Wayfarer woke up from yet another restless night of sleep. Not from any odd dreams, those had seemed to stop after the first few evenings, but because Twilight had decided to throw a slumber party. Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy had all chatted away from the moment they came back from their last bout of stargazing until VERY late at night. Wayfarer was grateful to most of them for respecting his desire to sleep, but Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash seemed to think he and Spike should join them. Spike outright refused on the grounds of not wanting anything to do with that “girly nonsense” as he called it. Wayfarer on the other hoof wouldn’t have had a problem with it, if his legs didn’t feel like brittle twigs from walking aimlessly all over town that evening. By the time he got back to the library all he wanted to do was sleep.

Wayfarer was just glad he didn’t have to get up early for work as he dragged himself out of bed and into the hallway, where he was greeted by the smell of cinnamon and maple syrup. He followed the delectable scent all the way to the kitchen, where the remainder of Twilight’s friends were all sitting around her table, with a large stack of french toast at the center.

“Good Morning to you Wayfarer.” Rarity said as she levitated three golden brown squares off the stack and carefully arranged them on her plate. “Goodness you look a mess! Did you not sleep well?”

“Not really," Wayfarer said as he twisted his neck around to work out the last kinks of sleep. "Thanks for that by the way Rainbow Dash," he added, throwing a glare her way.

“Sorry if I didn’t want you to miss out on the fun,” Dash mumbled.

“My apologies Wayfarer,” Rarity said, casting her own annoyed look at Rainbow Dash. “It was not my intention to rob you of your beauty sleep.”

“It’s fine Miss Rarity, I don’t have work today anyway,” Wayfarer said as he took a head count.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie were nowhere to be seen, so he assumed they had left already. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy were at the table, and Twilight was levitating all the cooking supplies back into their cupboards. Spike was apparently still asleep as he was also absent.

“Well don’t just stand there,” Rainbow Dash said as she stabbed her fork right through what looked like a dozen pieces of toast and hefted them onto her plate. “Take a seat! I got awesome news!” Rolling his eyes a bit, Wayfarer sat down in between Rainbow Dash and Rarity, just as Twilight took her seat next to Fluttershy.

“Alright,” Rainbow began as Wayfarer also helped himself to breakfast. “Remember yesterday when I told you about my idea of starting a sports team? Well I talked to Applejack too and she says she’s in!” Wayfarer just stared at her and nodded, waiting for her to say exactly what sport they’d be playing.

“AJ said she might be able to convince her brother Big Macintosh to join, and her cousin Caramel Apple.” Rainbow continued. “So we’ve got five ponies so far! And if I can get Snowflake, Thunderlane, and Cloudchaser that’s eight!”

“That’s great Rainbow,” Wayfarer tried to interject “But what are we-”

“I WOULD like a few more Earth Ponies, but I don’t know very many outside of the Apple Family and the Cakes,” Rainbow Dash said, ignoring Wayfarer. “And as for unicorns, I don’t think I’ve ever even seen a unicorn play sports actually. Though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, most of them are pretty egg headish.”

“Uh, Rainbow?”

“Excuse me Rainbow Dash,” Twilight interrupted. “But there are plenty of unicorns who play sports.”

“Chess doesn’t count as a sport Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said dismissively.

“It is too a sport!" Twilight protested. "And I’ve seen unicorns play contact sports too you know!”

“Do you know any that live around here?” Dash said doubtfully.

“As a matter of fact.” Twilight smirked. “I know several! There’s Allie Way,”

“She’s a bowler. I’ve never seen her play anything else.”

“There’s Comet Tail.”

“Can’t catch a ball to save his life.”

“What about Holly Dash?”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth for a moment before closing it again and tapping her chin with a hoof. “Okay, that’s one. But she’s a ‘Dash,’ and there’s only room for one of us on this team.”

“Rainbow Dash?” Wayfarer said, raising his voice a little.

“Yeah?” She said, turning to look at him.

“What sport are we going to play?”

“Heck if I know," Dash shrugged. Everyone in the room looked at Rainbow Dash with disbelief before simultaneously rolling their eyes. “What?” Dash asked, looking around.

“Darling,” Rarity said. “Don’t you think you should actually decide what your little team will be doing before you start forming it? That seems like an important thing to know.”

“Is it?” Dash asked. “I figured we’d just do everything. Hoofball, Soccer, Track.” Then something seemed to click in Rainbow Dash’s head, a light bulb was all that was missing from her over excited expression as she looked right into Wayfarer’s eyes. “OOH! IDEA! What if we put a whole team together to compete in the Equestria Games!” Wayfarer could have sworn he heard a pin drop in the silence that followed, before Rarity and Twilight erupted into uproarious laughter. Rainbow Dash turned and just glared at the two. "What's so funny?" She asked indignantly.

“I-I’m sorry Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said. “But the ponies who enter the Equestria Games train for YEARS to be as good as they are. And the Games are next Summer.”

“That’s plenty of time to get ready!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Maybe for you,” Rarity said. “But what about some the other ponies you plan on roping into this. Can you really see some of them competing in something as prestigious as The Equestrian Games?”

“Snowflake, Thunderlane, and Cloudchaser are all on the same Wonderbolts team as me!” Rainbow argued. “And if anypony is fit to compete, it’s a Wonderbolt!”

“You’re on the Wonderbolts?” Wayfarer asked in surprise.

“Yep!” Rainbow Dash said, puffing out her chest proudly, before deflating a bit and adding. “Well, I’m still in training. And so is the rest of my team… and it’s not so much a team as it is a group of probationary members.” She scratched her head a bit as her eyes shifted. “Okay so none of us are really a part of the Wonderbolts quite yet.”

“Still, that’s pretty impressive Rainbow Dash,” Wayfarer said. “I’ve been a casual fan of the group for years. I got to see them perform a few years ago when Baltimore hosted the Summer Sun Celebration. I really hope you get a spot, you must be really good.”

“Thanks!” Rainbow Dash said as she offered her hoof to Wayfarer, which he then knocked his own hoof against. “So who’s your favourite Wonderbolt?” She asked.

Wayfarer froze for a moment. “Uhmm, I don’t really know any of their names so I can’t really say.” Rainbow looked at him incredulously. “I said I was just a casual fan.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “But even Twilight knows a few of them, and she’s BARELY a casual fan!”

“Actually Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “I only really know a few members names because of how often you talk about them. I doubt I’d even be able to point out Soarin or Fleetfoot from the rest of them if you asked me.”

“Same for me.” Rarity said. “Though I will admit that I might know them a little better because of how often I read up on the derbies in Canterlot.”

“Same for me too.” Fluttershy said quietly, reminding Wayfarer that she was indeed still there.

“So… I’m pretty much the only one here who knows all the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow said with a slight hint of disappointment.

“Mhmm.” Everyone mumbled in affirmation.

“And I’m pretty much the biggest Wonderbolts Fan in all of Ponyville?”

“Probably anywhere outside of Canterlot or Cloudsdale.” Rarity said.

Rainbow paused for a moment before asking another question. “Do you guys think the average pony on the street would know any of the Wonderbolts?”

“The average pony?” Twilight said, pondering the question “Well, I’d definitely be able to pick out Spitfire, but she’s almost the face of the entire organization.”

“Rainbow Dash, what are you getting at?” Rarity asked. Rainbow sat still for a while, staring at her unfinished plate of food. Eventually she looked back up with an obviously forced grin on her face.

“Aah it’s nothing!” She said, standing up. “I’m going to go find Snowflake, Thunderlane and Cloudchaser and see what they think. Catch you guys later!” And with that she zoomed out of the room and out the front door before any of them could manage a farewell. They all looked at each other with varying degrees of confusion as Spike walked in with an overtly loud yawn.

“Oh, good morning Spike!” Fluttershy said.

“What’s so good about it?” Spike grumbled as he took the seat Rainbow Dash just vacated. “You know you guys make it really hard to get some shut eye around here? Next time you decide to have a slumber party, say something before hand so that I can make plans to crash at somepony else’s place?”

“My apologies Spikey Wikey.” Rarity said. Wayfarer had just shoved the last bit of his food into his mouth and almost spat it back out in laughter before he managed to choke it down.

“Spikey Wikey?” He said, barely containing a grin. Spike ignored this and dug into Rainbow Dash’s forgotten breakfast.

“So why was Dash out of here in such a hurry?” He asked through a mouthful of toast. “She looked a bit tense.”

“I don’t know Spike.” Twilight said. “Somepony might want to talk to her though and see what’s up. We probably said something that she didn’t like.”

“Well seeing as I’ve finished the brunt of my orders,” Rarity said, also standing up. “And since I have nothing else to do today, I suppose I can go and see what’s bothering our star flyer.” She looked at Twilight and Fluttershy in turn. “No offense to you two of course.”

“None taken,” the other two said in unison.

“Good bye then,” Rarity said as she dropped her empty plate gently into the sink on her way out. “Thank you for the lovely time Twilight.”

The remaining four sat in relative silence, continuing to eat their breakfast, until Spike started to gag slightly. Wayfarer noticed this and was about to slap a hoof across the dragon’s back before Spike belched out a small jet of green fire, which materialized into a small scroll. Twilight plucked the scroll out of the air and was about to open it when something caught her eye.

“What is it?” Fluttershy asked. “A letter from the princess?”

“I think so,” Twilight said. “But it’s addressed to Wayfarer.”

Both Twilight and Wayfarer looked very confused as she handed the scroll over to him. He undid the seal and read the few short lines scrawled on the paper.

Wayfarer, please come to the Cafe on the north edge of Ponyville, alone. Ask for “Sunny Skies.”

Don’t tell Twilight where you are going.

Wayfarer stared at the scrap of paper for a while, turning it over to see if there was anything else. When he didn’t see anything he looked up at Twilight, who was staring right at him.

“What am I SUPPOSED to tell her?” He thought as he rolled up the paper again. “Guess I’ll just have to wing it.”

“What did it say?” Twilight asked as he got up.

“Ummm… Celestia wants me to go take care of something involving ‘you know what’.” Wayfarer said, hoping that would keep Twilight from asking any more questions in front of the other two.

“Oh,” Twilight said, shifting her eyes over to a slightly confused Fluttershy and Spike. “Does she need me too?”

“No, she just asked for me. I’ll see you around guys.” Wayfarer made tracks for the door, shoving the note in his pocket and hoping that Twilight wouldn’t try following him. Thankfully she didn’t and the door closed behind Wayfarer and allowed her to try and explain things to Fluttershy and Spike.

The cafe was like the one he’d had lunch at yesterday with Cheerilee, only it seemed a bit newer and more upper class than that one. A unicorn waitress approached Wayfarer as he entered and greeted him with a smile.

“Hi! Can I find you a table sir?”

“Umm, I’m looking for ‘Sunny Days’?”

The waitress nodded and looked down at the clipboard she was carrying. After a moment she smiled and looked back up.

“She’s waiting for you in one of the outdoor booths. This way sir.”

The two made their way through the mostly empty cafe and out a side door to what looked like a large gazebo combined with a green house. It too was empty save for a lone white pegasus with pink hair who was gazing out into the empty fields surrounding Ponyville. She turned as they approached and grinned, waving Wayfarer over to her.

“Here he is ma’am!” The waitress said as Wayfarer sat down with a look of confusion on his face. “Would you like to order something now?”

“That would be nice. I’d love a Lavender Lilly Salad if you’d be so kind.” The pegasus said with a voice that Wayfarer immediately recognized.

“And you sir?”

“Umm, I’ll uhhh…” Wayfarer stuttered for a bit. He'd already eaten breakfast, but that fact was way out of his mind as he tried to figure out what was happening. “I’ll have the same…”

“Alrighty then. They’ll be out in a few minutes.” The Waitress then walked back inside, leaving Wayfarer and the strangely familiar pegasus alone to stare at each other.

“So you managed to get my note without Twilight seeing it?” The Pegasus asked.

“Celestia?” Wayfarer said in a shocked whisper.

The Pegasus simply nodded and laughed. “Please, call me Sunny Days. I take it my disguise is convincing enough?”

“Very. Except for your voice," Wayfarer said. "I was able to recognize it. It’s… Princessy I guess you could say.” Celestia frowned a bit at that and pursed her lips for a moment before smiling again.

“How’s this?” She asked. “Not as ‘Princessy’ any more?” Her voice still sounded similar, but the calm and soothing quality of it was replaced with a more excitable and uplifting beat and pitch. Before it sounded like a mother conversing with her child, now it was like a long time childhood friend, eager to catch up after a year's absence.

“Better,” Wayfarer said. “But why are you trying to disguise yourself to begin with?” Celestia sighed and leaned her head back.

“I like being able to walk around without everypony rushing up to me and bowing," she explained. “It tends to slow me down at the most inopportune times. I was only able to get around town the last few days because of an invisibility spell, but I don’t want to have it up all the time.”

“Why not?” Wayfarer asked “That seems more convenient to be able move about without being seen.”

“In most cases, yes. But being able to walk around unobstructed is only a part of why I’m using this form.” She paused and looked up at Wayfarer. “Tell me Wayfarer, how is Twilight?”

“Umm…” He paused, not sure of what to say exactly. “Well she had a sleepover last night and seemed pretty chipper this morning.”

“And what about yesterday morning,” Celestia asked with the slightest hint of pleading in her voice. “How was she then?” Wayfarer hesitated and looked around, there was nopony in earshot, which he suspected was the reason Celestia picked to meet at a high class cafe early in the morning. He sighed and told Celestia what he could.

“She’s confused,” He said. “Which I can understand because, frankly, so am I.”

“You two must have a lot of questions,” she sighed, averting her gaze.

“We do,” Wayfarer said with a nod. “And she really wants you to help answer them.”

“Answers are something I can give," Celestia said as she looked to the side, fully away from Wayfarer. “But… not now. I am conflicted, and I can’t guarantee I can give adequate answers when I am in such a state.”

Wayfarer hesitated for a moment before nodding and leaning back in his seat. He really wanted to dive into questions, but he understood that this was probably a trying time for her. Better to give those decisions and answers the time to be contemplated, instead of rushing to give them too early early and only confuse everyone further. Wayfarer was willing to wait, but something told him that Twilight would be more anxious to have their questions answered.

“So, how are you enjoying life in Ponyville?” Celestia suddenly asked. Wayfarer looked surprised for a moment before answering.

“Oh, umm… it’s quaint, I guess," he shrugged. "Kind of miss some of the draws of a large city though, like the theatre and what not. But it seems like a quiet place to live.” Celestia tried to hold back a snicker at this. “What?”

“Sorry, but Ponyville only SEEMS quiet," she said. "It’s a town that has a knack for being caught in the middle of things.”

“Yeah, Spike and Twilight said something similar when I moved here, but I didn’t really think much of it.”

“Trust me Wayfarer.” Celestia said with a smirk. “If Twilight’s letters are anything to go by, this quaint little town is anything but quiet.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

The waitress returned soon after that and delivered their food. Celestia was quick to dig in, with all the grace of somepony who was taught how to be graceful and apparently chose to ignore it. Wayfarer however barely touched the plate in front of him.

“Something wrong with your food?” Celestia asked. “I’ll admit the lilies don’t taste fresh, but otherwise it seems alright.”

“It’s not the lilies.” Wayfarer said. “I just got done with breakfast."

"Ahh," Celestia said. "Sorry, I should have guessed you'd have eaten already. Don't feel the need to continue or anything if you don't want to."

"It isn't just that," Wayfarer added. "I was... thinking.”

“A dangerous pastime," Celestia said with a faux serious tone. She then smiled and waved her hoof in a circle. "Though a necessary one. May I ask what about?”

“About Twilight’s…” He stopped and looked around. He still didn’t see anypony, but he lowered his voice anyway. “Her shadow. Her other self. I was thinking about what it said.” Celestia sighed, looking at her plate for a moment before pushing it away and giving Wayfarer her full attention. “It said that you…" Wayfarer hesitated, he didn't want to accedently offend Celestia with this line of questioning, but he knew it would nag at him if he didn't pursue it. "It said that you ‘forced’ wings on Twilight. Is she not a natural born Alicorn?”

Celestia shook her head and answered back, forgoing Wayfarer's whispered tone. “No, she isn’t. I gave her a book with an incomplete spell. A spell that harnessed a magic most of my court mages could never understand: Friendship. Twilight was able to complete it, and with a little push from me, it turned her into an Alicorn.” Celestia turned her head to the side. Not daring to look at Wayfarer. “I didn’t tell her what the spell would do though, or give her the choice to accept what was happening to her. I just did what I thought was right for her and Equestria.”

“Do you still think it’s right?” Wayfarer asked.

“I don’t know. She was almost killed by her Shadow because of that decision, and yet she accepted it and forgave me anyway… but that doesn’t make it right. All the trials and tribulations she’s gone through these last few years just made her seem like she was ready. Now it seems I was mistaken.” She snorted in self irritation. “Might as well add it to the growing list of horrible mistakes I’ve made as princess.”

“It’s only a horrible mistake if you let it be,” Wayfarer exclaimed.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Twilight said it herself when she accepted her Shadow. If she believes she’s chained to her destiny, then it might as well be true. And the same is true if you believe that your mistakes only weigh you down.”

Celestia stared at Wayfarer for a moment before a smile broke over her face. “That’s very… wise of you, Wayfarer. But answer me this: Should all mistakes be forgotten so easily?”

“I didn’t say forgotten. Forgiven might be a better word.”

“Yes, well, either way, my past and my mistakes tend to have lasting repercussions. I’ve done many things in the nearly fifteen hundred years I've lived, and I imagine I’ll do many more before my hourglass finally runs out.”

“And I’m sure by that point," Wayfarer said, smiling in an attempt to try and cheer Celestia up. "You won’t be leaving with regrets.”

“Debatable, especially if you ask some of the nobility in Canterlot,” she humphed at this and shook her head.

“I take it they aren’t a pleasant bunch to deal with.”

“That is an understatement if there ever was one," Celestia said, her voice turning stern. "To them, my very rule is a mistake. Many believe I should be more like my sister: Strict, stoic, and stone faced. But that is not what Equestria needs, and it’s not what I need.”

“And… what is it that you need?”

Celestia paused a moment before allowing a small smile to crease her face and answering. “Fun. I need to be able to walk outside and enjoy the spring showers. I need to be able to crack jokes every now and then to lighten the mood. And,” She stopped suddenly, before giving a look of great indigence and frustration. “And I want to be allowed to flirt with whoever I wish!”

“W-what?” Wayfarer gasped, trying hard not to crack a smile at this decree.

“I may be a Princess, but I am also a pony just like the rest of them, and I too wish for companionship!” Celestia looked to Wayfarer, with a trace of sadness in her eyes. “I am hundreds of years old and I’ve been through many great ordeals in that time. Is it so much to ask for a little fun now and again?”

“No,” Wayfarer said without hesitation. “It most certainly is not.”

Celestia blushed slightly at that, then started to giggle despite herself. “Thank you Wayfarer,” she said, standing up. “You’ve been very kind to listen to my worries. And I promise you that, when I’m ready, I will listen to the worries of both you and Twilight.”

Celestia decided to not wait for the waitress to come back with the bill and just pulled a sack of bits from her bag and dropped it on the table with a resounding thud. The two then made their way out the back and, after walking a ways together, parted ways. Wayfarer grinned to himself as he walked. He felt that he’d somehow connected with the Princess of the Sun, and he realized that both her and Twilight probably needed the same thing right now, somepony treating them as ponies rather than princesses.

With a newfound spring in his step, Wayfarer started to seriously consider Rainbow Dash’s Sports Team idea. He decided to go find her and help in setting this club up, then he realized he had no idea where she lived. Stopping in the middle of the road, he started to scratch his head and look around. “hmm… She said she talked with Applejack about it. Maybe I ought to go ask her.” Turning down a different road, Wayfarer started to head out of town. However, as he passed the last house on the street just before the road stretched into the fields, he noticed something rather peculiar. Mrs Cake, the baker from Sugarcube Corner, was walking back in from out of town, looking very distressed.

“Wonder what’s up?” Wayfarer thought as the baker approached.

“Hello Mrs. Cake,” Wayfarer said. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, not at... well maybe, I don’t know Deary,” She mumbled, shifting about and glancing all around them. “Umm… have you seen my husband around?”

“I don’t think I’ve even met your husband yet," Wayfarer said, scratching at his head. "What’s he look like?”

“He’s tall, sort of gangly, he has a yellow coat and a short orange mane.”

That didn't ring any bells for Wayfarer. “Hmm… sorry, I haven’t seen him.”

Mrs. Cake slumped a bit at that. “Oh, alright. Never mind then, he’s probably out shopping for baking supplies. Sorry to bother you deary.”

“Do you need help looking for him?” Wayfarer asked, starting to look concerned.

“Oh no no. I’ll be alright. You have a good day Wayfarer!”

“Umm… you too Mrs Cake.”

The baker then turned and started lightly jogging the rest of the way into town, leaving Wayfarer to simply stare after her for a moment before continuing on his way. The buildings and ponies were sparse out here, and soon they were replaced entirely with row upon row of apple trees. The fence that bordered the massive grove and the dirt road seemed to stretch on forever, broken only by a tall sign that read “Sweet Apple Acres”.

As Wayfarer passed the boundary line and into the orchard proper, he was almost trampled by a small group of familiar fillies that rushed out of the trees and across his path. When they realized they’d just passed somepony, they stopped and turned to look back at him.

“Hey Wayfarer!” All three of them shouted.

“Hello Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. Are you three enjoying your day off?”

“We sure are!” Apple Bloom said as they pranced over to Wayfarer. “Sweetie Belle was going to show us that oriental thing you showed her yesterday!”

“Orientation,” Wayfarer corrected.

“Ohhh, I thought it was something like that.” Sweetie Belle mumbled as she started to dig through her saddle bags, pulling out a metal compass. “Could you show us how you did it? I ummm, can’t really remember everything.”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom rolled their eyes as Sweetie Belle gave Wayfarer the compass.

“Do you have a proper map?” Wayfarer asked.

“Sure do!” Scootaloo said, now going to her own bags. “We made it ourselves!”

The map she pulled out was just a series of admittedly well done crayon drawings. However, there was no map key, no gauge of distance, and no way of telling north.

“Uhh,” Wayfarer stammered as the three looked up at him expectantly. “I hate to burst your bubble girls, but this isn’t a ‘proper’ map.”

“Well of course it is!” Scootaloo declared, rolling her eyes and laying the map on the ground. “Look, here’s where we are: Sweet Apple Acres! And here’s Sweetie Belle’s sister’s shop, and Twilight’s library!”

“How far is it from here to Carousel Boutique?” Wayfarer asked pointedly.

“Huh?” Scootaloo said, giving him a weird look. “What are you talking about? It’s just down the road and closer to the center of town.”

“And would I be able to tell that from this map?”

“Why would you need that?”

“Because if you had handed me this map before I got off the train, I would have thought that Ponyville was a small group of about five buildings and a pond, and that Sweet Apple Acres and Rarity’s shop were right next to each other.”

Scootaloo paused for a moment, then looked at the map, then looked around her at all the trees, then back to the map, then back to Wayfarer with a very annoyed look. “Well… we don’t have enough paper to fit the whole town in just one map!”

Wayfarer just sighed and smiled before turning to Apple Bloom. “Where’s your big sister?" He asked. "Maybe she’s got a map you can use.”

Apple Bloom shrugged, then pointed over at the farm house. “She’s in the house talk’n with Granny Smith about someth’n.”

“Great. I wanted to talk with her anyways, so lets go.”

The three of them nodded and started trotting in between the trees toward the bright red house. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom seemed to be excited, but Scootaloo was lagging a bit behind, tossing Wayfarer really cross looks every now and then. Wayfarer was confused by this, and even looked behind himself the first few times he noticed it, thinking she was glaring at something behind him. It didn’t last long before they reached the house and Apple Bloom pushed open the front door to let them all inside.

“Hey Big Sis!” Apple Bloom yelled into the big house.

“Shush!” Came a voice from upstairs. “Granny Smith is taking her nap now Apple Bloom.” Applejack trotted down the steps with a burly red stallion following behind her. “What’cha all want? Oh, howdy Wayfarer!”

“Howdy to you too Applejack.” Wayfarer said before pointing over to the stallion. “I take it you’re Big Macintosh?”

“Eeyup.” He said simply, swishing a bit of wheat in his mouth side to side as he analyzed Wayfarer.

“Pleasure to meet you," Wayfarer said, stretching a hoof out in greeting. "I’m Wayfarer.” Big Macintosh simply nodded and took Wayfarer's hoof in his own, giving it a hardy shake before he walked passed the lot of them and out the door. Wayfarer staring after him for a moment before looking over to Applejack.

“Don’t mind him,” She said. “He’s the strong but silent type. Now what are y’all up to?”

“I ran into these three on my way over here,” Wayfarer said. “They asked me to show them how to orient a map, but they don’t have one of the town that’s to scale. Do you have one?”

Applejack pursed her lips in thought for a moment. “Never had a use for one, seeing as we’ve always lived in this town, but I MIGHT have an old one somewhere in the attic. Wait right here and I’ll go look’n for it.” With that she climbed back up the stairs and out of sight. Wayfarer and the other three moved to the table in the kitchen, where Wayfarer was bombarded yet again with questions.

“So how’d you get your Cutie Mark?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Honestly, I can’t really remember.”

“What?!" Apple Bloom shouted in shock, before she covered her mouth when she remembered she had to be quiet. "But that’s like, the most import’n thing in a pony’s life! How can you NOT remember it?”

“I had an accident some time ago,” Wayfarer said. “A lot of my life before hoof is pretty much a blur because of it.”

“Aww, that’s so sad!” Sweetie Belle said, she honestly looked close to tears. “I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t remember most of my life.”

“You have a hard enough time remembering what happened last week.” Scootaloo mumbled, making Sweetie Belle’s cheeks puff up and glow red.

“Well what did you do for a liv’n before you came here?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Odd jobs mostly.” Wayfarer said, shrugging his shoulders. “Whatever needed doing basically.” Applejack came back down stairs a few minutes later with a rather old looking bit of parchment in her mouth. She placed it on the table and allowed it to roll flat in front of them all.

“This is a map of Ponyville from about fifty years ago, back before even I was around.” She said as the three fillies began to pour over the sheet of paper. “Because of that, it ain’t exactly accurate anymore. I reckon the town is about a third bigger than it was back then. But Town Hall is on there, and so is the farm house.”

“Is our School on here?” Applebloom asked, eyeing the tiny squares.

“Nah,” Applejack said, pointing at an empty spot on the map. “That was built around the time Big Macintosh was born.”

“Ooh! Ooh! I have an idea!” Sweetie Belle cried out. “Why don’t we add the school and all the other places missing on the map!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo said “That’s sure to get us our Cutie Marks!” All three fillies went for the map at the same time, but their mouths closed on empty air as Applejack rescued it from being torn in three directions.

“Oh no you don’t!” She said, rolling the map back up protectively. “This is a piece of Ponyville history right here! I ain’t lett’n yall draw all over it with crayon or whatever. You want to make a map of Ponyville, I suggest going to Twilight and asking her for a book on map making.”

“Cartography,” Wayfarer said.

“Gazuntite,” Sweetie Belle said.

“No, ‘Cartography’ is the study and practice of map making," Wayfarer explained. "If you made a map of Ponyville, that would make you ‘Cartographers’.”

The three beamed at this and glanced at each other before taking in a big gulp of air. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CARTOGOPHERS!” the three yelled at the top of their lungs, making Wayfarer and Applejack’s ears flatten against the side of their heads, as they rushed out of the house.

Applejack shook her head and sighed. “Those three," she grumbled. "Sometimes they make me want to pull my mane out.”

“Why’s that?” Wayfarer asked.

“They got a hard time putt’n two and two together sometimes,” she bemoaned. “I’ve been hint’n to Apple Bloom that if she want’s her Cutie Mark so bad that she needs to stop with all this crusade’n and just find someth’n she LIKES do’n.” Applejack tightened her grip on the map and tapped it against her neck twice before heading back to the stairs to put it away. Wayfarer hesitated a moment before following after her.

“But surely there’s nothing wrong with trying new things? Is there?” Wayfarer asked.

“Nothing at all!” Applejack said. “Scept they’re so focused on get’n their Cutie Marks that you got to wonder how else that might be affecting them. Apple Bloom used to have a good friend named Twist, but then Twist got her Mark and now I never see the two together. It’s as if Apple Bloom don’t think of her as a friend any more.” Applejack pushed open a door at the end of the hall that led to a room with a bunch of boxes and old furniture. She moved to an ornate chest that had been left open and set the map inside, then closed the chest back up and turned to Wayfarer.

“I am glad that my sister still has friends who are in the same boat as her, but part of me wonders if they’d find their Cutie Marks faster if they weren’t tripp’n over each other’s hooves.” Applejack went wide eyed at this and suddenly looked guilty. “That was a horrible thing to say. But consarn it if it ain’t true! I’m more anxious about my little sister now than I’ve ever been! And poor Granny Smith’s condition ain’t help’n matters!” Applejack stopped, then trotted over to the door and raised her ear up into the hall. Wayfarer joined her and, somewhere in the house, he could her the gentle snoring of some other pony in the house. Applejack sighed and started to walk back to the stairs.

“I’m sorry to dump all that on you Wayfarer,” She said quietly. “Ain’t noth’n you need to be worry’n about though, they’ll figure it out sooner or later.” The two stepped quietly down the stairs and continued out the front door. Applejack started heading into the orchard and Wayfarer followed. “Was there something else you needed Sugarcube?” She asked.

“Actually, I came by hoping you could tell me where Rainbow Dash is. I’ve decided I wanted to help her organize this sports team of hers, and she seems like she needs somepony with a level head to help her out with that.”

Applejack stopped and turned to Wayfarer, a sad sort of smile on her face. “I don’t think Rainbow Dash is in a fit state to talk about that right now,” She said. “She came by this morning and started quizz’n me about her favourite flying team, The Wonderbolts. She tell you about that?”

“How she’s on the team?” Wayfarer said. “Yeah, she did.”

“Yeah, well, I answered all her questions as best I could but she didn’t seem too happy when it was over with. Actually she looked sort a terrified. Flew off yelling something about more training before I could even ask her what was wrong.”

“That’s what she did this morning too. Rarity said she was going to talk to her.”

“I don’t know what good it’ll do, but I hope she can help Dash get over whatever’s bug’n her. Well I got to get back to work, nice chatting with you Wayfarer!” The two waved good bye and parted ways. Wayfarer left Sweet Apple Acres and retrotted the same path that brought him there.

It was Mid Afternoon when Wayfarer found himself near Sugar Cube Corner, contemplating the idea of going in for a refreshment. He allowed his eyes to wonder about the buildings and the passerby, not really paying attention, until he saw a familiar looking Pegasus atop a flower shop across from the Cake’s sweet shop. It was the creepy pegasus mare from the other day, eyeing the ponies in the street, occasionally tossing irritated glances at Sugar Cube Corner.

“What is she up to?” Wayfarer thought as he glared at her.

She then looked over at him and, for a brief moment, their eyes locked. She then proceeded to take to the air and fly off in another direction. Wayfarer pursed his lips, deciding that he was going to let Twilight and Celestia know that it wasn’t just in the castle where weird things were happening. Speaking of the princesses, Wayfarer tore his gaze away from the roof tops to look back at the crowd, only to notice that Celestia, still in her disguise, was walking up the road to Sugarcube corner. Wayfarer almost waved at her, but then noticed she had a bit of a nervous look about her. Looking past her, Wayfarer saw that Twilight wasn’t far behind.

At first Wayfarer thought Twilight had found out about Celestia’s disguise, but then he saw that she was still hanging out with Fluttershy, and the two seemed more focused on each other than on Celestia.

Wayfarer walked over to Celestia as she was passing, her eyes shifting over to him before glancing back at Twilight and Fluttershy.

“Something wrong?” Wayfarer asked as he matched the quick pace of Celestia.

“I saw them coming toward me up the road,” She whispered. “I don’t know, I just panicked and started walking the other way!”

Wayfarer nodded and tilted his head at Sugar Cube Corner.

“Take a corner booth in there, I was thinking of going in anyway.”

“I think that’s where they’re going.”

“All the better,” Wayfarer said with a smirk. Celestia didn’t look to happy about that but went ahead inside all the same. A moment later, Twilight and Fluttershy caught up to Wayfarer.

“There you are!” Twilight said. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Really?” He said with confusion. “What for?”

Twilight opened her mouth to answer, before shifting her eyes over to Fluttershy and then leading the two into Sugar Cube Corner. Aside from them, Celestia and Pinkie Pie, the establishment was practically empty. The three of them took one of the corner booths on the opposite side of the bakery from where Celestia was. Pinkie Pie was quick to bound up to them after they’d taken their seats.

“Hi’A everypony! What can I do for you!”

“We’re fine for right now Pinkie.” Twilight said. “Come back in a few-”

“Actually I’d love a chocolate shake right about now Pinkie,” Wayfarer interjected.

“Ookie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie said. “How bout you Fluttershy? Anything Sweet and Sugary for you?”

“Umm… I think I’d do alright with some orange juice… or something.” Fluttershy mumbled with a smile.

Pinkie gave a big smile of her own and bounced away. Twilight rolled her eyes at Wayfarer before finally speaking. “What did that note from Celestia REALLY say?”

“I told you, Celestia needed me to handle something,” Wayfarer said.

“Uhhuh,” Twilight said, giving him a disbelieving glare. “Then why did the Castle Guards say that nopony had entered the castle since the other night? And why did Mrs. Cake say she saw you walking toward Sweet Apple Acres when we asked her?”

“Because I didn’t go into the castle and because that’s where I went after I was done with Celestia,” Wayfarer said that all a little too fast and nervously. “I ran into Mrs. Cake when she was looking for Mr. Cake.”

Twilight actually looked a little confused at that. “Did she tell you how long she was looking for him?”

“No," Wayfarer shook his head, then rubbed a hoof against his chin. "I think she said he was out getting baking supplies.”

Twilight pursed her lips at that before shaking her head a bit. “Never mind, that’s not really important right now. Look, do you know where Celestia is? I wanted to talk to her.”

Across the store, Wayfarer saw Celestia shift around uncomfortably. “I’m sure she’s around," he said.

Twilight sighed. “I just want to know if it’s okay to let the others in on, you know what.”

“Um… Twilight?” Fluttershy said. “If this is something Princess Celestia told you to keep a secret, then I’m okay with not knowing.”

“But…” Twilight started, before hesitating and dropping her head and whispering. “I need somepony to talk to about this.” Celestia seemed to have heard this, because she sighed and took on a look determination before trying to get up from her table, only to be blocked by Pinkie Pie.

“Here you go Princess Celestia!” Pinkie Pie shouted, startling both Celestia and the other three. “One slice of Super Double Mega Triple Chocolate Cake!”

Everypony turned to stare at Pinkie with wide eyes, Celestia’s eyes filled with complete and total shock. “W-what?” Celestia stammered.

“Your cake! Just like you wanted!” Pinkie Pie said, oblivious to the stares she had drawn. “Hope you like it! Oh, and I love what you’ve done with your mane!” Pinkie hopped away after that. Leaving Celestia looking like a cornered mouse as Twilight gaped at her.

“Celestia?” Twilight asked in surprise. Celestia looked like she was about to make a bolt for the door when said door suddenly swung open, letting in a very distraught looking Mrs. Cake.

“Hi Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie said, her smile faltering slightly. “Did you find Mr. Cake?”

“You mean he didn’t come back yet?” Mrs. Cake almost yelled in a terrified voice. Pinkie simply shook her head, her smile completely falling now. Mrs. Cake let out a sorrowful moan and slumped to the floor. “He’s gone!” Mrs. Cake cried. “My Husband! My darling Carrot is gone!” Twilight and Celestia managed to pull their eyes off of each other at this point and turned to look at Mrs. Cake.

“Gone?” Twilight said, getting up. “What do you mean ‘gone’?” Mrs. Cake sobbed a bit before looking up at Twilight.

“He-He said he had a delivery to make early this morning,” Mrs. Cake said through her tears. “He said he’d be back in only half an hour!” She dropped her head back down and clamped her eyes shut. “But no one has seen him since he left this morning! I’ve looked everywhere and asked everypony who might have seen him! But he’s just GONE!” As Mrs. Cake continued to sob, everypony began to gather around her and offer kind words.

“Mrs. Cake, I’m sure Carrot Cake is alright.” Fluttershy said. “He has to be somewhere in town right?”

“We’ll help you look for him Cup Cake” Twilight said. “I’ll go gather up some of the guards from the castle and we’ll start forming a search party.”

Mrs. Cake shook her head. “It won’t help,” she moaned. “He left me. All because of some stupid argument.”

“Argument?” Wayfarer asked.

“He’s been acting strange ever since we came back from that Bakeoff in Manehatten. We… I asked him about it last night and he stormed out. He wouldn’t even tell me what he was so upset about!”

“Ughh, come on Fluttershy,” Twilight said, tapping Fluttershy on the shoulder. “let’s round up everyone else and see if we can’t track him down. It sounds like he’s just sulking somewhere. Mrs. Cake, where did he make the delivery?”

“That’s another thing, the address of the order is for one of the older homes way out of Ponyville.” Mrs. Cake shakily got back to her hooves and walked over to the back counter, where a ledger of sorts was sitting, then showed Twilight the address of the latest entry. “It was the first place I looked when he didn’t come back, but that home is completely abandoned!”

“...Alright then.” Twilight took the ledger and ran her eyes over the address, committing it to memory. “Change of plans. Fluttershy, you go round up the others, Wayfarer and I will check out this house again. Pinkie, stay with Mrs. Cake. If Mr. Cake comes back, come find us.” Wayfarer was about to ask Celestia if she could help when he noticed that Celestia wasn’t there anymore.

“Hey,” He said. “Where did Sunny run off to?”

“Who?” Twilight said as she and Fluttershy turned to leave. Wayfarer sighed and walked over to join them, taking the note out of his pocket and showing it to Twilight.

“Celestia wanted to talk to me and see if you were alright,” he finally admitted. “She doesn’t seem ready to talk to you yet though, Twilight.”

Twilight shook her head and handed the note back to Wayfarer. “If you see her again before I do, ask her if she can speak to me as soon as possible. I have something to tell her.”

“Alright, but first, Mr. Cake.”

“Right," Twilight nodded, then turned to Fluttershy. "Think you could be quick about this?” The pegasus nodded once and started to fly off. Twilight and Wayfarer began heading out of Ponyville toward the foothills of the surrounding mountains, where there were still a few homes, but most of them looked like no one had lived in them recently. After a while, they came to one that seemed in serious disrepair. The windows were boarded up, the front door was hanging off its hinges, and a lot of the straw on the roof had been blown away. Cautiously, the two approached the front door. They looked at each other for a moment before Wayfarer lifted his hoof and knocked lightly on the door. They waited for almost a minute without any answer.

“You sure this is the right place?” Wayfarer asked.

“This is the right address.” Twilight said as she knocked on the door, a little harder than Wayfarer. Still no answer.

“What pony would live here?” Wayfarer said as he banged on the door again.

“From the looks of it, nopony. There aren’t any signs of life at all.” Wayfarer and Twilight waited a little longer and still no answer. “Ughh! This is pointless!” Twilight grumbled. “Nopony’s here, let alone Mr. Cake!”

Wayfarer pounded on the door once more. With no response, he shrugged, and they turned around and started to walk away, just in time to avoid the door as it fell down and grazed their tails. Both of them jumped away as the door hit the ground with a thud. A cloud of dust seemed to follow the door downward as the two slowly approached the entrance way and looked inside.

“Hello?” Twilight shouted. Wayfarer stepped over the threshold and looked through the dust filled air to the front room. “I don’t think we should go in, who knows what kind of mold or spores could be in that dust?”

“Twilight, look.” Wayfarer said, pointing at the floor where the dust looked like it had been disturbed recently.

“Are those hoof prints?” Twilight asked as she too joined Wayfarer across the threshold.

“It looks like they were dragging something away.” Wayfarer said, pointing at the thick line of cleared dust between two sets of hoof prints.

The two looked at each other with sudden fear flooding their eyes. “Mr. Cake!” They started to yell as they quickly followed the trail through the house until they were in the basement, where the trail abruptly disappeared underneath a small throw rug. Twilight tore the carpet up to find a trap door, which was also torn away from the floor by her magic in a cloud of dust. They looked down into the darkness, there was a tunnel that sloped downward, where the ground was marked with more hoof prints.

“Where do you think this goes?” Wayfarer asked as they stood at the edge.

“No idea.” Twilight said. “But I think we’ll find Carrot Cake at the other end.” With that, the two jumped into the hole, Twilight’s horn lighting up as they began their long trek through the tunnel.

Princess Celestia didn’t take the disappearance of her subjects lightly. Even if it was just a misunderstanding, she couldn’t ignore the chance that one of her ponies might be lost and scared somewhere, or worse that some other pony had taken them against their will. However the anxiousness she felt as she passed through the shield around the castle was only exacerbated by the recent happenings in Ponyville over the last week.

“This was how it started before,” she thought. “Ponies disappearing without a trace. Oh please let this JUST be a misunderstanding. Let Twilight and her friends find this Mr. Cake out and about somewhere.” As she entered into the castle proper, she lifted the invisibility spell she used to get past the guards and casted a life detection spell. All around her she felt the presence of minor life forms, insects and spiders mostly, but deep down below the castle she felt a twinge of something more.

“By the Sun and Moon.” She murmured as she rushed to the nearest stairwell and began her descent. She quickly found herself in almost total darkness. Her eyes darted all around, wondering if the Shadows were there, watching her. Soon she was in the wine cellar, rows of empty cider racks filling the room. Carefully she pressed on, until she found what she was looking for, a large crack that ran over the floor and the back wall. It was big enough for her chariot to just barely squeeze through.

The Life Detection spell was still telling her that something was down there, so she approached the edge and looked down, only to find that it looked like the crack had started to fill with water. The light from her horn casted her reflection in the pool, her beautifully regal form staring back up at her with sad eyes.

“Oh Celestia,” she said to herself, closing her eyes. “What’s become of you? Afraid of your beloved student, jealous of your sister, annoyed with your own subjects?” She sighed, looking back at her reflection and wondering what she could have possibly done to prevent this all from happening. “Maybe… I just need to take a break.” She continued to stare at her reflection for a long time before she noticed something.

“I’m still in my disguise… THAT’S NOT MY REFLECTION!” The not reflection of Celestia suddenly smiled and blinked once up at her, revealing yellow eyes filled with malice and mirth. The Shadow then began to rise out of the water, which turned out to be just an illusion, and out of the pit. Laughing hysterically, the fake Celestia backed the real one away in shock, right into an empty cider rack.. The Shadow then stepped lightly onto the floor, halting her laugh and looking down at Celestia.

“Hello my subject…” the Shadow said “Are you alright? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.” Celestia could only stutter as she looked up at the dopple ganger, shrouded in darkness as it looked down at her with nothing but cruel amusement.

“I… You…” was all she could get out.

“Aww, what’s wrong? Are you frightened of me?” The Shadow laughed once again, stepping forward. “Well, that’s alright. If I can’t get love, I guess fear is the next best thing.”

Twilight and Wayfarer hadn’t been walking for long when the tunnel finally opened up into a much larger cavern.

“Oh no,” Twilight moaned as she dimmed her horn light. The cave was lit up just like the castle was during the nights when the shadows attacked.

“We’re under the castle aren’t we?” Wayfarer asked as he stood next to Twilight.

“We need to find Mr. Cake and get out of here,” Twilight said, gulping nervously. She quickly started to gallop forward, Wayfarer sticking close behind. Eventually the cave started to change, Wayfarer noticed that the walls were becoming more smooth and straight, like a hallway. Soon the cave looked more like a twisted version of the castle above. “What in Tartarus IS this place?” Twilight said as she too noticed the change.

“TWILIGHT LOOK OUT!” Wayfarer screamed as a Shadow leapt out of the darkness. Twilight gasped as she skidded to a halt and jumped back. The Shadow slithered toward them, and was joined by several others. When they were a few meters away, they stopped.

“What are they doing?” Twilight whispered, not taking her eyes off of them. Suddenly, the Shadows seemed to stretch upwards, then a set of wings grew out of them and the rest of the mass followed up, morphing into the shapes of birds.

“SCRAAAWW!!” They cried as they lunged at Twilight and Wayfarer.

“PERSONA!” Wayfarer yelled, stepping in front of Twilight. Ekchuah appeared in a flash of light, skewering three of the birds at once and slamming them against a wall, disintegrating them. The remaining bird shadows backed off as they were joined by a few reinforcements.

“Ahh Pony Feathers!” Wayfarer cursed as he counted out over two dozen shadows approaching them. “Twilight, I don’t think I can handle all these-”

“PERSONA!” Twilight yelled as she charged out from behind Wayfarer. Her Persona flew out from nowhere, tossing her circlet down the hall. The wheel began to shoot out bolts of electricity, killing most of the shadow’s in their way. As the way cleared, Twilight ran through the remaining numbers.

“Come on Wayfarer!” She yelled back as her Persona followed her.

“Right!” Wayfarer responded. “EKCHUAH!” Ekchuah began spinning his spear around, causing a gust of wind to blow through and take out the remaining shadows. Wayfarer then took his chance to gallop forward, catching up with Twilight. As they ran, they noticed a lot of branching path ways. “It’s like a maze in here” Wayfarer said as Ekchuah blasted another group of Shadows that tried to ambush them out of one of these other corridors.

“Just keep a look out for Mr. Cake!” Twilight said. They ran for what seemed like hours, blasting through every Shadow that got in there way. Every now and then they’d find a dead end and had to double back, once they even found a set of stairs leading downward.

“It’s blocked.” Wayfarer said, eyeing the gate that was formed around the stairs. “There’s no way through.”

“Then that’s probably not where Mr. Cake is.” Twilight said. “Let’s keep searching.” Finally, the two came to an open room with pillars arranged in lines. From the corner, they heard a sorrowful moaning, cautiously approaching they found a yellow earth pony stallion curled up against the wall, muttering to himself.

“Mr. Cake!” Twilight exclaimed. “We found you!”

“Liar…” Mr. Cake mumbled. “She lied… not mine… NOT MINE!”

“M-Mr. Cake?”

“Twilight! We’ve got more company!” Wayfarer barked, making Twilight turn around to see a very large Bird Shadow wearing a mask with a crown shaped top.

“Oh dear,” Twilight gulped.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this!” Wayfarer said

“You’re right! Let’s go! TYCHE!”

“It’s not possible.” Celestia whispered as her shadow smirked down at her. “I have a Persona! I shouldn’t be seeing you!”

The Shadow merely laughed again at that. “My dear Sunny Skies, what are you going on about? You don’t have a Persona! I did once, but things have changed. I have changed. I’m not the mare I was all those years ago. So innocent, so pure, and so optimistic about the future.” The Shadow sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, how naive I was to think the ponies of Equestria would love my sister and I, together as equals. How naive was I to think that she and I could rule together. Bah! I should have realized that there can’t be two rulers of a kingdom! One will always be admired and adored more than the other!” Celestia shook her head, regaining her composure at this and stood up, releasing her disguise so she could look her Shadow in the eye.

“You’re wrong.” Celestia said, her voice brimming with confidence. “Though my subjects in Canterlot may not approve of my methods, I know that there are ponies out there who think I have done the best that I could as there ruler. I will not be so easily swayed by you, Servant of Darkness!”

The Shadow snorted at this proclamation. “Is that so? And how do you know this? Have you talked to them? Asked them how they feel? You know they’ll just lie to you, because they’re too afraid to tell you the truth. The truth that they think you’ve ruled for long enough. But you’ve heard the whispers in Canterlot, who’s to say they aren’t saying the same thing everywhere else?” The Shadow’s reverberating and demented voice changed to a mocking pitch as she imitated the nobel’s of Canterlot “‘Poor Princess Luna! Trapped for a thousand years on the moon, just because she wanted friends!’ ‘What gave Celestia the right to overthrow her own sister and take her place as sole ruler of Equestria?’ ‘Princess Luna wouldn’t have sat by while our country was in danger and let children do all her work!’ ‘Celestia is such a deviant for flirting with Fancy Pants! She should be acting with dignity! Not tossing herself on every stallion that passes her eye!’ What a load of horse apples! Do those foals not realize how much I’ve sacrificed?! The loss of so many friends and family members, all for them!” The Shadow’s eyes were filling with rage and hatred, the dark aura around her flaring up. “Well fine then! I don’t want the crown anymore! All I wanted was to be respected for all the suffering I put myself through for their sake! But no! They prefer to ignore my misery and dote on Luna, when she’s done NOTHING for them! I hate them! I hate Luna! I hate Equestria!” The room suddenly grew quiet, aside from the heavy breathing of the shadow as she glared at Celestia. With a sigh, Celestia walked forward. There was no denial or fear in her eyes, only sad acceptance.

“You’re right.” She said simply. The Shadow looked at her with shock. The darkness around her calming a bit. “I get… upset… when all I’ve done, all the love I’ve given to my subjects, means nothing to them. But I have so much more to give to them. And I’ll give it no matter what.”

“W-what are you saying?! They don’t care for you! Why should you care for them?”

“Because I love them.”

“WHY?!”

“Because… I just do. And nothing you say will convince me otherwise, because I know what you are.” Celestia stopped right in front of the Shadow, their eyes locking in each other’s gaze. “You are my fears, my doubts, and my misery. I don’t need you to tell me how I feel, because I tell myself those things every single day.”

The Shadow stared back at Celestia, completely dumfounded. Eventually she slumped down to the floor, her body trembling as the aura of darkness seemed to fade away. Gently, Celestia draped a hoof around her doppelganger, laying its head against her chest.

“... It hurts, whenever I have to hear somepony talk so lowly of me. But I know I can live through it, because I know when I see the smiles on my subjects’ faces, that they love me back. I don’t need to ask them, when I can just see it. They’ll forgive whatever mistakes I’ve made… I just have to remember that I can do the same.

The Shadow began to sniff as she fought back tears. “What must I do then?!”

Celestia stayed silent for a moment before she smiled. “Maybe we do need a break. Right here in Ponyville. Both of us. You and I. I and you.”

The shadow nodded against Celestia’s chest as it disappeared in a pillar of light. The light dimmed and the form of a woman garbed in a pure white dress, with red hair that stretched flowed around her, blocking her eyes from view. She held a staff in one hand that carried a lantern at the very top. The Persona then disappeared into the light, becoming a card, which then floated down to Celestia’s upturned hoof.

Before the card could disappear, Celestia waved her hoof and summoned her Persona back.

“PERSONA!” Gnowee appeared at her side, ready to assist her. “Show me the one who is lost in the darkness below us.” Celestia said. Gnowee nodded and tapped her staff against the floor. The lantern immediately burst into light, shining on the wall across from them. Where the light hit started to move around, like one of those moving picture shows. Through it, Celestia could see the form of a very distressed looking stallion, but she could also see her student and her friend fighting a rather large shadow.

“Not a moment too soon.” Celestia muttered before calling out through the light. “Twilight, Wayfarer, can you hear me?”

The fight with the giant bird shadow wasn’t going well for Twilight and Wayfarer. The beast was just too quick and it darted around behind the pillars too quickly for them to hit it. Worse yet, it seemed as if none of Ekchuah’s wind attacks were even effecting it.

“Horse apples!” Wayfarer yelled as Ekchuah’s spear got stuck in the wall when the shadow dodged out of the way. “Why isn’t this working?”

“TYCHE!” Twilight yelled, her persona tossing her circlet around one of the pillars to try and land a hit, only for the Shadow to swoop around and avoid it. “It’s avoiding everything we throw at it!” Suddenly the bird stopped for a moment in midair and shrieked at the two, radiating blue light out of itself as its wings flared out. Then it launched itself forward and flapped its wings down hard at the two, sending a gust of wind over them. Wayfarer was able to keep himself steady, but Twilight was tossed back a bit by the gale. Frustration was beginning to set in, and the two were starting to get desperate.

“Go away consarnit!” Wayfarer yelled at the Shadow. Ekchuah finally yanked his spear out and lunged at the creature, bringing his weapon around in a downward strike, only for it to just barely miss. The Shadow responded by clawing at Ekchuah’s arms with its talons, tearing at both him and Wayfarer’s flesh. “AUUGGHHH!”

“Wayfarer!” Twilight cried out.

“Twilight, Wayfarer, can you hear me?” Came an echoing voice that seemed to come from every direction, even from within their own ears.

Twilight spun around at the sound of Celestia’s voice, but she was no where to be seen. “Celestia? Where are you?”

“I’m in the castle above you," Celestia explained. "I’ve regained my Persona and I can see the two of you down there.”

“Aughh, That’s cool and all,” Wayfarer said, struggling to stand back up. “But we’re in a bit of a situation. We’ve found Mr. Cake, but a nasty-piece-of-work Shadow found us! We can’t hit it with anything!”

“I can see that. Hold on.” Celestia was silent for a moment while Ekchuah and Tyche took up positions in front of Twilight and Wayfarer, glaring in the direction of the Shadow, who was once again radiating a blue light. “That’s it! It’s casting a spell to improve its evasiveness! You have to find a way to counter it!”

“How do we do that?” Twilight asked as she sent Tyche to fire some lightning strikes at the Shadow.

“I don’t know,” Celestia admitted slowly.

“Terrific.” Wayfarer mumbled. His eyes wandered to Ekchuah, who was still guarding over the three ponies. “I don’t think he has any abilities that could help us.” Then he looked over at Twilight, who was staring anxiously at the battle in front of her “Same goes for Tyche. Ughh! If only we had access to more!” Suddenly the bird cried out again as it avoided another attack by Tyche, who had moved closer to try and land a hit. It countered by diving at her, digging it’s talons into her flesh.

“AUGHHH!!” Twilight screamed as pain brought her to her knees.

“TWILIGHT!” Wayfarer yelled.

Then the world halted. Everything seemed to have frozen. A voice rang through Wayfarer’s ears, a memory of a train, and a man.

“Through your bonds, you may discover other facets of yourself that you were unaware of, and because of your nature as the wild card these facets may grant you different abilities. You have the potential to hold within you many different facades, and you must learn to use them through many trials and nurture them through bonding with others.”

“...right.” Wayfarer thought as realization flowed through his mind. Taking a deep breath, time returned to normal. With a glance at his Persona, he summoned up the strength he used to bring forth this creature, then called out to it. “CHANGE!” Ekchuah seemed to explode with light, leaving only a tarot card behind. “FORTUNA!”

The card shattered and the light reformed into a woman with a wheel for a midsection, garbed in black and white cloths. The woman razed up her arms, then lowered them down to point at Twilight, who was barely able to keep her head up at this point. Suddenly, light swirled about her and the pain was lifted from her body, allowing her to stand up straight again.

“Wh-what just happened?” Twilight gasped, staring up at the new Persona floating beside Wayfarer.

“FORTUNA!” Wayfarer yelled again. Fortuna’s arms once again pointed up and then down, this time at the Shadow, who prepared to dodge whatever attack was sent at it. But the attack never came, instead a blue light surrounded it, then cascaded downward rapidly. The Shadow seemed to move slower at that point, allowing Tyche to finally connect with it, slashing her circlet downward. The shadow cried out in pain as it tried to flap away.

“Not this time!” Wayfarer yelled. “Let’s see how YOU like it!” Once more Fortuna pointed her arms out, now at Tyche, who was bathed in the same blue light, only this time it cascaded upwards and Tyche was suddenly moving a lot faster. The Shadow swatted its wings down at her, only to completely miss as she sidestepped to its side.

“Twilight!” Wayfarer called. “Finish it!”

“Right!” Twilight called back. “TYCHE!” Tyche swiped her circlet around once more, bathing it in electricity as it did so. The bladed ring cut right through the Shadow, and an instant later it was gone in a burst of red smoke. The room grew quiet as the echoes of battle died down. The ponies looking at what they’d done with relieved surprise as their personas disbanded.

“We… WE DID IT!” Twilight cheered, rushing to Wayfarer and pulling him into a hug. “That was incredible! How did you do that?”

“I don’t know! I just did it!” Wayfarer was almost as ecstatic as her at the moment.

“I’m so proud of you,” Celestia’s voice said. “But now isn’t the time for celebration, you still need to get Mr. Cake out of there.”

“Oh gosh that’s right!” Twilight gasped as she released Wayfarer and scurried over to Mr. Cake. “Mr. Cake! Are you alright?”

“Not… mine…” The stallion mumbled.

“He’s out of it,” Wayfarer said. “What do we do?”

“I can tell that you aren’t that far down.” Celestia said. “The Shadows should have dispersed a bit after all that. You should be able to find the stares without much trouble. In fact, I might be able to guide you to them.”

“You can do that?” Twilight asked.

“With Gnowee, there is much I can do for you now.”

“Alright, then lets get a move on.” Wayfarer joined Twilight by Mr. Cake and, after a bit of struggling, they managed to get him on Wayfarer’s back. “Lead the way.” Celestia began giving them directions through the maze, until they found the staircase leading upwards. They had to go through two more levels before they were finally crawling out of the crevasse in the castle wine cellar. Celestia was standing there, her Persona still by her side, awaiting them. Smiling, she disbanded her Persona, then approached Twilight.

“Twilight.” She said softly, before pulling her into a tight embrace. “I’m ready to talk now, if you are.”

“I am.” Twilight said. “And I’m ready to listen now, if you are.”

Author's Notes:

First off, I need to apologize for how long it's taken to get this out to you guys. I've finally started working and it's only recently that I've finally got into the groove of things. I never want to have to keep you guys waiting like this, so I'm going to strive to make better use of my time when it comes to this sort of thing. Hopefully my inconsistent work schedule won't hold me back too much in that regard.

As for the chapter itself, I once again feel like it's missing something but I don't know what. If any of you guys can point it out, I'd be very grateful.

Here's to the next chapter, whenever that may come.