I stared up at the building before me, my mouth hanging open in shock. It was so vastly different from the other buildings surrounding it that I couldn’t help myself. Unlike the neighboring buildings—which, with their marble exteriors and golden trim, looked like they belonged in Canterlot—this particular building would look more in place in Ponyville.

The walls were dark purple and textured, with strange, twisting designs etched in a lighter shade of violet against the rough surface. Colored lights hung from the eaves, casting a blue glow downwards onto the ground below. The main entrance was a large archway made of black marble that led to an iron door. The marquee over the door bore the words “Mystic Melody Club’ in large letters, superimposed over a large vinyl record. Despite the fact that it was only four in the afternoon, the building’s lights were on, and a line was already forming outside the door. Two bouncers stood near the entrance, managing the row of ponies. Every so often, one of them would check a clipboard he had with him before allowing another pony to pass by and enter the building.

Even while standing in the street, I could hear the faint ‘thump’ of music coming from the building, the cobblestones beneath my feet vibrating ever so slightly. Whenever the door opened, a wave of sound issued forth, although the music was too jumbled for me to make out any lyrics.

I rubbed the back of my neck as I continued to stare up at the club before me, resisting the urge to laugh. It was definitely not what I had been expecting from a pony that lived in Canterlot.

Ponies walked around me as they went about their day. A few shot me curious glances as they passed, but most just ignored me, walking along with their noses in the air. Occasionally, a few high-class ponies would shoot the club disgusted looks before hurrying along, harrumphing loudly.

Well, this is the place, I thought as I glanced up at a nearby street sign. This was the address that Octavia had given me, and the club was called ‘Mystic Melody Club’, although I still didn’t have a clue as to why Vinyl, who I had only met twice for only brief periods of time, wanted to see me.

Running a hand through my long hair, I pulled it back and put it into a short, messy ponytail. I tugged on it gently to make sure it wouldn’t come undone before moving towards the bouncers.

They glanced up as I approached, their bodies tensing. The one with the clipboard eyed me cautiously.

“Shoo,” he muttered, waving the clipboard at me as one would swat a fly. “Get outta here, buddy.”

I stopped in front of them and crossed my arms over my chest, giving the clipboard a bemused glare. The black shirt I had on was one of the few that didn't have Twilight's cutie mark on them, so to the bouncers, I looked like some random human from off the street.

“I told you to get,” the bouncer said again, a little more force in his voice. He was putting on a brave face, but I could tell that I was making him nervous by the way he kept licking his lips. “There’s no food here, so go on!” He moved forward to chase me off, but his partner stopped him with a hoof on his shoulder.

“Hold up,” she said, eyeing my face closely. Pulling a slip of paper out of a pocket on her vest, she gave it a quick glance. “I think the boss is expecting him, actually.”

“What?” the stallion said, giving her an incredulous look. “You can’t be serious!”

“Yup, here it is,” the mare said, showing the stallion the slip of paper. “Scar across the face, blind right eye, weird behavior.” She motioned towards my face with a hoof. “This is him.”

The stallion glanced back and forth between me and the piece of paper, chewing on the inside of his cheek anxiously.

“I didn’t know you could order humans to come and help you with your heat,” he grunted.

This caused my eyes to widen, and a spike of alarm flared in my chest before disappearing as the mare slugged him in the shoulder, her ears splaying back and holding an affronted look on her face.

“It’s not like that,” she tsked, rolling her eyes. “Besides, you know that the boss doesn’t use humans like that.” She continued to glare at her partner for a few more seconds before slipping the piece of paper back into her vest. Turning back to me, she gestured with her hoof. “This way, fella’. Come on, heel!”

Really? Snorting, I gave her a bemused look instead, but did as she asked.

As the mare held the door open for me, one of the ponies standing in line—a slightly overweight stallion with a bad haircut—shouted out in a whiny tone, “Hey, why does a human get to go in right away, but we can’t!”

The mare didn’t miss a beat.

“Because he’s on the list,” she answered, “and you’re not. If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with my friend here. I’m sure the two of you can work something out.” She motioned towards her partner, who was now eyeing the whiny stallion, his lips pulled back in a silent sneer.

The stallion gaped at the both of them, before turning his gaze to me. He glared at me, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Returning the glare, I lifted my hand and gave the bastard the bird, before moving forward and entering the club.

It was like stepping into another world.

The minute I walked through the door, I was enveloped in near darkness, only interrupted by bursts of illumination from conveniently placed bulbs around the room. Black lights illuminated everything, causing a psychedelic burst of swirling colors as ponies danced wildly about on the dance floor. What were normally already colorful coats were alight in neon greens, oranges, yellows, blues, and reds beneath the black lights, glow sticks wrapped around necks, legs, tails, wings, and horns. Several fog machines positioned in the corners of the dance floor were belching out large clouds of white vapor. Strobe lights blinked through the layer of mist, illuminating the condensation every color in the spectrum.

As all of this was going on, music roared loudly through massive speakers positioned around the dance floor, the very air seeming to reverberate with the beat; it was like a giant heartbeat was pulsing through the building. On the wall opposite of the door I had just entered, a large balcony loomed over the crowd, several speakers dangling below and around it. A gray unicorn stallion sat behind a large turntable, bobbing his head in time with the music. His mane flicked back and forth with his head, the strip of neon red shooting through the black hair seeming to glow in the black lights. A pair of dark sunglasses covered his eyes.

Lifting a hoof, he adjusted something on the turntable and the music suddenly got louder, causing the sea of ponies to cheer and scream. This caused the stallion to grin and pump his hoof in the air as the lyrics were belted out through the speakers around him.

“Clawed out eyes, broken horns, Cutie Marks on the ground bleed,

Slice ‘em up, dice ‘em up, terrors of the town,

Mares scream, let ‘em run, nopony left to plead,

We’re gonna burn this motherbucker down!”

Wincing at the volume of the music, I continued to stare at the scene before me until I felt a firm tug on my pant leg. I glanced down and saw that the bouncer who had escorted me in was trying to get my attention. Her ears were pressed firmly against her head, trying to block out as much sound as possible. She shouted something up at me, but the words were lost in the deafening roar. Something she seemed to realize, because she scrunched up her face in annoyance before motioning with a hoof that I was to follow her.

She led me across the dance floor, shoving her way through the sea of ponies as we headed towards the far wall. We skirted around the edge of the dance floor, avoiding the dense mass of bodies that made up the center. The bouncer had to fight to make any headway, but I was able to make it through the crowd with general ease. Most ponies just stepped aside when they saw me approaching, looks of confusion or worry crossing their faces before they lost themselves to the music again.

As we made our way across the room, the music continued to blare out loudly.

“And the darkness thrums while the Nightmare hums

Why do you lie there, bitch?

Drink blood out your neck 'til your heart goes numb

Why do you cry there, bitch?

I've got a human army, and you can't harm me

Why do you lie there, bitch?

Your best bet now would be to try and charm me

Why do you cry there, bitch?”

Finally reaching the far wall, the bouncer led me towards a small door right underneath the balcony the DJ was on. He waved to the bouncer as we drew near, and she returned it with a smile. The door itself was rather plain, made out of a dark wood. It had a 'staff only' sign nailed it, as well as two eighth notes etched into the wooden surface.

This close to the speakers, the sound was nearly deafening, and I covered my ears with my hands in an attempt to save my hearing. Each 'thump' from the subwoofers was enough to nearly push the breath from my lungs, and I found myself struggling to breathe.

Reaching the door, the mare pulled a card on a lanyard out from within her vest. Waving the card in front of a small, clear crystal embedded in the wall beside the door, the gem glinted yellow for a brief second before glowing green. The door suddenly swung inward, and if it weren't for all the sound currently assaulting my eardrums, I figured I probably would have heard a 'click' as it unlocked.

Slipping the card and lanyard back into her vest, the mare turned towards me and motioned with a hoof towards the door, shouting something that I couldn't hear. Eager to get out from beneath the deafening speakers, I quickly hurried through the door.

“Vinyl Scratch to Bass Effect, here to wake the dead,

Everypony flees now that the terrors have been spread,

Towns full of corpses, try to get out with your life,

Try to avoid the carnage and avoid the strife.

Look, you want meat? Maybe something to bite?

Bring your human over and get ready for a fight,

Cracked bone, split skull, spilt organs, you can suck it,

Now my human ain't—“

Like a switch being flipped, the minute I stepped through the door, all sound ceased. The music, the singing, the cheering, all of it stopped. Glancing over my shoulder, I could still see the ponies milling about in a mindless swarm, but it was like someone had muted the world. I noted that the edges of the doorway were glowing with a dim golden light.

Beside me, the bouncer sighed happily. “That's better. Now I can actually hear myself think.” She closed the door, blocking my view of the dancing ponies. Turning back to me, she clicked her tongue loudly. “Alright boy, heel.”

I gave her a deadpanned look, but she was already off down the hallway. Sighing softly, I shook my head before following after her.

We passed by several rooms, one of which looked like a small kitchen, before the bouncer came to a stop outside of a door with two eighth notes on it. I nearly tripped over her because of her sudden stop, but managed to save myself at the last minute, earning me a raised eyebrow from the mare. She eyed me for a few seconds before lifting her hoof and rapping on the door. Without waiting for a reply, she pushed it open and motioned for me to enter.

“Go on,” she said, clicking her tongue. “Get!”

I glared at her, growling softly before huffing and slipping through the open door. It closed behind me and I could hear her retreating hoofsteps as she headed back down the hallway.

The room I had just entered was a small lounge, several couches and seats filling the cluttered area. The lighting was soft, the lamps tinged a light red, almost pink in color. As I moved further in, my sandaled feet sunk into the plush carpeting. Truth-be-told, the whole room had a college-bachelor feel to it. A mini-fridge rested beneath a small counter built into the wall, complete with sink and liquor cabinet. Empty pizza boxes were strewn across a coffee table. The far wall, though, was the most impressive. Almost the entire thing was covered in posters, sheet music, and song lyrics.

And there, lying splayed out on an old, over-stuffed bowl chair—sitting like a queen upon her throne—was Vinyl Scratch. She had on a large pair of headphones, and was bobbing her head to the beat of whatever music she was listening to. Her messy mane hung in front of her eyes, which were concealed by her shades.

She perked up when I entered, a smile crossing her muzzle. Lifting the headphones off her ears, she let them hang from around her neck. I could faintly hear the music playing from them.

“Hey, hey, hey, there he is! Just the human I wanted to talk to,” she said before her smile turned into a smirk. “So, how did the date go last night, brony? Tavia wouldn’t tell me any of the details.”

I stared at her for a few seconds, chewing on the inside of my cheek, before shrugging. Taking a shot in the dark, I signed, ~It went very well, actually. Please thank Octavia for me~

As I signed, Vinyl’s smirked disappeared, replaced instead by a blank look. She stared at me, her ear twitching, before she slowly tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, totally no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but sick beats, man!”

I gave her a bemused look and folded my arms over my chest with a huff.

She laughed weakly, rubbing the back of her head. “Heh, hold on. I think I have some scratch paper around here somewhere…” Wiggling around, she began to rummage around behind the bowl chair. This position put her flank in the air, and I averted my gaze as her tail flicked back and forth.

After a few seconds, she straightened up, a crumbled piece of paper and a broken pencil in her hooves.

“Alright, now we’re in business!” she cheered. Turning around, she levitated them over to me.

I took both the paper and pencil, and quickly scratched out the message before showing it to her. She had to lean forward to read it, adjusting her glasses further up her muzzle as they slipped down.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll definitely thank Octi for ya,” she grinned, leaning back in her chair. “You must have made an impression on her. It’s not often she does private performances, and for free too.”

I handed her the paper as I took a seat on nearby couch. +She said you wanted to talk to me+

“Wow, impatient much?” Vinyl grumbled, her ears splaying off to the side of her head. She scrunched up her face, her muzzle crinkling slightly. “I mean, the bestest, most awesomest DJ in all of Equestria wants to personally meet you, and you just want to get it over with? Where’s the fun in that?”

Rolling my eyes, I motioned for her to continue.

“I mean, it’s not every day you meet an intelligent human, right?” she said, tossing the paper back to me.

+You didn’t seem that enthusiastic when Octavia introduced us the first time+ I scribbled on the paper before tossing it back at her.

“Well, yeah. I was half asleep!” Vinyl snickered. “You try being excited when you first wake up in the evening.” Her glasses slipped down her nose and she pushed them up again. “But I am interested in you,” she continued. “That’s why, when Tavia said she was going to be playing for you, I asked her to give you that message. I needed to get a closer look at you.”

Spreading my hands out wide, I gave her a pointed look.

“Yeah, yeah. You impatient bastard,” she said, shaking her head. She was silent for several seconds before suddenly perking up. “You want some pizza?” she asked, motioning towards a box on the table in front of her. When I shook my head, she just tsked. “Suit yourself, dude. More for me!”

Leaning forward, she reached for the pizza box but it was just out of reach. Apparently forgetting that she had magic, she struggled, wiggling her hooves as she tried to reach the box. Rocking back and forth, she gave one last lunge forward and grabbed ahold of the box with a cheer. The sudden movement caused her glasses to slide down her muzzle. They slipped off the end of her nose, tumbling to the carpeted floor.

She sat there, staring blankly in front of her with the pizza box in her hooves. Blinking owlishly, her eyes slowly drifted over to me and her lips parted slightly. “Oh.”

I stared back at her, eyebrow raised as I studied her eyes. They were deep blood-red color, a much darker shade than Primrose’s.

“What?” Vinyl asked as I continued to stare at her. “What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?”

Lifting my hands, I made fangs with my fingers and wiggled them about. Her eyes widened and her ears perked, before she slowly began to relax again.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot one of your guards is a sanguinarian as well,” she said softly as she leaned back in her chair. Propping the pizza box up in her lap, she grabbed a slice. “What was her name again?” she asked as she took a bite.

+Primrose+ I tossed the crumpled up paper over to her. It was immediately surrounded by a red aura as she caught it with her magic. Smoothing it out, she looked at what I had written.

“Primrose, huh?” she said, rolling the name around her mouth. “It sounds familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve heard it before.” She mulled it over for a moment before shrugging and taking another bite of pizza.

+You two haven’t met before?+

“Nope,” Vinyl said between bites of pizza, “at least, not to my memory.”

I raised an eyebrow before scratching out, +Really? Because, she was scared of you. Why is that?+

Vinyl stared down at the paper, chewing slowly. An expression I couldn’t place flit across her face, and she sighed heavily.

“Because the pup should always fear the alpha,” she said in an even tone. Upon seeing my confused look, she sighed again and rubbed the bridge of her nose with a hoof. “Look, kid… I don’t know how much your guard has told you about us sanguinarians, or how much she knows herself, but we tend to have long lives. Like, really long lives. To the point where we have to move and change our names or ponies start getting suspicious. And the longer we live, the stronger our presence is to other sanguinarians. Judging by your guard’s scent, I’d say she can’t be more than three centuries old, if that.”

+How old are you, exactly?+ I asked.

“I’m old, boy,” Vinyl sighed. She suddenly looked tired. There was a weight behind her eyes that I hadn’t seen before, and I suddenly felt very small in comparison. I twitched slightly, a sudden feeling coming over me, like I was in the presence of something that was very, very much older than I was. I had never felt like this before, even with Celestia.

Closing the pizza box, Vinyl placed it back on the table before continuing. “I know I might not look it, and might not act like it, but I’ve been around for a long, long time. I was present for Luna’s return, I witnessed the Great Griffon Wars, the Dark Ages, the genocide of the Kelpie, the destruction of the Flutter Ponies. I was there for the banishment of Nightmare Moon, as well as Discord’s fall. I was alive even before Discord first arrived here in Equestria.”

As she talked, her accent slowly changed to one I hadn’t heard before. It was subtle, just barely audible in her voice, but still there. It was hard to describe, almost like a strange combination of Olde English and Russian, and even then I was sure I was missing something.

I continued to muse over her accent for a few more seconds before my mind finally caught up with what she had just said. Eyes widening, I gave her an incredulous look. +I thought Nightmare Moon’s banishment happened over a thousand years ago!+

“One thousand and three,” Vinyl confirmed with a nod. “Ages ago. I was known by a different name back then. It was a different time, with different beliefs. Back before humans were discovered.” She trailed off, her eyes glazing over as she stared down at the table in front of her.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, and I shifted in my seat and coughed lightly. Picking up the paper and pencil, I scratched out a quick message before tossing it towards the zoned-out unicorn. It bopped her on the nose—causing her to blink in surprise—before falling into her lap. She looked at it blankly for a few seconds before picking it up and unfolding it.

+This is all interesting and all, but what does it have to do with me? Why are you interested in me?+

She continued to stare at the note for several more seconds before sighing heavily and closing her eyes. Her ears folded against her head.

“Does the name ‘Riddick’ mean anything to you?” she asked softly. When she opened her eyes and glanced at me, I shook my head, motioning for paper. She levitated it over to me, and I scratched out my question.

+No. Who is it?+

A brief look of sadness and longing passed over Vinyl’s face before she was able to mask it with a blank expression. Staring at the table in front of her, she was silent for but a moment before exhaling loudly.

“Just a faraway word, just a faraway thought. Just a faraway someone I knew,” she sung softly under her breath, so quiet that I could barely hear her. “Just a faraway place, just a faraway dream. Just a promise I thought to be true.”

I gave her a bewildered look before reaching out and picking up the scrap piece of paper.

+What?+

“...nothing,” Vinyl muttered. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. She did this several more times before opening her eyes again and glancing over at me. When she spoke, her voice was stronger than it had been before. “As I’ve said before, I’m old, and during that long life I have seen much that many might find strange, weird, or extraordinary. For instance, did you know that you aren’t the first intelligent human I’ve met?”

I froze, my eyes widening in shock as my jaw dropped. My mental capabilities screeched to a halt as my brain tried to process what I had just heard. Fumbling with pencil, I tore a hole in the paper as I quickly scratched out, +WHAT?!+

“Yeah,” Vinyl said with a nod, a smirk working its way across her muzzle. “I’ve met one before. He too was pulled into our world by forces out of his control, although he claimed it was because of a science experiment gone wrong. He was inventing something for use in, what was it called… the Ice War? No, that’s not right. It was something about cold. Anyways, something went wrong with his experiment and he somehow ended up here in Equestria, same as you.”

+And you didn’t think to tell anyone this!?+ I wrote when I could finally stop my hands from trembling long enough to write something. For the longest time I had assumed that I was alone in Equestria, the only intelligent human in this world. I was fine with it, really. I had friends here, and Twilight. However, if what she was saying was true, Vinyl had met someone else from Earth: another intelligent human. Although, I had no idea what the “Ice War” was. Did she mean the Cold War? That had ended back before I was born. Does that mean the other human had arrived years ago?

Wait, no. I was getting distracted. First things first.

Tossing the paper over to Vinyl, I tried to calm my nerves as she unfolded it. She read the question I had written, and then snorted loudly.

“It happened over a thousand years ago, back before Luna became Nightmare Moon,” she said, rolling her eyes.

I deflated, the hope previously growing in my chest now fading away. It looked like I was still alone after all.

+You still could have told someone+ I scratched out.

“You don’t think I did?” Vinyl asked, raising an eyebrow. “Ponies back in those days were not the most accepting of new things. Anything that broke the norm was considered bad and immediately ostracized from society. I was laughed out of town three times.”

+You could have told Celestia+

“Oh, she knew,” Vinyl sighed, resting her head on a hoof. “She was the one who found him wandering around in the wilderness, after all.” WHAT?!

+Celestia found him!?+ I scribbled out, my hands trembling again.

“Yup.”

+But... but then… why…+ I had to pause and get my thoughts in order before scratching out, +But then, why was she so shocked to find out I was intelligent? If she had already met an intelligent human before, shouldn’t she have not been surprised?+

Vinyl stared at the paper, a sour look slowly crossing her face, followed by a look of loss. She swallowed thickly before replying.

“There are certain spells that can affect one’s memory. Change what you remember happened, and even erase entire memories completely,” she said softly. “Besides, some things… some things are better off forgotten.”

+What happened?+ I asked after some hesitation. She looked like she was in pain.

“That is none of your business!” Vinyl snapped suddenly. I jerked back, causing her to wince. “Sorry, but it’s none of your concern,” she said again in a softer tone. “What happened happened, and there is nothing that can change it now. However,” she continued, sitting up straighter in her chair. She glanced over at me, her expression becoming serious, “none of this is the reason I asked you to come here today. We’re not here because of me, we’re here because of you. I wanted to meet you face-to-face and judge your character for myself.”

I blinked in surprise before a look of confusion crossed my face. +Judge my character?+

“Yes, and in that regards, I actually have just one question for you,” she said. Leaning forward, her eyes narrowed as she stared intently at me. “How do you feel about Princess Twilight Sparkle?”

+What?+

“How do you feel about Twilight Sparkle?” she repeated, her expression unchanged. As she spoke, her eyes seemed to glow softly, her pupils becoming slitted. “Do you feel she treats you fairly? Do you feel unappreciated? Controlled? Do you feel like she doesn’t really care about you? Do you feel like she’s using you? Tell the truth.” The last sentence felt like an order, the words having some power behind them.

For some reason, with each new question, I could feel my anger growing. At the last question, I stood up, my hands clenched into fists. I glared down at Vinyl, breathing heavily. When she told me to tell the truth, I slowly raised a fist and shot her the bird.

She stared blankly at me for a few seconds before a large smirk spread across her muzzle. Her eyes returned to normal “That’s the reaction I was hoping to see.”

I continued to glare at her, my anger slowly turning to confusion. She wanted me to be angry? Why?

“Don’t like it when I insult Twilight, do ya?” she asked, the smirk growing.

I shook my head, growling softly.

“Eh, it shows how much she means to you,” she said with a shrug. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my long life, it’s that if you ever want to see someone’s true nature, just watch their reaction to somepony they love being insulted or threatened. It works every time.” She paused. “Most of the time.” Another pause. “Some of the time.” Pause. “Okay, I just like messin’ with ya.”

I gave her a bemused look before picking up the paper and pencil. +So, were you testing me or not?+

“I just had to see your reaction to the accusations,” she said. “I already knew you had a good heart, I just needed to see how you’d react.”

+I have a good heart?+

“Yes, you do,” she said, nodding her head twice. “I can smell it in your blood. There’s also the fact that you’re friends with a sanguinarian, despite the fact you know her true nature. Not many ponies can claim that. That makes you alright in my book.”

+So, what does that mean exactly?+

Vinyl chuckled, shaking her head. Her horn lit up, and she levitated her glasses back onto her face. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I like you. You seem like an interesting individual, and I’m hoping we might be able to hang out in the future.” She tilted her head to the side. “Friends?”

I stared at her for a moment, still confused, before I shrugged it off and a small smirk touched my lips. Placing the paper on my arm, I quickly scratched out my answer before crumpling the paper and tossing it over to her.

She caught it in her magic and smoothed out the note.

+Don’t insult my marefriend ever again, and I’ll consider it+

“I think I can do that,” she laughed. “Anyways, I better let you go and get back to said marefriend before she thinks I’m trying to use you to cool my heat. The last thing I need is an angry alicorn tearing down my club.” Lifting her headphones up, she moved to place them over her ears again, but paused. “Oh, yeah. One more thing.” Her horn lit up and she tossed something over to me.

I caught it deftly, an eyebrow raising as I looked at it. Holding it up, I looked between Vinyl and the eyepatch she had thrown at me, a bemused look on my face.

“Put that thing on, will ya?” she asked with a snicker. “Your eye weirds me out.”

Twilight paced around the throne room, chewing nervously on her lip. Every few seconds, her eyes darted to the main throne room doors, only to quickly return to her hooves. Her wings twitched by her side, and she sighed softly, trying to calm her nerves.

Princess Celestia had approached her during breakfast and, in a clearly excited tone, had requested her presence in the throne room after Day Court had finished. Twilight had arrived just as the last of the nobles were filing out, but upon entering the throne room, she had found it empty: Celestia was nowhere to be found.

When she has asked a pair of nearby guards where Celestia had gone, they had replied that she had stepped out to grab something, and that she asked that Twilight stay in the throne room for the time being.

That had been nearly half-an-hour ago.

Still pacing, Twilight walked to the end of the dais and had just turned back around to head back in the opposite direction when the throne room doors creaked open. Her ear twitched, only to perk up when her friends entered.

Upon spotting Twilight, they made a beeline for her.

“Twilight, darling,” Rarity called as they drew near, “there you are!”

“Girls, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked, blinking in surprise.

“One of the guards told us that Princess Celestia wanted to talk to us all, so here we are,” Rarity replied, batting her mane. “I must say, Twilight, it’s good to see you looking far better than you did a few days ago.”

“Eh… what do you mean?” Twilight asked.

This just caused Applejack to chuckle. “Come on, sugarcube. Ya were a wreck on the train ride here.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie chirped, bouncing happily. “You were a sad sack, but now you’re practically glowing!”

“Indeed, darling,” Rarity said with a nod. “The change is quite noticeable. You looked an absolute wreck, then you practically disappear on us for a few days, and now you look a hundred times better. I’m guessing you finally confessed to Max?” she asked, her smile turning into a knowing smirk. Upon seeing Twilight’s blush, she squealed happily, “Oh, I knew it! This is marvelous, darling! You must tell me all the details!”

“T-there’s not much to tell,” Twilight stammered, her blush deepening as she thought back to the moment she confessed, and the act that followed it. “I confessed, we talked, he accepted, and now we’re together. We went on a date last night too, dinner in the astronomy tower while watching the meteor shower.”

“There’s more to it than that!” Rainbow scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I know what I smelled at breakfast the other day. You two did more than just talk.”

Twilight’s cheeks felt like they were about to burst into flames as her blush threatened to spread to her neck.

“Sooo, was he any good?” Rainbow asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Rainbow!” Twilight cried—although it came out as more of a squeak.

“That is totally a ‘yes’,” Rainbow laughed.

“So, I take it you and Max worked out the little issue with you, ah… restraining him, darling?” Rarity asked over Rainbow’s laughter.

Twilight’s blush faded as she winced.

“Can… can we not talk about that,” she asked quietly. “I feel really bad about that, and still can’t believe how easily he forgave me for it.”

“Certainly, dear,” Rarity said, her expression softening, “but if I may ask, what possessed you to act like that in the first place? I know that some mares’ heats are bad, but that is so unlike you.”

“That’s because it wasn’t me,” Twilight sighed, glancing sideways. She paused, before continuing. “Well, it mostly wasn’t me. I had some chaos magic in me, affecting my mental state. That, combined with my heat, kinda… well…” Twilight trailed off, her ears splaying back.

“Chaos magic?” Rainbow yelped, eyes widening. “B-but… I thought the Princess turned Discord back to stone!” Beside her, Fluttershy whimpered, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

“She did,” Twilight replied, giving Fluttershy a sympathetic look. “It didn’t come from Discord. It came from Max.”

“Max?” Rarity gasped, her eyes widening. Around her, the others were having similar reactions. “Are you saying that Max corrupted you with chaos magic!?”

“Not intentionally,” Twilight said quickly, shaking her head. “The latent chaos magic within him is leaking out, and since I’ve spent so much time with him, I’d absorbed enough for it to affect me.”

“The horrid stuff is leaking off of him?” Rarity asked, a look of concern crossing her face. “Darling, isn’t that dangerous for those around him, like you or his guards?”

“Yes, it is,” a voice spoke up from behind the throne. “Which is why we’re going to take care of it today.” Everyone turned as Princess Celestia entered through the side door located behind the throne dais. She smiled at them as she made her way around the raised platform.

“Princess, there you are,” Twilight said. “Where did you go off to—” She paused, blinking once before her eyes widened. “Wait, what do you mean we’re taking care of Max’s chaos magic today?”

“I think it’s been troubling the poor thing for much too long, don’t you?” Celestia asked, coming to stop in front of the group. “It’s about time we tried something to help him.” With that, her horn began to glow softly, and a familiar bejeweled box appeared in the air beside her.

“The Elements of Harmony?” Twilight muttered under her breath. Her look of confusion quickly turned to alarm. “You aren’t planning on using the Elements on Max, are you?!” Celestia opened her mouth to answer, but Twilight continued, “No, no, definitely not! It’s too dangerous!”

“My dear Twilight, the Elements are not weapons,” Celestia said softly, trying to calm Twilight’s nerves. The others were glancing between one another with looks of uncertainty on their faces.

At seeing their expressions, Celestia sighed. “The Elements won’t hurt him. I plan on using them to draw the chaos magic out of Max, just like you drew the Nightmare out of Luna. They will simply purge him.”

“Or turn him to stone!” Twilight countered, her ears splaying back. “Look what it did to Discord, and he’s full of chaos magic. I am not risking it!”

“Discord is chaos magic. There was nothing to purge,” Celestia explained calmly. “Max, on the other hoof, isn’t made of chaos magic, he’s just tainted by it. The Elements will remove the foreign magic from him. Besides,” she added, cocking her head to the side, “just like Discord, if they do turn Max to stone, which they won’t, we can just unpetrify him again.”

Chewing nervously on her lip, Twilight glanced back at her friends. Silence hung over the room for several seconds before Dash spoke up. “I say go for it!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie chirped, bouncing up and down. “The Elements are super-duper nice! They won’t harm Maxie, because they know that he’s nice too! Plus, I’ll be able to throw a “Hurray-You-Can-Talk” party once this is all over!”

“I must say, it would be nice to not have to wait for him to write everything down when talking to him,” Rarity mused, absentmindedly patting her mane.

Applejack just shrugged. “It don’t matter tah me. Personally, Ah think he seems tah be happy with things the way they are now, but if y’all think this will make him happier, Ah’m in.”

“What do you think, Fluttershy?” Celestia asked, smiling down at the timid mare.

Fluttershy squeaked once before trying to hide behind her mane.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, her voice coming out in a murmur. “I don’t want to hurt him…”

“The Elements won’t hurt him, silly!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing around Fluttershy. “They’re the Elements of Harmony! They aren’t going to hurt anypony. They’re meant to help ponies!”

Twilight continued to chew on her lip for a few more seconds before sighing. “Okay, fine, let’s try the Elements, but just once. If it doesn’t work, we are not trying them again.”

“Fair enough,” Celestia said, giving Twilight a small smile. Her horn lit up and the box’s lid opened, revealing the tiara and five necklaces. They seemed to glow in the light of the setting sun streaming in through the throne room windows.

Pushing more magic down her horn, Celestia lifted the Elements out of the box and floated them over to their respective owners.

“Alright,” Rainbow cheered as her necklace wrapped around her neck. “Now all we need is the big guy! Where is he, anyways?”

“I’m not sure,” Celestia confessed. “I looked for him, but couldn’t find him. I instructed the guards to be on the lookout, and direct him towards the throne room should they find him.” She glanced over at Twilight. “I’m actually surprised he wasn’t with you.”

“He left the room this morning saying he had to meet somepony,” Twilight said as she placed her tiara carefully on her head. She paused, her horn glowing softly for a brief second before she continued, “He’s actually heading towards us right now.”

Celestia gave her a blank look. “A tracker spell?”

“Long story,” Twilight muttered, ears splaying back, “but it doesn’t matter. Here he is.”

As she finished speaking, the throne room doors creaked open.

“Just go through the doors,” the guard said, motioning towards the throne room doors with her wing. “The Princess is waiting for you.”

I had just arrived back at the palace from my rendezvous with Vinyl when I was swarmed by a squad of pegasi guards. Apparently Celestia had sent them to look for me nearly an hour ago, and none of them had known that I had left the palace grounds. With all of them squawking in my ear about my “irresponsible decision to wander without a personal guard to escort me”, I had managed to make out that Celestia wanted to meet me in the throne room. The flock of guards had slowly dwindled as I neared the throne room, until only one was left: a white mare with a red mane.

“You’re already late as it is,” she huffed, her eyes narrowing. “Best not make them wait any longer.”

I grunted once, giving her the bird before pushing the throne room doors open and slipping through them. The doors closed behind me with a soft, echoing ‘thud’, and I glanced around the large room. At the far end by the thrones, I spied Twilight, Celestia, as well as the other girls. They were all looking in my direction, except for Celestia, who was giving Twilight a bemused look. She said something to her that caused Twilight’s ears to fold against the back of her head.

“Hiya, Maxie!” Pinkie called, her voice echoing around the room. She waved at me, a large smile on her face.

I returned the wave before making my way towards the throne. As I drew near, I paused upon seeing what they were all wearing. Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all had golden necklaces on, each one with a gem in the shape of their cutie mark. Twilight was wearing a weird crown that had a gem embedded in it, shaped like a six-pointed star.

The Elements of Harmony? I blinked in surprise before my brow furrowed in confusion. Having never seen them before, I could only guess that’s what they were based on what I had read about them, plus Twilight’s description. Why would they have them on? What’s going on?

As I reached the group, Twilight trotted forward. She nuzzled my side, humming happily, before asking, “So, how’d your meeting go?”

~It was… informative~ I signed hesitantly. Pointing at the crown on her head, I asked, ~Is that what I think it is, and why do you have them?~

“This is the Element of Magic, yes,” Twilight said, lifting a hoof and touching the gem on her crown. “As for why we have them, well…” She trailed off, nibbling her lip.

Celestia smiled and shook her head.

“We’re going to attempt to get your voice back,” she finished for Twilight.

~I thought you said there was nothing you could do to help?~ I asked, scrunching up my face.

“When we spoke last, yes, that was true,” she replied with a nod. “However, Luna has brought to my attention a means of which we might be able to rid you of all your latent chaos magic.”

~And what might that—~ I paused, staring blankly at Celestia for several seconds before my eyes widened and I inhaled sharply. ~Oh, fuck no!~

“What?” Celestia jerked back, startled. “What do you—”

~You are not going to use your Element cannon on me~ I signed, taking a step back. ~I’ve read about what they do to people they blast. Just look at Discord!~

“They aren’t going to turn you to stone,” Celestia huffed. “They didn’t turn Luna to stone, they purged the Nightmare from her. We’re going to do the same with you, only it’s going to be the chaos magic.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie chirped. “The Elements know you aren’t a bad pony, Maxie! They’re just gonna ignore you and go after all that bad magic inside you! Then you will be able to talk, and I can throw you a party!”

“Wouldn’t you like to be able to talk again?” Rarity added, cocking her head to the side.

I glared at her, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Since coming to Equestria nearly a year ago, I had come to terms with being mute. Sure, there were times it was an annoyance, or downright troublesome, but it had become a normality. It had become a part of my life in Equestria. Though, it would be nice to be able to communicate with my friends without having to use hoof-language or writing stuff down on paper all the time. I wouldn’t have to rely on other ponies to translate for me either.

If the Elements could truly give me my voice back…

I glanced down at Twilight, who was studying my face intently. ~What do you think?~

She blinked, an ear twitching. “What do you mean?”

~Do you think this is a good idea?~ I asked. ~Do you think it will work?~

“Why are you asking me?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

~Because I care about your opinion~ I signed. ~Plus, you have more experience with these things than I do~

Twilight’s ears folded against her head and she shifted nervously for hoof to hoof.

“Personally,” she muttered, “I don’t like it, but that’s just because I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. The Elements have worked well in the past, and Luna is a prime example. They should just attack the chaos magic, and if… if they do turn you to stone, we can always reverse it almost immediately.”

I stared down at her for a few seconds before sighing. Shaking my head, I looked up at Celestia and nodded weakly. ~Alright, fine. We’ll give this a shot~

“You’re willing to give this a try?” she asked, ears perking up as a small smile spread across her muzzle.

~I don’t like it, but it isn’t the stupidest thing I’ve done~ I signed with a grunt.

“I promise, you won’t regret this,” Celestia said. Motioning with a hoof, she continued, “Now, if you would take a few steps back, we’ll get started.”

With my heart pounding and my stomach slowly creeping up my throat, I did as she asked and took several steps back. The girls all got into a line facing me, and I saw that only Fluttershy and Twilight held nervous looks; the rest looked confident, and Pinkie looked close to exploding.

“Are you ready?” Celestia asked.

~No~ I signed, eyeing the Element-wielding mares in front of me. ~Let’s do this before I lose my nerve~

“Whenever you’re ready,” Celestia said to Twilight before taking several steps back herself. She stood to the side, watching the whole thing closely.

Twilight took a deep breath before nodding. She closed her eyes, as did the others, a look of concentration crossing their faces. At first, nothing happened and we all just stood there in silence, but then the gems in the necklaces slowly began to glow. A faint crackle filled the air, and I could feel the hair on my arms standing on end.

The gems continued to glow brighter, and took on a different color for each pony: Rainbow’s started to glow red, Applejack’s orange, Fluttershy’s pink, Pinkie’s blue, and Rarity’s purple. The colored energy swirled around them, and all six of them were suddenly lifted off of their hooves and into the air. I could feel the thrum of energy surge through the room as all of them focused on the huge, radiating burst of energy gathering near their chests. It crackled like an electric storm as the energy billowed around their bodies. The air suddenly felt very heavy, and I had some difficulty breathing; it felt like there was a weight on my chest.

~This… this isn’t going to hurt, is it?~ I asked Celestia as I eyed the floating mares with some trepidation. It was probably a little too late to call it quits.

“It shouldn’t,” Celestia said, her voice soft. “Luna said it felt like slipping into a warm bath after a long day.”

I nodded, although her words didn’t make me feel any better. As the thrum of magic grew even stronger, I slowly covered my crotch with my hands and tensed up. A niggling feeling in the back of my mind reminded me of all the stupid stuff I used to do with my friends back on Earth. For some reason, this felt similar. Hopefully it didn’t end with a trip to the hospital.

The gem in Twilight’s crown suddenly flashed white. All of their eyes opened, all six pairs glowing brilliantly. There was a sudden surge of power, and the light from the gems shot towards Twilight, where they began to consolidate around the crown’s gem. A ball of rainbow colored energy slowly formed around them, whirling around like winds in a hurricane. Twilight’s wings flared wide, and she gasped once before there was a sudden explosion of color.

A rainbow beam exploded out of the center of the ball, barreling towards me like a freight train. I barely had enough time to cry out in alarm before it slammed into me with enough force to send me flying backwards. I heard Celestia shout something, but a sudden rushing noise filled my ears, blocking all outside sound. My world dissolved into a swirl of color as my body was consumed by the rainbow blast. The breath was knocked from my lungs, causing me to gasp for air. As I opened my mouth, I nearly gagged as the energy suddenly slid down my throat. An intense burning sensation flared through my neck, causing me to hack and cough. The sensation quickly spread up to my head, and for a split second it felt like I had the worst migraine of my life before the feeling faded to a dull throb.

And then it was over.

The rainbow aura faded as quickly as it had arrived, leaving me lying on the floor in a daze. With a groan, I pushed myself into a seated position, blinking my eyes to clear my vision of the dancing white and black spots. Squinting, I could just barely make out the blurred outline of the girls all drifting back to the floor as the light around the Elements died out. With another groan, I got to my feet. I thought Celestia said this wasn’t going to hurt.

“Ah, fuck me! That was unpleasant,” I croaked, holding my stomach as I fought back a wave of nausea. My head was spinning—as was the room. I felt like I had just gotten off a tilt-a-whirl ride set to maximum speed—

I froze, my eyes widening as my mind suddenly realized what had happened. I had just spoke. It had sounded coarse and gravelly, like I was trying to talk with a severe sore throat, but I had just spoke aloud!

“No fucking way,” I breathed, only to wince as my throat twinged in pain. The sound of fast approaching hoofsteps caused me to glance around. Twilight was hurrying towards me, a look of worry on her face. The others were close behind her, the concern clear in their eyes; Celestia even looked a little guilty.

I guess the Elements weren’t supposed to blast me that hard, I thought, rubbing my neck. Still, it doesn’t matter because I can talk again!

As Twilight reached me, I gave her a large smile before laughing weakly. “I guess you guys were right. The Elements worked after all. Although, they were a little rough in their treatment. What do you think?”

Twilight paused midstep, her eyes widening as she stared up at me. Her worried expression quickly morphed into one of alarm. The others all froze as well, their eyes widening and pupils constricting. Even Pinkie stopped bouncing.

“What?” I asked, giving them a confused look.

Her look of alarm growing, Twilight swallowed thickly before tentatively stepping towards me. She licked her lips before opening her mouth. Instead of words, however, a low nicker issued forth.

The smile fell from my face and I gave her a blank look. “What?”

Twilight nickered again, louder than before, followed by a snort.

“What?” I said again, this time glancing over at Celestia. She too had a look of alarm on her face, and as our eyes met, she whinnied loudly, her wings flaring. I looked back at Twilight, who looked close to having a panic attack. She snorted once before nickering loudly, the sound ending in a slight squeal as her ears splayed back.

I stared at her, wide-eyed, as alarm started to well up in my chest as well.

“WHAT?!”

Author's Notes:

'The Darkness Calls Me' full lyrics: HERE