I found myself falling from where I had been standing earlier and Fray stayed in pace with my descent. I could hear voices, calm and lovely, lilting and wonderful, as I fell into that infinite darkness. A name came to mind, a phrase, a chorus. ‘Pax Deorum’ it said, Peace of the Gods. And through it all, Kain fell, smiling as a wise-stallion might at a younger one.

“I, Kain, grant you fellowship with my blessing, that of the Spirit of Fray. May you teach it well how to live a new peace, even in these trying times.” Kain began, pressing a withered thumb to my forehead, robes flowing behind him as he did so, white hair and beard whipping about softly in the wind of our freefall, “I give you the gift of its presence and in doing so, my trust to do the right thing for Equestria as a whole.”

My pupils focused on the different aspects of Kain the Skyllian Draconi, his pale, the wrinkles, and the smile. It was very different from the Kain I had met only hours before. Where he had been harsh and deadly, I now found the old creature’s countenance to be calm and soothing, like an old grandstallion who was always there when I needed him most. In essence, I suppose he was.

“I know you will make me proud.” he continued, “For your efforts so far and your indelible courage, that which cannot be washed away by even my violent tides, I give you a gift. It is that which you have desired for so very long.”

I felt a burning on my forehead, where Kain’s thumb was pressed. A burning, not unpleasant, but uncomfortable. I stared up in fear at what was to come. Could it be another test or more torture to prove my worth? Was I still to die, despite everything? My eyes darted about in their sockets as I panicked, looking for somewhere to escape.

“Wings… my boy.” Kain said softly, “I’m giving you the wings which you sought before, the very things that set you on the path you now tread.”

I glanced to Fray, who seemed to be entranced, and then back at Kain, who simply continued to smile. Then I closed my eyes and focused on the nubs on my back, where Trixie’s dark magic had forced the growth of those unnatural wings which nearly took my life, a constant reminder of my failure and greed. In my mind’s eyes, I felt and ‘saw’ my wings, brand new, sprout from those hateful stubs like a new tree from the trunk of a long dead one. Pain accompanied it, but it was not too severe, only making breath catch in my lungs.

“The only thing I cannot promise you… is the kind.”

I opened my eyes, and saw Kane fall away from me, or rather, myself fall away from Kain.

“We will speak again in the future, my newest son of Chaos.” Kain whispered in my head, “But for now… spread your wings… Fly!”

I twisted my head around to look below me, then straightened out, and dove. A light poured forth from my destination, a hole at the bottom of the tower. Fray floated serenely beside me as I felt my wings beat for the first time, then again, and once more until I found myself speeding towards the aperture of light before me much faster than I had been to begin with.

The light engulfed me, its warmth lulling me into security, and I fell unconscious.

…But my dreams would not let me rest, despite the energy that had been taken from me to form the wings I then possessed.

Once again, strange images crashed through my mind and shattered the restful sleep I had been enjoying. In the dusty brown air with the Sun barely peeking through its cover, I was alone, standing before a great tower, similar to that which I had encountered before entering Kain’s domain. The primary difference between it and Kain’s tower though, was the construction. The tower before me was just as tall, and made of many large, spinning gears, all intertwined with impossible perfection, so that not a single space was to be found along its surface. The great gears were attached to massive levers, pulleys, and other constructs. It was not the most worrisome thing before me, however. No, what bothered me most were the bipedal constructs before it, all aligned in perfect fashion, row by row, column by column. Stepping forward, I made my way between one of the columns, staring at the machines before me. Their shells were rounded, and contained inside many gears and small machines, or so I could assume from what little area was not covered by thick steel. Some of the machines had different crests on their heads, or different body shapes. Some were sleeker, faster looking, while some were a little larger, with bulkier armors and great cannons where hooves would have been on a pony such as myself. I continued, breaking into a trot, fear welling in my chest.

Until I encountered something much larger than the machines I had passed. A great machine, massive even in the dusty shadows that it cast. Its sheer size caused me to backpedal a little in shock. A great behemoth towered above me, covered in rivets and filled with silent gears. Upon its back set hundreds and hundreds of pipes, like those of a Canterlotian Organ. It was hard to tell, but the machine was magnificently gilded with gold filigree and ancient designs, all etched into the very armor it wore.

And it sat, unmoving, like the rest.

Unsure, I stepped forward, and passed through it’s tree-trunk like armored legs, careful not to touch the splayed feet that kept it upright,. Once beyond the hulking giant, I witnessed a podium, whereupon a throne sat. I approached. In some foreign language that I was not sure how I could read, it said “Sits here, the Master of All Order.” The seat was empty. I crept forward, cautious in my advance, until my hooves nearly touched it.

Pain shot through the nearest hoof, knocking me to the floor. For a moment, I waited, unable to move, until my ears twitched, signalling the appearance of somepony new.

“You’ve already chosen a side…” the familiar voice growled, “And anyways… you’re too weak to handle that throne… The machine of Order requires a stronger host.”

I craned my neck over past my shoulder where I lay. A pony made of shadow stood behind me. Glaring. Unlike the shadows from the realm of Chaos, this one had a voice, pupils, a horn, and defining features. Features I recognized.

“Cold Thorn…” I growled, “What are you doing here?”

The dark Unicorn bore a vicious smile as the fine black dust I knew all too well shattered from him like glass, then dissolved into dust once more on the ground, some of it shaking off his mane and coat onto me as he stepped over my disabled form.

“Taking my place on the Throne, of course…” he shrugged, “A place that you cannot even comprehend.”

I tried to stand, but I found I was once more too weak, and was forced to watch as Cold Thorn sat upon the throne where a dark-blue glow flashed through his eyes.

“Now… prepare to witness what is to come!”

I heard a whining, grinding sound, and managed to roll myself over, to watch as the massive machine I had passed under, to arrive at the point where I lay, spun up its gears, shaking loose over a thousand years of brown and gray dust, grinding what was settled between the gears into something ever finer until the gears were clean and quiet once more. I observed firsthand that activation of the monster which was to come, though I was not fully aware of what it was at the time, and shivered as a great mournful wailing spewed dust from the pipes atop its massive body, crying out as a giant might as it arose from a long, tired sleep.

And then it moved, shaking and shattering the ground below its feet, lifting the main body of the massive atlasian machine to a position where it seemed more awake, if such a machine could even seem asleep. It turned, facing me, and staring down with one great telescopic eye that shimmered and swirled as I assumed it focused on my form. It wailed once more, and lifted its arm, bringing it down upon my form as Cold Thorn laughed maniacally.

I awoke, crying out in anguish, crying out words that I did not know, that I was unfamiliar with. Words which echoed beyond the forest and bounced off the moon. My anguish and fear called out for for anypony, anypony who could hear. Any names I could think of were cast out in a single rush of involuntary energy.

Nopony answered, though or so I thought, and so I found myself once again alone. I picked myself up and did a quick observation of my surroundings. A loud snoring revealed Scootaloo and Featherweight, both of whom were still afflicted with the creeping disease that had debilitated them within the tower of Chaos.

“Fray?” I called aloud, rousing the sleeping being, “Fray are you there?”

Fray yawned in my skull and poked its head out from under my mane.

“I do not like Kain.” it mused , stretching its tiny arms as it tumbled down onto my back with an unforseen promptness that made me furrow my brow a bit, “Kain is… mean.”

I shook the starkness of Fray’s statement off, “We’ll discuss it later.” I said, “I need your help.” sighing, “I can’t believe that Kain left them like this…”

A small grunt to my rear alerted Fray and I to a previously unknown presence. Recognizing it before I could, Fray jumped back into my head and forced me to pin the individual in question to the ground.

“WAIT!” Trixie called, “Wait, please!”

Fray was more powerful than I thought. In its post-traumatic fear, it had taken complete control, forcing my personality into the background again. I could only watch at first.

“Why are you here?” Fray roared down at Trixie, its voice child-like and angry, “Why did you follow us?”

Fray raised a hoof to strike the blue Unicorn once more. I couldn’t let it go on. Fray was young, mentally, and I needed to stop it before it did something we’d both regret.

“Fray, let go of my body.” I demanded, “I’ll take care of this.”

“But…!”

“I said LET GO. It’s my body. You’re just living in it. My body, my rules. I will be extremely unhappy if you do what I think you’re going to.” I told Fray, “Very. Very disappointed.”

Fray backed down, grimacing at Trixie and receding back to a place in my head where it could watch what was going to happen next, if there was dust in my skull, I could almost feel Fray kicking it in an unhappy gesture of frustration. I took up Trixie by where her forehooves met her chest while standing on my hind legs, glaring at her.

“What do you want?” I asked as she whimpered a little, “Why are you here? Are you not Kain’s property like Fray was?”

“I-it’s… me. I’m Trixie… the real one!” she stammered in fear, “P-please, no more!”

I further narrowed my eyes, apparently she remembered being beaten by Fray while it was in control the last time, and didn’t know it wasn’t me who’d been in control. Still... There before me was the very pony who had started all of what was happening and had happened. My torture, Scootaloo and Featherweight’s ailments, my exile from Ponyville, Aurora’s leaving, the fight with Cold Thorn. All of those things stemmed right from a pathetic blue Unicorn who was too weak to control both herself and the Spirit that resided within her. My anger sparked, and I nearly struck her as Fray would have done. Then I remembered… I was about to give her a second chance only an hour or so ago.

Besides… it had been my own greed which had brought me to her door, and so I dropped her where she had been, turning back to face my injured, infected friends.

“Trixie… I don’t know why you’re here… and honestly I don’t care.” I began, looking over the slowly spreading infection on Scootaloo’s wing, “But I need help. I can’t carry both Scoots and Featherweight, and I can’t take them back to Ponyville… There’s a good chance they’ve been exiled as well by now for conspiring with me if they were found out.” I turned to face Trixie, who was shakily rising to her hooves, “So I need two things… I need a place where I can leave them and where they’ll be cared for while I look for the cure for whatever’s wrong with them… and I need somepony to help me carry them.”

With that request and a puff of smoke, Trixie disappeared, saying nothing. My gaze dropped to the ground where once she had stood as the smoke cleared. I was too numb to cough from inhaling the stuff. Once again, I had been betrayed by Trixie. I sighed heavily, staring up at the canopy, where sunlight from the morning was beginning to filter through. I was at a loss, completely alone except for Fray, and starting to feel weaker by the minute, likely as a result of my recent transformation. Making my way to Scootaloo and Featherweight, I sighed heavily, knowing somehow I would have to carry them back to Ponyville, and would likely be under even more scrutiny, possibly even run back out into the fields around the Everfree, or worse.

A soft scratching in the forest surrounding would have none of that, however. I prepared for an attack by one of the native creatures, dropping low and settling into a defensive stance. As I listened, the noise became louder, more rapid sounding, until… I smelled Cloudspire, the distinct smell of a Pegasus who had recently come down from high altitude, and a scent that brought back memories that I had suppressed for the past month.

Strangely, Fray was silent, despite the information that had involuntarily passed through my mind for it to analyze and view at its own discretion. Some memories… I somewhat wished it hadn’t seen, mostly because I felt it was too young for such visions.

“Ouch!” a familiar voice yelped, presumably stuck in some of the undergrowth, “Oh… come on…”

My ears perked up, and I moved towards the sound of thrashing, “Aurora…?” I asked, peering through the foliage and pushing it aside with my hooves, “Aurora, is that you?”

“Ramp?” the voice called back, “Ramp! Over here!”

A few more hooves into the undergrowth, I found that familiar face. It was indeed Aurora, and she was tangled up in about four different vines. Sticks and leaves marred her normally beautifully swept mane, and she had more than a few cuts on her legs from, presumably, trudging directly through the forest. She, despite having walked away from me when I probably needed her most, I found her to be positively adorable.

She laughed nervously, “... can you help me down?”

… and in spite of her looking adorable, I was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of numbness.

“...yeah.” I mumbled, getting under her and allowing my ex-fiance’ to stand upon my back and untangle herself. “How did you know I was here?”

Aurora shrugged as she continued to work her way from the vines she was wrapped in, “I… Well, I’m not sure. I heard you calling… I thought you were closer, but somehow I ended up being drawn here… I’ve been looking for you since the day yesterday… but your window was shut and then… well… something bad happened to your home.”

I continued to listen, guessing what had happened as soon as she’d said it, but waiting to hear if I was right.

“Ramp… your house is gone… it was burned down by a mob. Ponyville’s gone crazy, as if somepony’s stirring up trouble and…”

When she finally managed to get down, Aurora stared at me and stopped speaking, looking at me as if she was confused.

“What.” I asked.

“You have wings… Batpony wings!” she whispered, “How… how did you?”

I looked away, remembering the price that two of my friends were paying, all stemmed from my original sin of greed.

“It doesn’t matter right now…” I said, “I have two friends who need help. Two friends who stuck by my side, no matter what happened. Now they’re paying the price.” I continued speaking as I made my way back to where they lie, just beyond the statue, “And I can’t carry them both.”

I didn’t know what to say to Aurora. I wasn’t even happy to see her, but my friends were in trouble and she was the first to arrive. I needed her help, but I didn’t know what to feel about her otherwise at the time.

“I can’t go back to Ponyville either…” I mused, “I don’t know where to take them, but they’re pegasi… so maybe there’s some place in Cloudsdale…”

Aurora put a hoof on my shoulder, but I shrugged her off. I didn’t want to be touched. Instead, Aurora stood behind me.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered.

I shook my head, “I don’t have time for that right now… Scootaloo and Featherweight are in trouble. They’re both still comatose, or at least in a deep sleep that I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t wake them from… I need a hospital, THEY need a hospital… Kain told me that there’s a cure but I can’t take care of them while I look for it.”

“Wait.” Aurora stopped me, “Wait… Kain?” she asked.

Well… that was just fantastic. I’d let slip more information that would probably send Aurora running for the hills. Or flying.

“Later. Please.” I dismissed her question, “Do you know where I can take these two?” I asked, gesturing to the orange and tan lumps in the grass that were my friends, “Anywhere?”

Aurora moved to take a look at their injuries. As she gazed down at them, the young Pegasus did not at all seem surprised, not even disgusted. The black mess that had overgrown the flesh and coat of Featherweight’s leg and Scootaloo’s wing was much worse than before.

“I know what this is… I’ve seen it before. But there aren’t any doctors who know how to cure it.” she said, her gaze turning to mine, “We need to take them to Twilight.”

“The Princess?” I asked, “But… I have no idea where she is…”

“Neither do I… but I’ve got wings, and so do you… Can you use them?” she asked, looking me over as if I were some kind of new creature she’d never encountered before, “I mean… they are pretty… new, right?”

I began flapping my wings in an effort to fly, but to no avail. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get airborne.

“Guess that’s a no…”

As fate would have it, though, we were not alone in the forest. New noises from the brush alerted us to a presence that was soft and quiet, but undeniable. Without warning, those noises stopped.

“Aurora… get Scoots on your back. I’ll take Featherweight.”

Quickly, we gathered up the young stallion and mare, heaving them onto our backs and preparing to make a break for it.

“Wait!” a small voice called out, “I mean… um… wait please. If you wouldn’t mind…”

What stood before us had not been there a moment before. It was a graceful being, more graceful than anything I had ever seen before, yellow and pink in color, with a glow that could only be described as being made of golden pollen. Small animals sat at her sides, as if they were attendants to her visage, and great, blue butterflies constantly fluttered about her hair, until one landed upon her mane, next to her ear, like a flower. Despite the length of her mane, there was not a single leaf or stick within it, as if the forest did not even notice her presence, like she were as much a part of it as it were of her.

“Who are you?” Aurora asked, sounding a little worried at this new creature’s sudden appearance.

“Oh… um… I’m Fluttershy.” the yellow Pegasus began to say, almost hiding behind her own mane, as if she was more afraid of us than was warranted, “I… sort of… protect this forest a little…”

It was then that Fray came to light. It had been silent most of the time since our exit from whatever twisted world that Kain inhabited. Peeking out from behind my own mane, it stared out at Fluttershy, who immediately lit up.

“Oh my! How adorable…!” she cooed, “What is he?”

He?

“Oh… this is Fray.” I looked to Aurora for a moment, and found she was just as interested in my ever-present companion as the newcomer, “Fray lives… in my skull.”

I mumbled that last part, by the way.

“He… lives in your… head?” Aurora asked, tilting her own head, “Is that even possible?”

“Doesn’t it hurt?” Fluttershy chimed in, seeming concerned, “I can’t imagine that there is a lot of space in there…”

Fray floated over to Fluttershy, tilting its head.

“I like her.” Fray commented, “She is… peaceful.”

I deadpanned. Once again, the world was conspiring to change the direction I needed to go.

“Please, everypony… stop. Listen!” I exclaimed, “Scootaloo and Featherweight are in trouble…! I don’t have time for this, and they might be running OUT of time, so if we could PLEASE get back on target for two seconds…!”

Fluttershy and Aurora both stared at me with a confused, almost fearful look in their eyes.

“Please…” I begged, “You two can go into Ponyville… but I can’t. If Princess Twilight knows something about the cure, then I need to find her, because all I have to go on is that it’s on the highest mountain in the Spineyback Range. Take them both back to the hospital… I’ll explain more later, I promise…”

“I know where Twilight is…” Fluttershy mumbled, scratching her hoof on the ground, “You can see it from here, if you fly…”

I shook my head, “I just got these… just… tell me how to get there on foot, if you can.”

Frowning, Fluttershy told me something that did not surprise me, with how my luck had been going, “The Everfree changes almost daily… I don’t know how to explain it… I’m sorry…”

I sighed, “I’ll find it on my own then…!” and broke into the forest, leaving Aurora and Fluttershy with Scootaloo and Featherweight.

“Ramp!” Aurora called, but… I didn’t turn back. There was too much at stake, and standing around talking meant that Scoots and Featherweight wouldn’t get whatever treatment might slow or stop the disease that was overtaking them from the hospital.

I thought back to Nurse Redheart. She’d be cross if she ever saw me again, I thought as I crashed through the underbrush. I was sure that she would have a lot to say to Fluttershy and Aurora, and even more to ask. Neither of them would have any answers, and I had no
way of knowing if I would ever get the chance to tell them what happened. If I was lucky, I’d find the Princess out in this Celestia-forsaken forest, and if I wasn’t then I’d never make it out alive. Amidst all of those thoughts, I found myself wondering about Aurora. Once, she had been the love of my life, and without warning she’d dropped back into it after disappearing for a month without any more than a feather to let me know she still was thinking of me. Even then, she had disappeared completely shortly after the first few weeks.

What was I supposed to feel?

It didn’t matter. I reminded myself that I had two friends that were in trouble and continued thrashing through the jungle, splashing over streams and climbing across fallen trees. It was soon that I found myself completely lost in the depths of the Everfree, weakened, and barely able to move.

“You need to drink…” Fray offered, “We can’t keep this up forever.”

Fray was right and the next stream I found, which had clear water, I drank from and settled at the bank of its bubbling waters. Fray rested atop my head and I could feel negative emotions radiating from my small friend.

“Ramp?” it asked aloud and without warning, “What is the difference between a… he and a…” it seemed to think for a moment, “...she?”

I nearly choked on crystal clear streamwater.

“Um… why do you ask?” I stammered, “You didn’t see… memories of me and Aurora… in a bed, did you?”

Fray nodded, “I did… you two were hugging really tight. It looked… painful. Aurora screamed.”

I blinked, heat rising to my face, “Fray… I uhm… you’re not allowed to look at those memories. They’re… private…”

“Why were you hurting Aurora? Is that why she left?”

“Fray. I wasn’t… hurting Aurora. We were… um… bonding.” I tried to explain, “It’s not painful… even if it looks that way from the outside.”

Fray hung upside down from my mane and skeptically stared into my eyes as I stood away from the stream.

“Then how come she was screaming? The last time I got a hug, it didn’t hurt.”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older, okay?”

“I do not understand. If you were not hurting her… then what were you doing?”

“Later, Fray. We’re trying to save my friends.” I tried to redirect the conversation.

“Then at least tell me what the difference between male and female is…” it pleaded, “Fluttershy called me a… he. I do not know what a ‘he’ is!”

I supposed that it was inevitable. Kain had mentioned that I didn’t know if Fray was a he or a she. Maybe it was time I figured that out. But Fray was obviously young in mind, and I didn’t know if I wanted a curious teenager playing around in my head. Deciding to take on an air of caution, I began my explanation as we walked.

“Well… stallions are supposed to be kind to mares, protect the weak,, and never use their strength to do the wrong thing. Stallions are usually bigger than mares, and they usually do the physical labor. That doesn’t mean that it’s always true, it’s just what’s normally the case. I know Applejack does more work than anypony I know. So there’s always exceptions to the rule. Also, stallions are generally less emotional, and can hold their feelings in better, which isn’t always a good thing. Stallions are supposed to fight for the what’s right and defend their loved ones.”

“And what do mares do?” Fray asked, kicking it’s stubby feet off the back of my head.

“Mares are better at expressing their feelings, usually, and have more skill at being empathetic… meaning they’re better at taking care of ponies than most stallions are. Mares are generally not as physically strong when it comes to physical labor, but carry an entire baby in their tummy before it is ready to see the world, which is pretty impressive when you think about it.”

Fray thought for a moment after I finished, “So… how does the baby get in there? Where does it come from?”

I knew that would be the next question, but I wasn’t prepared to answer it, so I told Fray the same thing my father had told me: That I’d explain when Fray was older. Moments passed as we made our way along the banks of the river.

“So… Fray…” I mused, “What do you think you are?” I asked trying to mask my curiosity, “Stallion or mare?”

“I do not know… but I should think I would like to be like you, so perhaps a stallion.”

Fray saying that made me smile a little. It was also somewhat a relief, having a like-mind in my mind. I could only speculate what it would be like to have a mare in my brain. With that matter somewhat settled, it was then that I took stock of our surroundings. Above and around us, for as far as the eye could see, shafts of winter light shone through like spears from the canopies above. Despite the season, it was pleasantly warm in the Everfree, as it always was. I took a breath, staring at the rushing brook that I had recently drank from, and found the smell of earth and leaves to be pleasant to my senses and began walking once more, heading for what seemed to be a darker area of the forest. It was somewhere to start, right? Certainly one of the most powerful beings in Equestria would likely be in the most dangerous place, especially after spending a good month or two, according to her friends.

Then something came along that was more fortuitous than I would have ever dared hope for, as it prevented my having to guess where Twilight was. A large blue butterfly, about the size of my head, fluttered by and landed on the tip of my nose then fluttered back to a tree, where it flexed its wings open and closed, as if beckoning. Tied to the abdomen was a small piece of paper. I gently took the string in my teeth and pulled, loosening the paper from the fragile creature. I picked it up in my hooves from where it landed upon the leaf-covered earth. Within was a simple message, a single name. ‘Twilight’ it read, and just as I mouthed it, the iridescent blue butterfly took to the wind, leading me on a chase that which I had not thought capable of the oversized insect. Through the deepwood ray and I went, crashing through vines and jumping over streams. Fray held on to mane, instead of hiding in my head. It was beginning to do that more and more, becoming more outgoing and outspoken in its opinions. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing, but I supposed it was natural.

After some fifteen minutes of chasing, dodging, crawling and climbing, I found myself in a small open field. Long grasses blew in the wind, ruffling my mane, and sending the spores of weeds and flowers into the sky, to glint in the sun. But what caught my attention most was not the beauty of the open field, it was what stood in the middle of it. A great tree, greater than anything I had seen before in my life, towered above the Everfree. So ancient and massive it was, that I presume, now, it had earned a place all of its own in that magical forest. I glanced around for my guide once I got over the sight, but the butterfly was gone.

“It is huge.” Fray stated with an almost deadpan voice.

Such simple, blunt statements were becoming more frequent, in addition to Fray’s opinionation. It was almost comical, and I wondered if Fray did it on purpose.

“I am doing what?” it asked.

“You heard that, did you?”

Fray nodded. I was going to have to be careful with what I said and did and find a way to block Fray from accessing anything I did during… Well… I think you can guess.

“Come on… I think this is the place. The Princess must be here.”

Fray and I bounded through the grass, sending grasshoppers, birds, and other flying creatures scampering for their lives and sending more spores into the air. I imagined that it must have appeared relatively amusing, a Batpony bounding through the grass and disturbing every creature in his path. Despite the comical nature of my movement, I very suddenly found myself at the pointy end of a horn. A horn that was purple, glowing, and attached to a very surprised Alicorn Princess.

“Um… Hi.” I said, having come to a halt inches from being stabbed in the forehead by the princess, craning my neck backwards to avoid being too close, “I’m Air Ramp… this is Fray… and I hope it’s not disrespectful to ask… but I’m out of time and options.” I stood up and stepped back, then bowed, “Princess, I’m in desperate need of help…”