Waking Nightmares

By Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires

Chapter 4: Nothing Can Stop It – Part 2

The disclaimer about copyrights from the last chapter will apply to this and all future chapters. This story starts immediately after the events of the previous chapter.

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The Smooze cavern...

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"DIE!" screamed Spydier, the corrupted espionage expert pinning Medic to the ground. Lacking any hands to strangle with, he had to settle for pressing his hooves against Medic's windpipe, trying to crush the life out of the German unicorn.

Applejack, limping slightly from the knife wound, whirled around and bucked him, sending Spydier flying off to one side. "Doc," Applejack said, helping Medic to his hooves. "Y'gotta get up," she said.

Medic tried to speak, but Spydier was surprisingly strong. He coughed, trying to get air down his throat as the cowpony hefted him upright. Spydier recovered quickly, and snarled. "Domestique du diable Hitler! Je ne vous laisserai pas laisser cette caverne vivante!" he screamed before cloaking, his knife disappearing a moment later when he picked it up.

"Fluch," Medic cursed, "I cannot use ze UberCharge now... If ve cannot see him, zen vhat good would invincibility do!"

Applejack frowned. "We just gotta find him, then," she said, looking about the cavern.

"Collaborator," Spydier hissed, his voice echoing in all directions, "You will not find me in time to save your miserable, treacherous lives!"

"Of all the times for Pyro not to be here," Medic muttered, wincing as he felt a knife wound tear through his flank, turning his Medibeam on Applejack.

Celestia and her two guards, meanwhile, struggled in Masky Unicorn's grasp. The ghastly pony simply stared in seeming amusement as she magically held the three of them into the air, slowly choking the life from them. He looked over and Princess Luna, who whimpered and closed her eyes, looking away.

ThE tImE iS rIgHt...screamed a voice in her head. Luna whimpered and covered her face in her hooves.

DrInK...

dRiNk AnD bEcOmE nIgHtMaRe MoOn OnCe AgAiN!

"Leave me alone," Luna screamed, trying and failing miserably not to whimper, "I don't want to be Nightmare Moon again! Not for real!"

yOu WoRtHlEsS fOaL!screamed the voice, iF yOu Do NoT iNvOkE tHe PoWeR oF tHe NiGhTmArE, tHeN yOuR sIsTeR wIlL bE kIlLed!

Luna's eyes shot open. The voice was... trying to help her!

But how could becoming Nightmare Moon, really becoming Nightmare Moon again and not just using scary illusions, help anyone?

She finally opened her eyes, and looked over at Masky Unicorn. The Masky Unicorn seemed to have a blissful expression on its face as it choked the life out of Celestia and her guards. Celestia, struggling for her life, gave Luna a pleading look.

Luna, still terrified by the presence of the Smooze, struggled to her feet. She flared her wings and raised her voice as best she could. Just BEING in the presence of the same stuff that turned her into Nightmare Moon was terrifying beyond belief.

But she couldn't let her sister die. "You... You leave my sister alone!" she called out. She tried raising her voice to the Royal Canterlot Tone, but couldn't manage it.

Masky Unicorn turned to stare at her... and then roughly slammed Celestia and the two guards down on the ground, casually trotting over and stomping on Celestia's face, pinning her to the ground.

"I... I'm w-warning you!" Luna said, her horn flaring as she brought her magic to bear... only for it to fizzle out, just as Celestia's had.

Luna's eyes widened in terror. "No!"

Masky Unicorn seemed to have a smug expression on its face. It turned its ghastly gaze on the two guards, Goldenshield and Stonewall, tendrils of darkness emerging from its eyes and burrowing deep into their own. Celestia could only watch, Masky Unicorn surprisingly strong despite being smaller than her, as her guards became corrupted, their eyes turning dark black, their colors turning monochromatic as they collapsed.

And when they stood up again...

"Pretty PRETTY princesses..." Goldenshield said, grinning lecherously.

"Pretty princesses, all powerless... All helpless..." Stonewall crooned, licking his lips in a manner that sent a chill down the spines of the two alicorns.

"Get... get back! Stay away from me!" Luna shrieked, terror overtaking her again.

"Pretty pretty," rasped Goldenshield, stalking towards Luna.

"SO pretty..." Stonewall hissed, practically drooling.

Applejack glanced over to the corrupted guards, loyal servants now turned perverted monsters. "Just keeps getting better and better," she muttered, kicking up clouds of dust to try and find Spydier, the stabs and cuts he was inflicting almost instantly being healed by Medic's magic. "You holdin' up back there?"

"My ability to regenerate works in zis body as vell," he said, wincing as the cuts Spydier's knife inflicted on his slowly closed. "I am holding up, but I heal at a slower rate than my Medibeam's patients. Ve need to find a way to defeat Spydier. I could use ze UberCharge, but if I am not sure of vhere our brain-addled associate is, he could kill me before I use it."

"Figure out somethin' soon, Doc," Applejack said, "We just lost the guards, and ah don't know how long the princesses can hold out without magic."

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking..." Medic muttered, screaming as Spydier's knife jammed itself into his flank. Applejack whirled around and bucked in the direction the attack came, feeling her hooves glance off of the side of Spydier's head.

"I will not be stopped! Pour la France! Pour Paris!" Spydier roared, his voice echoing, giving no sign of where he was...

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The main cavern...

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FlutterCruel laughed wickedly, flitting about above Rarity, occasionally diving down and slapping her in the head. Rarity was barely managing to protect herself, having summoned several gemstones out of the ground and forming a makeshift shield with them. She dodged and blocked FlutterCruel's attacks, wishing desperately that she could figure out what was going on, wishing that those damn Diamond Dogs hadn't ruined her voice, wishing that the creepy Masky Earth Pony would just go away, wishing she had never come on this stupid quest!

If wishes were gems, Rarity thought bitterly, dodging another diving stomp from FlutterCruel, I'd have enough to make ten dresses for every mare and filly in Equestria.

"Aw, what's the matter?" FlutterCruel laughed, "Pretty Rarity can't speak?" .

Rarity grimaced. Discord FlutterCruel had been a jerk, but hadn't been this openly savage. This was something different. Something worse.

"Why don't you put down the shield, Rarity!" FlutterCruel cackled, viciously bucking at the crystal shield. "Then we can play ALL SORTS of fun games! Like Vivisect The Unicorn With Her Own Horn!"

This can't be happening, Rarity thought to herself, deflecting another diving stomp from FlutterCruel. She looked over to Heavy, who was laying on the ground, unable to move and breathing heavily, each breath labored and painful. She looked over to Pyro and Luna's two guards, who had their hands full dealing with Masky Earth Pony.

Which meant that she alone had to deal with FlutterCruel.

"Die, die, it's time to die!" FlutterCruel sang, "But not before SUFFERING FIRST!"

Pyro, meanwhile, found herself at something of a loss. She had no hands to try and force the tentacles off of her neck, every time she tried to manifest a flame, Masky Earth Pony slammed her against a wall, Heavy was down, Fluttershy had been turned, Rarity was busy, and the two guards were being choked out as well.

This sucks, she thought, her head swimming as the life was slowly choked out of her. She had no leverage, and the only time she was near a wall was when Masky Earth Pony slammed her there. She needed options, and she needed them fast.

Heavy, meanwhile, was struggling with the pain in his chest.

Pain. Why am I in pain?he thought, taking stock of himself. He didn't have any injuries that he could think of. And yet just moving set agony through his titanic frame, burning white hot. His flank, his back, his shoulders, his neck, they all felt like they were being bathed in acid. Especially in his wings...

Wait. Wings? I'm an Earth Pony, I don't have wings... Grimacing, each motion a lightning bolt of agony through his body, he turned to look at FlutterCruel as she laughed, viciously attacking Rarity over and over, slowly chipping away at the unicorn's makeshift shield, Rarity's fear and confusion making it difficult to maintain the barrier.

It is little flutter pony's pain... I am feeling Fluttershy's pain... The thought sent a chill down his spine. This pain was nearly crippling him. If it was doing this to somepony as huge and powerful as he, then Fluttershy...

"SCREAM! SCREAM IN AGONY AND DIE!" FlutterCruel cackled, sensing Rarity's concentration breaking.

Struggling to his hooves, the slightest movement a lightning bolt of pain throughout his body, he turned to Pyro and the two guards, who were being choked out.

First things first, Heavy thought, Try to get at least even the odds a little. He hated thinking like Spy, but he knew trying to get Masky Earth Pony off of Pyro and the guards would be the best course before he could try to get to Fluttershy.

Every step was agony. Every movement was pain. Even the slightest twitch felt like he was being bathed in acid.

Heavy let out a loud bellow as he charged Masky Earth Pony, running at top speed. He slammed into the startled creature full-force, his legs giving out as he collapsed on top of it. The tentacles retracted back into Masky's mask, the grim pony struggling to get out from under Heavy's vast weight.

Pyro and the guards landed roughly, coughing as they tried to clear their throats. The guards immediately upon regaining their ability to stand went to aid Rarity, driving a screaming, furious FlutterCruel away from her just as she was chipping away the last of Rarity's gem shield.

"SHE'S MY PREY!" FlutterCruel bellowed, her hooves bleeding and broken from slamming into Rarity's gem shield so much. "YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER'S LEFT OF HER AFTER I'M DONE MAKING HER BEG FOR DEATH!"

Rarity just shook her head, sobbing. She was confused, terrified, and had no idea what to do.

Pyro went to help Heavy up, cringing as her slightest touch seemed to bring her teammate pain.

"Get... away!" Heavy snarled, "Have to... do this... on my own!" He began to struggle back to his feet.

Pyro shook her head, impressed by her teammate's vitality. "Dunno how you do it sometimes, big man... I don't how much you're hurtin,' but..."

"Pray you never do," Heavy rumbled, slowly forcing himself upright, "Is almost too much even for me..."

That surprised Pyro. Heavy had always seemed to be a living wall, feeling no physical pain at all. For him to admit that he was having trouble bearing it...

Before either Pyro or Heavy could relax, Masky Earth Pony literally melted into the Earth, coming up in front of the two bat-winged pegasus guards. Tentacles of darkness erupted from its eyes, spearing the two guards in their own eyes, both screaming as the colors drained from their bodies.

Pyro cursed. Gotta contain them before they go evil on us... Spell spell spell... "FIREWALL," she called out, her eyes glowing. Her flames turned blue as cages of fire appeared around the two pegasus guards, Rarity scrambling backwards away from the flaming cages.

Pyro giggled. "I'm getting good at this," she said.

Rarity nodded, giving Pyro a grateful grin.

Grimorum was the first to recover from his corruption. He grinned savagely, and said, "You think you can hold us forever?" He cackled, his eyes pure darkness with a tiny white dot for a pupil. "One break in your concentration, unicorn, and you and your pretty pretty friend belong to us."

"Not if we take out Masky here..." Pyro muttered, turning to Rarity. "You up for a fight?"

Rarity nodded. She was tired of being on the defensive. She was tired of fighting her friend. She wanted out of this terrible place, get her friend back to normal, and to spend an entire day in a bath. Still, though...

"I will deal with little Flutter pony..." Heavy rumbled, wincing with every step.

Pyro frowned. "You sure, big guy?" she said. She wished Engie was here. Engie's Dispensers always made everything better...

Heavy shook his head, grimacing. "I will deal with little Flutter pony..."

Rarity was uncertain. There was still so much she didn't know about these BLU ponies. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she had no other idea on how to help. And these were trained warriors... "Help her," she rasped, Heavy nodding solemnly.

FlutterCruel, who had been watching the tableau with amusement, sneered. "Awww, and here I thought I'd been forgotten about! Well c'mon, big guy! Catch me if you can! Although judging by the way you're limping there, you look like you can barely stand!"

Heavy glared at her. "Little Flutter pony can tell I am hurting?"

FlutterCruel rolled her eyes. "Look, we're never gonna get anywhere in this relationship if you can't get my name straight. It's 'FlutterCruel.' Or 'Mistress,' if you prefer. Either one works for me," she cackled.

Heavy grunted, taking an agonizing step forward. "Then you must know... That the pain I am feeling... It is your own..."

FlutterCruel flinched. "...What are you talking about?" she asked, looking around nervously.

What IS he talking about? Rarity thought. As her focus had been on her dress shop for so long, she hadn't studied more advanced magic.

Pyro smacked her side, bringing her attention back to their other opponent, Masky Earth Pony.

Who was in the process of bulking itself up to Heavy's level.

Oh COME ON! Rarity wailed inwardly, letting out a rasping squeak of dismay and fighting off the urge to faint.

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Ponyville...

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Brass Fittings and the other construction ponies, all of them at the chosen site for the BLU headquarters (an empty, overgrown field) looked over Engineer's designs with something akin to awe.

"INCREDIBLE!" Brass said, "You've managed to maximize the stability and durability of the building while minimizing the amount of material's used!"

Engineer grinned. "Supplies are at a premium where I come from. Plus, with rockets and gunfire constantly on ya, y'all need a sturdy place to sleep at night. We won't have that problem here, obviously, but ah like to have a sturdy room over m'head nevertheless."

Brass shook her head, grinning. "These innovations could revolutionize how homes are built. Do... Do you mind if we keep using these designs in other projects?"

Engineer nodded. "Just so long as I get proper credit and compensation for m'work, then feel free."

Brass grinned. "You're an angel," she said, "Such a shame you're already taken."

Engineer blushed. "Pyro's meant a lot to me ever since we met. Ah appreciate the sentiment, but ah couldn't leave her now." He left out the fact that he was hoping to go home and getting involved with a native wouldn't help matters.

Brass chuckled. "Anyway," she said, "Let's get to work!"

The other construction ponies began working, Earth ponies digging out a basement while unicorns began mixing the mortar. Engineer and Brass Fittings began discussing the plans once more, Brass Fittings helping Engie's alter Engie's designs where magic needed to replace the regular electrical equipment he would have used in his world.

Midway through, Pinkie Pie came through and borrowed a hammer, six nails, and a roll of duct tape.

Engineer and Brass Fittings stared, not sure what to make of it, and shook their heads, deciding not to think about it for now.

Back in town, Sniper was back on his chosen perch, simply observing everything. Rainbow Dash, having finished practicing her routines, went over to him, perching next to him.

"So what are you up to?" she asked.

"Learning," he said simply.

Rainbow Dash blinked, and looked around, confused. "Learning what?"

Sniper shrugged. "Whatever I can. I'm a hunter. It's best to know your terrain."

Rainbow Dash grinned weakly. "It's not like there's anything to hunt here, y'know... Maybe some berries. Or ponies who you can mooch snacks off of."

Sniper quirked an eyebrow. "Naive," he said, "but I can respect that philosophy. I'm studying the terrain, getting the layout of the land. Learning everyone's habits. You can learn a lot just from standing still once in a while, watching and listening."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Not my style. Me, I prefer to learn things on the go, and plow right through my problems."

Sniper shook his head, sighing. "Be careful how fast you go, Dasher. The faster you run, the harder you crash..."

Rainbow Dash grinned challengingly. "And sometimes , the faster you go, the faster you solve your problems."

Sniper rolled his eyes. "Meh. I won't try to change you. Just putting forth an alternate set of ideas."

Rainbow Dash nodded appreciatively. She then hesitated, unsure of how to proceed next."Um... How were you able to much such dead on shots during the fight yesterday? You nailed them all in the head each time... I've never seen anything like that."

Sniper smirked. "And if you and yours had been the targets, you never would have. The key to being a good sniper is patience, calmness, and timing."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "It's gotta be hard, to be that consistent."

Sniper shrugged. "I wouldn't be good at my job if I wasn't consistent. It's part of my own personal philosophy: Be professional. Have standards. Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone you meet."

Rainbow Dash stared at him incredulously. "That's... really creepy."

Sniper shrugged. "It's practical. Friends are fine, but you gotta be prepared to do what you have to in case of emergency."

Rainbow Dash gave him a worried look. "Have you... thought of ways to kill us?"

Sniper nodded. Rainbow Dash gulped nervously. Sniper sensed her nervousness and smiled. "No worries love. Just because I have a plan doesn't mean I feel the need to use it. Another little philosophy of mine: Better to have and not need than need and not have."

"I guess that makes sense..." she said. She just couldn't understand it. This guy was the opposite of her in every way. So why did she find him so fascinating?

"Listen, maybe I can give you a quick lesson in sniping. We need a cloud..." Sniper said, looking up at the sky. After a moment, he spotted a darker cloud drifting along on the wind. "That'll do," he said, flying up to it, Rainbow Dash flying with him. Sniper thought for a moment and experimentally began shaping one end of the cloud until it looked somewhat like his old sniper rifle, right down to the scope, which he spent the longest time making so he could have some magnification.

Nodding in satisfaction, he began looking through the scope for a target, eventually spotting one in the form of a dangling branch on a dead tree near the Everfree Forest.

Rainbow Dash was incredulous when he told her his target. "You... You're gonna hit that?"

"Righto, Dasher," Sniper said, smirking. "Right on the tip."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "No. No way, not from this distance," she said, smiling confidently.

Sniper just grinned at her, and looked down the scope. He calmly took aim, measuring his shot, taking his time as he was in no rush. He felt his mind go into what Scout would have called 'the Zone,' his body temperature cooling. He took a deep breath and exhaled, leaving a soft could of steam...

...and fired, brushing a hoof along the side of the 'sniper rifle.'

A lightning bolt streaked from the tip, striking the tip of the slowly wobbling branch and vaporizing it.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped to the ground.

Sniper smirked. "Boom. Headshot."

"...That's... That's impossible!" Rainbow Dash said.

"That's skill," Sniper said, smirking. "With my regular gun, I could pop off three, four heads before someone started shooting back. I took my time there simply because the branch was stationary."

"Wow..." Rainbow Dash said softly, impressed despite herself.

Sniper stepped off of the cloud, motioning for Rainbow Dash to take his place. "Wanna give it a try, Dasher?"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Sure!" She mounted the cloud, Sniper hovering next to her, flapping his wings slowly.

"Line up your shot," he said, showing her how to look through the 'scope' he had created as she aimed at the same branch he had shot earlier. "Take careful aim. Don't rush," he said, "We're not in any kind of a hurry, so..."

Rainbow Dash fired.

The bolt missed completely.

The cyan pegasus blinked, looking up in confusion. "I could have sworn I had it..."

Sniper sighed. "You can't just blow off shots like that. You have to calm your mind, your body... your soul. You have to become as ice." He thought about that for a moment. He was speaking metaphorically, but he actually did feel colder as he was lining up the shot... He shook his head, dismissing it as just the pegasus magic he now had having an effect on him. "Being a Sniper is all about precision. Precision kills. Taking out the enemy Medic the instant he's about to unleash an UberCharge on a charging Heavy. Taking out the enemy Engineer so he can't repair his toys when Spy goes after them... or even before he can set them up. Taking out a Pyro that's getting ready to ambush your mates. Capping an enemy Scout that's running around taking potshots at your mates. Putting a hole in the head of the enemy Soldier that's firing rockets from cover. If you just rush in, popping off shots, all you'll do is alert the enemy to where you are."

Rainbow Dash frowned, considering this. Sniper pointed down to the spot her bolt landed, continuing his lesson. "That shot right there? In the war games, all that would do is draw fire. Rockets, bullets, bombs, all will be coming your way now, forcing you to back off your perch. Plus, the enemy Spy and Pyro would be hunting for you now. You'd have to run, try to find a new place to and start shooting again before the assassin or the fiery lunatic find you."

Rainbow Dash shivered. "How do you deal with that every day?"

Sniper shrugged. "It's all part of the job. Every job has unpleasant aspects. The point is to push through them and do a good job anyway."

Rainbow Dash stared at the branch, a thoughtful expression on her face.

At which point Scout flew by carrying a foreleg-load of broomsticks, chuckling mischievously

"...What the bloody..." Sniper asked.

Rainbow Dash shivered. "He's planning something with Pinkie Pie. I prefer not to think about what it is."

Across town, Soldier was at the school with Cheerilee, talking about the gym class Soldier would be teaching tomorrow.

"...I really don't see what the harm is in doing some basic calisthenics," Soldier said, honestly confused.

"Because these aren't soldiers," Cheerilee groused. "They're young foals that are just starting to learn the ways of the world. MAYBE you can do some of the more basic exercises as warm-ups, but these aren't soldiers like you." Cheerilee sighed in uncharacteristic irritation, pawing at the list of proposed exercises Soldier had given her. "I'm not even sure what half of these exercises are! It's like they were designed for bipeds, not quadrupeds."

Soldier blinked, and looked at his list again. "Damn it, I knew I was forgetting something..."

Cheerilee sighed again. She'd need to visit Berry Punch's winery after today, she just knew it. "And that's another thing. Can you tone back the language? Remember, this is still just a primary school."

"That's no reason to slack back on training!" Soldier rumbled. "There's danger about! And you ponies have to be ready for it!"

Cheerilee felt something throbbing in her head. "Look, maybe this was a mistake..." she said, starting to go back inside. "I could get Principal Winger to recommend something else for you to..."

"Wait!" Soldier said. When he spoke again, his voice was uncharacteristically soft, almost pleading. "Wait, please... I need this job. I need to prove to my teammates, to myself, that I can actually survive out of a battlefield situation. This... This is the first time I've actually been a step ahead of the others, especially Spy. He doesn't even HAVE a job yet... Please, I'll do whatever you want, however you want to do it..." He cursed himself inwardly for showing this moment of weakness. But he couldn't give up now. He had gotten this job all on his own, and he wanted... he NEEDED to keep it.

Cheerilee stared at him for a long moment, and sighed. "...All right, all right. You did handle Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon teasing the others rather well. I suppose I can give you a chance. But you have to remember that these are foals you are dealing with. Children. You can't treat them like you would military recruits."

Soldier nodded. "Whatever you want. Just show me what to do, and I'll do it," he said.

"Can we borrow some duct tape, three pencils, an avocado, and a chair?" said Pinkie Pie, startling both Soldier and Cheerilee by appearing out of nowhere. Scout landed near her a moment later, he and Pinkie bearing similar eager grins on their faces.

Cheerilee stared at them for a long moment, and said, "...Not the avocado. That's part of my lunch."

The two zipped inside, gathering what they needed, Scout assuring Pinkie that he knew where to get an avocado.

Soldier just stared, looking in the direction they went and back to Cheerilee.

Cheerilee sighed, shaking her head and smiling. "Everyone in town knows better than to try and question the things Pinkie Pie does. They're usually harmless, barring the occasional cooking experiment, and are usually quite funny."

Soldier frowned. "Does Pinkie have a rep as a prankster?" Cheerilee nodded, and Soldier rolled his eyes, groaning. "Great. Just great. And Scout was smiling... That must mean they're teaming up for something."

"Really?" Cheerilee asked, curious.

Soldier nodded. "Last time I saw him that happy is when he teamed up with the RED Scout and rigged every door in both bases with pie-in-the-face gadgets. Both coming and going."

Cheerilee tried and failed miserably to stop herself from laughing. Soldier grumbled. "Took me weeks to get the smell of lemon meringue out of my fatigues..." he muttered.

Demoman, meanwhile, was handling salespony duties at Sugar Cube Corner. "New at Sugar Cube Corner! Try me famous DeGroot family rum cake!" he called out, his jovial, friendly voice attracting many customers. "Only two bits apiece or free with any purchase of ten bits or more! Give a try, lads and lassies, it's dandy stuff!"

His rum cake was proving to be a popular item, the Cakes deciding that they'd keep it on the menu permanently. Demoman, for his part, was enjoying the simplicity of the job and how well his family recipe was going over.

Heh. Me mum would be pleased. I already have a job, and am doing well at it. Of course, she'd want me te get about a dozen MORE jobs... God, I miss that bossy old bag...

Demoman pushed the thought aside, focusing on sales. His natural charm and good cheer drew in the customers, making many sales both of his rum cake and of other goods in the shop.

It was then that Twilight Sparkle came into view, trotting casually into the nearby town square, humming "Night on Bald Mountain." Demoman, taking advantage of a brief lull, went to investigate. He frowned when he saw her coloring, which had become a pale gray.

And when she opened her eyes, revealing the dark black pools they had become, he became even more worried.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Twilight called out, her voice magically enhanced. "If you'd all come to the center of town, please, I have an important announcement."

Demoman scowled. Nothing about this felt right. He stepped out into the square, giving Twilight a cautious look.

"Lass? Are ye feelin' allright?" he asked.

Twilight just grinned. "You'll find out in a moment," she said. She ignored any further attempts to question her.

A few minutes passed, and most of the town gathered in the square, including Soldier, Pinkie Pie, Scout, and Engineer.

"W-What's going on?" Pinkie asked. "What's wrong with Twilight?"

"Dunno, lass," Demoman said, "She's been ignorin' me questions."

Twilight seemed satisfied with the amount of people gathered there, and coughed, pulling their full attention. "Fillies and gentlecolts, I have an announcement to make: Life is not worth living."

To say everypony was taken aback by this statement would be an understatement. "Get ready..." Engineer said, setting down his Gem Sentry and preparing to open it.

Twilight, heedless of the BLU ponies getting ready to fight, continued, saying, "Spike and I have recently been shown the absolute truth by a new friend of ours. Masky Pegasus?"

Everypony looked up, gasping in fright as Spike, aged upward and now double Big Macintosh's size, landed roughly near Twilight, his scales and eyes transformed like Twilight's were. The aforementioned Masky Pegasus landed next, its ghostly mask sending shivers of fear down all but the BLU ponies spines.

Pinkie giggled nervously. "Ha ha... Funny joke, Twilight. Now c'mon, you're scaring everypony..."

Twilight grinned viciously. "My friends, my friends, my dear dear friends. The Sparkle has gone out of my life. And now I, Twilight Tragedy, am going to take the sparkle from all of your lives!" she said. Her horn began to glow. The BLU ponies began to move, but it was far too late. "DESPAIR," Twilight intoned, grayish energy erupting from her horn and engulfing the town. And as the energy washed over them, everypony in its grasp fell into a crippling, hopeless despair. Ponies fell in the street, sobbing and weeping as all hope was drained from their bodies. The BLU ponies managed to last the longest, but could only stagger a few feet forward before being overcome by the despair. Everyone lay there, helpless, the colors draining from their bodies as a sense of utter worthlessness suffused their very souls...

Twilight Tragedy grinned viciously, intensifying the spell. Soon they would be so overcome by despair that their bodies would just shut down...

Sniper, out of range of the despair wave, cursed and took aim. Rainbow Dash knocked him aside. "You can't just shoot her!" she cried.

"I'm not going for the headshot. It looks like she needs to focus to maintain that spell, so I was planning on stunning her," he said, glaring at her.

"You... You don't know that'll work!" Rainbow Dash shouted, confused and frightened. She wanted to rush in, but she knew that she'd just be overcome by the despair wave as well.

"What do you suggest I do, then?" Sniper snapped. "Me mates are down there, and I have to do something to save them!"

The decision was taken out of their hands with a lightning bolt lanced through the town, striking Twilight in the horn. Twilight staggered, the despair spell fizzling out, Masky Pegasus and Spike staring in confusion.

For a brief instant, Twilight's eyes turned back to normal. "What... What's happening... Where..." she stammered, visibly frightened. And then the moment passed, her eyes darkening, Twilight Tragedy taking over again. She looked in the direction of the spell, and saw a blue unicorn pulling a wooden cart. A confident smirk was on her face, her eyes shrouded by the purple, star-speckled, wide-brimmed hat she wore.

"Well well," the unicorn crowed, "It seems the Great and Powerful Trixie arrived for her 'community service' just in time!"

"You?" Twilight Tragedy asked, incredulous. "You, coming to challenge me?"

Trixie smirked confidently. "Do not think that Trixie has been remiss in her own magical training, Twilight whatever you are now," she said. "In between shows, the Great Trixie have been practicing, growing strong enough to EARN her title of Powerful!"

Twilight shook her head, chuckling viciously. "And you really think it'll be enough to beat me?"

Trixie smirked. "Care to try it out? Trixie is having a fantastic day so far. Here Trixie thought coming back to this backwater burg for her community service sentence would be punishment, and here Trixie gets to save the day by beating the tar out of her biggest rival. Care to test your luck?"

"Rival?" Twilight sneered. "To be a rival, you have to be an equal. As it stands, you aren't even a player. Spike, KILL HER!"

Spike roared, and charged, but by that time the BLU ponies had recovered, Demoman and Soldier tackling the young dragon to the ground.

Pinkie jumped in to help, trying to appeal to Spike's better nature. "Spike, c'mon! This isn't right! You aren't like this! You're a GOOD dragon!"

"There's no such thing as good!" Spike roared, viciously tossing them aside. He roared angrily, exhaling a massive gout of flame.

Soldier growled. Engineer help up Pinkie and shook his head, activating his Gem Sentry. "Ah don't think y'all are gonna get through to him that way," he said. "Just stand back and help get everybody out of here."

Pinkie sniffled softly... and then shook her head. "No. I can help!"

Engineer chuckled weakly, looking over at Spike, who was currently fighting off Soldier's attempts to strangle him. "Miss Pie, unless y'all got a cannon somewhere, ah don't think you can help much." He looked around, seeing the Mayor and Cheerilee guiding the efforts at evacuation. "Now, why don't y'all help the Mayor and..."

"No no, I actually do have a cannon!" she said, producing a large pink cannon out of nowhere. She fired it at Spike, covering the startled dragon in party decorations and knocking him into the side of a building.

Soldier, Demoman, and Engineer just stared at Pinkie. Pinkie stared back at them. "What? How else am I supposed to make parties on the go?" she asked, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world.

Engineer opened his mouth, finding himself unable to speak for the longest time. As Spike roared, pulling himself out of the party decorations, Soldier and Demoman turned their focus back to him, grappling with the dragon. Engineer shook his head. "We'll talk about this later," he muttered, still trying to figure out where she was keeping that cannon. He began firing Gem Sentry, having modified it to shoot smaller, rapid-fire blasts, Pinkie occasionally shooting party supplies to entangle Spike

Meanwhile, Masky Pegasus, upon Trixie's arrival, had took to the air, trying to join the fight. It was immediately shot down by a lightning bolt to the head from Sniper. It staggered dizzily, trying to recover, when Scout powerdove into it.

"Bonk!" Scout cried, slamming into the stunned monster and skidding it along the ground. Scout blew a raspberry at it, Masky Pegasus glaring at him and taking to the air... at which point Rainbow Dash took her turn slamming into it, moving out of the way a moment later as another bolt from Sniper slammed into the twisted pegasus, sending it crashing to the ground.

Sniper floated over on his cloud, regrouping with Rainbow Dash and Scout. Rainbow Dash looked down at Trixie, who had started a magical duel with Twilight Tragedy.

"Never thought I'd be glad to see that loudmouth again," Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head.

"This is messed up," Scout said, "I'm not sure I wanna see where this fanfic goes next."

Rainbow Dash blinked, staring at Scout. "And here I thought Pinkie was the only weird one..."

"It's not down yet, you wankers!" Sniper shouted, firing off another lightning bolt. Masky Pegasus dodged it, tendrils sprouting from its eyes and grabbing Scout and Rainbow Dash in a chokehold. Sniper cursed, and tried to line up another shot, but Masky Pegasus held the struggling Rainbow Dash and Scout in front of it, forcing Sniper to back off.

And then Masky Pegasus started chasing him, forcing Sniper to abandon his cloud, using its two prisoners as bludgeons.

Down below, Trixie and Twilight were dueling, beams of pure magical force shooting from their horns pushing back and forth.

Twilight Tragedy was sweating, her face set in a grimace. "I must admit," she said, "You really have grown stronger."

"The... ngh... Great and... grr... Powerful... agh... Trixie... guh... lives up to her name!" Trixie boasted, desperately struggling not to be pushed back by Twilight's vastly greater power. It was a testament to how much she had grown in magical strength that Twilight Tragedy hadn't killed her immediately.

She couldn't let her win, though. She had seen what Twilight had done on the way into town. She knew EXACTLY how the ponies under the spell had been feeling. And she couldn't let it happen to them...

Now if only she could survive long enough for the other fighters, whomever they were, to help her...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The Smooze cavern...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Applejack and Medic were covered in cuts and stab wounds, Applejack's healing faster that Medic's due to the healing beam trained on her. Spydier was nowhere to be seen, his screaming, almost feral voice filling the cavern as he darted in and out of the reach of the two ponies. Luna was barely managing to fight off the corrupted pegasus guards, the loyal guardsmen turned savage, predator brutes chasing the terrified, powerless princess around the room.

Medic cursed inwardly. "Zis is going novhere," he said.

"Ah'm open to suggestions, sugar cube," Applejack said, lashing another kick to where she thought Spydier was and getting a slash across the leg for her

Medic felt a familiar tingling in his horn. "No choice, zen..." he said, "Prepare for ze UberCharge!"

Applejack nodded, bracing herself. "Ready when y'all are, doc!"

"I WON'T LET YOU!" Spydier screamed, decloaking and diving in, his knife in his mouth.

Medic felt the mental trigger, and released it. Raw power began to flow into Applejack's body, Medic feeling the familiar blue armor start to form around him, his eyes glowing bright red.

But for Applejack, it was different.

The farm pony gasped, feeling a surge of raw magical power. Her body swelled with power, growing taller, more elegant. Her hair started to wave about on its own, growing longer, flowing majestically. A horn grew from her head, and a pair of beautiful wings formed on her back, everyone else in the cavern staring in shock. Her body glowed with orange energy, her eyes radiating golden light. Her Element of Harmony appeared around her neck, Applejack completing her transformation into an alicorn due to the UberCharge.

Spydier, still battle-crazed, dove in again.

"SEE THE TRUTH," Applejack intoned, stomping her hoof once. A wave of pure Truth shot out, slamming into Spydier and the two guards, purging them of their corruption in an instant and sending them tumbling to the ground. Masky Unicorn was taken off-guard by the blast of magic, sent tumbling away from Celestia. It took a few moments for it to recover. And once it did, its eyes widened...

...because staring back at it were the princesses, back at full power and looking righteously PISSED.

Masky Unicorn liked to consider itself a logical being. And logically speaking, it knew it was screwed if it stayed. It vanished, sinking into the shadows.

"Coward," Celestia muttered. The two princesses then turned to Applejack, who was still an alicorn, still radiating power. She smiled benevolently at the two princesses... and with a fizzling pop, turned back to normal.

She giggled, staggering about dizzily. "Ah feel groovy," she said.

Medic stared at her, stunned. "Zat vas new..." he understated.

Applejack giggled. "Whatever it was, it felt great!"

Celestia and Luna traded looks. If Medic himself was surprised...

A trio of groans caught everyone's attention. Medic and Applejack ran over to check on Spy, who was struggling to his feet, coughing. Tears were in his eyes as he slowly pulled himself up right.

"I never want to experience that again," he said softly.

Medic nodded. "You are safe now, mein Freund," he said.

"You gonna be okay there, sugar cube?" Applejack asked.

Spy stared at her, and after a moment, managed to smile. "Eventually," he said.

Celestia and Luna, meanwhile, were helping the guards to their hooves.

"Princess Luna," Stonewall said, his face filled with shame. "Please, forgive our behavior..."

"We... We could not control ourselves..." Goldenshield said, unable to even face the two Sacred Sisters.

Luna smiled weakly. "It's okay, really... I know full well what Smooze corruption can do to you... Let's just get out of here..."

"I agree.." Celestia said, turning to Spy and Medic. "And once we do, I am bringing your demolitionist friend back down here and sealing this cavern off.

"A fine plan, I think," Spy muttered, shivering and stretching his wings, trying to get the feeling of horrible numbness out of them.

And then came a sound, a sound familiar to Medic and Spy. A sound of heavy metal whirring, and of absurdly expensive custom-tooled bullets firing at extremely high velocity.

"What in tarnation is that?" Applejack asked, confused.

"It can't be..." Spy said.

"It is," Medic said, a wide grin coming to his face. "I'd know that sound anywhere! It's Heavy's minigun! It's SASHA!"

The two BLU ponies galloped in the direction of the sound, a confused Applejack, Celestia, Luna, and guardsponies following.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Meanwhile...

The main cavern...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Little shy pony..." Heavy said, slowly stepping forward, pain shooting through him with each step. "Please, do not do this..."

FlutterCruel hissed ferally at him. "Get back... Get away from me!" she shrieked.

"This is not you..." Heavy rumbled. "This corruption... It is killing you..."

"It is making me strong!" FlutterCruel almost roared. HOW IS HE STILL MOVING? She tried to back away further, only to find that she was now up against a wall.

"No," Heavy said, slowly reaching for her with a foreleg. "This is not you... Little shy pony is good pony, kind to all..."

FlutterCruel whimpered, trying to get away, but Heavy pulled the corrupted pegasus towards him, hugging her tightly. "Little shy pony must stop this... Little shy pony is good pony..." he said softly.

Rarity and Pyro, meanwhile, were doing terribly in their fight. Pyro sent out a massive gout of flames, but Masky Earth Pony just charged right through them, tackling both unicorns and slamming them up against a far wall, stunning them.

Causing the fire cages around the two corrupted guards to disperse.

"Finally," Grimorum hissed, pouncing on Rarity. Battalion jumped on Pyro, licking his lips lasciviously.

NO! NO NO NO NO! Rarity thought, whimpering and struggling to get out from under the much larger corrupted guard. She tried to blast him in the face with magic, but the moment her horn began to glow, the bat-winged corrupted pegasus slammed her face down hard.

Pyro was having similar luck. "GET OFF OR I BURN IT OFF!" she snarled, Battalion smearing her face on the cave floor.

Masky Earth Pony watched with amusement as the two guards prepared to violate the two mares. But thankfully for Pyro and Rarity, a wave of pure orange light erupted from the tunnel leading to the Smooze chamber. Masky Earth Pony was slammed sideways, unable to maintain its giant form as the corruption was forced from the two guards, who changed back to normal as they slammed into the wall.

Rarity shivered as the wave of energy flowed through her, healing the damage to her throat. "Oh! *cough* Oh, that's much better," she said.

The guards, dizzy from their corruption, found themselves unable to look at the two mares. "We... Please forgive us..." Battalion said. "We would never do that normally..."

Pyro shook herself off, wondering what that energy wave was. Rarity smiled at the two guards, and said, "It's... fine, darlings. I know that your... ungentlemanly behavior was a result of what that monster did to you..." Although she had a sick feeling she'd be uncomfortable around any royal guard for a while now...

"Hey," Pyro said, "You can talk again! And if you're feeling better, and the guards are back to normal, then Heavy and Miss Fluttershy..."

Pyro and Rarity turned excitedly towards their friends, only to be taken aback. Heavy and Fluttershy were both surrounded by a yellow light, floating in midair. Before the shocked eyes of all those in the chamber, the two ponies slowly merged, the light growing blinding.

When the light cleared, Rarity and Pyro stared.

Standing before them was a muscular (if somewhat pot-bellied) human female clad in Heavy's clothes, carrying a massive minigun. The gentle lines of the face, the smooth curves of the body, and the long, flowing pink hair were clearly Fluttershy's. The glittering Element of Kindness necklace around her neck was also Fluttershy's.

But when the figure's eyes opened, the smug expression that crossed it's face was clearly Heavy's.

"YOU!" the fused FlutterHeavy said, pointing one gloved finger at the startled Masky Earth Pony, the voice Fluttershy's but the accent belonging to Heavy. "Yes, YOU! You are DEAD!"

FlutterHeavy hefted the massive gun, taking aim at Masky Earth Pony and revving it up.

Pyro grinned maniacally. "OH my God that sounds sexy," she said, motioning for a stunned Rarity to stay back.

"NOW IS COWARD KILLING TIME!" FlutterHeavy bellowed, opening fire with her massive weapon, the sound echoing like thunder in the cavern as bullets showered Masky Earth Pony at high velocity. Masky Earth Pony let out a horrible screech of agony, flecks of Smooze being chipped off of its body and dissolving, FlutterHeavy trailing casings as she slowly moved forward, cackling in delight.

Masky Earth Pony, fearful for its life for the first time in its memory, teleported away, melting into the shadows.

FlutterHeavy thumped her chest, laughing. "RUN, COWARD! SASHA AND I WILL FIND YOU!"

FlutterHeavy turned, nodding to Pyro and a visibly stunned Rarity.

"COOL!" Pyro giggled. "That was AWESOME!"

Medic and Spy's group came back in the cavern at the same time. They stared in pleased amazement at FlutterHeavy, who nodded to them once before turning back into Fluttershy and Heavy in a burst of light.

The two of them staggered about dizzily, but with smiles on their faces as they recovered from their transformation.

Rarity ran up to Fluttershy, bracing her as she staggered. "Are... Are you all right, Fluttershy?"

"Da!" Fluttershy rumbled, "I am doing just fine, pretty marshmellow pony!" Fluttershy blinked, and shook her head, speaking again in her normal voice, blushing at the incredulous look on the elegant unicorn's face. "I mean... I'm fine, Rarity. Whatever that energy wave was, it completely purged the corruption from me."

"That was AMAZIN,' sugar cube!" Applejack said, bouncing over to them. "I mean, that was just as amazin' as when Medic's Uber-thingy had a different effect on me than it did the princesses and turned me into an alicorn! Ah was all gorgeous and shiny and then ah was like SEE THE TRUTH and then this weird energy wave came out and then swoosh! And then we come out and you got turned into that whatever it was, and you were all like dadadadadadadadadadadada..." She babbled on and on, the words coming out of her in a flood as she bounced around energetically. It was disturbing.

Rarity and Fluttershy stared at her in shock for a moment, before grabbing her and stopping the flood of words. "Applejack!" Rarity shouted. "Applejack, darling, please calm down. You're acting like Pinkie Pie."

Applejack blinked. "Ah am?" she giggled. "Well, maybe. But ah just can't help it! Ah feel GREAT!"

"What did happen, big guy?" Pyro asked.

Heavy shrugged. "I am not sure. When little flutter pony was corrupted, I started feeling pain she was feeling."

"Mon dieu..." Spy said, "If it was anything like what I felt when the corruption was in me..."

Heavy nodded. "Was very bad... But then light come while I try to stop little flutter pony from being evil... We merge... I think I was one controlling... I guess it can be called FlutterHeavy body, because I remember fighting Masky thing with Sasha..."

"As fascinating as this is," Luna said, "Can we discuss this on the way to the surface? I have a strong feeling we need to get back to Ponyville."

Everyone looked at her in confusion. But Celestia knew what she meant. "Our group fought a unicorn. Heavy's group fought an Earth pony. If the rule follows..."

Rarity's eyes widened as she realized where the princesses were going with this. "...Then there must be a Masky Pegasus in Ponyville!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ponyville...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The battle was quickly going south. Even though he wasn't fully grown, the corrupted Spike was proving to be too powerful for Soldier and Demoman. Roaring, he tossed the two Earth ponies away, slamming them into Engineer and Pinkie Pie, upending their weapons.

Spike roared in fury, spewing flames, and turned his attention to the four dazed ponies, a huge gout of flame welling up in his throat...

Unable to remount a cloud and get away long enough to line up a shot, Sniper was quickly outmatched by the much faster Masky Pegasus, who pummeled him with the immobilized Rainbow Dash and Scout, both struggling to get out of the tentacles that held them.

Finally, Sniper was knocked senseless and sent spiraling towards the ground. Masky Pegasus caught him with a third set of tentacles from its eyes. It pulled Sniper's sunglasses away from his face, forcing the eyes of the three pegusi open as it prepared to corrupt them...

Trixie was starting to falter, Twilight Tragedy's greater power beginning to overwhelm her. The blue unicorn valiantly held her ground, but Twilight Tragedy was slowly overwhelming her magical beam with her own, laughing sadistically as she closed in on her rival...

And then the wave of pure, unadulterated Truth erupted from the ground.

Twilight and Spike were both knocked down by the blast, forcibly changing back to normal. The people of Ponyville, in the midst of evacuating were overcome by the truth, several of them realizing they owed people apologies...

Masky Pegasus was sent flying by the blast, dropping its three prisoners, who recovered before they fell down all the way, watching with amusement as Masky Pegasus was sent tumbling to the ground, landing roughly in the town square.

Pinkie recovered quickly, running over to Twilight and helping her up. "Twilight! Twilight, are you okay? Please tell me you're gonna be okay!"

Twilight Sparkle groaned, slowly coming to her senses. She looked around in confusion... before finally remembering what had happened.

"Oh no..." she said softly, tearing up as she looked at the damage the town had suffered. "Oh no no no..."

Masky Pegasus slowly struggled to get to its hooves. Twilight, hearing it, whirled on it, her eyes glowing with rage. "You..." she hissed, her voice echoing.

Masky Pegasus turned towards her. Twilight snarled, grabbing Masky Pegasus roughly by the neck and slamming it up and down over and over again, screaming "What did you do to me? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"

Over and over she slammed Masky Pegasus, the ground cracking with each forceful blow. Black, ichorous blood began to leak from Masky Pegasus's eyes and ears, the monster letting out a strained sound.

"Twilight! Twilight, STOP IT!" Pinkie said, hugging her friend tightly and crying. Twilight gasped, startled out of her rage. She looked around at the gathered townspeople, all staring at her in shock, and began to sob.

"I'm..." she stammered, breaking out of Pinkie's grip. "I'm sorry..." With a whimpering sob, she ran off, running inside the library and slamming the door. Spike, who had just recovered himself and was back to his small and cute size, stared after her, worried.

"I'll go check on her," he said, running into the library after her.

Masky Pegasus decided that enough was enough. Scrambling to its hooves, it quickly took to the air and flew off.

"Oh no you don't!" Rainbow Dash snarled, zipping off after it.

"I'll support her!" Sniper shouted, "You, stay here and help the others!" He then flew off after her.

Scout frowned. He didn't like being left behind, but he wasn't really sure what he could do either without a bat or his scattergun. He landed near Pinkie Pie, who was staring at the library door, unusually quiet, Demoman, Soldier, and Engineer gathered around her.

"Hey Pinks," Scout said, "Is she gonna be okay?"

Pinkie frowned. "...I don't know." She brightened. "But I think I know something that can help."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Over Everfree Forest...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Masky Pegasus was cursing its terrible luck. It needed to be alone or in heavy shadow before it could teleport. And the colorful streak that was, to its horror, slowly closing in wasn't about to give him the chance.

"I've got you now!" Rainbow Dash crowed.

HoW iN bLaZeS cAn A mOrTaL mOvE tHaT fAsT?it thought, trying not to think about what its master would do to it if caught. It turned, yelping, seeing Rainbow Dash almost within grabbing range.

It had to take the risk, had to sacrifice part of itself.

It released some of its own essence, pushing it up its throat, sliding its mask up to reveal its mouth... and spat it.

The purple ichor hit Rainbow Dash in the eyes, the colorfully-maned pegasus screaming in agony as the evil toxin burned at her.

"Dasher!" Sniper yelled, power-diving after her. He caught her just before she landed, the two of them tumbling to a stop by a river. Masky Pegasus shook its head in frustration, and teleported away.

"My eyes! My EYES!" Rainbow Dash screamed, "It BURNS!" She rubbed at her face, shrieking in pain.

"Dasher! DASHER!" Sniper said, pinning her to the ground. She struggled, frightened and in pain. Sniper spoke slowly and calmly. "I can help you. We're near a river. I can wash this goop out. But I need you to calm down and let me work. Okay?"

Rainbow Dash shivered softly, the goo still creating a burning sensation in her eyes. "O-Okay..." she said, unable to think of anything better to do.

Sniper pulled a rag out of his vest pocket, and dipped it into the water, lifting up his hoof to wipe off the shivering Rainbow Dash's face. The clean, pure water seemed to dissolve the goo, Rainbow Dash's face soon perfectly clean of the slime.

"D-Did you get it all off?" Rainbow Dash said. "It still kinda hurts..."

Sniper stared at her as he pocketed the rag again, noticing for the first time that her eyes seemed paler. "...Dasher, the slime's all off."

Rainbow Dash's lower lip began to quiver. "Well... Well take the rag off my face. I still can't see."

Oh BUGGER. "Dasher... There's nothing on your face..." Sniper said slowly.

Rainbow Dash shivered, shaking her head as the implication sank in. "N-No... No! I... That's not possible! I can't be blind!" Rainbow Dash took to the air, flying back and forth in a panic. "Help me! Help me! HELP ME!"

Sniper scowled, grabbing her by the tail and yanking her back to the ground. "Dasher, calm down!"

"But...!"

"I know," Sniper said, keeping his voice steady and calm. "We'll find a way to fix this. We'll get you back to town and get you to the doc. I saw a hut on our way down, it's not too far from here. If nothing else, we can use that as a marker to get back to town."

A hut...? Rainbow Dash thought, a smile coming to her face as she realized. "That's got to be Zecora's place! We can get help from her!"

Sniper nodded. "Zecora, eh?"

Rainbow Dash nodded. "She's an herbalist zebra that lives out here. She's helped us out of jams a few times, and does pretty good business with her herbal remedies."

Sniper nodded, standing beside Rainbow Dash and placing a wing on her back. "Beauty," he said. "Let's go find this Zecora sheila."

Rainbow Dash nodded, sniffling, still frightened, but for some reason feeling very calm in Sniper's presence. She let him lead her through the forest, Sniper carefully leading her through the underbrush, coming out behind the hut. A humble shack made out of a tree, with tribal decorations surrounding it.

"Zecora?" Rainbow Dash called out. "It's me, Rainbow Dash! I've got... a bit of a problem..."

There a sound of rustling inside the hut, and a moment later, the door opened, revealing Zecora. The mohawked zebra mare looked outside, a concerned expression on her face.

"Oh my dear Dash, what happened to you? What could have brought down a pony so true?" she said, coming out to examine Rainbow Dash.

"Some monstah pony," Sniper said, "Tagged her in the face with some kinda purple goop. I managed to clean it off. Apparently, clean water dissolves it. But her eyes..."

Zecora's face became frightened at the mention of purple goop. "...You say it was a purple ooze?" she said, a fearful, thoughtful look on her face. "It can't be... but it must be... By Luna's mercy... the SMOOZE!"

Rainbow Dash stiffened. "W-What?"

Sniper frowned, confused. "The Smooze? What's that?"

"I'll explain later, get her inside! I can help her, so please, just abide," Zecora said, going back inside. Sniper shrugged, leading the shivering pegasus inside the hut. He went over to Zecora, who was rapidly mixing powders and liquids together. She quickly mixed up a potion, turning to Rainbow Dash with it and pouring it over her eyes.

Rainbow Dash winced, the potion icy cold on her eyes. But once it had all been poured out, the burning sensation was gone. "It doesn't hurt anymore... but I still can't see."

Zecora sighed. "The medicine takes time to give the cure you dearly seek. I must make more so you can take it twice each and every week."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Twice a week...? How long will it take?"

Zecora shook her head. "A month a least, and then again perhaps even weeks more. I don't know how badly you were poisoned, so I cannot be completely sure."

Rainbow Dash's sightless eyes widened. She sat down, lowering her head. "A month... I'll be out of action for a month..." She began to chuckle weakly. "Heh... Good thing I have so many sick days saved up at the weather factory, huh?" She laughed, the laughs quickly turning into frantic sobs as she collapsed on Zecora's floor.

Sniper put a hoof on her shoulder. "None of that now," he said. "Zecora's medicine's gonna get your sight back. Right?" He looked to Zecora for confirmation.

"He is correct, this much is true. I wouldn't have used it if it couldn't help you," the zebra said.

"Right," Sniper said, nodding. "This is just a momentary inconvenience, nothing more. You'll get your eyes back, and be right as rain."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "What am I supposed to do then? I can't do my job, I can't practice stunts..." She started to tear up again. "I can't even see where in blazes I'm going. I won't even be able to find my way HOME, I..."

Before she could work herself up into hysterics, Sniper said, "Then I'll be your eyes until you're better." He hesitated a moment, and decided to continue with it. He desperately wanted to be home, but he knew it would take time. And if nothing else, keeping Rainbow Dash from losing herself during this time would be a way of distracting himself from his own problems...

Rainbow Dash stared in the direction she heard his voice. "You'd... You'd do that for me? Why?"

"I'm a professional, Dasher. Professionals have standards, and one of mine is that you make sure your mates are all right," Sniper said, shrugging.

"...But I'm not a member of BLU," she said softly.

Sniper chuckled. "You fought beside us, Dasher. That makes you and your pals as good as me teammates in my book. And I don't abandon me own."

Rainbow Dash managed to smile. "Thank you," she said gratefully.

"A noble sentiment, this much is true," Zecora said, "So forgive me for asking, but... who are you?"

Sniper blinked. "Sorry ma'am," he said, and proceeded to introduce himself, explaining who he was, who his teammates were, and the current situation."

Zecora looked thoughtful for a moment. "This seems so familiar... oh, this is bad..." she muttered, turning to Sniper and asking, "Did you see what Cutie Mark Masky had?"

"A scratchy red circle with an X through it," Sniper said. "Does that mean anything?"

Zecora frowned. "Of this symbol, I may have heard stories evil..." she said. "But first, let's get you two back to Ponyville."

Sniper nodded. "Which brings me to the second favor I have to ask..."

Zecora chuckled, and began preparing a saddlebag. "I realized you needed guidance, before you even spoke. You'll need it to get past the Poison Joak."

Sniper blinked. "'Poison Joak?'"

Rainbow Dash snickered. "Trust me," she said, "You're better off not knowing. Just avoid shiny blue flowers that dingle when they move and you'll be fine."

Sniper shrugged, deciding to go with it. They knew the territory, he didn't. He did want to make a point of learning more about Everfree, though...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ponyville...

That evening...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Twilight lay in her bedroom, sobbing. She remembered everything she did while under the influence of Masky Pegasus's corruption. Remembered trying to murder all of Ponyville. Tears streamed steadily down her face. She couldn't face everypony again. Not after what she did...

"Twilight?" said Celestia, coming into her student's room. Twilight jolted, startled, and then began crying again, pulling her blanket over her head.

Celestia sighed, and telekinetically lifted Twilight out of her bed and set her down before her. Twilight whimpered, tears flowing down her face. "Please leave me alone... I'm a MONSTER... What I did..."

Celestia, to Twilight's surprise, hugged her tightly. "Oh my precious little pony... You've been through a terrible experience... But now is not the time to hide yourself away," she said, her voice cracking slightly. Twilight looked up, and to her surprise, saw tears in Celestia's eyes. "Your friends still love you, Twilight, and they are waiting for you outside. They are here for you, Twilight. They are waiting outside... waiting for you."

Twilight shook her head, snuggling in to Celestia and saying, "I... I can't face them... Not now... Not after what I did..."

"What Masky Pegasus did," Celestia said. "You are not to blame, my wonderful little pony. Now come. The party is waiting for you."

Twilight looked up in confusion as Celestia led her outside... only to find nearly everypony in town waiting for her, the entire library covered in decorations, the smell of cakes and candies everywhere. And waiting at the door to her bedroom was Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy, all with concerned looks on their faces.

"You okay, sugar cube?" Applejack asked. "We's mighty worried about you."

"After we heard what that awful creature did to you, we immediately volunteered to help with Pinkie Pie's party," Rarity said.

"I was already planning on having one tonight to thank BLU for helping protect us against the monsters, but since you were feeling bad, I adjusted the theme so it was also a 'Twilight Sparkle is awesome!' party!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Twilight," Fluttershy said softly, "A Masky got to me too. I know what happened to you, and you're not to blame for anything you did."

Twilight stared at her friends, a slow smile spreading over her face. She pulled all of them into a hug, and whispered, "I love you all..."

After a moment, Twilight realized someone was missing. "Where... Where's Rainbow Dash?"

"She went chasing after them with that Sniper fellow," the Mayor said, coming up behind the group with Trixie. "She's one of the toughest ponies in Ponyville. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"And as much as I hate to say anything nice about the filthy bushman," Spy said, having come up with Trixie, "He's one of the most dedicated and loyal people I've ever met. He'll bring her back safely."

Twilight, cheered a little by this, decided to ask the question that was on her mind. "Well, that's something I guess... I hope she comes back soon. But... I have to ask: Why are you even here, Trixie?"

Trixie sighed. Celestia gave her an amused look, and said, "Shall I explain, Trixie?"

"No, no," Trixie said, taking a long swig of her drink, "Trixie is more than capable of explaining her presence. You see, after the... 'debacle' with the Ursa Minor, the Wise and Always-Learning Trixie decided to revise her pitch a little while restoring her reputation. Trixie no longer gave specific instances of her great power, nor did she compare herself to anyone, so nopony would be inspired to do something as stupid as what Snips and Snails did ever again. Unfortunately, the Occasionally Wrong and Sometimes Mistaken Trixie miscalculated, and failed to realize that there were ponies that were DUMBER than Snips and Snails out there. For example, the two braindead fanponies that lured an Ursa MAJOR to her Canterlot show, having decided to 'defend' the Thick-Skinned and Unstoppable Trixie from her detractors. You were right, Twilight Sparkle, I didn't want to know what Ursa Majors were like."

Twilight and the others stared at her in shock. Celestia sighed. "Luna and I were able teleport the Ursa away before it did any major damage and before anypony was hurt badly. The two responsible for luring it are in jail awaiting trial. Trixie, while not having any direct responsibility, bears some blame due to the fact that she was seen flirting with the two. She has been assigned community service here in Ponyville for a year."

Twilight blinked. "'Community service?'"

Trixie rolled her eyes, grumbling. "Twilight Sparkle, the Great and Powerful Trixie presents to you your newest employee: herself."

Twilight had to fight back a grin. The thought of bossing someone like Trixie around was mildly pleasing, but she wasn't the type to rub it in. The others, especially Applejack and Rarity, looked to be having a harder time restraining themselves from rubbing it in her face. Twilight did have one more question, though. "...You're taking being back here a lot better than I thought you would..."

Trixie sighed again. "The Great and Powerful Trixie, after some soul-searching, realized that she shouldn't hold a superior talent against you. Rather, she should work to surpass you. Give you fair competition, as it were," she said, sipping her drink. She smiled softly, and added, "And besides. It's hard to be mad at someone who saved the world from Discord."

"Among the many other things we are grateful to you for," the Mayor added, several other nearby ponies chiming in their agreements. Twilight blushed. She still felt ashamed for what happened, but the support she was getting helped ease the pain. She joined in the celebration, Pinkie Pie and Scout acting as DJs for the evening.

Soldier was watching Demoman and Berry Punch get more and more soused, the two Earth ponies hanging off of each other and singing merrily. Ruby Pinch, Berry's daughter, was with Dinky Doo and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, playing a dice game. He shook his head and chuckled at his friend's antics. As he got some more cake for himself, a mauve unicorn with a triple diamond Cutie Mark came up to him.

"Hey," she said, "You're Soldier, right?"

Soldier turned to her and nodded. "I am. What of it?"

The unicorn smiled. "I just wanted to say thank you," she said, "For saving my Mom and my little sister."

Soldier stared at her for a moment before realizing. "...Oh! You're Sparkler! Yes, Derpy told me about you," he said. He smirked, and added, "Well, more like bragged endlessly. An assistant teacher in Canterlot, plus you volunteer in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program..."

Sparkler blushed, grinning. "Yes, well... I do what I can. And again, I wanted to thank you for saving them."

Soldier nodded. "All in the line of duty, ma'am. Your mother is also kind enough to give me a place to stay until our new headquarters is built."

The two began to converse, Soldier also asking Sparkler about teaching techniques for young foals. Sparkler seemed impressed at his dedication to doing his new job right, and indulged him. Elsewhere in the party, Spy had gone off on his own, resting his forelegs on a balcony and sighing.

Medic noticed this, and came over to him, worried. "...Herr Spy? Vhat is wrong?"

Spy just shook his head. "It is nothing..." he said softly.

Medic came up beside him. "...Ze corruption made you a murderous super-patriot... I asked Fluttershy about vhat happened to her, und she said zat she was forced to relive her worst memories... Spy, vhat happened to you during ze war?"

Spy stared out into the night sky for a moment. "...Can I count on you keeping zis between us?"

Medic nodded. "Da, mein Freund. I do not betray my patients," he said.

Spy chuckled weakly. "Considering how long it was before we even knew Pyro was female, I'm inclined to believe zat... Very well. I will tell you my dark little secret, what zat un dieu a condamné unicorn made me relive... I will tell you how I betrayed my country and lost everything for it..."

Medic realized what he meant almost immediately. "Mein Gott... You were a collaborator with the Nazis..."

Spy nodded. "In exchange for sparing my village and my family from being dragged off to the concentration camps, I agreed to use my talents as a spy to help quell resistance uprisings and give information on ze Allies. I was on ze verge of reporting on ze invasion of Normandy, when I went to check on my mother..." Tears came to his eyes and he recalled this part. "...W-When I found her, I found zat she had been violently raped over and over again until she had died of her injuries, ze town completely occupied by the Nazis and used as a forward supply station... I killed everyone zere, destroying the information I had and letting the invasion occur. I was on ze verge of killing myself, when I heard about Soldier's rampage. In an attempt to atone, I began feeding him information secretly, even cluing him in to where Hitler himself was hiding... Zat is ze shame I carry with me, Medic. Ze shame of ze man who sold his soul... and lost everything in return..."

"Spy..." Medic said softly.

"Please, doctor..." he said, "I am having a hard enough time as it is... Just... give me time... And do not mention zis to Soldier. He must never know about zis..."

Medic hesitated for a moment, and nodded. Spy smiled weakly. "Thank you..." he said. He turned to look out into the night sky again. And then he noticed something closer to the ground.

"Vhat is it?" Medic said, seeing Spy suddenly go on alert.

"It's Rainbow Dash and Sniper... And one ozzer, although I can't see who it is..." Spy said.

Medic blinked. "Zey are valking?"

As they got closer, Spy could see that Sniper was supporting Rainbow Dash. "Damn," he muttered, "Rainbow Dash is hurt!" He leaped off of the balcony, flying down to join the group.

Medic, needing no further prompting, ran back inside, grabbing Nurse Redheart, who had also come to the party, and running out to the arriving group. Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy followed them, along with the other BLU ponies and the Princesses.

"Dashie! Oh no..."

"Rainbow, what happened?"

"Oh Rainbow darling, what happened to you?"

"Tarnation, what's wrong?"

Rainbow Dash's friends babbled on for a few moments longer before Rainbow Dash held up a hoof to silence them, saying, "Girls, girls, I'll be fine. That Masky thing got lucky and tagged me with some goop that blinded me. We landed near Zecora's, and she's come up with a potion that'll help me get my eyes back if I take it twice a week."

"For how long?" Medic said, his voice stern and business-like.

"A month perhaps, maybe more," Zecora said, "Of that I cannot truly be sure. But this I say is not a guess, this potion has had one-hundred percent success."

Medic frowned, turning to Nurse Redheart. "Do you trust her judgment on this?"

Nurse Redheart nodded confidently. "Zecora's been a Celestia-send ever since she came to Ponyville, her potions helping where Nurse Tenderheart and I can't. I trust her completely on this."

"My eyes were burning really badly even after the goop got cleaned off," Rainbow Dash said. "When Zecora poured her potion on it, it stopped burning."

"A list of ingredients I bring for you," Zecora said, removing a list from her saddlebags and giving it to Nurse Redheart, "To help make potions for her and all of you. Against this threat, you must not lose. I know this slime, it is the Smooze."

Celestia and Luna traded startled looks. "You knowthe Smooze?" Celestia asked, confused.

"In my land, a Smooze river flows free," Zecora said, sighing, "There are those who use it wickedly. Learning to heal the Smooze is part of how I earned my Cutie Mark."

Celestia frowned, trading worried looks with Luna. "I will wish to speak with you later," Celestia said, Zecora nodding.

The others were still voicing their concern about Rainbow Dash. The rainbow-maned pegasus forced a smile, and said, "Girls... Seriously, this is frustrating enough, even if it is just temporary. I really don't need pity right now, okay? And I REALLY don't need to be treated like an invalid."

"Don't worry, sheilas," Sniper said. "I'll keep her safe until she can see on her own again, and make sure she gets Zecora's medicine."

Engineer blinked. "You sure, pardner? This is a big thing y'all are takin' on."

Sniper nodded. "I have my reasons. Besides, these six have fought beside us. That makes them as good as our own, t'me. I don't back down when a teammate needs help."

Spy snorted. "Ze one quality I admire about you," he teased.

"Blow it out your arse, Frenchy," Sniper quipped back.

Spy chuckled. "Eloquent as always," he said. "And as for you, my dear Zecora, we greatly appreciate your aid."

Zecora turned to Spy, and blinked, noticing him for the first time. She blushed, grinning slightly, and said, stammering slightly, "Yes... Well... I do what I must in the end. I will always do my best to give help to a friend."

Sniper noticed the blush in the zebra's face and groaned softly, rolling his eyes.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked, worried.

"Nothing. Just mildly annoyed: Spy's already charmed Zecora without even trying."

Rainbow Dash managed to snicker. She turned to the others, and said, "Look, I know this is bad, but this is me we're talking about. I'll get through it, and come out at LEAST 20% more awesome."

The others seemed to buy that, smiles coming back to their faces.Well,THEY bought it, she thought, Maybe if I keep telling myself that, I'll believe it too...

Sniper guided Rainbow Dash inside, several of the BLU ponies and Dash's friends following. Princess Celestia stayed outside, along with Engineer and Medic.

"Princess," Medic said, "I am going to need every bit of detail you can give me on ze Smooze. If I am going to have to potentially treat injuries like Rainbow Dash's, I am going to need every bit of knowledge you can spare."

"Some should be in Twilight's library." Celestia said. "I will send a list via Spike. If you can't find any there, let me know and I will have it sent immediately."

Engineer hesitated a moment, and asked, "Princess... Do y'all think that the reason we were brought to this world might be because of the Smooze?"

Celestia smiled weakly. "I don't know... All I know, my brave little ponies, is that I am very grateful to have you here. And one way or another, I will make sure that you get to go home."

Engineer smiled weakly, starting to head back inside. "Thank y'kindly, your Majesty... 'Cause right now I have no idea how to even begin lookin' for a way."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In the kitchen...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Pinkie Pie had seemed all right at first. But after Scootaloo began panicking at what happened to Rainbow Dash and swearing 'Righteous Revenge(tm)' on the one who hurt her hero, she had to excuse herself. She stood alone in Twilight's kitchen, her mane and tail drooping, her colors muted as she sobbed helplessly.

She had no idea how to fix this. She couldn't give Dashie her eyes back with a party. She wasn't a fighter like Applejack. She didn't have Fluttershy's way with animals, or even magic like Rarity and Twilight. She was just Pinkie...

...and at times like this, she felt even less than that. Like Pinkamena.

Sniffling, she leaned her forelegs on the counter. She noticed a sharp carving knife on the counter, used for chopping up vegetables. She spun it idly with one hoof, the moonlight glinting off of it.

Damn that Masky, Pinkie thought. It had brainwashed Twilight, making her all saddy sad. It took Rainbow's EYES.

Damn that horrible fucking thing,Pinkie thought, a cold fury taking root in her heart.

She spun the knife again. I'll kill it, she thought. I'll make it hurt.

A cold, predatory grin came over her face as she spun the knife once more. I'll make it SCREAM for what it did to Twilight and Dashie... Heheh. I'll make Masky Cupca...

A memory of a dream came over her, a memory of a grinning madwoman torturing a helpless rainbow-maned pegasus, and Pinkie Pie ran for the nearby trashcan, vomiting into it.

What in blazes was I even thinking? she thought, her coloring returning slightly to normal, her hair poofing back up slightly. I'm not like that... Not at all... Am I?

Scout came in, Gummy perched on his hat. He came up to her, smiling, Gummy hopping over onto Pinkie's back. He rested his forelegs on the counter, looked at Pinkie for a long moment, and asked, "Y'know what I think we should do if we ever see that chucklenuts Masky thing again?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head.

Scout grinned. "Put hot sauce down its pants."

Pinkie Pie blinked in confusion. "But it doesn't wear any pants..."

Scout rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Then we'll PUT pants on the damn thing and THEN put hot sauce down them! Geez, work with me here! You of all people trying to bring in logic..." he said, shaking his head.

Pinkie snickered, and began to laugh happily, her hair poofing back to normal, her coloring returning completely.

Scout nodded, satisfied. "That's the ticket," he said, "Always laugh at whatever's botherin' ya."

Pinkie nodded, smiling gratefully and nuzzling Scout. "Yeah. I forgot that for a second..."

Scout sighed, looking out at the moonlight. "That's the job for folks like us, y'know? We keep the mooks smilin,' lettin' the bums know they can't take themselves or anything else too seriously. 'Cause if they start mopin' about everything, then they start losin' everything."

Pinkie went wide-eyed. She had never really thought of it like that before.

Scout sighed, continuing. "I mean, look at us! We lived in a constant war zone fighting endless war games against opponents who looked so much like us, we weren't sure if they were the clones or we were. Everyone was mopin' about it for a while, until I came up with this theory that is almost as awesome as I am. You wanna hear it?"

Pinkie nodded. "Sure!"

Scout grinned. "Y'see, the way I figure it, it's like this. If we're the originals, then nothin' beats the real thing. If we are the clones, then congrats are in order to the scientists who made us, 'cause they improved on perfection. If both us and RED are clones, then we're obviously the superior models."

Pinkie giggled. "That's neat."

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how quickly that perked everybody up," Scout said. "And that's the key, see? Sometimes you gotta be subtle about it. Make 'em laugh with or at you, it all works out the same in the end. Me, I'm better at gettin' folks to laugh at me. You seem like the type to do the other."

Pinkie blushed. "Well, I try," she said.

Scout chuckled. "C'mon, Pinks. Let's go make 'em laugh."

Pinkie nodded. "Okie dokie lokie!" she said.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

In the party...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Quite the excitement," Derpy said, smiling as she came up to Soldier, offering a fresh muffin.

Soldier grunted, thanking Derpy for the muffin and setting it down on the table to eat. "I know... The sad part is? I'm not entirely unfamiliar with this."

Derpy blinked. "Oh really?" she asked, honestly curious.

Soldier nodded. "One Halloween," he said, "we were attacked by this pumpkin-headed ghost with a giant axe... Let's just say I was VERY glad we had the Respawn once that decapitation happy nutjob showed up."

"Oh wow..." Derpy said, shaking her head.

"Yep. And the year after that, this wizard I lived with attacked us with Demoman's eye turned into a monster. It got possessed by an evil book years ago, and became this giant monster called Monoculus... Creepy thing," Soldier muttered.

"Sounds like you've lived the proverbial interesting life," Derpy said, nuzzling Soldier affectionately. "Just one quick question... What's Halloween?"

Soldier blinked, and said, "Ah... yeah, forgot we weren't in our world. Halloween is this holiday where you dress in costumes, try to scare people... you can also take kids around in costumes to get them candy..."

Derpy blinked, and grinned, finally understanding. "Oh, okay! So it's like our Nightmare Night!"

Soldier went wide-eyed for a moment and grinned. "Really? They're similar? Heh, maybe I can recreate my robot costume again..."

Over at another table, Medic and Twilight were discussing metaphysics.

"Wait, wait, wait... You're telling me ghosts actually DO EXIST!" she asked, incredulous. She ignored Spike's smug declaration of "Told ya so."

Medic nodded. "Ja, it's true. All living things, human, pony, or ozzervise, possess an invisible bioelectric aura of sorts. Ze aura does not fade avay on death, but merely transfers to vun of two larger, more universal auras upon death, vhich I have tentatively dubbed Heaven and Hell. Sometimes, ze aura maintains ze will of ze person it vas attached to in life, generating a substance called ectoplasm, and manifest as a ghost."

Twilight Sparkle stared at Medic thoughtfully, stroking her chin with a hoof. "That's... the most reasonably scientific way I've ever heard of explaining supernatural phenomenon..."

Medic grinned. "Zere's even evidence of Pinkie Pie's 'Giggle at the Ghosties' technique zat you mentioned being successful against real specters. Let me tell out about ze time we fought ze Horseless Headless Horsemann..."

In another part of the party, Rainbow Dash had finally gotten Scootaloo to calm down and go play with the other Crusaders. She sat in one corner, calmly listening to the music.

It was.. a unique experience.

Sniper came up to her with a couple fudge bars that Bon Bon had brought. "Brought some fudge. You doin' okay, Dasher?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, sniffing out the fudge and eating one of the bars. "Yeah... It's kinda weird. I mean, I've listened to music before, but now it's like... like I'm feeling it..." she said, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Sniper looked at her thoughtfully, ideas starting to form...

Elsewhere, Spy had gone over to Zecora, who had been talking to Nurse Redheart. He smiled, and said, "I wanted to thank you again for helping to bring Sniper and Rainbow Dash back. Lord knows zat bushman is helpless without tour guide."

Zecora found herself blushing again, Spy making an amused note of it. "H-He seemed like quite the tracker to me," she said, stammering a little and cursing herself for it, "He was merely dealing in unfamiliarity." Agh, what's wrong with you? Zecora thought. You're acting like a silly filly! Just because he's a handsome stallion... She blushed even harder.

Spy grinned. He loved getting this reaction out of women. And for reasons he couldn't explain, he was strongly interested in the herbalist zebra. "I would like to get to know you better," he said, "If you'd let me..."

Applejack shook his head as he watched Spy start to flirt with Zecora. He found Demoman by himself, Berry Punch having gone off to stop Ruby Pinch from trying to climb a bookshelf to get a book she wanted. He was mixing ice cream and Scrumpy in a cup, making himself a float.

"That Spah feller's slicker than a greased pig," she said.

Demoman looked at Spy and laughed. "Aye, he's always been one for a pretty face," he said. "Dinnae worry, lass. If he's interested without bein' provoked, then he's interested for real. He will nae break her heart."

Applejack huffed. "He better not..."

Demoman looked at her curiously. "Somethin' wrong, lassie?" he asked.

Applejack sighed. "Sorry. Ah's just... Ah guess I'm sorta overprotective of what ah've got left. After ah lost mah folks, ah ran off... Apple Bloom was still just a newborn... Took seein' a Sonic Rainboom t'help me realize that home was where ah belonged. Ah swore never to run away again and never let anyone come t'hurt again, friend or family..."

Demoman frowned. "A big job, lass..."

Applejack chuckled weakly. "Yeah... Ah got a habit o'takin' on more'n ah can handle... Cain't help it, though."

Demoman chuckled, nudging his Scrumpy ice cream float over to her. "I think ye need this more than I do, lass," he said. Applejack blushed, and accepted the gift. It was quite good, and had a hint of apple to the taste of it.

Demoman sighed. "Yuir a good lass, Applejack. But ye need to realize that ye cannae do it alone. I can do a lot of damage with me bombs, but without me teammates, I'm nothin' more than fodder on a battlefield. Ye friends are important, lass."

"Old habits," Applejack said, "are hard t'break sometimes." She smiled, and said, "But ah'm learnin.' And ah wouldn't trade the friends ah got for anythin' in the world."

Demoman grinned. "That's the spirit, lass!"

Elsewhere, Engineer was tinkering with Gem Sentry, repairing the damage. Rarity wandered over to him, curious.

"So this is the result of my gem supplies being used," she said, looking over the device.

Engineer smiled, and nodded to her. "And ah'm mighty grateful for it. Ah'm gonna repay you, Miss Rarity."

Rarity smiled. Ah, a true gentlecolt."Please, just Rarity will do," she said. She looked at Gem Sentry, impressed despite herself. "This is quite the elegant device," she said.

Engineer chuckled. "Completely unintentional, ah assure you, but ah appreciate it nevertheless. Ah've always tried for practicality in mah designs rather than looks," he said.

"You have more style than you think, Engineer darling," Rarity said. "I managed to talk that construction pony, Brass Fittings, into showing me the designs you gave her. Such smooth grace, such refined appearance... One would think you had a degree in design!"

Engineer blushed. "Aw, shucks. That's mighty kind o'you to say," he said. He looked over to Rainbow Dash and said, "You think yer friend's gonna be okay?"

Rarity looked over to Rainbow Dash and sighed. "I truly don't know... She's the strongest pony I know, but this sort of thing has never happened to her before..."

Engineer frowned, and sighed. "Well, if nothin' else, Sniper can be counted on to help her through this."

"Are you sure?" Rarity asked.

Engineer nodded. "Sniper's one of the most reliable people ah've ever met. He NEVER breaks his word, once given," he said. He sighed, and added, "Meantime, I gotta figure out a way to keep morale up while workin' out a way to get us home, AND workin' out a way to help stop whatever's comin' with all this Smooze nonsense so we can leave with a clear conscience."

Rarity chuckled weakly. "Sounds like you have a lot of obligations," she said. "It'll take a lot of work to fulfill them..."

Engineer just smiled. "Helpin' folks ain't work, Rarity. It's an honor and a pleasure. Whether it's helpin' rebuild somethin' that got broke, or keepin' a Dispenser going so mah teammates don't run outta ammunition, ah like helpin' folks."

Rarity grinned. A sentiment I fully agree with.

Pyro, near the food bar, watched with amusement as Fluttershy walked off with a plate full of sandwiches. "I just have this strange craving for sandwiches," the pegasus said. Pyro giggled, wandering around the party for a bit, before spotting Trixie as she was performing some card tricks for a trio of ponies with flower Cutie Marks that looked to be the easily impressed types.

"Hey TrixieTrix!" Pyro said, startling her out of a rather dazzling maneuver. To her credit, however, she recovered quickly, impressing the three flower ponies even more.

"Ah, you would be one of the BLU ponies the Great and Powerful Trixie was told about," Trixie said.

Pyro giggled. "Yepyep! I'm Pyro, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Pyro, eh? Means she's a flame user... Maybe I could use her in my act. "The Curious and Wondering Trixie would be interested in seeing your talents, Pyro."

Pyro smirked at her. "How many titles have you given yourself?" she asked.

"Six-hundred at last count," Trixie said without missing a beat, "Now, about that demonstration..."

Pyro shook her head. "Sorry. Engie told me not to without permission," she said.

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Oh come now. An obviously strong, independent mare like yourself, taking orders from a chubby nerd like..."

A swirl of blue flame erupted from Pyro's horn, swirling around Trixie's face, missing burning her mane and muzzle by millimeters, vanishing as it came back around at touched Pyro's horn.

"Do not. Insult. Engie," Pyro said softly, a savage grin on her face. "I forgive only once."

"Duly noted," Trixie said, unable to keep the fearful squeak out of her voice. She briefly noted that the flower ponies had retreated, and coughed, forcing herself to stop shaking. The display had been quite impressive. "You'll have to forgive Trixie," she said, "She sometimes believes her own press and lets it go to her head. I would like to get to know you better. That was an impressive display..."

Pyro, immediately reverting to cheerful and friendly again, nodded. "Okay!"

Celestia looked over the celebration with Luna, a smile on her face. As they watched, Pip came up to Luna, grinning widely, but still somewhat hesitant.

Luna sighed, knowing what he wanted, and decided to play along. "Do not fear, Littlepip. For the threat of Nightmare Moon only comes on Nightmare Night," she said, grinning wickedly. "But the time is fast approaching. So you'd best be prepared with your offerings. Especially those little chocolate bars with the strawberry filling."

Luna gentley ruffled Pip's mane. The colt giggled, nuzzling her happily, and ran off to join his friends. Luna looked up at Celestia, who had a benevolent smile on her face. Luna blushed, and said, "What? Those strawberry-filled chocolate bars are good!"

Celestia chuckled happily, nuzzling her sister. She turned to look at the party... and gasped, seeing the slender pony standing amidst the foals as they played, unseeing of the monster among them.

"GET AWAY!" Celestia shrieked, lunging down into the group of foals. Her hair fluttered in her face as she landed. She brushed it away quickly and...

...the slender pony was gone.

Celestia looked around frantically, trying to figure out how the slender pony could have disappeared in the short time it took her to lunge to the floor. The other ponies looked at her with concern and fear, Celestia shivering softly, breathing heavily.

"I think... I should go back to Canterlot..." Celestia said hesitatingly, still looking around. "It's been a long day, and I am quite tired..."

"...Are you sure?" Luna said.

Celestia sat down, frowning. "Yes... I need time to think of things..." she said, turning to smile at Luna. "You can handle things here, right?"

Luna nodded slowly, worried for her sister. Twilight came up beside her, concerned for her mentor.

Celestia smiled and hugged them both. "I hope you'll forgive me," she said. "But I have to go." The Princess of the Sun strode out of the room, towards her waiting chariot. The pegasus guards took to the air, and to Celestia's relief, the party music started up again. As they headed back to the mountainside city, Celestia had her guards make a different turn. She had them take her directly to the top of the mountain.

Ordering them to wait there, she cast a spell that revealed a hidden doorway. She walked through the doorway, descending down the stairs for two hours straight, disabling and re-enabling traps as she walked. When she finally came to the end of the stairway, she stood before a vault. She hesitated a long moment, and took a deep breath. She calmed her heart, thinking of a metronome, and cast the spell to open the door. She walked in, keeping a perfect, orderly rhythm, heading to the vault's soul occupant.

The statue of Discord.

Well well, Celestia! Discord taunted, unable to move but still able to talk to anyone close enough. So nice of you to drop by! I knew you'd miss me sooner or later.

Calm your heart. Celestia asserted. Make your mind a metronome. "Cut the small talk," Celestia said, "I'm here to ask you a question."

Ask away,Discord said amiably. I get so little stimulation down here.

"Are you responsible for the appearance of the Masky ponies? Are you responsible for the appearance of the faceless white pony?" she demanded.

...Faceless white pony, you say? Discord said. The statue was frozen in a position of horror, but Celestia couldn't help but feel that Discord was smiling. ...Did the faceless pony have a Cutie Mark in the form of a scratchy red circle with an X through it?

"...Yes," Celestia said, trying as best she could to keep her heart steady. "Are you responsible?"

Oh, I only wish! Discord said, laughing wildly. Oh, this is priceless! And let me guess: Only you can see the faceless white pony, and you only started seeing it after someone close to you had a nightmare about it!

Celestia's eyes widened. "How did you..."

I know because I know this creature. He is older than even I, and just as delightfully sadistic! A bit subtle for my taste, but then again, some of the best meals are slow simmered. Oh, what fun! And he's targeted YOU now! Discord crowed.

"Why me?" Celestia demanded. "What does he want from me?"

Your suffering, my little pony. He wants you to suffer. He will bring you waking nightmares without end, until there's nothing left of you but a quivering wreckage! Yes, I know this creature. I know what he is. I even know his name. But because I'm such a fink, I'm not gonna tell you! Discord taunted, laughing uproariously.

"Damn you!" Celestia snarled.

Oh, how I wish I could see your face when he finally drives you insane! Discord laughed. But no, I think I will wait for the inevitable.

Celestia felt something in her head fraying. "The inevitable WHAT?" she demanded.

You'll find out, Discord said. Sweet dreams, my little pony.

Celestia, fuming, left the chamber, going through the same process of disarming and rearming traps as she ascended the stairs. And all the while, the echoing laughter of Discord followed her...

TO BE CONTINUED