Feeling a bit peckish, Wayfarer was once again hanging out in Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie was busy with customers, so she wasn't able to run her mouth off with him as much as she would have liked. She did however have just enough time to deliver a chocolate shake to Wayfarer before he'd even ordered one. Shrugging, Wayfarer grabbed the beverage and leaned back in his chair to start pony watching.

With the Summer Sun Celebration just days away, the climate had become, while not uncomfortable, very warm. Ponies were coming into Sugarcube more to get a break from the heat than for any actual business, but the Cakes were still happy to bring water to any pony who looked more than even a little bit flush. The Crusaders had rushed in with their manes plastered to their coats by sweat, begging for ice cold snow cones, which they ate alongside Wayfarer before dashing back out with hurried goodbyes. Rarity walked in sometime later for an iced sweet tea, waving a fan against her face all the while. She stopped long enough to let Wayfarer know she was ready to start on his suit; she just needed him to drop off the down payment.

About an hour later, the lunch rush had ended. Pinkie hopped over to Wayfarer's table and landed in the chair across from him.

"Hiya, Wayfarer!" She greeted him, Wayfarer silently thanking her for not using the nickname.

"Hello, Pinkie. Busy day?"

"Ugh, the busiest!" She groaned and bent herself over the back of the chairs, draping her forelegs at her sides. She kept this pose for about three seconds before springing forward with a broad smile. "But that just means I get to see all my friends today!"

"Always a bright side, huh?"

Pinkie nodded excitedly, and Wayfarer smiled in bemusement. The two continued to talk about how hot it was, what sort of treats were the best for staving off the heat, and in general just enjoying each other's company. All told, Wayfarer felt this was one of Pinkie's more manageable days, like a brief calm within the near constant party storm she constantly carried around with her. After debating the potential cooling factors of popsicles versus sherbets, a mare walked up behind Pinkie Pie and gently tapped on her shoulder.

"Excuse me Pinkie?" The mare asked as Pinkie turned to her. "My little Lilly Locks just got her Cutie Mark yesterday and we were wondering if you'd be interested in helping to host her Cutecinera. Are you available on the 25th of June?"

Pinkie's face practically lit up as her smile attempted to encompass the entirety of her face. "Of course I can help! How could I possibly skip out on making sure somepony got the absolutely bestest party after something so super special awesome as getting their cutie mark!" The mare gave a small yet slightly perturbed smile at this before Pinkie calmed down enough to ask her own question. "But wait, why are you waiting so long? Why not have it today? Or tomorrow? Or right now?"

The mare's smile dropped slightly as she explained. "Oh, well Lilly ended up getting her cutie mark rather suddenly and at a bit of an inopportune time. We would have it today, but we already had plans to leave and visit relatives for the Summer Sun Celebration. We're certainly going to have a get together for it as soon as possible, but she still wanted a party with all of her friends. And I think you know how hard it is to say no to little fillies when they pout like she did."

Pinkie nodded vigorously before springing into a flurry of more party specific questions: balloon colour, cake flavors, how many tons of confetti they'd need, est. Wayfarer ended up tuning out most of it, but he got the gist that Pinkie really did not skimp on anything when it came to planning a party. A few minutes later, the mare left and Pinkie tried to dislocate her shoulder when waving good by.

"That sounded like a lot of work."

Pinkie giggled as she settled back into her seat. "Not really. I'm always prepared for a party. I was super serious when I asked if she wanted to have the party right now! Nothing less for a pony with a brand new cutie mark!"

"Sure wish I could remember my Cutecinera." Wayfarer grimaced as he leaned back in his seat, rummaging through his mind only to find the vacant lot that was his childhood. "Shoot, I wish I could remember what I did to get my cutie mark."

"Ooh! Wanna hear how I got my cutie mark? It might help you remember!"

Wayfarer smirked and shook his head. "Maybe some other time Pinkie. I'm sure it's an interesting tale, but I doubt it would help me remember anything."

Pinkie pursed her lips in deep thought, tapping a hoof to her chin as her sugar laden brain worked. Suddenly, she squeed and reached all the way across the table to grab Wayfarer by the collar of his shirt and drag him right to her face.

"IDEA!" She shouted. "What if you came to Lily Lock's party! Maybe the sight of all the foals having fun and celebrating will remind you of the time YOU were a foal!"

"Oh, jeez, umm..." Wayfarer's eyes twitched and flicked all around his peripheral vision in hopes of seeing someone who could save him from the pink party planning monstrosity that had a hold on him. "Thanks Pinkie, but I'd rather not take the spotlight off of some poor foal's party just on the off chance it might cure my memory loss."

"Aww, you wouldn't be taking the spotlight!" Pinkie said as she dropped Wayfarer onto the table, his muzzle slamming into its surface with a dull thud. "You'd be more like the one holding the spotlight! You'll be my party assistant!"

Wayfarer groaned as he felt the grain of the table top against his cheek. "Oh. Joy." He lifted his head and looked up at Pinkie with tired contempt. "Is it too late to turn back time and prevent myself from walking in here for just a milkshake?"

"Not unless you load your last saved game silly!"

"...what?" That was all Wayfarer could get out before Pinkie once again had a hold on him, wrapping her forelegs around him in a big bear hug.

"We'll make this the best party ever! And then we'll have another party to celebrate you remembering!"

Wayfarer couldn't respond; his lungs were being crushed. However, through all the pain, he did appreciate what Pinkie was trying to do. No pony ever really cared this much to try and help him recover his memories, and he couldn't help but feel a flutter of happiness somewhere in his gut. Definitely a welcome act on behalf of Pinkie.

After Pinkie had released Wayfarer from her grasp and let him continue on with his day, yet another one of his friends saw fit to ambush him not long after he'd departed Sugar Cube Corner.

"Sup' Wayfarer!" Rainbow Dash shouted right behind Wayfarer's head after sneaking up into his air space. The sudden and very loud greeting caused Wayfarer to jump at least a meter into the air. Stumbling as he tried to land on all four hooves correctly, he looked up and glared at Dash when she started to laugh at his reaction.

"Yes, that's VERY funny, Rainbow Dash,” he said with annoyance. “Now give me a moment to let my heart climb down from my throat and then I'll listen to whatever request you're about to ask of me."

"How do you know I'm going to ask you for something?" Rainbow asked as she wiped away a tear of joy earned at Wayfarer's expense.

"Call it a guess."

"Yeah, well, you're right, I do want to ask you for something." Rainbow settled on the ground and smiled proudly to herself, like she'd just come up with the absolute best idea ever. "Remember when I was tossing around the idea of starting a team to go to the Equestria Games and prove myself to the Wonderbolts? Well, I've been thinking, and I figured 'hey, me and the other Wonderbolt trainees in Ponyville are already the fastest around, why don't we start a relay team!'"

"That's..." Wayfarer pursed his lips as he thought about it. "That's actually a really good idea."

"Of course it is! And I'm the fastest flyer in Ponyville, bar none! Winning the relay should be a snap for us! And the best part? That's the competition that Spitfire always competes in!"

"Ahh, I see," Wayfarer said as he realized what Rainbow's intentions were. "Not only do you want to win gold, you think beating Spitfire at her own game will show her that she has no choice but to make you a Wonderbolt."

"Yep!"

"It's a solid idea," Wayfarer said, nodding his head. "But that still leaves the fact that you already quit. I'm sorry Dash, but the Wonderbolts are part of a military. You can't just say 'I quit' after getting that far and then expect to be let back in just because you prove you can fly fast."

Rainbow's ears drooped a little at that and she shuffled her hooves around. "I know. That's why yesterday, after Twilight and I were done with her flight lessons, I asked her to help me write a letter to Spitfire. Twilight said to tell her that I was having an... 'existential crisis' I think she called it. I was tired and confused and just needed a little time off to get my head straight. Then Princess Celestia found us and offered to write up her own letter vouching for the fact that I was... 'Dealing with an issue of identity,' and that Spitfire should ignore my resignation request."

Wayfarer nodded while pursing his lips. He shrugged and said "Well, I guess that's about as much as you can do."

"I haven't gotten a response back yet, but with two of Equestria's princesses on my side, there's no way Spitfire can say no!"

"Perhaps. But either way, you said you needed something from me? I'm not a pegasus, so it's not like I can join your team or anything."

"I know, that's why I want you to be our team manager!"

"Team what now?" Wayfarer deadpanned. 'Great, first I'm Pinkie's party assistant, now I'm going to get roped into managing a team for the Equestria Games!'

"Team manager! And you're first job as team manager is going to be helping me pick two more pegasi to fill out the team. I've already decided on Thunderlane and Cloudchaser as our best bets!"

"Soooo you've already done my job then?"

"No, I still need you to come and be there when I ask them to join! Now come on, we're wasting time!"

Rainbow then took Wayfarer by the hoof and started dragging him along, completely oblivious to the pained expression on his face.

'C'est la vie' Wayfarer thought to himself.

Wayfarer stood next to Rainbow with a barely restrained look of 'how-did-I-get-into-this-mess?' on his face. She merrily walked up to the front door of the house they had arrived at and knocked twice upon it, then turned to Wayfarer with a big smirk.

"Other than me, Thunderlane here would probably be the last pony in Ponyville to turn down an opportunity to impress the Wonderbolts!"

"He a big fan too?" Wayfarer asked.

"Heh, well you kind of have to be if you want to BE a Wonderbolt. But he needs to impress them because he's been falling behind in his test scores."

"Huh, and you? What about your test scores?"

"Aced every practical exam they threw at me!" Dash's face then twitched slightly. "Not so much on the written portions, heh heh.” The front door finally opened to reveal a black coated stallion with off white and greenish grey hair. He looked rather surprised to see the two of them, but he grimaced when he saw the smile on Rainbow Dash's face.

"Heeeeyyyy Rainbow..." He said slowly, in a way that screamed that she was the last pony he wanted to see right at that moment. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Got a bit of a proposition for you!" Dash said, oblivious to Thunderlane's nervousness. "You see, I was thinking, the Ponyville Wonderbolts should form a Relay team to compete in the Equestria Games. And you are absolutely one of the ponies I'd want on that team!"

"Oh, really? That's um... nice and all Rainbow Dash."

Wayfarer raised an eyebrow at this. Something seemed really off and even if he wasn't interested in being a team manager, he still wanted to make sure Rainbow Dash was successful in this venture.

"Thunderlane?" Wayfarer asked suddenly. "Is something up?"

"Huh? Oh, well, it's just weird seeing her smile like that. You know, considering."

"Considering what?" Dash asked, now thoroughly confused. "And why wouldn't I be smiling! I actually had a great idea for once! And I want you and Cloudchaser to be a part of it!"

"Wait, haven't you heard yet?"

"Heard what?"

Thunderlane looked like he was starting to panic. His eyes darted every which way, looking for a way out, as if he was terrified at how Dash would react.

"Well," Thunderlane finally spoke. "I got a letter this morning from Spitfire. You've been suspended, pending an investigation into your apparent 'Mental State.'"

Rainbow Dash could have helped plow the fields of Sweet Apple Acres with how low her jaw dropped.

Wayfarer sighed, discouraged but not surprised. "Told you Spitfire wouldn't forgive so easily."

"B-but the Princess..." Rainbow tried to find her voice, and having no luck.

"You're not going to have a psychotic break on me, are you?" Thunderlane asked cautiously. "Honestly I'd rather me and my little brother not know what a crazy Rainbow Dash is like."

"I'm NOT crazy!" Rainbow Dash cried. "I just had a bad day! I wasn't thinking straight! I... I... suspended?” Thunderlane nodded slowly as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. Rainbow Dash just stood there, staring at him in disbelief. After a few moments, she blinked a few times and, very quietly, stuttered out her request again. "O-okay... umm... well, that doesn't mean we can't still form a relay team and compete in the games... right?"

Thunderlane scrutinized Rainbow for a good while before he started to back up and grabbed the door handle. "It's... a nice offer Rainbow Dash, but I'll have to decline. Maybe you should try getting your head together first before you try doing anything big again."

"Now wait just a minute!" Wayfarer started before the door was quickly closed in his face. "What in Tartarus?" Rainbow Dash, not waiting for Wayfarer to follow, started to trot away quickly. Wayfarer spun around, sighed in mutual disappointment, then started after her. "You going to be alright?"

"No," Dash said simply.

"Well... maybe Cloudchaser will join you. C'mon let's go ask her."

"Wayfarer, if it's all the same to you, I think I'm just going to go home." Dash glanced up at Wayfarer, and he briefly saw that her eyes were already looking a little red. "Sorry I dragged you along for nothing."

"Dash," Wayfarer said, stopping her by putting a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure there are other ponies who'd be willing to help you out. You've probably got dozens of pegasus friends who you could turn to, go talk with them."

"What's the point? I'm probably going to go home and find that letter from Spitfire that Thunderlane was talking about."

"You're not fired, Dash, you're under an investigation. Celestia's probably going to follow up on her letter, you just need to give it time. Hey, look at me." Dash lifted her head up a little and gave Wayfarer her full attention. "You screwed up. It's something we all do. But you're doing the best you can to try and make it right. But at the moment, the ball is in Spitfire's court right now, you need to wait for her to make the next move. So do yourself a favor, and stop worrying about the things you can't control."

Dash just stared up at Wayfarer's eyes, slowly she squinted them and began to scrutinize him. "Are you a changeling?"

"I- wait, what?"

"Or I mind reader? Cause you seem to know exactly what to say to get ponies to calm down. Almost like you know what they're feeling."

"Uhmm, last I checked I wasn't capable of such a power, and if I was I'd probably be opening a psych clinic instead of slumming it in the boonies."

"Oh, you really think so low of Ponyville?" Dash smirked. "Big city colt thinks he's better than the little valley town? I mean yeah, Cloudsdale's got it beat for looks, but we have a princess living here!"

"In a library. With a castle that's infested with monsters. Not the sort of modern accommodations that would set Equestria on fire."

"Yeah well, just you wait. We'll have all sorts of fancy high brow stuff here in a few years. Then we'll see how 'boony' this place is."

"I'll hold you to that, but you know what would really help Ponyville stand out as a modern town, aside from the fancy high brow stuff?"

"A Wonderbolts team! You're right Wayfarer!"

"I was going to say a comic book store, but yeah I guess a Wonderbolts team would be nice too. Guessing that means I can expect to see you at the Equestria games?"

"Naturally! I'll find a couple of pegasi willing and able to fly with me even if I have to recruit Fluttershy!"

"That poor girl competing in the games? Rainbow Dash, such cruelty!”

"I need your help." Discord said simply, his head popping out of the bushes as Wayfarer walked out of the school house. Wayfarer, surprisingly enough, didn't appreciate the ruler of chaos's sudden appearance, and the subsequent panic attack it caused. As Wayfarer tumbled to the ground and started hyperventilating, Discord stepped out of the bush and gave him an odd look. "Are you having an episode? Should I call an ambulance?"

"Shut up and let me find out where my heart got lodged at this time!" Wayfarer took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down from the second panic attack in as many days. "Okay. What do you want?"

"I need you to come with me to the music store we were at about a month ago. I'm afraid that's probably the only place in town where I could ask about local musicians."

"Going through with your Orchestra idea?" Wayfarer asked.

"Yes, but I can't just go knocking door to door like one of Jenova's witnesses. I need to narrow my search for talented musicians, and that store seems to be the best place to start."

"Last I checked, neither of us made a very good impression on the store clerk.” Discord didn't respond to that, instead opting to take up his disguise and lead Wayfarer into town in the direction of the music store. When they arrived, Wayfarer was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face perusing the shelves.

"Hey Lyra," Wayfarer said with a smile. The mare in question looked up at the mention of her name and then smiled back.

"Oi, nice to see you again Wayfarer! Look'n for some jams?"

"Oh great it's you two again." The store clerk moaned. "I thought we didn't have any good music? You didn't seem to like our selection of Dubstep."

"Turn Table, lad, be nice." Lyra stepped over to the counter and tussled the clerk's hair.

"We aren't here to buy anything," Discord explained. "I'm here looking for local musicians who'd be interested in joining my symphony. I need ponies with talented hooves, preferably with ACTUAL instruments and not that cluster bomb of noise and altered voices."

Turn Table sneered at Discord, muttering something under his breath about "Old Timers." Lyra shot him an angry look before looking back to Wayfarer and Discord.

"Bit of a dodder if you ask me. Not a whole lot of musicians in this town, sorry to say. I mean there's me," she smiled and turned to the side to show of her lyre cutie mark. "And then there's Meadow Song, he plays the acoustic guitar, Pinkie Pie know's how to play a ton of instruments... and that's it really. Anyone else who plays an instrument probably only does it as a hobby and not someth'n they're actually good at."

"Oh well isn't that peachy." Discord grumbled as he turned away and looked amongst the shelves, passing over the massive section of modern music. Lyra frowned as her eyes flicked back and forth between Discord and Wayfarer. She seemed to consider something for a moment before she stepped over to Discord and tapped on his shoulder.

"You know," she began. "I know a few musicians in Canterlot who might be interested in coming down to Ponyville for some work."

"Really now?" Discord asked, looking at Lyra as if she'd offered him the 'Participation Award.'

"Yeah, this is their home town, so I'm sure they'd love to have a band here!" Lyra smiled for a solid few seconds before she turned her lips up in a pout. "But then again, they might be a mite busy. They're looking for actual work, ya know, with professionals? Maybe if you had something I could tell them about to wet their appetites?” Discord leered at Lyra, he could obviously tell that she had something up her metaphorical sleeves. Turn Table snorted from across the room, getting the three customers' attention.

"If you're talking about Vinyl and Octavia,” He said. “I wouldn't bet on it. Those two deserve a lot more than this snob can offer."

"Good sir," Wayfarer spoke up with the most snobbish accent he could muster. "I'll have you know that this stallion once played in the Royal Equestrian Orchestra and is quite a fiend on the piano! He could play his way out of a concrete crate if need be!"

"HA! With a piano? Oh that I've got to see!" The clerk walked back from behind the counter and went to a back room, where he pulled out a full keyboard powered by several shimmering gemstones and attached to a large amplifier. "Here you go old timer, hope this isn't too modern for you."

"Modern." Discord mumbled under his breath as he walked up to the keyboard, his eyes getting a glint of red from his true form. "I'll show YOU modern!"

"You may want to step back," Wayfarer said to Lyra as he began to pull her away from the rig. Turn Table, standing right in the line of fire, stared down both the amp and the pianist as if daring Discord to try and impress him.

Discord lifted his forehooves up and placed them on the edge of the keys, looking down at the store clerk with an evil grin as his horn ignited. Around Discord's hooves formed a pair of ethereal claws reminiscent of his draconequus form, and from his back sprung two more clawed limbs that also placed their fingers at the keys. Underneath the keyboard, Wayfarer also spotted some of the magic taking hold of one of the dials on the amp, clicking the volume all the way to eleven.

What followed was a near impossible sounding cacophony of notes that wrung through the store at such rapid speed that it was as if a hailstorm was striking the keys rather than a four armed pony. Wayfarer was sure that no instrument was ever meant to be played this fast, but he had a sneaking suspicion that Discord was pumping chaos magic into the keys as well. Turn Table was nearly pushed over by the constant barrage of tiny shock waves generated from the amp, his mane actually fluttering slightly as the song continued. It went on for nearly three and a half minutes before it started to calm down... and then at four minutes things got crazy. At this point, Wayfarer was definitely certain that no instrument ever created by pony hooves could make the sort of noise that Discord was making with that piano. It sounded like a piano, but it was more chaotic than anything he'd ever heard, and yet it wasn't disturbing or haunting, it was beauty in its most extreme form. The air itself was vibrating, knocking things off shelves and causing the other three ponies' manes to rise as if static was coursing through them.

Finally, after more than seven minutes, the beast gave its final roar and blasted the hapless store clerk into the opposite wall. Discord lifted his ethereal claws from the keys and allowed them to dissipate. He smiled mockingly at the pony who had questioned his ability, then placed his hooves back to the ground and began to swagger about the store like he owned the place. The store clerk whimpered slightly as he lifted himself out of the pile of records that had fallen off the wall with him.

“That…" He said on the verge of tears. “Was the most metal thing... I've ever heard."

Lyra and Wayfarer were similarly stunned. The two of them stood stock still for nearly a minute before Lyra began to trot stiffly to the door.

"Excuse me, I have to write a few letters."

Discord continued to prance about the destroyed store until Wayfarer, finally out of his stupor, stepped in front of him. Wayfarer gestured his head toward all the carnage his companion had caused and then gave him a knowing smile.

Discord rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, I'll tidy up."

As his horn began to glow again, the store seemed to run in reverse as instruments and records leapt from the floor and back onto the walls, damage repairing itself as needed. With the store fixed, Discord then lifted Turn Table up and tossed him unceremoniously back behind the counter.

"There. Good as... well I doubt this place will ever be as good as 'new', but whatever.” With that, the disguised mischief maker stepped out the door, with Wayfarer following closely behind.

"That was... wow."

Discord snickered to himself, clearly proud of the impression he'd left on Wayfarer, Lyra, and the hapless Turn Table.

Once Wayfarer had extracted himself from Discord's presence later that evening, he made a beeline to the library, just arriving in time to catch Twilight, Spike, and Celestia closing up the tree house.

Celestia smirked as he drew near. "I thought you were going to miss us."

"Sorry," Wayfarer said as he caught his breath. "Discord held me up."

Rolling her eyes, Celestia nodded and led the way to the train station. Twilight walked up next to Wayfarer and held something out to him in her magic.

"Here, figured you might need a key so I had a spare made for you." Taking the key in his hoof, Wayfarer gave a confused look to her. "Oh right, it's for the library. I'll only be gone a couple days, but I'd like to know my home is in good hooves during that time. Don't worry too much about ponies coming to check out books, they'll probably be too busy with preparations tomorrow. Oh, and don't let me come back and find the place a complete disaster.” Chuckling, Wayfarer stowed the key in his pocket.

They reached the station in about ten minutes time, and were greeted on the platform by the rest of Twilight's friends.

"You sure you don't want us to come with you?" Fluttershy asked as the five of them took turns giving Twilight goodbye hugs.

"Ponyville needs you all to stay and help with getting ready," Twilight explained, shaking her head. "But the celebration starts a day early in Canterlot, so Celestia and I are expected to be present. That won't stop us from leaving after the Sun has risen the day of, though. It's just for two nights, then we'll come right back to Ponyville."

Nodding and cheering farewells, the crowd of friends moved aside and allowed Celestia and Spike to board the train. Twilight hesitated for a moment, giving Wayfarer a worried look. Wayfarer, for a split second, felt a chill run down his spine. It was like somepony had whispered a curse in his ear and he could feel it in his very soul. He stared back at Twilight with his own look of worry, but all she could in offer in return was an apprehensive gaze before she turned and boarded the train herself. The whistle of the engine blew and the station workers closed up the coach doors. The wheels gave a few quick turns before they finally caught and started to pull the vehicle forward. Wayfarer, still trying to discern what exactly he felt when he and Twilight locked eyes, slowly started to follow the train for a few steps before he reached the end of the platform and had to stop. Watching the caboose pass by, he couldn't help but wish he'd jumped onto the train as well.

Later that night

Meditation was an important part of the day for the Empress. It gave her the chance to think and kept her in a calm and stable state of mind. And when you were the wife to a lecherous idiot like the Emperor, keeping calm was a twenty four hour struggle. The many failures of the Emperor and Empusa within the last few months had pushed her into a near constant state of quiet rage, and the last thing she wanted was for that rage to boil outward, especially not in front of Judgement. Today had been a particularly awful day however, "Death" had come to visit, so the usual meditation time was being extended long into the night.

She could almost feel as if "Death" was still fluttering about her in the air, his shadowy body making that ungodly noise as it moved. And then he tried speaking, and all that came out would be an echoing moan, like the dying roar of a distant dragon. It was annoying, Death was annoying, and Empress wished he'd crawl back into whatever cave he came out of. But she refused to let that be what was on her mind right now. There was nothing on her mind, she was as calm as she could possibly be. Her bare room was quiet, serene even, there was absolutely nothing that could disturb-

A mighty rumble, like thunder, trembled the stone above her, until a sudden crash earth and rock exploded out.

Empress's bloodshot eyes snapped open, she looked up at her ceiling just in time to see a large black root smash through from the earth above. The root was covered in sickly turquoise thorns that threatened to tear at her coat and mane if it got too close. But before it could so much as reach out at her, Empress's body began to radiate heat on par with a roaring bonfire. A flare of fire shot from her horn and incinerated the plant limb, only for another five to descend through the hole to take its place. Her eyes took on the look of unbridled fury that she was trying so hard to quell, and moments later her entire room was charred black by the sudden explosion of flames. But that didn't seem to work as well as she wanted, as the wall opposite the door was ripped apart by more thorny vines. With all thought of containing the solar flare's worth of power and anger trapped inside her gone, Empress lunged into the tangle of vines and began immolating the bramble.

The door to Empress's room slowly creaked open, Emperor and Judgement stood in the opening and watched as a tunnel was carved out of the earth as Empress's fiery wrath pushed the vines back. It didn't stop vines from coming through the ceiling in her absence however. Emperor looked on with fear and disgust as his wife worked, but Judgement's focus was on the vines.

"When I get my hooves on that Draconequus," Judgement muttered as their own fury began to grow. "I'm going to feed him to the Dark Mother personally."

Author's Notes:

Long story short, I've been busy this summer, on top of hitting a creative dry spell, and did not have the time or desire to work on The Harmony Arcana. I apologize to you all for that, but I do have a solution.

For those of you unaware, I have a Patreon. And starting in a few weeks, I'll be uploading weekly update chapters for my $3 and up patrons. The chapters will be Patreon exclusives for one month before I post them here to Fimfiction. I'll be posting a short chapter preview here on fimfiction when that starts. So If you guys want to get the next run of updates as soon as possible, or just want to support me, head on over to my patreon and toss a few bucks my way! https://www.patreon.com/XainRussell

Also, Special thanks again to Sage for editing!