Page watched the star burning and gaining speed as it flew closer. He had no idea what was happening – Strike that. He had EVERY idea what was happening, and what was happening was something he had not been expecting. “Sweetie, I need you to be very brave for me, alright?”

Gale looked confused, but nodded either way. “Okays…”

Page quickly galloped inside. He placed Gale on the floor, looking at her closely. “Gale, go get mommy and tell her to come downstairs, alright? Make her come downstairs.” He was speaking fast, his mind going faster. I’ll need to get Diane, she’s the only one with enough magic to stop this. “I’ll be back, alright sweetie?” Gale nodded quickly, sensing the urgency of the situation. She quickly ran up the stairs as Page teleported outside of Pinkie’s room. Without a second thought about privacy, Page barged in. “DIANE!”

Pinkie gasped, falling out of the bed. She HAD been asleep. She rubbed her eyes angrily. “Page?! W-what’s –“

“No time to explain, Diane! Read my mind and get the hell outside!”

Pinkie quickly read his mind, using very little magic in the process. Pinkie constantly had a reserve of magic, mainly gained through her husband’s demonic powers each time they were ‘together’, so to say. Marrying a succubus demon always had its benefits. Mind Reading was something Pinkie did almost unconsciously now, and at a time like this, she was glad she could to save time. Her eyes widened. “SHIT!” Pinkie scrambled to her hooves quickly and let Page teleport them both downstairs.

Back in the lobby, Winter stood, her eyes tired. She had obviously just woken up. Page ran over to his pregnant wife and kissed her deeply, promising to himself that he would protect her, no matter the cost. Winter was surprised, but quickly kissed him back. He broke the kiss, his eyes worried. “Sorry about having to wake you, Winter, but something big is happening, and I need to know you’re okay.”

“What’s happening,” she asked as Pinkie ran outside.

“A meteor.” Winter jumped slightly, startled. “Diane’s going to try to stop it… It’s headed straight for Ponyville. I need you to stay with Gale, Winter. Diane needs my help with the calculations, my mind is fast enough to think it all out.”

Winter watched him, worry etched into her face. “R-right. Be careful.”

“I will.” Page kissed her again as he heard Pinkie call for him. “Stay safe. I love you.” With that, he ran outside into the night. Winter held Gale close to her, unsure what to do now.

Page stopped next to Diane, his mind running with calculations and ideas, predicting the size and shape and trajectory of the meteor from that single glance. A time pony’s mind was far advanced from a normal pony’s, yet he still had trouble thinking under this pressure. He took a deep breath, reviewing what he had discovered in those mere seconds. “The trajectory is straight for Sugar Cube Corner, Diane. We can’t destroy it, the shattered fragments would still be lethal. Stopping it would drain your magic and kill you in the end. The best we can do it divert it. There’s a nearby field, empty for the time being. It’s… 124 degrees, to the right. Diane, do you think you can do that?”

Pinkie nodded as she thought of her own strength. She may be very strong and very talented in magic, nearly at her friend Twilight’s level, but she knew she wasn’t strong enough to stop a meteor. She would need every ounce of magic she had. “Page, I’ll need your help. Give me as much magic as you can.”

Page nodded, his horn sparking. Pinkie took a deep breath as she felt foreign magic surround her, allowing her to take as much as she needed. She raised her hooves. “HERE WE GO!” Using her innermost magic, Pinkie felt her hooves glow. The meteor seemed to slow a bit, but not nearly enough. Groaning, she pushed against it with her magic, making it move in halting stops.

Page let his magic spark further, feeling himself already beginning to drain. He felt like there was an enormous weight on his back, pushing him down. “D-Diane, you must not hold it any longer! Deflect it, before you die from it using up all your magic!”

Pinkie nodded, feeling sweat dripping down her face. “O-ONE MORE PUSH THEN!” With a heavy groan, Pinkie physically seemed to push the air to the right. The meteor followed the path of her hooves, speeding up as though unhindered now. However, it sailed in an opposite direction, now heading away from Sugar Cube at an angle.

Page concentrated hard, using his own reserves of magic to form a weak shield around Sugar Cube Corner. The meteor would strike in the field, but it was still close enough to cause some major damage from mere heat and earth shaking speed. The shield formed around them as well as Diane stopped her massive surge of magic, panting. There was a loud boom as the meteor finally crashed to the earth, shaking even the shielded inn. Pinkie and Page steadied themselves from the shaking, both worn slightly from diverting the large asteroid. The shield held, however. When the shaking subsided, Page quickly dropped the shield and ran inside. “A-are you all okay?!”

Winter had dropped to the floor, clutching Gale close to her. She nodded to Page. He noticed tears rolling down Gale’s face as she shook in fright. Page trotted over quickly and helped them up, hugging them tightly. Gale cried in between them, but Page knew everything would be okay. She had just gotten scared. Pinkie walked in, wrapping up in something warm now. Page glanced at her. “Are you alright, Pinkie?”

Pinkie nodded, still panting a bit. “It’s not every day a mare of my age stops a meteor. But I’ll be fine.” Pinkie glanced out the window at the smoking field. “We’ll need to check it.”

Page nodded and kissed Winter again, relieved that everything was fine. Page broke the kiss and trotted over to Pinkie. “Let’s go.” With the spark of his horn, he teleported them both to the field, just outside the smoking crater. Page glanced at Pinkie. “I’ll go down.” Without another word, he slid down into the crater.

Pinkie groaned. Why didn’t anyone give her time to answer? “It might be hot still, so be careful!”

Page coughed slightly, squinting through the smoke. He saw a form in the smoke. I can barely see it but… I don’t think that’s a rock… Page gasped and recoiled as the form in the smoke shifted and he heard a groan. Startled, Page cleared the rest of the smoke to reveal an alicorn mare lying in the center of the crater. “I-It’s a pony?!” The alicorn seemed to wake at his voice, opening deep, blood red eyes. With a startled shake, she stood weakly, swaying where she stood. Page couldn’t help but think she looked somewhat familiar. She had dark orange fur, and around her neck was a small broken locket. “M-Miss?...”

The mare straightened up as she heard his voice clearly. “Y-you… That voice…”

Page’s eyes widened. That voice… “No, it can’t be… R…Radiant?”

Radiant snarled at him, no longer the mare he once knew. “YOU DID THIS TO ME!” She charged forward, screaming at him. Page recoiled, stumbling back. Radiant was almost upon him.

Suddenly, she stopped, gasping. Pinkie had her hoof held high, using the last reserves of her magic to calm the mare, a relatively easy spell. “Time to sleep, madam. Let your restless soul finally dream.”

Radiant’s eyes began to droop as she stood in front of Page. “I swear… I will end you… Page… I s-swea...r… “ With a tired sigh, Radiant fell forward, passing out from exhaustion. Page caught her as Pinkie stopped the spell. He just stared at the sleeping form of the mare he had once loved. She was completely different now. She had gained a horn, and her eyes were slits. He realized with a small start that the locket around her neck was the same one that he had given her before she had died. M-My Shine… What happened to you?...

Page jumped as he felt Pinkie put her hoof on his shoulder. He hadn’t heard her come into the crater. “Page… we need to get back.” Page nodded after a moment’s pause. He teleported them back, holding Radiant in his hooves, careful not to let her get harmed. The instant they appeared in the lobby, Gale turned and walked to her father, confused as to why there was a mare in his hooves.

“W-where do I put her, Diane,” he asked in a trembling voice. He realized he had tears in his eyes.

“Just lay her on the couch, Page. I’ll tend to her wounds.” Page nodded and laid her on the couch. Tears rolled down his face as he watched the sleeping form of the pony he had once known to be kind, caring and loving… Now… everything had changed…

“W-what’s going on,” Winter said from the stairwell, having just come downstairs.

Page hung his head, not wanting Winter to see his tears. It didn’t stop his wife from seeing them, however. Without another word, Winter walked over and wrapped her hooves around him in a hug. Finally, Page broke down, sobbing on his wife’s shoulder. “S-s-she’s back, Winter,” he finally managed to choke out. “H-How is she back?...”

Winter kept holding him as Pinkie began to bandage Radiant. “I don’t know.”

Page sighed, wiping away his tears. “L-let’s all get some sleep… It’s been a long night.” Winter nodded. Page stood and picked up Gale. “I trust you can handle Radiant, Pinkie?”

Pinkie smiled softly at Page. “You should’ve just said ‘I trust you’. I’ve got her, Page.”

Page nodded. “Sleep well, Diane.”

“You too.”

With that, Page, Winter and Gale made their way upstairs to their room. Pinkie cared for Radiant through the night, and eventually took her up to a room of her own. Pinkie laid her on the bed and put a small key beside her on the nightstand. She sighed and shook her head. “Time for things to go to hell and back…”

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