark blue pony noticed him and walked over. “Pot of coffee, please.” He said gently. I nearly gagged on a mouthful of hay fries.
“Of all the places I’ve been, of all the things I’ve seen, you have to be one of the more interesting things.” The Doctor said. I blinked slowly and stuck out my tongue to catch some hay fries. The cook finally showed up with a levitating pot of coffee. I sniffed the air. There it was. The cornerstone of my life. I started to salivate.
“I want some.”
“I know you do. But I need you to tell me some things first.” The Doctor said, pouring out a cup from a spontaneously appearing mug. My mouth hung open. 
“Tell me what you know about Cloudsdale, Edwin.” He said, taking a sip of the coffee. He smiled a wide smile and smacked his lips. 
“Angelics.” I said, staring at the steaming cup of mystical brown liquid. The Doctor made a pointed stare at me.
“What about them? What kinds?” He asked. 
“Weird ones. Almost entirely black eyes, and the hosts that they occupy are almost always injured in some serious manner. They seem more aggressive and powerful than other types of Angelics. I’m worried about the siege. I don’t know if I can allow mortal guards to enter Cloudsdale to fight. They might just get eaten alive.”
“So you’re worried about casualties?” The Doctor asked, taking another sip of the coffee. 
“I would be incompetent if I were not.” I said. The Doctor frowned, holding his coffee under his nose. Another waiter was walking by, and the Doctor caught his attention again. He mumbled something unintelligible and the waiter nodded. The Doctor turned back to me.
“What are you going to do? I need to know where I am going to put the Tardis. I need to know just about everything that you plan on doing. And I need to know soon.” The Doctor said. I thought for a moment, my eyes squinting.
“Well, there was this... Wait. Wait just one second, Doctor.” I said snidely. The Doctor made a face at me.
“What do you mean?” He asked, slightly incredulous. I eyed the Doctor with a newfound criticism. 
“You took Othello from about four days in the future and brought him here, right?” I asked. The Doctor nodded. 
“That means that you are from the future in my personal timeline. I was planning on having the battle for Cloudsdale this weekend until Luna sprung a vacation on me. It’s fine, though, because I think that most of the mortals in Cloudsdale are already dead, and those that are still alive are talented enough to last three more days. Luna didn’t know that. Celestia didn’t know that. Hell, my Lieutenants didn’t even know that. And you didn’t even know that. Not even the mighty Doctor. For all of the times that I’ve killed you, you’re mighty trusting of me. But I’m wary of you now. I don’t know why, but I do know something. I was planning right now to hold the battle about four days in the future, if not sooner. Maybe even earlier the same day as the Gala, on Monday. But I know that it should be over by four days from now, I know this. The Doctor from my timeline is very strange, but he isn’t stupid. He would never bring someone from the future back into the past. Maybe from the past into the future, but never the other way around. He favors his right hoof to his left when it comes to pushing things around on a table and picking things up. He also has a slight tick when he is eating, he usually touches his left hoof with his right when he is done chewing. That’s why I’m not too sure about you. You’re favoring your left hoof. But there’s something else, too. Something that I can’t put my hoof on. Something that puts me on edge.” I expunged, trying to make sense of my observations vocally. The Doctor sipped his coffee again, looking very interested. He set down the coffee on the table clumsily with his right hoof. 
“Some very serious accusations, Edwin. Very serious.” The Doctor warned. I grinned.
“I know. But I can’t trust you now that you’ve regenerated.” 
“Oh? And why is that?” The Doctor inquired, trying to scoop up some hay fries with his right hoof.
“I’ve never met an Angelic that has used an earth pony as a disguise. Only a pegasus.” I said. The Doctor instantly fell silent, looking up at me. He stopped pushing his hay fries around on his plate. We locked eyes. His bright blue eyes, showing absolutely no emotion. I became afraid. My claims were completely groundless, and I never suspected the Doctor to be an Angelic. But there were some things. The Doctor never forgets where his Tardis is. I gulped, not breaking the stare. Then, there was something out of the corner of my eye. A small white plate levitated itself right in front of the Doctor and set itself down with a nearly silent clank. I looked down at it and smiled. I looked back up at the Doctor again, venom fresh in my eyes. He looked afraid. I had very little time to act. I rose to my hooves about as fast as my Numbered body could from a cold start. I pushed off with my back hooves and lunged over the table, reaching for the Doctor. I saw him blink in slow motion. He wasn’t even processing what he was seeing yet. I took hold of the air around me with magic and flew forward, grasping the Doctor under his forelegs and flying him into the opposite wall. He coughed as we impacted, spewing a glob of blood. I felt it on my foreleg. I raised the leg covered in blood and I hit the Doctor in the face. He spat blood again. He looked back at me with honest surprise on his face. 
“You dumb wank! What in Equestria are you doing!?” The Doctor spat at me. I growled at him and he backed down.
“You can’t honestly think you can keep up the charade, you Angelic filth!” I shouted right back, making the Doctor bare his teeth at me. I was on my hind legs and holding the Doctor against the wall so that his rear hooves couldn’t touch the ground. I stared at the Doctor, extremely enraged.
“Edwin, just let me- hhrnk!” The Doctor was cut off because I pressed on his throat with my foreleg. I had my other hoof charged and pointed at his face. The Doctor scowled at me and blinked. His bright red eyes were a startling sight. Several of the ponies in the kitchen that were not already surprised were losing their minds. I couldn’t hear myself think over their whispering, but I couldn’t do anything to change it. The Doctor spread his mouth in a gory smile, revealing a full set of glistening white fangs. I scowled.
“How long have you been in him?” I asked the Angelic in a halting voice. When he didn’t answer, I pressed on his neck and got closer to him. “HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN HIM?!” I shouted. The Angelic chuckled. 
“Not more than three hours. I took this body while it was sleeping. It has so much... knowledge...” The Angelic whispered the last part with his eyes half-closed. “What gave me away?” He asked. I had the urge to punch it in the face again. I did. 
“The pears on that plate. The Doctor loathes pears with a passion.” I explained while the Angelic spat out a few fangs. He chuckled again. 
“Very observant, Five. I now know why we fear you.” The Angelic commented. I spat in its face. He sneered at me, crinkling his nose so that I could see his fangs.
“You picked the wrong body to steal, beast.” I whispered to the Angelic. He smiled his stupid grin that was starting to get annoying. The pale brown coat of the Doctor was starting to ripple a slight bit, like something was trying to get out.
“I think that I picked one of the best. A device that can take me wherever I want to go, close ties to the Royalty and the Numbereds. And a pegasus, no less. Trifecta.” The Angelic wheezed. 
“I need that body back.”
“I’m too busy using it for espionage.” The Angelic said, sounding slightly offended. I chuckled at how entitled he sounded.
“I don’t think it’s your choice.” I said, trying to remember. The memory leaped to my mind almost instantaneously. The filly bound with rope and the floor covered in broken glass became the forefront of my mind.

"If you hurt them enough, they leave their host. Then you can kill them.” She said, her brilliant green eyes burning with passion.

I looked at the Angelic again, trying to remember Earth science. Volts, watts, amps, ohms... I finally figured out the proper equation and my brain translated it into reality. An extremely high voltage with low amps should do the job. I released the modified current into the Angelic. There was a startling moment when the Angelic locked up in surprise. He opened his mouth in shock, and then started to scream. It was a pained, ragged exclamation. Rising, falling, weeping. It kept on for a few minutes. There was some slight magic coming out of the Angelic a few minutes in. The Doctor’s coat started to shimmer a little bit, growing shiny and iridescent. I pressed on. Other than the Angelic ruining his voice, that was the first sign that my torture was working. I pressed on, triumphant. Almost instantly the Angelic’s figure became superimposed over the Doctor’s body, flickering slightly like an old tv set. The Angelic stopped screaming for a moment and then groaned. His head slumped out of the Doctor, and the Doctor fell away from the Angelic. I was now standing in a room filled with at least six mortified ponies, a ragged Angelic, and an incapacitated time lord. Fun. I grabbed the Angelic by the shoulders and teleported to the outside. The warm afternoon sun made me squint my eyes, blowing sand around in the cool wind. I looked around at my surroundings. It seemed to be some kind of desert, with cacti and nearly dead foliage all around me. I looked at the Angelic that I was dragging around. He was unconscious. That wasn’t going to work. I hoisted him up above me with one hoof and punched him in the face with another. He slowly rose to consciousness and blinked, his red eyes looking unusually groggy. I smiled and started my ascent. 
“Morning, sleepyhead.” I mocked. The Angelic remembered where he was and looked down at me.
“What do you think that you’re doing? Unhoof me!” The Angelic shouted, indignant. I smile and twisted in the air so that the Angelic had a good look at the ground, rapidly shrinking under the two of us.
“Choose your words carefully, beast. I just might comply.” I said to the Angelic. He paled, if that was at all possible with his coal black coat. He gulped, and I rose higher.
“Air’s getting thin. Might get hard to breathe in a few more hundred feet. Better start talking before you can’t.” I warned the Angelic. He started to panic.
“Please, don’t kill me, I’ll-” The Angelic pleaded, but I fumbled him to shut him up.
“I have no pity for your kind. There is nothing that you can give me that will make me spare you your unearned life. Now talk!” I shouted, holding the Angelic closer to the ground. It was slightly silly when I thought about the scale of the threat, but it seemed to work. 
“They wanted me to figure out if there would be an assault on Cloudsdale. They wanted to know if it was possible to use the blue box to our advantage. They wanted to know how many of us could fit in the box. They wanted to know, they wanted to know, just please don’t kill me!” The Angelic said, his eyes pleading with me. I looked down at it in disgust. Of all the Angelics that I’ve met, this one has to be the biggest coward of them all. 
“You make me sick.” I said to the creature. He whimpered and tried to make himself smaller. The thin air started to take hold. I muttered a spell that would keep me breathing, but would leave the Angelic open to the elements. 
“Do you happen to know how long a pony can survive this many miles up?” I asked. The Angelic whimpered.
“About three minutes. Do you know how long it would take for you to hit the ground from this height?” I asked the Angelic again. “About seven minutes. And now, you affront to nature, I give you a choice. Either you can stay up here and suffocate or freeze to death, assured of a slow and painful death...” I said, gesturing all around me with my other hoof. “Or you can take the painless death and fall for seven minutes in crippling fear to your grave. You don’t have very long to decide before I decide for you.” I said to the Angelic. He sighed, his breath freezing in the air. I watched him with a strange curiosity. I had never met an Angelic like this one before. He struggled with his decision. I wondered openly at his strange display of emotion.
“Please don’t let me fall.” The Angelic begged. I cast a spell over the Angelic so he wouldn’t die of oxygen deprivation and other fun things. He gasped, inhaling the fresh air made by the magic.
“How old are you, Angelic?” I asked. The Angelic shivered. 
“Three.” He said dryly. I had the urge to drop him right then and there.
“How many ponies have you eaten?”
“More than a thousand.” He commented blandly, like he was asked how he wanted his eggs. I almost vomited. I looked the Angelic in his bright red eyes. they looked slightly bored. I had to do it. I dropped him. He fell like a stone through the thin air, and I flew down with him to make sure he didn’t do anything funny, like a teleportation spell. He screamed the whole way down. He cursed me for lying to him. He raged at the universe. He shouted about everything he ever hated. It was unusual- Most of the Angelics that I have met alluded to some kind of reincarnation. This one was acting like he would only live once. I warched him fall, screaming at the world that let him die. I felt a slight pity- only a slight one. If I were to nail it down to any one thing, I would have to call it empathy. I have died before. It was only logical to have a slight stirring for something that feared death. I watched the Angelic from a distance as he entered his last few seconds of falling. He flailed like mad, trying to fly with wings he no longer had. He stopped screaming for a moment. I rushed up to see him, to see if he already died. I got a good look at his face from when he finally fell. 
“I WILL KILL YOU, FIVE!” The angelic shouted at the top of his lungs, and then dug his own grave with his corpse. I felt my heart drop through my chest. It took a twisted and depraved type of soul to use their dying breath to promise vengeance. But then again, this was an Angelic. There was no telling what he was capable of. I flew my way back to the Royal bunker with a heavy heart. 

“Bout time you came back.” The Doctor said, sitting in front of a plate of two green pears. I smiled as I walked through the door. My hey fries were there, congealed into a glob. I sat down in front of it and looked at the Doctor. His ageless blue eyes, his chestnut mane, his cafe coat. He perplexed me, yet at the same time gave me an analogue. He had no true match in this world, and he never really meshed with anypony else. He had strange taste in clothes (none at all), he was allergic to aspirin, and he knew how to pilot a TT type 40, mark 3 TARDIS, and had a peculiar taste in tea. Really, we were two of a kind. Peas in a pod, if you will. I looked at him, truly into his soul, and recognized him as what he was. He was necessary. The dimension that he was in could not function without him in it. There was no point in having a repairman for a machine that never broke. Lucky for the Doctor, the Universe was a machine that was almost always in crippling disrepair. The toolbox he used was a bright blue that made the universe bend over backward in its extreme improbability. The Doctor wasn’t an arbiter- That was completely different than what he was. You wouldn’t call a broken gear a war for the third cog to the left. The Doctor only intervened to fix pieces. When he was done fixing the piece that I was involved with, he would leave. He would go fix another piece in the machine that was the endless and complete universe. I couldn’t comprehend what the Doctor was- My amazing Numbered mind, designed to solve puzzles that a normal creature would take unsolved to the grave, couldn’t even touch what Doctor meant to every single sentient creature that ever existed. I was dumbfouded. If there was ever a god, the closest thing that living creature could experience of it had a chestnut mane and hated pears. 
“Edwin?” The Doctor asked, waving a hoof. I was shocked out of my stupor and looked at the Doctor with actual focus now.
“What?”  I asked, completely innocent.
“You’ve been staring at me for the past nine minutes.” He said. I felt insanely retarded.
“Sorry.” I admitted, blushing. The Doctor chuckled. 
“It’s fine. I don’t really have much to say anyways. I need to go wipe the Princesses’
memory and return Othello back to his original timeline. That, and I need a massage in the worst way.” The Doctor explained, getting up from his seat. I felt slightly shocked.
“You can’t.”
“What?”
“You can’t wipe her memory. She needs to know that Othello is alive. She needs him.” I said, making emphasis where it was due. The Doctor sighed.
“You are the worst pony ever.” The Doctor grumbled, and started to walk out of the kitchen. I stared after him.
“So you aren’t going to wipe her memory?” I asked, concerned.
“Yes.”
“Come on, Doctor.” I complained.
“You’ll thank me someday.” He said, and flapped his way out of the room. I sighed, got up, and followed suit.
> 47: Wings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 47

“The thing that I don’t understand is why we have to take a chariot down to Ponyville. It’s not like we can’t fly or anything.” I complained. Luna nodded.
“I know. But you don’t have wings. It would scare the townsfolk.” Luna reasoned. I sighed, annoyed. We were walking up to the surface level of the bunker, which was where the three exits were from the underground fortress. I had to agree with her logic as we neared a staircase. She gestured for me to go first, and I did. I tried to mull over an argument in my head as to why I should be able to fly where I wanted to. 
“But couldn’t I just fly over there at night?” I wondered. Luna made an amused humph.
“What do you think we’re doing?” She asked playfully. I pouted, and was silent for a while. We reached a landing in the staircase which led to another set of stairs going up. Luna rushed ahead of me before I could climb those stairs. I stopped in front of her.
“I’m worried about you, Ed. What’s going on with you?” She said, reaching up with one of her hooves to touch my shoulder. I inhaled, savoring the sweet orange scent of Luna. I instantly softened under her masseuses’ hooves. I immediately slumped.
“I’m tired of this, Luna. I’m so tired of all this deception, of all this killing. It isn’t me.” I explained with a tired expression. Luna smiled sweetly and looked at me with almost motherly love. She leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
“I love you, Ed.” She whispered in my ear. I shivered slightly when she said that, it was mostly the proximity between her and I. What with all of the killing and planning and subverting rightful authority that I’ve been doing lately, Luna and I haven’t really had time to ourselves. I finally understood that the weekend that Luna was taking me on was actually an attempt to pry back into my free time and keep me from forgetting what I had waiting for me at home. I smiled and closed my eyes.
“I love you back.” I whispered. Luna hummed happily,.
“You aren’t like the others, Ed. You don’t like to kill anything. The others, I never liked them. All they cared about was killing things. You’re the only one that doesn’t go on and on about it every day. You’re different.” She explained. I felt a little bit special when she said that. I reached up with my hooves and gave her a hug. 
“Thanks, Luna. What are we going to do this weekend?” I asked quietly, with my hooves still around her neck. She giggled a little bit.
“That would spoil the surprise a little bit, wouldn’t it?” She teased. I chortled and leaned into the hug. Luna’s pale blue mane tickled me a little bit. I pawed some of her mane with one of my hooves while a question came to mind.
“Hey Luna?” I ventured.
“Yes?”
“Why do you have hair?” I inquired bluntly. Luna laughed.
“What?!” She exclaimed, pulling me out of the hug so she could get a look at my face. She was extremely puzzled. I grinned awkwardly and tried to explain.
“You know how Celestia has the whole wavy energy thing going for her, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“And you two are sisters, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you have plain old hair and Celestia has the wavy energy thing?” I finished. Luna smiled and kissed my nose.
“A good question if there ever was one.”
“Are you going to answer it?”
“No.” She said coyly. I felt cheated.
“Why not!?” I objected. Luna grinned, turned around and pranced up the stairs. She got to the next landing and looked back at me.
“If you play your cards right, you’ll find out when this weekend is over. But we have to go now if we actually want to get to Ponyville on time.” She said with a swish of her tail. I felt slightly dizzy for a moment, then skipped up after her. I followed her lead to one of the doors to the outside. Luna magicked it open and walked through into the brisk evening air. My teeth started to clatter as my eyes started to adjust to the dead of night. I could see four perfectly identical snow-white pegasi milling around a dimly glinting golden chariot. It took me a moment to recognize that they were guards, just with very sparse armor. I was perplexed by the sight of them being almost identical and in such complete ease around Luna and I. I had never seen a guard that was completely relaxed around me, except from before I was a captain. It confused me, but then Luna nudged me. I looked at her, and she leaned in to whisper. 
“Go talk to them while they get ready for the flight. I’ll be waiting on the chariot.” Luna whispered, going over to take her seat on the chariot. I rubbed my foreleg for a second and then walked over to the group of pegasi. They didn’t get up or even notice me that much when I approached. When I got close enough, one of them with a pale grey mane looked up at me. He smiled. 
“Hi, I’m-
“Captain Shell of the Forward guard. Your reputation precedes you, sir. Well, that, and your smell.” The guard admitted. I was perplexed.
“I can’t smell that bad, can I?” I asked, reaching up to sniff my hoof. The guard that spoke to me laughed, extremely carefree.
“No, no, it’s not that. Hasn’t anypony ever told you?” He asked, completely blunt and informal. I scratched my ear with my hoof.
“No...”  I said. All of the guards looked at each other and started mumbling. The one that was talking to me made a gesture for them all to hush. They did, and then he leaned in to explain.
“You smell like... Like a thunderstorm in the middle of a glade.”
“Sorry?”
“Have you ever been outside before a heavy storm, when the clouds are all orange? You can look the storm off in the distance, see the lightning but not quite hear it. Take a big whiff of the air, and it’s a dead ringer for our dear old Captain.” He explained, rising to his hooves. The others followed and looked like they were getting ready to leave.
“Are you guys ready to go?” I asked. The pony that I was talking to nodded, but did not speak. Another pony to the left of me explained by pointing out at the sky.
“See that cloud? I’ve been looking at it and I think that it’s caught in a patch of thin air. There’s a bunch of other clouds next to it that look exactly the same, so we’re leaving now to avoid running into that.” The guard explained in a husky, dry voice. I nodded, turning to meet Luna in the chariot. I stopped mid-stride and turned back to the pegasi, contemplative. I walked up to one of the guards 
“Do you mind if I ask you a question?” I asked.
“You just did.” The guard joked. I smiled, and he nodded yes.
“You’re all identical.”
“We sure are.”
“Why?”
“Oh. We’re the show guards.” He explained like it was extremely obvious. I was just even more confused. The guard noticed my confusion and tried to explain.
“You see, there are two different kinds of scenario when guards become necessary. One is where the Princesses are in an extremely dangerous place where an attempt on their lives may occur. That’s where guards like yours come in. Blend into the crowd, make an attempt look so much easier than it actually is. Then, there’s when the Princesses are in lower risk places, where they have a lot of exposure to the public. That’s where guards like me come in. The Equestrian populace sees Royal Guards as being just like me. Uniform, disciplined, identical. We’re dangerous, we’re efficient, and we’re identical. That’s what makes us feared. We complement each other, though. Normal guards and Show guards, that is. Normal guards are used in logically opposite situations than they should be because they make an assailant lax. A situation that would be impossible to accomplish with guards like me protecting the Princesses becomes oh so easy with guards like yours around. At least, that’s what they think. Which is why we’re used.” The guard finished. I was surprised. 
“Huh. I never even knew that there was a such thing.”
“There is. I’d be happy to tell you mo-” He started, but the pony that talked to me originally interrupted.
“Get over here! We’ve got a flight to make!” He shouted over a gust of wind. The pony looked at me apologetically and ran up to his position in line. I smiled and walked back to then end of the chariot that held Luna in it. I got in it and stood rather comfortably. I looked over at Luna, who was looking back at me. I was shocked. It was one of those perfect moments. The one where you’re tired, it’s been a long day, and you just want to sleep, but then she looks at you. It’s not intended to be sensual, it’s not intended to be provocative. But it reminds you of what she means to you. It reminds you about the first time you saw her and knew that this was it. I grabbed Luna’s face with my forehooves and pulled it to me so I could kiss it. It was long, tender, and not exactly careful. Luna was wide-eyed at first, but then she relaxed into it. It was a timeless, ever-stretching moment of Luna, me, and the chilly wind that made us scoot closer together. It was absolutely perfect. Her sweet orange smell seemingly stuck in my nose, her soft noises that she made, her shivering wings. It was all amazing. It streched on forever, and I could faintly remember the shudder of landing. I pulled away from Luna gently and opened my eyes. She was standing right there, so close to me. I watched her open those perfect teal eyes of hers, and felt extremely warm. There was so much to her, so much. There was too much for one lifetime. Which was perfect, because I had a few to spare. Luna exhaled, shuddering slightly.
“Oh my.” She whispered, breaking into a breathless laugh. I smiled and nuzzled her cheek. 	I held her for a moment, trying to warm her up a little.
“You okay?”	
“Pleasantly surprised.” She said, and I bumped her gently with my nose. 
“I like to keep ‘em guessing.” I said. Luna sighed.
“You have me guessing all the time, Ed.” She joked. I smiled and squeezed her. I glanced up at the pegasi, who were studiously avoiding looking at us. I turned back to Luna. She was shivering a little bit.
“Let’s head inside, Luna. You’re cold.”
“I’m n-n-not c-cold.” 
“You’re a terrible liar. Come on.” I said, pulling her out of the chariot. I looked around the main square. It was so hauntingly familiar, it barely changed. I could even see the apple cart, completely unchanged from my first disastrous day in Ponyville. I shuddered as I remembered the burning innocents. I looked around the square for a moment to try and get my bearings. I realized that I had absolutely no idea where I was supposed to go. I looked down at Luna. 
“It’s round.” She mumbled, trying not to clatter her teeth. I looked around, and I could simply not see it. I saw one building that looked like it was made entirely of gingerbread, but that was about it. I walked out of the square holding Luna and tried to find something that resembled her vague description. There wasn’t much, but I found something that might fit.
“It looks like a big carousel.” I said to myself. Luna nodded. 	
“Th-That’s it.” She said, shivering violently. I rushed her up to the door and knocked. 
“Who is it?” A voice answered very quickly.
“Um... Princess Luna and-” I started, but I was unable to finish because a door interrupted. I was almost knocked over. I was stumbling by the time that I noticed that I wasn’t holding Luna anymore. I recovered my bearings and looked at the door. It was ajar slightly, so I opened it and walked in. 
“Wo-ow.” I exclaimed, stretching the word into two syllables. The room I was in was insane. There were little pony mannequins all over, with various stages of clothing assembled on them. It was all shades of blue, and I managed to trip over an entire chair on my way in. I immediately became buried in fabric. I managed to poke my head out of the pile and look at my surroundings. Luna was sitting close to the fire, swaddled in an enormous quilt and levitating a cup of tea. There was a white pony with startlingly blue hair sitting across from her. Both of them were looking at me with varying looks of amusement. I blew a lock of hair out of my eyes and smiled. The white pony laughed.
“At least he’s funny, dear.” She said in a lilting accent. Luna grinned.
“That’s just one thing.”
“Oh, I’m quite sure of that. Now let’s get those off of you, shall we?” The white pony said, and the big pile of fabric was lifted off of me in a pale blue cloud of magic. I got up and sat next to the pair. The white pony looked at me strangely.
“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure. My name is Rarity.” She said. I smiled politely.
“I’m Edwin. Nice to meet you.” I said back. Rarity smiled. She turned back to Luna.
“Is he the one?” Rarity asked Luna. Luna nodded wordlessly. Rarity looked back at me, scrutinizing my body. I felt slightly offended.
“Oh yes, He’ll do quite nicely.” Rarity commented, getting up to go look at a pile of fabric. She pulled out a swath, trotted back over to me, and held up a few patches to my shoulder. 
“When you sent me the letter, I instantly thought a nice grey suit would work nicely, make his eyes just pop out. I am personally stuck between tweed,” She said holding up a scratchy piece of a pale grey fabric, “and a nice silk blend.” She continued, holding up a flimsy piece of a shinier grey material, “I do loathe tweed, but I simply cannot deny how good it makes these pale stallions look. Which do you think, Princess?” She asked. Luna looked indecisive for a moment, taking a sip of tea. 
“The tweed does look good.” Luna admitted. 
“Very good.” Rarity agreed.
“But it definitely doesn’t feel the best. I’m planning on holding on to him as much as I can.
“Oh, but of course.”
“But the silk makes him look so gaudy.”
“Tweed is certainly the more masculine of the two.” Rarity digressed. Luna bit her lower lip for a moment, looking unusually torn.
“Let’s go with the grey tweed. It makes him look amazing.” Luna decided. Rarity actually squealed a little bit. 
“Oh, goody! I had absolutely no idea what I would have done if you picked the silk. It would have made him look like a hearthwarming eve ornament, to be honest. But it is perfect that you picked the tweed.”
“I actually like the silk.” I said. Rarity turned to me
“Oh, hush, dear. Now, I am going to need your measurements as soon as possible tomorrow morning so I can get started on it as soon as I can. Now, you two get on up to bed now. We have a big big day ahead of us tomorrow, and I need both of you to be awake!” She finished, shooing us away from the fireplace as quickly as she could do politely. I followed Luna down a hallway leading away from the room. The quilt that she was wrapped in was so big that it was actually dragging on the ground behind her for a few feet. I followed her to a door on the hall. She pushed it open to reveal a smallish room with a dresser and a bed. I nearly lost consciousness when I saw the bed. Luna walked up to the bed and jumped on. I blinked. She struck an improbable yet attractive pose on the bed.
“There is a bed in this room, Luna.”
“I’ve noticed.” She said in a low voice.
“I may not be able to stay up with you, Luna.” I said, walking over to the bed like a zombie. I was looking at the edge of the bed, trying to figure out how it worked.
“Edwin?”
“Luna?”
“I’m trying to seduce you, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“I’m too tired, Luna. Maybe tomorrow night.” I said, climbing onto the bed. Luna whined.
“Oh, come on! We have the whole weekend to ourselves!
“I’ve got a big day tomorrow with the seamstress.” I said, stealing some of the quilt from Luna. She pouted.
“You owe me, Ed.” She said, grabbing me with her hooves. She pulled me closer to her. 
“Yes I do.” I said, feeling her cold legs. I slowly drifted off to pictures of blue tweed and oranges.
> 48: Spiders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 48

Morning came a little bit more quickly than I had hoped. The sun peeking out of the window, shining right on my face like it had a right to be there, made me wish that ponies had invented curtains that could actually block light properly. I groaned and rolled over and right onto the floor. My loud thump that I created made Luna stir a little bit, but I wasn’t concerned at the time. I got up drunkenly and made my way to the boudoir to look at myself in the mirror. 
“Oh my God.” I muttered. I reached up with a hoof to pull down my lower eyelid to look at my eye. It was completely bloodshot. It was only the one eye, though, which made me look dangerously lopsided. I rubbed my mane with one of my hooves and lumbered out of the tiny little bedroom and into the rest of the Carousel. It was a strange place, but I had definitely seen stranger in my time as a pony. It was mostly blue, but there were piles of fabric almost everywhere there was a surface to put them on. I groggily admired the place as I tried to find the room where the food was. There were also a lot of places to get lost in the boutique, which was discovered very quickly. I was hopelessly and utterly out of my element when Rarity found me neck deep in a pile of velour. 
“Clothing usually works best when assembled, dear.” She said. I perked up my ears and tried to get out of the pile. I managed to extracate myself with only a few rather clingy strips of fabric hanging from my ears. Rarity smiled a little bit and sighed.
“I wish that I could be young like you.” She said, longing. I felt shocked.
“You look young.”
“Yes, but that’s not the point, darling. I’ll explain one day. But you need to come with me now. Chop chop!” She said sternly, walking away to some other part of the boutique. I sighed and followed her, figuring that I wouldn’t be able to find her again if I just let her go. She led me through a maze of clothing piles and strategically placed dressers to a largish room filled with little pony mannequins. There was a big pink platform in front of a semicircle made of mirrors. Rarity went over to a dresser near the wall and pulled out some measuring tapes and other things that would befit her profession. I grudgingly and groggily took my place up on the platform and waited for her to do whatever it is that she does. She finally rushed over to me with a whole bunch of measuring tapes in a cloud of pale blue magic. She wrapped them around me all kinds of different ways, taking measurements that she would need to turn me into something that would look good in a suit. She was measuring my neck when a thought occurred to me.
“What if I don’t look good in clothes?” I worried aloud. Rarity scoffed, moving down to my shoulders. 
“In one of my suits? You would have a better chance getting struck by lightning.” She said lightly. I laughed once at the hidden joke. She looked at me for a moment like I was crazy. 
“Oh, it’s nothing.” I said. Rarity sighed and kept measuring. I wandered for a moment in my mind. There was so much pressure. I had to save Equestria, almost entirely by myself. I could barely take care of a cat when I was alive, but now I have an entire dimension to take care of. It was a terrible, terrible blessing. I sighed just as Rarity made some noise over by her bureau. I opened my eyes to look at her putting away her measuring tapes and whatnot. I hopped off of the platform and moved over to where she was. 
“Done?”
“For now. I’ll need to sew up a template while you go away somewhere. I will need my space while I work, if you don’t mind.”
“Oh, no, it’s no problem.” I said, rubbing one of my ears with a hoof. Rarity shuffled around in one of her drawers and pulled out a strip of pale pink paper. It looked like an old-fashioned movie ticket, with one end that would rip off. She handed it to me, and I almost grabbed it with magic, but I remembered that Rarity was a normal pony, despite her name. She would run away screaming if I used magic around her. So I reached out and grabbed it with my mouth. 
“A free pass to the spa, down near Sugarcube corner. It looks like you might need it.” She added, looking at my mane.
“Mrrh mr meh mahd?” I tried to say, but the ticket got in the way. 
“You look like an absolute train wreck, dear! I’m surprised that nopony has said something to you yet.” She said, turning away from me to her things. She started to write on a little scrap of parchment. I decided that my presence was no longer needed in the boutique and tried to get out. Rarity was so preoccupied that I just decided to teleport out when I turned a corner. It wasn’t long till the familiar cool breeze and the muggy smell of a fresh rain greeted me. I opened my eyes to see a small dirt road stretching off around a hill. I rolled my neck and started to walk down the road. There wasn’t much to see. The occasional tree, a few bushes every now and then, but then I crossed the bridge. Suddenly, there it was- Ponyville, in all of its quaint splendor. There was a few short seconds, and then the morning bustle was there. Ponies almost everywhere were buying things, or selling them in booths, or just milling about talking to each other. I wormed my way through town, avoiding ponies trying to sell me pots and flowers and candy. I edged my way around the gingerbread house. That would be Sugarcube corner if nothing else was, I reasoned to myself. I looked around for a spa, and managed to find a perfectly normal brown house with a sign in the window that said “Spa” I smiled and walked over.

“Bleh.” I said, placing my ticket down on the counter. The pale blue pony cringed a little bit and picked up the ticket by the corner. “One please.” I added. She nodded once, placing the ticket in a nearby trash can and walking out from behind the counter. She gestured for me to follow her. I did. She led me to a room with a few massage tables in it. There was a curtain over half of the room, splitting it down the middle. I couldn’t see over to the other side, but I assumed that there were other tables there. The pony had me lay down on one of the tables.
“I’ll be back in a minute. Try to relax.” She said, and wandered off to another part of the spa. I sighed and settled in to the table. It was very cushy. I groaned a little bit as I tried to relax. I was way too tense. I looked around the spa. It was mostly blue. There were some windows behind me, and I had absolutely no idea where they fit them on the small brown house. I wiggled a little bit and finally settled in to my table. The spa pony came back in with a tube of something balanced on her nose. She squirted a whole bunch of it on my back.
“oooooh” I moaned, slumping into the table. She rubbed the goop in and my back started to tingle. She rubbed away all of my knots, my sores, my troubles. It was complete and utter bliss. “You’re reeeeeaaally good at this.” I groaned out. She smiled and pressed on. I closed my eyes and settled into a blissful smile. I heard some rustling in front of me, followed by some grunting. I opened one of my eyes in annoyance.
“Oh no.” I said. The pony across from me smiled. He had another pony that was working on his back too, but his was a bright pink. I closed my eyes and frowned.
“Do you come here often?” The pony asked. 
“No.”
“I come here almost every day.”
“I’m on vacation, you know.”
“Yes, I know. I know just about everything about you.” He said. I scowled again.
“I don’t have time for you. I never have time for you.”
“That’s very mean, and you should feel bad about it. I just love our little get togethers.” The pony said. I grunted and looked away, which was hard while getting a massage. 
“I don’t feel bad about much these days.” I said. The pony blinked his red, red eyes.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Captain. You really do need to come here often, these twins work absolute wonders.” The Angelic said, the words flowing out of his mouth like music. I felt my mane rise up. I scowled at the pony.
“Let me guess. Manticore venom in the goop?” I asked. The Angelic smiled.
“No. As you said, you are on vacation. No need to take your work home with you.” He said. 
“Then why?”
“Why what?”
“Why here? Why now!? I want to know why you’re just showing up and expecting me not to kill you!” I almost screamed. The two mares didn’t seem to notice.
“I wanted to give you a little reminder.”
“What on earth would you want to remind me of?”
“Our deal. You leave Angelics alone, and we... Well, let’s just say we won’t be as much of a problem as before.” He said, his strange jawline contorting under the host’s skin. I shuddered.
“I won’t accept. There is no place for Angelics in Equestria.”
“Don’t be so hasty. But, if you won’t change your mind today, you do have a short window of opportunity before the ship sails. Also...” The Angelic paused. He waved his hoof and the pink mare stopped her massage and walked out of the room. The Angelic hopped off of his massage table and walked over. He leaned down and whispered in my ear.
“You must remember that the world does not stop turning just because the Almighty Captain Shell decides to tromp off to Ponyville for a weekend. Just because you’re out getting massages and fucking your mare. Angelics still exist, and we are a real and very, very close threat. I plan on eating out tonight, at the local Ponyville diner. You have been warned.” The Angelic finished. He walked out, flicking me on the nose with his dark orange tail. I snorted and rose to my hooves, my body crackling with electricity. The mare squealed and dove out of the way.
“Give me one reason, Angelic scum!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. He looked back at me over his shoulder. Like he didn’t even care.
“I’ve given Slim orders to enter Ponyville and kill anything that moves if I don’t get back within the next thirty minutes. Last time that I checked, you didn’t fare too well last you saw of him.” He stated. I was shocked for a moment. The Angelic must have seen that, because he grinned smugly. “I’ll just leave it at that, Captain. You have masseuses to attend to.” He finished and walked out of the room. I stood there for a moment, steaming. Angelics, running free through Ponyville. Ponyville wasn’t exactly a special case, but it might turn out to be the last bastion for pure equine life in Equestria. I finally managed to get back down on the table. The mare was still huddled underneath another table, whimpering. I was too enraged to talk to her right then. There was another voice, however, that did.
“Hey. Come on out, it’s safe now.” A quiet, male voice said. I looked. The Doctor was leaning down on his front hooves to look at the mare. He didn’t have any wings. I stared at the Doctor. He helped the mare out from under her table. “You go on outside. Captain and I have a bit to talk about.” He said gently, and the mare stumbled her way out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her. The Doctor groaned, rubbing his forehead with his hoof.
“You scared her so much.” The Doctor said. I looked away from him.
“I wasn’t thinking about her.” I said, slightly angry. The Doctor slammed his front hooves down on the ground. I jumped.
“That’s the bloody problem, Edwin! She is the thing that you are bidden to protect, and you weren't thinking about her!” He shouted. I cringed away from the Doctor, surprised by his rage. He didn’t stop when he saw my aversion, but pushed on. “You need to know! You’ve been such a hypocrite of late. Slaying Angelics left and right, amid a score of dead or dying ponies! Angelics aren’t the priority! She is!” The Doctor emphasized, pointing a shaking hoof at the door. “You need to get you head out of your arse and realize this! That Angelic threatening you, it could have already killed the receptionist and gone on to eat the rest of Ponyville. If it were Othello, or- or Evangeline, or Marcus, hell, even Gespard, they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill it right then and there!” The Doctor screamed at me, his eyes wild. I was leaning away from him. He was only an earth pony, but the Doctor was a dangerous creature. The Doctor calmed down slightly, enough for me to get a word in edgewise.
“Doctor, I’m sorry, I-” I started, but the Doctor started shaking his head. He turned away from me to reach for something behind the massage table he was standing next to.
“You don’t need to apologize. Guilt should be enough.” The Doctor said, rummaging through something. He finally emerged, holding a sliver of blue something in his mouth. He gestured for me to pick it up. I grasped it with magic, and pulled it over to me. It was Luna’s headstone, a perfect crescent sapphire. It was naturally beautiful, the essence of nature itself. It made me want to throw up.
“I don’t want it.”
“Give it to Rarity, then. She’s the one that found it for me in the first place.” The Doctor explained, and I nodded. I hopped off of the table and balanced the gem on my back. I was about to walk out of the door when I looked back at the Doctor.
“Doctor, when you brought O-” I started, but the Doctor motioned for me to stop.
“You can’t tell me about my future.” The Doctor said bluntly. I frowned, thinking for a moment.
“Do you know where I can get a letter to Canterlot fast?”
“Twilight has a dragon in the Library that can send letters to Celestia in an instant. You might want to go there.” The Doctor said, getting a set of saddlebags on. I didn’t say anything back and ran out of the spa as quickly as I could. 

The treehouse was easier to find the second time around. I ran up to the hollow tree and was stopped in my steps. The nostalgia was almost overwhelming. The smells, the sights, they all unusually vivid and striking. The onslaught of sensory input was almost overwhelming. I took  a deep breath and pushed open the tiny purple door to the tree. It was dark on the inside of the tree, with two or three windows letting in little light. The bookshelves were reflecting a faint red glow from somewhere. I looked around to try and find the source, but I couldn’t. Also, I thought that the tree was a little bit too small to hold a dragon, so I didn’t think that Twilight could have one in there. I was about to walk out of the door again when I heard a whistle from above. I looked up, and I jumped out of my skin.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, looking at the scene above me. There was a transparent red orb hanging from the ceiling. The ball was covered in changing symbols and runes, which made it magical in origin. That wasn’t all, not by a long shot. There was also a big black glossy spider. Not a usual spider. He had eight legs, but was completely hairless and the size of a pony. It also had a pony body and pony head, but he had four bright red eyes and fangs. I rose a hoof to it, shaking in a cold sweat. 
“Don’t do it!” The creature in the orb shouted. I looked at him a little bit more carefully and recognized him to be a really really small dragon. I squinted at him and then turned back to the spider thing. It cackled its fangs and purred. The tiny little dragon cringed.
“It- It says that Ponyville isn’t yours anymore. I-It belongs to them now. It wants you to leave.” The dragon said, tears shining on his face. I grimaced and looked back at the spider. It looked at me with the three eyes that were facing me. They didn’t have any pupils, but were just a straight red all the way through, like an opaque marble. It snarled at me, clicking his incisors and baring his fangs. His crinkled snout was actually oozing a strange green liquid from his pores. I growled at the disgusting thing and thought for a moment. The big spider snarled at me while I did almost nothing.
“Get out of here!” The dragon shouted. I blinked, and then put my plan into action. I leaped from my hind legs and tackled the spider, crashing into the ceiling. The spider screamed, making a long, screechy gargly noise. We fell from the ceiling and onto the floor, wrapped up together in a ball. The spider had the advantage of four different forelegs and insanely strong hind legs. He actually lifted me into the air and threw me out of a window. The glass shattered in a deafening burst of noise, cutting into my skin in a million different places before dumping me unceremoniously onto the ground. I coughed up some blood, and had a moment to get up to a half-crouch before the spider leaped out of the window, screeching its head off. Ponies were screaming, trying to get away from the monster that just landed in their lap. I tried to limp away from the scene, but the spider jumped on my back before I could cover any real ground. He flipped me over and punched me in the chest with four of his legs. I could feel something snap in my chest, making my breathing extremely labored. The spider opened his mouth, stretching it so wide that I could see down his throat. It was lined with hundreds of inward facing barbs, which only made the spider so much more menacing. He lowered his head down slowly, trying to eat me. I pressed both of my hooves into his neck and tried to keep him away. The spider sputtered and growled and kept going down towards my face. I turned away from it and grimaced. Suddenly, there was a warm splat and my face was covered in blood. I opened the eye that was facing the spider and saw a red spike sticking out of the spider’s face. I cringed and watched the spike slowly retract from his face, leaving a neatly bored circle that was squirting blood from all sides. I could see through the hole. The sight ran chills through me. Something pushed the now-dead spider off of me, and that something grabbed me by the chest and hoisted me up. I looked at it. It looked at me. It smiled.
“Y’jes don’t know when to roll over n’die, do ya?” Something said, tilting his stetson with one of his free hooves.
> 49: Perchance to dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 49

“You don’t want to do this, Slim.” I struggled to say, trying to get my hooves on the ground for leverage. Slim cocked his head and looked unusually puzzled.
“Now, if Ah warn’t wantin’ to do this, why would Ah be doin’ it?” Slim asked. I frowned at his logic. He moved across ponyville, spreading disorder where he went. He crossed over to one of the fountains, going over to sit down. He slumped himself and leaned against the lip of the fountain. He let me go and sighed.
“Sit a minute, five.” Slim said, patting the ground next to him. I tried to run away, but Slim grabbed me again and planted me to the fountain. I looked over my shoulder to see writhing vines tethering me to the fountain. I sighed.
“What do you want, Slim?” I groaned. Slim tilted his head for a moment and pouted.
“Ah want a lot a things, five. A whole buncha things. But, there’s jes one thing that you’n Ah might want.” Slim said. I opened my mouth to say something, but Slim just shusshed me. “You want th’Gelics to leave, dontcha?”
“Let me go before I kill you.”
“Ah’ll be takin’ that as a ‘firmative. Now, Ah’m feelin’ a tinge gen-rous, So Ah’ll make yeh a deal.” Slim said. Ponies were still dashing across the square, trying to get away. Slim looked around for a moment, eyeing the scene with extreme indifference.
“I don’t think I’ll make a deal with you.” I said. Slim closed his eyes and sighed. He raised a hoof to his forehead and rubbed it
“Ah hate talkin’ to y’all mortals when Ah’m hungry.” He grumbled. I cringed a little when he said that. Slim noticed me and hit me with one of his hooves. The blow landed on my shoulder, cracking something there. I gasped in pain, feeling the snapped bone and the digging of the ragged end into my flesh. I reached up with my hoof to cradle the injured appendage. 
“Shut up.” Slim said sternly. “We all gots t’eat somethin’. Y’jes don’t like what we eat. I’ve been lookin’ at that mare over there.” Slim bragged, pointing to a wheeled vendor cart near the fountain. There was a set of beige hooves hiding under the cart that had various flowers and plants hanging from it. I turned back to look at Slim. He was licking his lips, staring single-mindedly at the cart.
“Don’t you dare.” I warned, mustering the electricity I might need. Slim sneered.
“Or what? What’re you going to do ‘bout it? Nothin’. Y’ Cain’t do nothin’ t’me, Five. Not even if y’ tried.”
“Don’t test me, Slim. I’ll summon Evangeline if I have to.” I said. Slim smiled.
“She ain’t no match for me neither. Y’saw us in the forest. Ah kin mess with her all day long, if Ah needs ta. Besides, y’don wan’t ponyville to turn inta some kinda battleground. Y’don want another Cloudsdale.” Slim flawlessly reasoned, and then turned back to the cart.
“Spitfire said that you wouldn’t show up.” I said. Slim burst out laughing. 
“Big ol’ bossman likes t’ think that he’s in charge a me. He ain’t. Nopony is. ‘Specially not him. He couldn’t possess his way outta a paper bag. He jes’ got good with politics is all. Ain’t nothin’ special.”
“He has to be powerful or else he wouldn’t be in charge.”
“Didn’t I jes’ tell ya he warn’t in charge? He jes’ likes to think that he is. We like t’play along. Now, are ya gonna be wantin’ t’hear what I has t’say?”
“I don’t make deals with the likes of you.” I said coldly. Slim prodded my broken shoulder, making me scream. I clenched my teeth, trying to keep from screaming too much. Slim grabbed me under my chin and forced me to look up at him. He was snarling, his teeth bared and his snout crinkled.
“Ah am goin t’eat that pony under that cart. Y’caint stop me. Y’know that, Ah know that. Now this is how it’s goin’ t’happen. Y’re goin t’ look that pony right in th’ eyes as Ah eat her. Your guilty face is goin’ t’be th’ last thing she’s gonna see.”
“I won’t let you do that.” I threatened thorugh my tears. Slim smiled again. 
“We been over this, Five. Ain’t nothin you kin do. Ah’m goin t’eat her, you git a good look, you do nothin’, n’ Ah’ll take all th’Gelics Ah kin muster and leave. We’ll roll on out a Equestria. But you got to watch me eat that mare over yonder. Else we ain’t got no deal.”
“You said that Angelics don’t have centralized leadership. You can’t take them all.” I spat out through my pain. Slim frowned. 
“Yer right. Ah cain’t take em’ all. But Ah can take the majority. Th’rest will just be a disorganized mess. They’ll be easy to mop up.” Slim said. His logic, however twisted and depraved it may be, was sound. The death of one pony to save hundreds, if not thousands. I hated how the deal played to my sympathies, but cost the life of the single mare. I couldn’t do it. Not because it was a bad deal. Not because it wasn’t helpful. But it was the mare. She would never benefit from the peace that the deal would help usher in. It was a great deal, but she would never had agreed to it. I couldn’t just let her die. I might win the war against Angelics, but I would never win the war against my own self if I let her die. Her face would be all that I would see when I closed my eyes. The great martyr to the cause she knew nothing about.
“I can’t do this, Slim.” I whispered, my tears hot on my cheeks. Slim smiled, releasing my chin and letting me sprawl out on the ground. He reached up with one of his hooves to adjust his jet black stetson. 
“Sorry ‘bout that, Five. Terrible shame. Coulda saved a lotta ponies. Too bad.” He remarked. He turned away from me and walked over to the cart with the flowers.
“Slim!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. He looked back at me without moving his body away from the cart. “You said you wouldn’t eat her!” I screamed.  Slim spread his square teeth in a ghastly grimace. I shuddered.
“Ah never said that. Besides, Five,” Slim said as he turned back to the cart. “Ah’m hungry.” Slim said. My heart sank. The mare was going to die anyways. There was nothing that I could do to prevent it. Slim was offering me an out, making me think that I had a choice.
“NO!  YOU CAN’T DO IT! WE HAD A DEAL!” I screamed, straining against the vines that tethered me to the fountain. Slim tilted his head back and laughed. I strained against the fountain even harder. “NO! YOU CAN’T DO IT! I WON’T LET YOU!” I screamed even louder, a tingle of magical energy suffusing my voice. I got an idea and flooded my body with raw energy from the Flow. My body crackled and zapped with the full feeling of near limitless power. I dug my hooves into the ground and pulled forward as hard as I could. I could hear the crack of masonry behind me, which only made me pull harder. I was pulling up the paving stones in front of me, so I lifted up my hooves and dug in again. I snarled in rage as Slim turned back to look at me. He looked surprised. He turned his body back to me. I screamed again, and he clutched his ears with his forehooves. There was blood running down his forelegs as they clutched his ears. I smiled grimly and pulled away from the vines. They kept hold of me. I pulled even harder. Slim grinned again, his teeth brilliant white triangles against the red of his mouth. He opened his mouth wide. His tongue stuck out of his mouth a little bit, pointed and red. I gritted my teeth and pulled against the fountain even harder. There was a moment when Slim blurred, like a car would blur in a picture. 
“Uh.” I moaned out, feeling sharp, cold pain. I stopped digging. I stopped pulling. I looked down. There was a long, fleshy red tube sticking out of my chest. I followed it away from me. The perfectly straight tube led right to Slim’s mouth. There was a quiet snick as the cold ran away from my chest. Slim’s tube ran back into his mouth, and he licked his chops with it, leaving his muzzle smeared with my blood. I reached up with shaking hooves to my chest. I looked down at them. They were absolutely smothered in blood. I fell down, my face falling right on the broken cobblestones under me. I could hear the faint splash as my blood poured out onto the street, pooling. I could see the edge of the pool as it spread slowly, my vitality running through the streets like water would run through a sieve. I slowly watched the world around me grow much darker. I grew cold again. So, so cold. So deathly cold. I closed my eyes, not even thinking the obvious thought.

I’m dying.
> 50: Aye, there's the rub
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.” 
-Sir Rabindranath Tagore, Indian polymath

Chapter 50

Luna had one thing right. There was so much darkness. For an insanely large amount of time, that’s all there was. A complete absence of any external stimuli at all. I almost went completely crazy trying to figure out what happened or even where I was. There was only my disembodied thoughts, an empty abyss, and a sluggish sense of time. I waited, waited and waited some more. Suddenly, light. A little pinprick, like a barely visible star on a perfectly dark night. I watched it do nothing for a nearly infinite amount of time. There was a sudden movement, and the light grew in size from a faint star to a glowing marble. It rushed up to me, growing even larger, until everything was extremely bright. It would have been blinding if there was anything else to see. The light congealed, gathering in some places and running away from others. It slowly resolved into surroundings. There was a lot of dark blue, and a big bright light in front of me. I squinted my eyes, because now it hurt. I had eyes now. I groaned.
“What was that, Nurse?” 
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Check his heart rate. We don’t want anything funny to happen.” The first person said. There was a faint shuffling. A long silence settled, interspersed by mechanical beeps. I became aware, suddenly, of a blinding pain. I groaned again.
“Oh shit.”
“Nurse?”
“Doctor, he’s waking up.” The nurse said. There was a bustling around me. Suddenly, there was bright, bright light on one side of me, and then another. I tried to wave away the light, but my arms were completely limp. I groaned again and opened my eyes. There was someone above me, wearing a blue mask and cap. His coat was a dull peach color, and I could see some of his chestnut hair through his cap. He backed away from me when I opened my eyes. He looked away from me.
“Two hundred and ninety cc’s propofol! Now!” The doctor shouted. I tried to breathe, but nothing would go in. I gagged silently, my eyes boggling. The Doctor ran away somewhere, but the nurse came up and grabbed my head.
“You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” The nurse repeated herself, growing slightly hysterical. I groaned again, trying to move my arms. One of them responded, moving towards my chest. Something grabbed it and pulled it away. I looked to the side. The doctor had his back to me. He turned around, holding a syringe. He injected it into a tube that led into an ‘x’ made with tape on my foreleg. I became dizzy almost immediately, but nothing else happened. I groaned again, moving my other arm this time. I reached over my chest. My hoof fell into something hot and wet. I pulled it out sluggishly and looked at it. It was covered in a bright red sheen. I tried to inhale again but couldn’t. My newly created world turned black at the corners, and a familiar cold seeped over me. Then there was something akin to sleep. 

The light congealed once more. I blinked for a moment, turning to my left. There was a little tiny whiteboard with a little marker stuck to it. I squinted. There was writing on the board, but I couldn’t read any of it. I looked back to the front of the room.
“-your fucking fault.” A faintly familiar voice said. I could barely hear it, but I turned towards the noise. It was next to some door or other. I looked around some more. There was a window, but the speaking kept on. 
“I don’t think that you weighed him correctly. I had just the right dosage for a person of his weight.”
“Look,” The other voice said. “You’re the fucking anesthesiologist. You’re supposed to keep this guy from waking up in the middle of my OR. I had his goddamn beating heart in my hands when this guy started moaning and floppin’ around like a trout. I’m the one that had to inject him with enough propofol to kill a clydesdale.”
“I don’t even know how he survived that. You’re lucky you don’t have your license revoked.”
“Enough about my license. He would have died of shock if I didn't do something. That, and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I didn’t sleep that night. He could be a fucking vegetable right now for all we know.”
“At least he’s alive.” 
“Yeah. Let’s go in.” The first voice said. There was a clack and some noise, and then two people walked into the room I was in. I opened my eyes even wider. These were humans. One of them was very very pale with wire glasses on, and the other one was a tanned  man wearing green scrubs. Both of them looked happy to see me. The man wearing the green scrubs pulled up a chair and sat in it so the back of it was touching his chest. He smiled. 
“You doing alright, Mister King?” He said loudly, like I would have had trouble hearing him if I wasn’t. I gulped.
“I’m not Mister King.” I said. I was extremely surprised to hear that my voice was now a deep timbre that would put Othello to shame. I put my hand over my mouth in shock. The man with the green scrubs pulled a clipboard off of the front of the bed I was in.
“Jamal King, Twenty-Nine, lives at 3531 oakley place?” He asked. I just shook my head. The man frowned, looking to the pale man wearing blue scrubs. The man pushed up his glasses and spread his hands flat on his pants.
“Sometimes after anesthesia you can’t remember things properly, like your address or your shoe size or little things like that. Is there anything that you can tell me about yourself, Mister King?” The pale man said in a light, airy voice. I opened my mouth for a moment, looking down. My arms were a dark, dark brown, like dark chocolate. I lifted them up and looked
“Wow.” I said, smiling. There were hands on the ends of my arms, with long, nimble fingers. I snapped one of them and started laughing. “Oh wow.” I said again between laughs. The green scrubbed man and the Anesthesiologist both smiled at me.
“Fine motor control. That’s really good,” The Anesthesiologist commented, looking at my hands. “But I want to see if you can do some other things.” He continued, handing me a pen. I took it from him and held it in my hands. It was a really cheap plastic pen. “Take that apart for me, if you don’t mind.” I unscrewed the top of the pen and dumped out all of the plastic bits. The Anesthesiologist nodded with a serious look on his face.
“This is cool. So where’s Luna?” I asked. The man with the green scrubs flipped through my chart.
“Is she your girlfriend?” The man said without looking away from the clipboard.
“Yeah.” I answered. The man frowned and looked at an individual page.
“Nobody else was in the ambulance with you when you arrived. We were honestly surprised that you lived long enough to get you into the OR.” The green scrubbed man said. I looked away from my hands and looked at him.
“What happened?” I asked, shocked.
“You had a massive heart attack. I’m not kidding- It was a complete mess. People that were there said that you just grabbed your chest and fell over. I’m surprised that your heart didn’t  just explode. We thought we lost you in the middle of surgery, but you bounced back.” Green-scrubs said. I finally realized that he was the surgeon.
“What?” I asked, confused. The surgeon looked back at the anesthesiologist, and the man shrugged. The surgeon sighed and turned back to me.
“You flatlined about three times. The first two times, you just skipped only a few beats, but the third time was almost a minute. We were about to declare the time of death when you came back. Then we had to do a cardiac transplantation. Pretty much we just took your heart out and sewed a new donor heart up to the different arteries. Fairly regular procedure. The, uh, the donor died in the riots, if you wanted to know.
“The riots?” I wondered aloud, completely confused. The surgeon chuckled.
“You must really be out of it. You didn’t see the King case?”
“The case?” I asked, still confused.
“The Rodney King trial? You didn’t see it?” The surgeon re-iterated. I shook my head. The surgeon smiled and tousled his hair with one of his hands. He held his hands open, leaning his elbows on his knees.
“Do you remember anything? Do you know where you are?” The surgeon asked. I shook my head. His eyes went wide and he leaned back in his chair. He grabbed onto the back of the chair and looked back at the anesthesiologist. The man opened his mouth like he was about to say something, and then started to chuckle. He scratched his arm and looked at me. His eyes were a bright green through his oval wire glasses.
“This is a very rare case of total amnesia. As far as I know, there isn’t really much documented precedence of what happened to you. It could be anything. It could have been the loss of oxygen due to the heart attack, the massive dose of sedative we gave you to keep you unconscious after you regained consciousness, anything. It was just a big mess. It could be anything.” The anesthesiologist said. I frowned, looking down at my arms. There was a stark contrast to the brown of my arms and the pale white of the blankets. I hung my mouth open. 
“What happened to me?”
“Well, you had a heart at-”
“No, I mean, what happened? Last thing I remember, Slim was going to go eat that mare... Is she alright? Is that mare alright?” I asked, suddenly very worried. The surgeon looked very confused. He looked back to the Anesthesiologist, who shook his head and shrugged. 
“We don’t know anything about that.” The pale man said. I frowned.
“Is this a joke or something? Did the Doctor put you up to this?” I asked. The surgeon shook his head.
“Which Doctor?”
“The Doctor. Or- or was it Marcus? Evangeline? Wh-Where’s Celestia? Was it Antony?” I asked, growing slightly hysterical. The surgeon put up his hands.
“Calm down, Mister King. Nobody is playing a joke on you. Now please, just calm down.” He said, I started shaking my head.
“It’s not possible. They have to be somewhere. Are they humans too now? What’s happening? I don’t understand.” I said, still confused. The Anesthesiologist walked around the surgeon and up to my bedside. There was a bunch of machines and monitors there, on my right side. He fiddled with my IV bag. 
“Y-You don’t know anything?” I asked, afraid slightly. The Anesthesiologist shook his head, turning away from me. The surgeon sighed.
“I was really worried about you. You scared the hell out of us when you woke up. In all my years in surgery, something like that has never happened to me. We had your ribs ratcheted open and your heart was literally in my hands when you just started groaning. I almost fainted. You’re very, very lucky to be alive, Mister King.” He said. I turned back to the Anesthesiologist, who was injecting something into my IV. 
“I don’t feel lucky at all.” I whispered hoarsely. A dull calm washed over me and the Anesthesiologist walked away from my tubes. He patted the surgeon on the shoulder and he got up with a sigh from his chair. He stood arms akimbo as he looked down at me.
“You’re healthy now, at least. That’s something to be thankful for." The surgeon leaned down and patted my leg. I turned away from him and looked out of the window. There were buildings and telephone poles, rooftops. I could even see an airliner flying across the sky cloudy, dark sky. I opened my mouth in shock. There were no airplanes in Equestria. This place was something else. Something different. I didn’t like it. I turned away from the window. The whiteboard was there. I could read it now that my eyes were used to the light.

Jamal King 
Tuesday, May 5th, 1992
Los Angeles, California
Rainy 

I turned away from the whiteboard. I was now looking forward. There was a little TV mounted to the ceiling. I looked straight ahead. There was a little alcove in the wall that held a sink and a little mirror. The man in the mirror looking back at me was intimidating. Dark brown skin, rigid brow, and a face set up in a scowl. His eyes were dark. I closed my eyes and sighed. A deep sadness settled over me and I thought of Luna. Sleep found me slowly. 

I woke up with a start. It was nighttime, and moonlight streamed through the slats of the blinds. There was someone standing over me. It took a little bit for my eyes to adjust. The man was a doctor, wearing a white coat. I couldn’t see his face very well. 
“Who are you?” I asked. I was surprised by my voice again. I reached up and touched my throat. 
“I know who you are.” The doctor said. I blinked.
“What?”
“The two other doctors told me about you. You’re a famous case in here. Not many people survive what you did.” The doctor explained. I frowned. 
“I don’t want to be famous.” I said. The doctor sighed.
“I know you don’t. But there’s probably something I should tell you.
“What?” I asked. The Doctor sat down in a chair next to my bed, a lightly padded armchair. He slumped down with a groan.
“I can’t remember the majority of my childhood. The first thing I can remember is waking up on the edge of a public pool with a lifeguard pounding on my chest. I was nine. They said that I drowned there in that pool, but I couldn’t remember anything at all. My own name, my address, my mother’s face. Nothing at all. But there were things I could remember. I tried to forget, to live my life like a normal child. But I couldn’t. I always had an unhealthy fascination with fire. I was always different. But you and I are more similar than you think, Mister King.” He said. I turned to him. His face was doughy and he wore tiny round glasses.
“Who are you?” I demanded. The doctor smiled.
“I’m Dr. Othello Williams. It’s an honor to finally see you again, Mister Shell.”
> 51: Hospitals suck
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 51

I nearly jumped out of the bed when the doctor called me by my real name. I didn’t get far because a horrible pain opened up in my chest when I did. The doctor actually jumped up out of his chair and put his hands on my shoulders, pushing me back onto the bed gently.
“You shouldn’t get startled like that, you could tear out your staples. Good luck surviving that.” He said, making sure I was properly lying down. I stared up at him with wide eyes. He leaned over me and tugged on a string that turned on the light above me. I squinted my eyes as I adjusted to the light. I blinked for a little bit and looked back at the doctor. He had unusually small round glasses. His eyes were a dull brown, but his hair was almost completely black. I looked a little bit harder. He didn’t have any scars, no blemishes or anything like that. Other than a little stubble, he was perfect.
“I don’t believe you.” I said, setting my jaw. The doctor shrugged.
“I don’t blame you. I could be just some crazy doctor. But let me tell you, Edwin, I’m not.” He used my real name again, making my doubts come to the surface. I stared up at him.
“I don’t know that.”
“Yes, you do!” He almost shouted. His eyes were bright for a moment, but then he backed away from my bed and exhaled heavily. 
“Look. I know how I can prove it to you, but I can’t bring the things I need to the hospital. You need to stay here for a few more weeks, but after that, I can take you to my house. I promise I’m not wasting your time.” He said. I frowned.
“Let’s say you’re not wasting my time. Let’s say you really are Othello.”
“I really am Othello,” He said, pulling out his wallet. He took out a card and handed it to me. It was a drivers license with the man’s face on it, and the name read “Williams, Othello Dean.” I looked up at him. 
“Yeah, but you might not be my Othello. Look, you know my name, that’s something. But I don’t really know if all of your years of being human have turned you into something that won’t recognize everypony back home. You could just be some... some...”
“Abomination? Bastardization?” Othello said, his visage growing grim. I gulped.
“I didn’t mean it that way, I was just-”
“I’ve had the same thoughts going through my head for the last forty years. I was trapped in a child’s body when I came back to life. I had to see therapists of all kinds because my parents thought I was crazy. I knew I wasn’t crazy. I knew that I was really something else. But, eventually, I managed to see ‘sense’. I repressed my past life as hallucinations and imaginative daydreams. But then you came along. All of it came streaming back. Equestria, ponies, 
everything. I am Othello. More than I ever was. I can actually face life again, knowing that I’m not crazy, that my love for Celestia isn’t just a chemical imbalance in my brain but actual love.” Othello said, laughing freely while rubbing his head with his other hand. “I feel so alive! I can do anything now!” He said, giddy as a medical professional could be. I smiled.
“So were you just lucky to be named Othello, or what?” I asked. He smiled.
“No, I changed my name when I was old enough to do it legally. I didn’t like my original name anyways, but Othello just kind of caught me as a good name.”
“What was your name to begin with?”
“Winston. I wanted to be a doctor, not a butler.” He quipped. I smiled and the conversation lulled. We just sat there, relishing the moment that we weren’t alone in the world. I looked out of the window. The bright moonlight made the outside of the hospital eerily visible.  
“So what now?” I finally asked. Othello sighed. He got up out of his chair and stretched. I watched him do this, but then he pointed a finger at me.
“You need to sleep. There’s a whole lot of nothing that we have to do tomorrow. I’ll try and see if I can bring something by that you might like.” He groaned out. He snatched his license off of my lap and walked jauntily out of the door. I heard it shut quietly, and then closed my eyes to dreams of death. 

Morning came early. Hellaciously early. I squinted my eyes as the sun peeked over the horizon and into my room. I turned my head away from the bright light and to the whiteboard. Someone had the good manners to change it while I was sleeping.

Jamal King
Wednesday, May 6th, 1992
Los Angeles, California
Muggy

Well, there was that at least. The day changed. The city stayed the same. I’m still Jamal King. Life goes on. I sighed and looked at the dark TV mounted to the ceiling. I didn’t want to turn it on. There was so much to human life that I really didn’t want back. I turned away from the TV and back to the window. The big ball of fire that just recently graced my morning with his incendiary presence was creeping up my window slowly, like it was using the blinds as a ladder. Being in the hospital was boring. I watched the sun come up slowly and waited for something to interrupt. 

“Good morning Mr. King.” A tired voice declared. I looked away from the sun to see a nurse coming up to my bedside. I watched her come up to my machines, writing things down on a little clipboard. She was a tiny person, with dirty blonde hair and pale skin. She wore a long-sleeved grey undershirt under plain maroon scrubs. She had a gaunt look on her face, like she had stayed up all night. She also wore a tiny crucifix hanging from a delicate chain over her scrubs. She looked at one of my monitors and wrote something on her clipboard.
“Are you a religious woman?” I said. My voice was insanely hoarse for some reason, so 
I sounded like batman gargling marbles. She looked away from the monitors. Her mouth was hanging open a little bit.
“Y-yes, I am.” She stuttered, like she was afraid of me. I smiled softly.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I can’t do much of anything with this.” I rasped, gesturing to my chest. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind one of her ears.
“Someone is going to be over in a few to switch out those bandages, by the way.” She added. I smiled some more. She turned back to my monitors, writing some more. There was a long pause, and the sun climbed a few more blinds into the sky. 
“I died.” I blurted out. She turned to me 
“Excuse me?”
“I died on that operating table.” I explained. The nurse swallowed for a second, turning back to one of the machines.	
“This says you’re doing pretty well.” She laughed, tapping one of the monitors with a pen. I closed my eyes and breathed for a while.
“They say I had a heart attack in the street.”
“A pretty big one, too. I’m surprised they didn’t just wheel you into the morgue.”
“But I don’t remember having a heart attack. I don’t remember coming to the hospital. For Celestia’s sake, they had to tell me my own name! I died. And I woke up in this.” I exhorted, flopping my arms at my black body. The nurse opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but then gulped and walked out of my room. She opened the door and then squeaked.
“Oh, Dr. Williams, I was just about to come get you, Mr. King, he was-” She was saying very hushed, but then Dr. Williams interrupted.
“Angie, I know.” Othello said. I was shocked a little to recognize his voice.
“Y-you do?” She asked, sounding extremely relieved.
“Yes. I can tell about it later, but I have to check on Mister King right now.” He explained, sounding a little preoccupied.
“O-Okay.” She sighed. I could hear the clacking of Dr. Williams’ shoes as he was walking in. He had a big, thin leather briefcase about four feet tall that was tucked under his armpit. It was even wider than it was tall. He set it down next to his favorite chair and fell down into the chair. He groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. I did a double take between him and the briefcase.
“God, Edwin. What did you say to her?”
“I told her the truth.” I nearly whispered. Othello stopped rubbing his eyes suddenly. He hesitated before he looked up at me.
“What?” He asked. I shifted in my gurney so I could see him better.
“What if we did die? What if Winston actually drowned on the side of that pool? What if Jamal actually died in surgery? We could be inhabiting their bodies because the humans didn’t need them anymore.”
“So what happened to the humans?” Othello asked, suddenly engaged.
“Every single religion on earth wants to tell you.”
“You don’t think they went to Equestria?” 
“No.” I whispered, shaking my head.
“Well, Mister Shell, I just have one question for you before I show you my little surprise.” He added, patting his thin black briefcase next to him. 
“What’s that?”
“A surprise.”
“No, the question.” I qualified. Othello looked out the window for a moment before turning back to me.
“So if the humans didn’t go to Equestria when they died, What makes us different?”
“What?”
“What makes us different? You, me, Evangeline. Any of them.  Why do we go to Equestria while the rest of them get to die or go to heaven or get broiled alive in hell or whatever it is that happens to them.”
“Maybe I’ve done something perversely horrifying in my past life. Or my past, past life.” I remarked. Othello grinned.
“You think that you’ve performed some kind of offense against god or nature or whatever it is.”
“Yes.”
“Well, maybe you ate babies in your past past life, but I lead an honest life. Or, at least I tried to.
“What were you in your first life, anyways?”
“An Italian general, to be honest.”
“Really? That’s cool. Oh, say something Italian!”
“Penso che sia tempo di prendere la pressione sanguigna.” He nearly laughed out, getting up from his chair. He walked over to some of my machines and pulled a blood pressure cuff off of the wall. He started to squeeze it when it was on my arm. He sighed.
“Quel bastardo Iago.” He muttered as he squeezed the cuff. I looked up at him as he was squeezing. He looked sad. 
“Are you okay?” I asked tentatively. He nodded.
“Memories, is all. è né qui né lì, as they say.” He said, ripping the cuff off of my arm. He glanced at his watch. “One ten over ninety. At least you aren’t going to explode like before.” He joked, placing the cuff back in its little bucket. He walked around my bed to his suitcase.
“So what’s in the thing?” I ventured. He looked over his shoulder at me.
“You mean my portfolio?” He asked, unzipping the thing. I clambered up on my elbows to get a better look. He pulled out a canvas that was slightly smaller than the briefcase, but would still be an enormous painting. He kept it facing away from me while he sat down in his regular chair. He had it set down in front of his knees, resting on his shoes.
“Sorry about the philosophy. I lost a patient today.”
“I’m so sorry.” I whispered again, not because I was saddened but because I was hoarse.
“She was very, very young. Especially compared to you and I. Especially compared to me. She was only nineteen. She was absolutely gorgeous, too. She could have been a model or a celebrity or something like that. She was a looker. And she died, bloodied in my arms. She shouldn’t have died.”
“What happened to her?”
“She broke a rib. Nothing serious, really. Her boyfriend said that she fell out of a chair. I believe him, too. She didn’t have any bruises that would make me think that he was abusive. Well, we patched her up pretty well and she was about to get her purse and go when she stumbled. She, uh...” Othello paused for a moment, making my wandering eyes turn back to him. His face was red and his mouth was trembling. I could see tears in his eyes. He pushed his glasses out of his eyes and wiped away the tears with his big hands. He set the hands down on his lap, balled into fists. “I was going to help her, I had a hand on her arm to steady her. She stood up, but she was wheezing now. Her eyes were glazed over a bit. She opened her mouth to speak and just coughed blood into my face. I-I couldn’t do anything about it. I tried to re-set the rib but it wouldn’t work. I had to just stand there, trying to breathe life into this girl. I couldn’t do anything. She struggled, too. She knew what was happening. I could see the crippling fear in her eyes, knowing that it was the end. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except... The last words out of her mouth were ‘I hope I have enough for the copay.’ That really got me. It was just so sudden.”
“How did she die?” I was almost afraid to ask. Othello nearly burst into tears.
“Sh-She had a rib that I didn’t know was broken. It punctured one of her lungs, and she aspirated blood. She drowned, plain and simple.” He stuttered out. I looked down at my feet.
“Where do you think she went?”
“I hope she went someplace as beautiful as she was.” He whispered. He covered his face with one of his hands. “I’m sorry.” He rasped out. He stayed like that for a moment. I looked away to give him some privacy. He coughed a while later and I turned back to him. He was holding his canvas upright, with the back of it facing towards me. “Take a look.” He said, flipping the painting around. I gasped.
“Oh my God.” I admired. Othello smiled.
“Every time I see this, I have hope. I might get to see her again, against all odds.”
“It’s amazing.” I said. The painting was meticulously beautiful. It was as if countless days and hours were poured into this painting. Every single stroke was a labor of love, making Michelangelo look like a purple elephant on the fridge. 
“She’s beautiful.” I said. The painting was an acrylic of Princess Celestia, eyes closed with a flower stem sticking out of her mouth. She was sitting in the middle of a field of dandelions while the evening sun was frozen in the sky, barely touching the horizon. I knew at that moment that Dr. Williams was the First Numbered.
> 52: Living father, Dead mother, Undying son
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 52 

The next two weeks in the hospital were excruciatingly slow and tiresome. There was the constant worrying about Equestria, Luna, and everypony else. But, on the other side, there was a steady supply of things that made me fall asleep. Soap operas, pain pills, hospital food. They all induced sleep. I think that I spent more time asleep in the hospital than not. My dreams were all too real. A recurring one was that I was back in Equestria. It was all so happy, but it turned to crippling sorrow as soon as I woke. The routine continued for a long time. Wake up, change bandages, watch the soaps, sleep. One day, I opened my eyes and saw breakfast in front of me. Orange juice, milk, raisin bran, toast. I rubbed my eyes with my hands and looked again. there was a tiny glass vase about as tall as my index finger, with a budding red rose in it. I looked straight ahead of myself at the mirror. Same face on his license. I studied his face for a few seconds more before I turned to the whiteboard.

Jamal King
Los Angeles, California
March 13th, 1992
cloudy

I turned to the TV, which was playing one of the most hallowed of hospital pastimes, the soap opera. Ricardo was supposed to tell Fabiola that he was cheating on her with Jessica in this episode, if the TV Guide has anything to say about it. I really didn’t know what they were saying because it was all in spanish. It was really just the exaggerated facial expressions and the flamboyant commercials that made me come back to Telemundo. I watched Fabiola unleash her latina fuego on Ricardo while drinking my orange juice when Othello came back in. He often joined me in my room these days, whether it was to eat lunch or going on his rounds or checking my monitors. He would talk about his human life and I would try not to talk to him about what he missed in Equestria. He didn’t need to know about the mess he had no choice but to leave behind. I chewed thoughtfully on my toast while Othello sipped on a juicebox.
“What do you think she’s doing, right now?” He said while an upbeat spanish man tried to sell me used cars. I finished chewing my bite and then set my toast down gently.
“Which one?”
“Either. I just miss them all.” He said thoughtfully. I looked away from his pudgy face to my lap.
“I don’t know. It could be anything. It depends on what time it is over there.” I replied, my deep voice rumbling in my chest. Othello sipped his juice once more.
“You don’t think that it’s the same time here as it is there?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Your death in Equestria and my death were separated by a few days over there. We came back to life here nearly forty years apart. There has to be something different.” I reasoned, picking up my orange juice. Othello pulled his glasses off and started to polish the lenses with his shirt.
“I like to think that the times are exactly the same.” He said, putting his glasses back on.
“What makes you say that?”
“Sometimes I look up at the moon. A thought strikes me. Somehow, somewhere, Tia’s looking at the exact same moon. And like that, we’re just... Together. Like she’s right next to me.” He trailed off near the end, staring at the television. I looked out of the window. The sun was right there, trying its damnedest to blind me.
“It’s a nice thought.”
“It’s kept me from killing myself a few times. But that’s not why I’m here to talk to you today!” He said happily, slamming down his juicebox on a table next to him. I jumped at the loud noise.
“You want to talk about lunch?”
“I want to talk about getting you discharged.” He explained as he got up dusting off the lap of his lab coat with his hands. He placed his hands back to his sides and looked at me with a big smile.
“I don’t think I like that look.”
“Oh, don’t be like that! Come on, get up.” He said, gesturing for me to do so. When I showed hesitation he started snapping his fingers. I got up shakily out of the bed. My hospital gown fluttered around me as my feet thumped onto the ground. My IV pole shook against the opposite side of my bed. Othello ran around and grabbed it for me, pulling it around to my side. I grabbed it and watched Othello walk around to my side. It was really ironic, how tall I was compared to him. Apparently being in a body that’s 6’7” has its benefits. He walked around to my other side and held his arm up. I waved it away and walked out of the door. The hospital was bright and airy, with lots of windows and lights. The hallways were long and not too narrow. Pretty much just a regular hospital. I smiled at few nurses passing by, who I’m sure didn’t notice me. Othello walked around wherever he pleased, dragging me along with him. We eventually ended up in the maternity ward, in front of one of those big windows where you could see other  people’s children. Othello and I ended up glued there, sitting at one of the nearby benches. 
“Do you think they’ll ever guess?” I asked solemnly. Othello switched from leaning on one knee to leaning on the other. He let out a big sigh.
“Would you have ever guessed?” He said. I stared at one of the babies. It wasn’t doing much of anything. I bit my bottom lip
“Not in a million years. What about you?”
“I didn’t live in a culture that accepted alternate dimensions or anything like that. You died, you went to the afterlife, and that’s it. None of this reincarnation or anything like that. It was a different time.” He said. I didn’t have anything to say back to him, so we just sat  there in silence for a while. A nagging thought occurred to me and wouldn’t go away, so I decided to voice it.
“What do I have waiting for me when I leave the hospital?”
“You have a great car.”
“Do I live in it or do I have a house?” I asked sarcastically. Othello laughed.
“You have a house, but it’s in Frisco. You were here on business, apparently.” He explained while looking down at his shoes.
“Business?”
“You own a charter plane company. Nothing big, just enough to keep you in silk pajamas. Apparently you were going to meet with a client.” Othello said. I smiled.
“At least Jamal had the common courtesy to be successful before he died.” I joked. Othello laughed and stood up. 
“Come on, Mister King, let’s get you out of this hospital.” He said, getting up and walking away from me. I got up, swaying slightly on my feet and turning away from me. I was about to follow him when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. The maternity ward had two sides, both with glass to look at the babies. My mouth fell open for a minute as I looked. I turned fully to face the window. I literally threw my IV pole to the ground and placed my palms flat on the cool glass. I watched with open eyes as one of the maternity nurses picked a tiny little baby out of one of the glass trays they were put in. He was wrapped in a little blue blanket and was wearing a tiny white cap which I knew was for his baptism. The nurse held him at a slight angle facing the window opposite me to a young father. The breath stuck in my throat. The man was ragged, with mussed hair and heavy bags under his eyes from waiting for his child to be born. His jet hair hung over his ears and swayed across his icy blue eyes. His mouth dropped open when he saw his child and he started to cry. He held his arms open and turned to a mousy old woman who grasped him around the waist and held him tight. He held one hand on the back of her hair and the other one across her back. He was shaking, staring his baby boy. He looked like he was laughing, but I could plainly see the tracks of his shed tears running down his face. I balled my hands into fists as I saw the young father and started to cry. I couldn’t contain myself as I slowly fell to the ground and wailed. I grasped my knees with my hands and held them close to me, wishing that the hospital gown covered more of me. I sobbed my lamentations, not caring about who would hear. I watched through blurry eyes as Othello rushed up to me. 
“Edwin, Edwin what’s wrong?!” He worried, holding his hands over me like he was afraid to touch me. I wasn’t able to say anything. Othello picked me up and slung my arm over his shoulder. He leaned down to pick up my IV pole and walked me out of the room.

“What was that back there, Edwin?” Othello asked as he bandaged up my hand. I just shook my head. Othello pouted but didn’t press the point. He wiped my hand with an alcohol wipe and I hissed. Othello didn’t pay me any attention and pulled a white thing off of a shelf. He ripped it down the middle, revealing some gauze which he wrapped around my hand.
“It was a really stupid idea to throw down the pole.”
“Yeah." I said quietly. Othello suddenly stopped wrapping my hand and placed his hands on his hips.
“What the hell, Edwin? What’s wrong?” He demanded. I gulped, trying not to cry again.
“M-my dad.” I managed to whisper. Othello only looked confused. “M-my dad. H-he was at the maternity ward.” I explained. Othello’s face went from bunt confusion to pained understanding. 
“Edwin, I’m so sorry.” He said, pulling me into a hug. I grasped him and held him close to me. 
“M-M-M-” I stuttered, but couldn’t finish the word. Othello let me go and took my hand again, wrapping it.
“M-my mom died yesterday.” I rasped out, tears gathering at the corners of my eyes. Othello stopped moving his hands looked up at me, eyes wide and mouth open.
“Oh god... Your mother, she wasn’t-” He started, looking horrified.
“Angela Shell.” I finished for him. Othello grew a few shades paler. He mouthed words, trying to say something, but he couldn’t. He gulped once and tried to speak again.
“I was there. I didn’t deliver you, but I was in the room. We-we did all we could.”
“My dad never said what happened to her.” I said coldly, trying not to cry any more. Othello gulped again.
“She hemmoraged. We tried to find out where she was bleeding, but we couldn’t. It took a few minutes for her to go into hypovolemic shock. She probably thought she was going to sleep. Listen, Edwin, I-”
“I don’t want to talk about it. I just want out of this damn hospital.” I said, feeling anger wash over me. Othello didn’t say anything but just finished wrapping my hand. I stormed out of the room into the hallway and leaned against the wall next to the door, scowling. Othello came out and placed a hand on my shoulder. He didn’t speak. There was nothing to say.
“You still don’t think the life we lead is a punishment?” I spat. Othello dropped his hand from my shoulder and stood akimbo.
“No.”
“Saying that is like looking at the sky and still saying it’s green.” I reasoned coldly. Othello sighed.
“You’ve never led my life, so you don't know why I say what I do.”
“Are you saying you’ve led a harder life than me?” I looked down at Othello as I spoke, my face carrying intent that few murderers knew. Othello stayed calm.
“I was engaged to the woman I loved for about three hours till a fucking train decided it didn’t want me alive anymore. I woke up in a completely different body, in a place I never knew of, thrust into a conflict that wasn’t even a part of. The second time I found love, I was killed yet again, forced back into a world I thought I would never see again, that I would never love again. You can’t possibly know what I’ve been through.” I ranted, getting right in Othello’s face as I did so. He went from remarkably calm to horrifyingly enraged while I spoke. When I was done he grabbed me by my arm and tugged me into an empty room. He threw me into the room first, then walked in himself. I was still stumbling from being thrown in when Othello punched me in the face. It was a powerful left hook, hurling me into a closed closet. I placed my palms flat on the door, trying to stand upright. Othello grabbed my back and pushed me into a padded armchair that was identical to the one that he used in my room. I landed in it, reeling, and tried to get back up. He planted a hand on my chest and pushed me back down. 
“Sit the fuck down, you goddamn child.” He spat, his face red. His burst of invective made me hesitate long enough for him speak.
“I went through the exact same trials you did. I had to fight tooth and nail for survival in the streets of Florence as a child. I was lucky to be alive long enough to die. I killed my own wife because I was convinced she cheated on me. I commited suicide when I found out that it was all deception, but not without taking some of that strisciante ratto with me. I woke up in a body, but I was only a foal. I wasn’t even a half-hour old when I killed my first Angelic. He tried to eat me so I set his eyes on fire. When I was done I had to convince the two princesses I found I wouldn’t kill them either. I wasn’t a week old when I had to chew the living heart out of Gygax the Immortal at the foot of the cliffs of Canterlot. I grew to be strong, mighty, and feared. The blood of all the Angelics I killed during my first month of life can fill an Olympic swimming pool over ninety times. Do you know how many Angelics that is? That’s over 19 million of them. My favorite way to kill was to set their lymph nodes on fire. They writhed around on the ground for nearly three minutes before the fire consumed them. If it was an especially troublesome Angelic, I would stand over them as they burned and laugh. I loved to see the fear in their eyes. It satisfied me. When I was three years old, I killed the last one. He was a clever one, a real bastardo complicato. He was so afraid of me when I finally killed him that he wouldn’t allow any light in the castle where he holed up. He wouldn’t even allow any candles, that’s how afraid of me he was. I turned the whole castle into an enormous conflagration. He jumped out of his bedroom window when the fire started. I caught him. He nearly shouted himself to death. But I was there to make sure he didn’t. I ripped open his ribcage with my bare hooves and made him watch as his organs were consumed. He screamed until it wasn’t physically possible. He cursed me to the deepest pit of hell in every single language he knew, and there was a plethora. I just stood there and watched him. When he finally died I held his corpse aloft, standing on my hind legs, and shouted ‘Equestria is free!’ at the top of my lungs. I had never felt so carefree and happy as I did on that day, with only one exception. I travelled back to the throne of the Kingdom to profess my love to the Princess that held the sun aloft. The sun that shone on every single corpse I left in my wake, of every single exclamation of pain I caused. She granted me an audience for not even a minute. I remember her words exactly. ‘What do you want’ She said, staring at me like I just relieved myself on her carpet. ‘I love you.’ I said, pouring all of my passion into my words. She blinked. ‘Get out of my sight, you bloodthirsty monster.’ she spat at me, turning away. I couldn’t do anything. I almost set fire to her entire kingdom out of spite. But I didn’t. I worked hard to forge a new image of myself. I created the Nether from nothing. I labored for the greater good, building houses and planting trees that my flames had demolished. I worked and worked with no concern for myself for the next ten years. Ponies eventually cheered when I walked through their towns. When that happened for the first time, I knew it was time. I walked back to the Throne. I didn’t fly, I didn’t use magic. I remember the audience I had with her. ‘Equestria is at peace.’ I started. ‘I cleansed the Angelic scourge from your glor-’ I couldn’t finish because she ran up and kissed me. That was my happiest moment. When she accepted my love. How old are you?” He finished.
“T-Twenty one.” I whispered, amazed by his story. He snorted. 
“I’ve done more in half of your lifetime than you may ever do. By the time I was your age I sang the first blade. It’s none of this ‘imagine a sword in your head’ stronzate like they have today. You had to declaim what meant the most to you in the most beautiful voice you could muster. I stood there for nearly three hours, Celestia by my side, singing everything I loved about her. I made the spell so that the fiery passion of the spoken words would actually forge the sword out of nothingness. So don’t you fucking tell me you've had worse. I’ll get your discharge papers.”
> 53: There she is
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 53

I watched Othello storm out of the room, his white lab coat fluttering behind him. The door slammed shut as soon as he was gone. I sat there in the chair, simply stunned. Pondering my situation, I had to realize that Othello had the worst of it. He was alive as a pony for nearly eight thousand years, so being upset into a new body would be far more traumatic for him than it was for me. I was selfish. I reached up with a hand to rub my jaw, which was now starting to throb. I looked around the room. It was pretty much identical to mine. They even had a whiteboard. 

Johnathan Cooper
Los Angeles, California
March 13th, 1992
cloudy

“Someone forgot to wipe the board...” I muttered to myself, working my jaw. I looked around the room again to find that it wasn’t actually empty at all. There was a spry looking patient tucked into the bed in the room. He had a pleased smile on his face, with spiky hair perched above bright eyes. He was looking at me intently, smiling. I lurched out of the chair, startled. I pointed a finger at him.
“You- You don’t know what we were talking about.” I said. He suddenly looked offended.
“I might!” He said indignantly, with a slight accent. I smiled but stopped pointing at him, putting the hand to my jaw. I looked at him again, trying to figure him out.
“Who are you?” I asked. He snorted.
“You read my board, didn’t you?” He stated. I frowned, staying silent. He decided to speak again. “What did you do?” He asked. 
“I didn’t do anything.” I said, having no idea what he was talking about. I pulled the armchair up so it was facing the bed. I plopped myself down, looking at the man. He snorted. 
“I don’t often get punched in the face by my doctor.” The man said. I turned back to his board to remember his name.
“Can I call you John?” I asked. He nodded. “Have you ever been in a really bad place in your life? So bad that you’re not sure how to go on anymore?” I asked. He looked down at his lap.
“Yes, I have.” He said dryly. I nodded, leaning forward on my chair. 
“I had everything. A home, a great job, a mare that loved me. I had it made.”
“What happened?”
“I died.” I admitted. John sucked air through his teeth.
“Bummer. Get out, I need to sleep.” He said, rolling on his bed away from me and tucking his blanket over his head. 
“But we were-” I started, but John started snoring loudly. I frowned and got up out of my chair, walking out of the room. I slammed the door behind me and walked out into the hall. I put my hands on my hips and looked around, completely unsure of what I should do. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do when I got out of the hospital, and I didn’t even know how much money I had or even where my house was. I didn’t know anything about this place. I just walked down the hall and back to my room. 

Othello slammed the papers down on my lunch.
“That’s my sandwich.” I objected while chewing on the offended party. 
“Now it’s your discharge papers. Sign it and get out of my hair.” He coldly said, plopping down in his armchair. I started calling it his when the one in my room started to smell like him. I looked down at the papers, or actually the paper, as there was only one. It looked like a thoroughly legal and confusing document. I skimmed it as I chewed on my pastrami and rye. I felt a sudden pain down the middle of my chest as I swallowed, no doubt from my freshly mended sternum. I reached up with a hand to touch my scar. It was still bandaged, so all I felt was the cottony gauze and tape. I looked around myself for a moment.
“Do you have a pen?” I asked, holding out a hand. Othello reached up to his lab coat breast pocket and pulled out a cheap red clicky-top. It was a red one, with two halves that are exactly the same length, separated by a tiny silver ring. I read the little advertisement on the side, which was ironically for life insurance. I smiled and was about to go down to sign my name when I paused for a moment.
“Does my signature count if I’m not actually Jamal King?” I asked Othello. He smiled a little bit.
“Muscle memory.” He explained, gesturing for me to sign it. I skeptically placed my pen down and started, rushing into a nearly automatic signature. When I was done I held my hand out for a moment, somewhat shocked. I turned to Othello. He wasn’t smiling. Feeling a little bit dampened, I placed the pen down and handed the paper back to Othello. He took it and put it back in his pocket. I picked up the remnants of my sandwich and leaned back in my bed.
“I’ve never been to San Francisco.” I said, gesturing with my sandwich to the ceiling. Othello looked over his shoulder. 
“Send me a card.” He sniped, walking out of the door. It closed quietly with a dull sense of finality.  

I met a lawyer at the airport, where one of my charter planes was waiting. It was a nice plane, bright eggshell with light blue trim. There was a three-pronged crown on the rudder. The lawyer was certainly crisp. His coffee skin was accented by the crisp white of his dress shirt. Apparently he knew Jamal before he died. 
“Good afternoon, Mister King. I’m glad you didn’t die.” He said with the caring and bluntness that only lawyers can deliver properly.
“I don’t know you.”
“I’ve heard that you have retrograde amnesia, a rather severe case. I’m here to inform you about your affairs and your estate and to make sure that you can-” He was about to start, but I stopped him.
“We’ve got an entire flight to talk about this. Let’s hold off.” I said, walking past him and getting on the steps to the plane. I walked in and felt the rush of cool air. The sensation left me shocked, standing in the entryway. I couldn’t stand the sensation. I nearly fainted. It left me with so much loss, so much sorrow. I was so close to being used to human life. So, so close. I turned around and barreled down the ladder, knocking over the lawyer in my mad dash to get out. I sprinted to my car, hopping through the open window like they did in Dukes of Hazzard. I started my car as the tears started to fall. I closed my eyes and shook, the crippling sorrow rushing through me. I wiped my eyes and got off of the tarmac at breakneck speeds. I pulled onto the freeway and just drove. I wanted to go so fast my memories would just fall away. I don’t know how long I drove. I don’t know how many times I got pulled over. I didn’t know. All I did was drive.

“Welcome to Nevada” The sign said cheerfully. I felt horrible. I didn’t feel welcome anywhere. I drove.

“Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” The sign shouted at me. I didn’t want to stop there, with all of the bright lights and the bustling people. I drove.

“Welcome to Carson City” A nice small sign said. By far it was the nicest sign I had ever seen. I stopped to sleep there. There was a nice hotel that accepted me and Jamal’s credit card. I slept a restless sleep, completely devoid of dreams. 

I woke up. I blinked, trying to remember what happened the night before. I tore the blanket off of me and got up. I looked down at myself, seeing my flannel shirt and slacks from the day before. Even my shoes were still on. I rubbed my eyes and walked over to the bathroom. The shower had one of those rods that curved so that the inside of the shower looked bigger than it actually was. I turned from that to the sink, and washed my face off. I felt a little bit better. I walked out of the bathroom and out of the hotel, meandering around the courtyard. I ended up on a bench in front of the parking lot. I watched the cars drive by. Nothing much happened, until It did. It was so very very startling that I couldn’t believe my eyes. It just appeared, standing there like it had for centuries. I gasped in awe. There it was. There was still hope for me yet. I was about to stand up when the door opened and out walked a tallish man. I recognized him as John from the hospital, but he was dressed strangely. He had on a brown striped suit and red converse all-stars. He stuffed something in his jacket and looked around as he left It like he was up to something. I watched him slink away somewhere else before I got up and looked at It. I walked over and placed a hand flat on Its surface. It was exhilarating. I walked around to the door and looked at it for a moment. I smiled and pushed open the door. I stepped through the doorway and it slammed shut behind me. Looking around, startled, I recognized my surroundings. A great, blissful smile spread across my face. 
“I’m coming home, Luna.” I whispered. I let myself stand around for a little bit before rushing up to the big round console. I was about to place my hands on the controls when a shrill alarm interrupted me.
“Identify.” A cold female voice said. I gulped, hesitating. “Identify.” The voice said again, slightly sterner this time. I wrung my hands, slightly nervous.
“C-Captain Shell of the Royal Equestrian Guard Corps.” I said. The lights in the Tardis flashed red for a short moment, accompanied by a buzzer sounding.
“Incorrect. Submit to memory scan.” The Tardis said. I gulped, looking around. There was a faint mechanical whirr when suddenly something clamped itself onto my head. A cold goop spread down my face. I started to scream, trying to pull the thing off of my head. It didn’t even respond. The goop seeped down my face, covering up my nose and mouth. For some reason the goop stopped at my neck. I couldn’t see anything, but I grabbed at the device planted on my head, trying to get it off so I could breathe. I started to remember things. My first night in Equestria, my first time in the Tardis, the taste of a peach, everything. It took a few minutes, but I finally remembered everything. The goop quickly released me. I dropped to the floor and gasped for breath, trying to inhale as much as I could. I rolled over onto my back and coughed. I squinted my eyes and saw something over me.
“You’re that bloke from the hospital!” It shouted, pointing down at me. I coughed back at him.
“Welcome back, Captain Shell.” The Tardis greeted me. The Doctor’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He did a double take between me and the console. He knelt down and got in my face.
“I don’t know who the bloody ‘ell you are. But you have so much explaining to do it’s not even funny.”
> 54: Banana Daiquiri 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 54

I looked up at the Doctor. There he was. We were separated by so much. Entire parsecs of space. Complete dimensions. The rise and fall of a million empires, seeing the death of a thousand stars. Yet, so very very little. The flip of a switch. A few steps down the ramp and out the door. A short moment of crippling fear and then the cool, cool kiss of death. There he was.
“Oi, git, up off my floor.” He ordered. I got up to my feet and brushed off my pants. There he was, the famous Doctor. I was so giddy I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face. The Doctor covered his face with a hand and gestured for me to sit down. I looked around and took one of the worn white leather chairs. The Doctor stood and watched me, staying silent for what seemed to be ages. Finally he started to speak. 
“Just one thing first. How did you get in?” He said. I smiled even wider than before. I placed my hands down on the control surfaces of the chair.
“Tardis, disable isomorphic controls.” I enunciated clearly. There was a confirmation bleep from the console. The smooth glass panels near the front of the arm rest lit up. My hands flew at the controls as the Tardis bent to my will. The entire console room shrunk down to the size of a marble, expanded to the size of a football stadium and twisted like a corkscrew before finally settling into a shape that I needed. Column and console tucked away in an unseen dimension, leaving a wide empty space in the middle. I clicked a few more buttons on the arm rests, making a bright picture of my pony self appear in thin air. I looked over to the Doctor with his jaw hanging open and blinking. I hopped off of my chair and walked near the middle of the room. 
“Doctor… Have you ever been to a dimension called… Well, I’m not sure it has a name, but there is a place there called Equestria. You would recognize this creature if you have. Have you ever been? Doctor?” I asked, turning away from the picture of me to the Doctor, who was sputtering and pointing at me. 
“I- I- You- Y- You-“ He stammered, shaking a finger at me. He looked rather wobbly. I flourished my hand and made a chair appear behind him, just in time for it to catch him in its plush recesses. He looked so shocked it was almost funny. I turned back from him and looked at the picture of me. It was from my bath with Luna, or soon after. My mane was plastered to my neck, with the front of it hanging over my eyes. There was a blistering grin on my face. I sighed and turned back to the Doctor. 
“This dimension is where I am from. It’s the most beautiful and crazy place that you could ever possibly imagine in a thousand years. That’s actually me,” I pointed back to the floating hologram “In that picture. I’m in here because I need to get back. I’ll do anything to get back home. And you’re going to help me.” I finished, jabbing the Doctor’s chest with my finger. He gulped. 
“I-I-“ The Doctor kept on not making words properly. I sighed, going back to the command chair. I set the room back to normal size and shape with a swipe and turned back to the middle of the room. I placed my hands flat on the console that was there now, relishing in the unadulterated power that was at my command. I could feel it thrum in my bones, like the beat of music or the vibrations of a running car. It put my teeth on edge and made me shiver. I opened my eyes and looked down at the controls. I pulled on a few levers and switches, running around the pillar to find the next sequence I needed. When I was done, the nostalgic woosh of the time drive greeted me as I was arriving when my destination was. I stared up at the glowing pillar for a moment before turning back to the Doctor. His skin was deathly pale and he was shaking in his chair.
“Are you afraid of me, Doctor?” I inquired. He nodded, which drew a smile. I looked up at the pillar as it stopped moving.
“We’re here.” 
“You-You didn’t take me to Equ-Equ-
“No. You look a little too tense for dimension hopping. We’re on a favorite planet of mine. I’ve always wanted to come here for the past few weeks.
“Wh-Wh-
“Midnight.”

The Doctor was an eccentric drunk. I nearly had to take him away from the resort when he told the bartender about banana daiquiris and got offended when she didn’t believe him. We were now sitting in a hot tub, looking up at the deadly light refracting off a diamond waterfall. The Doctor was wearing Hawaiian trunks and a frilly yellow lei to match his banana daiquiri. He was looking up at the sky. 
“They never make them right.” The Doctor slurred. I smiled, taking my eyes off the diamondfall to watch a group of tourists walk by. I turned back to the Doctor and smiled. 
“The sandwich dilemma.” I explained. The Doctor took his eyes off of the barren Midnight sky to look at me quizzically. “Once you make a really good sandwich, nobody can ever make one for you again. It’s a curse.” I reasoned. The Doctor harrumphed, raising his frilly drink to his mouth.
“What I don’t get,” He paused, sucking some banana slush out of his glass “Is why you need to get back. From what I understand, you have a pretty good life back on Earth. You’re set. Loads of money, go wherever you want, great house. Why would you want to go back to a complete… load of bollocks?”
“Excuse me?” 
“From what you said, it was a complete bloodbath. You’re lucky to have gotten out when you did. In a way, you cut your losses and saved yourself a whole lot of heartache. It could have been much, much worse.” The Doctor explained. My face set into a scowl as the Doctor spoke. I didn’t even try to speak when he was done, because I knew I would shout at him. I calmed down before trying to talk.
“How dare you. You’ve never died before. You’ve never felt the cold grip of undeniable certainty. You’ve never felt the numbness of fatal blood loss. You’ve never really disappointed someone. Not completely. So don’t tell me I cut my losses. I left behind my only chance at happiness when I died. You were a good guy when I knew you as a pony. I guess that happens in time.” I thrashed the Doctor with my words. He was slightly too drunk to care, which made me even more mad. I got up out of the hot tub about as dignified as anyone could, storming off into the resort. 

I ended up at the bar, sipping a drink that I didn’t know the name of. It probably wasn’t even from the same planet that I was. Whatever it was, it worked. The drink itself was so completely strange that I couldn’t fathom it. It looked like it wasn’t liquid as much as it was ethereal. Suspended in the ether were little blue wisps, twisting and turning around like vapor. It produced a deep chill in the glass, but when I drank it it was like eating soup. When I was done, the bartender would smile and hold out his hand. I would place a little plastic stick in his hand, he would fiddle with it, and he would hand it back to me with another drink. From the smile on his face the drink they must have been expensive.I dissolved into a stupor that made me forget where I was, let alone my troubles in other dimensions. I muddled my mind for a while. There was a slight commotion on the other side of the bar. My foggy senses managed to notice it. I looked to my left and saw some funny shape yelling at another funny shape. I blinked a few times and the scene resolved itself. There was a man arguing with a pony. I blinked again, shaking my head while wondering what I was drinking
There was a man arguing with a pony. 
There was a man arguing with a pony.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My eyes opened so wide they nearly popped out. The pony didn’t dissolve into nothingness or do anything to make me think it was a dream. It just argued with another bar patron. All I could do was stare. The pony was a light lilac, almost white. He had a magnifying glass for a cutie mark. It had bright green eyes and a grey mane. 
“What do you mean, I stole it?” The pony demanded of the other guy. The other guy sniffed and wiped his nose with his hand. 
“You stole me crisps.” He slurred. I couldn’t really say whether he was too drunk or not because it wasn’t hard to look completely sober next to me right then. The pony made a show of scoffing at the man
“You’re off your rocker, mate, if you think I stole those crisps! You’re so bleedin’ drunk you can’t even see them on the floor where you dropped them!” He shouted at the man. The man snorted and picked his potato chips up off of the floor, leaving the pony alone. The bar was pretty empty at the time, so there wasn’t many people to notice the pony, and those that did see it probably thought it was an alien. I knew what it was, which was why I stared at it. He turned back to his tumbler filled with greenish liquid. He picked it up with magic and took a sip, grimacing when he set down the glass. The purple pony looked around for a little bit, like he was waiting for something to happen. I made eye contact with him. I gasped, shocked. His sharp green eyes seemingly probed me, making me feel naked. What made it worse was his eyes widened in surprise. A smile spread across his face and he hopped off of his stool and walked over to me. I stiffened and looked away from him, trying to read all of the labels on the bottles behind the bar. He wasn’t fooled and nudged me with his hoof.
“You’re the Composer.” He said in awe. His strange comment shook me out of trying not to be noticed. I moved my arm so I could get a good look at him.
“Excuse me?
“You’re the Composer. You sent me.”
“Excuse me?” I said incredulously. The pony shook his head.
“Of course you wouldn’t know,” He muttered. Turning back to me, he said “But we need to talk. Can you come with me?” He spoke to me, suddenly very intense. I felt wary.
“No.” I simply stated, turning back to my drink. I was about to pick up the ethereal beverage by the stem when the pony nudged me again. I took a moment before turning to him, slightly annoyed. I didn’t say anything to him, so he spoke first.
“Look behind you.” He grinned. When I did, I nearly had to scoop my jaw up off of the floor.
“That’s- That’s-“ I stammered. The pony laughed.
“That’s the Composer.” He bragged, like it was a personal achievement to know the guy. I turned back to the bartender.
“What the hell did you put in my drink?” I demanded, but the portly fellow just laughed.
“Nothin, I see ‘im too. They’re my best customers, Eqquans. Good, honest folk. Ain’t never start fights, never argue the tab. Good, good folk.” The man trailed off, polishing a stein made out of a whole, seamless diamond. I turned back behind me.
“He’s- He’s-
“Of course he is. Who else would he be?
“He’s me.” I whispered to myself, completely in awe. The Composer was exactly that. Me. He was standing outside of the door to the bar, about thirty feet away. He was leaning on a gigantic translucent column and staring straight at me. Other than a tiny silver cross he was wearing on a thin chain around his neck, he wasn’t wearing anything. His white coat was nearly glowing in the filtered X-tonic sunlight, which contrasted with his glossy black mane. He was lean, with the wiry muscles of a rock climber. Nobody walking pass seemed to pay any attention to him, but I couldn’t look at anything else. He smiled, remembering his past in me. I struggled to turn back to the pony next to me.
“How?” I whispered. 
“I’m not allowed to tell you about your future” He said, repeating a variation of a rule I’d heard countless times before. I sighed.
“Why doesn’t he come over here and talk to me?
“He’s not allowed to touch you, or even speak to you. You aren’t allowed to talk to him either. He was very strict about that.” He explained. I nodded.
“What now?”
“I’m taking you to his suite. We need to talk alone. Can you wait here for a moment?” He ventured. I nodded, and the pony walked away from me to walk to me. He met the Composer by the big crystalline pillar to talk to him. I couldn’t hear anything, but that didn’t keep me from looking. The Composer said something, and the lilac pony laughed. The purple one nodded, walking away from my pony self. It walked up to the doorway of the bar, motioning for me to get up. I followed him out of the bar to the lobby of the resort. I watched the Composer knock on the crystal floor of the lobby twice with his hoof. The pillar behind him glowed slightly, revealing a seamless door built into the surface. It let out a bright, blinding light as it opened. I had to squint as I watched the silhouette climb through the door, which closed behind him. It sealed shut completely, leaving it looking exactly like it did before. There was a moment of complete silence, and then it happened. The disembodied woosh of a moving tardis reverberated through the lobby. I looked all around to see where it was, but then it dawned on me. I turned back to the crystal column just in time to see it fade into complete nothingness. I stopped right there in the middle of the floor and stared at the spot where the column was. The pony had to tug me out of the lobby to get me moving again.

“This is it? I thought it would be the deluxe penthouse suite or something like that.” I wondered aloud as we walked to the room. It was in a hallway made out of a vein of cloudy emerald, deep in the crust of Midnight. The lilac pony laughed.
“You actually have to pay more for rooms deeper down. The cheapest rooms have the best views of the outside, but you wake up every morning with sunburn.” 
“Do you have a name?” I asked the pony.
“Finder.”
“Do you have a last name?”
“Back when I lived there wasn’t much importance placed in last names.” He said, but I wasn’t paying attention. There was a food cart next to one of the doors further down the hall. The Composer was right next to it, smiling. I looked away from him because he wasn’t going to change anytime soon. The room was luxurious, with nearly every available fixture carved meticulously out of the surrounding emerald. I sat down on a couch, one of the only non-emerald pieces in the room and stared at Finder. He wasn’t as well built as the Composer was, but he wasn’t gangly, either. He sat down on the floor in front of me, with a serious look on his face.
“You’re different. You’re not quite human, not quite Eqquan. You’re in between. The Composer sees something in you that he likes, and he’s willing to help you out. The thing is, Edwin,” The pony shifted on his haunches. “He’s willing to do just about anything to get you there, short of sending you himself. Mister Shell, we’re desperate. I’ve seen the Angelic scourge. It’s never pretty. Some of my own relatives have died at the hooves of Angelics. The Composer thinks that you’re Equestria’s last hope. The Composer thinks that you can stop them. And he’s never wrong.”
“And you want me to do… What, exactly?” I asked. Finder burst into a grin
“What are your opinions on Grand Theft Tempus?”

> 55: Back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 55


I couldn’t believe it was happening. I was walking back to the Doctor, still lounging in the tub, wearing a heavy jacket. They said that it was the only way to get back. They said that it couldn’t possibly go wrong, and they were there to help me if it did. Finder did pretty much all of the talking, but the Composer was there to add validity through his argument. I shook my head, trying to bring myself back to reality. The straps were chafing me a little bit, which kept me rubbing my shoulders with every step. I could feel the cool metal near my wrist, which was a constant reminder of my promise. There’s no backing out from this point on, Finder said. It’s now or never. If you botch this, you’re stuck on this world. We can help you if you need it, but we can only do so much.  He warned, showing me the equipment I would need. I gulped, walking even closer to the Doctor. He was aimlessly looking up at the glistening gems, steeping in the hot tub with his daiquiri still in hand. I gulped as I took the final few steps up to him. He looked up at me with a slightly repentant frown.
“Edwin, I’m sorry about earlier. I said some things that I certainly regret, and I hope we can pu-“ The Doctor never finished. I ripped off my jacket leaving parts of my rich brown skin to the open air. I grasped the tool with my right hand and braced it with my left, keeping it stable and pointed at the Doctor. I could feel the pack I was wearing tighten and mold to my body, making me feel itchy. It booted up and began to elicit a sharp metallic whirr. Cool air circulated through the shoulder straps, keeping the machine from burning me where it touched my body. There was a cold pinch on the side of my neck, and suddenly information appeared over my regular vision, showing temperatures and statistics throughout the system in my field of view. 
“This is a hijacking. Give me every tardis key you have on your person and your screwdriver.” I tried to say as evenly as I could. The Doctor’s previous expression was replaced by a blank mask of shock as he paled a few shades. He shifted his weight forward and stood up in the middle of the tub. He dropped his drink into the water.
“Do you know what you’re pointing at me?”
“B-x4 adaptive assault system, manufactured by the Walters Corporation on Kobaal Five. It costs five million Federation Credits to fire it one time. I’ll only need to fire it once. They say Hector of Arturus used one to irradiate an entire planet.” I rattled off.
“Did he?”
“No. It was only a continent.”
“If you shoot that, you’ll kill every single person in here.” He explained softly. I adjusted the gun.
“I’m a desperate man, Doctor.”
“You can’t have the Tardis.”
“You won’t survive.” I stated. The Doctor smiled.
“Don’t make the mistake of doubting me. Thousands far more motivated than you and much better equipped have tried to take it away from me.”
“They might have had better weapons than me, but you bet your ass they weren’t more motivated than I am. I am going to walk out of this lobby with a key and a screwdriver even if it kills me.” I promised. I could feel the suit start to rev faster, expending extra energy so it didn’t combust or create unshielded nuclear fusion on my back. I rolled my shoulders.
“You won’t get far. You might not get anywhere.” The Doctor told me. 
“I know all of the emergency programs and how to circumvent them. I know where to go where future versions of you cannot find me. I’ve entered the streams. I’ve felt the Threads themselves. You can’t stop me. Nothing can now.”
“I was going to help you get to Equestria!” He shouted at me, flinging his hands up in anger. I took a step towards the Doctor. He flinched a little bit when I brandished the weapon.
“You were?! Doctor, unless you hand me your keys and your screwdriver right now, you’re going to be scooping molecules of yourself up off of a moon three systems away!” I shouted back, baring my teeth at the end. The Doctor looked past me with a triumphant smile. 
“That’s him! He’s the man!” The Doctor shouted. I looked behind me to see a small squad of armored Judoon. One of them near the head of the group pointed at me and started running. It was hard to understand how fast a bipedal rhino could run until you’ve seen one do it. I swore under my breath and spun to face them. I felt the gun whirr and click, pulling information into my vision which told me that the Judoon approaching were very heavy and wanted to hurt me. I pulled back on the trigger with a solid click. 
There was a moment of panic when nothing happened. When I thought I was going to get stomped to death. When I would never see Luna again. That moment made her flawless image appear in my mind, with her shining blue hair and her brilliant teal eyes. It flooded me with determination and courage that told me I would not die on this soulless rock. The Pack must have anticipated me and collapsed the enormous cannon into itself and slid two metal plates down the ends of my arms. These plates folded towards me when they reached the end of my arms, molding to my fists. The first Judoon was rapidly approaching. I didn’t hesitate to take the steps to meet it. I wheeled an arm back and swung it forward quickly, catching the alien under the ribs, knocking him off of his feet and launching him a few meters backwards. The other five Judoon didn’t stop running or even hesitate. I leaped into the air and cracked a helmet open with my fists. The next few fell in short order, with what would be fatal wounds if they were humans. But with the Judoon, I just wasn’t sure. I ended up standing in the middle of a bunch of moaning bodies, smeared and splattered with bright yellow blood. I looked up at the Doctor, who was staring at me with his mouth open. I walked back to him, hearing the mechanical whirrs and hisses of the system that helped me walk with the heavy pack on. By this time, it was actually adding metal plates to my body as armor. The Doctor leaped out of the pool and made a dash for a hallway. I tensed my muscles and ran after him, the suit elongating my strides. I was leaping more than running when I collided with a sapphire wall, crumbling off gems bigger than my hands. I tumbled down to the ground, sprawling myself out of the cool blue floor. I watched the Doctor take the final few steps to the Tardis. He paused before he pushed the doors open. 
“You have made a powerful enemy today, Edwin. You will never be safe. Wherever you hide, whenever you go, you can never be safe from me. I promise you will never again know a moment of peace. On my honor as a Time Lord, I declare you a mortal enemy of my race.” He vowed.  He pushed open the doors and walked in. They shut behind him with a sharp clack, and my heart plunged in my chest. I opened my mouth in complete shock. This was it. It was over. I would have to spend the rest of my life on a huge gemstone.  I reached for the Tardis as if it would do anything. The plating and the mechanical pieces on the right side of my body clacked and whirred and moved around. I felt a cool wormy thing snake up my arm. A metal hand sprouted on the end of my arm, flexing its fingers. It launched itself out at the Tardis, leaving a thick metal cable behind it. The metal fingers clamped down on a corner of the box. I didn’t have time to think before the cable took up slack and pulled me to the Tardis. I was flung through the air and collided with a clang. I looked around and found myself hugging the Tardis. I looked up at the blue ceiling. It slowly faded from view, showing a chaotic red tunnel. It faded back to blue, then back to red. Blue, red, blue, red. The Tardis, with absolutely no warning at all, lurched forward at an alarming speed. The cables holding me to the door let me out a few feet, separating me from the machine. I could see where I was. The Tardis was moving through time and space, and this was the inside of a Slice. I tried to breathe, but nothing came out. I could feel the spit boiling on my tongue and my vision fading at the edges. Before I could ask the suit to seal me up, a mask slapped down on my face and I could hear the hiss of fresh, cool air. It was technically a synthetic blend that didn’t originate anywhere near a gravity well, but my lungs couldn’t tell the difference. The chaos only a few inches away from me was vicerally palpable. I could almost taste the disorder in the hard vacuum as countless events and times flashed past. I couldn’t bear to look. My time in the Slice lasted forever, yet the moment was fleeting. We finally ended up in a small glade, my body crashing into the Tardis and then onto the ground. My eyes focused and my surroundings resolved into objects. A sun was shining brightly in the sky, but I couldn’t feel the warmth through the suit. The mask I was wearing targeted the star I was looking at. 

Class G2 y. Dwarf
152m.km.
Sol

My mind connected the dots. Earth, the peak of summer. I looked to my right. There was a small wood, littered with dandelions and clover. I got to my feet, feeling the springy grass beneath my soles, which were left bare. Apparently they didn’t need protection in a vacuum, at least didn’t for how long I was in one. The mask wasn’t coming off yet because the pack was still deciding if the air was safe to breathe. Various animals were tagged by the mask, telling me how dangerous they were. A few squirrels darted out of the trees to look at me, but that was about it. Nothing really happened. I heard a creak behind me. I turned to the noise immediately, flushing with success when I saw the Doctor peeking his head out of the twin doors. The pleasure I felt when he opened his mouth in horror was so amazingly satisfying. I pointed at him, but didn’t even recognize the outstretched arm because it was so heavily armored.
“Your keys and your screwdriver. Now.” I commanded. The Doctor, about as quick as could be, ducked back into the Tardis and tried to close the doors. I called up another metal hand and shot it at him. It didn’t reach him, but it managed to get through the doors. A camera mounted somewhere on the hand popped up in the corner of my vision, showing me a grainy view of the Tardis interior. The Doctor was running around the console, trying to get away from me. I wiggled a few fingers and the mechanical hand leaped to the Console. I closed my eyes and concentrated, trying to focus my efforts on what I was about to do. Revoking the Deadlock in the Tardis was complicated. The hand danced across the wedge, trying to remove the lock. The Doctor was definitely trying to stop it, but he wasn’t doing much against the appendage. I couldn’t tell whether it was done on the Console, but the big doors swung open. I grinned and launched myself into the Tardis. The Doctor, still wearing his trunks and lei, went absolutely crazy. He ran to the opposite side of the console and mashed buttons like mad. He actually managed to transport using only the one side. He slammed a palm down on the console and I heard a horrifyingly familiar click. The Doctor panicked. The lights all turned red and the familiar Klaxon sounded. He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. He flew backwards towards the wall and landed squarely in an inertia chamber. It sealed shut over him as he waved at me. I jumped again, leaping off of the ceiling and flying to his pod. I thumped down on his chamber and started pounding it with my fists. The glass was resilient and didn’t crack. The Doctor mouthed something and flew down out of his tube. I grimaced and pounded on the glass, trying to get at him. It took me a few minutes to realize that I didn’t need to anymore. He was gone, and I had the Tardis. It took me even longer to calm down enough to act on that fact. 

I was facing the vast emptiness of space. The pack was still on my back, happily revving to keep from exploding. The pastrami and rye in my hand was slightly dry but still delicious. I watched the twinkling universe and bit down on the sandwich. The Tardis was sad, and I knew it. It wasn’t responding to my vocal cues so I had to use the console directly. Thoughts flew through my head. Does violence define me as a person? Am I ever going to be a pony again? Does my sandwich need more or less spicy mustard? These pressing issues bombarded my mind as I waited. The first sandwich disappeared, followed by the second, and then the third. I saw a heart-shaped asteroid float past, millions of miles away from just about anything. I picked up a remote controller that was strategically placed between the pastrami and the mayo. It looked like a flat rectangle completely loaded with wires and switches and knobs. I flicked a series of toggles and buttons, activating a tractor field around the Tardis. The asteroid floated towards me slowly. It bumped up to one side and settled where I couldn’t see it. I pulled my mask down and pushed myself out into space. I clung to the surface of the Tardis and pulled myself along till I got to the rock. It wasn’t so big, but it was still bigger than the Tardis. I pushed myself around the surface of the rock until I found a tiny little crater. I knocked just to the left of the crater twice. A circle appeared on the surface of the asteroid, which swung open. Finder’s bright face appeared, covered by a spacesuit visor. He floated out of the Asteroid and out into space with me. The hatch closed and sealed shut, leaving no trace of its presence. Finder gestured to my Tardis, and I nodded. I got a hold of a handle on his back and pulled him to my door. I tossed him in first, following soon after. Finder was twisting off his helmet when I got my mask off. His grey mane poured out of his suit when he got it off. I frowned and checked on the Console. 
“You know what to do now.” Finder said, unlocking the cuffs on his boots. I nodded silently, starting the sequence to prepare the Tardis for dimension hopping. I trailed off in my tapping and turned slowly to Finder. He was magicking his spacesuit into a nice folded square. He sighed happily and turned to me.
“There’s going to be a pit stop.” I told Finder. He frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“We’re not going straight to Equestria. I need to pick something up.” I explained. Finder shook his head.
“No. We’re going to do this by the book. No detours, no stops. Straight to Equestria.” He spouted. I looked him right in the eyes.
“I’m not asking you, Finder. I’m telling you what is going to happen.”
“That’s not how things work, Edwin. This is going to happen the way the Composer wants it to happen or it won’t happen at all.” Finder argued. I turned back to the Console and put in the proper coordinates. Finder saw them and sighed.
“This isn’t going to work.” He muttered to himself and hopped up on the Console. He was reaching for a monitor when I pointed a revolver at him.
“Step away, Finder.” I commanded coldly. Finder stared at me with wide-open eyes.
“That’s a gun.”
“Do they have guns in Equerstria when you’re from?”
“No.”
“You know what they do?”
“I’ve heard about them.”
“Then you’ll kindly walk away from my Console before I show you first hand. I’ve made a promise that I’m going to keep.” I threatened coolly. Finder gulped, but he didn’t move at all. I pulled the hammer back, letting out a sharp clack. “Make your peace with Celestia or get off my Console.” I ordered. Finder hopped off of the Console and backed away, shaking slightly as he did so. I turned back to the controls and put in the last few equations. A lever swung forward and the Tardis started to move. I stared up at the pillar and sighed. I nearly fell asleep to the thrum when a great lurch brought me back from drowsiness. I got up and stretched, thinking about what I would say. I walked past Finder without a word, scooping up a stray sonic screwdriver from a pile of linens. I pulled the doors open and looked. I was in front of a big white condo, with a nice black BMW in the driveway and a nice rosebush in the garden. I was waiting not even a minute when a man walked out of the front door. He was holding a leather briefcase and a wad of white fabric in another. He locked the door behind him and he turned around. He dropped his briefcase and his wad down right then. He didn’t move, and he didn’t speak. I smiled.
“Come on, Othello. We’re going home.”

> 56: Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 56 

I’ve never seen Othello run so fast, even as a pony. He sprinted to me as fast as he could, leaving his things at the door.  I was laughing as he closed the last few feet and leaped into my arms. I gathered him up in my arms and squeezed him, roaring with laughter. I was so happy to see him again, and he was so happy to see me. We were finally going back to where we belong. He sobbed into my chest and I smiled.
“We’re going home, Othello.” I said. He nodded and pulled away from me.
“It feels like a dream.” He mumbled, wiping a tear from his eye. I smiled even wider.
“You know it isn’t. Do you need to go get anything?” I asked, but he shook his head. “Anyone you want to say goodbye to?”
“No. Everyone that’s ever loved me knew me as Winston. Let’s go.” He said. I nodded, stepping aside so he could push the doors open. I waited a moment before going in to look at the sky. Plump clouds floated by, with the vapor trails of airplanes crossing the sky. It would probably be the last time I see it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, smelling rich hickory smoke from a barbecue a few houses down. The smell overwhelmed me for a moment, making me slump against the tardis. That whiff made me seriously consider what I was doing. I was leaving Earth behind and leaving to another dimension. A completely separate dimension where hickory smoke probably didn’t exist and Jamal King didn’t have a single cent to his name. I could leave it all behind. I could live out the rest of my natural life and die, programming the Tardis to go back to the Doctor and telling Othello to go it alone. But… If I didn’t have another heart attack, odds were that I could probably see myself again. My first time around, in my original body. That would be so weird. What would I tell myself? Hey Edwin, don’t go buy that ring, she’s going get cold feet and die. Hey Edwin, don’t go to comic con. Hey Edwin, don’t move to Florida. Hey Edwin, let’s go have lunch, I need to tell you something. Hey Edwin, have a few million dollars. Funny enough, I did have a guy offer me a million bucks once, but he was drunk. And white. I was still arguing with myself when Othello found Finder.
“Holy shit!” I heard him shout at the top of his lungs. I smiled and ducked into the Taridis. Othello was looking at Finder from the opposite end of the Tardis. Finder was squinting at him, most likely wondering why I would stop for this guy. Othello gulped.
“It’s good to finally see one.” He whispered. I jogged up to the Console and read a few monitors. 
“You’re about to see a whole lot more. But, uh…”
“What? What’s the problem this time?” Finder demanded. Othello backed away as if he was afraid of the pony.
“I’m hungry.”

Much to Finder’s annoyance, we decided to stop a second time at a backwater system with some of the best crab Rangoon in the Galactic Supercluster. After I convinced Finder that no crabs died in the making of the little fried delights, he agreed to have one. Big mistake. 
“Jesus, Finder. It’s not like they’re gonna run out.” Othello admonished. Finder didn’t even hesitate, shamelessly levitating three more into his mouth. He closed his mouth and chewed them with a blissful smile on his face. Othello and I were actually hiding some of them in our pockets so we could actually eat them without Finder stealing them. Due to the insanely large amount of money I had on me thanks to the Tardis reserves, we could afford to buy the actual restaurant several times over in cash. I was in a gambling mood. I leaned over the table while Finder scarfed up some more Rangoon.
“What’s the over-under on how many more plates he can eat?” I whispered. Othello screwed up his face in thought.
“Six?” 
“How about five?”
“I’ll take the over.”
“Damn. How much?” I asked, running through how many bits I could actually get for Othello on short notice.
“Three million?”
“You’re going to be the end of me, old man.” I joked. Othello grinned, pushing his round glasses down his nose.
“You’re good for the cash.” Othello assured me with a chuckle.
“Can you wait till we’re back in Equestria?” I ventured. Othello grimaced.
“I dunno…” He threatened. 
“Come on, I have no idea where to get bits in this dimension. Gimme a break.” I pleaded. Othello mulled it over a little bit.
“Deal.” Othello grinned, sticking out his hand. I shook it, feeling sick. I suddenly watched Finder with intensity, not caring that I had mushy Rangoon in my pockets. Othello smiled a bright smile, turning to Finder. Finder paused and looked at him, his mouth wide open and levitating a Rangoon in front of his maw.
“Next ten plates are on me, Finder.” He said warmly. Finder smiled.
“Raarlra?” He asked, his eyes watering with joyous anticipation.
“Really.” Othello promised. He turned around to one of the waitresses, a bright green humanoid. “Three more plates, please?” He asked, and the waitress nodded. Finder finished eating what was in his mouth and looked at Othello like he just said that Santa was a lie.
“But I thought you said ten!” He pointed out indignantly. Othello put his hands up.
“Easy, Tiger. Don’t want you to explode, do we?” He reasoned. Finder looked confused.
“What’s a Tiger?” Finder asked innocently. Othello and I glanced at each other.
Never gamble with an Italian. He mouthed silently. I cursed my bad decision making and watched the next three plates of steaming Rangoon fly down on lithe green arms into Finder’s mouth. I watched with dread as plate after plate disappeared, only to be replaced by even more. To be honest, I was less worried about losing the bet than having Finder literally explode inside of the restaurant. This pony literally garnered a crowd of about twenty people, encouraging him to finish the next plate. My head was buried inside of two steins of something potent when Finder started his seventh plate. Othello was grinning like mad and the crowd around him was going crazy. Finder’s stomach made a funny noise and he squinted, his cheeks bloating. I sat up and watched finder with a newfound energy. Othello was looking grim.
“Hey Finder, you alright?” I asked. He shook his head and heaved a little bit, keeping his mouth closed. He wavered for a moment, his eyes unfocused. Suddenly he leaped off of his stool and sprinted to the bathroom. I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. I jumped up, still tipsy, cackling. I banged on the table and enjoyed my victory. Othello just sat stony-faced, waiting for me to finish. The crowd thinned out and the revelry subsided to a dull happiness. Finder stayed in the bathroom for a long time, and Othello and I ordered a few plates for ourselves. We ended up talking about everything.

“Do you remember your first super Nintendo?” I asked Othello. He chuckled.
“Edwin, I was 48 when Super Nintendo came out.”
“The question stands.” I insisted. He smiled.
“Fine. I actually own a huge share of Nintendo, so they sent me one gratis when they released in Japan. There was a kid a few years back in the child ward that had cancer, pretty far along. He was a referral from St. Jude’s, they couldn’t treat him so they sent him back to a hospital near home,” Othello choked up, tears forming in his eyes. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. I softened up a little bit. “To die.” He finished, barely understandable. “I wasn’t his doctor in the hospital, but everyone knew his story. All he wanted for Christmas was a Super Nintendo. He wasn’t going to live that long. Not even close. His parents barely had enough money to keep their house afloat, let alone buy him a game. I knew that I had the power to make the rest of this kid’s life happy. So I came into work one day dressed as Santa, super Nintendo fresh in the box. The-“ Othello sobbed once, interrupting his story. “The look on his face, Edwin. It was like he was the luckiest kid alive. I set it up for him and handed him a Super Mario cartridge. I swear to god, Edwin, I never did anything more selfless in my entire life. Any of them. I- I saw him the next day, acted all surprised. I visited him every day with a new cartridge. PilotWings, SimCity, anything I could find. I blew hundreds on this kid. He… He died a few weeks after he got it. His parents said that he wanted me at his funeral. I really wanted to go, to pay my respects. I just couldn’t. I couldn’t bear to go see him in that casket. I didn’t need to remember him dead. I just-“ He never finished his story because Finder came out of the bathroom. He looked terrible, sunken eyes perched above a sniffling nose. A loud cheer rose up from the bar and all the patrons rushed up to him, holding him above their shoulders. I smiled, feeling the bitter dregs of the story mix with Finder’s newfound fame. I watched them parade the lilac pony around the restaurant, showering him with praise and condolences. I grunted and stood, brushing the dirt from my worn khakis. Othello watched me get up.
“Come on, he’ll never know we’re gone.” I said.

“I- I can’t do it, Edwin.” He whispered, shaking his head as I handed him the package. I closed his hands around it and nodded.
“Yes you can. You need to do this.” I emphasized. Othello shook his head.
“I don’t know if I can.” He said, his voice warbling.
“Please, Othello, for him. If not for anything else, do it for him.” I pleaded. Othello gulped, trying to calm himself. 
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay.” He affirmed, turning to walk out the Tardis door. I followed him to the doorway and watched him step out onto the cool grass. He took a few more shaky steps out into the open, finally coming to what we were here for. A simple marker, made of white stone, marked his destination. He took a knee and placed the package at the base of the marker. Othello placed a hand on top of the marker, his shoulders shaking. I couldn’t hear him crying, but I knew he was. I turned back, leaving Othello to himself while I checked the Console. My eyes widened. I ran down the ramp and saw Othello screaming up at the sky, consumed by sorrow. He couldn’t see the helicopters coming in over the tree line. I sprinted out of the door and up to Othello, getting a hold of him and pulling him back to the Tardis. He was struggling, trying to claw his way back to the marker.
“Come on, Othello, time to go.” I said through my teeth, trying to keep Othello from getting away. 
“No! No! You can’t make me!” He screamed, trying his damndest not to leave the marker. I looked over to the trees, seeing the slightest hint of helicopter coming over. I pulled on Othello harder, triying to make him get the hint. He didn’t, still struggling as much as he could to get away from me. The helicopters were now clearing the trees and making a straight line for us. I put all my weight in heaving Othello to the Tardis. I couldn’t. Pretty soon, these three helicopters were hovering right over us. The wind gusted around us as I waited for something to happen. One of the helicopters banked to the side a little bit, sliding open a door. I looked up at it. I couldn’t see who appeared at the door, but he held up a megaphone and told me.
“Did you think that you could just get away with it, Edwin?!” The Doctor shouted. I grimaced as soon as I recognized the voice. I pulled on Othello even harder, but he still struggled. The Doctor continued.
“Did you honestly think that nobody would do anything?! You are so lucky that I found you first! So many would do so much to get their hands on a Tardis. Imagine defending it by yourself! You don’t even know how to camouflage it properly! You can’t just go everywhere all willy nilly!
“I needed it more than you!” I screamed back, still holding on to Othello. By now we were rolling around in the grass. The Doctor laughed.
“Oh, that’s rich! Did you ever stop to think that you don’t belong in Equestria?! It’s not your home anymore! Look at yourself!” He argued at me.
“Shut up! We’ll find a way!” I snapped back, but the Doctor laughed.
“You don’t have any idea! What happens when you go back to Equestria? Huh? What are you going to do then?” The Doctor asked. He blew all of my arguments out of the water. I couldn’t respond to it at all. The Doctor laughed. “Exactly! You don’t know what you’ll do! You aren’t even ponies!”
“Shut up, Doctor! You don’t have any idea what it’s like! It was the best thing that ever happened to us! You’d do the exact same thing if you were in our shoes!” I screamed back. The Doctor snarled and pointed at me.
“You have stolen a Temporal displacement device capable of traveling more than one thousand years in any direction, an explicitly illegal act as decreed by Section nine, Article twelve of the Shadow Proclamation! I have no choice but to commandeer your craft and kill you both!” The Doctor enunciated. I looked up at him in shock, letting go of Othello and standing up straight
“Imagine the irony! The Mighty Doctor, Hero of the Time War, Savior of the Universe, stooping so low as to observe primitive mortal law! I remember a Doctor that would do anything to protect innocent beings, even if it meant breaking the rules! Look at you now! Trying to kill perfectly innocent people!” I shouted. The Doctor laughed.
“Edwin… You are so very far from innocent.” He said so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. The Doctor probably didn’t understand what he said, only thinking of it in the context of grand theft tempus. He didn’t know of the countless nights I spent tossing, dreaming convoluted dreams of torturing Angelics to death. He didn’t know how I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming, shaking with adrenaline. He didn’t know that I had dreams about ponies. Spitfire, her skin bulging around a frame that wasn’t hers. Twilight, shaking and blinded inside of a machine. Anger surged through me, making me shake. I had the strong urge to hit something. 
So that’s what I did.

I stepped through the flaming rubble, over broken headstones and moaning, armored humans. Thick black smoke erupted from a destroyed helicopter, blotting out the sun and giving everything a yellowish tint. The suit flipped over to a thermal overlay, showing me a glowing Doctor scrabbling on the ground. I leaped up into the air, watching the ground shrink below me, then come back up suddenly with the Doctor right under me. My feet crunched down on either side of him. I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up to me. He had changed out of his Lei and his trunks, donning body armor and combat boots. I held him up above me.
“Look at what you’re trying to stop. Once you’ve felt the power, there’s no going back. When I have my hands on that console, time stands still. It goes forward, backward, side to side, all around. It’s intoxicating unlike anything else in existence. You know that. I know that. But that’s not what I want.” I tried to explain. The Doctor grimaced and grunted at me, trying to struggle out of my mechanical grasp. 
“Then give it back!” He shouted.
“This isn’t theft. I’m just borrowing. This isn’t about me wanting the Tardis. You can have it back. I just want you to understand why I need it. Equestria is my home. There’s trouble there, and I need to fix it. One day, curiosity will get the better of you and you’ll go there. You’ll understand then. Not a second before. Don’t hate me, just wait until you understand.” I finished. I dropped him and walked away, navigating through the rubble and the wreckage. The Tardis stood amidst the conflagration like a diamond in a pile of coal. I walked towards it, grabbing Othello by the collar of his shirt on the way. I looked back at the marker where Othello sat studiously the whole time I was beating the living shit out of everything.

	Michael Dean Williams
1986-1991
Daddy loves you


I understood why Equestria was so important to him. I turned away from the gravestone and started the walk the Tardis.
“Edwin?” He asked softly as I dragged him.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.” 
“You’re welcome.” I reciprocated. I pushed open the Tardis doors and heaved Othello up on his own feet. I walked up to the console and sighed. There was so much to do. What I wouldn’t give to have this all be over, curling up with Luna in my old body, smelling the sweet peach trees in the backyard. We would sit and watch the sunset. I would paint beautiful pictures. We would… We would…
“Edwin? Edwin, wake up.” Something said. I blinked, my vision blurry. I looked up at the console, watching the pillar slow down and stop. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and turned from the console. Othello was standing there with Finder.
“Are you ready, Edwin?” Finder asked. 
“Ready for what?” I probed. Finder and Othello looked at each other. Othello gulped and started to explain. 
“Edwin, when you left, the Numbereds had no real defense against the Angelics. All they had was Evangeline. Marcus tried to fight, and so did Gespard, and I’m surprised that the two of them are still alive. They’re strong, but not strong enough.” He finished. I shrugged, lifting my hands up and slapping them back down. Finder pouted, but Othello continued.
“It’s not like it was, Edwin. It’s-“ Othello started, but shook his head. He walked down to the Tardis doors and placed a palm flat on one. “Just see for yourself.” He said, pulling the door open. My jaw dropped.
“Oh my God.”

> 57: Bang
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 57


“I know.” Othello agreed. I walked closer to the outside and looked out. It was definitely Equestria, with the bright pastels and the cheery air, but it was horrifyingly different. The fun houses and the countryside were there, but there were no ponies to be found. We were wedged between two houses in an alleyway, tucked neatly out of sight from the main square. Dark blood was splattered all across the square, even covering a decapitated life-size statue of Princess Celestia. I looked up. A full moon hung low in the sky, illuminating the streets with an eerie glow. The moon. The beautiful, beautiful Equestrian moon. I felt an ache deep in my stomach when I realized how close I was so close to Luna. I was about to walk out into the street when Finder grabbed me by the waistband of my pants and pulled me back. I landed hard on my backside. I was about to yell at Finder when he shushed me. 
“Keep quiet,” He whispered. “They’re about to feed.”
“Feed?” I started, but Finder shushed me again. I turned slowly to look when the screaming started. I snapped to attention when the first pony, a yellow mare with orange mane, ran past the alley. I patted the ground to the side of me for the trusty sidearm that Jamal kept with him at nearly all times. I panicked when I didn’t find it. I turned in horror when there were more screams. Two more ponies darted past the Tardis, then a black blur. I blinked again, thinking that I saw something that wasn’t there. Then, another pony ran past the alley, but he connected with the corner of a house and tumbled down into the alleyway. He groaned with pain, clutching his shoulder and trying not to be noticed. I watched like a person would watch a car crash. Suddenly, a gigantic black thing ran past the alley. I froze, feeling helpless in its shadow of the creature. I felt a chill as the shadow came back. Othello gasped next to me, and I shook helplessly. It rounded the corner to the alley where we were hiding, looking for the injured quarry. I couldn’t describe it properly. It wasn’t quite like the spider that attacked me the day I died. It wasn’t quite an Angelic. It was just a monster. It towered nearly six feet, with bright red eyes and a maw lined with fangs. Tendrils of saliva dripped from its mouth and a pointed tongue darted from the ivory. It… It was an abomination. The injured pony, a dark green colt, saw the monster and started to scream. It was loud and blood-curdling, making my hairs stand on end. I broke my eyes from the scene with much difficulty and dashed back further into the Tardis. Othello grabbed my arm and tugged, stopping me in my tracks.
“What are you doing, Edwin?!” He whispered urgently. I shook off his arm and scowled.
“I might only be a human, but goddammit, I’m still a Numbered!” I retorted quietly, looking for Jamal’s revolver. I found it in a chair next to the Console and picked it up. I cocked the hammer as I walked out of the Tardis. I looked the monstrosity in the eyes and leveled the pistol at it. It turned from the pony to me, looking angered. I growled and pulled the trigger. The head of the monster flew back as if it were hit with a bat. I fired all of the rest of the rounds into the beast, screaming in rage as I did so. The monster writhed and fell back, finally landing on the ground with a disproportionate thunk. I threw the gun to the ground and picked up the pony. It shivered helplessly in my arms as I carried him to safety. There was a loud bang behind me, making me stumble. I turned to look and saw another monster, this one with multiple tongues sticking out of its mouth. My eyes widened in crippling fear as I watched it lumber towards me. I tried to run to the opening of the Tardis, but something grabbed my ankle. I fell hard, trying not to crush the pony. I turned back to see that the Creature had one of his tongues wrapped around my ankle. I got the pony out from under me and pushed it to the Tardis. It looked back to me, fear still bright in his eyes.
“Run, dammit! Run!” I shouted while the monster slobbered on my foot. The unicorn blinked his bright green eyes and shook his head with a devious grin. I felt my fear mix with confusion. The pony blinked. Its’ eyes switched from bright greet to a pale yellow. 
“And miss out on a fight like this?” The pony said in a rich, smooth contralto. I blinked, stupefied by the out-of-character voice for the male pony. I watched with growing surprise as the pony exploded in a puff of shimmering golden dust. I turned away from the cloud to the monster that was now reeling me in. I could see a bit of ragged meat stuck between two of his fangs. The thought of where it came from made my stomach roil. The gold dust settled around me. I turned back to look back to where the green unicorn was. He wasn’t there anymore. I looked up at the pony that was there now, confusion replaced with a frightening excitement. The pony blinked, her eyes turning a bright white. I covered my head and quickly turned away from the blinding light, hearing the world turn completely silent for only a moment. A warm liquid splattered onto my body, and I tried not to think too hard about what it was. I looked back to my ensnared leg and shook off the now-ownerless tongue. I stood up and looked at the pony, now standing level with her.
“It’s been a while.” She said, cocky. I smiled.
“How did you know?”
“It’s an eighth sense.” She said, her golden mane sparkling dimly in the moonlight. She looked up to the rooftops. “Gespard, Marcus!” She shouted. I turned to look and watched two pegasi appear on a rooftop. “Take them to the sword!” She ordered, and the two ponies fluttered down on feathery wings and ran into the Tardis. I looked to Evangeline, grasping at straws. 
“They’ll explain everything. Just go where they tell you to go.” She promised. I hesitated, but finally turned to the Tardis. I walked through the double doors and my fears tackled me. I was in a stranger’s land in a stranger’s body. Magic surrounded and permeated this place, making my skill with the Tardis shockingly inferior to magic users that could bend space-time without Galifreyan technology. I shivered and shakily walked to a command chair. I placed a hand to my forehead and sighed deeply. I was just a hopeless human, stuck in a world never meant for me. I felt a cold apathy seep over me as I watched Finder and the two other ponies talk to each other. My first encounter almost ended with me dying, and I can’t use the only weapon I’ve brought with me. Things were shaping up to be something that I was not qualified to deal with, and I’d only been there for a few minutes. I slowly turned to look at Othello. His forehead glistened with a sheen of sweat and his round wire glasses were fogged up. His brown eyes speared me to my chair. I knew he was thinking the exact same thing I was. We were out of our element. We should leave saving the world to those who can actually hold their own in battle. I gulped.
“Gespard,” I gasped out. The orange pegasus stopped talking to Finder and turned to me, completely enraptured.
“It really is you.” He whispered, adoration in his eyes. I nodded wearily, gesturing to the console.
“Tell me where we need to go.”
“The Vault.”
“The vault?” I tried to sound confused, but the energy was just not there. The orange pony nodded.
“The throne room will be fine.” He sighed. I frowned.
“Can you guys just turn back into regular ponies?” I ventured. Marcus turned to me, disguised as a red pegasus.
“No. We can’t remove our guise until we’re in the Royal Estate.” He explained. I shivered. 
“Tardis, go to the Throne room.” I asked, not remembering that the Tardis wouldn’t accept voice commands from me anymore.  I got up shakily and put in the commands manually. I looked up at the pillar, regret strong in my stomach. I felt something come to rest on my shoulder. I looked and saw Othello.
“Edwin, what’s wrong?” He whispered. I shook my head and turned back to the Console. 
“We shouldn’t have come.” I sighed out. Othello grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. He had a rough scowl on his face and a finger pointed at me.
“You’re the one that wanted to come here. You’re the one that took the initiative, doing God only knows what to get the Tardis. You’re the one that saved that pony. You didn’t have to.
“I had to.”
“That’s exactly what I mean! You take it so damn personally! In your mind, there isn’t any other choice! You can’t just let them go and let nature take its course!” He shouted. I felt anger replace regret in my gut. I grabbed Othello by his black sweater and shook him.
“When we became Numbereds the choice was made for us! We can’t just decide anymore! But look at us!” I finished, letting Othello go and gesturing for him to look at me. “We’re humans! We’re not equipped to deal with this! When we were ponies, we had bodies that were made for this fight! We had bodies that could tear through mountains! We had bodies that could bring the dead back to life! We had bodies that could literally do whatever we wanted to do! But look at us now!” I shouted at him. “We’re just perfectly normal humans. Look at them!” I pointed to Marcus, Gespard, and Finder. “They’re the ones that should be fighting for a free Equestria. Not us. I would. I would in a heartbeat. But I can’t. I just can’t.” I sighed. Othello just stood there, stupefied. The trio of ponies stood there openmouthed. I frowned. Finder stepped forward, his dark purple eyes wary under the light grey mane.
“What… What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to send Othello and Marcus back to Canterlot. Othello… I can’t decide what’s best for you. You can make your own choice. Stay and fight, or come back to Earth with me.” I said to him, feeling slightly sad. “Finder, I’m taking you back to the Composer. Right now, Equestria isn’t your home. And I’m sorry, everyone. I- I just can’t.” I finished. They all were so crestfallen. I felt horrible. It was like someone twisted a dagger in my stomach. I frowned and pushed a few buttons on the console. I returned to my command chair and just waited for the Tardis to finish navigating. Othello and all the ponies stood where they were.  They didn’t speak, they didn’t argue. They just stood. I felt like I was making the right decision. All I could do in Equestria as a human was die. I didn't have the ability to fight like the other Numbereds did. I was about to get up and check on the readouts when a huge lurch threw everyone everywhere. I landed on one of the metal floor grates hard, almost knocking me out. I moaned on the grate for a few seconds before I could muster the energy to get up. I clutched my forehead, feeling the blood start to ooze out. I looked around.
“Is everyone alright?” I asked a little bit too loud. I heard a whole lot of moaning, but nobody said yes. I walked around the Console and found Othello, who was lying on his back and clutching his arm. 
“I think it’s broken.” He gasped out. I looked at his hand. His thumb was on the wrong side.
“I think it is too. Come on, let’s get you to a hospital.” I tried to say without vomiting. I got one hand under his shoulder and the other around his knees. I swung my foot up on the console and flipped a lever. Inertia chambers slid down from the ceiling, coming to rest on either side. I walked over to one and stuffed Othello in one.
“It really hurts.” He whispered hoarsely. I frowned and held a finger up to Othello. I reached for a black leather bag nearby and rummaged through it.
“You’re lucky he doesn't call himself the Carpenter.” I muttered to myself. I found the container I was looking for, a black cylinder with a silicone cup on top. I held it up to Othello’s nose and squeezed it. He inhaled and relaxed visibly. I put the medicine back in the bag.
“Can I have another puff? Still hurts.” He groaned. I smiled.
“I could, but that would literally kill you. Insanely strong opiates. Let’s just see how one puff works.” I explained. I was about to turn away when I remembered something. “Oh yeah, don’t look at your hand.” I finished, knocking on the chamber. The glass slid down over Othello, silencing his questions. I gave him a wave as he floated up in the chamber. He smiled weakly. I turned away from him to the rest of the Tardis. I looked through the bad again and found something to bandage up my head with.
“Anyone else?” I asked the Tardis at large. There was a slew of half-hearted nos. I smiled and walked out to the Console. I checked the coordinates. I turned to walked out of the door but turned back and grabbed the monitor by its sides, daring it to tell me the second time. Sure enough, the thing had the balls to lie to me again. I frowned and walked out of the door to make sure it was lying to me. It wasn’t. 
“Hello Edwin.” The Doctor said. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I couldn’t say anything for a minute or two. The Doctor smiled. “Come on out, the air shield is expanded.” He said. I walked out into the barren wastes of Sigmus five. I looked at the black ash around me, seeing the occasional glint of glass. I looked up at the sky to see the Septimus and Culaan spinning slowly.  I smiled, remembering the first time I saw them. I looked down at the Doctor.  
“You’ve known this whole time.” I whispered. He nodded, understanding everything I wanted to say but didn’t. 
“Yes. I couldn’t have told you.”
“Do you know what happens now? What happens when we go to Equestria?”
“Yes.” He said, slightly ashamed. His wings fluttered slightly. I frowned.
“Will you help us?”
“Only as much as I’ve helped already. There’s something that I can do, though.” He qualified. He walked around to the side of my Tardis. He gestured for me to follow. I did, and looked to where the Doctor pointed with his hoof.
“Oh my.” I breathed. 
“I am the Doctor from the far future. I know how your story ends, Edwin. I could tell you right now. But I won’t. But I do need to tell you that everything will be fine. And there,” The Doctor shook his outstretched hoof, “Is proof.”


> 58: Woosh
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 58

I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I could tell that it was mine. There was a light blue earth pony holding it with her hooves. Her hooves were wrapped in little paper booties, as if she were holding something that belonged in a museum. She looked around every now and then fearfully, swishing her pale grey mane, as if she was afraid something would come up and breathe on the thing. The thing itself, upon inspection, was found out to be a sword. This sword was more of a rapier than the sword I summon. It was painfully thin, as far as swords go. It very much resembled Othello’s sword that he made for Celestia, but it was decorated with a palate of dark blues instead of white and pink. The shape of the sword was very different from anything I had ever summoned before. The handle and the crossguard were thin and wispy, embellished with jewels and careful metalwork that resembled vines. The vines were blued steel embellished with thin lines of shiny platinum. The entire sword was iridescent. I looked back at the Doctor.
“What is it?”
“It’s the first sword you will ever sing.” He said, somber. I snorted.
“I’ve summoned lots of swords. None of them ever looked like this.” The Doctor smiled.
“I never said you summoned this one, Edwin. I said you sang this one.” He explained. I frowned for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant. The strange verb struck a familiar chord in my mind, but I couldn’t think of what it meant.
“What does that mean?” I asked. The Doctor sighed shook his head.
“I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. I’m not allowed-”
“To tell me about my future, I know. I’m a little bit too busy for your mind games, Doctor. I’ve got to get Othello fixed up and get some ponies back to Equestria. So unless you have anything else to say, I’ve got to go.” I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. I turned to get back in my Tardis when the Doctor stopped me.
“Edwin.” He said simply, his voice laden with worry. I looked over my shoulder, not turning all of the way. He hesitated for a moment. “She still... She still loves you, Edwin. Please remember that.” He said. I nodded, turning back to my Tardis and walking away.

“Where were you?” Finder demanded, perched on top of the console. He was stomping away, trying to get the Tardis to do something. I looked quizzically at Finder.
“What are you doing?”
“You were taking so long! We have to go! Othello is starting to giggle!” he shouted, pointing at Othello’s tube. Sure enough, he was shaking silently in the inertia chamber, his mouth open with a smile. I frowned.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I agreed, walking up to the console. I grabbed Finder by the scruff of his neck and set him down on the ground. He huffed indignantly and stomped over to Gespard and Marcus, now clearly green and blue earth ponies. They were whispering with their heads together, peeking over their shoulders every now and then. I eyed them from my side of the Console, trying to figure out what they were saying. I frowned and flicked a few switches and keys on the console. A screen nearby blacked out for a moment, then booted up with a plain text program. I grabbed it, pulling it closer, and started to read.

		Marcus: We can’t let him leave. Can we?
Gespard: He can’t fight. He’s already used his gun, and I’m fairly sure he doesn’t have any more cartridges. He can’t do that again. 
Marcus: What?
Gespard: Oh, you know what I mean. But that’s beside the point. He’s no good to us anymore as a Numbered.	
Marcus: You’re kidding me. We need him to stay. 
Gespard: Oh please. There’s not a chance that we can turn him back. You’re just worried that your little girlie is going to get hurt. 
Marcus: Don’t you dare talk about Eve that way. I’ll make a sequoiah sprout in your stomach. 
Gespard: Please. You’ve made that threat so many times over the years. 
Marcus: I’ve meant it every time. You leave her alone.
Gespard: Okay, Okay. But he’s a liability here. How did he get the Tardis?
Marcus: I don’t know. I don’t know. Is he even a Numbered anymore?
Gespard: He’s still Edwin. He should still feel devoted. But he can’t act on it. He’s useless.
Marcus: We can change him back. There are unicorns in the Royal estate skilled at transformation magic, and we can-
Gespard: Listen to yourself. You want to turn an unskilled... Thing into a Numbered. Even if we could do that, we wouldn’t need Edwin to do it. We could just get a Royal guard and change it into a Numbered. He would be loyal, obey orders, and know how to use his gifts wisely. It’s just not practical. But his skill as a pilot, on the other hoof...
Marcus: You want to use him. 
Gespard: Yes. He could take us right to Cloudsdale without alerting anything. He’s not as eccentric as the Doctor. He’ll listen to one of us. If not, we’ll just have to take it by force.
Marcus: Can we take it? 
Gespard: We’re Numbereds, Marcus. Reality is our plaything. We can do whatever we like. Even if he won’t help us, you’ve had experience piloting it. 
Marcus: Is this the right thing to do?
Gespard: It can save Equestria from the Angelics once and for all. 
Marcus: But...
Gespard: But? But nothing. We all want a free Equestria. Do you remember the peacetimes?
Marcus: Of course I do. It’s the most wonderful thing. 
Gespard: We can do it. We can get that back. All we need to do is take the Tardis. 
Marcus: I don’t know... 
Gespard: If you won’t help me, I’ll take it myself!

I heard the last line of text out loud as it appeared on the screen. I looked up to see Gespard, his eyes glowing bright white, suspended in the air. Clear tendrils of water rose around him. I had a moment of panic before I reacted. My hands ran all over the console, flying at buttons and switches. Gespard flew around the console and into me faster than I could react to it. He collided with me, throwing me to the door. I was completely drenched, dazed, lying in front of the door. I was pulled up from the floor. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get the water out of my face. Gespard was standing in front of me, eyes glowing, with a snarl on his face.
“You aren’t going to leave Equestria. You’re going to stay and help us fight the Angelics. You’re too valuable to leave.” He said, his voice cold. I gurgled, trying to talk past the water in my throat. Gespard released me, letting me fall down on the cold metal grate with a hard bang. I opened my mouth to cough and felt the water rush out of my throat. I coughed when all of it was out, struggling to breathe still. I put a fist down on the grate, trying to get up again. Gespard was still standing over me, radiating magic. I tried to say something, but only coughed again.
“Speak up. Are you going to help us willingly?” He asked, cold as ever.
“Tardis” I rasped out before breaking into a coughing fit. Marcus decided to interject.
“Gespard, Let him be! He’s done nothing wrong!” Marcus shouted.
“Hey, What’s going on?” Finder asked, oblivious to just about everything. I coughed again, trying to speak. Gespard growled, stomping his hoof. 
“Edwin, you are going to help us or I will kill you.” He emphasized. I coughed again, still trying to speak. Gespard levitated me in the air. I felt a warmth in my throat where Gespard healed me so I could speak. “Well?” He asked, his cobalt eyes impatient. I gulped.
“Panic!” I shouted loudly. Gespard screwed up his face in confusion. The Tardis responded, sounding the blisteringly loud alarm that heralded the Panic button. Gespard released his magic. I crashed to the floor of the Tardis. In the confusion, I rolled to the end of the grate and crawled under, searching for anything that could help me stave off Gespard. I found the polished wood handle of a gun. I pulled it out of it’s snug little hiding spot and held it close to my body. I was about to figure out what it did at Gespard when a great sucking noise filled the Tardis. The grate above me lifted away and out of the Tardis. I felt the sharp rush of wind as everything but Othello tried to leave the Tardis at the same time. I spilled out of the door first like water through a funnel, watching Gespard, Finder, and Marcus get sucked out after me. I let out a gasp, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. All of the air in my lungs rushed out at once, leaving my throat sore. I blinked, looking back at the Tardis. It was framed against a starry nebula, rapidly shrinking into the starscape. I watched other Tardii slowly appear and disappear, catching the other occupants that were unceremoniously ejected into space. My hands settled out in front of me, and I suddenly found my vision growing blurry at the corners. My mouth and eyes were dry, my body was sore, and I couldn’t hear anything. The only thing I could hear was my heartbeat, loud in my ears, thudding. My dry eyes blinked slowly, stretching tight skin over my eyes. My lungs begged for air. I gasped at the blackness, trying to get the air that was never there. I gagged silently in the beautiful starscape, thinking that this was a beautiful place to die. The blurry edges of my world slowly, slowly faded to black. I blinked one last time, feeling the deep, deep cold of empty space invade my body. 

Something hit my face. I opened my eyes, my lungs heaving. I lifted my chest off of the floor, feeling the cool air around me. I touched my face with one of my hands, marvelling at the smooth skin. I sat up, looking down at my body. My red flannel shirt and slacks were completely ragged and threadbare, looking like they’ve been through a blender. The wooden-handled gun was resting next to me, emitting a faint blue light.  I looked up at my surroundings. I was inside of the Tardis, but it wasn’t the Tardis I was using. Johnathan Cooper, the man from the hospital that I knew to be the Doctor, stood with his fists on his hips and a scowl on his face. The other Doctor, the pony, stood fluttering his wings impatiently with a scowl on his face too. I smiled weakly.
“Hey.” I ventured, trying to diffuse the situation. The human Doctor spoke first.
“It’s not fun to be left half-naked in the wilderness. It’s also not fun to explain to the police why there are three obliterated helicopters in the middle of a cemetery. It’s not fun to find a Tardis in the middle of a class-3 sector. So let’s dispense with pleasantries.”
“He wants his Tardis back.” The Pony Doctor said, his voice stern. I frowned.
“I kinda need it.” I tried to explain, but the human Doctor shook his head
“No, you don’t. You’re lucky that this little bloke found me in time to get it away from you. Can you believe that he had a Walters assault suit?” The human exclaimed in disbelief. The pony nodded, clearly impatient.
“Yes, I can remember. Now this is where it gets tricky-” The pony stated, talking to me now. “You obviously had assistance from a Time Lord.” The pony said. I blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“You were in possession of a controlled substance- Penultainium. It’s the fuel used to make the energy for the suit and it’s also the slugs that the suit fired. It’s extremely dangerous. Have you been feeling itchy? Have any inexplicable blisters on your body?” He asked. When I shook my head, he started up again, but was cut off by the human Doctor.
“It’s a level 9 regulated ore- fissile, radioactive, and impossible to handle safely. It’s been known to cause burns, blindness, heat blisters, hell, people that’ve been exposed to this stuff have had children with three extra heads. It’s dangerous, illegal, and literally impossible to smuggle onto a planet like Midnight.”
“I don’t know about that.” I retorted. The pony coughed, and then rushed into an explanation. 
“Walking across the lobby you set off five alarms, three of them attuned to the radiation signature of penultainium. There are five thousand, nine hundred and sixty three alarms throughout the entire resort. You only set of five alarms. Thank God those five were enough to deploy the Judoon. With the penultainium alone, you've racked up enough crimes to earn yourself a trial at the Shadow Proclamation.” He finished. I frowned.
“Wait, you mean that-”
“It’s not your only crime? Of course. The Walter’s corporation itself is a front for a whole host of illegal smuggling operation and a slew of crime families. Almost every single product they make is endorsed and funded by mob money. The fact that you bought something from them is, again, enough to make you a galactic criminal a few times over.” The human Doctor said
“Please, I’m sure there’s a market for-
“Market for what?” The pony said. “A market for weapons systems that can destroy planets? There’s a market for it, and guess what color it is. Black, Edwin. These things are so illegal that you can get arraigned for just looking at them. It’s a crime most times to be in the same room with these things. You’ve broken so many laws that you should be pulling shards out of your feet with tweezers. It’s unreal. You’ve broken so many laws so quickly that I’d chew my own wings off if you didn’t have any outside help.” 
“You’re saying that I’ve had help from a Time Lord.” I said out loud. The human Doctor scoffed.
“Please. There aren’t any more. Most likely you’ve had help from someone with a temporal device. It most likely wouldn’t be a Tardis- Those are few and far between. But you’ve got to have had something to help you out.” The Doctor said. I frowned.
“So... What’s gonna happen?” I asked. I had to play it dumb. I couldn’t tell them about the Composer. For all I knew, they could have hunted him. I couldn’t bring heat down on my future self. I owed the Composer that much. 
“You’re going to tell us how you smuggled nine kilograms of penultainium onto Midnight. If that happens, we won’t extradite you and the Walters suit to the Shadow Proclamation. If you’re nice, we’ll let you keep the suit to fight Angelics.” He explained. I bit my lip. That put me in a real bind. The suit could definitely kill a whole load of Angelics, but I couldn’t reveal anything about the Composer. I thought about it for a moment. I smiled when I finally realized what I could say. The human Doctor frowned.
“What is it? What’s that grin?” He demanded.
“I can’t tell you about your future.” I almost laughed out.
> 59: Sword
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 59

“You should have seen the look on their faces, Othello. I’ve never had so much power over the Doctor.” I spoke to the Console room. I heard Othello’s tinny laughter over the Tardis’ intercom.
“Really? They just let you go?” He asked, voice distorted by the intercom.  Othello was in the sickbay, with a surgical robot working to place his arm. When I got back to him, the Tardis told me that they had to operate immediately or he would lose the arm. He was so drugged up I was surprised that he could blink, let alone speak.
“Yeah, they did. They made me wade through space for a minute, but they still let me go.” I told him. He groaned in pain for a moment. I perked up, looking up to the source of the noise. “Are you alright?” I asked. Othello didn’t say anything for a moment, but he just gasped.
“I’ll live.” He groaned. I nodded and turned back to the Console. He started screaming, but the sound was cut off suddenly. I shivered, trying to concentrate on the Console. I keyed in the coordinates, looking with faint regret at the screen It showed the gross galactic coordinates in Standard form. 

Universe A
Virgo Supercluster
Milky Way
Sol System
Earth
United States
California
San Francisco
890 El Camino del Mar

I read the location several times before it finally sank in. This was where Jamal lived when he was alive. It was a house I’ve never been to. Surely it was nice. The backyard led to the ocean, the neighborhood was amazing, and it even had a view of the Golden Gate. I could live there for the rest of my life, happy, healthy, and alone. I sighed. I typed in a new sequence, watching the destination I entered fill up the screen.

Universe D
Alcubierre group
Equus system
Celestia’s star
Equestria
Canterlot
The Royal Estate
Royal Suite 2

I read this location’s name even more than the first. This was where my home was. Where Luna and I paged through books together, where we slept, where we lived. It was where I came home to. I never felt comfortable anywhere else. It was the place that my mind sought refuge. But... My human body didn’t belong there. Jamal King never belonged in Equestria, and he never ever will. Only my mind did. It was like a puzzle piece forced to fit in place. I couldn’t bring Jamal’s body to Equestria, but I couldn’t live with myself if I went back to Earth. I waited, sitting in front of the monitor, for Othello to get done with his arm. 

Othello crawled out from the floor, pulling himself out from under a grate. I was holding the gun that I found when Gespard tried to kill me. I was tapping the tip of it against my temple absentmindedly. Othello walked up to the console and looked at the monitors that I was looking at. He couldn’t hope to understand the flowing data, so he just tried to talk to me.
“They fixed it! They cloned one up for me, good as new!” Othello said, rolling up the sleeves of his black sweater and wiggling the fingers of his once-broken arm. There was a seam where the unblemished cloned flesh met the aged skin. I glanced at him, but kept tapping the handgun and looking at the data. Othello’s smile faltered.
“Othello, where do you want to go?” I asked him. Othello shrugged.
“Let’s go back to that Rangoon place, I’m hungry.” Othello said. I slammed my hand down on the console with a loud bang. Othello jumped.
“Not that!” I shouted, trying to get him to focus, “It’s this-” I said, shaking my gun at the two screens. “Are we going to Earth, or are we going to Equestria?” I shouted, trying to make it known to Othello how important this was. He gulped.
“I, uh, I... I don’t...” Othello stuttered along. I sighed.
“I think that we should go to Equestria.” I sighed out. Othello looked confused.
“But I thought that you didn’t want to go.” He said quietly. I sighed, throwing the gun out of my hands and rubbing them over my head stubble.
“We’ve come at least this far. We should go the rest of the way.”
“Good. Good.” Othello said, completely overeager to go. I rubbed my eyes.
“We need to be completely sure, Othello. Completely sure. We’re in this together. Do you want to go? We might not come back. We might die there. We’re going to have to live with our choice for the rest of our lives.” I told him, making sure that he understood his choice. He still nodded, eager to get back. I sighed.
“Okay, Othello. Strap in.” I said, pulling down the harness in my chair and making sure that I was firmly attached to the thing. Othello frowned.
“We’re just going to Canterlot, right?” He asked. 
“Well, before the Doctor pulled us off course and Gespard tried to kill me, we were jumping to get you back home. We’re stuck between dimensions, somewhere between Equestria’s dimension and Earth’s.” I explained. Othello shrugged, letting his hands slap back down on his thighs. I sighed. “We need to dimension hop. It takes longer, it’s more dangerous, and it’s not very comfortable.”
“Do I have to wear one of those harnesses?” Othello asked. I shrugged.
“You don’t have to, but then I’d have to scrape you off of the walls when we got there.
“That bad?” Othello asked, belting himself down to one of the nearby chairs
“Frankly, I’m surprised that the Tardis can survive dimension hopping. It’s like putting an egg in the blender for a few days, putting your hand in to get it while it’s still running, and pull out an intact egg. If it was up to me, We’d both be in inertia chambers, but I need to constantly adjust the controls and that’s something I can’t do remotely. You could be in a chamber too, but I might need your help. So it’s gonna be dangerous, and it’s gonna be hard. But we’re in this together, Othello.” I finished, making sure that he understood the risk. He nodded, determined. I tightened the straps of my chair, making sure that I would stay firmly attached to my chair. I gulped and leaned forward to grab a lever, straining against my straps to reach it. I turned back to Othello. He was grinning like crazy.
“You ready?”
“I’ve been ready for the last forty years.” He promised. I smiled a toothy grin and 
pulled the lever.

Five airsickness bags, three dimensions, two hours, and ninety trillion miles later, the Tardis finally stopped shaking. With fumbling hands, I managed to unstrap myself. I fell forward out of my chair. I clenched the grate with my hands, trying not to heave for the hundredth time. Cold and clammy, I crawled past an unconscious Othello and clawed my way to the Tardis door. I grabbed it and pulled it toward me, hurling myself out of the Tardis. I got up on my elbows and gasped for air that didn’t smell like vomit. It took me awhile to notice the vibrant purple carpet that I was lying on. The sumptuous weave was so soft I loathed getting up. But I had to. I pushed myself up to sitting and just looked at what was around me. The halls. Pony suits of armor, vases, tapestries, and chandeliers were absolutely everywhere. Everything was a little bit smaller than I remembered it to be, but I didn’t mind. I was home. I let the emotion suffuse me. I was home! This was where I belonged! I smiled and got to my feet. I closed the Tardis door and walked out into the hallway. I wandered aimlessly, trying to find anything.

I could feel how dirty my flannel shirt and my slacks were. My skin felt incredibly dirty. I tried to navigate through the halls, trying to find one of the scattered bathrooms. Pushing open doors at random didn’t work very well. I finally managed to push open a door and found a gleaming copper tub with shining faucets that promised hot water. I couldn’t strip down fast enough. A few minutes later I found myself steeping all of the adventure out of my bones. I relaxed. I was still holding the gun that I found in the Tardis, but I wasn’t expecting anything to jump in. I was just trying to relax. Getting thrown into space is unusually strenuous. I let myself rest, working hard to do nothing at all. I almost fell asleep.

“Wake up.” Something said, prodding at my face. I started, nearly jumping out of the tub. I looked all around me, wheeling all around. I finally focused on an emaciated, perfectly white pony. He had dirty bandages covering one of his eyes. He didn’t have a cutie mark from what I could see. All of these details coalesced in my mind and made me recognize the pony.
“Columnus?” I whispered, too surprised for anything else. He nodded.
“I see that you made the crossing. Regrettable.” He said calmly, his voice extremely hoarse. I was surprised that he could speak.
“Are you okay? You look like you should be dead.”
“I am weak, foal. My body is fresh and untempered.” He explained cryptically. I frowned, not understanding. I really didn’t want to press the point further, so I changed the subject. 
“So why are you here?” I asked. Columnus tried to speak, but he bent over and started coughing. He sounded like he was going to hack up a lung. I waited for it to pass. I realized, while he was coughing, how strange this scene must look. A grown black man in an undersized tub, holding a gun, talking to a thin, coughing pony. It almost made me laugh. But Columnus perked back up and remembered what he was talking about.
“I realize that events in Equestria move quickly. We no longer have the luxury of time, so I shall try to be concise. You must get Othello to the Throne room. He must reach the sword.” Columnus rasped, his voice urgent. 
“Why does he have to do that?” I asked, waving the gun to pantomime confusion. Columnus sighed.
“Suffice it to say that he needs to get there. Where is he now?”
“He’s in the Tardis. But why...” I trailed off, but Columnus shushed me. He crept toward the door, his ears twitching. I frowned, standing up in the tub. I leaned toward the sound that I could almost hear on the edge of my senses. Suddenly, the door to the bathroom exploded, sending splinters everywhere. I held up a hand to shield my eyes. An Angelic stormed into the room- he was immediately transmuted into a grey stone statue and toppled to the floor. The other Angelic that stepped in wasn’t so lucky. I raised my gun and fired it. There wasn’t any bang, and there wasn’t any smoke. There was a simple humming noise and the Angelic suddenly had a perfect square hole in his head. It was as if someone had cut out a square cross section out of an Angelic and left the rest of the body completely unaltered. The Angelic stumbled for a few steps and then fell, unmoving. I looked down at the gun in complete disbelief. I didn’t have time to think about this before Columnus waved me forward. I followed, trusting him, in the moment, implicitly. I followed him out of the door, stepping over the Angelic statue and into the hall beyond. We didn’t encounter anything else, and we arrived at the Tardis without incident. I walked in to the Tardis. Columnus tried to follow me in but I stopped him at the door.
“I’m not going anywhere where you can go.” I said. Columnus frowned.
“You would refuse me passage?”
“Yeah. It’s gonna be hard enough to get the Princesses to believe me without you. You’re going to have to figure out your own way around.”
“The Angelics could possess me in my weakened state.”
“Then I’ll have to kill you later down the road.” I said without hesitation. Columnus appeared to be offended.
“You would leave your own mentor to death?” He asked. I smiled.
“You’re not a mentor. And I could kill you now if that would make you feel any better.” I said, waving the gun. Columnus smiled.
“Blunt as always. I’ll pass on your offer, Foal. Making the Jump is strenuous as it is without having to do it twice.” He said, turning around and walking down the hallway when he was done. I watched him go for a moment and then shrugged. I closed the door and turned to the Tardis. Othello was staring at me, his mouth open. I held my hands out
“What are you looking at?” 
“Where did your clothes go?” Othello demanded. I looked down at my body and only saw brown skin
“Where did my clothes go?!” I shouted, looking up at the ceiling like it would answer my question. Othello chuckled. 
“Put something on, for Celestia’s sake. You can’t go anywhere like that.” He said. I frowned, trying to remember how to get to the closets. I remembered my way and managed to find one of the Doctor’s suits, along with a pair of black leather penny loafers. I walked back into the console room and navigated without saying a word. Othello was trying not to laugh the whole time, but he wasn’t doing very well. 
“What are we going to do?” I asked Othello. He stopped laughing immediately.
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve made it to Equestria.” 
“We fight. This is still our home, Edwin. We’re still Numbered.” He said, completely convinced. I nodded.
“Well, there you go.” I said, pointing to the Tardis door. Othello looked, walking towards the door. He pulled it open slowly. I was close on his heels, holding the square gun at the ready. Othello finally revealed the throne room. It was completely empty. There wasn’t a single pony in there. The windows to the throne room were darkened, as if it were night time. There was a table in the middle of the throne room, with a glass box on top of it. The glass box was holding none other than the first sword ever sung. I gasped out loud, knowing its history. The white and pink sword was glowing slightly in the darkness, radiating light from an unknown source. 
“Othello, look, it’s-” I started, but Othello shusshed me. His face was serious. I stopped in my tracks, suddenly afraid of the sword. I watched, silently, as Othello approached it. He finally came up to the table. He placed his hands on the top of the glass case. He was silent for a long time.
“I can feel it.” He whispered. I frowned
“What?”
“I can feel it. It’s been waiting for me.” He said. He was quiet for another moment. Suddenly, he pushed the glass case off of the sword. It shattered when it hit the floor, spreading glass all over the floor. I watched Othello slowly reach for the sword.
“I... I don’t think that you should do that, Othello.” I cautioned, trying to keep Othello from touching it. It could be a serious magical trap. Othello shook his head.
“No, Edwin. This sword is mine.” He stated. I watched in fear as he grasped the hilt.
> 60: Grave
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 60

There was an enormous flash of white light. I was blind- All I could see was the white. I stumbled, trying to find out what was going on. I could hear screams and shouts, feel warm splashes on my skin. I got a mouthful of something, and it tasted like iron. I tried to spit it out, but it stuck on my tongue. I flailed around, trying to get my sight back and get my bearings. Something hard hit my head, and all of the white turned to black. 

I blinked. I had a weird view of the carpet. It was like a wall. It took me a moment to realize that I was lying on it. I lied there on the carpet, thinking for a moment. I pushed myself up to my feet, looking around. Most of the throne room was untouched, but the blood started a few feet away from me. It started out splotchy and random, but then it started to form patterns. Long lines of red striped the carpet, with the occasional shoeprint. My eyes wandered closer to the table, closer to where Othello was when he touched the sword. A stray limb, a decapitated head, a truncated corpse. The bodies piled up eventually into an actual pile, with its peak located where the table was. It stood a little higher than I did. I looked up at the peak with awe. Not because of the insane violence that it took to create it, but because of who was standing up there. Othello stood at the top of the pile, panting and holding an Angelic up in one hand and the sword in the other. The sword. Othello’s sung sword. It shone with blood. Othello himself was thoroughly splattered, with his right hand looking completely painted, tapering off as his arm led to his shoulder. He looked much less pudgy than the Othello that I picked up. His turtleneck was slashed open across the chest, revealing flat abs. I looked up at him silently as he looked up at the Angelic
“Please, We didn’t know! Don’t-” The Angelic pleaded, but Othello swung his sword up and speared the Angelic with it. The sword entered through his stomach and exited through the gap between its collarbone and its neck. I gasped, surprised by the suddenness of the action. One moment, Othello was holding a living Angelic, and the next he was holding a kabob. He released the corpse, letting it slide off of his sword. He jumped lithely from the pile he made. I stumbled, unconsciously trying to get away from him. He landed as quietly as possible on the tips of his toes. I could see three parallel slashes on his chest as he was walking toward me. He waved his free hand over his chest and the gouges slowly turned back into regular skin. I paled. I fell over backwards, landing hard on the carpet. I held up my gun and pointed it at Othello.
“Please, Othello. Don’t come any closer.” I whispered, trying to hold myself together. Othello stopped in his tracks, surprised. He held his free hand up to his chest, holding it there as if to lend credence to the fact that he was real.
“Edwin, it’s me. Othello.” He assured, taking another step closer. I pointed the gun right above Othello’s head and pulled the trigger. There was a slight hum, and then there was a perfectly square hole in the wall behind the throne. Othello turned to look at the damage. He turned back to me, and I turned back to him, swiveling the gun so it was pointing to his head. Othello looked shocked.
“Please.” I whispered. Othello opened his mouth to say something, but only a hideously loud roar came out. I nearly bit my tongue off. The roar shook me down to my bones. I dropped the gun, trying to find the noise. Othello looked up at the ceiling with a snarl. “What was that!?” I shouted. Othello spat on the ground.
“I hate dragons.” He growled. He waved his free hand over the bank of stained glass windows. The priceless art shattered and blew out, leaving the colored glass to tumble down the cliffs. I could see the dragon flapping his wings far, far away. His slender body and limbs slid through the air, with the occasional flap keeping him into the sky. I felt my breath halt in my chest and my blood run cold. I gulped. It was a dragon. An Angelic dragon. I couldn’t even fight one while I was a pony, let alone now. I looked back to Othello. He looked back at me.
“Want to kill it?” He asked, enthusiastic. I blanched.
“I think that I’d rather stay alive.” I said, shocked. He laughed.
“Do you still have that suit?” He asked. I blanked.
“I really don’t want to.” I said breathlessly. Othello shrugged.
“More for me, then.” He said. He suddenly broke into a sprint, racing toward the windows. He bounded lithely through the broken frames. I rushed over to the windows, nearly leaping out the window by myself. My arms had other ideas and kept me from plummeting to my death. I poked my head out of the window and watched Othello turn into a shrinking dot, growing closer and closer to the ground. He suddenly lit up like a christmas light, shooting away from the cliffs and the ground and to the dragon. The dragon was so far away that I couldn’t properly see Othello’s bright light as he met the dragon. I watched in awe until I just couldn’t. I fell back and collapsed on the carpet, letting the realizations just pour in. We were in Equestria. Finally, irrevocably, here. There was no going back. Not now. We were entrenched. I let that soak in for a little bit, hearing echoes of the distant fight. Othello was strong. Really strong. He was fast, he could fly, he could fight. If only I was courteous enough to leave myself a sword. But Othello did. He was all of the things that he was when he was a pony, but with the convenience of hands. It looked like there wasn’t anything that he couldn’t do. I sighed, pushing my hands up to my temples, overwhelmed with inadequacy. I couldn’t fly. I couldn’t even fight without irradiating the entire continent. It felt bad. Really bad. I kicked my feet in frustration. I heard something rustle behind me, and without even missing a beat, I rolled onto my stomach and fired the square gun at the noise. All I could see was an opaque yellow wall with a perfect square punched through the middle. I looked through the square and saw the angry purple eyes framed in a white face. I gulped.
“H-Hello, Princess.” I stuttered out.

Looking back, I never ever ran faster than I did that day. 
“GET OUT OF MY PALACE!” She shouted at me, chasing me down the halls. I leapt up into the air to avoid a sizzling magic bolt. When I landed, I immediately ducked to avoid the next magical missile. I sprinted down the halls, trying to run away from the incensed princess and find the Tardis. I tried to reason with her at the same time.
“Look, I’m sorry that I shot at you, but-” I ducked to avoid another energy ball. “I need to fight the Angelics!” I tried to reason. The Princess just shouted in rage.
“You need to get out of my palace!” She screamed. I just tried to run faster. I dodged magical attacks for a few more minutes when the windows ahead of me exploded. I skidded to a halt, knowing that the Princess would most likely kill me. But Othello leaped through the broken windows ahead of me. I tumbled, running past Othello and landing on the glassless patch of carpet. I turned back, trying to see if Celestia was going to kill me. She stopped right in front of Othello, looking even more enraged than before. She looked down at the sword in Othello’s hand and growled.
“How dare you creatures disgrace him like that!” She shouted. Othello put up a hand.
“Tia, I-” He started, but she snorted. Her horn glowed bright yellow for a moment, and Othello rose off of his feet and flew backwards. He landed hard on his back.
“You filth! First you come and disturb my palace, one of you assaults me, and then another one of you steals a priceless magical artifact from my treasury! If you’re lucky, I might not have you two executed!” Celestia shouted. Othello pushed himself up to his feet, brushing some dust off of his mangled sweater.
“It’s the most valuable artifact you have?” He asked, gesturing to the sword. When Celestia didn’t say anything, He simply added, “Humor me.”
“It is.” She said stiffly, not visibly wanting to cooperate. But I could tell that she was slightly interested in where this would go. She had nothing to lose, and it couldn’t hurt to see what would happen. Othello made a show of looking at the sword for a moment.
“It doesn’t seem powerful enough to earn a place in the treasury.” He commented. Celestia laughed sarcastically.
“You’re one to talk. I’ve seen my throne room. It’s turned you a monster” She said, spitting venom on the last word. I saw how much it hurt Othello to hear that from her. It took him a moment to say something.
“But compared to other artifacts, It’s nothing special. Physical and mental power? It’s a trifle compared to some of the things I know you have. But what makes this one special?” He asked. Celestia answered.
“It was given to me.” She said stiffly. Othello nodded.
“By Somepony special. Somepony that meant a lot to you. Somepony red.” He led. Celestia’s mouth dropped open. 
“How do you-” She started, but Othello interrupted her.
“He helped you when you needed it the most. He brought your kingdom back from the brink. He loved you dearly. He’s so very sorry that he had to leave.” Othello said. I could see the tears building in the Princess’ eyes.
“How do you know?” She whispered, trying not to cry. Othello held his hands open wide and said,
“Benvenuti nella riva più calda.” He said. Celestia held a hoof up to her mouth, her tears starting to flow freely. Othello smiled, dropping the sword and walking up to her. He hugged her neck tightly and started to sob. “Bella principessa si, è passato troppo tempo.” He said, his voice shaking. Celestia was beyond words. She was just shocked. I felt happy that Othello finally came home. I got up off of the floor. My joints protested from the run, but my fresh heart showed no signs of going out on me. I put my hands in my pockets and walked off into the palace.

I ran into her.
Sometimes people say ‘Oh, we ran into each other the other day.’ and they mean that they met each other on the street, chatted each other up, maybe had some coffee in a cafe down the street.	
I collided with her and sent us both sprawling. 
“Ow” I grumbled on the floor. Something poked me hard in the eye. I stayed put on the ground for a moment before getting up. I didn’t see who I ran into, but I did quickly. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think anything. I just watched her get up. Her mane was completely different than I remembered it. It was like looking into a brilliant starscape, revealing the entire universe in one swath of mane. She was a deeper shade of blue than I remembered her. She stood taller and straighter than before, looking like she cared much less about everything. Her teal eyes looked at me, inspecting me like I was something that she was performing a biopsy on. She wasn’t even surprised that I wasn’t a pony. This wasn’t the Luna that I remembered. I gulped.
“What are you doing here?” she asked flatly. I tried to say something. Anything. I couldn’t. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I tried to say something again. It didn’t work. Luna rolled her eyes and started to walk in the direction she was going before managed to I interrupted her. 
“Luna.” I said. She stopped, not even looking behind her.
“Yes?” She asked. Her voice wasn’t the soft tone that I remembered. It was stiff, formal. I felt cold.
“It’s me. Edwin.” I said. She didn’t do anything for a moment. But quick as a flash, I was hanging from the ceiling by my feet with a squareness gun in my face. Luna was grinding the gun into my left temple, her face as close to mine as possible.
“How dare you. How dare you. I know what’s happened to Edwin. I buried him. Have you ever buried anyone? Your soul mate? It hurts. It hurts in a way that can never be fixed. I cried so hard for the first few days I just wanted to kill myself so I could meet him again. Whatever jokes you may make, whatever machinations you have, whatever it is that you actually are, don’t bring back Edwin. I’ve tried to keep it down. But if you poke fun at my emotions like that, I will kill you myself. With my hooves.” She said, her words soaked in pain. I felt a wash of empathy for her. I was silent for a while, and she didn’t let me down.
“You buried... him?” I whispered, trying not to refer to myself in the first person. She nodded. “Where?”

It was too extravagant. 
The tombstone wasn’t simple. It was one of those two-person stones. It was chiseled white marble, and with gold leaf in the wells of the carved letters.The entire stone was framed with seamless onyx. one side was my name, my cutie mark, and a small passage that I didn’t read. On the other side was Luna’s name. The crescent sapphire on her original grave was embedded in the marble where my cutie mark was on my side of the stone. That’s what really shocked me. She really intended to die someday because of me. That really hit home. The grass in the front of the tombstone was half grass and half tilled earth. I felt a pang, remembering the time that I saw Luna’s grave for the first time.	
“Who was here for the funeral?” I asked. Luna didn’t say anything. I looked over my shoulder and saw her galloping towards the nearest door back inside. I could hear her sobs trail away, but I couldn’t go and console her no matter how much I wanted to. She didn’t need me right now.
“She needs you.” I told the grave, grabbing a fistfull of the fresh dirt. I turned up my palm and looked at it. It was deep, dark brown. There was a sunflower seed in the earth I was holding. I looked down at the grave. There were seeds scattered all over the grave. I smiled. In a few months, the entire patch would be covered in flowers. I got up and crumbled the dirt back onto the stone. The body down there felt like a stranger. Could it really be me if I was standing above it, looking at the grave? I know that the body down there was me, at one point. But could it still be me? Could the body that I was in once still belong to me? I heard a faint whisper behind me. I turned over my shoulder to see the Doctor standing next to the Tardis. I smiled.
“No hard feelings, right?” I asked. The Doctor smiled back, shaking his head.
“No. I’ve learned why you did what you did. I would have done the same thing.” He said with a quiet caring that only he could muster.
“Then why did you hand me off to the other you?” I asked innocently. 
“To be honest, he wouldn’t leave me alone until I did. I’m quite annoying when I need to be.” He said. I sighed, turning back to the grave. 
“Is it still me, down there?” I asked the Doctor.
“If it was still you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?” He explained deftly. I frowned.
“That’s not what I mean. Can it really be me? Was the body made for me? Was that body down there someone before I died? Did I take this body away from him when he died, like I took Jamal’s?” I asked the Doctor. He frowned. He walked over to my side and sat down next to me. 
“Those are heavy questions, Edwin. Heavy questions.” The Doctor said. He was silent for a long time, not saying anything. I looked around at the swaying flowers around the tombstone. I noticed for the first time that we were in a garden. The Doctor cleared his throat. “I know how you feel, Edwin. Sometimes I don’t really know who I am either. But your conundrum is bigger than that. But your question. Whether or not this body was made for you or if you took it. It doesn’t really matter which. Neither one would affect us now. Even if this pony was a person before he died and you took his body, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think that he was, because ponies would have noticed somepony as strong as this one. But even if he was, you shouldn’t worry yourself about it. He would have wanted to live on past his time, trying to save his home from the Angelics.” He said. I relaxed at his words. I felt much more at ease.
“Do you... Do you think that I could have done any better?” I asked, voicing my fears. The Doctor put his hoof on my shoulder.
“You did very well, Edwin. Admirable, that’s the word. You fought for your home. You saved many, many ponies. Nopony could have asked you to do more than you did. It was surprising that you died when you did, but you earned your repose. Most definitely. It’s a shame you don’t get to enjoy it.” He said. I felt somewhat bittersweet.
“You’ve been to the future, right?”
“You know I have.” He said softly, hoof still on my shoulder. I turned away from the grave to him.
“Does it ever turn back to normal?” I asked. His face was extremely pained.
“I wish I could tell you. I really do.” He said. He took his hoof off of my shoulder after a moment and walked back to the Tardis. I could hear his hoofbeats when he got to the paving stones. I heard the creaking and closing of the Tardis door, and I heard the faint noise of the Tardis leaving. I closed my eyes.
“Thank you,” I said to my old body “For the memories.” I looked up into the sky. The sun was setting over the palace walls, leaving an orange flare over the wall. I could feel the hot tears on my face. I was home. I looked down at the tombstone again, reading the inscription on my grave.
I will always love you, Ed. Always. 
I stood up, getting off of my knees. I turned back and walked back into the palace, filled with fresh vigor. I was going to remind Luna of what she put on that gravestone.	


> 61: One last time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 61

“So this dragon comes out of nowhere. Eyes bloody red, belly covered in jewels, and he’s looking at me.” Othello said. I laughed.
“No way.”
“Yes way. Now he’s seen me with his star sapphire. He knows that I have it. The Doctor’s next to me, trying to get me to give it up. ‘Come on, Othello’, he says, giving me the elbow. ‘It’s not worth it.’ He says. But I’m hell bent on getting Celestia this sapphire for Hearthwarming Eve. So you know what I do?”
“What?”
“I try to teleport out of there.”
“No!” I exclaimed. Othello just nodded, deep in the story.
“Oh yeah. But I didn’t know that this dude has a null spell ‘round the cave. So I’m just sitting there, blinking my eyes and looking like a retard. And this dragon knows what I’m doing. He starts growling. The Doctor starts elbowing me even faster now. He’s practically pushing me to the mouth of cave. Now you know this dragon’s wanting to kill us. But the Doctor’s trying to get him trapped in some riddles. This dragon must be some kind of dope, because he’s playing into the game perfectly. I manage to sneak away from the dragon while the Doctor’s going through this riddle contest. I’ve got the-” He says, but he’s interrupted by the doors to the dining hall opening loudly. The both of us turn and looked. Princess Celestia entered the hall, flanked by Antony and Asperx. The two brothers studiously avoided looking at us, but the Princess wasn’t so subtle. She stared at the two of us, clearly disgruntled. I turned back to Othello. His smile from the story faltered, and he got up from his chair. I watched him walk the long distance to the front of the room. My mind was racing, trying to figure out what the problem was. Othello finally reached the trio, and Celestia’s horn illuminated. A scroll popped into the air next to her hair, and she opened it with magic. She started to read it. I could see her mouth moving. As she spoke Othello grabbed his hair with his hands. Celestia kept reading.
“No Tia, no!” Othello shouted. I could hear the pain in his voice. I got up from my chair, standing upright. This was serious. I could hear Othello wailing while Celestia kept reading. Antony and Asperx, the pictures of uncaring, did not look at Othello. Celestia finished talking, rolling the scroll back up again. She touched Asperx’ shoulder. He looked right at me. He vanished in a puff of white smoke. I gulped, unconsciously walking backwards away from the scene. I fell backwards over the table behind me. I was lying on the table. Asperx appeared on top of me, with his face set in a threatening scowl.
“Do anything funny and you won’t be able to walk for the next few years.” He growled. My mouth dropped open. There wasn’t enough time to even figure out what happened. 
“Wh-” I tried to say, but Asperx cast a spell that kept me from talking. He jumped off of me and onto the floor, levitating me into an upright position. I was completely pinned- Legs straight, arms plastered to my sides. My entire vision had a bright blue sheen, and I couldn’t even move my eyes to look around. All I could see out of my limited point of view was Asperx grinning at me. Everything I had planned out for getting to Equestria, I never really planned on what to do when I got there. Now everything was blowing up in my face. I heard a crash and the tinkling of glass. I tried to turn and look at it but only ended up straining my neck. Asperx summoned his sword, which glinted in the reflected moonlight. I wanted to look at the sword. It was somehow extremely mysterious, with its multiple facets, with all different colors that represented all of the different ponies that made up his brain. If it was possible for me to look away from it, it would have been impossible to look away from it anyways. I followed the sword, with its fractured blade, soar through the air. It swung out of my vision. It struck something, and that something struck me. I wasn’t able to move, which made the blow hurt even more. I tried to scream, but I couldn’t move through Asperx’ spell. The thing that hit me, which now looked like a bloody pile of white feathers, got up and screeched. That screech. It set my teeth on edge and made me shiver. It was like someone cracked my head open. Asperx clenched his teeth and pressed his hooves to his ears. The pile of bloody feathers assembled itself in my mind into a perfectly white griffon. It was so big. I was hovering a foot or so off of the ground, but this griffon could have easily looked me right in the eyes.  I watched with awe as the griffon soared through the air, barely spreading her wings and extending her claws. I watched the claws fly closer and closer to Asperx’ widening eyes when I suddenly collapsed to the ground. I could hear the shouts and screeches of the fight unfolding. I tried to crawl away from the noises, but the pain on my left side of my body was excruciating. I could only use my right side to pull myself forward. I was crawling underneath the table when something wrenched my left ankle, pulling me out from underneath the table. I rolled over and turned to see Antony, eyes filled with tears and teeth clenched in an angry grimace. He was levitating a dagger over his head. He brought it down quickly, leaving me barely enough time to roll out of the way. I turned back to see the dagger. It was brilliantly ornate, with a wavy silver blade and a bright gem in the pommel. The hilt was wrapped in dull brown leather. Antony yanked it out of the floor and swung it back down again. I rolled the other way, but I was too late. I was positioned so that the blade slipped between two ribs, scratching my sternum and creating a clean cut through one of my lungs. The tip of it nicked my esophagus. I gasped, feeling every inch of the blade as it went through my body. I gulped, looking down at the blade. All I could see was the brilliantly embellished handle sticking out. I grabbed it with a shaking hand and tried to pull it out. It came out a few inches before I stopped, consumed with pain. I collapsed back onto the floor, trying to breathe. I looked up at Antony’s angry purple eyes. 
“What... What would Berry say...” I tried to ask, but it only came out in panting breaths. Antony looked shocked for a moment, but then he flashed to something even angrier. With a shout he pulled the dagger back out and jabbed it back into my chest. I felt that one even more than the last one. He pulled it out roughly, only to just plunge it back in at a different spot. He did this again and again and again and again. After almost an eternity, he finally stopped, dropping the dagger and plopping back into a sitting position. I looked up at the stony ceiling of the dining hall, thinking about how quickly it all went wrong. I was given a second chance at a normal life, but all I wanted to do was go back to the one that I had before. I could feel my hands and feet get cold. I saw Antony enter my vision, still angry. He spat on my forehead. I could barely feel it.
“Don’t tell me what my wife would think of me.” He growled. He walked away, leaving me to look at the ceiling. 
I didn’t even feel myself fall asleep.

“Shit”
“I know.”
“He’s messed up really bad.”
“I know.”
“What happened?”
“He made a Bladesinger angry, I suppose.”
“A what?!”
“Do you need more money?”
“I might.” 
“It’s yours. Now treat him.” Something said. I opened my eyes a little bit. I couldn’t see very well, but something appeared in front of my face.
“Edwin, you might want to be asleep for this one.” The something said. I recognized it
“Doctor.” I muttered, unable to speak properly. I coughed. 
“We’re going to patch you up nicely, okay? You’re going to live. Just stay strong.” The Doctor said, disappearing from view. I drifted off again, my mind giving me exotic dreams. 

I blinked, looking around. It was bright white, straining my eyes. When I finally adjusted, I tried to sit up. Something was pressing me down. I looked down at my body and saw a thick metal plate there. My chest felt funny, like there were feathers tickling me. I was going to reach up and swat them away but my hand met the thick plate. It was cold to the touch. I was trying to push it off with both of my hands when the Doctor came in. I turned to him.
“Hey, you gotta help me get this off.” I said to the Doctor. The Doctor smiled.
“You don’t want to do that.” The Doctor said. 
“Why not? This thing is so heavy.”
“It’s keeping you alive, that’s what. Something stabbed you thirty-seven times. I know that its starting to become the norm for you, but you shouldn’t be alive. You were lucky that I got to you when I did, or else you’d be in a morgue by now.” He said. I collapsed back onto the pillow. 
“What’s this thing on my chest.” I wondered. 
“New Terran gear. Best in the galaxy. This thing is pumping you full of biofoam and keeping your wounds closed with superglue. You’ve got an IV with some sucrose solution so you don’t get the shakes under there.” The Doctor explained
“Superglue?”
“It worked in the 1940’s, and it works today.” The Doctor explained simply. I frowned, looking up at the ceiling.
“What now?” I asked the Doctor.
“We’re going to have to get you a cane and get you out of that bed. We’re going for a walk.” He said.

A while later, I was standing with the Doctor on one of the hospital’s walkways, staring up at the sunset. Skyscrapers stabbed into the sky, puncturing the clouds of sunset. Neat grids of hovercars zipped past, blocking the view of the sun occasionally. We watched silently, and I stroked the cane resting on my legs. 
“It’s strange.” The Doctor said. I didn’t say anything, letting him continue. “It’s strange. I’ve been to many, many places. I’ve seen a thousand sunsets almost identical to this one. I’ve seen the sunset on the day that Galifrey was destroyed. I’ve seen the sunset on the day that the colonists from old Earth landed on this planet. I’ve seen the sunset on the day that you died, Edwin. Both times. They’re always important. They’re symbols, sort-of. There’s always another day. Always another sunset.” The Doctor said. I nodded, trying to understand.
“What did my dad do?” I asked after a while. The sun sank down under the horizon a little bit. The Doctor looked at me.
“What?”
“My dad. The day I died.”
“Alex Shell?” The Doctor asked. I nodded. “He didn’t know about it till the next day. They tracked him down and a trooper knocked on his door. He just sat on the kitchen floor and just cried. The neighbors had to come in the next day to make him eat something. It tore him apart, your death. He almost didn’t come to your funeral. He had to, though. He had to know if it was all real. You were the last part of Angela that he had left.”
“Can we... Can we go see him?” I asked. The Doctor frowned.
“How can it... How can you help him? Edwin, you’re not you anymore. You might be his son, but at the same time you’re not. It couldn’t help either of you. It would just be a reminder of things that can never be.” He said. I looked back to the sunset. 
“I need to get back to the Tardis.” I said. The Doctor nodded.
“Sure. I can send you to Canterlot to get it back. We’ll pick up Othello along the way.” He said. I frowned. Nothing went right.

I was limping through the halls of Canterlot, trying to find Othello and my Tardis. I rounded the corner and found the blue box. I limped faster, resting most of my weight on my cane. I flung the doors open and walked in Othello was sitting on the loveseat, chewing his nails. When he saw me, he got up and rushed over.
“She doesn’t love me anymore, Edwin. She said so. She decreed so. She arrested me and put me away. It was horrible, Edwin. I never felt so alone.” Othello said. I pushed past him, hobbling towards the console. I plopped myself down in a command chair and started putting in my coordinates. Othello rushed back up to me.
“Edwin! She doesn’t love me anymore. What are we going to do?” Othello asked, imploring me for guidance.
“I know what I’m going to do, Othello. After I do that, everything else is up to you.” I said. I turned back to the console and put in the last command that I needed. I looked up at the time drive, pistoning to send us to our next destination.

Dimension hopping is extremely dangerous. It’s a temporal impossibility. Einstein’s bullet in the dark was a coin flip in comparison. It was like firing a revolver that only has one bullet in it six times, firing a bullet each time, then unloading the revolver and pulling out an unspent cartridge. It’s impossible to conventional physics. But the Tardis has its ways. Othello and I found ourselves back on Earth in under an hour after a very shaky journey. 

I opened the Tardis doors, feeling the wave of blistering heat from the outside. I squinted my eyes against the strong sunlight. I stepped out, feeling the burning dry air on the outside. My eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and I found myself on a luxurious deck, looking out at a half-completed skyline. The sun’s glare reflected off of the glass that bordered the entire deck. I looked back to the Tardis to see Othello climbing out, his eyes squinting in the sunlight. I waited a moment for him to adjust before I started to speak.
“Do you know where we are?” I asked him.
“An oven?” He ventured. I didn’t laugh.
“This is the Burj Kalifa, in the great Emirate of Dubai. The tallest building in the world for about twenty years from this time period, right now.” I said, pointing to the ground. I looked back out at the desert. towers punched out of the ground, reaching up to the sky. “The entire tower, from the spire, is about eight hundred meters tall. We’re on the highest observation deck, which puts us up about 480 meters up. If I were to drop something from this observation deck, it would take about fifty three seconds to fall to the bottom.” I said. Othello looked confused, so I took the sonic screwdriver I had in my pocket and waved it at the bank of windows. They all shattered, leaving no doubt as to my intent. Othello shook his head.
“No, Edwin. Please.” Othello begged. I shook my head.
“The Doctor was right. We really don’t belong here. Equestria isn’t ours anymore. The fight against the Angelics isn’t ours. It’s theirs. And I can’t handle that anymore. I can’t let go and live my normal life. I can’t go back and live Jamal’s life. I can’t bear it. I can’t.” I said, starting to break down
“Edwin... It’s you and me. We’re in this together. You can’t go. Please.” Othello said, his voice straining. I turned back to him. He was crying.
“I wish I could stay, Othello. I really do. But its just too hard. My mind belongs in Equestria, but my body doesn’t. Life just isn’t the same when you’re not a Numbered.” I said, trying not to cry too.
“But we are Numbered!  We still are! We still have our minds!” Othello shouted. I hobbled over to Othello and grabbed him by his torn turtleneck.
“No we don’t! Have you ever tried to solve differential equations in your mind since you’ve been a human? Can you remember what you had for lunch on December third, 1976? Can you calculate what day it is using only the sun’s position and a compass? We don’t have our minds anymore, Othello! We just have normal, human brains. We’re not special anymore.” I finished, letting go of his turtleneck and walking towards the edge of the Deck.
“Please, Edwin.” Othello pleaded one last time.
“Luna thinks that I’m dead. I’m going to prove her right.” I said, and then jumped. The gleaming spire fell away underneath me, leaving nothing but the air to keep me up. The wind tore at my clothes, trying desperately to keep me from falling. But gravity prevailed. I watched the ground quickly grow in size until it filled my surroundings.

I never even felt myself hit the bottom. 
> 62: Finally
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 62

I never felt any pain. 
Dying was the simplest and most easy thing I could have ever imagined. All it took was a simple action. Jumping off of a building, driving in front of the tracks, making something angry. It was so hideously simple. 

I drifted.
There’s really nothing to death. There’s no real sensation, except for the feeling of being upside-down underwater. It’s pleasing. The only real downside to death was the memories. With no real sensation, you were free to experience memory perfectly- like you were actually there. Smells were sharper, vision crisp, and sounds were clear. I remembered everything perfectly. 

“Come in” the voice said, I pushed open the beautiful wooden door to see a dark blue mare lying on a rug in the middle of the room, with an open book in front of her. She turned to look at me, and her mouth dropped open so quickly, but she covered her emotion quickly “And you might be?” She asked, already knowing the answer.
“I- Uh, Edwin.”

My mind switched to a different memory

Luna was standing in the middle of a moon crater, with the Doctor standing near the two of us. She was sad, with a single tear in her eye.
“It has been ten long, cold years on this rock. Every time that I see the Doctor here, I beg and plead with him to take me back. He has sworn an oath never to interfere with the native populace, except in time of great duress. I only wish that he would make an exception...” Luna trailed off again, sadly contemplating her wrongs. I grinned, and looked her right in the eyes.
“The Doctor may do things his own way, Luna. But, he has never told me, not a single time, that taking souvenirs is not allowed. And I have happened to have found myself the prettiest little moon rock.” I said knowingly. Luna looked up at me, her eyes wide. 

I thought about that memory for a little bit. That’s what started the relationship between Luna and I. Well, not really. It depends on where you were on the timeline. But I wasn’t anywhere on the timeline now. The finality of it consumed me, racing through my mind. I was dead. I was nowhere. I wasn’t in Equestria. I wasn’t on Earth. 

I didn’t have to worry about the Angelics anymore. It took me a while to figure that one out. I didn’t have to worry about Slim, Spitfire, anything like that. It took me a moment to think about that one. 

The one that really hit home was that I would never see anything else ever again. The Doctor, Luna, Princess Celestia, Antony, Asperx, Othello, Evangeline, Marcus, Twilight, Lieutenant Dash, all of them. None of them would ever see me again. I couldn’t handle that one and went crazy for a while.

The blackness was absolute. There was nothing. Nothing at all.

I was finally dead. After fighting it so long, I was dead. Completely and utterly stone-cold dead. All of my attempts to stay alive and fight the good fight were meaningless now. I was undeniably dead.
Once and for all.
finally.
> 63: Hello Blue Monday
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 63

I lunged up. I gasped, gulping air into lungs that weren’t there a second ago. I opened eyes that I didn’t have and looked up at the sky that wasn’t there. I felt the ground under me that didn’t exist a moment ago. I looked around. I felt overwhelmed by the extreme visual stimulus after being dead for so long. Was this some kind of memory? It couldn’t be. Everything was far too detailed compared to the memories. It was like someone turned up the volume on my senses. I inhaled through my nose, smelling all kinds of different smells. Pine needles, dirt, the smell of summer heat. I sniffed again, fascinated. I could hear everything too. Animals scurrying away, wind blowing through the trees. I looked around. I was in a forest, with scattered deciduous and evergreens all around me. I was about to look at the ground when I saw it.
Actually, it was when I saw me.
“Holy shit.” I whispered. It was my body. It was a pure, snow white. I was sitting in a puddle of long black hair. My legs didn’t have feet. They had hooves. I couldn’t believe it. I put my arms in front of my face. They were a perfect white, capped with hard hooves. I stared at them in awe. It was such a shock I couldn’t even believe it. I had to be sure. I twisted my body so my bottom half was lying on my side. I looked down at my flank. There was an ornate, calligraphic five there in a perfect inky black. I grinned to myself. I shot up to my hooves and looked around me. I was back. Back home. I rushed up to the nearest tree and punched it, making the forest quake and the leaves all around shake. With a huge snap, it splintered and cracked in half. The decapitated half of the tree fell over with a huge thud, its branches snapping down through the canopy. I looked back to the decimated tree for a minute. The stump sat in the ground, just a bunch of splinters sticking out of the ground. The trunk was a few feet opposite me, lying there in the forest like it was there the whole time. I heard something behind me. I turned quickly, looking at the Doctor sitting in front of the Tardis, wings spread and clapping. It sounded like two wooden bricks getting slammed together. I turned to face him fully, flicking my tail in annoyance. I had to quickly look back at it to see what it looked like.
“Well done, Edwin.” The Doctor said, dropping his hooves to place them on the ground. I frowned.
“You knew. You knew the whole time.” I said, filling my voice with venom. I could feel the anger rush through my insanely fast, making my legs wobble with rage. The reaction instantly confused me, and I tried to calm myself down. The Doctor shrugged and smiled weakly.
“I sure did. You’ve got me in a corner there.” The Doctor admitted. I thought about it for a while.
“Is there something that you’re keeping from me now?” I asked.
“You know that I can’t tell you about the future.” The Doctor said, somber. I didn’t even pause. My brain was running through all of the different ways that I could get an answer out of him.
“Are you sure? There wasn’t ever one time that you told someone about their future?” I tried to trip him up. The Doctor shook his head.
“Not once.” He said, absolute in his resolve. I thought about it for a moment.
“Fine. If you won’t help me then I’ll just go find out myself.” I spat back. I turned and walked away from him.
“Edwin! Wait, just one thing.” The Doctor said. I paused and turned behind me. The Doctor looked slightly sad. “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end. That’s all I can tell you.” The Doctor said after a moment. I mulled it over for a second.
“Thanks, Doctor.” I replied, running off into the forest.

I forgot all of the things I could do. I could fly. I could run so very fast. I could see everything. I leapt through the trees, bounding off of branches and soaring through the forest. I leapt straight up, rocketing through the trees and breaching the canopy of trees. I watched all of the bare expanse, enraptured with the green leafy trees under me. I could see the faraway mountains and see some distant cliffs. With my sharp vision, I saw the beautiful fortress of Canterlot in the distance.
Canterlot.	
Luna!

I forgot what it was like. Soaring through the air with nothing but determination holding you up. I tried to figure out how far away I was from Canterlot. I was looking at Canterlot at an angle of about three degrees. I knew Canterlot was about fifteen hundred feet off of the ground. My mind assembled the equation and presented the answer to me before I realized it was a math problem. It really shocked me. But I pushed it aside and flew even faster to get to Canterlot. The wind battered my body, trying to keep me from going faster. I pushed on, straining against the air in front of me. It finally stopped, letting go with an audible snap. I could feel the air pressing down on me for a moment, nearly crushing me, but finally letting go and letting me rocket forward. The pressure behind me was almost pushing me forward, and the roaring in my ears blocked out everything else. In almost no time at all, I was rushing up the steep crag of Canterlot, rapidly approaching the castle. I ducked and dove through spires, reaching higher and higher. I finally reached the castle walls. I set myself down on the ground and leapt up to the roof of the wall. I sprinted, going further into the castle. I navigated my way until I found myself on a roof overlooking the courtyard. I looked down to see a group of ponies gathered around some kind of long box. Princess Celestia and Luna were sitting close to the box, with a bunch of other ponies. Armored guards were peppered all throughout the courtyard. I looked closely at the scene. Celestia looked normal, but Luna, next to her, was shaking. I recognized her starry mane and darker navy coat. She was shaking. I realized that she was sobbing, with a hoof up to her face. I realized that that box was my casket. There was a picture of me on top of the casket, along with a bundle of roses. I was at my own funeral. It was kinda weird to see it. I was about to interrupt the scene when I heard a rumble behind me. I looked back and saw a huge black storm cloud flying my way. It was going to be right on me in a second. It was really loud, and people down in the courtyard heard it. I could hear the mumbling.

Pegasi cleared the sky-
Shame that she has to be reminded-
What’s that?

By this time, almost everyone decided to go look up at the rapidly approaching storm. Pointing and whispering were the norm, but I could only look at Luna. Somepony finally managed to tap on her shoulder. Luna looked at the pony, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. The pony pointed up at me. I recognized him. It was Antony, dressed up in a sharp black suit and tie. Luna turned and looked up at me. She looked at me for a moment, unblinking. I could feel the bitter happiness well up in me, and I tried not to cry. We were finally together.
The storm cloud decided at that moment to come right above Canterlot and dump all of its rain. It was pouring down, drenching everypony there. Antony summoned a black umbrella and held it over Luna, shielding her from the rain. Magical umbrellas popped up everywhere in the crowd, hovering over ponies. Luna’s umbrella blocked her view of me. She pushed it out of the way with a hoof, covering herself with rain in the process. She looked up at me, not believing what she saw. I smiled and walked to the edge of the roof and hopped off, letting myself float down gently to the courtyard. My hooves splashed down in the mud. I walked over to Luna, not taking my eyes off of her. I walked through the confused ponies that parted like water over a rock as I walked past. I walked right up to Luna. We didn’t say anything. We just stared at each other. I finally had to break the silence.
“I’m home.” I said. Luna suppressed a giggle, but then the tears started flowing.
“I missed you so-” She started, but a sob cut her off. She rushed up to me and flung her muddy forelegs around my neck, squeezing me. She started to cry in earnest now, and I reached a hoof up to hold her.
“It’s alright, Luna. I’m back.” I whispered into her ear. She shook, sobbing into my shoulder. I looked past her to see Celestia, pointedly not looking at me. She was looking down at her hooves. “Psst!” I said, looking at her. She turned an eye to look at me, but she quickly looked away. I understood. This must be before Othello came back. I patted Luna’s back. She pulled away from me, keeping a hold on my neck. She pressed her muzzle against mine.
“Thank you.” She whispered. I smiled.
“I couldn’t stay away.” I whispered back. She laughed. She let her hooves drop from my neck. She kissed me on the nose. I smiled even wider, if that was at all possible.
“Let’s go inside. Inclement weather.” She said, her ethereal mane flowing. I nodded.
“Let’s.” I said, and followed Luna inside.

We were sitting in her room. I was huddled in front of a fireplace, warming my hooves up. Luna was right beside me, holding me with one of her wings. She was nuzzling up against my shoulder. I couldn’t actually enjoy her presence because the worries about Angelics and Equestria came back to me. A scowl was set into my face that I couldn’t get rid of.
“What happened while I was dead?” I asked Luna. She sighed, pulling away from my shoulder.
“Oh please, Edwin. We don’t have to start that now. Let’s wait until the morning.” Luna said. It was tempting. I turned to Luna and looked down at her. She was looking back up to me with her bright teal eyes. My scowl relaxed into a normal face. I looked away from her to the window outside.
“I wish I could, Luna. I really do. But the sooner this is over the sooner we can have a normal life.” I told her. She frowned.
“Edwin, I just buried you. I thought I would never ever see you again. It hurt me. Let me have you to myself, at least for one day.” Luna pleaded with me. I frowned, turning back to the fire. The logs popped and crackled in the hearth. The flames danced through the logs, leaping up into the chimney. I watched it for a while.
“I love you, Luna.” I said. Luna hummed.
“Love you too, Ed.” She said. I leaned into her and we watched the fire. The rain pattered against the window.
“Luna?”
“Hm?”
“Do you still have that book?”
“No.” She said immediately. I looked down at her
“You don’t even know what I’m talking about.” I accused.
“You’re right” She admitted, grinning.  
“The why would you...” I trailed off. Luna nuzzled up to me a little bit
“I’m not sharing you with anypony. Especially not a book.” She said. I smiled. We both turned and looked at the fire.

I woke up to a banging at the door. I opened my eyes, but Luna was covering me with one of her wings. I crawled out from under it and walked over to the door. The entire room had a blue cast to it, which was most likely the moonlight through the window. I eyed the fire. It was dead. I turned away from it to look at the door. I pushed it open with a snout. Princess Celestia was standing outside the door, looking groggy. My eyes widened.
“I request your presence, Captain Shell. Are you busy?” She asked. I bit my lip and turned back to Luna. She was still sleeping in front of the fireplace, wing spread over the rug. I turned back to the princess that was awake.
“Am I allowed to say-”
“No.” She cut me off.
“I’m not busy at all, Princess.” I said, trying to mask my disappointment.
“Come on out.” She said. I sighed and opened the door a little bit to sneak out. I gave one last glance to Luna before slipping out of the door. I pressed the door closed with a faint click before turning to the Princess. 
“I know that you’re content to just spend the weekend locked up with my sister, but there are things that you need to attend to. Your duties as a Royal Guard captain have been taken up by Lieutenant Bladesinger at my request. Asperx doesn’t quite have the energy for such a strenuous position, so I need you to get back to your duty as a guard as soon as possible.”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, not understanding. 
“You need to go to a Royal Guards meeting that’s happening right now. Now I’ll expect you to get armored and presentable in ten minutes, and then you’ll be escorting me to-” The Princess explained, but I cut her off.
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” I said. The Princess’ only visible eye bulged.
“I beg your pardon?” She said, visibly taken aback.
“I promised Luna that I wouldn’t leave her today. Frankly, I might not be available until day after next.”
“Edwin, I am ordering you to put on your armor and go to the meeting.” She said, her droopy eye filled with determination. She thought that she wheedled her way into winning this war of wills, but I had something up my sleeve. I thought for a moment of the correct verbiage that I would need.
“You know what? Fine. You win. Princess, I formally resign my position and all honors due to a Captain in Their Majesties Royal Equestrian Guard Corps.” I said, feeling immense satisfaction. Princess Celestia’s mouth dropped open.
“You can’t!” She whispered, her tone grave. I smiled.
“I just did. Excuse me, your Majesty, but meeting Divinity in the flesh is quite the exhausting experience for this lowly common pony. Do excuse me, m’lady.” I said, mocking a curtsy with my front legs. I turned around and opened the door, closing it firmly behind me. I sneaked over to Luna, trying not to wake her up. I crawled under her wing and tucked myself in tight. Luna stirred.
“Ed...” She moaned, half asleep. 
“What is it?” I asked quietly
“Whuzzat?” She mumbled. I rolled over and looked right at her. Her eyes were barely open, and her mane was completely still. 
“Your sister. She hates me.”
“I know.” She said, giving me a kiss on the tip of my nose. I smiled.
“Love you, Luna.
“Love you too, Ed.”

It was a very good day.



> 64: Lunch 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 64

        I was looking out of one of the windows in Luna’s apartments in the Royal Wing. It was the window that looked out over the courtyard. It wasn’t raining anymore. I was looking down at the gravestone. I could see it perfectly from here. There were a few ponies down there near it. My old body wasn’t buried yet because there was an argument about whether or not I was really dead. I didn’t really understand what the problem was. There was a dead body that needed to be put in the ground, so you put it in the ground. I was thinking about going out and burying it myself, but I wasn’t too sure.
        “Edwin?” Luna ventured, drawing me from my reverie. I didn’t turn, but kept watching the ponies argue.
        “Yeah?”
        “Still watching those ponies arguing?” She asked. I could imagine her now, peering through her half-moon glasses and filling out the Canterlot Herald’s daily crossword. I smiled.
        “I don’t understand the problem. There’s a corpse, you should bury it.” I said. Asperx was down there in the mud, championing the cause for my old body to get buried. I felt very grateful to Asperx for going out in the muggy weather. He must have been sweating like nobody’s business. I turned away from the window. Luna was looking at me over her glasses, levitating a pencil in a dark blue cloud of magic.
        “That’s not the point of it all. Because the pony who was going to be buried ruined everypony’s day but one by coming back to life-”
        “You’re welcome.” I interrupted. Luna smiled, but kept going.
        “- They need to decide who the old body actually belongs to.”
        “It’s mine, obviously.” I said.  Luna sighed.
        “Try telling them that.” Luna said, putting her pencil back onto the paper. 
        “I’m gonna go out for a bit, Luna. I’ll come back with breakfast.” I said, walking to the door.
        “Dandelion sandwiches!” Luna yelled after me as I closed the door.

        I walked out into the courtyard, feeling the intense humidity. I was sweating before I even left the covered walkway edging the garden. I was trying to figure out how I would get to the ponies and not get covered in mud when I had a great idea. I felt myself floating up into the air. My hooves left the ground and I sailed out into the garden. I soared right to the place where the gravestone and my un-buried coffin was. I set myself down on the ground right next to Asperx. The pony across the coffin from Asperx and I lightened a few shades, with his mouth wide open. He was a stout pony, with a bright green coat and a slightly darker mane of the same color. I tapped Asperx on the shoulder. He turned to me, looking like his face was melting off. When he realized it was me, a big smile spread across his face.
        “Hello Captain Shell! Congratulations on being alive.” He panted out. I smiled back.
        “Hey, you too. Why don’t you go inside for a minute? I can handle this.” I told him. Asperx relaxed visibly.
        “Thank you very much.” Asperx thanked me, and then turned around to walk inside. I turned back to the other pony who was arguing with Asperx. He looked slightly angry, and his mane was mussed a little bit. He wasn’t really sweating much at all. 
        “Who’re you then?” He said, giving off a hint of accent. 
        “I’m the late Captain Shell.” I said. The green pony shook his head
        “No y’aint. ‘ees right ‘ere.” The green pony said, pointing to the coffin. The picture frame was still sitting on top of the casket, so I reached up with my hooves and grabbed it. I held it up next to my face.
        “See the resemblance?” I asked. The pony frowned.
        “No way you’re ‘im.” The pony objected. I set the picture back on the casket.
        “Well, There’s a pony in here that’s dead, right?”
        “Yeah, but-” 
        “And dead ponies are usually buried, right?”
        “Yes, but-”
        “And this is a dead pony in here, right?”
        “Yes, but-”
        “I don’t see the problem. There’s something that need to be buried here, and you’re not burying it.”
        “Yes, but-”
        “Then there’s not really a problem. You go on and put this pony in the ground. I think that he earned it.” I said. The pony was trying to think of a retort, so I just turned and walked away.
        “This is Grave Theft! If this is your grave, he’s stealing it!” The pony shouted after me. I didn’t even look back.
        “He can have it. I don’t need it.” I told him. I didn’t get to see the look on his face, but I’m sure it was very satisfying.

        When I got back inside, Asperx was nowhere to be found. I didn’t think much of it at all. I was going to just go straight to the dining hall and order breakfast and then come straight back to Luna’s apartments. Straight there, straight back, no distractions or diversions. No Doctors, Guards, Angelics, Princesses, Numbereds, Ghosts or Pan-dimensional Hyper-boars. I hopefully thought that nothing was going to happen. I walked up through the halls and staircases avoiding adventure entirely, hiding myself with magic whenever I saw something come around the corner. I was down near the bottom floor of Canterlot, which was open to the public. I was passing research students and the famous Royal scholars. Every now and then I passed the occasional solid white or grey guard, dolled up in armor. I waded silently through the halls, working my way slowly to the dining hall. It was strange, walking through the halls without being noticed. I could look at all the ponies passing me with impunity. They all acted differently than they would have if I was there, visible. Their faces were different, their gait was different, some of them were even singing. After a while of being fascinated with the ponies, I eventually found myself walking right up to the dining hall, doors wide open. Lunch was going on right now, and hundreds of ponies were walking around in there. It was going to be a lot harder getting into there undetected now. Making myself visible again, I did the only thing that I could really do
        I let myself be a hero. 

        I laughed raucously, being bounced on the great wave of joyous guards. Everypony in the hall was cheering wildly, celebrating the return of their dragon-slaying Captain Shell. The ponies all passed me around, with everypony wanting to touch some part of me, as if it would give good luck. We laughed, we cheered, and we had a really good time. The wave eventually deposited me to the corner of the dining hall, covered in shade. They were all huddled around a small table. The ponies I recognized were all forward guard lieutenants. Pix and Ryo had their backs toward me, but there were three other ponies that could see me more easily. One of them was an enormous yellow hulk that glinted slightly in the shade. Whatever it was, it made Ryo look like he could fit in a teacup. The pony looked up at me with bright golden eyes after a moment of me sitting on the floor. It stood up straight, towering over the other ponies at the table. She walked around the table, coming closer to me. I finally recognized her.
“Celestia’s Sun, it’s really you.” Evangeline said, almost laughing. She giggled after she said that, completely out of character. I smiled even wider. She kept looking at me, shaking her head. “It’s hard to believe.” 
        “What happened while I was gone?” I asked. Evangeline grimaced. She glanced at the other ponies around us, leaning in to whisper
        “We might want to go somewhere else to talk about that.” Evangeline cautioned. All of my goals suddenly mashed themselves together at once.
        “How about lunch?”

        Evangeline, Luna and I were huddled around a respectable pile of peaches and Dandelion sandwiches. 
        “So what’s going on?” I inquired, levitating a peach to my mouth. Evangeline pursed her lips, reluctant. I kept my eyes on her, tearing a chunk out of a peach.
        “I think it would be best if Marcus and Gespard were here for this. They don’t know that you’re here yet.” She said. I tried to say something, but there was peach all over the inside of my mouth. Luna, thankfully, understood my intent.
        “Please don’t do it in here.” Luna compromised stiffly. Evangeline wordlessly got up and walked out of the room. I frowned in confusion and looked at Luna. 
        “Wuzzit?” I mumbled, still eating the peach. Luna sighed.
        “It’s a garish procedure, contacting the Nether. Pretty messy, too. I never really appreciated it.”
        “Wuzzit?” I mumbled again, dribbling peach juice down my chin.  
        “Go look if you really want to. I wouldn’t. Might ruin lunch.” She warned, turning back to the sandwich floating nearby. I really wanted to eat these peaches, but I really wanted to know what Eve was doing. Hunger, to nopony’s surprise, won. I was gnawing on the pit of peach number three when Evangeline called me.
        “Edwin, They’re here.” Evangeline announced from the other side of the door. I picked her up clearly with my new pony ears, that nicely swiveled toward the sound. I clenched my teeth and shuddered at the sudden stimulus. I was still being surprised by all of the things that I could do in a different body that had extra muscles than my old one did. I got up and walked to the door, pushing it open slowly. Evangeline was breathing heavily, sitting on the ground in front of a grainy, flickering apparition of Marcus and Gespard. When I pushed the door open all the way and entered the room, Gespard and Marcus shouted out in surprise. When they recognized that it was me, they started shouting even louder and performing a general outburst of excitement. Marcus was on his fifth loop when I really had to stop the hubbub. 
        “Hey, okay, okay. Let’s calm things down a little bit.” I childed lightly, trying not to laugh. I’d never seen the two ponies so animated and lively before. The apparitions all settled down, settling down to the ground. I looked down at their hooves for a moment, and was surprised to see a strange shape below them. The apparitions were suspended an inch or two above the ground, right over an array of dark red symbols. The shapes were arranged in a rough circle, with a square circumscribed around it. I frowned for a moment. “What’s that?” I asked. Evangeline, who was still panting slightly, waved a forehoof at the thing. Blood flew from her hoof, propelled by her tired gesture. 
        “It’s the spell frame. Gotta... Gotta keep it in one place.” She struggled, trying to remain awake. Her eyelids drooped. I looked down at Eve’s hooves. They were slit near what would be the wrist. I walked over, picking up an orange-tinted hoof with two of mine. I tried to heal it with my magic, but the power eluded me.
        “Luna?!” I shouted, panicked. I heard something shatter and the rushed clip-clop of hooves. Luna burst through the door. 
        “What is it?” she shouted, clearly flustered. Her starry mane was swaying quickly.
        “I can’t fix this. Come help me.”
        “She was doing the blood one, wasn’t she?” Luna asked, going to Evangeline’s other side. Luna took a look at one of Eve’s hooves. She frowned for a moment before she fixed up Evangeline’s wrists. Evangeline smiled weakly when she was done. 
        “Thank you, Princess.” Evangeline rasped out. Luna smacked Eve on the shoulder with a naked hoof before waggling that hoof at her accusingly.
        “That’s what you get for contacting them like that.” Luna reprimanded. Evangeline nodded, too tired to care.
        “Are you gonna be okay?” I asked Eve, who was still hunched over. She nodded. Something Ahem’d from inside the apparition. I turned to look at a squinting Marcus. He seemed slightly hesitant.
        “Why didn’t you fix it for her?” Marcus inquired, confused. I released the hoof I was holding and looked back to the projection
        “I...” I hesitated. I worked magic before. I remembered punching a tree out of the ground when I first woke up in this body. That was certainly magic. When I was a pony the first time, I had no problem killing an Angelic soul. I flew, I used the Flow, I did almost everything. But... I couldn’t heal Eve’s legs just then. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to weave the spell. It was simply that I couldn’t access the magic. It was tucked away in my brain somewhere, hidden. For some reason, I was able to get at it earlier when I was sneaking through the Palace, but not right now. 
        “I can’t use magic.” I announced. 

        


> 65: The Flow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 65

        All of the ponies around me burst out in some show of emotion. Well, Evangeline didn’t. She was busy trying not to faint. But Luna, Gespard, and Marcus all made up for it. 
        “WHAT!?” was the general consensus. Luna was shocked, but Gespard and Marcus were steaming. I was happy that they weren’t actually here in person, because it looked like they would have beat the magic into me. Luna’s first go-to was doubt. 
        “I-It can’t be, Edwin. You’ll just have to try harder.” Luna said, sounding slightly desperate.
        “I don’t thi-
        “What do you mean that you can’t use magic? You’re a Numbered!” Marcus shouted. I tried to explain, but he didn’t let me. “You HAVE to use magic. We’ve been getting slaughtered out there! You’re our last hope!” Marcus shouted.
"What?" I asked, taken off guard. Gespard snorted.
"We've had to concede defeat in the past few fights with Angelics. We've lost Appaloosa, Cloudsdale, Ponyville, and Salt Lick City. We would have lost more, but after you died the Angelics just stopped for a little bit. Thank Celestia there's a cliff between here and the ground. Otherwise we would have lost Canterlot." Gespard explained.
I was shocked. Four cities completely gone. I couldn't really get my brain around it. I've been in ponyville before, and there were so many ponies there that I never saw the same one twice. And that's supposed to be the SMALL city?  It was unfathomable. Eve and Luna started to leave, driven by some unheard conversation between the two mares. I was left to look at the likenesses of Gespard and Marcus. 
“W-What now?” I stuttered, completely vulnerable. When it came down to it, I almost always knew what to do. Kill this, go there. Eat that. Sleep here. I almost always followed my own rules. But now was different. I was just an Earth Pony. Gespard smiled.
        “We can always send you to Magic Kindergarten.” He laughed. Marcus pushed him out of the frame of the spell. Marcus stood in the center now. 
        “You’re going to have to learn how to use magic. I don’t know how, most of Us never really had to learn magic. We just knew.”
        “How am I going to learn magic?” I asked. Marcus sighed, shaking his head. He reached down with his hoof though the projection, smearing one of the lines of blood. His projection immediately stuttered and wobbled. 
        “Go to the Library.” The shaking image of Marcus said. The apparition shuddered itself out of existence quickly, leaving me in the room by myself. 

        I stumbled through Canterlot for almost an hour before I found the library. I had to ask around, and apparently the Library was its own building. I walked across a small bridge to get to a large, pompous building, complete with spires. I walked into the building and felt immediately inferior. There were thousands of bookshelves just in the lobby, reaching up to the very, very high ceiling. I knew that I couldn’t find anything on my own, so I went up to one of the help desks. A fairly matronly pony with thick glasses looked up with a toothless smile. 
        “Can I help you?” She asked loudly.
        “I need a book about magic.” I said. The pony nodded and walked out from behind the counter, shaking a little bit. I was slightly worried about her, but then she lit up all over with a magical aura and floated up into the air, gliding along slightly above the ground.
        “Follow me, dearie.” She asked. I followed her as she floated off down one of the halls.

        While we were going to the magic books, I was looking at all of the strange ways that the ponies kept books on shelves. Some shelves were perfect circles, with books all along the edge. Other bookshelves were strange geometric shapes. While we were walking through a hallway, I looked up and saw books magically adhered to the ceiling. Some of the books flew around like birds or hopped like frogs. I saw a book that was sitting on a chair and reading itself to a group of enraptured little foals. I was so amazed by all of the stuff around me that I didn’t hear the librarian. 
        “What?”
        “What kind of magic book do you need?”
        “Oh, I uh... How to learn magic?” I ventured. The mare nodded and floated higher. I watched her ascend, amazed. She disappeared from sight for a moment, reappearing with a hefty book. I grab it with my mouth and start to walk away, but the librarian puts a hoof on my shoulder. I turn back to her.
        “What are you going to do with this book, dearie?” The librarian asked quietly. I placed the book on the ground so I could talk. 
        “I’m going to learn magic.” I said like it was obvious. The mare suddenly looked shocked, struggling to talk. 
        “Oh, um... Well, dearie, you’re...” She stammered, trying to say something. I frowned, trying to get at what she was saying. I turned around to face her.
        “Is there a problem?”
        “Oh, no, it’s just that... Well... You...” She kept stuttering. I raised my eyebrows, trying to get her to finally say it.
        “Yes?” I prodded. She finally broke down. 
        “You’re an Earth pony!” She shouted. Everypony in the library immediately turned and stared at her. There was a faint, consistent murmur in the library before she shouted, but now you could hear a pin drop on carpet. The librarian was looking down at her hooves, amazingly embarrassed. I understood how weird it was. An earth pony, coming into a library and asking for a book about magic. Must be weird. I did the first thing that came to mind.
        “You’re a Unicorn!” I shouted just as loudly. I turned around, picked up the book with my mouth, and stormed off.

        Back in Luna’s room, I was poring over the book. The first chapter was, helpfully, about how to turn pages with magic. There was a whole page with descriptions with what thoughts to think and which muscles to clench, and something about some kind of gland. I couldn’t understand any of it. But the thing that was repeated time and time again was that you were supposed to concentrate on exactly what you wanted to do. No distractions, or you might do something dangerous. According to the book, that’s why most unicorns could only do one type of magic. You could only concentrate on one thing perfectly, and that was, most often, the thing that you were interested in the most. But this book would teach any unicorn to do simple spells, if you could believe a book. I wanted to believe. I was skimming through chapter 5 when Luna walked in. She stopped by the door and leaned against the frame.
        “You’re adorable when you’re trying to learn.” She cooed. I smiled.
        “You might be able to help me. This book isn’t helping at all.”
        “Which book is that?” Luna asked, levitating the book up into the air. She looked at the spine, squinting. “Ah, Bevvisov.” Luna remarked, putting the book back down in front of me. “You know, I graded his doctoral thesis when he graduated from Canterlot U. It must have been at least three hundred years ago. He was barely suited to learn magic, let alone teach it.”
        “So I’ve been reading this for nothing?” I asked, exasperated. Luna nodded.
        “Let’s go over to Tia’s library and pick out a book. I’ll wager my tiara that she has something that is more helpful than that trash.” She supplied, waving for me to get up. I did, following her out of the door. 
        
        Celestia’s library was nowhere near as big as the Canterlot library, but the books were incredibly more valuable. Gilt pages and encrusted covers were all that I saw left and right. Luna knew where she was going and I was happy to follow. As Luna walked past the shelves, she pulled books off of the shelves with magic, letting them float behind her. She was constantly mumbling to herself, debating on which books to pick. She started to go off without me, leaving me behind. She was so caught up in the books that she kind of left me behind. I was wandering around the library, trying to find Luna, when I saw a massive bank of windows. They looked out over a seemingly endless plain, with rolling hills and towns and cities spotting the landscape. I walked up to the panes and pressed my nose against the glass, trying to look down. I could see the ground below me, which was dizzyingly far away. I felt the rush of vertigo, and I had the sudden urge to jump out of the window and fall. I gulped and backed away from the window quickly. My heart was pounding and I was breathing heavily. I couldn’t understand why I was freaking out so much over looking out of a window.
        “You can feel it, can’t you?” A rich, smooth voice said behind me. I turned and looked at Columnus. He was just as pale and emaciated as ever, but he looked... Brighter. His mane and his coat were shiny. He still had a bandage over one of his eyes, but it was very clean and neat. His ears were perky, and he had a bright smile. His rapid change took me a minute to understand until I realized that the Columnus I saw as a human is actually from the future on this timeline. It was hard to keep timelines straight. But I knew what he meant. I could feel sweat cooling on my back from my moment of panic.
        “What’s happening?” I breathed out, scared. Columnus motioned me over. I shakily stepped over to where he was. His large, solid black eye was staring at me. He prodded my shoulder, sizing me up.
        “It is this flesh, this weak flesh. It is urging you to go back into the Schism, to take a new body. It is trying to get you to release your hold on this world and return to the Flow.” He told me. I was puzzled by what he said. I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying.
        “What?”
        “You can’t use magic, correct? Can’t connect to the flow?” He asked. I nodded. “Then you must come with me. Spending time in the Upper dimensions will help you. It will give you back your strength.”
        “What?”
        “You must come with me to the Forest. We must spend time near the Aethr. It will strengthen you, make you strong. If you don’t, it could be months before you regain access to the Flow.” He told me, his eye showing a sense of urgency. 
        “What, right now!?” I inquired. Columnus nodded. He blinked his big, black eye and a piece of chalk appeared next to him. He picked it up with magic and started to draw a big circle on the ground. “I can’t go right now! I have to learn magic with Luna! I’ve got to take care of the business around here!”
        “You think that Ghosts can learn magic? Pah! We know instinctively how to weave. We do not need books or teachers or things of that manner.” Columnus spouted, showing special hatred for the things. He finished drawing the circle and was now writing symbols on the outside of it. 
“Don’t I get a say in the matter?” I shouted. Columnus sighed and turned away from the circle.
“Pardon me for saying, but no. I must act quickly to save the controlled dimension. Get in the circle.” 
“No.” I said, petulant. Columnus blinked, and huge stone hands leaped out of the floor and grabbed me. I didn’t even have time to shout for help before they pinned me to the middle of the circle. Columnus stepped inside of the circle and finished drawing one of the symbols on the outer edge. The solid floor that I was standing on suddenly dropped, plummeting through the castle. The stone hands were still holding me. I could see the floors of the Palace fly past, showing ponies in various stages of activity. I could feel wind shooting past, flinging my mane up. I struggled to see Columnus. 
“What are you doing!?” I shouted, the wind carrying my words away. Columnus turned to me and smiled grimly.
“I’m taking you home!” He shouted back. The castle floors that were flying past suddenly turned to open air. We started to tumble, flipping end over end. I could see the rapidly approaching ground.
“You’re going to kill us!” I tried to shout, awarding me a bird to the face. Columnus didn’t say anything, while I tried to shoo the bird away. I watched the ground rush closer and closer while the stone circle was still spinning. I got to see the ground up close before we hit it.

I leapt up into the air, straight out of unconsciousness, screaming. I looked around. Bright green trees were everywhere. Deciduous trees and evergreens filled the landscape. I looked around me some more and noticed that I was a good thirty feet above the ground. Below me, Columnus was laughing. 
“What’s happening? Are we dead?” I shouted. 
“No! We’re in the Control dimension! You just fainted before we made the switch!” He shouted back. I found myself hoof-deep in mud before I even realized that I wanted to be back on land. Columnus was right next to me, sitting next to a dying fire. “Be careful,” Columnus warned, “You are constantly in the Flow here. Be wary of what you wish for.” He disclosed. I nodded. I pulled my hooves out of the mud with a suuuck noise, pulling myself onto drier land.
"So what happens now?" I asked. Columnus closed his eye, taking a deep breath.
"You must bathe in the aethr. It will connect you to the Flow and allow you to access the upper dimension on your own. It will anchor you to this dimension."
"Bathe? Like, in a tub?" I wondered. Columnus smiled. 
"It's more like a river."

Of all the places and times that I have seen during any of my life, the Flow had to best one of the grandest. Canterlot was nothing. Dubai was nothing. New Earth was nothing. Midnight was nothing. Everything was horribly insignificant compared to the Flow. 
"Oh my God." I gasped, looking all around me. A huge waterfall deposited a river into the middle of a shallow valley, and rapids flowed violently through it. I ran up to the water to get a closer look. It wasn't like normal blue water, but looked like liquid amber. Spaced unevenly were bright, almost glowing golden threads. In the clear amber I could see that the threads were all anchored to the bottom of the river. 
"This is the Aethr. All Ghost souls originate in this dimension, so all Ghosts have an intimate connection to the Flow."
"It's beautiful."
"Yes, it is."
        “This is what everyone means when they’re talking about the ‘threads’?”
        “Yes, it is.”
        “What are they?”
        “Each thread represents a life in every other dimension. Plant, pony, dragon, griffon, fish, dog, cow, sheep, Time Lord, Judoon, Terran. Each one has a thread in this river.The list does go on. Every one of them has a thread in the Flow. That’s also where the energy comes from when you weave a spell. When you have access to the Flow, the amount seems limitless, but there is an actual finite limit to the energy you can use. Even though the amount is finite, the amount is so vast that it is impossible to quantify by any method. When you weave, an infinitesimal, miniscule amount of energy is taken from every single being with a thread in the Flow, including a small amount from you. Then it is given to you for you to do as you please with it.” Columnus explained. I mulled it over for a moment.
        “Can you kill things from up here by destroying their thread?” I pried. Columnus frowned, sighing.
        “Yes, it is possible.” He admitted. 
        “Then I can use this to kill the Angelics! This is amazing! Columnus, can you believe what this means? We can end the war without even looking at Angelics!” I blurted out, overjoyed. Columnus shook his head.
        “There is no way to know which soul you are killing. It has been attempted before, and nothing in Equestria was killed. It was horrible. A whole acre of threads were destroyed.”
        “Oh.”
        “Yes.” He agreed. We both sat there on the pebbly shore, looking at the amber waters fly past.
        “What now?”
        “Get in.”
        “Just... Get in? No preparation or anything?”
        “That’s right.” Columnus confirmed.
        “Okay then.” I said hesitantly, walking slowly to the Flow’s edge. I hesitantly held out my hoof to lower it into the Flow.
        





> 66: Apple Cider
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 66

        Wow
        Really, there aren’t words. 
        When you touch the flow, you don’t exactly... enter it. You never really break the surface. You can’t get in it and swim, like you could for a normal river. When you touched it, you really... I guess you switched over. You actually left your physical body and entered the flow with your consciousness. The sensation is pretty freaky. It's like being upside-down underwater. But it's well worth the actuality of just being in the Flow. In the Flow! I couldn't get over how cool it was. 
         "Wow." I repeated, looking all around me. It was kind of like using the Tardis, but all at the same time. It really doesn't make sense, but the only way to understand it is to have done it. I saw the birth of the star Sol, emerging from its protective cloud of plasma and heavy gasses. I saw a young Doctor, prancing through the ruddy grasses of his childhood home. The silver trees swayed in the crisp wind. I really wanted to talk to him, and then I was actually there. The Doctor noticed me quickly, jumping down from the branches of one a silver tree. He was a think kid, with a bowl cut and dull grey eyes. His clothes were all made out of a brownish leather. 
         "Mommy, Mommy! Look at the horsey!" The little time-lord squealed. I smiled. He bounded over to me and, without a qualm, stuck his fingers up my nose. I snorted, pulling away.
         "Hey, don't do that!" I complained. The Doctor's eyes widened and he backed off a few steps. 
         "You can talk?!" The little guy exclaimed. I nodded. 
         "My name's Edwin." I said, sticking out my hoof. The doctor shrunk away from me. 
         "Mommy said I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." He said coyly, rubbing his shoes together. I laughed.
         "That's a good rule. Well, I suppose I'd better go, then." I said, feeling myself slip back into the flow. 
         "Am I ever gonna see you again, Mr. Horsey?" 
         "You can bet on it." I promised. The Doctor smiled and waved as I entered the flow again. I saw everything else. I saw myself in my second life, my first time around as a pony. The majority of the time I wasn't so bad, but sometimes I was such a dumbass. I popped in to watch myself fight the dragon. I suddenly found myself on a palace balustrade, looking down at an enormous Angelic dragon and a little white smudge. The dragon roared, shaking the stones under my hooves. My teeth rattled and I could feel it in my bones. The sky turned very, very dark for a moment, like something turned off the sun. A white-hot bolt of lightning connected the smudge to the monstrous dragon, making the dragon scream in pain. I watched as the scales were seared and fell off, revealing pink flesh and exposed muscle. It sure was magnificent to watch the second time around. The tines of lightning faded, leaving the white smudge and the dragon both there. There was a slight pause, and then the smudge started wiggling. I watched, enraptured, knowing what was going to happen. I watched the white smudge summon a yellow smudge. There was a moment, blissfully short, where nothing happened. 
        “Kill it Eve! kill the Dragon!” I shouted, struggling for my life, trying to fight the huge behemoth. My screams echoed through the air, amplified by magic, to finally reach the me standing in the Palace. Without a moment’s delay, there was a great flash of red. I wanted to see what was happening, so I didn’t allow myself to be blinded by the flash. I watched Evangeline’s blur sprout a enormous red pillar, which crawled through the air towards the dragon. Neither the white smudge or the dragon moved, or even noticed the pillar. It slowly but surely reached the Dragon without stopping. It tore through cleanly. It wasn’t like a hot knife through butter, because that implies some kind of resistance. It was more like concentrated sunlight through a dragon. I watched as the pillar bored the hole straight through the dragon, exiting through the backside. Perception assuemed it’s normal pace, and the dragon fell out of the sky with a fresh new hole for bodily functions. As the dragon fell out of the sky, I fell through every possible dimension. Millions upon millions of universes were explored in the blink of an eye. hundreds of universes without trains, meaning that I wouldn’t die and come to Equestria. Thousands of dimensions where Emily Lauren Banks, the woman who couldn’t drive stick or unlock a handbrake, didn’t exist. Three thousand and twenty five universes without a James Willcox, with no free tickets to Florida Comic Con 2008. Millions of Universes without Angelics or Numbereds, which made them slightly useless. The strange thing was, that every universe that had Angelics had Numbereds. There was no such thing as an Angelic-infested universe without some elite fighting squad to eradicate them. Magic, guns, telepathy, super soakers, you name it. The Numbereds had it. I was tempted to stop in and say hello, but I might have met something that didn’t like me. There were billions and billions of universes without an Equestria, with no bright sun and dull hamlets. Hundreds of universes without a Luna, without an Edwin, without an anything. Twelve universes where Luna hated Edwin. Twelve universes with an Edwin that loved Celestia. That one made me shiver. In one of those universes, Edwin had to kill Othello when he realized the affair. I watched the great battle distractedly, trying not to pay too much attention. In another one of those universes, Othello had to kill Edwin, but only after losing a leg that magic could not replace. I decided to stop in that one.
        “This is the last time you cross me, Youngling!” Othello shouted, surrounded by a field that would give Hannibal nightmares. Pillars of fire shot up from the ground, and I could smell the brimstone in the air. A gravely wounded Edwin, panting heavily and clutching a hoof to his chest, layed on the ground under him and chuckled coldly. 
“Pah!” other-Edwin spat. “You are too old and feeble. The Princess has seen the new model, and she wants to trade in.” the pony sneered. Othello’s face filled with indescribable rage. The great red pony swung a hoof back, filled it with fire, and swung it back. There was a sharp twang and a horrific scream. Other-Edwin was levitating a sword with magic. It was extremely similar to the sword that Celestia had in her collection. Othello held a hoof to his bleeding stump, howling.
“Dare you?! Dare you kill me with the mare I love?!” Othello screamed to nopony in particular. Edwin laughed the same cold, careless laugh. He kicked Othello onto the ground. He raised his sword high into the air, preparing to cut down the eldest Numbered. I edged closer, wondering if I was in the right universe. I realized in shock that I was surrounded by the corpses of hundreds of Angelics, and three Numbereds. Their bright, dead eyes stared at me. Each of them had their throats slit. I gulped and turned back to the scene. Othello turned away from the other-Edwin and looked right at the corpses. He grimaced and turned back to the murderer. “What did they ever do, Edwin? We were all friends once! The Covenant flowed through all of our veins! Why?!” Othello begged for the answer, almost distraught beyond words. Edwin grinned and leaned down to answer.
“They would deny me my Queen.” He snarled. Othello frowned in anger and I could feel the hate well in his gut. He spat out a torrent of fire at other-Edwin’s exposed face. other-Edwin yelped in pain, clutching his burning face with his hooves. The magical sword fell to the ground.  Othello got up shakingly, only being supported by one forehoof. He limped over to other-Edwin, who was still writhing in pain. Othello stood on his hind legs and grasped other-Edwin with his only remaining foreleg, hoisting him above his head. An enormous furrow opened up in the ground, with tongues of flame reaching up to taste the air. He looked up at the other-Edwin.
“You have thrown Equestria into turmoil! A once prestigious family is now a house divided! You have killed how many in your ungodly pursuit? Hmm? I thought you would have enough sense to stop with Princess Luna! Her death wasn’t enough? She did nothing to you!” Othello shouted at the writhing ball of other-edwin. Othello shook his head, filled with more hate than he knew what to do with. “I have to kill you! You have stained Equestria with too much blood!” Othello shouted. other-Edwin didn’t say anything back. Othello simply tossed him into the crevice. other-Edwin simply fell. Othello stared into the gorge for a long while. He bellowed, shouting wordlessly into other-Edwin’s grave. I disappeared into the flow without him noticing, flitting through the dimensions like a firefly though the dark. Anything I wanted to know was not withheld from me. I finally resurfaced, breaching the flow and returning to my body. I inhaled deeply, smelling the dull musk of the forest. I got to my hooves and looked around me. I saw Columnus eating an apple, looking out at the Flow. I walked over and sat next to him. 
“How was it?” He asked. I inhaled, trying to think of a way to describe how amazing it was.
“There aren’t words.” I said after a while of thought. Columnus took a bite out of his apple.
“There never are, foal.” Columnus agreed. We were both silent, watching the sun over the golden water. 
“How did this happen?” I asked, watching the sun set. 
“Hmm?
“The Flow. How did it happen? Where did it start?” I asked. Columnus took another bite out of his apple.
“The Flow is infinite. It has no beginning or end. It always was and always shall be.”
“Can’t we use the Flow to-”
“Figure out where the Flow came from? I just told you that is always has been. There is no point in going to the beginning of everything, because it was there too. Even before that, the Flow was there, everpresent.” Columnus explained. I nodded. The sun set over the hills, covering the valley in a slight darkness. I looked back at the Flow and pointed.
“Look! It’s glowing!” I exclaimed. Columnus smiled, throwing the apple core over his shoulder. 
“Yes, it is. Are you surprised?” He asked. I nodded, not taking my eyes off of the mystical river.
“Yeah. It’s amazing.”
“You must try some.”
“What?”
“You must drink.” Columnus said, flicking the one ear not covered in a bandage. His big, black eye looked at me. He blinked, making a golden, ruby-encrusted goblet appear. It floated in the air with magic as Columnus stood and walked to the river. I got up, confused, and followed him.
“You can’t take any out, Columnus.”
“Correction- you can’t touch the flow. But you can certainly drink it. I have done it thousands of times.”
“How can you drink it if you can’t touch it?” I asked, befuddled by the contradiction. Columnus looked back and me and tried to roll his eyes. The gesture didn’t work as well when you didn’t have irises. 
“Do not question the Flow. Only accept the blessings it gives us.” Columnus corrected me. I pouted. Columnus dipped the goblet into the Flow, and surprisingly it collected some of the amber liquid. He handed the glass to me, and I grasped it with magic. I could feel the warmth through the magical connection. As I moved the chalice to my face, I could smell the sickly sweetness of it. It was like hot, hot cider. I could almost taste the spice. I lifted it to my lips and sipped. It ran down my throat, almost unbearably warm. It was so sweet I could barely stand to taste it. But I was energized. The Flow filled me with so much energy that I was bouncing off of the walls. It was incredible. I couldn’t stand still. I had barely swallowed the first sip when I was sprinting back through the forest. I ran and ran and ran. I leaped through the trees, climbing higher when I was bored with the ground. I bounded through the branches, flying and laughing. I felt so incredibly happy that I couldn’t think of anything but how awesome this was. I flew and jumped and landed, and eventually I crashed.

        After the fact, I learned that I collided with a tree at about a hundred miles per hour, snapping it in half and hitting another tree, which was considerably bigger than I was and stopped me. Columnus said that if it wasn’t for the Flow, I’d be dead. I think that if it wasn’t for the Flow, I’d probably be alive. But I didn’t say that to him. So we were sitting in a nice log cabin that Columnus blinked up for us in the middle of the forest. I was swaddled up in a blanket, drinking tea. There was a blazing fire in the nice fireplace. Columnus was working on dinner because, unlike the Nether, you really needed to eat in the Flow world. A lot. I floated my teacup and rubbed my forehead, which was still sore from my tree crash earlier in the day. I watched the logs pop in the hearth. 
        “So what happened to Alucard?” I asked after feeling the question stew for most of the day.
        “The Dragon of the North?” Columnus asked, shocked that I knew the guy. He ducked his head out of the kitchen and looked at me incredulously.
        “I didn’t know he was called that.”
        “He was. You know him?”
        “He teaches me magic.” I explained simply. Columnus grunted his approval.
        “He was a master of the art.” He proclaimed, going back into the kitchen. 
        “Was?”
        “Yes, he died. During the last Conclave, in the Third’s great Genocide. I’m not surprised that the Doctor has decided to spare him from the timeline. He is a great asset.” Columnus told me. I remembered my experience with Sebastian’s dream, my firsthand account of Alucard’s death. I stared into the fire, thinking about the conflicting realities that were forming in my mind. If Alucard was alive on Sigmus Five, that meant that the Doctor took him from his natural timeline and placed him there before his death. That means that the Alucard I know doesn’t know that Evangeline kills him and that there are only three Ghosts left in existence, not the four I thought there was. This also meant that Alucard didn’t know about Sebastian and her ‘flexibility’, or Columnus’ control of the existing Ghosts, and all the other crap that I knew about. This also mean that I couldn’t tell him about pretty much anything that I knew. This also meant that I was some mind-slave of the Doctor, involved in some kind of illicit pact. I sipped on my tea, feeling a sort of impotence that came with an unwilling obligation. I sighed in disgust.
        Fucking time travel.