William jerked uselessly at the bindings around his wrists, eyes whirling about in a mad sprint.

“You’ll thank me later, just trust me,” Rainbow Dash pulled at the rope, drawing it taut with her teeth. She grew further away with every pull, the pain in his shoulder intense. He yanked as hard as he could, but to no avail; at his other side, Luna did the same. She looked at him with cold eyes as she pulled in the opposite direction, the blue stark against the sandy banks that enveloped them.

“Stop! Stop, please!” he begged, desperately trying to hold on as tightly as he could as she pulled harder at the binding. He could have sworn that his shoulders popped, and his back arched automatically with a white hot sting. Every pull felt like he was ripping just a little bit more, like wet cardboard.“It hurts, stop! Stop! Please!”

Pull. Rip.

“You said you were mine!” Eris’s visage appeared at his ankle, roughly yanking at the rope there with a snarl. “Mine! No sharing, mine mine mine!”

Pull. Rip.

His last leg was allowed a single feeble kick before Discord snatched it between two talons, staring disapprovingly down at him.

Pull. Rip.

“You really should have kept yourself together,” he tutted. “One disappointment after another.”

“Stop! Stop, please!” William shrieked, something tearing with a sickening sound. “Stop it, all of you, please, it hurts! It hurts!”

The form of yet another Luna, darker and familiar leaning over him from the side appeared briefly; so dark, so serious and unhappy.

“How very… peculiar.”

RIP.

“Might as well make more, Spike,” Twilight yawned. “We’re going to need it.”

“Another pot?” he frowned, bundling off regardless. “Alright, alright – we’re gonna have to restock before morning comes if this keeps up, you know that!”

“Yes, thank you Spike,” Twilight sighed, dropping wearily into the chair across from Applejack and a very sleepy looking Pinkie Pie. The latter of the two sat holding her hooves together, tapping against the floor in an irregular pattern. Whether it was out of nervousness or something else, Twilight wasn’t quite sure.

“… Fluttershy’s late,” Applejack tilted her Stetson hat downward, concealing her features.

“You know how difficult it is to wake up Rainbow Dash once she starts dozing off…” Rarity defended quietly from the corner, incapable of making herself comfortable on the unnaturally itchy summoned chair. Spike seemed rather upset about it for some reason, but hadn’t said another word on it since Rarity claimed it.

“Still,” the farmpony shifted uneasily. “It’s been a while. Can’t go expectin’ me to not get a little jumpy when you go waking us all up at these hours.”

“They are still asleep, right, Twi?” Pinkie pried anxiously, eyes darting back up the stairs. “You’re positive?”

“Neither one of them are going to be waking up tonight after the sleeping charms I placed on them,” Twilight nodded to reassure her. “I made certain of it. I’ve also taken the liberty of magically scanning them both multiple times.”

“But you’re sure?” Pinkie leaned forward, her bedhead mane seeming to deflate a little more with each passing minute. “You’re positive?”

“I took every precaution,” the librarian nodded firmly again. “I am very thorough.”

Applejack tilted her hat to the side, scratching her head with the side of her hoof. Half of them jumped at the sudden clatter echoing from the kitchen as Spike busied himself, a number of words he certainly wasn’t supposed to know barely suppressed.

“… Expanding his vocabulary, at least,” Twilight said sheepishly.

“Still don’t see what all the fuss is about,” Applejack eyed the window curtains again as if she could sense the pegasi approaching before she saw them. “Just from a couple o’ folks wandering in.”

“AJ, we’ve been over this,” Twilight’s brows furrowed. She too had to fight to keep her hooves from tapping the ground, and temporarily considered turning down the miracle brew that would hopefully keep her more alert for the long night ahead. “Even the Princess agrees, they could be problematic.”

“And I thought you said they were harmless?” Applejack cocked an eyebrow.

“No, I said powerless,” she corrected her. “They have information, and knowledge is most certainly dangerous. Especially with what I’ve heard tonight.”

“I’ll attest to that,” Pinkie tilted her head forward once, an unnatural frown set on her face. “They… know things.”

“I’m afraid I’m with Applejack on this one, dear,” Rarity graciously accepted the steaming mug from the silent drake, carefully carrying a clattering platter to each of them. “If they’re really not such a bother, why not just leave them be?”

“Darn straight,” Applejack agreed. “Never did like the idea of stickin’ my nose into somepony else’s business and where in the heck is Fluttershy?”

“I’m-I’m sure she’s just a bit behind,” Twilight bit her tongue. “It was very kind of her to volunteer to gather everypony else, just give her a few minutes. We can discuss the… rest when she gets back with Rainbow.”

“I still don’t like this,” Pinkie thought aloud. “I don’t like this, I don’t like them being in the same house as me, I don’t like the situation, I don’t like this at all.”

“Likewise…” Rarity deadpanned. “Can we not resume this sometime in the morning? Preferably after I’ve had my beauty sleep?”

“Gonna have to sleep for a long time if you’re shootin’ to be pretty…” Applejack coughed loudly into her hoof to hide her grin. Rarity only shot her an unamused glare.

“Did Princess Celestia say anything else?” Pinkie gnawed her bottom lip. “She already knew about Discord?”

“That was the weird thing…” Twilight answered slowly, pondering. “I’m probably just over thinking it again though. Princess Celestia just has this way of being in the right place at the right time.”

A couple of quick raps at the library door had Pinkie Pie on her hooves in a matter of seconds, literally sprinting toward the door and yanking it open without even taking a breath.

“It’s about time-!” she let out a sigh of relief that caught in her chest as she took in the sight.

“Hi, guys!” the familiar grey mailmare beamed widely at them all, giving a friendly wave.

“… Derpy?” Twilight approached in confusion, swiftly eyeing a very cross looking Rainbow Dash close behind with an extremely haggard Fluttershy.

“Oh goodness, oh goodness,” Fluttershy was hurriedly ushered in by Rainbow Dash, her messy mane flying into her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I am so very sorry everypony, I hope I’m not very late!”

“She got lost,” Dash rolled her eyes, giving a grateful nod to the mailmare. Derpy saluted proudly, her already wide smile growing.

“On the way to Dash’s?” Twilight blinked in concern, looking back and forth between the trio of pegasi.

“Um… it’s still very dark out…” Fluttershy pretended to straighten her mane ashamedly.

“It’s really not that far-” Pinkie started as she reclaimed her seat, but spotted Rainbow Dash subtly shaking her head and fell silent. Fluttershy only hanged her head in embarrassment.

“Thanks again, Derpy,” Dash nodded to the golden eyed pegasus. “We can take it from here. See you tomorrow, a’ight?”

“Alrighty, Rainbow Dash!” Derpy nodded enthusiastically, trotting off without another word. The door was quietly reclosed, the chill of the night air locked out at last.

“… Derpy,” Twilight balked at them.

“Um, yes,” Fluttershy shifted uneasily on the welcome mat in front of the door, uncertain of where she should even be. “It was very lucky I ran into her, I’d looped around by the Everfree by accident when I was looking for Dash’s place.”

“There really aren’t many cloud houses near Ponyville,” Twilight frowned, ignoring the same look that Dash was giving her that she did Pinkie Pie. “And by the Everfree? How did you manage to fly that far without noticing? And what was Derpy of all ponies doing out in the middle of the night, and just so happened to be nearby?”

“Twi-” Dash started uncomfortably.

“You don’t think that’s a bit of a coincidence?” the librarian pushed on, the already furiously blushing mare turning an even deeper shade of red. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

“Just drop it, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash stated firmly and gave a rapid paw at the floor in agitation. “You wanted us all here in the dead of night for something big, right? Flutters wouldn’t tell me until we got here, said you wanted to tell me yourself.”

“Well, yes-”

“So spit it out already!” Dash stretched her wings, flopping unceremoniously onto the sofa between Applejack and Pinkie Pie.

“… Alright then,” Twilight began to pace, wordlessly offering the remaining seat to Fluttershy and continuing her march. “For those of you who are not already aware-”

“Which I’m guessing is just me,” Dash interrupted.

“- We have a bit of a problem,” she continued as if she hadn’t heard. “I really am loathe to say this because it makes me sick to my stomach, but Discord has started something huge. I’m not sure how, but he managed to slip through the barriers between worlds, I thought even he couldn’t-”

“He’s what?!” Rainbow Dash shrieked, wings flaring hard and smacking both her couchmates.

“I told you that you’d panic,” Fluttershy did her best to soothe the raging pegasus. “You see, this is why I didn’t-”

“We’ve got to do something!” Dash slammed her hooves together wrathfully. “Now! What did he do this time? Did he go after the Princesses?”

“No, he-”

“Is he messing with Equestria again? I swear, if he even thinks about Cloudsdale-”

“No, Dash-”

“Is he trying to brainwash everypony?!” Rainbow Dash’s shouting grew more intense. “That bastard, I’ll tear him a new one!”

“Rainbow Dash!”

The pegasus flinched at Twilight’s shout, gradually settling back down between the irate mares on the sofa.

“It’s not any of that,” Twilight explained slowly. “The Princesses are fine, Cloudsdale is fine, and I’m pretty sure that nopony here has been brainwashed.”

“… Then what’s going on?” Rainbow Dash glanced around the room, noting the odd looks that her friends seemed to all share.

“… He’s had foals.”

If Twilight was expecting some kind of awed gasp of shock, she was sorely disappointed.

“… Seriously?” the pegasus blinked, looking back and forth between the silent and serious group. “Are-are you serious?”

“Yes, you see-”

“You woke me up,” Dash jabbed a hoof angrily in Twilight’s direction, though Fluttershy cringed hard as if it were her own fault. “Woke me up in the middle of the night, had me worried sick thinking somepony was dead or dying, and all you have to say is ‘he had foals’?”

“It’s more serious than that, Rainbow,” Twilight scowled, resuming her pacing that she didn’t even realize had paused.

“Oh joy,” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. “So maybe this wasn’t a complete waste of oof!”

“Hush that,” Applejack muttered, “Or I’ll give y’another jab in the ribs.”

“At fourteen hundred hours yesterday,” Twilight began seriously, pretending that Rarity wasn’t rolling her eyes. “A strange occurrence was noticed near Ponyville Lake. Some sort of ripple-”

“As lakes do,” Dash interjected.

“-That somehow caused an… alteration across Equestria,” Twilight continued. “Nopony is even certain of what it was or what occurred, but it spread outward from that point, like nothing that’s ever occurred before. Even the Princess was baffled, though it seems to have been mostly harmless.”

They had all fallen completely silent by this point, every set of eyes following her closely. Twilight cleared her throat awkwardly, suddenly feeling very tense.

“R-right,” she pressed on regardless. “At sixteen hundred hours, approximately two hours later, I was visited by these ‘foals’ of Discord’s. Both of whom had identical and very strange stories, insisting that some sort of time warp had occurred and that Discord had left them both here to fend for themselves.”

She fell silent for a moment, noticing the almost graveyard like silence that loomed over them.

“… And?” Applejack leaned in attentively.

“They’re still here,” Twilight added solemnly. “And although they seem to be without any sort of power, you know what Discord is like and what he’s capable of. They could both still be extremely dangerous, or worse, lulling us into a false sense of security for something bigger.”

“Alright,” Dash held up a hoof, taking a deep breath. “And keep in mind that this is me saying this, but don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid? What, you think they’re spies or something?”

“I think that if they’re cause enough to convince Princess Celestia that they should have eyes on them, then they might know even more than they’re letting on. They claim to be from two years of our time in the future, for crying out loud!” Twilight threw her hoof up in the air. “Do you have any idea what kind of problems that could cause, having knowledge of future events like that?”

“It could cause quite a stir, yes.”

Six heads snapping in unison whipped toward the top of the stairs, a small pink colt sitting quietly and listening to them all with an expressionless look on his face.

“… You’re awake,” Twilight breathed quietly.

“Indeed,” William nodded once.

“Why?” she asked bluntly, a little stunned. “I put a double layer on the sleeping charm, how are you awake?”

“Double layered charm, really?” he asked, tentatively pulling himself down backward a single step. “Clever, a bit more to imitate natural sleeping cycles. I first assumed it was a Zebrican rapid resting hex, generally much quicker to perform but terribly difficult to undo. Eris is still out cold, by the way.”

“… How are you awake?”

“No idea,” William answered honestly. He carefully pulled himself downward another step one leg at a time. “Rather odd, I should think. I had a very strange new dream, perhaps that had something to do with it. I’ve only had one dream in particular every night for quite a while, so something new is a bit strange to me. Then again, everything’s a bit new and strange to me, considering, it’s like I’m a whole new person. And apparently I’m the sort of new person that just shoots off at the gob, goodness me, that’s all I’ve been doing, how is everyone?”

“… That’s what you’re afraid of?” Rainbow Dash scoffed, turning back to Twilight as William struggled to pull himself backwards down another step without falling. “Seriously? A little filly?”

“I’m not a filly,” William frowned, cautiously taking another step down. “And I remember these stairs being much easier to go up. Forgive me for taking a while, I’m not used to having four legs.”

“Not really quite what I was expecting,” Applejack admitted aloud. “You had me thinkin’ they’d be a bit more like, you know, Discord. Not actual foals.”

“Eris really is a draconequus,” William added from the stairs, finally nearing the bottom. “She’s also a bit mad, but I suppose that just comes naturally. Also, good to see you again Mother, I’m eager to meet the you before I knew you.”

None of them seemed to have a real response to him, and Pinkie Pie point blank refused to acknowledge him. Rainbow Dash slowly pointed at herself the longer he stared at her, eyebrows gradually rising.

“… You’re talking to me?” she had a sudden fit of giggles. “Sorry, squirt, I’m nopony’s momma; and I think I’d remember something as embarrassing as giving birth to a groundie.”

The pegasus was promptly rib-jabbed from both sides, but it was too late.

“… Well,” William blinked as if it hadn’t even phased him. “Wow. That’s extremely disappointing, to say the least. I honestly don’t think anything’s going to surprise me anymore. On to the next bit of business, then!”

“What she means is,” Pinkie started apologetically, flushing as he finally and excruciatingly slowly reached the bottom of the stairs, looking a bit silly as he crawled backwards. “She means that having foals is something kind of memorable, and, um…”

“That didn’t come out quite the way I meant it to…” Dash gave an awkward humorless half laugh.

“Quite alright, no harm no foul,” William took a deep breath, straightening an invisible tie. “Excuse me, Spike? Would you mind bringing me a cup of that coffee as well? It smells lovely.”

“Get it yourself!” the miserable stutter came back from the kitchen, earning a sigh from Twilight.

“… Go easy on him,” she said tiredly. “Spike’s a bit, erm…”

“Shellshocked?” William provided helpfully. He jumped a bit in surprise at the sound of Spike snorting directly behind him, leaning warily against the doorframe.

“That’s a word for it,” he held up a steaming mug that seemed too big for him. “I just learned a lot of things all at once that I now have to deal with, like Discord being on the loose, the future being changed at random, the world could be coming to an end without any warning and everything I know might very well all be a lie.”

Even William was left speechless at the drake’s outburst. He noticed that his jaw was hanging slightly agape, and was swift to close it.

“I… I didn’t-” Twilight began uncomfortably.

“You didn’t ask,” Spike stated bluntly. “Do you guys mind keepin’ the girl chat down? This is supposed to be a library, remember?”

“There’s no need to be rude,” Twilight frowned, and looked like she wanted to say more but her assistant was already gone, retreating to the sanctity of the room adjacent.

“… You aren’t supposed to be awake,” Pinkie tried changing the subject with difficulty, trying not to look directly at William while speaking to him.

“And you,” he leaned in cheerfully, giving an odd eye to Twilight. “You lied to me. Downright cheeky, you are! Sleeping charms, sneaking about in the middle of the night – quite suspicious of you. One might almost think that you were up to something, so distrustful. But enough of that, what are we on about, hmm?”

None of them answered. William took a glance around at each of them in turn, his false enthusiasm fading fast.

“… Why are you all looking at me like that?” he blinked, sitting on his haunches. “… What?”

“Twilight,” Rarity puffed. “It’s late.”

“I know that-”

“And what exactly did you have in mind?” the unicorn asked flatly. “What do you expect us to do, Twilight? Chase down the god of Chaos and force answers out of him?”

“She does have a point,” Applejack nodded.

“You two are agreeing an awful lot lately…” Rainbow Dash said pointedly.

“World really must be coming to an end then,” the farmpony chuckled.

Rarity pinched the bridge of her nose, her normally delicate lips curved into a heavy frown.

“Twilight. Twi, dear,” she said slowly, as if explaining to a small foal. “None of us have any answers, either. At this point, I’m not even certain of a lot of things.”

“… Is this my fault?” William asked, a hint of concern lining his brow.

“What, sowing mayhem?” Pinkie turned an unpleasant look in his direction, catching him off guard. He hadn’t noticed at what point her usually springy mane had gone mysteriously flat. “Shocker that foals of Discord might be good at that.”

“I assure you that is not my intention, nor was it ever,” he said seriously. His face was quick to fall back into an expressionless mask. “Can’t quite say the same for Eris, I’m not her. All I’m seeking is a return to normalcy. Perhaps it was… foolish of me to believe that something of the sort was even possible, but I won’t be faulted for trying.”

“… Can we go home now?” Applejack voiced the same question that seemed to be on all of their minds. “It ain’t Discord, nothing’s on fire, upside down or both, and even the Princess don’t seem to be too worked up.”

“Discord really isn’t as bad as you think if you’d just take the time to get to know him,” Fluttershy spoke at last, startling a number of them who forgot she was even there. “He’s really very sweet, Twi.”

“He turned my house into a pack of chimeras.”

“Not that bad,” Fluttershy said guiltily as if it were her fault. “Are you sure you aren’t just overreacting a little?”

“Or…” William perked up from his spot on the floor. “Or, perhaps someone could try… something like summoning Discord here to make him explain things personally?” he said hopefully. “

“That was the first thing I attempted,” the librarian informed him. “Either he’s found a way to resist Celestia’s calling spell or he’s simply too far away for it to work.”

“That’s unsettling,” he admitted. “For a number of reasons, actually.”

“You’re telling me,” Twilight rubbed her temples. “Until we have Discord right where he’s needed.”

“And… what exactly does that mean, Miss Sparkle?” William eyed her intently, to no answer. “… Miss Sparkle? What is it you aren’t telling me? Miss Sparkle? Twilight? Hello?”

“Ahh, I feel great!” Eris stretched her arms high above her head, her relaxed smile standing in stark contrast to William’s foul grimace. She kicked back on the uncomfortable wooden bench, stretching as far as she could next to him.“I’m tellin’ you mini me, I slept like a log.”

“Yes Eris thank you very much I heard you the first six times,” he spat all at once through gritted teeth. “And don’t call me that again.” He didn’t care for the two story brick building, he didn’t care for the faint scent of mildew lingering over the stonewashed place, he didn’t care for the fed up looking mare chatting away with Twilight Sparkle at the reception desk, and he most certainly did not care for the situation.

Daisy Seed’s Home for Fillies was possibly not the worst orphanage imaginable, but even the best of the best still would have been something he’d have preferred to avoid. William tried to avoid all eye contact with the pudgy brown mare, though he’d be surprised if she could even see anything through her low hanging coffee colored mane. The wide window on the far wall let in plenty of sunlight, but it didn’t make the place seem any cheerier.

“They could have at least put us up with Miss Dash again,” William muttered furiously so that only Eris could hear.

“Eh, don’t worry ‘bout it too much,” she shrugged nonchalantly. “Didn’t you say she lived in, like, a cloud? How’d we even get up there? And ‘sides, apparently we’re too ‘dangerous’ to be around such ‘politically important’ jackasses.”

“Miss Pinkie then,” his already deep frown seemed set in concrete. “Or Miss Rarity, I’d even settle for farmwork with Miss Applejack and her family, something familiar at least, this is an outrage.”

“Notice you’re not calling her Mom anymore…” Eris lowered her voice as the pair of mares approached.

“Not yet she’s not…” William answered too quietly to be heard. “Give me time.”

“Well then, that’s that sorted out!” Twilight neared breathlessly. “I told you there was nothing to worry about, Miss, er…”

“Root,” the coffee maned mare nodded.

“Root here,” she continued quickly, “Is going to be your temporary caretaker for now! Isn’t that nice?”

Pictures of colts and fillies lined the wall, though there were clearly many more fillies in the faded photographs. There were an enormous number of photos, to the point that William couldn’t tell if the place was much older than it appeared and had seen a remarkable amount of parentless foals, or if the same pictures were reused over and over again for effect. If anything, ‘nice’ was not the word that occurred to him.

“Hello there!” the new mare introduced herself friendlily. “M’name’s Root, but you young ‘uns can call me Miss Root if you like, or Miss Rooty or even Rooty – Tooty!”

“Fascinating,” William deadpanned, turning instantly back to Twilight. Root had a strange accent that he wasn’t accustomed to, almost like some cows he’d met. “Charmed, really. When are we leaving?”

“We’ve been over this,” Twilight said through her smile. “It’s just for a little while until we can get things properly sorted out.”

“This is ludicrous!” William blurted. The unfairness of it all was starting to make the throbbing vein in his head feel like it was standing out like a sore thumb, and a strange twitch was starting at the base of his spine. “Honestly, Miss Sparkle, what have I done wrong?”

Twilight blew the mane out of her eyes in agitation.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, exactly,” she said in exasperation. “You should be thankful it’s not Trottingham.”

“… What’s wrong with, uh, Trottingham?” Eris’s ears picked up in curiosity.

“Trust me, hon,” Root gave her a slightly worried stare. “You don’t want to go to Trottingham.”

“See? Like winnin’ the lottery!” the draconequus elbowed him a couple of times, the forced enthusiasm almost leaking off of her. “Eh? Eh? Like the lottery!”

“Very lucky you two are, you betcha!” Root nodded, ushering them up. “So, how’s about I go showin’ you young ‘uns around, eh?”

“And excellent idea if I do say so myself!” Twilight beamed, making for the door. “Thanks again, Root, we should be back by the weekend.”

“Take your time, hon!” Root waved after her as she left, the tingling bell of the front door ringing loudly a couple of times before leaving them in complete silence.

The quiet that followed was so thick that it made it difficult to breathe.

“… Well then,” Root continued eagerly, clapping her hooves together with a loud clop! “Why don’t we get this lil’ tour guide started, huh fellas?” she headed toward the only other door at the far end of the room, talking the whole way as they unwillingly followed. “I think I’ve already introduced m’self, so how’s about you two?”

“Our names were written on the entry sheet at the door,” William stated.

“He’s William,” Eris jabbed a thumb at him before cracking her knuckles. “And my name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father, prepare to die!”

Eris jabbed an invisible rapier at the coffee colored mare, who jumped a bit backward in surprise. Root blinked a couple of times before cracking a weak smile.

“Ooh, bit of a wild imagination on this one o’ yours, eh?” Root chuckled. William only shrugged as she pried open the door, revealing a dusty stairwell that looked as if it were about to crumble. A single small door set in the side had an unused candle holder dangling from the wall over it, a couple of cobwebs flying back from the door.

“Are we staying in the cupboard under the stairs?” Eris asked quickly. “Because I’ve seen that movie, and I’ve already been to your Hogwarts. It sucked.”

“… Is she… mad?” Root turned to William in concern, Eris already meandering up the creaky stairwell in interest.

“Just a little bit, yes,” William still spoke with no expression. His almond colored eyes followed her every movement a tad too closely, too attentively. It was almost creepy.

“Oh dear,” the matron shook her head sadly. “She’s not usually too much trouble, eh? I should hope not, the last one was a real biter. Did I mention that the toiletry’s by the lobby? I don’t think I did, it’s-”

“There was a draconequus here?” William finally showed some form curiosity as he followed her. He almost asked why the place even had a lobby to begin with.

“Hm? Is that what your, er, ‘sister’ is then?” Root inquired. “Your librarian friend did warn me about her. No though, no, I meant the crazy part. You know how some o’ the young ‘uns can get without, er, proper homes.”

“I do.” He answered simply and curtly, no sign of Eris anywhere in the hall. Bare rafters littered the space above, and the iron candleholders along the walls seemed out of place next to the clearly ‘modernized’ gas powered bulbs wrapped in decorative casings. “… Where is everyone else, by the way?”

“Do you really not know when school is?” Root asked, the same cheerful, upbeat tone in her voice. William honestly couldn’t tell if she were really that happy or if she simply had a very good poker face. Or maybe it was just the accent, he had no clue.

“I’m not even aware of the current date, to be truthful,” he said quietly as he poked one head into an open doorway. Again Eris was nowhere to be found, and the bunks lining the wall held no sign of her. “I’ve been, uh… out of the loop for a little while. Did my… librarian friend mention anything about that?”

“Not really!” her smile only grew as she too began looking about for Eris, moving from one room to the next. “She did leave me an envelope with all the medicals n’ things, allergies n’ such.”

“Did she now,” William pondered aloud. He made a firm mental note to look into the document, wondering precisely what Twilight had placed within. Probably a warning of some sort, but it could hold vital information.

“Now, where in Equestria did she get off to…” Root asked in befuddlement, the last room in the hall proving to be devoid of anything except more bunks.

A loud BAM! went off directly behind them, sending them both scrabbling. William screeched in a much higher pitch than he’d have preferred, somehow landing on his back and kicking wildly at thin air in desperation. Eris’s melodic laughter rang throughout the place as she dropped from the rafters, along with the two small pieces of tin she’d been holding.

“Oh my god,” she struggled to breathe through her hysterics. “You s-should have s-seen the looks on your faces!”

“That wasn’t funny, Eris!” William bolted angrily to his hooves, straining to stand up properly. His knees seemed horridly weak, and he nearly fell over again. A hot, stinging sensation hurt the bottom of his eyes as he shouted, and it felt like his heart wasn’t quite beating appropriately. “I mean it, Eris, it’s not funny!”

“Whoa, alright,” she held up her hands, grinning. The figure of Miss Root latched onto the door with one hoof over her heart only made it more difficult not to laugh. “Take it easy, would you? I’m only playin’ around, jeez.”

“It’s not funny!” he bellowed. “What were you thinking, you almost gave me a heart attack!”

“I don’t quite think you’re the one that needs to worry about heart attacks,” Root patted her chest a couple of times weakly with a wheezy chuckle. “Please don’t do that again, hon, I’m not too keen on meetin’ me gram just yet, eh?”

Eris shrugged halfheartedly.

“Yeah. I guess,” she said, giving the piece of tin a small kick with one cloven hoof.

“Where’d you even get that?” William peered up at the rafters, afraid that more might come falling down.

“This ol’ place has needed some work done for some time now, don’tchaknow,” Root gently nudged them back toward the stairwell. “Can’t ever seem to get things done, just too much to take care of.”

“This isn’t too bad,” Eris rolled her shoulders, apparently in a much better mood than the other two. She peered quickly at the image of wilting sunflowers on the mare’s flank, thinking. “You run this whole place by yourself?”

“It used to be me ‘ole family,” Root explained as they descended in single file, as the stairwell would not allow more. “Me mam an’ her mam, me gram.”

“Try saying that five times fast…” Eris snorted.

“But time goes on, you know how it is,” she sighed. “But it’s quite alright, things tend to work themselves out, don’tchaknow.”

“Would you happen to be from Wisconsin?” the draconequus interrupted.

“The who where what now?” Root tilted her head. “… Where’d the pink ‘un go?”

“Still up here,” William announced with a bit of embarrassment.

“… Well, what are y’doin’ up there for?” Root balked up at William, who was currently in the process of clambering down as slowly as possible. Going backwards one step at a time, it took him a great deal of effort not to look through the banister at the ground, which felt miles away.

“I’m, er… not good with stairs, is all…” he couldn’t quite look at her, focusing instead on hurrying up.

“… Oh, dear,” Root bundled off cheerfully. “Fantastic, they’re both completely mad.”

Journal of William Zachariah Klaskovsky

New World, Day Two

I’ve found Scootaloo.

Author's Notes:

Hard Knock Life