Waking Nightmares

by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires

Chapter 6: A Blank Story – Part 2

The disclaimer about copyrights from the last chapter will apply to this and all future chapters. This story starts the day after the events of the previous chapter. Also, for clarification, Sniper's Cutie Mark is the Sniper Rifle kill icon (not the headshot icon) in Team Fortress 2, while Spy's is the Backstab icon.

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Ponyville Elementary...

Lunch Break...

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"...And THAT'S why they won't let you help decorate city hall anymore?" Soldier asked, smirking despite himself.

Derpy blushed, grinning. "Yeah... I'm... somewhat accident prone. Thankfully, never around my daughters, but still, it was kinda embarrassing. I'm just lucky Rainbow Dash is such a good sport," she said.

Soldier shook his head. "Still... Jumping up and down on a stormcloud..."

Derpy sighed, and giggled. "I know, I know... I can't help it, though! Stormclouds are so sparky and fun! And when you lay on one, they give you a tingly feeling all along your underside that just tickles so nicely!"

Soldier chuckled. "I was about to say, jumping up and down on a stormcloud sounds like great fun. So there was a little collateral damage. So what?" He reared up and relaxed on the fence, bracing himself with his forehooves. "Engineer yelled at me for using my rocket launcher to write my name on the side of a nearby mountain. It's not like that avalanche I caused actually reached the base."

Derpy nodded, understanding both sides of the argument. "Engineer's probably just worried, is all. Since nothing went wrong, though, I don't see why he felt the need to yell at you."

Soldier grinned and nodded. "Exactly!" he said.

Derpy blushed a little. He really has a lovely smile, she thought, blushing even harder when she realized what she was thinking. "Anyway," she said, "I have to get back to my route. My lunch break is about over."

Soldier nodded. "Mine too," he said. "You going to be at that party Pinkie Pie and that Gray Hoof character are hosting tonight?"

Derpy grinned cheerfully. "Wouldn't miss it!" she said. "I'll see you there!" She waved to him and flew off... crashing into a light pole because she wasn't looking where she was going. She quickly shook it off though, blushed, and went on with her route.

Soldier found himself blushing as he watched her go, although he didn't realize it. She really has a lovely smile, he thought.

He didn't notice Gray Hoof discreetly digging a hole and planting a small, dagger-like artifact in the ground behind the school.

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

Everfree Forest...

Hydra's Cave...

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Brickhouse gulped nervously, heading towards the cave where a hydra was known to live. He had done flybys before while managing the weather under (grrr) Rainbow Dash, but had never wanted to go down there himself. He did not envy non-fliers at all, and never understood how any pegasus in their right mind would ever want to live on the ground.

He landed near the cave, looking around worriedly. He could hear the rumbling of the hydra within it, and gulped. "H-Hello?" he called out. "Is anypony here?"

"Right here, handsome," said a sultry voice from within the cave.

Brickhouse whirled, turning towards the voice... and gaped, his jaw dropping.

Sauntering out of the cave was the by-Celestia sexiest pegasus mare he had ever seen. Long legged, impressive wingspan, slender frame... For a brief moment he wondered if the masked pegasus mare standing before him was Fleur-de-Lis, but while the body type was similar, the grayish coloring was different, her Cutie Mark was the same creepy symbol that was on the note, and she was a pegasus rather than a unicorn.

(That, and there was the fact that the former fashion pony was completely devoted to her husband Fancypants, but like most guys his libido wouldn't let him acknowledge that.)

She wore a mask, pulled up to reveal her lovely face, a lock of mane drooping down over one eye. She smiled coyly at Brickhouse, sauntering over to him.

"Oh wow..." Brickhouse said, grinning eagerly.

The masked pegasus giggled, nuzzling him. "I can help you, Brickhouse... I can make your dreams come true..."

Brickhouse lewdly let his gaze wander over her. "ALL my dreams?" he said, trying and failing not to rasp with desire.

The masked pegasus nodded. "Everything. All the lewd little fantasies you're having about me now... And all the revenge fantasies you have about Rainbow Dash."

Brickhouse stiffened, his pleasure over having such a beautiful mare flirt with him vanishing like a puff of steam. "...You can help me get back at her? And those two friends of hers?"

"Oh indeed..." she said. "We actually have plans to put her and her new boytoys in place already. But we need your help..."

Brickhouse hesitated. Certainly the offer was tempting... but in a rare moment of good judgment, he felt the need to find out exactly what he was getting into. "...What, precisely, are you asking me to do?"

The masked pegasus grinned. "I need you to keep Celestia distracted for the next five hours," she said. "I need her NOT to notice anything except you... And I need you to lure her away from Canterlot..."

Every single alarm bell went off in Brickhouse's head. "Whoa whoa WHOA! Distract the Princess? I'm a stud, but I've got no chance with a babe like her."

"I didn't say flirt with her," the masked pegasus said. "I want you to get her to chase you, to lure her away from Canterlot."

What in blazes... "That's even worse, lady!" Brickhouse said, planning to fly off.

The masked pegasus huffed. "Well, if you're too COWARDLY to do it, then..."

"I AIN'T NO COWARD!" Brickhouse shouted. "I just... this is sounding weirdly like treason against the Princess, and I don't want any part of it."

The masked pegasus frowned, staring deeply into Brickhouse's eyes... and then smiled. "What if I told you I could give you the power to fool even the Sun Goddess herself? And the glory you would receive would be greater than anything Rainbow Dash had ever accomplished?"

Brickhouse cringed. The blonde athlete found himself becoming confused, the opportunity for greatness, his lust for the masked pegasus, and his own hatred for Rainbow Dash conflicting with his loyalty to the kingdom. But in the end...

"Two things. First... will this hurt the princess in any way, shape, or form?" Brickhouse asked, pawing the ground uncomfortably.

The masked pegasus smiled, an enticing, inviting smile. "I can honestly say that your actions will not bring any physical harm to the princess in any way, shape, or form."

If Brickhouse were a smarter pony, he might have noticed how specific her statement was. As it was, all her statement did was make him start to accept it. "Second thing," he asked, "How do I know that this will work?"

"We haven't been eaten by the hydra yet, have we?" the masked pegasus asked, smiling. "The masks hide us from its view. Mine... and yours..." She reached behind a nearby bush, pulling out a mask with a ghostly, almost skeletal face, and put it on Brickhouse's head.

She's right, he thought with a surprised gasp. The hydra should have stomped out and made snacks of us by now...

The masked pegasus saw the slow grin spreading over Brickhouse's face. She smirked. "Pull the mask down over your face. It shall give you the appearance of one she has been hunting. And it shall give you the speed and agility to stay far, far ahead of her. Keep her distracted until Luna is forced to lower the sun on her own, and then return to me. And I promise that everything you ever wanted will come true."

Brickhouse's mind whirled, lust, greed, and a desire for revenge buzzing around in his head. He nodded, and pulled the mask down over his face. He winced, feeling the mask actually grip his face. His mane became an unkempt black, his features becoming distinctly gender-neutral, his coat becoming a pale gray. He looked at himself in confusion and looked at the masked pegasus. He tried to ask her a question, but found his mouth sealed shut.

The masked pegasus grinned, a slow, sinister smile spreading over her face. "Don't worry," she said. "The effect will end when Luna is forced to lower the sun on her own. All you need to do is to distract Celestia long enough to force Luna's hooves. You're more than fast enough and evasive enough now to keep ahead of her."

Brickhouse frowned inwardly. He was uneasy about this, but lust and the promise of revenge against Dash were too tempting a reward to pass up. He flew off, astonished at the speeds he reached in such a short time. And as she watched him go, the masked pegasus shed the form she took, becoming the monstrous Masky Pegasus once again.

Masky Unicorn and Masky Earth Pony trotted out of the cave, their otherwise expressionless faces suggesting amusement.

nOt BaD, Masky Earth Pony said. bUt aReN't YoU wOrRiEd ThAt YoU'Ll AcTuAlLy HaVe To MaTe WiTh HiM?

pFt, Masky Pegasus laughed. cElEsTiA wOn'T lEt HiM oUt AfTeR sHe CaTcHeS hIm. ThE eNcHaNtMeNt On ThAt MaSk WiLl EnD tHe MoMeNt ThE mOon RiSeS.

WeLl dOnE, Masky Unicorn said. nOw, To SeE tO mY oWn MiNiOn...

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

Ponyville...

Carousel Boutique...

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The sound of a ringing bell alerted Rarity's attention to the arrival of a customer. She turned, putting on her best 'customer service smile,' and said, "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chiq, unique, and mangifique. How can I... Oh, hello Engineer."

Engineer nodded, smiling amiably and tipping his hard hart to her. "Ma'am, I think we know each other enough that y'all can call me Dell," he said. "It's my real name. Dell Conagher."

Rarity smiled. "Very well then, Dell. What can I do for you?"

Engineer smiled. "Well, ah got mah chores done at Sweet Apple Acres for today, and ah figured ah'd take y'all out to lunch 'fore going t'help with the construction of our base. Turns out the princesses are givin' us an allowance of sorts for use while we're stuck here."

Rarity's quirked an eyebrow. "I'm surprised. Usually there's a lot of work to do over there, even if you're just doing chores."

Engineer chuckled. "Ol' Heavy's capable of doin' a lot of the work by his own self, so ah just helped out with repairs and stuff like that. It's kinda funny. Ah guess everyone's used to Big Mac being the biggest stallion in town."

Rarity blushed. "Yes, well, you have to admit your friend does stand out."

Engineer nodded. "We all do," he admitted, chuckling.

Rarity grinned. "Well, I'd be delighted. I was about to take a break anyway," she said.

Engineer nodded and looked sheepish. "Y'mind if ah ask a couple quick questions, though?"

Rarity nodded, curious. "Go ahead."

Engineer gestured towards Everfree. "First thang... Why was Spah headed out for Everfree this mornin'?"

Rarity grinned playfully. "As it turns out, your swarthy teammate has developed something of a crush on Zecora, that herbalist you met last night at the party."

Engineer smirked. "Sounds like Spah, all right... Lucky for him he's not the love 'em and leave 'em type..."

"Indeed... Although for someone as gentlemanly as he, I have a hard time imagining it," Rarity said, straightening out some loose materials.

"Spah used to date Scout's mother for a while," Engineer said.

Rarity giggled, unable to help herself. "Oh dear," she said.

Engineer nodded. "Spah loves to tease Scout about it, although thankfully he usually keeps to teasing RED Scout... If the theory that one or both sides are clones of the original pan out, technically both Spahs dated Scout's ma."

Rarity cringed. "It's a wonder that poor boy doesn't have a complex..."

Engineer shrugged, helping her clean up her shop. "Never really put much stock in psychology. Some of my teammates are... well, a little off, to be Fluttershy-level kind about it... But they're good folks. They just enjoy their jobs a bit too much for me to be fully comfortable with them at times."

Rarity hmmed, not really comfortable talking about Engineer's work.

Engineer, ever tactful, said, "But enough about that..." He paused. "Actually, it's three questions ah wanted to ask, so ah got two more left..."

"Fair enough," Rarity said. They finished the cleaning, Rarity going over to a dresser to freshen herself up.

Engineer hesitated, and asked, "Does Pinkie Pie ever seem to... y'know, warp reality?"

Rarity paused, and chuckled. "Ah, dear Pinkie. Reality does seem to have a tenuous grip on her, doesn't it?"

"As opposed to the other way around," Engineer muttered.

"Pinkie can... be grating, at times. But she truly is a good soul and a genuinely loving person, if a bit... manic, to put it politely," Rarity said, smiling warmly. "You just have to get used to her unique quirks to truly appreciate her."

Engineer pawed at the floor, looking away worriedly.

Rarity frowned. "What's wrong?"

Engineer sighed. "Rarity... Ah'm a man of science. Ah look at the world, and ah see a pattern and order for everything. Pinkie... Pinkie doesn't fit into any pattern. She seems to defy the laws of reality just by existing... Plus, she has the same strangeness about her that Scout has... he calls it 'the ability to see beyond the wall...' What it means ah've never been able t'figure out. Only with Pinkie, it's even more pronounced, to the point where it frightens me. Ah'm aware that she's a nice, kind person, and she throws a mighty fine party... Ah just don't think ah like her all that much..."

Rarity was stunned. She had seen people irritated with Pinkie before, but for someone to say they outright didn't like her... "...I wish I could help you with that, Dell. I really do. But some things you just have to accept. Twilight tried to understand the way Pinkie worked one time, and ended up getting a piano dropped on her head."

Engineer went wide-eyed at that. Rarity chuckled. "She recovered quickly enough. We ponies are made of sterner stuff than one might think."

Engineer felt something throbbing in the back of his head, and decided to just talk to Medic about it later. "Anyway... my last question," he said, and began to look embarrassed. "...Spah said that y'all was workin' on hats for us?"

Rarity grinned, back in more comfortable territory. "Actually, yes! I talked to Medic about it earlier, and he filled me in on the details of it," she said, holding up a design for a Cavalier hat with a large feather plume in it. The band around the hat bore the letters BLU in it on the clasp in front.

Engineer grinned. "Mighty fine lookin' piece o' headwear, Rarity."

Rarity grinned. "I'm so glad you like it!" she said. Then she remembered something Medic had mentioned earlier. "Actually... Medic mentioned something about 'unusual' hats..." she said. Engineer let his head droop to the table, groaning inwardly. "When I pressed him on it," Rarity continued, giggling, "he became very evasive."

Engineer sighed. "Unusual hats... are basically hats with little holographic effects swirlin' around them. A storm cloud floatin' above it, little ghosties spinning around it, fake fire dancin' all over it, snowflakes swirlin' around it, things like that. Heavy got one by accident, apparently some new market thing that the person that sold us all our hats had given up on. Once he got wind that we liked 'em, he began marketing them as 'Unusuals.'"

Rarity laughed. She couldn't help it. "Oh dear oh dear... Well, I suppose I can add a little magical effect to it, make it an 'Unusual' for you."

Engineer grinned brightly. "Really?" He then blushed, realizing how he just reacted. Rarity giggled.

Engineer blushed, but smiled. "Keep laughin' like that and ah won't invite you to the party Pinkie and that new feller Gray Hoof are throwin' tonight."

Rarity grinned, and sighed. "I'd love to go with you, but I already promised Spike I'd be his date for it. He's done so much for me, it's only fair that I indulge his crush once in a while."

Engineer nodded, smiling. "Fair enough, Rarity. Ah'll see you there."

Behind Carousel Boutique, the glowing artifact that Gray Hoof planted there earlier began to glow.

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

Books and Branches Library...

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Pyro happily bounced up to the library. She stared at it, a compulsion to set the treehouse on fire coming over her. She quickly suppressed it, reminding herself that Engie would be mad if she burnt down something without asking. She let herself in, and found, to her amusement, Trixie and Twilight reorganizing several shelves worth of books. Spike was cleaning upstairs, listening with amusement to the conversation below.

"...Seriously, Twilight? You nearly went insane over being LATE WITH A LETTER? And then you brainwashed the town into falling in love with your old Smarty Pants doll just so you could have a problem to solve and write a letter about?" Trixie asked, chuckling as she reordered a shelf of Daring Do books, three of which were missing due to being checked out by Rainbow Dash.

Twilight blushed. "Yep," she said. "Not my proudest moment. And looking back, I really should have known Princess Celestia wouldn't have minded. She constantly surprises me with how... casual, she is at times..."

Pyro shook her head. "Doesn't surprise me, really."

Twilight, Trixie, and Spike turned. Spike waved to her, Pyro grinning and waving back. She turned to Twilight and Trixie and continued her thought. "If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. The Princess is an immortal, right? Lived for centuries. Living that long, you get to see mortals you care for grow old and die... All that royal formality nonsense just seems less and less important when you think about it..."

Twilight frowned. "I never really thought of it like that..." she said softly, Spike's expression showing that he hadn't thought of it either.

Trixie quirked an eyebrow. "Interesting philosophy you have, Pyro," she said. "What brings you to the library today?"

Pyro grinned. "There's this new pony in town named Gray Hoof. Apparently he wants to throw a party for some friends of his, and Pinkie's helping. I just came to invite you all."

Trixie grinned. "Of course the Great and Powerful Trixie will go! Another chance to show off my glorious magical talents! And some of the new tricks I've learned."

Twilight thought for a moment, and nodded. "Why not? We only have a short list of chores to do today."

Spike snickered. "You've got a funny definition of short, Twilight," he said, taking out the list and letting it unroll... revealing a list of tasks as long as three Spikes laid end to end.

Trixie gagged. "Twilight, the Great and Powerful Trixie has thought about this carefully, and she has concluded that you REALLY need to get out more."

Twilight blushed. "There's nothing wrong with paying attention to all the little details."

As Twilight and Trixie argued, Pyro stared at the list blankly. And then her horn flashed, a demented grin coming to her face. The list burst into flames, Spike yelping and dropping it as the scroll turned into a pile of cinders.

"Chores done!" Pyro chirped.

Trixie fell over laughing, Spike joining her moments later. Twilight stared, aghast. "Pyro!"

"Oh, Trixie does like you indeed, firebug!" Trixie said, struggling to catch her breath between fits of laughter.

Pyro just grinned. "I find that, if you think about it, there are few problems that cannot be solved in some fashion with copious amounts of fire."

Twilight started to protest, but despite herself, she began actually thinking about it. Trixie did as well, saying after a minute of thinking, "Technically, she's not wrong."

"But she SHOULD be," Twilight muttered, Spike coming down the stairs to join the three unicorn mares.

Trixie giggled. "Oh, tish tosh, Twilight Sparkle. Take the day off. The chores will still be there tomorrow. It won't kill you to procrastinate for once"

Spike snickered. "Oooh, careful Trixie. Procrastinate's a dirty word in the Twilight Sparkle Dictionary of OCD."

"I'm not that bad," she muttered.

"Twilight," Spike stated flatly, "You once wrote a friendship report summarizing all your friendship reports to Princess Celestia."

Trixie gagged, incredulous. Twilight blushed. Pyro giggled. "You and Engie would get along well, I think," she said.

Spike continued, adding, "As I recall, the Princess's response was to send some videos from her 'private collection' as well as a sternly worded letter encouraging you to actually get out and get..."

"OKAY!" Twilight shouted, blushing brightly, interrupting him. "I get it. I'll let the chores go for today and just get ready for the party." She cast a glare to Trixie, Pyro, and Spike, all of whom were giggling. Even Owlowicious, asleep for the day, seemed to be smirking.

Pyro smiled. "I'll let the others know that you'll be there, then," she said.

Twilight nodded, smiling worriedly at her. "How... How are all of you holding up?"

Pyro blinked. "Hm?"

Twilight frowned. "Well... You were all torn out of your world and brought here, and even had your real bodies taken from you. I know how Medic's doing, but is everypony else... okay?"

Pyro looked thoughtful for a moment. "Engie's trying to keep busy so he doesn't have to think about it. Heavy is just passing time and trusting that the geniuses will think of something. Scout is... Scout. Demoman and Soldier are adjusting better than I thought, although I saw Demoman run off with Applejack earlier. Spy seems to be focusing on romancing that zebra. And Sniper is taking care of Rainbow Dash, so that gives him something to focus on, although I can tell he's really missing his parents, even though he tries to hide it. Me? I'm doin' fine. I'm hopin' that we'll get home of course, but I'm determined to enjoy m'self while I'm here."

"But what if you aren't able to go home?" Trixie asked.

"Trixie!" Twilight said admonishingly.

"It's a fair question," she said. "Certainly the princesses are quite powerful, but as anypony knows, some magics are beyond even them."

Twilight tried to protest again, but Pyro had already started to answer. "If we can't get home, then I'll just start hoping that Equestria becomes a good home for us."

Even Twilight, ever concerned about everypony's well-being, had to smile at that answer. Pyro grinned, shrugging. "There's always hope. If what you're hoping for doesn't work out, hope for something else. Just so long as you never give up hope in any situation."

Trixie nodded. "A fine philosophy. And one that the Wise and Experienced Trixie can relate to," she said.

Twilight blinked, giving her a curious look. Spike gave her a suspicious stare. "That YOU can relate to?"

Trixie smirked. "Do you honestly think that Ponyville is the first town that Trixie has been chased out of? Or the first town that Trixie has been called on her... admittedly slightly exaggerated statements?"

Pyro giggled. Twilight rolled her eyes, giving up.

None of the unicorns noticed as Gray Hoof came up to the library and began to stick one of the dagger-like artifacts he carried amongst the building's roots.

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

Rainbow Dash's house...

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

"...And that's pretty much it," Rainbow Dash said, having finished explaining how to fill in for her at the weather station.

"Simpler than I thought it'd be, actually," Sniper said, nodding.

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "How else do you think I can get away with so much napping or stunt training during the day?"

Sniper shook his head, smirking. Rainbow Dash was an interesting set of contradictions. She was endlessly loyal to her friends, and once she started a task she didn't stop until it was completed, but always took an opportunity to slack off and do whatever she wanted. She honestly fascinated him.

Careful, mate, he told himself. No need to be going THAT local... After all, you're not going to be here forever...

Sniper frowned. Maybe if he told himself that enough, he'd actually believe it. He looked around, and spotted a pile of books in the corner. "Interesting..." he said, going over to the stack. "Never took you as the reading kind of sheila..."

Rainbow Dash brightened. "Me neither. But then Twilight showed me this AWESOME series of books, the Daring Do series! They're great adventure stories!"

Sniper hmmed thoughtfully, looking at the cover. "'Daring Do and the Wooden Mask,'" he read.

Rainbow Dash grinned excitedly. "That's one of my favorites! The main bad guy, Ahuizotl, has this enchanted tribal mask that he tricks Daring Do's assistant into buying, but it's actually totally evil and starts turning her evil too!" she said, speaking with all the joy of a fangirl. She then frowned, remembering that she still couldn't see. "...Maybe I should just try to take those books back to the library. It's not like I can actually read them now..."

"Nah, love," Sniper said, idly skimming a few chapters, fumbling with the book in his hooves a bit. "Sounds right interesting, it does. I may give it a gander m'self. And don't think you can't read just because y'can't see. There's books for blind folks, y'know?"

Rainbow Dash frowned. "You mean Brayle? I dunno..." she said, sighing. "It'd be a bit of a pain to learn all the letters again in those stupid dot patterns..."

Sniper's eyes widened, surprised that they actually had a functioning equivalent to Braille here. He decided to just roll with it, though. "Not that hard. I can teach you. And once you get your sight back, you can say that you have another skill to brag about: multi-language skills."

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah... Heh. I do kinda like having stuff to brag about..."

Sniper nodded, grinning. "There you go," he said. "Chin up, and all that."

Rainbow Dash smiled.

Because of how high up they were, neither of them noticed the small, pulsing, dagger like artifact embedded underneath the roots of a tree a few feet to the left of the house.

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

Zecora's hut...

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

Spy, his suit neatly pressed and his balaclava in his side pocket with his knife, calmly trotted up to Zecora's hut, glad he remembered the path that Sniper explained to him. He paused briefly to pick up a patch of bright blue flowers to give to her, remembering Sniper telling him that the blue flowers were a sign of affection in Zecora's culture. He had an amusing image of he and Zecora eating the flowers while romantic music played around them. (Inwardly, he was mildly surprised that he had actually developed a taste for flowers.) Chuckling, he went up to her door and knocked on it, waiting patiently.

To his surprise, her voice came from behind him.

"Spy? Oh my, this is a surprise! What brings you to this crossing in both of our lives?" she said, a pleased grin on her face.

Spy grinned. He adored Zecora's poetic way of speaking. "I simply came to invite you to a party being held tonight. A newcomer has arrived to hold a celebration for his friends, and Pinkie is helping him."

Neither of them noticed the slight flash of unicorn magic, Spy's mind going fuzzy for a moment.

"His name escapes me for the moment," Spy said, frowning a little in confusion, "but it promises to be a grand event. And gentleman zat I am, I brought you some flowers as a symbol of my endless affection." He placed the bouquet on the ground before her.

Zecora looked at the flowers, recognizing them immediately and backing away slightly, chuckling.

Spy blinked. "What's wrong?"

Zecora snickered. "Ah... what do you know of those flowers of blue? And who gave all of your info to you?"

Spy blinked, suddenly uncertain. "Well... Sniper told me zat zey were a sign of affection in your culture..."

Zecora shook her head, laughing. "Your trust, I'm afraid, that Sniper has broke. Those bluish blossoms? They're called Poison Joke."

Spy gagged. "Poison?" he said, spitting them out.

"Not that kind of poison," Zecora said. "Don't worry my friend. Your life is not about to end. Those plants you see, are of a magical hitch. Its pollen causes unusual magic jokes and tricks."

Spy blinked. "Jokes? A poison that causes... jokes?"

Zecora nodded. "Indeed, dear Spy, that much is right. When I met it while young, it gave me bright colorful stripes. But don't worry, it only works after one full day. A special bath can simply wash it away."

Spy growled. "Cursed filthy jar man... I'll get you for zis..."

Zecora chuckled, leading Spy inside. As she helped prepare a bath for him, taking his clothes to the stream behind her hut to wash them, Spy himself tossing the Poison Joke in the fireplace, her mind started to wander.

"Something wrong?" Spy asked from the large, pony-sized cauldron he sat in, which Zecora assured him was used for bathing and not cooking.

Zecora smiled nervously. "Forgive my delays, I will not be long... but I can't help but feel, though, that something's terribly wrong..."

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

Elsewhere in Everfree...

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

Mitta ran, the undead Earth pony tireless as she galloped through the forest, easily dodging past tangles of roots and brush. Demoman and Applejack ran behind her, struggling to keep up. As they ran, Applejack noticed something important.

"No animals... Even running like we is, we'd usually be meetin' somethin' by now..." she muttered.

"They sense what I am and fear me because of it," Mitta said. She ran forward, undaunted, brush rotting as it touched her, allowing her to cut a swath through the greenery. "I don't blame them for it. Now come. We need to stop the Masked Unicorn before he can help Gray Hoof spread his curse to Ponyville."

"Aye, lassie," Demoman said. "You lead me to him, and I'll blast the bloody git into a thin gruel." He vaguely remembered that he didn't actually HAVE any explosives with him, but he could easily adapt. This just gave him a reason to finish his fireworks more quickly.

The thought that he might not survive this didn't even enter his head.

The two Earth ponies followed the undead pony as she literally tore a path through the foliage, which regenerated behind them as Mitta's corroding presence left. It gave Applejack the uncomfortable image of the forest swallowing them up.

"We're here," Mitta said, her voice as cold as the grave as she came out onto a path in the trees. Applejack and Demoman both stepped out onto the path, seeing the dilapidated wreckage of a town. Crumbling buildings, withered plantlife, and tables filled with food rotted to unrecognizable mush were all that was left of the formerly beautiful town.

"Welcome to my home," she said. "Welcome to Sunnytown."

"...So this is where Apple Bloom nearly lost her life," Applejack said softly.

Demoman cringed. "Looks like Pyro, Heavy, and Soldier got into me private stock and had themselves a party..."

Mitta hissed at them. "Don't mention the word 'party' to me. After years of constantly reliving the party that damned us all, I have grown to loathe the very concept of parties."

Back in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie gagged. She spent a good twenty seconds trying to figure out why before Gray Hoof called her attention back to the party preparations.

Applejack barely heard her. She walked further and further into town, trying to imagine what it was like for Apple Bloom to be hunted by the undead that resided here.

Demoman frowned, concerned that Applejack was losing herself in this place. "Lassie... Stay with Mitta and I... Dinnae wander off..." he said, although as he did

Applejack suddenly paused, freezing in place.

Demoman and Mitta came up to her, worried. "Applejack? What's wrong?" she said. The undead pony had only a vague idea of the masked unicorn's powers. When Demoman came up to her, he ended up freezing in place as well. Mitta, suddenly nervous, waved her hooves in front of both of them.

They just stared ahead, unheeding of Mitta's presence.

"No no no..." Mitta moaned softly. "What's going on?"

She tentatively touched both of them briefly, letting her curse spread to them just enough to try and shock them out of it. She quickly withdrew, letting them revert back to normal, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Please... I need you to wake up!" Mitta cried in frustration. "I don't know why, but the masked unicorn specifically brought you up. I can't beat him without you!"

And then, to her horror, their Cutie Marks vanished.

Applejack smiled at Mitta. "Land sakes, sugah! Y'all need to lighten up!"

Demoman nodded, grinning. "Aye, lassie! It's a party, after all. The Summer Sun Celebration!"

There was a blinding flash of light. Mitta winced, closing her eyes against it. When she opened them again, she gasped in fright, although her lungs no longer worked.

Sunnytown was restored to its former glory. Once ruined and dilapidated buildings now stood tall, as if built that very day. Ponies long dead and gone, having succumbed fully to the curse and rotted to ash, gamboled about, having a good time. Applejack went over and began talking with a unicorn she remembered to be a sweet shop owner, while Demoman went immediately for the punch bowl.

Mitta's head darted around in confusion as she tried to figure out what was going on.

HeHeH, chuckled a demonic voice.

Mitta whirled, spotting Masky Unicorn sitting on a park bench, a glowing balloon tied to his tail. His mask was pushed slightly up to reveal a ruin of a mouth, an ice cream cone held by his telekinesis. He calmly licked at it with a rotted tongue, smirking at Mitta.

It'S tOo LaTe, he said. EvEn If YoU fReE tHeM, yOu WiLl NeVeR sAvE pOnYvIlLe. NoW rElAx AnD eNjOy ThE pArTy.

And as Mitta watched, the glowing balloon bulged, hooves pushing on it from the inside. As Mitta listened, she swore she could hear Ruby's voice coming from inside it. She looked around the party despairingly, seeing phantom images of her former friends and family interacting with the brainwashed Demoman and Applejack, their eyes glazed over with the hypnotic spell they were under.

She had no idea what to do.

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

Canterlot...

Royal palace...

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

Princess Celestia calmly went about her day, sipping tea and reading the Slendermane journal. She had already taken care of all the legal matters that required her attention, Princess Luna handling the diplomatic ones. (Despite how personally out of date she was due to her exile on the moon, Luna seemed to have a knack for politics that Celestia took centuries to develop.) As she read, though, she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of foreboding.

9/2/1504 AD: The most frustrating thing about this creature, which I have tentatively named Slendermane, is that for the most part, he (I use 'he' hesitantly, because its body type seems male) just stands there. That in and of itself wouldn't be worth noting, but he stands there for hours, doing nothing, standing motionless... observing me... and then when he vanishes, something horrible happens to somepony soon after. He seems to have a fondness for murdering foals...

Celestia frowned, making a mental note to have guards posted at the schools. I should also send word of this to Mayor Mare, and the other city officials. Just in case... Barricade I'll send to Ponyville. She's been looking for an excuse to visit her daughter... She turned a page.

9/9/1504 AD: Oh LaurFaustia help me. This past week I have been attacked constantly by masked ponies. An Earth pony, a Unicorn, and a Pegasus. What do they want from me? Why are they attacking me? Are they trying to keep me away from Slendermane? Are they working for him and just trying to break me down more?

The page degenerated into incoherent scribblings and had a tear in it. Celestia guessed that the journal writer, who was alive during the time of her mother, had been attacked while writing it. She sipped her tea, trying to make sense of this journal entry, and turned the page. But as she did, she felt a dark presence behind her. She whirled, her eyes widening, and saw a masked pegasus standing there, staring at her.

Celestia's eyes narrowed. She slowly set the journal down, her eyes not leaving the masked pegasus. It was different from the one Masky Unicorn wore, but it was still clearly a Masky mask.

"I don't know what you want..." she said slowly, "...but I'll be damned if I allow you to harm those I care about. Your brother unicorn nearly had my sister and I violated after he brainwashed my guards. You won't get the same opportunity..."

The Masky flinched. Celestia frowned. Something was different about this one...

Inside the mask, every single one of Brickhouse's alarm bells were going off. ...The pegasus babe's brother tried to have the princesses RAPED! Brainwashed her guards! What the hay is going on here?

In the moment of hesitation, Celestia teleported to Brickhouse's side. He yelped, and did the only thing he could think of to do.

He flew for his life.

Celestia snorted angrily, and flew after him. But to her shock, the pegasus was faster than she was, keeping just a few flaps ahead of her no matter h ow much speed she put on.

Well, she knew a way around THAT.

Brickhouse just wanted to get away. He needed to get this mask off, try and figure out what was going on. Thankfully, what the pegasus babe had said about the mask making him faster than the princess. He was actually starting to pull ahead of her, a mach cone forming around him.

And then she appeared in front of him, teleporting into his path.

Brickhouse yelped inwardly, his magically enhanced agility allowing him to make a perfect turn to avoid her. Celestia snarled, frustrated, and teleported after him again and again, Brickhouse barely dodging out of the way each time. As the citizens of Canterlot watched, a brilliant light show took place over their heads, a dark streak zig-zagging across the sky, interspersed with bright flashes of light.

Fancypants, from his high penthouse, watched with amusement. His girlfriend, Fleur-de-Lis, watched with him, a content smile on her face as she draped herself over his back.

"Rather spectacular show, eh?" Fancypants said.

"I wonder what the occasion is?" Fleur said, smiling.

"Oh, you know the Princess," Fancypants said, chuckling. "It's said that she was the former Element of Laughter back in the days before Nightmare Moon. She always hated the Grand Galloping Gala, so maybe she's testing out a light show for a new celebration."

Fleur stuck out her tongue. "Can't blame her, really. All those BORING society ponies," she said.

Fancypants snickered. "In case you've forgotten, love, WE are society ponies."

Fleur grinned. "Yes, yes. But we're far more STYLISH," she said.

Fancypants shook his head, chuckling, and looked out at the light show. But as they watched, the streak and flashes started coming dangerously close. Fancypants, worried, started to turn to Fleur to tell her to move away, when the streak slammed into his balcony, sending both unicorns flying.

Fancypants was the first to recover, having landed in a linen closet. He shook his head, trying to clear it, when he saw something that nopony had seen in years.

Celestia enraged.

She had a masked pegasus pinned under her hooves, the pegasus struggling fearfully to try and escape. "Oh no," Celestia snarled, snorting, "You aren't getting away. Not after what you and yours have done to my guards, to my student, and to Ponyville."

"P-Princess?" Fancypants said.

Celestia looked up, startled. That moment's distraction was all the masked pegasus needed to run for it. "DAMN IT!" Celestia cursed, the chase starting up again. Fancypants stared after them, uncertain of what to do. He heard a groaning, and looked around for Fleur, finding her in the wreckage of an ancient heirloom grand piano.

Heedless of the ruined treasure, he tore it up even more to free Fleur from the wreckage. She smiled wearily at him, her body covered in cuts, her horn chipped. "Was... Was that the Princess?"

Fancypants nodded, gently levitating her onto his back. She winced, one leg visibly broken. "I have to get you to a hospital," he said. "And then I have to tell Princess Luna that her sister is engaged in battle..."

And while I'm at it, he thought, I should probably check up on Miss Rarity and her associates... Fancypants didn't know what was going on, but he didn't get where he was today by letting information pass him by.

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

Sunnytown...

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

Masky Unicorn, the balloon that held Ruby's soul tied to his tail and bobbing about, moved casually among the illusions of Mitta's old friends. Applejack and Demoman moved amongst the ghosts of the past as if they belonged there, Mitta scared to death that they soon WOULD belong there... If she couldn't figure something out, they would succumb to the curse...

But as she watched, she began seeing familiar things. Roneo presenting Starlet with his gemstone necklace gift. Elder Great Heart cruelly admonishing Three Leaf that she didn't have to do so well in tending a garden.

It can't be... she thought.

And then an illusion of Princess Celestia walked by, cheerfully greeting the townspeople, a slightly confused expression at the lack of Cutie Marks on her face.

She saw Ruby, or at least an illusion of her, fearfully moving amongst the shadows.

And she suddenly realized what was happening. It was a recreation of the party that damned Sunnytown.

A plan was forming in her mind. A crazy plan, and one that would tear open all the old wounds in her soul, but if it worked, it would snap Applejack and Demoman out of their mesmeric daze.

The illusions could be interacted with. That meant she could recreate the events that led to her damnation.

But why recreate the party? Does he think I wouldn't be able to go through with this? she thought. She REALLY didn't want to go through with it. But she knew she had to.

Gulping hard, she went over to where the illusionary Ruby was skulking about. She went up to her, forcing a smile on her face, and said, "Ruby? Sis, what's wrong?"

The fake Ruby, tears in her eyes, gestured to the magnifying glass on her flank. It really does look cute on her, Mitta thought sadly.

"S-Sis... The mark! I have the cursed mark!" the fake Ruby said fearfully. "What should I do?"

Mitta remembered that horrible day clearly, every detail down to the most minute. She replicated her reaction perfectly, a shocked gasp and nervous tension as she said, "We... We have to get you out of here..."

She remembered that day. She hid Ruby in the shed where she herself spent centuries after their damnation. But this time she had to vary the story a little. Guiding her behind a shed, she looked to see where Elder Great Heart was, seeing him talking with Gray Hoof, Three Leaf, Roneo, Starlet, and Gladstone.

Perfect, she thought sadly.

"Follow me," Mitta said to the fake Ruby. "I know how we can get you to safety."

The fake Ruby nodded. Mitta sighed wearily, and led her right into the view of the others.

Mitta felt numb inside when she heard the others gasp, the fake Ruby fearfully hiding behind her. Almost immediately they were caught.

"The mark..." the fake Elder Great Heart hissed. He turned to the fake Gray Hoof and the others and said, "Take her to the church. Make sure the Princess doesn't see. Our Lady of the Sun doesn't need to know that the curse has befallen someone this night."

The fake Gray Hoof nodded. "Yes, Elder," he said. "C'mon," he said, gesturing to the others.

The fake Three Leaf hesitated. "Are... Are you sure we have to?" she asked.

"You know the law," the fake Gray Hoof said, roughly shoving the fake Ruby away from Mitta, who just watched sadly, letting history play out. He turned to the fake Ruby and said, "Helluva thing to do to a pony that went to all this trouble for your party."

Despite herself, as the fake Ruby was dragged off shrieking, a rag quickly stuffed in her mouth, Mitta stepped forward feeling compelled to help her. The fake Elder Great Heart stepped in front of her. "Don't interfere, Mitta. I'm willing to forgive you this time, but don't do it again."

She sneered at him, amused that he hadn't noticed that her own Cutie Mark hadn't vanished like Applejack's and Demoman's had. "I enjoyed watching you get dragged to hell old man..." she growled at him.

The fake Elder Great Heart blinked in confusion, and shook his head, going to oversee the fake Ruby's execution. Demoman and Applejack came up to her, worried looks on their faces.

"Mitta, lass... What's going on?" Demoman asked.

"You're witnessing history replaying itself. My sister is about to be murdered because she got her Cutie Mark," Mitta said softly, closing her eyes.

Applejack and Demoman's eyes widened, staggering a little as the illusion started to lose its hold on them.

"We... Y'cain't just let this happen!" Applejack said.

"I did last time..." Mitta said softly. "I let them talk me into it..."

Demoman cursed. "Bloody hell," he snarled, "Forget her! Let's get to the church and stop this madness!"

"Right," Applejack said, giving Mitta a horrified look before galloping off with Demoman. They quickly made their way through the town, barely noticing as their Cutie Marks reappeared on their flanks, heading to the church set far back into the woods, at the borders of the forest. They tried to burst in, but as they did, Masky Unicorn telekinetically held them to the floor, the others not noticing them.

yOu WiLl WaTcH tHiS, it said. i UnDeReStIMaTeD mItTa'S rEsOlVe, BuT i'Ll sTiLl GeT mY sUfFeRiNg OuT oF tHiS..

Applejack and Demoman struggled to move, but the demonic unicorn held them completely immobile. They could only watch as the fake Gray Hoof browbeat the reluctant Gladstone, Roneo, Starlet, and Three Leaf into helping throw Ruby into the fireplace.

Applejack let out a scream as Ruby burned to death, pounding desperately against the gate that kept her in place. "STOP THIS! LET HER OUT, PLEASE!" she shrieked, the illusions unheading.

"DAMN YE!" Demoman roared. "DAMN YE ALL FER THIS!"

Applejack's pleas and Demoman's threats fell on deaf ears. They could only bear witness as Ruby thrashed about in the flames, screaming helplessly. Gladstone and Three Leaf couldn't look at her, while Roneo and Starlet hugged each other tightly, sobbing.

Only Gray Hoof watched, a satisfied smirk on his face as Ruby died in terrible agony. "The sin has been purged," he said calmly after Ruby stopped moving. "Sunnytown is safe again."

And then they saw it. Mitta, or at least the illusion of Mitta, burst into the church, struggling against ten ponies that were trying to hold her. The same thought passed through their minds. Didn't Mitta say she didn't do anything? As soon as the thought passed through their heads they realized that Mitta's guilt must have led her to believe that she actually didn't do anything, as opposed to not doing anything herself...

The fake Mitta, her flanks as blank as the others, stared at the burning remains of her sister, and collapsed, letting out a wailing scream of despair. Gray Hoof tried to shush her, but it was far too late.

"What's going on?" Princess Celestia said, forcing her way past the gathered ponies. She checked on Mitta, who seemed to have gone catatonic, and then turned to Gray Hoof and the other four, all of whom had backed into a corner and were cowering fearfully. "What is all of this abou..." She trailed off, noticing the pyre in the far side of the room. She crossed to it, her eyes wide with confusion... and saw the body inside. She whirled, her face in a terrifying expression of fury that Applejack had never seen on the Princess before. Her made and tail became blazing red coronas as she turned to Gray Hoof and demanded, "What have you done!"

Gray Hoof grinned weakly, gulping hard, and saying, "Your highness... In our village, ever since the Great Plague, we have struggled to make sure that NO ONE got infected with the Cursed Mark. To that end... To that end, we have developed a system where those who get the Cursed Mark are purged in your Name, as Ruby was tonight..."

Oh mah lands...Applejack thought, horrified.

Bloody cultists, Demoman snarled inwardly.

Celestia gave them a horrified look. "You... You did this... in MY NAME! You... you committed this... this BLASPHEMY in MY NAME!"

The gathered ponies cowered, the ones holding Mitta fleeing in fear as Princess Celestia reared back, whinnying and snorting in sheer rage. "MONSTERS! MURDERERS! FACE MY WRATH! BE DENIED THE SUN'S WARMTH AND THE MOON'S COMFORT FOREVER!"

She stomped, a flash of magic erupting from her horn. The sound of screams filled the air, becoming deafening to Applejack and Demoman... and then there was nothing. The light faded, Sunnytown having reverted back to its ruined state. Masky Unicorn let them up, calmly backing away as Demoman and Applejack collected themselves and braced for attack.

Masky Unicorn just laughed. He released Ruby's soul from the balloon by popping it, teleporting away. Ruby tumbled to the ground, Mitta trotting over and helping the ghostly pony come to her feet. Ruby looked up at her big sister's tear-stained face... and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you for saving me, sis," she said.

Mitta smiled weakly. "I only wish I did something to save you back then..." she said softly.

"But you did," Applejack said, smiling. "We saw the past version of you burst in to try

Mitta shook her head, unable to accept it. "No... No, I couldn't do anything..."

"Couldn't and didn't are too different things, lass," Demoman said.

Ruby hugged Mitta tightly. "You did what you could. And you saved me this time," she said softly. "But we'll talk later. Right now, the three of you need to get back to Ponyville."

"This was a trap to lure us away, wasn't it?" Demoman asked, swearing loudly when Ruby nodded. Mitta cursed, realizing how badly she had been duped in leading the two of them here.

Applejack gasped softly. "Apple Bloom..."

"Let's go!" Demoman roared. "Hae at them, lasses!"

With Mitta leading the way to clear the brush, the three Earth ponies and one ghost tore through the forest, hoping to get to Ponyville in time...

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

Meanwhile...

Ponyville...

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

The party was in full swing. Balloons, streamers, more sweets than you could shake several sticks at, a classic Pinkie Pie Party. Pinkie had even managed to score the famous DJ-Pon3, Vinyl Scratch. Gray Hoof was impressed that she was able to score someone like her, although Pinkie claimed she got lucky that she found her.

Sniper and Rainbow Dash stuck together by the snack table, Sniper not much for dancing, Rainbow Dash not confident enough yet to go out onto the floor. And besides, listening to the heavy bass beats of Vinvyl's music when she couldn't see was an amazing experience.

Scout fluttered up to them, grinning. "Wow! Looks like I got back just in time!"

Sniper nodded. "Good to have you with us, Scout."

Rainbow Dash quirked her head curiously. "How'd it go today?"

Scout coughed nervously, and said, "Well... ah... I kinda got fired."

Sniper choked on the punch he was drinking. Rainbow Dash stared in his general direction. "You... bwuh... on your first day... HOW?" she stammered.

Scout rubbed the back of his head, grinning weakly. "Well... I kinda got curious, and tried to create a tornado..."

Sniper just stared at him incredulously. Rainbow Dash glared at where she thought he was. "WHAT."

Scout huffed. "NO ONE GOT HURT. And Snowstorm said that Rainbow machine could be easily fixed. I really think he overreacted."

"You..." Rainbow Dash snarled, visibly fuming, horrified and furious at Scout's blithering idiocy. "Grrr... I can't believe..." Sniper stared, seeing steam actually start to come out of Rainbow Dash's ears. "Nrrghhh... GRAAAAHH!"

Sniper and Scout jumped back, seeing Rainbow Dash's coat become pure white as her mane and tail became wildly colorful electrical sparks for a brief moment, floating in the air from the sheer force of her anger. She landed with a huff, slightly charred looking and panting in frustration.

Pinkie Pie, having noticed Rainbow Dash's outburst, hopped over to them. She got a glass of punch and poured something from a small flask she produced out of nowhere. She handed it to her rainbow-maned friend, who drank it with a gulp and coughed.

"What the hay's in this?" she said.

"A little something from Berry Punch's special 'Relaxation' collection," Pinkie said, smiling warmly.

Rainbow Dash coughed. "Feels like my lungs are melting," she said.

Sniper grinned. "Sounds like a fine brandy then. Mind if I get a swig, love?"

Pinkie Pie poured another glass for Sniper. "Heh. When Twilight gets all growly like that, her mane turns into flames."

Rainbow Dash blushed. "Oh geez, I pulled a Twilight, didn't I?"

Pinkie giggled, pouring another drink for Rainbow Dash, discreetly pulling Scout away from them. "Seriously? A tornado? Even I know better than that," she said.

Scout huffed, but he was smiling. "Well, I got curious. Sniper's shooting ice and lightning, I wanted to see if I could do something cool with the weather as well."

Pinkie giggled. Near the dance floor, Twilight, with Spike on her back, was sitting next to Trixie, who was busy flirting with a pegasus dressed up in raver gear, one who had liked her show the last time she was there and didn't care that she had been a jerk and a liar. Trixie paused mid flirt, and nudged Twilight.

"Go on, Twilight Sparkle. The one who bested not just the Great and Powerful Trixie, but also played a key role in besting Nightmare Moon and Discord shouldn't be afraid to go on the dance floor," she said.

She blushed. "I... I really can't dance," she said. "I did once at my birthday party, but I was with friends and knew they wouldn't tease me too bad, plus I was with people who I knew I wouldn't see again... Dancing in front of LOTS of people I know... Well, compared to this, fighting a mad moon goddess and the King of Chaos is easy..."

Trixie shook her head. "It can't be that bad. I mean, even the technician and Pyro are out there!" she said, gesturing with a hoof. Twilight looked, and saw Engineer and Pyro in the center of the dance floor. Neither of them had much rhythm and were a bit clumsy, both clearly still unused to way their pony bodies moved, but they were taking full advantage of their magic to give themselves their own special effects.

Twilight blushed. "Well... Maybe in a little bit..." she said.

Spike rolled his eyes, turning to Trixie. "Don't worry," he said to her. "I'll get her dancing soon enough."

"Good," she said. "You have a fine assistant, Twilight Sparkle."

Soldier and Derpy arrived together, Dinky with her older sister for the evening. Derpy grinned widely, looking around at all the party decorations and music. "This is so awesome!" she said. "I love Pinkie's parties! And this is like DOUBLE one!"

Soldier smiled nervously. He had made it through Pinkie's last party, but that was only because Rainbow Dash had come in injured by Masky Pegasus, and he was able to focus on making strategies to fight it the rest of the night. He still wasn't fully at ease in large crowds. Derpy sensed Soldier's reluctance and chuckled, tugged on a foreleg. "C'mon," she said, "Let's dance!"

"I... ah..." Soldier stammered.

Derpy smiled warmly at him. "You can't dance, can you?"

Soldier grinned weakly. "Ma'am, even in my regular two-legged body I couldn't dance. I still sometimes trip over my hooves..."

Derpy nodded, and kissed him lightly on the cheek, making Soldier blush brightly. "C'mon," she said. "I'll teach you."

Soldier found himself nodding, letting Derpy lead him out onto the dance floor. There was a growing warmth in his chest, one that he only felt when around her. It was... confusing. But it felt so right...

"I still don't know why they couldn't have gotten the concert band that played at the Gala," Rarity huffed. "Certainly Vinyl Scratch (I REFUSE to use that ridiculous stage name of hers) has her charm, but it couldn't have hurt to have at least SOME class!"

"Maybe... um, maybe Pinkie and Gray Hoof couldn't get a hold of them?" Fluttershy said.

Rarity sighed. "It couldn't be that hard. I've heard rumors that Vinyl's dating the band's cellist, Octavia."

"Oh my!" Fluttershy said softly. She didn't keep up with trends like Rarity did, but liked hearing about them nevertheless. "Really?"

Rarity grinned. "Indeed. Quite the contradiction, to have someone as refined as Octavia Philharmonica dating a hip-hop DJ. But a rather delightful contrast, wouldn't you agree?"

"If they're happy together," Fluttershy said, "then isn't that the only thing that matters?"

Rarity thought for a moment and nodded. "True, true..." She chuckled. "For someone so shy you can be quite wise."

Fluttershy blushed, smiling.

Rarity sighed. "Oh, forgive me Fluttershy. After Roneo and Starlet moved here, I suppose I've been thinking about romance a bit more than usual..."

Fluttershy nuzzled her gently. "You'll find a Special Somepony, Rarity," she said. "Somepony as pretty and talented as you is bound to find someone."

Rarity chuckled wearily. "A fine thought. But right now, of the two that interest me most, one is too young and ages far slower than I, and the other is taken."

Fluttershy blinked. She knew that Rarity was fond of Spike, but this second interest was news to her. "Oh? There's somepony else?"

Rarity blushed. "Engineer. His... rustic charm and gentlemanly nature has captured my attention,. Such a pity that he and Pyro are a couple..."

Fluttershy smiled. "You'll figure something out, Rarity. I've always admired you for your cunning."

Rarity grinned. "You are too kind, Fluttershy. Now, enough about my problems. Let us enjoy this evening."

Apple Bloom wandered throughout the party, looking for her sister. She hadn't seen her all day and was getting worried. She stopped by the food tables, where Heavy was gorging himself on a large plate of sandwiches, Medic sitting nearby and calmly sipping coffee.

"Have you seen mah sister?" she asked.

"Applejack?" Medic said. He thought for a moment and shook his head. "I don't believe so, no."

Heavy swallowed the sandwich in his mouth and said, "Little apple pony went off with Demoman to run errands. They not come back yet?"

Medic quirked an eyebrow. "Maybe zey're having zeir own party," he said, smirking.

Heavy looked thoughtful for a moment, and shook his head. "No... No, I don't think so. Demoman tell me last night he was more interested in wine seller pony."

Medic shrugged. "Zen zey are simply late coming back from zeir errands. Do not vorry, Apple Bloom. Your sister vill return before ze night is over."

Apple Bloom frowned. "Ah hope so..." she said. She looked over at Gray Hoof, who was dancing near the DJ table with Three Leaf.

Medic and Heavy traded looks. "Zomething wrong?" Medic asked, not dropping his casual demeanor, his eyes turning coldly professional.

Apple Bloom bit her lip, and said. "Fer some reason, ah keep feelin' like ah know Gray Hoof... And not in a good way... Ah just been havin' this bad feeling all night."

"Und ze feeling is centered on Gray Hoof?" Medic said softly.

Apple Bloom nodded, looking nervously over at Gray Hoof again.

Medic smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "Don't vorry, Fraulein. Ve shall keep an eye on him," he said.

Seemingly satisfied for now, Apple Bloom nodded and trotted off. Heavy and Medic kept a cold gaze on Gray Hoof.

"...Perhaps, just in case, it might be best if I had an UberCharge ready," Medic said softly.

Heavy nodded. "Da," he said simply, coming around to Medic's side of the table. Medic's horn glowed, a healing beam coming out and attaching itself to Heavy, Medic feeling the familiar tingle of an UberCharge building up.

Gray Hoof could feel Heavy and Medic's gaze on him. He cursed Apple Bloom for getting the two of them suspicious, but didn't drop his cheerful demeanor. The song changed, and Gray Hoof and Three Leaf decided to sit this one out. Three Leaf snuggled up close to him.

"This is really nice," she said. "I'm glad that you've thrown this party."

Gray Hoof smiled warmly, hugging her. "Don't worry," he said. "After tonight, everything will be all right, and we can be truly together again."

"I hope so," Three Leaf said. "I really don't feel comfortable having to deal with that... masked THING..."

Gray Hoof sighed and kissed her. "Don't worry. Everything will be all right." He looked around, spotting Roneo and Starlet trying cajole Gladstone into going up to talk to Fluttershy, the lovestruck pony frozen in place. He started to get up to go talk them out of forcing him, when Masky Unicorn SCREAMED into his mind.

I CAN'T DELAY THEM ANYMORE! THE ELEMENTS OF HONESTY ARE HEADED YOUR WAY! DO IT NOW!

Gray Hoof winced, and nodded. He went to his saddlebags and pulled out a small, tower-like artifact that looked like it was composed entirely of bones, a hollow blade at the top . Three Leaf looked at him curiously, Roneo, Starlet and Gladstone noticing and going over to him as he dragged it to the front of the stage.

Pinkie Pie suddenly yelped in pain. "OW!" she wailed, collapsing.

Almost immediately, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash were at her side.

"Pinkie, what's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie looked around fearfully. "Pinchy knee! Pinchy knee!" she said. "REALLY PAINFUL pinchy knee!"

The four other mares paled visibly, remembering what that particular bit of 'Pinkie Sense' meant.

"Something scary's about to happen," Rarity said softly. Fluttershy whimpered, shivering and hiding behind Rainbow Dash. Gray Hoof just stared at them incredulously as he worked, similar expressions on all the BLUs.

And then Spy and Zecora showed up.

The two of them had arrived late, but they didn't mind, having had an enjoyable chat with one another, talking about each other's worlds. Zecora and Spy made their way into town just as Gray Hoof finished setting up the artifact.

They both noticed each other at once.

"YOU!" Zecora shouted, fear and fury crossing her face.

"Oh bucking HELL," Gray Hoof muttered.

"ZOMPONY! What are you..." Zecora said, the BLUs starting at her words. She shook her head, clearing out her confusion. "KILL HIM! DESTROY THAT ARTIFACT!"

Everypony milled about in confusion. The BLUs took immediate action, and started stalking towards Gray Hoof, Spy flicking his knife out as Engineer began setting up Gem Sentry.

Gray Hoof grinned, dropping his illusion of being alive, everypony gasping in shock at his horrid, rotting real form. "ToO lAtE, fOreSt GuArDiAn," he rasped.

Apple Bloom screamed in sudden horror. "You... it's YOU!"

Three Leaf and the other Sunnytown ponies watched in stunned horror. "Gray Hoof, what are you..." Three Leaf started to say.

The BLUs charged. Before they could stop him, however, Gray Hoof slammed his hoof town on the skeletal artifact's topmost blade. He roared in pain as the artifact drained blood from him, the skeletal eyes glowing and unleashing a bright flash that tore through the town, the artifacts that Gray Hoof had been planting throughout the day catching the wave and forming a mystical border all around Ponyville.

Gray Hoof, Three Leaf, Gladstone, Roneo, and Starlet started choking, Gray Hoof returning to normal, their false Cutie Marks vanishing as they all vomited up a horrible black mist, one that quickly spread out and touched every living soul in Ponyville.

And then, as one, every stallion, mare, foal, and animal in town began to rot.

Flesh rotted, becoming blackened and falling off their bones. Eyes dissolved, being replaced by glowing red lights. Feathers molted, horns became mottled and brittle, hooves cracking as the rot took hold, the curse taking root in every living thing in Ponyville. And for each and every pony screamed in agony as their bodies rotted, the curse of undeath taking hold of them.

Save for five, who were truly alive for the first time in ages.

Gray Hoof put a hoof to his chest, grinning widely as he felt his heart beating again. "Hah..." he said, breathing heavily. He began to laugh when he realized that he was actually breathing again. "HA, HAHA! I did it! IT WORKED! Oh thank Celestia, we're alive again!" He turned to the others excitedly, wanting to see their reactions.

To say they were not what he expected was an understatement.

Roneo and Starlet were clutching to each other, looking out at the transformed citizens of Ponyville, sobbing fearfully. Gladstone was staring out at the ruins of what once had been a herd of normal, happy ponies. And Three Leaf...

"Heh..." she laughed, tears streaming down her face as she listened to the howls of agony and fear from the zomponies surrounding her. "Heh ha... Hahaha... Ha ha! HAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed, the laughter of someone who had finally broken. To Gray Hoof, it was one of the most terrifying sound he had ever heard.

"Three Leaf?" he said, shaking her. "Three Leaf, calm down! It's over! We're free! I've saved us all!"

"And damned Ponyville... " Gladstone said softly, turning a murderous glare on Gray Hoof. "And damned us all over again..."

Gray Hoof shook his head. "But we're free. The curse is lifted! We're mortal again!"

"But we don't deserve to be..." Three Leaf said, giggling madly. She pulled herself free of Gray Hoof and curled up against the stage. Gray Hoof felt his warm blood run cold as he recognized the position. It was the same one Mitta had been in for centuries, curled up and sobbing, mourning what they had done. "We derserve to be cursed..."

"Three Leaf..." Gray Hoof begged, "Don't do this. I did this for US. I did it so we could be free!"

Three Leaf just laughed insanely.

Gladstone glared at him. "No... No, you did this for you. It's the only reason you do anything, Gray Hoof."

"Yeah, well, this time it benefited all of us," Gray Hoof snapped. "Now c'mon," he said, looking out over the herd of zomponies, several of them, including the BLUs, who were starting to regain their footing after having their mortality stole from them. "Let's get out of here before they come after us."

"No," Roneo said softly.

Gray Hoof felt something fraying in his head. "WHAT?"

Starlet gave Gray Hoof a murderous look. "These ponies took us in. They knew nothing about us, and they loved us as if we were their own," she said.

"This is our home now," Roneo said, unable to even look at Gray Hoof. "We're not going anywhere."

"But they'll curse you again," Gray Hoof insisted. "Don't throw away everything I've done just because of some inane attachment to people you barely know!"

"Apparently we know them better than we know you," Gladstone said.

"Go away," Three Leaf said softly, sobbing into her hooves. "Go. Live. Just do it without us..."

Gray Hoof stared at them. His best friends. His lover. They had kept each other going for centuries after the curse.

And now... now they were throwing it all away. Throwing away the fact that he had freed them. So what if it cost Ponyville their souls? After so long, didn't their freedom matter? Wasn't it the ONLY thing that mattered?

Gray Hoof snorted, furious at the perceived betrayal of his herd. "Fine," he snarled. "I don't need any of you." He felt a dull ache in his heart the instant the words left his mouth. He tried to ignore it, turning around and leaving, feeling their gazes on his back.

None of the Sunnytown residents noticed how intently the zomponies that had recovered enough to stand were staring at them and listening.

The ruin that used to be Medic stood up. His entire body felt like it had been dipped in acid. Even thinking hurt. He could feel the wind whistling through his exposed ribcage, adding to the pain. But despite that, he concentrated, his pitted horn glowing weakly as Medic forced his magic to work.

A bright dome of blue light surrounded him, Medic visibly straining to keep it active. And to the shock of all those around him, his flesh began to restore itself.

The wreckage of Heavy staggered over to him. "cAn DoCtOr CuRe CuRsE?" he rumbled, his voice hollow and reedy due to the fact that one of his lungs had rotted away.

Medic shook his head, visibly straining to concentrate. Patches of his body were still rotted, but he looked almost normal. "No..." he said, his voice tense. "I can only hold it at bay... Get Tvilight and Trixie to come here and help me, have zem mimic the spell... And zen... Get them to bring ze foals here..."

The ruin of Cheerilee blinked, startled. "tHe FoAlS?"

Medic nodded. "My own natural regeneration is lessening the effects of ze curse on me," he said, the blue dome flickering a little. Wincing, he forced it to stabalize. "Applejack and Demoman are not here. Ve have to trust zat zey vill come back and save us, or at the very least get word to the Princesses. Until zen, ve have to hold out. If nothing else, I can reduce ze effect zis has on the children..."

Cheerilee nodded gratefully, staggering off to try and gather the foals, several BLU zomponies following to help her. Heavy went to fetch Twilight and Trixie, bringing the two mystics over to Medic.

"ArE yOu SuRe ThIs WiLl WoRk?" Twilight asked, her empty eyes glowing with unholy red light.

"I have no idea," Medic said, "Now please, just copy ze spell, increase ze size of ze healing dome. And don't talk to me, zis is taking all of my concentration."

Twilight and Trixie traded looks, and concentrated. The dome had partially healed them, so they were able to focus better than they were before. They locked on to the unique spell signature of Medic's healing magic, and began to produce it themselves, Twilight's dome slightly larger than Trixie's. The three spells merged, forming an even larger dome. One by one, foals began to be brought into the triple healing dome, the magics restoring their flesh partially and lessening the pain they suffered. Parents stayed outside the dome so as to make room for more foals, wishing desperately they could do more to lessen the suffering of their children.

Gladstone looked at Roneo and Starlet, as well as Three Leaf. Three Leaf looked catatonic, and Roneo and Starlet were holding to each other tightly, seemingly lost in their own little world. He looked up at the healing dome, at the slow progress that was being made in getting the foals into it.

He looked down, and thought to himself, We let this happen. We should have seen it coming, that Gray Hoof would do something this drastic... We made a mistake. But we can try to make up for it.

He went up and began helping move foals into the healing dome. When he touched the foals, the curse started to spread to him. But he was long since used to the agony. Some of the zomponies hissed at him, but he just shook his head and said, "We caused this. Let us help fix it."

The gathered zomponies stared at him, and reluctantly let him help, Gladstone picking up the zompony foals by the scruff of their necks and gently setting them inside the dome. Soon after, Roneo and Starlet began to help as well. And finally, Three Leaf recovered from her catatonia enough to start helping also.

Gray Hoof, more than able to keep ahead of the slow, shambling zomponies as they tried to attack him. He muttered to himself, trying to work out where things went wrong.

Why? Why did they just give up like that? SUNNYTOWN is our home, not Ponyville! These ponies don't mean anything! he thought. So wrapped up in his thoughts was he, that he didn't even noticed when Demoman, screaming in rage, came charging at him full speed.

Whinnying in fright, Gray Hoof desperately fought back, but despite how unused to his body Demoman was, his savage attacks were able to drive Gray Hoof back to the center of town, Demoman roughly throwing him in front of the stage.

"Ye BASTARD! Ye barmy git! Whut the bloody hell have you done?" he demanded. He kept facing Gray Hoof, but he couldn't help but glance around at his teammates, the sight of their zombified forms making him even angrier.

Mitta came up to Demoman, looking around in horrror. "You monster... It wasn't enough that you cursed all of us, you had to curse a bunch of innocents as well?"

Applejack immediately went to Apple Bloom, who was in the healing field with most of the other foals in town. They were still in pain, and still partially rotted, but they were mainly frightened now, the healing field having restored them to mostly normal. Apple Bloom whimpered, backing away when Applejack tried to hug her. "Sis... The curse..."

Unheeding, Applejack went into the field and hugged her sister tightly. "Ah promise you," she said, ignoring the pain as the curse started to spread to her, "Ah promise you, ah'll fix this."

Apple Bloom sobbed into Applejack's shoulder before pushing away. The curse had spread to almost half her body, and she didn't want her big sister to suffer the same fate. "You get 'em, Applejack."

Applejack tipped her hat to her sister, and turned to face Gray Hoof, whom was now being held down by both Gladstone and Demoman.

"You change everypony back," Applejack demanded. "You change everypony back, or we get Mitta to change YOU!"

Gray Hoof stared at her in horror. The zombified BLUs, Zecora, and Rainbow Dash, along with Roneo, Starlet, and Three Leaf all gathered around him, glaring down at the trapped gray Earth pony.

Applejack's teeth were clenched, her anger barely contained, her accent becoming thicker as she became more furious. "Ah hate you," she said softly. "Ah hate you more'n the monster that took m'folks. Twice now you tried to curse mah sister, and this time y'got not only her, but all m'friends and family. The only reason ah ain't killed you m'self is that dyin's too good for you. Now you fix this. You turn everypony back, or Mitta here gives you a big ol' hug."

"It's over, Gray Hoof," Three Leaf said softly, each word like a knife through Gray Hoof's heart. "This is wrong, and you know it. Change everyone back, and let's face our punishment, like we should have done centuries ago."

Gray Hoof stared up at Three Leaf's face, seeing the sadness and despair there. He looked at Roneo, Starlet, and Gladstone, seeing the anger in their faces. He looked at Mitta, seeing the cold satisfaction on hers...

And began to laugh.

"Ah ain't jokin,'" Applejack snapped. "Change everypony back!"

Gray Hoof just laughed even harder. His laughed turned into an unnerving mad cackle, and then a scream. Power erupted from his body, pushing back everyone around him, Demoman and Applejack landing next to each other.

"Your fault," Gray Hoof said, his eyes glowing blood red. "This is all YOUR FAULT! Element of Honesty! Just like RUBY! Always RUINING the party! But that's okay. I have a new game we can all play." He cackled madly, his eyes wild. Applejack and Demoman staggered to their hooves, disoriented by the blast, staring worriedly at Gray Hoof as he began to glow blood red.

Gray Hoof giggled shrilly, his mouth pulled into a disturbing grin. "I don't like doing this transformation. After the masked unicorn showed me how to do it, I swore I wouldn't do it again, as the transformation HURT," he hissed. "But I think the situation warrants it. Don't you?"

And then he began to grow. His flesh began to bulge out as his body began to grow to alicorn proportions.

But only his skeleton did.

His face tore open as his head burst through his jaws, a horn growing from his skull. Skeletal wings tore through his back, his regular body's flesh ripping apart, held in place only by the blood red aura that suffused his entire frame, his bones growing until he was slightly larger than Princess Celestia.

He laughed, and roared. Even the BLU zombies backed away, uncertain of what to do about this new foe in their weakened state.

Demoman's eye widened in dismay. "Oh bloody hell..." he said, slowly backing away.

"Any idears, pardner?" Applejack said, grinning weakly, she and Demoman backing away.

The horror that Gray Hoof had become roared, laughing wildly. "What's the matter? Afraid? Afraid of the Nightmare Grave?"

"We have to fight him," Applejack said.

"We dinnae have any weapons, and I haven't completed any fireworks yet," Demoman said.

"We have to do SOMETHING!" Applejack shouted. "This monster ruined mah town, turned everyone ah know into zomponies, and worst of all, HURT MAH FAMILY! Ah cain't let that slide!" She gave Demoman a determined look.

Demoman stared at her for a long moment, and then shook his head, smiling. "All right, all right. A Degroot never backs down, even in the face of the devil himself. I'm in."

Applejack smiled. And then gasped. The same itchy feeling from when she first met Demoman came back, a ring of magical energy forming around her neck, her coat standing on end as she felt power flow through her body. Demoman and Nightmare Grave watched in stunned shock as Applejack lifted into the air, her eyes glowing as the Element of Honesty necklace formed around her neck. The energy then lanced out, lifting Demoman into the air. The Scotsman shivered as power flowed through his body, which was being drawn towards Applejack at a fast rate.

Nightmare Grave was confused. Even with his alicorn form's enhanced senses, he couldn't tell what was going on, but he knew it was bad. His horn flared with dark black energy, pure curse magic flung at the two glowing ponies. It bounced right off of the aura they were putting out and vanished, a bright flash of magical light blinding him. He roared in frustration, dimming the glow in his eyes briefly until his vision cleared. When he looked back, the glow had faded, and Applejack and Demoman were gone.

In their place was something he had never seen before: a human. A human female with long blond hair in a ponytail and light brown skin, clad in a blue uniform and heavily padded vest, grenades hanging off of holsters on his front. A metal-lined targe with a large spike on it was on one arm, and a sheathed sword was on her back. Her powerful leg muscles bulged against her pants, a brown Stetson hat over a black knit cap on her head, an eyepatch over one missing eye. Her head was leaned back as she chugged from a bottle of Scrumpy, an unusual gun of some sort hooked onto her belt, a six-chambered weapon in her other hand. Around her neck was the Element of Honesty necklace.

She finished drinking and belched, corking the bottle and putting it in one of the large pouches on her belt. She grinned widely at Nightmare Grave, and spoke. "Well well, laddie!" she said, the voice belonging to Applejack but the accent belonging to Demoman. "It seems that yuir not the only one who can do a little shape-changin'!"

Nightmare Grave frowned. "What in blazes are you supposed to be, and do you really think you can stop an alicorn?"

The human thing snickered. "The name's AppleDemo, laddie. And yuir no alicorn. You're just a zombie who's had a growth spurt," she said, pointing her weapon at Nightmare Grave's face and firing. A cylindrical tube shot out, lighting up with a blue light as it flew towards the nightmare's face and struck him dead on. It exploded, the force knocking Nightmare Grave back into the stage.

AppleDemo grinned, and kept up the barrage, firing five more grenades that slammed Nightmare Grave back farther and farther, causing the stage to collapse on him. She smirked, reloading her launcher as he pulled himself out of the wreckage, roaring. "Come and get me, laddie!" she said, retreating into the town, pulling out the gun hooked on her belt.

Nightmare Grave roared, taking to the air and following her, his horn blazing with cursed magic. The other BLU zombies, as well as the former Sunnytown residents, watched with shock.

"We MaY nOt Be AbLe To HeLp hEr RiGhT nOw," Engineer said, looking over at Gem Sentry, who had been disabled by the curse, "BuT wE cAn GeT fOlKs OuT oF tHe CrOsSfIrE."

The others could find no fault with this. Engineer, Big Macintosh, and Pyro stayed to protect Medic, Twilight, and Trixie's healing dome and the foals, while the others began evacuating the other zomponies to their homes.

Please be safe, Engineer thought to AppleDemo as he tried to get Gem Sentry up and running again. You're our last hope.

Nightmare Grave, growling, flew above the buildings, looking for AppleDemo. He passed by the town hall, not noticing the eight spiked balls stuck to it until they exploded, blasting him to the ground. As he tried to get up, a pair of grenades landed near him, bouncing towards him and detonating in his face. The undead alicorn snarled, and started firing magic blasts wildly, the cursed energies slamming into the sides of buildings and rotting them.

He never noticed the sticky mines being planted underneath him until he was blasted into the air by them.

Nightmare Grave screamed in pain, his flesh smoldering from the blast. He managed to recover, and looked to see AppleDemo on a roof, reloading her stickybomb launcher. She waved to him, grinning mockingly.

"Didn't ye see the bloody bombs?" she teased.

Nightmare Grave roared in frustration, firing a massive blast of curse energy at her. To his surprise, she placed a sticky mine at her feet and detonated it, blasting herself over to the town hall rooftop, which had cover for her. She landed with a roll, holstering her stickybomb launcher and pulling out her grenade launcher, arcing the bombs to Nightmare Grave. Three of them landed on his face before he managed to dodge, getting caught in the blast of one of the bombs that detonated near him instead of on him.

He roared in frustration, his skeletal frame cracked from the blasts he had been receiving. "How is this even possible! I'm an ALICORN! DAMN IT, I SHOULDN'T BE DOING HIS BADLY!" he bellowed.

"I'm drunk!" AppleDemo said, pulling out her bottle and taking a swig from it. "What's yuir excuse?"

Nightmare Grave roared in frustration, flying directly at AppleDemo as she ducked behind the tower again... landing right on the carpet of sticky mines she had laid down, AppleDemo using the far edge of the blast wave to knock herself back to another rooftop.

"Didn't ye see the bloody bombs?" she teased, landing in a crouch.

Nightmare Grave roared in frustration, his skeletal frame cracked and chipped in several places. He fired a MASSIVE blast of energy that knocked her away, AppleDemo yelping as she flew through the air.

She landed roughly on somepony's bed after falling through the second story of a building, silently grateful that she didn't land too hard. Mitta, spotting her, came up to AppleDemo.

"That's incredible," she said softly, looking at AppleDemo with admiration as she picked herself up and took a swig of her Scrumpy. "Can... Can I do anything to help?"

AppleDemo looked thoughtful for a moment. "Aye, lassie," she said. "I'm holdin' him off, but only just." She turned to Mitta, an intense look in her eye. She tapped her Element of Honesty necklace, and said, "The Element showed me the truth. The curse isn't quite the same as yours. There's still time to save everypony. But I need yuir help to carry out me plan."

Mitta nodded, and AppleDemo leaned in to whisper her plan.

Nightmare Grave skulked about the square, snorting in frustration as he looked for AppleDemo. He found out where she was when she shot a grenade at his back, sending him sprawling. He staggered to his hooves, flaring his wings and roaring.

"Ye up for more, ye rotting git?" she teased, reloading her grenade launcher. She paused briefly, realizing that she was on her last grenade rounds. But she never lost her confident smile, deciding not to let on that she was almost out.

Nightmare Grave growled. "I'm done playing with you," he said. The flesh on his back began to bubble and boil, hideous mutant centipedes, as big as a pony, crawling out of him and swarming about, hissing and clicking their mandibles at her. "I'm done messing around with you," Nightmare Grave hissed. "You die now. You die HORRIBLY. And your pathetic Ponyville can suffer forever for all I care."

AppleDemo stared impassively at the gathered insect monsters... and grinned. She unsheathed the sword on her back, holding it out towards Nightmare Grave.

HeAds... moaned a voice from the sword, startling Nightmare Grave.

"This," AppleDemo said, holding up the blade admiringly, "is the Eyelander. Pattern wielded Damascus steel, harmonically balanced, slow-forged for generations in the bowels of English kings. Haunted by a ghost that craves the blood of heads, and makes the wielder grow stronger with the first four decapitations, any others just healin' the one holdin' it as it drains the life force of its victims." She licked the edge of the sword, grinning madly. "All ye've done is give me a perfect chance to fight head on!"

AppleDemo, letting out a battlecry, charged forward with the shield held in front of her, slamming the targe's spike into the face of a centipede, making it rear back in pain. AppleDemo swung the sword around hard, slashing the creature's head off in a single blow. The blood on the sword seemed to be sucked into it, AppleDemo's eye starting to glow as she waded into the centipedes, smashing and slashing with her sword and shield, laughing wildly as she chopped up the creatures.

Nightmare Grave was taken aback by the sheer ferocity of the attack. The centipedes managed to get a few bites in, but every swing just took another head, the moaning ghost haunting the blade healing AppleDemo with each head she took, AppleDemo's destructive kicks knocking back anything that got around her shield and sword. The undead alicorn kept backing up, producing more and more centipedes to try and devour AppleDemo, but the destructive swordswoman was seemingly unstoppable, the monsters he was producing too weak to do any real damage to her. Slowly, she closed in on him, cackling madly, her eye blazing with ghostly energy, tearing through waves of monstrous centipedes.

It was maddening. He had the power of an alicorn, and this little thing, this little monkey that somehow came from the fusion of two ponies was WINNING!

As AppleDemo tore through the last of his centipedes, he roared, slamming into her and pinning her under his hooves.

"ENOUGH!" he roared. "I've come too far, sacrificed too much to be stopped now! I don't if I have to turn all of Equestria into zomponies, but I WILL NOT BE CURSED AGAIN!"

AppleDemo just laughed. Nightmare Grave fumed. "WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?"

AppleDemo casually took out her bottle of Scrumpy and finished it off, tossing the empty bottle aside. "That's not the question ye should be asking, boyo."

Nightmare Grave stared at her in confusion. AppleDemo grinned, and tapped her padded vest. "What ye should be asking is this: where did the bombs on me chest go?"

Nightmare Grave looked down with a jerk, noticing for the first time that the bombs on her chest were gone. He looked towards the center of town. The artifact that had extracted the curse in the first place was still there, but Mitta had rigged the six grenades around it, strapping them tightly to the still glowing artifact.

"NOOOO!" Nightmare Grave roared. Mitta heard him and smirked viciously, waving as she triggered the bombs. The explosion shattered the artifact, Mitta getting blasted into the air as a wave of black energy shot out, clearing away all the rot and restoring every living thing that had been affected by the curse back to normal.

Everypony nearly collapsed in relief, parents coming to collect their foals and hug them tightly as Medic, Twilight, and Trixie nearly collapsed, their heads throbbing from forcing their magic for so long a time. Big Macintosh, gasping as he finally regained the ability to breath, smiled as Apple Bloom came up to him, nuzzling him.

"Looks like yer big sis did it," he said. Apple Bloom nodded proudly.

Mitta, who had landed on a hay bale, laughed, sighing in relief that Gray Hoof's plan had been defeated.

Nopony noticed as Roneo, Starlet, Three Leaf, and Gladstone began to rot, the curse taking hold of them once more.

Nightmare Grave screamed, clutching his head and trying to figure out where his plans went wrong.

AppleDemo just smirked, pulling a stick grenade out of one of her belt pouches. "You lose, boyo. Welcome to the DOMINATENING!"

And then he smacked him in the face with the grenade.

The resultant explosion destroyed both transformations, Demoman and Applejack flying in different directions, Demoman landing headfirst in a barrel as Applejack landed in a flower cart, dazed but otherwise fine, her Element of Harmony necklace still around her neck.

Nightmare Grave bellowed as he fell end-over-end. His demonic form dissolved as he fell, Gray Hoof falling out of the dissolving remains of Nightmare Grave. He landed roughly, groaning in pain, screaming as his flesh melted, the curse taking hold of him again.

"NoOoOo..." he moaned softly. He wanted to cry, but his tear ducts had rotted away when the curse took hold of him again. He staggered to his feet, only for a great, looming shadow to cover him.

Heavy smiled cruelly at him. "I have PLAN for you," he said. His body became covered in blue armor as he was UberCharged, a tired-but-amused looking Medic standing behind him. "MORE PAIN," Heavy finished, tackling Gray Hoof and slamming him into the side of a building, the UberCharge protecting him from the curse.

The other BLUs, along with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Trixie, Spike, and Pinkie Pie, were helping Applejack and Demoman up.

"You okay, AJ?" Twilight asked.

"No fair doin' somethin' cool when I can't see!" Rainbow Dash teased.

"That was incredible!" Fluttershy said softly.

"A most spectacular perforamance," Trixie said, nodding.

"Spectacular?" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing around happily, glad that every motion wasn't pure agony anymore. "It was SUPER-SPLENDER-RIFFIC!"

"TOTALLY AWESOME!" Spike agreed.

"You're a true hero, Applejack. You, Demoman, and that Mitta saved us all," Rarity said. She looked over the dazed expression on Applejack's face, frowning and asking, "But yes, are you all right?"

Applejack giggled dazedly. "I need a bloody drink," she said in Demoman's accent. She shook her head, clearing it, and said, "Ah'm fine, girls. Just shook up from smackin' an alicorn in the face with a grenade."

"Still, you two managed to beat him! A Nightmare Moon-type baddy, all on your own!" Pinkie cheered.

"No," Applejack said softly. "All I was really doin' was delayin' him long enough to form a plan, and weakening him by making the curse go back to him. The only thing keepin' him from just utterly killing us was the fact that he wasn't used t'his powers yet..."

Twilight frowned, and turned to the BLUs to get their take on it. They were still pulling out Demoman, the Scotsman laughing and singing drunkenly. When they finally did pull him out, everypony gasped.

Around Demoman's neck was a second Element of Honesty, cast in silver instead of gold.

And then, as the moon shone in the sky, a blood-curdling scream of rage echoed throughout Ponyville.

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

Meanwhile...

Canterlot...

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

Princess Celestia was growing more and more frustrated by the second. The masked pegasus was a step ahead of her each time, and no matter how fast she teleported, he would always dodge away. She needed to catch him and question him. So long had she been chasing him, that she didn't even notice when the sun went down.

Brickhouse's blood ran cold as he felt himself turning back to normal. He tried to fly into a cloud and hide, but Celestia was on him in moments, grabbing him and teleporting back down to the castle.

"GOTCHA," she said, roughly yanking the mask off of Brickhouse's face. She blinked, startled to see a perfectly normal pony beneath the mask.

Brickhouse grinned weakly. "I can explain," he said.

Celestia snarled. "Explain it to the guards," she said. She looked up to call for them, only to see Princess Luna and two of her Night Guards there, looking at her worriedly. "Have your guards take him away and prep him for interrogation!" Celestia snapped.

The guards looked at Princess Luna worriedly. She nodded, and the bowed, dragging Brickhouse off, the third one staying to check on Celestia, who was visibly forcing herself to calm down. She looked up at the sky, blinking in confusion. "...Why is the moon up?"

Princess Luna frowned, and said, "Celly... You were chasing that pegasus all day. You missed the scheduled time, I had to lower the sun and raise the moon on my own."

Celestia blinked. Had she really been chasing that fool all this time? "For... Forgive me, Luna. I've been... somewhat... stressed, lately..." She started to say something else, but stopped. Both she and Luna felt a cold presence, one that Celestia hadn't felt in centuries.

"Sister?" Luna said, shivering as she looked towards Ponyville, the direction she felt the presence coming from. "What is this... I feel something foul in the air..." She turned to her sister, only to gasp, stepping away from her.

Celestia's face was contorted with rage, her mane and tail changed to fiery coronas. She screamed, a primal scream of fury that sent shivers down the spine of every pony who heard it, and vanished in a blaze of light.

She reappeared out of a fireball that suddenly appeared above Gray Hoof. The zompony stared in frightened shock. Celestia looked around, sensing in the minds of Twilight and the others what had been going on all day. And her rage grew even more.

"YOU!" Celestia roared, the Royal Canterlot Tone in full effect and far more frightening than Luna had ever been able to manage. "I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU, GRAY HOOF!"

Gray Hoof screamed, and ran for his life. Celestia, flames blazing around her, trailed after him. Gray Hoof only got as far as the center of town when Celestia knocked him down with a blast of flames.

"PlEaSe," Gray Hoof moaned, "I jUsT wAnTeD tO bE fReE..."

Celestia was breathing heavily, her hoofsteps leaving pools of flame as she passed. "Instead of seeking penance for your crimes, instead of atoning for those horrible ritual murders, you chose to foist your curse on more innocents, adding to your sins!" She whinnied in fury, rearing up as she screamed. "You have done nothing but commit sin after sin! It seems that denying you the comfort of the sun and moon was not enough! Now I shall deny you everything!"

Gray Hoof's eyes widened, and he tried to run, but vines burst out of the ground, wrapping around his legs and holding him done. Celestia's eyes glowed as she intoned the sound of Gray Hoof's damnation.

"What I have done, I now make worse! Foul one I now EXPAND your curse! May your fate be feared, from shore to shore! BE THOU ALONE FOREVER MORE!"

From Everfree, a hand composed of screaming faces etched in wood reached out, extending through the town. The screams coming from the faces echoed throughout Ponyville as it rapidly reached into the center of town and grabbed Gray Hoof. The zompony's screams mixed in with the screams coming from the arm as it rapidly withdrew, dragging Gray Hoof, screaming and begging for mercy, back into Everfree Forest, everypony in town watching in stunned, fearful silence.

Celestia turned, her eyes still glowing with rage, on the other Sunnytown ponies, who flinched under her gaze. She took a step towards them, but felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. She whirled, seeing Luna there, along with the BLUs and Twilight and her friends, all staring at her fearfully.

She looked around at the other townsfolk. She saw the fear in their eyes. She saw herself reflected in a fallen pane of glass, saw her fearsome visage... and felt shame. She lowered her head, her mane and tail returning to normal, drooping sadly.

"Forgive me," she said to the gathered ponies. "Gray Hoof... when I first discovered Ruby's murder, I had just lost Luna to Nightmare Moon. The sheer cruelty of what he did, the blasphemy... I lost myself, and have not been able to recover it..."

The gathered ponies didn't relax, parents hugging their children nervously, not sure of what to make of what they saw. Celestia lowered her head, turning away shamefully and going over to Luna. "Forgive me..." she said softly.

Princess Luna frowned, turning to Applejack. "I wielded the Element of Honesty before you. As Celestia mastered her Element of Laughter, so I to mastered Honesty. I know the power, the liberating power that the Truth can hold... and I know when all it will do is hurt. I know when a lie is easier to take."

Applejack flinched, reminded of how Discord broke her during his escape.

Princess Luna stepped forward, her horn glowing. "I am Luna, Princess of the Moon and Ruler of the Night... and Ruler of Dreams." A soft gentle glow came from her horn, suffusing the entire town, touching everyone who had been hurt by the curse. "Let your dreams be sweet tonight. Let nightmares never touch you. Let your memories be not of horrors, not of undeath, but of a glorious victory for the heroic Applejack and Demoman."

Everypony's eyes began to glow. The memories of what happened shifted, Luna's power completely and irrevocably altering their memories of the night. Instead of the pain of zombification, of Gray Hoof activating the artifact, their memory changed to Applejack, Demoman, and Mitta arriving in time and destroying the artifact, Gladstone, Roneo, Starlet and Three Leaf holding Gray Hoof off long enough for the three of them to arrive. Instead of seeing Gray Hoof become a skeletal horror, they saw him become an armored alicorn with a grave motif, similar to Nightmare Moon's appearance. Instead of seeing Gray Hoof dragged off by a monstrous hand summoned by a goddess gone mad with rage, the memory changed to one of Celestia, calm and collected but with righteous anger in her voice, teleporting Gray Hoof away in a simple flash of light. The memory of fear, of pain, all of it vanished, replaced with memories of AppleDemo heroically defeating Nightmare Grave. Everypony visibly relaxed as the false memories overwrote the fake ones, infants ceasing their crying and falling peacefully asleep in the forelegs of their parents.

The five zomponies sensed the change in memory, but were retained their original memories. The BLUs were unaffected as well, as were Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. Twilight shivered, unhappy that she retained the memories, but glad Spike was affected by the spell.

But to Luna's shock, three others were unaffected as well: Trixie, Zecora, and Derpy. They looked at each other worriedly, wondering why they were unaffected by the spell.

"Princess," Derpy said softly, coming up to Luna as she finished casting her illusionary memories, "We still remember what really happened."

Luna and Celestia traded shocked looks. Celestia frowned, and said, "Meet us at Twilight's library later tonight. We'll talk then. In the meantime..."

The two princesses turned their attention to the four zomponies gathered near the ruin of the stage. They bowed to her, Three Leaf coming forward and saying, "We accept that what we have done is wrong. We accept our guilt for our part in Ruby's murder, and for all the murders that happened before and since. We accept your judgment, whatever it may be."

Cheerilee stepped forward, coming in front of Three Leaf. "Princess... They did turn against Gray Hoof when they realized he was doing. They didn't help him at all."

Others spoke up for the four of them. Celestia frowned, considering everything. Gray Hoof HAD been the obvious ring leader, and they did seem truly penitent...

After a moment, Celestia sighed, and said, "You have too much complicity in Gray Hoof's plans for me to offer forgiveness. However, I can allow you to be reborn, so that you may have a second chance at living an honest life." Her horn glowed, an aura of golden light surrounding the four zomponies briefly.

Their bodies started to dissolve into sand, a numbness spreading through them. Their bodies reverted to their normal states as they dissolved, the citizens of Ponyville watching sadly as the four ponies they had come to befriend vanished.

"It's all right," Three Leaf said softly. "This is our chance at redemption."

"Thank you for being our friends," Gladstone said.

Roneo and Starlet hugged each other. "We hope we'll meet at least some of you again someday," they said.

And with that, they were gone, dissolved into dust which quickly blew away on the wind. The ponies who were watching shuffled uncomfortably.

Celestia sighed again, turning to Mitta. To Celestia's surprise, she actually had a Cutie Mark. "I remember you," she said softly.

"Yes..." Mitta said, "and I accept full responsibility for my part in my sister's murder. I..."

Celestia smiled benevolently, the warm smile that everypony that knew her had come to love. "I remember seeing you being held back by the others. You tried to save your sister, Mitta."

Tears flowed down Mitta's face. "I... I should have saved her... I couldn't do anything..."

Celestia nuzzled her, Mitta gasping. She flinched reflexively as the curse tried to spread to her, but the alicorn stayed in contact long enough to make the gesture affectionate. "The point is that you tried," she said. "Nopony can get anywhere in life if they do not try. In my rage at what happened, I did not discriminate in who I cursed. And that was wrong. You didn't deserve to suffer their fate, Mitta. And I hope that one day you can forgive me." Shocking everyone, she bowed to Mitta.

"Please... Please, Princess, stand up..." Mitta said, a stunned expression on her face.

Celestia smiled benevolently as she stood up. "How did you get your Cutie Mark, Mitta?"

Mitta looked to the shield and moon symbol on her flank. "I... When the others started making their deals with the masked unicorn, I refused. I realized that they were going to try it again. Ruby... My sister's ghost had stayed with me all this time. She talked to me, reminded me that I saved Apple Bloom earlier from falling under Sunnytown's curse. And I swore that I would do everything in my power to make sure that nothing like what happened to Ruby would happen again. That's when this appeared, and I gained the ability to leave town."

Celestia grinned, turning to Luna, who had a similar grin on her face. Celestia turned back to Mitta, and touched her glowing horn to Mitta's forehead. "You are hereby free of the curse of Sunnytown," she said, a light moving throughout Mitta's body. "Know that your sister forgave you long ago. Live your life, Mitta. Love, and be loved. For the light of day and night is yours to enjoy once more."

Mitta shivered, the coldness leaving her, filling her with a warmth she hadn't felt in ages. She gasped, taking a deep breath... and began to laugh, realizing that she was actually breathing for the first time in centuries. The crowd cheered, Apple Bloom coming up and hugging her. She flinched reflexively, fearing the curse... but when nothing happened to Apple Bloom, she hugged the foal tightly, tears of joy streaming down her face.

Applejack came up to her, smiling. "Thank you. For saving mah sister back then, and for helping to save the town tonight," she said.

Demoman came up to her as well. "Ye did good, lassie. Yuir sister would be proud of you."

Mitta smiled. "I certainly hope so," she said.

Before anything else could be said, Princess Luna came up to them. "My sister has requested an audience with you all in the library. Please meet us there at your earliest convenience. Princess Celestia will be there a bit late, as she wants to arrange the repair efforts with the mayor," she said, looking curiously at Demoman's Element of Honesty necklace.

Applejack, Mitta, and Demoman all traded worried looks, wondering what this was about. Applejack, after checking on Granny, had Big Macintosh take her and Apple Bloom back to the farm. Demoman checked on Berry Punch and Ruby, the two shaken badly, but otherwise fine. They then joined up with the others as they trudged over to the library, Derpy arriving last due to arranging for Sparkler to watch Dinky while she was out. Spike had gone to bed early, just wanting to sleep after all that chaos, and Luna asked Mitta to wait outside. The others murmured quietly amongst themselves until Celestia arrived, striding smoothly through the doorway.

"I wish to discuss with you all what happened tonight, and its final results," Celestia said.

"Ye mean me new jewelery," Demoman said, idly looking over the Element of Harmony around his neck.

"Is confusing," Heavy said. "Little flutter pony and I merge, but I not have Kindness necklace."

Engineer tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Actually... Y'all said that Fluttershy was under the same spell of corruption Miss Twilight was?"

Heavy nodded, Spy, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle shuddering at the memory of that horrid experience.

Engineer nodded. "And y'said that your mind was mostly in control... Demoman, Applejack, what was being AppleDemo like?"

The two Earth ponies traded amused looks. "Well..." Applejack said, "It felt like..."

Demoman hmmed thoughtfully. "It felt like both of our minds were workin' at the exact same time."

"Yeah, that's it. Like ah was me but ah was also him at the same time," Applejack added, nodding.

Engineer thought for a moment and nodded. "That's it, then," he said. "The corruption prevented a proper merging. If y'all ever become FlutterHeavy again, then you'll end up with a Kindness neckless of y'own."

Heavy nodded, satisfied by this explanation. Medic frowned. "Which brings me to mein next question," he said.

"Why weren't any of you affected by Luna's Sweet Dreams illusion?" Celestia said, nodding. "A good question. For Twilight and the others, their Elements protected them from the lie. And as for the BLUs..." She frowned. "This is merely a guess, but if the merges continue, then it can be said that they were protected by their own connection to the Elements of Harmony."

"Could it have been the Elements themselves that pulled us here?" Pyro asked, nuzzling in close to Engineer, trying to shake off the feeling of coldness from zombification.

Celestia shook her head. "That I do not know," she said.

"We have been around for a long time," Luna said, "But there are things that elude even us, even about the Elements of Harmony."

"Not exactly a comforting answer," Rainbow Dash muttered. While waiting for Celestia earlier, she had asked if Luna could restore her sight. She couldn't as the injury had been caused by the Smooze and needed Zecora's specific potion to counteract. She had stopped Luna before she could explain in graphic detail what trying to use magic healing on a Smooze injury would do...

"A fine theory," Trixie huffed, "but that still doesn't explain why Derpy, Zecora and I weren't affected! We aren't connected to the Elements of Harmony!"

Which in turn triggered a random thought in Spy's mind. "Wait a moment," he said, "If we are, as the Princess suggested, connected to ze Elements of Harmony, and zey did have a hand in bringing us here... why bring all nine of us? Zere are only six elements."

Celestia frowned, turning to look at the shelves. "Twilight, would you bring me the reference guide to the Elements of Harmony?"

Twilight blinked, and nodded, telekinetically levitating the book from up in her room, where she had been reading it casually. She gave it to the Princess, who flipped through it, eventually pausing on a page close to the back of the book, pointing to a small paragraph, almost a footnote. She read it aloud.

"'In the time before the Sisters of the Sun and Moon, when LaurFaustia, the Mother Goddess reigned supreme, there were nine Elements of Harmony, created from the holy magic of the Rainbow of Light. These three Elements were shattered in battle against the dreaded Discord. It is a sad thing, that the Element of Love, Element of Trust, and Element of Hope were destroyed, but we must keep all three alive in our hearts.'"

Luna shook her head, irritated. "Shameful. Shameful that something about the time of our mother would be treated as a footnote."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Even I can tell that's sloppy editing," she said.

Derpy blinked. "Wait... If there are these three missing elements... Does that mean the three of us are them?" she said.

"They were destroyed, weren't they?" Scout said, frowning.

Twilight shook her head. "I thought that Nightmare Moon destroyed the six Elements of Harmony when I faced her. But I was able to revive them when I realized how strong the friendship I had developed with Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie was."

Celestia nodded. "The Elements of Harmony are forces of pure magic. The physical form they take, the necklaces and the Crown of Friendship, is not something they are limited to. While I am sorry that my sister's magic couldn't replace the memories of horror with calming ones, I firmly believe that the revival of the missing three Elements is a good thing."

Spy hmmed thoughtfully. "It would be best, I zink, if zat information doesn't leave zis room, however..."

Everyone looked at Spy curiously. He shrugged, and said, "In any kingdom, even as one as peaceful as Equestria, zere are zose who would exploit anyone for any political purpose."

Celestia scowled. "As I have learned the hard way over the centuries..." she muttered.

Spy nodded. "If it were to get out zat Zecora, Trixie, and Derpy are potential new Element bearers..."

"Then soon the three of us would see, people wanting to exploit these returning Harmonies..." Zecora said.

Celestia nodded. "Very well then. Spy, I agree with your idea, and must now ask that all of you be sworn to secrecy."

One by one, each gave their consent. Celestia nodded, and said, "Mitta, you can come in now."

Mitta, smiling nervously, stepped in. Celestia and Luna smiled at her. "You are our last order of business, dear. What can we do to help you get settled into your new life?"

Mitta blushed. "Actually... I was wondering if you could set me up in a place like Manehattan, or Canterlot?"

Everyone traded confused looks. Mitta sighed, and said, "While I was waiting outside, I realized that I still want to help people. That's what this Cutie Mark means. I'm a defender. And I want to do everything I can to help those in need. It's just that here..." She chuckled, and gestured to the gathered BLUs. "Ponyville's pretty much set."

The BLUs all smirked at each other. Scout chuckled. "Sounds like yer plannin' to be a superhero or somethin'."

Rainbow Dash suddenly stiffened, grinning wickedly as an idea occurred to her. "Who am I closer to, Princess Luna or Princess Celestia?" she asked.

"Princess Luna," Pinkie Pie said. "Why?"

Rainbow Dash stood up, and got Princess Luna to lean down towards her, whispering in her ear. The same wicked grin spread over Luna's face as Rainbow Dash talked. She excused herself, teleporting away for several minutes before reappearing, a necklace held by her magic. She placed it around Mitta's neck.

"Thank you for your gift," Mitta said, "But what is it?"

Princess Luna smirked. "A little something to help you do well in your new life."

Twilight's eyes widened, and she stared at Rainbow Dash incredulously. The pegasus said nothing, she just kept a catlike grin of mischief on her face. After a moment, Twilight shook her head. Nah. She hated that scheme. And we did kinda let it go to our heads ourselves...

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

Meanwhile...

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

Gray Hoof groaned, slowly pulling himself to his hooves. He looked down at himself, surprised to see that he was no longer a zompony, and then around, seeing that he was back in Sunnytown, near the entrance, although any sign of vegetation was gone. Even the bugs were gone. He frowned, and began to sit back, but the moment his tail touched the border, a blast of pure agony shot through him, sending him scrambling back into town. He whirled, seeing a solid wall of energy around the gate.

"She's locked me in..." Gray Hoof said. He looked around the empty town, wondering just what it was that haad been done to him.

And then all three Maskies walked in. Gray Hoof shivered fearfully, walking towards Masky Unicorn. "I can explain," he said. "I made some mistakes, but..."

The three Maskies passed right through him, as if he wasn't even there. Gray Hoof whirled, his eyes widening in fear. "Wait, what..."

WhErE'd ThE tOwN gO? Masky Pegasus asked, looking around in confusion.

I kNoW iT wAs hErE, Masky Earth pony said.

"Whu..." Gray Hoof said, "It's RIGHT HERE! I'm right here!"

Masky Unicorn remained silent, looking around steadily as its partners examined the area passing through buildings like they were just shadows, Gray Hoof becoming more and more desperate to get their attention.

LeT's GeT oUt Of HeRe, Masky Pegasus said, shivering. I'm StArTiNg To GeT tHe CrEePs...

So Am I, Masky Unicorn said, chuckling. oH dEaR, iT sEeMs CeLeStIa WaS aNgRiEr WiTh HiM tHaN i ThOuGhT...

Masky Pegasus and Masky Earth pony traded confused looks and looked to Masky Unicorn for clarification.

A gEaSs HaS bEeN pLaCeD oVeR tHiS lAnD, wHaTeVeR wAs HeRe BeFoRe ShIfTeD oFf ThIs PlAnE oF eXiStEnCe. ThE sPeLl WiLl MaKe It So ThAt WhOmEvEr EnTeRs ThIs ArEa WiLl BeCoMe MoRe AnD MoRe aFrAiD. nO lIfE wIlL eVeR cOmE iNtO tHiS aReA eVeR aGaIn, he said.

Gray Hoof shook his head, the implications sinking in. "No... No no no no no..."

WoW... Masky Pegasus said softly.

ThErE iS mOrE, Masky Unicorn said, chuckling. ThE pErSoN tRaPpEd? ThE sPeLl CrIpPlEs ThEiR iMaGiNaTiOn AnD pReVeNtS tHeM fRoM gOiNg InSaNe. ThEy WoN't EvEr Be AbLe To EsCapE tHe LoNeLiNeSs ThAt ThE CaStEr WaNtS tHeM tO sUfFeR!

The three Maskies laughed, and filed out of what was, to their eyes, an empty, lifeless circle of land. Gray Hoof began to scream, running helplessly about the town that was now his prison, unable to escape the fact that he had been condemned to an eternity of solitude...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Notes: Yes, I did take some liberties with loadout and gave AppleDemo more than the usual three weapons only that Demoman and the other classes are allowed to carry in game. Whenever a BLU is human, they will have all the weapons I think they can effectively carry. That's a minor enough detail that I don't think it counts as a spoiler...