Wayfarer was standing under a rather large cloud, looking up at its intricate columns and rainbow waterfalls that dissipated into the air like mist before they hit the ground. He’d never been to or even seen the great Pegasus cities of Cloudsdale or Las Pegasi, but if they were built anything like this one structure, he’d have to pay them a visit one day.

“I think Fluttershy and Twilight’s houses have some competition.” Wayfarer thought as he looked down at the scrap of paper he’d got from Twilight that had the address of Rainbow Dash’s house. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” He yelled up at the cloud house. He stayed quiet for a few moments before calling again. “Rainbow Dash! You home?”

“What are you doing here?” Came a voice from behind him. He turned around to see Scootaloo, who was looking up at him with annoyance.

“Oh, morning Scootaloo,” Wayfarer said, ignoring the less then pleasent look she was giving him. “I’m just looking for Rainbow Dash.”

“Why?”

“I just wanted to talk with her. But it doesn’t look like she’s home.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo yelled up. “C’mon! Today’s the Sisterhooves Social! You promised you come with me!”

“Sisterhooves Social?”

“Rainbow Dash!” The two stood in silence for a while with no response.

“Well,” Wayfarer said, trying to find a reasonable explanation for this. “If she had something planned for you two today, maybe she went by your house to get you?”

“She was supposed to come and get me half an hour ago!” Scootaloo said. “RAINBOW DASH!”

Wayfarer felt the hairs on his neck start to prick up slightly. “Oh no. Please, don’t tell me.” Taking a deep breath to make sure his voice remained calm, he turned to Scootaloo. “Scootaloo, when did you last see Rainbow Dash?”

“Huh?” She said, looking up at him. “Yesterday at Pinkie’s party. She looked kind of down though, but she said she’d come today!”

“Not good. Not good at all.” Wayfarer thought as panic started to set in. “Scootaloo, Why don’t you go hang out at this Social thing, I’ll go look for Rainbow Dash.”

“Why? Where do you think she is?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll find her, don’t you worry.”

Without letting Scootaloo respond, Wayfarer dashed off back to the library. On his way there he kept muttering Gnowee’s name over and over again, hoping Celestia really could hear him and would meet him halfway. Thankfully, she did, and she brought Twilight along with her.

“What is it, what’s wrong?” Celestia asked.

“Castle, now!” Was all he got out as he started running towards the fortress with the other two hot on his tail. After they passed the guards and got into the castle, Celestia immediately summoned her Persona, closing her eyes as she did so.

“Wayfarer, what’s going on?” Twilight said. “I thought you said you were going to go talk with Rainbow Dash about your sports club or whatever.”

“I was,” Wayfarer gasped. “But she wasn’t home, and then this filly, Scootaloo, showed up and said Rainbow Dash was supposed to pick her up for some kind of get together or something. And, I don’t know, I just assumed the worst!”

“What, you think… HERE?!” Twilight yelled and started swinging her head every which way and prancing in place. “Oh no, oh no, OH NO!”

“You can relax.” Celestia said as Gnowee faded away. “I don’t sense any presence of any kind below the castle. I’m sure Rainbow Dash is still in town.” Twilight stopped in place, hesitating for a moment before breathing in and out deeply. Wayfarer, on the other hand, still looked slightly frazzled

“But- she… I… Ughh…” Wayfarer stuttered. “I’m sorry, I just… I don’t know, panicked.”

“I understand Wayfarer.” Celestia said, approaching him and putting a hoof on his shoulder. “Having to wait is becoming a very strenuous ordeal, and if it will set your mind at ease, I’ll keep scanning the castle just in case. Why don’t you two go out and look for her in town.”

“Y-yeah.” Wayfarer and Twilight left through the front gates, Wayfarer’s head hung low. “I’m sorry Twilight, I probably scarred the hay out of you.”

“I’d rather have that then find out one of my friends has been taken away.” Twilight said. “Let’s just find Dash and make sure everything’s alright.” The two wandered around town for the next hour, asking everypony if they’d seen Rainbow Dash since last night. Most of them admitted that they hadn’t seen Rainbow Dash in a while, and the only one’s that seemed to have seen her regularly were pegasi on the weather team. All of them were quick to point out that Dash had been acting funny lately, and asked Twilight if something was wrong.

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” Twilight always responded. Their search brought them back to Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake were busy with customers.

“Oh! Good morning dearies!” Mrs. Cake said as they walked in. “Thank you again for bringing back Carrot. He’s been feeling so much better since then!”

“That’s great Mrs. Cake” Twilight said. “But have you or Pinkie seen Rainbow Dash anywhere today?”

“I’m afraid not Twilight. I actually haven’t seen her since you and Pinkie’s other friends gathered in here last week.”

“I… I saw her yesterday before the party.” Pinkie said, biting her lower lip. “We were talking about... stuff... and then she flew off. I was going to go throw her a don’t be such a downer party today after I was done with work. Oh no! Has she gone missing too?”

“We don’t know yet.” Wayfarer said, looking curiously at Pinkie, who was somewhere between nervously swaying and worriedly fidgeting, before another pony arrived.

“Message for one Miss Pinkie Pie?” Came a voice from the doorway. A lanky Stallion in a postal worker’s uniform entered in and approached the counter. “I was told to deliver this directly to Miss Pie.”

“That’s me!” Pinkie said, waving her foreleg around before bounding over the counter. “Who’s it from?”

“One Miss Rainbow Dash.” The mail carrier said as he hoofed over an envelope addressed to Pinkie. “Said to bring it right to you. Have a nice day ma’am.” Pinkie tore open the letter and started to read, Wayfarer and Twilight waiting patiently for her to finish. But the longer she read the more her face seemed to sink, until tears started to form around her eyes.

“Pinkie?” Twilight said stepping forward. “What’s it say?” As Pinkie looked up at her friend her hair seemed to deflate slightly, and she choked back sobs as she tried to answer.

“D-Dashie went back to Cloudsdale.”

Twilight, Wayfarer, and Pinkie stood quietly at the edge of an obstacle course where several pairs of ponies, including Applejack and Rarity with their sisters Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, were running around enjoying the early summer day. The bright and cheery light high in the sky seemed to be mocking them, and the three felt like intruders on their friends’ happiness, but someone had to tell them. Out of the corner of his eye, Wayfarer saw Scootaloo rush towards them. Sighing to himself, he turned and braced himself for the no doubt crushed expression he was going to give this little filly.

“Did you find her?” Scootaloo asked, her face filled with anticipation. “We might have missed the obstacle course, but we’ll get ‘em in the Tug O’ War!”

“Umm. Scootaloo?” Wayfarer said hesitantly.

“Apple Bloom was making big talk about how strong her sister is, but Rainbow Dash beat her that one year they had the Iron Pony Competition!”

“Rainbow Dash isn’t coming,” Wayfarer finished. Scootaloo paused mid praise and looked up at Wayfarer, her eye twitching slightly.

“W-what are you talking about?” Scootaloo said, confusion slowly inching across her face.

“She went back to Cloudsdale.” Wayfarer explained, trying to avoid the filly’s eyes. “I’m sorry.” Scootaloo just stared at him for a moment before she scowled and lept at him, headbutting his chest with as much force as she could muster.

“Liar!” she yelled. “Where is she! Where’s Rainbow Dash!”

“She… left this morning.”

“NO! Rainbow Dash wouldn’t do that! Where’s my sister? Tell me!”

Wayfarer looked around them as a crowd started to gather, all of them with concerned looks on their faces. He didn’t know what to do as he just stood there and let Scootaloo continue to try and push, pull, and hit the truth she wanted out of him. Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked about as heartbroken as he felt as they just looked on. Eventually Scootaloo backed off and just glared at Wayfarer with tear filled eyes. There was no way he could have braced for that.

“Buck you!” Scootaloo yelled as she turned and kicked dirt at him and ran off through the crowd.

Wayfarer sighed as he turned back around. The crowd on the other side of the inclosed area was cheering as Rarity, Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle crossed the finish line. The four left together covered in mud and grape juice and started to walk around the course as another group got ready to start. Upon noticing the other three however, they started walking their way.

“Hey there y’all!” Applejack said as they drew near. “Wasn’t that somethin? Don’t think we ever had a tie before!” Her smile faded as she saw the miserable looks her friends were carrying. “Why the long faces? What happened?”

“Where’s Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked as she looked around. “She said she and Rainbow Dash were going to be here.”

“Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle?” Twilight said. “Can you go find Scootaloo and make sure she’s alright?” The two fillies took one worried look at each other and bolted off in search of their friend.

“Come on.” Twilight said to Rarity and Applejack “Let’s go get Fluttershy. She needs to hear this too.” Fifteen minutes later, Wayfarer, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy were all gathered in the library, Twilight holding the letter Rainbow Dash sent to Pinkie Pie.

“Dear Pinkie Pie,” She read. “I’m sorry to do this to you and our friends, but this last week has been one of the worst of my life. I’m no longer sure about myself, or the decisions I’ve made, and I need some time to clear my head. So I’m going back to Cloudsdale for a while. I’ll see my folks again, maybe stop by the Wonderbolt Academy, and then go have a chat with some old friends. It’ll only be a month at most, then I’ll come right back, but I really need to sort things out. You can tell our friends I’m leaving, but please don’t all get in the hot air balloon and come visit me. I just need some time off to myself. Sincerely your friend, Rainbow Dash.”

“That’s it?” Applejack said, her voice tinged with irritation. “She went running off without telling any of her friends and broke Scootaloo’s heart just cuz her head’s a little fuzzy right now? What in the hay is that mare thinking?”

“I’m not even sure she knows herself Applejack.” Wayfarer said. “It seems pretty evident she’s just as confused as we are, if not more.”

“And like you know thing one about her?” Applejack scowled. “You haven’t even been here two weeks. Half the time you’re clean’n up a schoolhouse, and the other half you're get’n chummy with the Spirit of Chaos! What do you know about our friend, huh?”

“Applejack, please.” Rarity said. “We’ve all had those moments where we’re not sure about ourselves and we need to do a little soul searching. Wayfarer is right, Rainbow Dash is just having a crisis of identity. And if she wants to be alone to sort it out by herself, then we should respect her wishes.”

“Well she doesn’t get to sort it out by herself!” Applejack spat. “How many times have we made the mistake of not take’n our friends’ problems seriously and it come’n back to bite us? Ah ain’t lettin it happen again.”

“And what exactly are you planning to do?” Rarity asked, scowling.

“Ah don’t know, but ah'm gonna do somethin!”

“You can do something by not doing anything.” Wayfarer said. “This is something Rainbow Dash has to deal with on her own. It would be worth more to her if she found the answers herself and didn’t have to be told them.” Wayfarer looked Applejack in the eye as her face softened a bit. “You can take her problems seriously by being there for her when she comes home.” Wayfarer could tell the farm mare was having an intense internal debate with herself, as her eyes twitched back and forth and the corners of her mouth twitched as if she wanted to say something. Eventually, Applejack sighed and turned to leave.

“Fine then. Ah’ll give her a month, then Ah’m gonna drag her back home whether her head’s screwed on right or not. Now if y’all will excuse me, Ah’ve got a social to get back to host’n.” Applejack slammed the door shut behind her, leaving the other five in complete silence.

“I’m sorry.” Wayfarer said. “I didn’t mean to get her mad.”

“Don’t fret about it.” Rarity said as she made for a couch and took a seat. “Applejack may not think it, but deep down she want’s ‘everything just so’ just as much as I. Throw one aspect of her life out of balance and she’ll move mountains to try and fix it.”

“She sounds like the last pony I’d ever want to cross,” Wayfarer concluded.

“And to an extent you’d be right.”

Wayfarer sighed and looked around himself. Twilight was still looking over the letter, reading it again and again. Fluttershy was looking around awkwardly, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. Pinkie Pie looked down right destroyed.

“You alright Pinkie?” Wayfarer asked, walking over to her.

“Th-this is all my fault.” She sobbed.

“Good gracious darling,” Rarity said. “Whatever do you mean by that?”

“I… I… I couldn’t cheer her up yesterday. If I’d only tr-tried harder to make her smile, maybe she wouldn’t have left.”

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight sighed “Rainbow Dash was probably past the point of being cheered up. I’m sure you did what you could, but Dash more than likely already had her mind made up about leaving, regardless of what you did.” That didn’t have the desired effect Twilight was probably hoping for, as Pinkie’s hair deflated even more.

“I’m going home.” Pinkie said.

“Oh, Pinkie I’m sorry I didn’t mean-” The door was shut before Twilight could even finish what she was going to say.

“It’s funny.” Rarity said. “How quickly one friend’s unhappiness and confusion can spread to the others.”

“You can say that again.” Wayfarer said as he too walked over to a couch and fell haphazardly onto it. “I feel like horse apples right now.” The awkward silence continued to perforate the air as Fluttershy and Twilight also joined the other two. After a while Rarity seemed to have enough of the somber silence.

“So tell me Wayfarer, when you went to go see ‘Wicked’ was it Volante Frost who played Nightmare Moon?”

“Hmm?” Wayfarer mumbled, looking over at Rarity in confusion. Rarity just stared back pointedly, silently asking him to help her try and make this day slightly less unhappy. “Oh, uhmm… yeah I think so. She’s had that role since the show started right?”

“That’s right, and I’ve heard she’s been doing a fabulous job of it.

“That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.” Wayfarer grinned, the memory of a unicorn dressed up in blue and black singing out the musical’s signature piece clearing some of the dreariness from his mind. “Really if you’re not crying by the end of the first act, then I might just have to deny I know any of you.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Cheerilee asked as she sipped at her coffee.

“Okay fine,” Wayfarer sighed. “I’ll admit I’m more than a little stressed out as of late.”

The two had just gotten off from a particularly slow day at the school house. Cheerilee had handed out a test that ended up taking a good portion of the class time, and Wayfarer was left outside with very little to do that hadn’t already been done. He’d become almost obsessive compulsive with the hedges in his search for something to occupy his time. Now the two were at the same Cafe they met at before, discussing life as of late.

“I’m not surprised,” Cheerilee said. “Having to live with Twilight while she’s having to deal with those construction ponies. I heard they were threatening to just leave if they weren’t allowed to finish their job.”

“Yeah, I got a front row seat to that yesterday. Twilight told them that the quarantine on the castle was an order from Princess Celestia and that shut them up really quickly.”

That had been an interesting half hour, especially after they left and Celestia started venting about their disrespectful attitude towards Twilight. The two had agreed though that they needed to do something about this quickly before the nobles in Canterlot got word and demanded an inquiry into Celestia’s “Time Off.”

“What is going on with the Castle?” Cheerilee asked.

“Honestly, I’m sketchy on the details myself.” Wayfarer said, while still thinking to himself that it was still partially true.

Wayfarer had tossed a few ideas at Celestia and Twilight for temporary fixes, including allowing the workers into the castle only during the highest point of the day and having Twilight, Celestia, and Discord be on site at the same time. Celestia admitted that this was probably their best option, but that still meant that the shield would have to be brought down briefly to allow them in and out, giving the kidnappers a chance to sneak somepony inside. Wayfarer then pointed out that they already found a way around the shield before and would more than likely do so again. They continued to discuss alternatives until late at night.

“Well I hope Twilight can find some sort of compromise with them.” Cheerilee sighed. “I need her help with something and I’d hate to add something else to her plate.”

“What do you need?”

“Well, a couple of my students asked me today if there were any magic teachers in Ponyville and unfortunately I had to tell them no. Ponyville is primarily an Earth Pony town, there aren’t that many unicorn ponies and even fewer who’d probably be willing or capable of teaching. That’s why I was considering asking Twilight if she could come and help me out.”

“I don’t think she’s so busy that she can’t stop by and lend a hoof.”

“I need more than a hoof, I need somepony who can devote a good amount of time to my students just like I do. I can’t ask Twilight to do that for me if she needs to focuss on other matters.” Cheerilee pursed her lips and tapped her hooves against the table, thinking deeply about her dilemma. “Maybe… Maybe there’s a book I can find. I might not be able to do magic myself, but I can at least try to give my students an idea on how to do it.”

“That seems like a reasonable approach. Can’t say I’ll be of much help, but I’ll still ask Twilight if she could come and give some aid.”

“Oh I’ll just ask her myself when I go to her Library. Thank you Wayfarer.”

“Not a problem Cheerilee.”

“We’ve come to a decision.” Celestia said when Wayfarer returned. “We’ll give your idea a shot, but If we’re going to be within close proximity of the Shadows at regular times, I think we might want to try improving our skills with our Personas. We’ll start going into the castle regularly and train ourselves.”

“You mean go looking for Shadows just for the sake of fighting them?” Wayfarer deadpanned. “You’re kidding right?”

“Would you rather be completely unprepared?” Celestia asked.

“No, I’m just not that enthusiastic about this plan.”

“Oh come now Wayfarer.” Discord said as he pushed in the doorway behind Wayfarer. “Where’s your sense of adventure? Diving into the depths of the darkness, fighting hordes of monsters as we plunder the expanses of gloomy passages? Sounds like fun to me!”

“This plan also has the benefit of exposing Discord enough to perhaps awaken his Persona.” Celestia explained. “We’ll need all the help we can get, and right now he’s the only one we know has the Potential.”

“What about your sister, Luna?” Twilight asked.

“I can’t ask her to leave Canterlot,” Celsetia said, shaking her head. “Somepony needs to be on the throne to keep order.”

“Was it tough Celestia?” Discord taunted. “Handing over all your political power to your sister, who if I’ve heard correctly is currently the favourite ruler in Canterlot?”

“I trust my sister more than I trust myself, and FAR more than I trust you.” Celestia responded.

“I’m hurt Celestia… no seriously, I have a back ache from walking around on four legs all day.” Discord proceeded to start twisting and bending in all different directions, his spine popping occasionally.

“In any case.” Celestia said. “We’ll start tomorrow evening, and we’ll go till midnight. Is that acceptable?”

“That’s alright.” Twilight said.

“I still don’t like it, but I’ll be there.” Wayfarer said.

“Fine, but don’t expect any miracle summonings.” Discord said.

The gates of the castle closed gently behind the three as they entered, the halls eerily quiet as the sun set in the world outside.

“So where do we start?” Twilight asked.

“Let me do a quick survey of the caverns first.” Celestia said. “PERSONA!” Gnowee appeared by her side, her staff glowing softly as Celestia closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

Wayfarer turned to look around the grand foyer. Everything looked the same as the last time they were in here, except for one new addition: a blue door that stood next to the staircase. Curiosity gripped Wayfarer as he stepped forward, his pocket glowing to match the door until he was right in front of it.

“Wayfarer?” Twilight said. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s with this door?” Wayfarer said, just loud enough for Twilight to hear him.

“Door?” Twilight asked, eyes darting around the area Wayfarer was staring at. “What door?” Slowly Wayfarer lifted his hoof to the doorknob, then pushed the door open.

“Ahh, Welcome to the Velvet Room.”

You find yourself once more in the sapphire passenger car of the Velvet Room. Igor is there, as are Agatha and Agero.

“It has been a while since our last encounter, have you made many bonds since then?”

Agatha smiles and pulls out her book again, placing it on the table and opening it.

“Since your last visit,” She states “You have forged bonds of the Priestess, Tower, and Sun Arcanas.”

As she spoke, Three cards flew out of the book, arranging themselves on the table. The cards then shined a projection above them of Cheerilee, Discord, and Celestia.

“These new bonds,” Agero said. “have unlocked new facets of your self, and as such you’ve gained new Personas.” The Projections of your friends flash and become three new figures.

Cheerilee became a woman dressed in green and gold, wearing an ornate headdress and carrying a sitar. Discord became a man clad in red armor and a yellow cape, wielding a spear as he rides atop a black horse. Celestia became a white and blue snake with large wings and fiery red eyes.

“These three are yours to call upon in times of need.” Igor states. “but continue to strengthen your bonds and you will find that more powerful Personas will answer your call.” The balding man then grins. “And when you feel the strength of these three are not enough, you may choose to call on us in the Velvet Room instead, and perhaps we might be able to assist you and your comrades.”

“The stars are gathering around you.” Agatha says as the cards return to her book. “And one of particular radiance is drawing near. The Magician struggles to find its way in the fog, show it the light, and its power will become yours.”

“Until we meet again, farewell.”

Wayfarer blinked as he lifted his hoof from the door. he turned to see Twilight looking at him with confusion.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“C-can you see a door here?” Wayfarer asked.

“There’s no door there…” Twilight said, now visibly worried. “Are you feeling alright?”

“They can’t see it.” Wayfarer thought. “Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, it’s nothing.”

“But you were just-”

“Alright everyone, listen up.” Celestia suddenly said. Twilight took another glance at Wayfarer before turning to give Celestia her full attention. “I’ve been able to faintly see the layout of the caverns below us, but only to a certain distance. However the past few days have made it clear that the caverns below us are not static pathways. They are moving and changing from day to day.”

“But how is that possible?” Twilight asked. “That much seismic activity would cause earthquakes on a daily basis.”

“That would be the case,” Discord said stepping forward. “If they were normal cave systems, and I’d hazard a guess that they’re not, are they?”

“No, they aren’t.” Twilight said. “They look like the halls of the castle, only… evil.”

“It’s the Beast’s influence.” Celestia said. “It’s reached the surface far faster than I thought it would. It’s possible that the caverns below us aren’t even real, just an illusion brought to life by the Shadows.”

“And you want us to go in there?” Wayfarer said. “Again, this sounds like a REALLY bad idea.”

“A bad idea,” Celestia agreed. “but a necessary one. Come on, let’s go.”

Pinkie Pie was laying on her bed with one of her pillows clutched tightly in her forelegs. She’d barely moved from this position since she’d gotten home on Sunday, save for getting food and for personal hygiene. Her pet alligator Gummy was laying on the bed next to her, eyes staring off into the distance and occasionally blinking alternately.

“I think my tummy hurts Gummy.” Pinkie said, planting her face into her pillow. “But it’s not the ‘I ate too much’ kind of hurt.” Gummy’s only response was to blink both eyes at the same time.

Pinkie lifted her head back up and looked to her dresser, where several pictures of her and her friends stared back at her. The one with just her and Rainbow Dash stared particularly hard at her though. The picture was of the two in the air, Rainbow Dash flying with her wings and Pinkie Pie floating next to her suspended from a cloud of balloons.

“I kept my Pinkie Promise Dashie.” She whispered. “But why does keeping this one feel so wrong?”

“Aww come on Rainbow Dash! Tell me what’s got your mane in a twist.” Pinkie said, her voice a mixture of both worry and mirth.

“I just… I’ve been thinking…” Rainbow Dash said, looking at the ground and poking her hoof at it. The two were in some sort of garage, where Pinkie had taken up shop in preparing for the day’s festivities. She was loading the confections and snacks onto the mobile party table when dash had walked in.

“Oh is that all?” Pinkie said with a giggle, before pulling the cover off one of the cakes. “Well here! The party hasn’t started yet, but how bout some cake to clear out all those nasty thought bubbles!”

“Pinkie, please, I’m not in the mood.”

“And we can fix that! You just need to come to Sunny Skies’ big ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ Party and spend time with your friends!”

“Pinkie.”

“Want me to make you your own cake? I can whip one up super fast! I’ll even put your Cutie Mark on it so that it can be fast like you!”

“PINKIE PIE!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Not every problem can be solved with parties and cake!” With a snort, she turned around and started to walk away from Pinkie and her crazy contraption. “I don’t know why I thought you would listen, you can’t take anything seriously can you?”

“That’s not true!” Pinkie said, all the mirth in her voice now gone. “I’m sorry, c-can you just tell me what’s wrong?” Rainbow Dash stopped and sighed, dropping her head to the ground.

“I’m… not sure I want to be a Wonderbolt anymore,” Dash admitted.

“WHAT?!” Pinkie screamed.

“SHHHH!!” Dash hissed, pressing the tip of her hoof to her lips Keep it down will ya?”

“Oh, sorry, but… you don’t want to be a Wonderbolt? I thought that was your dream though.”

“Yeah, a dream me and hundreds of other pegasi share.” Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment before kicking dirt up with her back hooves and reeling back around to face Pinkie. “It’s not fair! How am I supposed to stand out when there are so many others trying to crowd the top! How am I supposed to stand out when the pony currently at the top is SPITFIRE!?” She stamped her hooves around, lifting up a cloud of dust and dirt around her as she continued to vent. “I want to be the best there is! I want ponies to look at me and cheer! I want the Wonderbolts to admire ME for a change!” She snorted again and panted as she began to tremble all over. “Is… Is that too much to ask?” Rainbow Dash continued to pant until she noticed that Pinkie Pie had moved in front of her, smiling gently as she held out a piece of cake. Dash stared at the pastry for a moment before her eyes went wide with fear.

“Oh Sweet Celestia…” she muttered to herself. “I’ve turned into her…”

“Who?” Pinkie asked. Quickly Rainbow Dash swatted the slice of cake away, sending it toppling to the ground. She backed up a few steps, staring at Pinkie Pie, who stared back with confusion.

“I’m so sorry Pinkie. I… I don’t know what came over me.”

“Dashie.” Pinkie said looking down at the now ruined slice of cake before looking back up at Dash with a smile. “It’s okay. There’s plenty more where that came from.”

“No, Pinkie, I ment-”

“Please come to the party Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie whispered, almost pleadingly. “It’ll make you feel better to be around all your friends, you’ll see.”

Rainbow Dash looked back at her, unsure of what to say. She sighed and put her head back down again. “Okay, I’ll be there.” That seemed to cheer Pinkie up immensely.

“Great! And We’ll get all our friends together and sort out all your worries together. Because that’s what friends do! Help each other out when they’re feeling saddy waddy!”

“No.”

“...No? That’s not what friends do?”

“No, Pinkie, I want this to stay between the two of us right now. I don’t want our friends knowing I blew up like that. That was… REALLY uncool of me. Can you promise we won’t talk to them about any of this until I’m ready?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Pinkie nodded. “Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye… I’ve been making a lot of Promises lately.”

“You’re not going to start breaking them are you?”

“Never.”

Pinkie groaned again and rolled onto her back, letting her now completely straight mane cascade all around her as she covered her face with the pillow again.

“What am I gonna do?”

A rather portly Shadow that looked like a dog wearing a police uniform with a hole through its chest exploded as Tyche sent lightning coursing through it. Another one near by suffered a similar fate as Ekchuah hooked his spear through its chest cavity and sent it on a collision course with the wall.

“This is actually a lot easier than I thought it would be!” Twilight said as she directed her Persona toward a slightly larger police dog Shadow, who fell just as easily as the last.

Discord, who was hanging back with Celestia and her Persona, rolled his eyes. “Well when you’ve got Celestia telling you their weaknesses of course that would be the case. Try playing on expert mode and stop using the guide book.”

“Let’s not.” Wayfarer said simply as Ekchuah finished off the last Shadow. He and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, they’d scoured almost three whole floors so far and were starting to get a little tired.

“What time is it?” Twilight asked.

“About half past Eleven.” Discord said, pulling out a cartoonishly large pocket watch from nowhere.

“I think that’s enough for tonight.” Celestia said. “Wayfarer needs to get up early tomorrow and the rest of us need to go let the Construction Ponies know that they can enter the castle now.” With a general nod of consent, the four started to make their way back out. However as they ascended the staircase to the first floor, another Shadow popped out from around the corner. It was a golden hand that scurried around like a spider, and the moment it saw them it started to crawl in the opposite direction.

“Ughh!” Twilight said, shivering slightly. “That’s so CREEPY!”

“Why is it running though?” Wayfarer asked. “Shouldn’t it be attacking us?”

“Oh it’s just playing hard to get.” Discord said as he took to the air, following after the disembodied hand. “Come now, don’t be shy, you handy little hand thing!” The hand thing turned around suddenly and snapped its fingers, letting loose a bolt of energy at Discord, and sending him flying into the opposite wall. The draconequus looked forward in shock, his body embedded into the wall. After a moment he coughed out a cloud of dust. “Ow.” He said simply as he dropped to the floor.

“So much for easy.” Wayfarer said as he turned to look at the Hand, which had disappeared from sight.

“Should we go after it?” Twilight asked. “That one seemed too powerful to just let it roam free this close to the surface.”

“It also seemed rather cowardly.” Celestia commented. “I don’t think it will bother us, but we’ll keep an eye out for it.”

“It’s like a regular freakshow down here.” Wayfarer said. “Every one of these things just messes with your mind when you look at it.”

“Did you expect the spawn of evil to be a swarm of pretty Butterflies?” Discord said as he finally got up.

“No… I guess I just didn’t know what to expect.”

“Then don’t be surprised if we ever run into a six armed monstrosity riding a rocking horse, or something like that. Expect the unexpected, as the saying goes.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“You’re right though.” Twilight said as they started back on their way out. “There seem to be a lot of different types of Shadows down here. It might be a good idea to try and catalog the one’s we run into. What their strengths and weaknesses are.”

“Not a bad idea Twilight,” Wayfarer said. “But do you really think these things are worth studying?”

“They’re a threat to Equestria and its citizens Wayfarer.” Twilight said matter of factly. “Of course they’re worth studying.” The four finally made their way out of the castle just as the clock was striking midnight. From outside, the castle didn’t look to have changed at all, but Celestia shuddered as she sensed dozens of Shadows crawling up to prowl about the corridors.

“I’ve already posted a notice that the Library will be closed, so you shouldn’t have anyone coming in today.”

“Yes Twilight.” Spike said with a hint of annoyance.

“And there’s plenty of food in the fridge for lunch and dinner, or you could go out somewhere, you know where the bits are.”

“Yes Twilight, this isn’t the first time we’ve done this.”

“Make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time. I should be back before then, but who knows what could come up.”

“Twilight, How many times have you left me to fend for myself? Many times. I think I know the drill by now.”

“Twilight, Darling.” Rarity said from behind her. “We’re going to miss our train. I’m sure Spike will be fine for a few hours.”

Twilight looked down at the little dragon and sighed. “You’re right. Sorry. What’s there to worry about? You’ve got Wayfarer to look after you now.”

Spike rolled his eyes at that. “I don’t need a babysitter Twilight.”

“And I’m not going to act as one.” Wayfarer said from the couch as he hoofed through a book of Musicals. “Especially when said baby is a twelve year old fire breathing dragon.”

Twilight pursed her lips and probably would have said more if Rarity didn’t start tugging on her saddlebags.

“Train darling,” the fashionista said.

“Right, well, see you tonight you two.”

“Have fun Twilight.” The two boys said as Rarity and Twilight finally left.

“So what now?” Spike asked.

“Well… all their talk about the Musical they’re going to got me thinking. Are there any music stores here in Ponyville?”

“Uhhh… Maybe?” Wayfarer looked away from his book and raised and eye at Spike. “What?”

“Really?” Wayfarer said. “You seemed pretty knowledgeable about the town when you gave me the tour, but you don’t know if there’s a music store?”

“I’m not that into music is all.” Spike shrugged. “I’m not even really affected by the spontaneous group song sessions that seem to happen a lot in this town.”

“You mean the Mystic Melody?”

“Is that what it’s called?”

“Well according to this book,” Wayfarer said, flipping through the book again. “It has several different names: ‘Music of Harmony’, ‘The Spirit of Symphonies’, ‘Melodious Resonance’, ‘Dancing Fever’, stuff like that.”

“Jeez, you’re sounding more and more like Twilight everyday,” Spike said, rolling his eyes.

“Is… is that a bad thing?”

“I guess not, but I have a hard enough time dealing with one brainiac.”

Wayfarer looked down at the book, not to keep reading, but to think about the act of reading. He’d picked up and read through quite a few books since he’d moved in. Understandable, as he now lived in a library. But even when he lived only two blocks from the biggest library outside of Canterlot, he didn’t read nearly this much. It did feel like a nice time spender, but still he felt like he should be out about town doing things. Closing the book and putting it aside, he got up and started heading for the door.

“Regardless,” He said as he opened the door. “I would like to see if I can get any records or something, I’m sure somepony knows where the music store is if there is one.”

As it turned out, the Music Store, if you could call the small building that, was just down the road from the library. The little bell on the door announced Wayfarer’s arrival to all of two ponies there: The shop clerk and, to Wayfarer’s surprise, Discord.

“Good morning.” Mumbled the shop clerk.

“Same to you.” Wayfarer said as he stepped over to stand next to Discord. “Morning Scrawl.”

“Why yes it IS morning. How observant of you.”

“Uhuh.” Wayfarer leaned in close and whispered to Discord. “See anything good?”

“Not a single record in this place has managed to catch my attention. I applaud the ponies of Equestria for being able to fabricate some semblance of music using only the sound of magic and splicing vocals over each other to the point of unrecognition, but it gets grating on the ears at times. I mean listen to this.”

Discord pulled one of the records from the shelf and brought it over to a turntable. Setting the disc in its place and placing the needle down, he hit the play button and soon the store was filled with hums, beeps, and thuds. The chorus of seemingly random noises were also joined by a heavily altered voice that didn’t seem to actually be singing anything, rather it just added to what Wayfarer thought was supposed to be music.

“It’s… interesting…” He said as his ears danced around, trying to see if he was listening to it wrong.

“It’s most of what’s in this store,” Discord grumbled. “And everytime I think I’ve found a nice string piece, the speakers get nearly blown out when the ‘wubs’ start up.”

“If you don’t like what we’ve got,” The store clerk said in irritation. “Then leave. And let us ‘young ponies’ enjoy our music old man.”

“OLD MAN?!” Discord yelled, trotting over to the clerk. “Age has nothing to do with it! You are free to enjoy whatever sounds please your earholes! But would it kill you to mix it up a little? Where’s the symphonies? Where’s the folk songs? Where’s the Hokey Pokey Polka?”

“Hokey Pokey Polka?” The store clerk asked, raising an eye. “That’s a thing?”

Discord snorted once and turned to leave. “I don’t have to put up with this!” He pushed open the door and the turned dramatically around and lifted his hoof into the air “Time to revive the greatness that is Oompah!”

Galloping away, Discord left the other two in silence. Wayfarer turned to the turntable again, taking off the record and showing it to the clerk. “You got any more by this artist?”

“Huh? What? Oh… DJ Pon3? Yeah we’ve got a lot of hers.”

“And do you have the soundtracks to any musicals? Like Wicked?”

“Uhhh, you mean theatre music? Why would we have any of that stuff here? No one listens to that.” Wayfarer was following Discord out after that. “Philistine.” He mumbled. With that idea sunk fast, Wayfarer fell back on his usual routine: Walking around aimlessly. He was joined sometime later by Celestia, who came in from overhead from atop a cloud drifting lazily over town.

“How are you doing Wayfarer?” She asked as she landed next to him.

“Been better. You?”

“Just keeping an eye on the town, looking out for that Pegasus you mentioned.”

“Any sign of her?”

“Not of her specifically, but we may have another suspect.”

Wayfarer almost stopped walking at this news. “Who?”

“I don’t have a ‘who’ but I do have a ‘what’.” She pointed up to her forehead and explained. “I have a spell running that searches for any unusual magic in the area, and I found that all around town there’s a trace of what I believe to be Changeling magic.”

Wayfarer actually did stop at that. “Ch-Changeling?”

“Yes, and a very skilled one at that.” Celestia looked around to see if anypony had heard them, then motioned for Wayfarer to keep walking with her. “They’d need to be to keep themselves hidden so well. I’ve got hundreds of guards all over Equestria, both in plain sight and undercover, who are trained to identify a Changeling in a crowd of ponies. So far this is the first time I’ve heard of a Changeling in Ponyville, so it must be very proficient at hiding itself from our usual detection methods.”

“How DO you tell a Changeling apart from a Pony?”

“The simplest way is to just pay attention. If you see a pony walk past you, then you see the same pony walk past a minute later, that should tip you off. There’s also a spell for detecting certain types of magic, but the effectiveness of that spell depends on the pony casting it.”

“So this Changeling is both skilled at hiding its magic, and is probably wearing a face not from Ponyville?”

“Correct.”

“Is it possible that our mystery pegasus and this changeling are one and the same?”

“Definately, which makes it all the more important that we find her. I won’t have another invasion on MY watch.” The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice that they’d walked right out of town. Neither of them mentioned this when it finally dawned on them, they just continued to walk.

Wayfarer hadn’t been this far out in this direction, he’d heard from somepony that there was a pond or lake that ponies liked to visit for a swim but that was about it. The pond in question soon came into view and, at first glance, it looked as though nopony was around. Then he saw the silhouette of somepony underneath a nearby tree, two someponies in fact. Celestia saw this as well and ducked into a bush and then dragged Wayfarer into it as well.

“Shhh!” She hissed at him before he could open his mouth. “My spell is sensing something off from one of those two.”

“Is it a changeling?” Wayfarer whispered back. The two peaked through the branches over at the ponies beneath the tree. One was laying on the ground, her straight mane blocking her face from view. The other was rather tall and wearing what looked like a cloak of some kind. Celestia’s forehead started to glow gently and suddenly she and Wayfarer could hear the mystery ponies talking.

“I can understand your confusion.” The cloaked one said in a low, deep, yet calming voice. “Your friends are more important to you than anything, anypony can see that. But you shouldn’t believe so resolutely that the feeling is mutual.”

“But… but they're my friends…” Said the pony on the ground. The voice sounded somewhat familiar to Wayfarer, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out who it was.

“Of course they are my dear.” The tall pony said as he too sat on the ground. “But they have their own lives, their own dreams. Can you really expect them to stay around forever? Friendships are fleeting, they last long enough to affect us, then they’re gone, just like that.” he then dipped his head down low, turning his gaze away from the other pony. “I’ve lost friends as well. Some faded away with the passage of time, others ripped away far too soon. Still more betrayed my trust and decided I wasn’t worth keeping around.”

“That… That’s horrible.” said the straight maned pony.

“There is no greater despair then the feeling of betrayal. But that despair turned to strength for me, and it could be the same for you. You have such power within you, power that, with your strong will and unfailing determination, could be used to change the world into something more than what it is now.” The cloaked figure rose back up. “Why don’t you come and let me show you?”

Wayfarer almost stood up at that and charged the shade of the tree. Half the stuff he heard sounded like philosophical nonsense to him, but all of it sounded creepy as all Tartarus. There was no doubt in his mind that this cloaked pony had something vile up his robe, and Wayfarer wasn’t having any of that. But then the other pony stood up quickly and began to back away, out from under the tree. Her face now casted in the sunlight revealed her to be Pinkie Pie.

“Wha-What? No! What are you talking about?” She stuttered. “I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying in Ponyville with my friends! I’ve got to be here for Rainbow Dash!” The cloaked pony was silent for a moment, before he started to speak again, not in the calm voice of before, but now in a voice filled with hate and anger.

“How DARE you! I am The Emperor! I offer you advice and help when you are so lost in a fog that you could not hope to find your way out on your own, and instead of throwing yourself at my hooves with praise and thanks, you tell me ‘NO’!?”

“Uhmm… yes?”

“FOALISH MARE!!” The stallion roared, so loud that his hood flipped back, revealing a violet spiked mask that covered most of his head, save for the single navy blue horn that jutted out from the center that began to crackle and sputter violently with black, purple, and green energy. “Away with you then!” Celestia and Wayfarer lept from the bush and rushed toward the tree. Pinkie Pie turned to try and run away before the crazed pony shot his dark magic at her, only barely missing her and instead igniting the grass in front of her in a wall of black fire that began to encircle her.

“Pinkie Pie!” Wayfarer shouted as he tried to increase the speed his legs were moving at.

The fire began to form a bubble around Pinkie, shielding her from view and dragging her down into the ground. Wayfarer yelled out as he lept forward, only to land in the grass as the last flames died out.

“NO!” He shouted as he began digging at the earth. Celestia, overflowing with rage, retook her towering alicorn form and lit up her horn as she faced down ‘The Emperor.’

“What did you do to her?!” She said, her voice trembling with anger. “TELL ME!” The Emperor stood there, his face blocked by the mask, and then sighed as his hoof slapped against an eye.

“Well that’s just great. So much for my natural charm and charisma. Tartarus, I’m never going to hear the end of this from Empusa.”

“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH PINKIE PIE?!”

“Yeaaahhhh, could you two just forget you saw or heard any of that? I’m kind of in a whole lot of trouble if you don’t.” A bolt of energy shot from Celestia’s horn, and one of the spikes on The Emperor’s mask went flying to the side, leaving a smoldering stump. “...You haven’t changed a bit Celestia, still just as quick to anger as ever.” His horn lit up again with dark magic and flames began to surround him. “Your precious little pony has been delivered to the castle to become a feast for my Mistress. You’re welcome to join her, I’m sure she’d love to have you especially, traitor.”

The flames engulfed him and Celestia started firing on the fire ball as it rose up and started flying away, over the Everfree Forest.

“Come back here!” She shouted. “Come back!”

Silence fell over them. Not even the wind dared to speak up as Celestia glared at the sky in frustration and Wayfarer at the ground in shocked disbelief.