A/N: You'll want to be familiar with the song "I've Got a Dream" from Tangled for this next one.

---

1. The Princesses

CORONA, AESTAS

"All right, all right, I'm coming!" Eugene grumbled, storming toward the door where someone was knocking incessantly. "You can stop knocking now!"

He swung open the door to reveal Maximus staring him down. "Really?" Eugene sighed. "All that knocking? You're just doing this to mess with me now."

Maximus nickered teasingly.

"What's goin' on?" Applejack appeared at Eugene's side. "Hey, Maximus. What's goin' on?"

With a toss of his head, Maximus referred to the Corona castle behind him.

"We're wanted at the castle?" Eugene asked to clarify.

Maximus nodded.

"Hey gals!" Applejack called out. "We got business up at the castle! Somebody get Rainbow Dash outta bed and—"

"I'm already awake!" Rainbow Dash called back, walking into the room with Eugene's book in her hand, a finger marking her place.

"What got you up so darn early?" Applejack asked.

"I had to figure out how Rider got out of the whirlpool," Rainbow Dash answered, holding up the book. "And it was AWESOME!"

"Better than Daring Do?" Applejack inquired.

"It's pretty close," Rainbow Dash admitted.

"Just wait until you get to the part with the lava," Eugene gushed. "Hands down, best part."

Maximus rolled his eyes.

"Uh, I think Maximus there is gettin' a little impatient with us," Applejack said sheepishly. "We'd better get our act together."

---

Within a matter of minutes, Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Eugene, and Maximus were on their way to the castle. Rainbow Dash made the mistake of trying to walk and read at the same time; after nearly crashing into three carts and a family of five, Rarity confiscated her book. Twilight was nothing short of impressed with Rainbow's devotion.

Maximus led the group through the castle gates and all the way up to Rapunzel's bedroom. The princess was in the process of piling up rucksacks on her bed. Every now and again, Pascal helped drag one into place.

"Oh!" she cried, realizing the ones she'd sent for were there. "You got my message from Maximus!"

"Loud and clear and over and over," Eugene said spitefully. Maximus let out a whinny that was obviously a giggle.

"Well, I had this idea," Rapunzel said. "It would be a good way to get to know all of you, and at the same time, get something done that I've been meaning to for a while."

"Sounds like fun!" Pinkie replied. "I don't even know what it is yet, and it sounds fun!"

"It's sort of an…adventure, maybe," Rapunzel said, "though probably not a very exciting one. You see, there are still a lot of things back at my old tower, the place I lived before I came here, that I haven't gone back to get. Some cooking equipment, some sewing stuff, three books…and a lot of my best paints. I was thinking we could all go together and, you know, talk. About your kingdom and the threat you said came from it. Or just about life in general. So…do you want to come with me?"

"YES!" Pinkie yelped emphatically.

"I think I speak for all of us when I say we're in," Twilight added.

"And you know I'm there," Eugene finished.

"Great!" Rapunzel said excitedly. "Pascal and Maximus already agreed, so we just need to get our things together to pack up once we're there, and we can go!"

"All right," Applejack commanded, "everypony take a bag and let's go!"

The six Equestrians moved to help pick up the bags; Fluttershy was momentarily confused by the fact that she had to carry the sack in her hands instead of strapping it to her back.

Eugene took Rapunzel aside. "You sure you're ready for this? I mean…you haven't touched that place in a LONG time. You really haven't wanted to go back."

"I have to go back," Rapunzel insisted. "It can't just be something that sits out there and bothers me. I have to face up to it…and besides, how else am I going to get my paints back?"

"Not to be overly sentimental, but I want to be sure you're okay with this."

"I'll be okay. After all, you'll be with me, right?"

"All the way!"

"What are they talking about?" Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight.

"I don't know," Twilight replied, "but I think we're going to find out eventually. After all, we're about to spend a lot of time together. And that's good…if Rapunzel's going to be out in the open, I want to be sure we can protect her from anything."

---

At last, six ponies in human form, two humans, one majestic stallion, and one shoulder-riding chameleon set out from the castle, down through town, and across the bridge.

"It's about a two-day walk," Rapunzel said.

"We've handled worse than a little walking," Rainbow Dash boasted.

"So what's the deal with you ladies anyway?" Eugene asked. "I mean, it's obvious you're not from around here. The hair and everything."

"Our kingdom is very far away," Twilight began. "We're actually on kind of a special mission from our princesses."

"You see," Rarity said, "we're somewhat of heroes back home. Just the usual…banishing monsters, planning royal events, designing hit fashions—"

"That's not heroic," Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"It's very heroic!" Rarity argued.

"A dangerous criminal named Chrysalis escaped from our kingdom," Twilight said as the group moved into the woods, "and back home, she tried to take over our kingdom by attacking during Princess Cadance's wedding. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have sent us on a bit of a…peacekeeping mission to visit other kingdoms."

"It's an exploration mission too!" Rainbow Dash added.

"We found Chrysalis in the last kingdom we visited," Pinkie Pie said, "and she was trying to take over the throne there! Just before she escaped, she said she was going to find someone else's wedding to ruin!"

"Celestia and Luna want us to stop Chrysalis while we explore other kingdoms," Applejack concluded. "So we're tryin' to protect y'all."

"So you're adventurers," Rapunzel concluded.

"Sorta," Applejack admitted.

"And what are you when you're not adventurers?" Eugene asked.

"Well," Twilight began, "I'm one of Princess Celestia's best students of magi—of mythology…"

---

THE BORDERLANDS OF CORONA, AESTAS

In a gorgeous vale surrounded by high mountains and even one waterfall, the tower sprouted from the ground like a tree, its apartment-like living space perched atop a monumentous column. The apartment itself was dark but for the light that poured in through one window set in the side; skylights could be opened for greater visibility, and candles could be lit, but the four occupants of the room currently had no desire to use either source of light. Various items of clutter lay about the apartment—art supplies, kitchen utensils, and shards of glass from a mirror intertwined with roughly sixty-nine feet of brown hair coiled on the floor. Upon seeing these things, Gothel shivered, and made extra care to step directly on the glass shards so they would break.

"Touch nothing," Maleficent ordered. "They will be here soon. They must not know of our presence. For now, I thought this a fitting place to explain what must be done."

"So you're going to finally stop being so vague," Discord snorted, "and let us know what's actually going on?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Maleficent answered. She faced Discord, Chrysalis, and Gothel. "I know that two of you are familiar with the cosmic order beyond this planet. As for Gothel…what idea have you of the scope of the universe?"

"I never really cared," Gothel admitted offhandedly. "What does it matter to me whether or not there's anything else out there?"

"I see," Maleficent observed. "You cling tightly to the belief that what cosmic order there is revolves around you."

"It makes for a nice dream," Gothel said with a smile.

"Unfortunately, it is not true," Maleficent informed the woman. "If you should complete your task successfully and join me, it may become closer to reality."

"What an ego this one has," Discord hissed to Chrysalis.

"My power and the power of the Overtakers is rooted in darkness," Maleficent said. "Were I you, Discord, I would stop gossiping and listen. This is where the story becomes relevant."

"Well, you don't have to get snippy," Discord replied.

"The new age will be rooted in darkness," Maleficent said. "It is the only way that the Old Ones can again thrive—"

"Wrong," Discord interrupted.

"And what trivialities have you to impart on the subject?" Maleficent asked, miffed.

"I'm beyond the whole light-and-darkness thing," Discord said offhandedly. "I really DON'T care which one is in the lead so long as I get my chaos. Darkness blinds and light burns. Darkness keeps your secrets while light illuminates truth. And so on and so on."

"Admittedly, it is true that the new age does not require darkness," Maleficent replied. "However, it is by drawing upon the deepest darkness that both you and I, Discord, will gain our power. Darkness makes destruction."

"Let's see how long it takes before that comes back to bite you with delicious irony," Discord shot back.

"In any case, with darkness as our strength, we can destroy those who would oppose us…including the Elements of Harmony," Maleficent explained. "I will reiterate: it was that darkness that allowed Jafar to overpower all who challenged him."

She turned to Gothel. "There are countless worlds…more than trillions. More than you could ever comprehend. I once heard a quite apt comparison…there are as many worlds as there are grains of sand on a beach. I intend to shroud all these worlds in darkness, allow the Old Ones to regain their power, and reign supreme—"

"Correction," Discord said. "If you let my friends and I regain our full power, WE, NOT you, will reign supreme."

"A matter we can work out later," Maleficent told Discord. "For now, accept that we have the same goal. I am working to help you. It matters not whether you work towards the empowerment of the Overtakers; it will happen anyway. With our darkness comes the chaos you so love."

"And the point of this is…?" Gothel asked. "I'm starting to get bored over here. Ramble, ramble, ramb—"

"THE POINT," Maleficent continued, so loudly that Gothel flinched, "is that in this multiverse, there are a great many cosmic beings that have power. For those of us who have tapped into the deepest darkness, there are also those who have access to the brightest of light."

"Question," Discord interrupted. "Since you know SO much about the darkness, would you happen to be the current Left Eye of the—"

"WE SHALL NOT SPEAK OF THAT!" Maleficent cried; she swung her staff in a circle, shooting a bolt of lightning at Discord. Discord backhanded it away.

"So that's a no," he muttered.

"I shall concede," Maleficent growled. "No, I am not the Left Eye, but should anything HAPPEN to the current Left Eye, which is one of my goals, I would most certainly be next in line."

"Left what now?" Gothel asked.

"The ultimate guardian of darkness in all existence," Maleficent answered. "It is what I must become…and will become. The current Left Eye…a fool and a harlot. However, that is currently not relevant. I would rather concern myself with the forces of light. Certain beings have pure hearts and therefore great powers of light. It is my understanding that the gods set this system in place to make sure that there would always be certain kingdoms in the multiverse that were ruled with just hands. Or rather, the goddesses…they have favored women.

"Throughout existence, there will always be seven princesses who are pure of heart and therefore are connected to nearly limitless light. They can utilize this power to repel darkness. I know the current identity of each princess and where she is. One of them, Chrysalis, is Jasmine of Agrabah, whom you failed to properly capture…but I'm sure we can return to her."

"Discord set up a lovely team of agents of chaos to torment Agrabah," Chrysalis informed Maleficent. "The girl will soon find herself overwhelmed."

"And let me guess," Gothel sighed. "Rapunzel is one of these seven goody-goodies."

"Not yet," Maleficent replied.

"Then what's the point?" Gothel asked. "And why don't you just kill all of them if they're that much of a nuisance?"

"I cannot," Maleficent answered, "for as has been demonstrated in one of the more foolish acts of one of my allies, whenever one of the seven dies, another will take her place to help guard the light. My ally murdered the seven previous Princesses of Heart, as they are called. We had thought that would wipe out such a force of light, but seven new princesses stepped in to take their place. Four were the daughters of the ones who had been killed. One married the son of one who had been killed. The cycle will always continue. Therefore, it must be ensured that all of these princesses are secured, captured…not killed…and made unable to disrupt us. This includes those who could take the place of the current seven. I have sought many answers, and have discovered all the princesses that could possibly become a new threat should one of the current seven die. Rapunzel is one." She turned to Chrysalis. "Mi Amore Cadenza is another. See to it that what you began is eventually finished. Only then can we be sure that none of them will stand against us."

"Are they ALWAYS princesses?" Discord groaned.

"As I said, the gods wished to ensure that those who would guard the light would be in positions of power so that there were always kingdoms ruled by light," Maleficent reiterated.

"Gag," Discord replied, making the motion of jabbing a finger down his throat. "Obviously I slept through when the goddesses decided to make that move. Let me guess. Athena? Farore? Isis? Ammu? Oh, please tell me this wasn't one of Amaterasu's decisions!"

"That makes my job easier," Chrysalis remarked. "Princesses gain more love than anyone else. Impersonating them is a joy to me…Mi Amore Cadenza and Jasmine not only had pure love radiating from their spouses, but an absolute deluge of love from the populaces of their kingdoms."

"And while we're talking structure," Discord said, a thought occurring to him, "would one of these princesses happen to be the Right Eye?"

"Not yet," Maleficent answered. "The current Right Eye is one of those who may become one of the seven if one should die."

"And how do you know all this, little miss know-it-all?" Discord taunted.

"We Unseelie faeries have time unlimited to learn," Maleficent answered, "and I have not squandered any of mine."

"So the Right Eye is the guardian of light," Gothel inferred.

"Do you understand?" Maleficent asked her.

"Barely," Gothel groaned. "Let's get to the point. You want me to get Rapunzel and keep her captured alive."

"Exactly," Maleficent answered with a smile curling through her lips. "Your history with her will facilitate the capture. I have a feeling that deep within her, she has not forgotten you…especially the memories from before her little epiphany. It will be easy with the help of Discord and Chrysalis. They shall simply replace the princess, and it will be as though she was never missing."

"And how are they going to do that?" Gothel asked.

"Observe," Maleficent told her. "There is much magic with which you are not yet familiar. Chrysalis…a friendly demonstration?"

Chrysalis stepped before Gothel, absorbing all radiant feelings of adoration from the woman. She morphed. When Chrysalis looked down at her new shape, she laughed. She was an exact copy of Gothel herself. "You are the one you love most in the world?"

"What's not to love?" Gothel asked.

"You don't seem surprised at Chrysalis' talent," Maleficent observed.

"Please." Gothel waved her hand. "I spent centuries with a magic flower that reversed aging. No one believed that was real either."

"That is the other benefit that comes of this task," Maleficent informed Gothel. "The power that Rapunzel's hair bestowed upon you may have drained away when it was cut, but the gift of the flower lives on within the girl."

That stirred a reaction in Gothel: "WHAT?"

"She retains the healing power in her," Maleficent explained. "She used it to bring Rider back from the brink of death. It lies within her heart and is fueled by her connection to the light. When you take control of her, you may do with her as you please…and that includes forcing her to use her powers upon you. You can once again be immortal. All you need to do is find a place to hide her until her wedding has finished. That will be your test. Should you pass, I will show you a place to hide where neither of you will ever be found."

"I like the sound of this," Gothel said. "You can count me in to your little scheme. It will be good to become reacquainted with my little flower."

Meanwhile, Discord and Chrysalis, who had reverted to the shape of the Agrabanian, had moved away to talk amongst themselves. "Must we really fear these princesses?" Chrysalis asked Discord.

"Most likely," Discord answered. "Then again, Maleficent's taking everything way too literally. If she's just out to get rid of powerful light magic, she's not going to get very far. After all, the Elements of Harmony aren't the little rays of sunlight they like to believe they are. And some of the Right Eyes of the past have been on OUR side…the side of chaos. I'd still try and usurp the princesses if I were you, of course. It will probably clear out the clutter for when our time rises…but more importantly, it will be SO much fun!"

"We must leave this place," Maleficent said sternly. "The Elements of Harmony, the princess, and their little friends will be here soon. I shall turn each of you to your own devices."

"As though you were dictating my moves to begin with!" Discord snapped.

"Each of you knows your part," Maleficent said. "Now go, and do not fail me!" In a flash of green light, she faded from view.

"That's our cue!" Discord told Chrysalis excitedly.

"And mine," Gothel added. "Now, how exactly do I fit into this?"

"Oh, I think I know how we can all get what we want," Chrysalis said.

---

"…and when I found out it was a party for me the whole time, I just cheered right up!" Pinkie finished telling her story as the sun went down.

"That's wonderful!" Rapunzel remarked. "You six are pretty good friends, then?"

"Only the best!" Pinkie asserted. "But that doesn't mean we can't be friends with you! We're friends with all sorts of other ponies and people like Ditzy and Cheerilee and Jasmine and Sadira and…"

"And it's almost nighttime," Twilight remarked. "Should we find somewhere to make camp?"

The group stopped. They spread out on the grassy earth.

"Looks like Pascal likes you," Eugene pointed out.

Pascal had curled up next to Fluttershy. "I like him very much," Fluttershy responded.

"You know," Rapunzel said as everyone closed his or her eyes, "I'm glad you decided to come with me. I'd like to think we're all friends…"

"Of course!" Rainbow Dash insisted. "You're pretty cool. You too, Eugene. And Maximus."

"Don't forget Pascal," Fluttershy murmured, halfway to sleep.

Again, Rapunzel found herself looking up before drifting into slumber. This time, however, her thoughts were of a happier ilk. During the day of walking, she had learned a lot about the six ambassadors from Canterlot. She decided she trusted them.

Her stomach filled with dread as she realized that meant there was in fact someone they were chasing, someone out to ruin her wedding and upset her kingdom. However, she decided that the group as it stood was probably more than enough to stop this mysterious villain, and let her thoughts become more peaceful.

---

A second day's walk and worth of stories; while the six Equestrians had more anecdotes from their kingdom and Eugene had his fair share of escapades during his stint as criminal Flynn Rider, Rapunzel contributed nothing, listening instead.

The group moved toward a rock wall where vines covered a tunnel leading to the vale where Rapunzel's tower was erected. The six Equestrians gaped up at the massive structure, stunned.

"THAT'S where you used to live?" Pinkie asked.

"Yup!" Rapunzel confirmed. "Don't worry. There are stairs. I didn't know about them until recently, but they're definitely there."

She led the group around to the back of the tower, where a stone doorway, previously blocked off, looked clumsily clawed open. "Can you stand guard down here?" Rapunzel asked Maximus.

The stallion immediately stood tall and appeared ready to fulfill his duty.

"Great!" Rapunzel told him. "Everybody else…let's go." With a deep breath, she entered the stairway.

The steps spiraled up and up, around and around, until they came up under a trap door. The trap door opened into a quaint apartment, lit only with the sunlight from the main window; it was still apparent that the walls were covered with paintings.

"Whoa…" Rainbow Dash remarked, climbing up into the apartment.

"Did you paint all this?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah…kinda," Rapunzel answered. "I…had a lot of time on my hands when I lived here. Um…I'm going to go get started on packing. Anyone wanna help?"

"Ooh! Me! Me!" Pinkie followed Rapunzel up to what had been her old bedroom to gather such things as the paints.

The apartment was filled with the remnants of old hobbies. A dusty bookshelf held three books. A kitchen area was stocked with several utensils. A chessboard was set up on a table that also contained several Pascal-sized dresses. Candles littered the place. An old clock had stopped keeping time at 7:15.

However, the living room contained the oddest scene. Rarity curiously tread over a set of heavy iron chains, looking down at the floor. A length of brown hair trailed around the room; it was peppered with glass shards.

"What is this?" Rarity asked.

"That's…something personal," Eugene answered. "I don't really know if Rapunzel wants to talk about it."

Rapunzel came down the stairs from the bedroom at that moment, one rucksack packed. Pinkie followed her. "What did you find?" the princess asked.

"Oh…it's nothing," Rarity answered.

Rapunzel entered the living room, looking down at the floor. "Oh," she said starkly. "That."

"If it's a personal matter," Rarity said, "we won't be discussing it further. Now, we—"

"No," Rapunzel interrupted. "It's all right. All this is…just the reason it's been so hard for me to come back here." She swallowed hard. "You're all my friends now. Can I trust you with something?"

"Of course!" Pinkie insisted. "You can tell us anything!"

"Well…" Rapunzel tried to think of how to phrase her story. "Do you…do you believe in magic?"

"More than you know," Twilight answered immediately.

"You don't have to talk about this if you don't want," Eugene told Rapunzel.

"No," Rapunzel replied. "I…I want to." She continued. "All this hair…it used to be mine. It was gold back then. It gave me magic powers. Whenever I sang a healing song, my hair would heal whoever it touched…even giving back youth. It's because my mother ate a magic flower when I she was pregnant with me. This all sounds silly, I know…"

"Not at all," Twilight reassured the princess. "In fact, we've probably encountered weirder. Rarity and I have our own experiences with doing magic."

"But please, do continue," Rarity told Rapunzel.

"If my hair was cut, it would turn brown and lose its power," Rapunzel went on. "As you can see, that's exactly what happened. Because of that, I was kidnapped when I was a baby. The kidnapper raised me in this tower for eighteen years, and I never went outside. I could only see what was out my window. I…I thought the person who kidnapped me was my mother. I thought she actually…loved me. Eugene…he helped me break free from this tower, but she tried to take me back. I thought she was protecting me. She always told me how horrible the outside world was, but that was just a trick to get me to stay in this tower and use my hair on her to keep her young. You see those chains? That's from when she tried to take me away. She almost killed Eugene. He used the broken mirror to cut my hair, and she…I'm not really sure how to describe it. All the youth I gave back to her went away. She's gone now. Dead, I mean. That's when I found out who my real parents were, and I went back to them. I'm not in danger of people using me now…I don't have my hair anymore." She shrugged. "That's my story. I haven't wanted to come back for a long time because it reminded me of her, but now I'm ready."

"That sounds awful," Rarity said. "But at the same time, it's wonderful that you found the ones who truly did care about you. Queen Barbara, King Zal, your handsome fiancé…"

Rapunzel smiled. "I guess things worked out for the best."

"Um…Rapunzel?" Twilight broke in. "That was…that was a pretty big thing you told us. How many other people know?"

"Me and her parents," Eugene answered. "And some other friends of ours."

"I just feel bad having you tell us all that," Twilight said, "when we haven't been entirely honest with you. Nothing we've said is a lie, of course! But…we've been leaving some things out."

"Like what?" Rapunzel asked, curiosity peaked.

"Like…we're not from a kingdom on this planet," Twilight said. "And I'm actually a student of magic. And back where we're from…we aren't human."

"Okay, very funny," Eugene said. "Good joke. Not sure why you made a joke like that now, doesn't seem very appropriate, but…"

"It's the truth," Applejack confirmed.

Little by little, the story came out: ponies, Equestria, magic, the Starlight. Eventually, changelings.

"…she changed into Cadance's shape so she could take my brother's love for her," Twilight concluded. "We're afraid she's going to do the same thing to you."

"I…I'm not sure I believe this," Eugene said, stunned. "You're sure you didn't just steal this story from some book or something?"

"Pretty sure," Twilight replied. "Watch."

She pointed at one of the candles, levitating it. She set it down next to Eugene.

"How are you DOING that?" Eugene cried.

"That's amazing," Rapunzel commented. "You…you really are from another world, aren't you? Witches and wizards don't exist. Not here, anyway. I've never thought about if they existed anywhere else. It's a little hard to believe you're all…well, ponies."

"If you went to Equestria," Fluttershy said, "you would probably become one too."

"From the stories you told me," Rapunzel replied, "Equestria sounds like a beautiful place. I wish I could see it someday." She gasped. "Maybe I can!"

"I don't know," Twilight said cautiously. "We have control of the mists, but I'm not sure if anypony else can actually travel between worlds like we do. I don't even know if anypony is supposed to, except for Time Lords, Travelers, and some others."

"Are you really BELIEVING this?" Eugene nearly screeched. "Magic boats? Shape shifting? TALKING HORSES?"

"Maximus is darn near like a person," Applejack reminded him. "Dunno why you don't got a problem with him…"

"It's the truth," Rapunzel stated. "I know it. And I want to thank you for sharing it with us. I'm just glad we're friends in general."

"No problem!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"And we'll take your secrets to the grave," Rarity affirmed. "Now, how can we help you pack up?"

"Well…" Rapunzel swallowed hard. "It's still a little hard to see all this and remember. Just…stay with me and help me pack things?"

"We can sing a song!" Pinkie suggested. "That'll make the time go faster!" With a great inhalation of breath, she burst out, "Once upon a time, the princess was a flower, but now she needs to move out of her tower, so we're packing up her paint so she'll become the saint-ly holder of Coronan royal power…"

Eugene shrugged. He gave in; he believed what was the truth.

---

"I just thought of something."

All of Rapunzel's things were now packed up. The group had walked back down out of the tower, out of the vale, and was headed back toward Corona. Eugene had his realization before they left the vale.

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"When I cut Rapunzel's hair," he explained, "I was dying of a stab wound. The last thing I remembered before going into the light, so to speak, was hearing Rapunzel sing her healing song, and then I was…not dead anymore. I mean, I didn't actually make it to dead, I stopped before I got down to that river thing—"

"River thing?" Pinkie interrupted.

"Eugene always says that when he was dying, he saw a river that was headed into darkness," Rapunzel explained. "It's one of his favorite things to brag about. I still think you were hallucinating from blood loss, Eugene."

"No," Twilight broke in, "he probably saw the river to the Underworld. The Styx. Most ponies—and people, I guess—see it when they die. They cross it, and then from there…well, there are a bunch of things that can happen."

"See?" Eugene folded his arms smugly, as best he could while carrying a large rucksack. "I was right about the river."

"Okay," Rapunzel conceded. "I believe it now."

"But you still healed me without your hair," Eugene reiterated. "How did that happen?"

"I've always just thought it was a miracle," Rapunzel answered. "I definitely don't have my powers anymore. I guess we'll never know."

"Magic is strange," Twilight concluded. "It works in a lot of ways we might never really understand."

---

The journey home was marked by a quick stop. The group grew hungry and tired, so Eugene suggested they stop at a favorite haunt of his, and when Rapunzel saw the direction in which they were headed, she couldn't help but agree. Rapunzel, Eugene, Maximus, the six Equestrians, and Pascal—still on Fluttershy's shoulder—moved toward a tavern whose sign proclaimed it was called "The Snuggly Duckling."

"That sounds cute," Fluttershy remarked. "Is it nice inside?"

"You'll see," Rapunzel said knowingly.

They opened the door upon a seedy bar packed with hulking, armored men carrying various pieces of weaponry. Almost no light entered the room—just some flickering candles from a chandelier above and what filtered in through the small windows. The incoming group looked incredibly colorful and out of place amongst all the brown leather, gray fur, and silver metal. Muscular thugs turned to look at the door from every corner of the tavern.

Fluttershy screamed and dove behind Maximus.

"Um…" Twilight began.

Then one of the larger men, a bald warrior with a thin mustache and a hook replacing his right hand, stood and walked menacingly down the creaky floorboards toward the door. When he reached the group, and the six Equestrians were shying away, he spread his arms and smiled. "Hey, it's Rapunzel and Eugene! What are you doing all the way out here? Don't you have a wedding to plan?"

"Um…you know these fellows?" Rarity asked.

"Sure!" Eugene replied. "These guys are old friends of ours!"

"We were just packing up some old things that I still had to move in," Rapunzel said, showing off the rucksack of items she held. "Mind if we stop in for a bite?"

"Not at all! We got a big table over there waitin' for ya!" The hook-handed warrior gestured with said hook toward a table in the corner.

Soon all were seated. "So how'd you become friends with all these guys anyway?" Twilight asked Rapunzel.

"It's a long story," Rapunzel said with a shrug and a smile.

"Hey," the hook-handed warrior suggested, "how about we do a couple rounds of the old song now that you're here? After all, we've never heard your new friends sing it."

"Have you been waiting for an excuse to play more of the piano?" Rapunzel asked teasingly.

"I'm shocked that you guessed!" the hook-handed warrior replied, equally teasingly.

"I love singing!" Pinkie chirped. "What's the song?"

The hook-handed warrior presented her with some sheet music. "You can make up your own lyrics for the verses," he said. "We all just kinda fill them in ourselves, just as long as you keep to the main lines."

"I'm in!" Pinkie cried. "Who's with me?"

"I don't know…" Twilight muttered.

"I'm not singin'," Applejack insisted.

Fluttershy just trembled and squeaked.

"Come on, girls!" Pinkie cajoled. "Pleeeeaaase? Pretty please with a cherry and rainbow sprinkles on top?"

"Well…perhaps if you start us off," Rarity answered at last.

The hook-handed warrior stepped up to the piano. All eyes turned to the table, where Pinkie clambered up to stand on the tabletop and be better seen. The hook-handed warrior struck the opening chords, and Pinkie began to sing:

"Yes, my laughter is quite hearty

And I'm known for all my parties,

My singing has inspired a lot of clapping.

But when sunset comes, you see,

I want something more than me:

I'd like to make all my friends super-happy!

Can't you see us eating cupcakes by the dancefloor,

Laughing just so much we almost scream!

I would rather not be lonely

And I would please everypony!

It's pretty obvious I've got a dream!"

The other taverngoers, Rapunzel, Eugene, and Pascal included, applauded Pinkie; Maximus stomped his hoof on the floor. The piano kept going on the melody for the verse. "Okay," Twilight sighed, "I guess I'll go next." She stood on the table.

"From the day that I was born,

My heart was never torn.

I pledged all of my loyalty to Celestia,

But the studies that she gave me,

They're not quite enough to save me—

I want to read every book in Equestria!

Can't you see me turning pages late at midnight,

Stacking up the pages by the ream!

I might get condescending looks,

But I really love my books!

And learning more will always be my dream!"

Twilight stepped down to more applause. Rarity took that chance to steal the spotlight, stepping into her place:

"I've clothed singers and princesses,

And also, what's no less is,

I've designed for my friends with fervent passion!

But it's really all the same

Until the whole world knows my name

For all the work that I put in my fashion!

Can't you see me getting orders from celebrities,

World-renowned for every stitch and seam!

Every back, front, and behind

Clothed in Rarity's design!

Like everypony else, I've got a dream!"

Rainbow Dash was next to replace her.

"I've kicked thunderstorms around

And broke the barrier of sound,

I've harnessed lightning with a million volts,

But despite my gift with weather

Soarin' and Spitfire do it better!

I'd love to join them in the Wonderbolts!

Can't you see us flying in exact formation,

Parting clouds to let down the sunbeams!

They're secondary to my friends,

But my fantasy still ends

When I'm a Wonderbolt, yeah, that's my dream!"

Applejack, caught up in the mood, was atop the table before Rainbow Dash had left.

"I'm a family mare for sure,

That fact can't just be ignored.

The four of us exchange our hugs and kisses.

But Apple Bloom and Big Mac

And Granny Smith know for a fact

We really wanna build the family business!

Can't you see me sellin' apples by the billion,

Takin' farmin' to its logical extreme?

We're all lovin' and forgivin'

But we gotta make a livin'!

I share one-fourth the Apple family's dream!"

Fluttershy was the last one left. She stepped up to the table, squeaked, and stepped immediately down. A silence fell over the tavern. Eugene started slowly clapping: "Flutter-shy…Flutter-shy…"

"Please don't," Fluttershy muttered.

It was too late. The clapping had picked up over the tavern until everyone inside was chanting: "FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY! FLUTTERSHY!"

"All right!" Fluttershy stepped up on the table.

"Um…there are…rabbits in the ground

And there are…lizards…all around,

Fish in the sea and all the birds above me,

I see every animal

From the tallest to the small…

And maybe someday all of them will love me!

Can't you see me being friends with all the critters,

From the eagles to the frogs down in the stream?

You know, now I've got to thinking,

My dream's a bit like Pinkie's…

Being kind to animal friends would be my dream!"

She sat back down in time to receive a napkin upon which Pinkie had printed the lyrics to a final verse. "FINALE TIME!" Pinkie cried, and all six stepped up to sing the chorus with the words Pinkie had written:

"We've got a dream,

We've got a dream!

We really want to stick together as a team!

Our friendship's like a sisterhood

And what we've got is just so good,

That most of all our friendship is our dream!"

With that, the six sat down to thunderous applause from the patrons of the Snuggly Duckling.

"Not bad!" Eugene said while clapping.

"We should do spontaneous musical numbers more often!" Pinkie suggested.

"She just might be right about that," Rarity laughed. "Now, please, let's order something! It's imperative that we keep up our strength for the journey back to Corona!"

---

Chapter 18

· Rapunzel's golden hair was 70 feet long. Canon. It looks about a foot long now, so I assume it's sixty-nine feet on the floor.

· Discord's right. Okay, Mal is too…using darkness will get her great powers that she can use for evil, and will be a route to domination…but chaos doesn't care whether it's light or darkness.

· Fun fact: that thing about there being as many worlds as grains of sand on a beach? That's from Stephen King's Dark Tower. Yes.

· The whole "Left Eye" and "Right Eye" thing is from Bayonetta (we will save the "Are you sure you're a feminist?" and "Are you sure you're a WOMAN?" discussions for later). In that 'verse, the Left Eye of the world is kind of the guardian of all darkness (P.S. that's also spoiler…sorry) and the Right Eye is the guardian of light. I decided to expand that so that the Left and Right eyes are guardians of darkness and light for EXISTENCE. What I really like about the mythos of Bayonetta is that light is bad and darkness is good. The Right Eye was the bad guy, and the Left Eye was the heroine. And that should be your big clue as to the "harlot" Maleficent has to eliminate in order to be up next for Left Eye. Who's the Right? I'm keeping that under my hat. It's NOT Father Balder anymore, so don't look to the canon for that answer.

· The Seven Princesses of Heart is a concept from Kingdom Hearts. And yes, currently, in this story, they ARE Alice, Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, and Kairi. At least one of those is slated to change, but I'm not saying who or how. Anyway, they're seven maidens who are pure of heart. It's not really said how much power they have, just that they can "unlock the door of darkness," but from certain implications, it seems they each have manipulation of light magic to some degree (they mention doing their best to hold a world together on which the door to darkness has indeed been opened). I really, REALLY wanted to do SOMETHING with princesses, since there are so many fictional princesses in fiction that it's a trope (Everything's Better With Princesses). So I had the idea that if one dies (or, hint hint, is no longer pure of heart for some reason), the torch gets passed. After all, why would the fate of the world rest on seven mortals with no backup plan? So ANY princess on the "good" alignment could become a PoH. Rapunzel, of course, since that's the focus of this chapter, and because her purity of heart is so friggin' obvious. You can think of others.

· I know who the previous, dead seven PoH's are. I have a list. And I know which of the Overtakers killed them. But that is a SECRET and will be left for SUSPENSE. I don't know exactly when I'm going to reveal it—I just know that I have a big plan for that backstory.

· The goddesses Discord listed: Athena is from Greek myth (most of you should know her). Farore is from The Legend of Zelda. Isis is from Egyptian mythology. Ammu is from Atlantis: The Lost Tales, an obscure point-and-click adventure game that I love. Amaterasu is from Japanese mythology, but equally importantly, from Okami. I wanted to throw in some Discworld goddesses, but none of them are really in charge of anything important like making people.

· It's obvious in mythology that Unseelie faeries are usually evil and Seelie are usually good, but they're still both tricksters and it's a crapshoot to trust members of either court. After all, in the obscure book "The Raven Queen," Puck was Seelie, and he was still, well, Puck.

· My little headcanon about Rapunzel's healing power will reveal itself more as the story goes. But I don't just accept her being able to heal Eugene without her hair as a one-time thing. To simplify: I think the power of the magic flower is in her heart, and if you add to that the implied power of being a candidate for PoH, she's still packing magic that she doesn't know about.

· The stories had to come out. I mean, Zel and Eugene would have found out about the other worlds eventually, but it's better that everypony is just honest right off the bat…

· No tune for Pinkie's packing song.

· My Underworld is complicated. I'm essentially jamming a ton of afterlives into one that's mostly run by Hades, but also has…other gods…working on it. The Styx is definitely the entry point, though.

· I didn't have a name for most of the thugs when I wrote this chapter, and I came up with them later.

· Something I'd ALWAYS wanted to do (well, okay, just ever since I saw Tangled) is redo I've Got a Dream with characters that aren't related to Tangled. AND NOW I'VE DONE IT!