If any stranger was to ask, “Where should I go visit in Ponyville?”, any local of the quaint hamlet would reply with a number of answers. “Visit our town hall,” they could say. “Say hello to the Apple Family at Sweet Apple Acres,” another would say. “Go to the market,” another would encourage, “you will always find something good.” A few,the more obscure ponies, would even recommend the town’s clock tower; over a hundred years old, maintained by a kind, yet sometimes eccentric, tan earth pony, it is still a historic landmark.

But no matter who you ask, everypony would eventually say, “Visit Sugarcube Corner.” The unique bakery was one of the most successful businesses in the town, with ponies lining themselves out the door for an opportunity to sample the owners’ fine sweet treats and freshly ground coffee. True, there was a brief stint when their apprentice had a run of… difficulty, which resulted in some very unhappy customers, but the Cakes have been able to maintain the bakery’s reputation of being the place to be. You could come to Sugarcube Corner and always expect to be greeted with a smile from behind the counter.

Except tonight.

Tonight, the small café was a very somber location, which seemed to be a running theme for the whole town that day. The proprietors had long since retired upstairs for the evening, the married couple deciding to spend the night with their two infant foals. Fluttershy had remained downstairs with the rest of her friends and was doing her best to keep a somewhat chipper mood.

“Oh this just awful,” worried Rarity over a cup of café au lait. Her expression was mirrored by the others at the table, mainly Twilight, Lyra, and Rainbow Dash. The four mares stayed close to each other, reassuring one another that their stallion was going to be okay, but at the same time trying hard to believe it themselves. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were sitting together looking rather downtrodden, the loss of their sisters and the prospect of their abductions weighing heavily on them.

Princess Luna sat at the end of the table. She had said very little since she joined the group two hours ago and was content to simply stare down into her tea, which had long since grown cold.

Finally Fluttershy had had enough. All of her friends had turned into grumps and it was high time for her to do something about it!

“An old stallion lived alone in Mustangia,” she began speaking, and the whole table looked over at her in curiosity. “He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard. He was a widower who’d outlived all his wives, and his only son, Red Vine, who used to help him, was serving time in prison. The old stallion wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

“Dear Red Vine,

I am feeling pretty sad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.

Love, Papa.

“A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Papa,

Don't dig up that garden.

That's where the moonshine is buried.

Love, Vinnie.

“At 4 a.m. the next morning, the Royal Guards and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding a single bottle of the illegal hooch. They apologized to the old stallion and left. That same day, the old stallion received another letter from his son.

Dear Papa,

Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.

Love you, Vinnie.”

The alabaster mare stared at Fluttershy, her mouth hanging open. She was joined by several of the others, all simply staring. Fluttershy was afraid that she screwed up again and began to sink down to floor. Lyra was the first to break. A snort escaped her muzzle and several more threatened to join it. Try as she might, she couldn’t keep the flood of snickers contained and soon she was laughing wholeheartedly. Twilight and Rarity joined her then, the sounds of their laughter filling the bakery.

“That, haha, that was,” said Rarity, wiping away a few tears with her hoof. “Oh good heavens, I needed that. Well done, Fluttershy!” Fluttershy beamed at the praise, not bothering to tell the others that it was, in fact, one of Lero’s jokes; tweaked a bit so ponies could appreciate it. Hearing her friends’ laughter had had done more help for herself than it had done for them.

In truth, the canary pegasus was just as haggard as her companions. She had spent the entire evening being bombarded by questions from three panicking families, all asking a hundred variations of the same question: what was going on? Fluttershy, of course, had been at a total loss.

The baker's day had started out just as any other. She had awoken early to help the Cakes in the kitchen before going to the park to for her comedy lessons. Fluttershy was more than a little disappointed when only Twilight and Lyra had shown up.

"Lero's, um, gone out apparently," Twilight had said.

While she wasn't the smartest pegasus in Ponyville, Fluttershy had noticed the unicorn's worried tone and sad expression. She recalled the sudden, borderline dire, urge to do anything to make her friend smile.

Lyra had been quick to chime in. "But just because he's not here doesn't mean we're gonna quit," she had said with a small smile. "Take it from me, a missed day of practice is a week's worth of catching up."

Fluttershy had nodded with a chipper smile and the lesson proceeded as usual, with Twilight's very academic and structured approach always balanced by Lyra's fluid and carefree attitude. By early afternoon, the little group had gone their separate ways and Fluttershy had returned to the bakery.

Things had remained quiet until the late afternoon when she heard the Cakes whispering fearfully by the back door.

"I can't believe it," said Carrot. "Those three girls have always been so well-behaved, at least around here."

"I know, pudding," said Cup, "but I had just heard it from Flitter. Rose too!"

"So you know it must be just a rumor then! That mare is always exaggerating things, her and her sisters. They had probably heard something else entirely and have just blown things completely out of proportion, as usual." The skinny stallion put a hoof on his wife's shoulder. "You'll see. Those three probably finally got tired of Diamond's teasing and gave her a good shove. This whole thing is just that hoity-toity Canterlot mother of hers overreacting."

"Oh, you're right, dumpling," said Cup with a sigh. "Afterall, this is Apple Bloom and her friends we're talking about. They couldn't hurt anypony. Right?"

Carrot had kissed his wife's forehead and gave her a warm, "Of course not, sugarplum."

Since her banishment from the café's front several weeks ago, Fluttershy hadn't been quite on the up-and-up of town gossip as she had once been. But soon enough, even she had started to hear all the horrible things. Then, by sundown, just as the Cakes were getting ready to close the shop, the door burst open and in poured a small angry mob, all fixated on Fluttershy.

Granny Smith, Magnum and Pearl, and Quickfix had quickly rushed the counter, with Quickfix at the forefront of the group, and assaulted the stunned pegasus with a barrage of questions.

“Just give me a straight answer, Fluttershy!” the pegasus mother had screamed. “I know you Elements are thick as thieves! You do everything together!”

“Well, um,” Fluttershy had whispered from behind the counter. She had lowered herself to the floor in a vain attempt to make herself seem like a smaller target. “We, um, admittedly haven’t been quite as thick lately, though we’re still the best of-”

“Don’t dodge the question! What’s going on around here?! Why has my daughter been acting like a psychopath?! Why did Twilight collapse back at the schoolhouse?! Where did my daughter run off too?! Why are a bunch of Night Guards posted outside of the Library?! WHY WON’T ANYPONY TELL ME WHAT’S GOING ON?!?!”

“That’s quite enough, Ms. Quickfix!” All eyes suddenly turned to the door, where the other Elements of Harmony had entered the small bakery, with Rarity at the head of the group.

“You!” Quickfix closed the distance between the two groups with a single flap of her wings. “You are going to tell me what I want to know right now or so help me, I’ll-”

“We would greatly appreciate you, Dame Quickfix, if thou were to not assault the Lady Rarity,” came a calm and regal voice. Quickfix’s eyes widened and she instinctively dropped into a kneeling position, as did the other families.

Luna raised a hoof and the group rose. “We understand, thy distress and consternation, good ponies,” she had said. “We know that thy hearts art filled with despair and worry, but, pray, heap not thy frustrations upon dear Fluttershy. For she hath naught to do with this day’s events. Instead, thou must find strength for the days to come.”

“Princess,” said Pearl. The plump unicorn mare had hesitantly stepped before the dark alicorn. “What happened to my little girl? Why did Sweetie run from us?”

“All shall be revealed on the morn, good mother,” said Luna as she gently laid a downy wing on the pink mare. “Know that Our best ponies art on the prowl. Thine questions shalt be laid to rest.”

And that had been the end of it. Since it was clear nothing more could be coaxed from the Princess, Magnum had graciously escorted Granny Smith back to her home on the farm, while Quickfix made her own way home, Pearl at her side. This left the Element Bearers and the Princess to wait in the café, where the evening’s extraordinary events had been laid before Fluttershy.

The beating at the schoolhouse, the chase through the town, the revelation of the fetches, the abduction of the Crusaders by the creatures called the Fae.

But it was the existence of The Lost that seemed to shake the group the most.

Fluttershy simply didn’t believe it at first, when she’d heard it. Oh sure, evil creatures beyond all rational thought that lived in a parallel universe and were committed to the enslavement of mortals for their own amusement, that she could believe.

“But Lero?” she had scoffed. “And he killed Apple Bloom?” Fluttershy had given Twilight a tense look. “This… This is a joke, right? You are all trying to teach me a new type of joke. ...Right?”

The cold silence was all the answer she had received.

Hours later, they were all still sitting around Sugar Cube Corner, trading uneasy conversation, as though awaiting the outcome of a high-risk surgery for a friend. Otherwise, the only sounds in the café were the oppressive tick-tock of the clock or the intermittent sigh from one of the mares.

Just as the clock on the wall struck ten o’clock, the bell above the front door gave a cheery ring and everyone turned to the entrance. Lero was standing there, with one hand gripping the doorframe, his other hand on his knee. The mares held their breaths as he looked up... and beheld them with hazel eyes.

"...Girls?" he breathed.

Lero made it all of two steps into the bakery before he was lifted up in a threeway telekinetic grip and pulled into a smothering group of mares.

“Lero!” said Rarity as she showered him in kisses. “Oh my darling sweet prince, you’re back!”

Lero wrapped both his arms around the white unicorn. “Never left, princess,” he said and planted a kiss on her lips.

“What happened?” asked Twilight anxiously. “Did you learn anything?”

Lero furrowed his brow and closed his eyes. “Yes,” he said, “I think? I mean…” The human took a deep breath. “I mean he learned something.” This brought any previous good mood in the room to a sudden and rather fiery end.

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“I... don’t really know how to explain it, Twilight,” said Lero uncomfortably. He was led to their table and took a seat, his large frame looking almost comical in the small pony-sized chairs. “It… it’s like I know these things now, but I don’t remember finding out about any of them. Like I learned facts from a book but I can’t ever remember reading the book in the first place.”

“Fascinating,” said Twilight. Her eyes took on that hungry shine whenever there was something new to learn. “Let me ask you something, Lero… you mentioned ‘he’ learned something. Would you mind telling me just how much awareness you have of this alter ego of yours? This ‘Lost’ person? Are there blackouts? Or are you ‘awake,’ even when he takes control? What’s your relationship with him? Is it a partnership? Is it like passenger and driver, where one can watch and talk to the other while he’s controlling the vehicle? Or is it like a changing of the guard? Like... you take the day shift and he has the night shift, and you only see each other fleetingly when you make the switch?”

Lero shifted uncomfortably under Twilight’s hail of questions. He was about to respond when-

The smell of earth, wood, and oils invaded his nose along the smell of burning hair with a faint, coppery scent. The things in front of him were shouting, pleading, begging for him to take off the irons.

“Please!” one cried out. “We don’t kno-”

“LIAR!!” he bellowed. He brought his hand down again and-

Lero’s forearm twitched. It was so subtle that almost no one else present noticed it save for one. Lyra, ever the observant one, took note of the spasm. Her eyes drifted down his arms, fixing on the bandages now wrapped around his hands. They were bloodied and torn around the knuckles, as if-

“Just impressions, I think,” said Lero as he forced down the contents of his stomach. “I think it’s like… two people trying to write in the same book on the same subject, but one author only has the other’s notes to go off of. He has all the information and just leaves me with what I need to know.”

Twilight stared wide-eyed. While she had no formal training in the many fields of psychology, she felt like she had just struck an academic gold mine. The things the professors in Canterlot and Manehattan could glean from all this! It was a treasure trove of information!

“Oh darling,” said Rarity, leaning her neck against the human’s. “Oh this must simply be dreadful for you.”

Lero returned the gesture. “It’s no walk in the park, I can say that, Rarity.”

Rarity planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “We’re here for you. You know that, right?”

Twilight was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and felt a great wave of shame. She’d done it again: she’d blithely indulged herself in some self-gratifying academic thought experiment, not caring about how it would affect the feelings of those around her, only the pursuit of knowledge. She leaned into Lero as well, wrapping her slender forearms around his chest and resting her head under his chin.

“Yes,” she said, “all of us are here.” She saw Lyra give her a whisper of a smile out of the corner of her eye. The mint unicorn had read her thoughts perfectly yet again in that strange way she had always done.

The little group quietly held onto each other for a little while longer before a smooth and cultured voice broke the silence. “Lero,” said Princess Luna from her seat at the table. “We would like to know what information has been left for you. All of us would.”

The human nodded his head and took a seat at the opposite head of the table, joining the remaining group. “From what The Lost was able to find out,” he began, “the real Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were abducted almost four days ago.”

“Four days?!” shouted Pinkie Pie. “Y’all mean ta tell me, that imposta’s been livin’ on ma farm fer four days an’ Ah ain’t known it?!”

“Wait,” said Rarity, “I remember now. I ran into those three at the market on Saturday morning, they were so exuberant and excited...”

“Oh, yes, that’s right,” chimed in Fluttershy. “They stopped by here too… that was the last time I can remember them acting like their sweet old selves! I remember because Mrs. Cake was upstairs taking care of Pound and Pumpkin and Mr. Cake said he needed help at the counter but I said, ‘But I’m not allowed to be at the counter!’ cause I’m not, not since that time I put dirt in the coffee as part of a joke because I wanted ponies to laugh but they didn’t and Mr. Cake said I wasn’t allow-”

“Fluttershy, darling?” Rarity interrupted.

“Oh, right, I’m so sorry,” said the pegasus. “Um, well, I saw the girls come in and they sat over there.” She pointed to a low table in the corner. “They stayed a while then left to go crusading, um, at least I think so.”

“But where?” said Rarity. Twilight’s horn shined and map of the Ponyville and the surrounding province materialized in the air and unrolled itself on the table. A pencil came into existence next.

“Okay, so,” said Twilight, “What time did you see them, Fluttershy?”

“Um, well,” said Fluttershy, “I had just got done making tea for Doctor Whooves and giving Derpy a blueberry muffin and a mint-flavored, sugar-free, double non-fat latte for Colgate… so 8:30? Maybe?”

Twilight circled Sugarcube Corner and wrote down ‘8:30’ next to it. “And when did you see them, Rarity?”

“Shortly afterwards, Twilight,” said Rarity. “8:50, I think it might’ve been.”

Twilight made another note by the marketplace. “Who saw them next?”

“Ah did,” said Pinkie Pie, “Saw ‘em through the window down at Sweet Apple Acres. Them three girls came ta the front porch together, then Apple Bloom came inside alone, while Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo left, prolly ta go to their own homes. But all this t’weren’t ‘til suppertime, which was about around eight, Ah think. Ah was so tuckered by the end o’ the day, Ah jest ate an’ went ta bed.”

“And did you notice anything unusual about Apple Bloom’s behavior?”

“Nope, she was pretty quiet. She jest… sat there…” Pinkie’s eye went wide as the sudden realization dawned on her. “Oh mah stars. It weren’t her, was it?” Rainbow Dash placed a reassuring hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

Twilight simply nodded her head before her pencil circled the farmhouse and wrote “confirmed replaced” next to it. “So,” she said. “We now have a window. From between 8:50 a.m. to 8 p.m. last Saturday, the girls were taken. But the real mystery is where? And when?”

They group sat quietly for a moment before Rarity spoke up. “When they passed by me in the market I heard talking something about… oh what was it? ‘Oceans?’”

‘Oceans? That’s strange. Then again,’ Twilight reasoned, the Cutie Mark Crusaders get involved into so many different things, it was only a matter of time before they developed an interest in oceans. Did they head towards the creek? Maybe the pond. No, wait...’

“Did you see where they were going?” she asked Rarity.

“Well, let’s see. I had just picked up some broccoli from Green Fuzz and was on my way to see Mary Belle about some cream…”

“Mary Belle?” asked Lero.

“The cow, darling,” said Rarity. “You’ve seen her a few times.”

Twilight conjured a mental map of the marketplace. The stall Green Fuzz and the other vegetable farmers used was on the east side of market. If Rarity was walking from there towards the central area where she knew the cow sold her products and she’d pass the girls walking in the opposite direction, then they would have been going east towards the edge of town.

Twilight suddenly connected all of the dots. “Not ‘oceans’. ‘Potions’! They went to see Zecora!”

“No doubt tryin’ ta get their cutie marks again,” said Applejack. Her eye suddenly twitched. “But that does make me think. What if Ah got Zecora to git me a bunch o’ leaves an’ things from the forest! Can y’all just imagine it? ‘All Natural Clothing!’ Ya never have ta throw it out, it jests dries up on ya!” The three diamonds on her flank were twitching and the poor mare began to fidget, her eyes taking on a somewhat — make that very — crazed look. “Palm skirts, vine straps, bark jewelry! Oh, Ah’ll take Manehattan by storm again!”

A firm hand clamped on the fashionista’s shoulder, bringing her out of visions of green and brown dresses and grounded her once more in reality.

“Those are all very interesting ideas, Applejack,” said Lero in a calm and gentle voice, “and you can ask Zecora about all that after. I’m sure Sweetie Belle would love to help you make those dresses.”

“Sweetie Belle?” whispered Applejack. The diamonds stopped twitching and the orange mare sat still again. “Ye-ye’re right, Lero. We need ta get them back. The girls first, the runway later.”

Lero gave her a pat on the shoulder and did his best to ignore the death glare Spike was giving him. Twilight shot Spike a reprimanding glare of her own before marking down a spot in the Everfree with a large question mark.

“So they went to Zecora’s hut,” she said. “Now still leaves us with about eleven hours, since we can’t be sure if they ever made it there or not until we can ask Zecora herself. But it wouldn’t take more than a half hour to reach her hut, so maybe-”

“Can you tell Us of the surrounding area, Twilight Sparkle?” interrupted Luna.

Twilight looked up, almost having forgotten the Night Diarch’s presence at the table. “Well, the Everfree Forest mainly covers the southeastern border to Ponyville, Princess, with a large rock quarry to the east. Zecora has made her home in the forest between the river and the quarry.”

“So then can it be safe to assume that the fillies had disappeared somewhere along this pathway?”

“Unlikely,” said Lero offhandedly. He suddenly became aware of all the eyes on him and shifted uncomfortably in the low seat. “There are… things that lure their prey to them. They lure travelers off of the beaten pathways and deeper into the forests.” He shuddered at a fleeting memory. “That is where they take them. In the old places. The Old Forests.”

Lero clenched his fist. It was like every Grimm fairy tale he had ever heard of and read was now a tale of very real caution. Stories of travelers and children who would wander too close to the woods and away from their parents. Stories of things that would draw men at sea to rocky shores with promise of fair company. Of mad women under full moons that danced in glens, drunk on wine. Of flickering lights in the dark and whispers on the wind, of things with glowing eyes and gnashing teeth and thorns and thorns and thorns and-

Lero’s back was a bloody ruin as he was being dragged along the forest floor. The thorns had shredded his T-shirt and had raked long, bloody trails on his back, neck and upper arms. The thing that was dragging him was huge, with hide that shifted and groaned like old wood in a storm. The massive, gnarled fist held him by his feet as its own lumbering footsteps sounded off in front. Lero could barely make out the sunlight as it strove to penetrate the canopy above but any movement he made on his part to better see his surroundings only caused more cuts, more pain.

There were things crawling over him, flittering in the air above him and around his captor on insect wings. One landed on top of his face. It pulled at his beard with tiny hands, snapped at his skin with disgusting mandibles. It eyed him hungrily with its horrible and misshapen half-face.

It spoke, its voice garbled, unsuited to be coming out of that orifice but doing so anyways. “New meat! New meat!” it cried. The words were taken up by its brethren.

“New meat,” they chanted. “New Meat!”

And then they descended on him, ripping his clothes, scratching him with tiny razors, pulling at him, trying to force open a way for them to crawl into. He couldn’t remember the last time he had screamed so much.

A bellow from the big thing scattered the swarm. “No… touch… this… one…” it spoke in a deep, resonating rasp. “Lady… wants… this… one…” The thing then picked up Lero. It stared at him with vacant and unitelligent eyes. The other hand reached for him and-

“Big guy!” cried Rainbow Dash.

Lero remembered to breathe again.

“I’m okay,” he said shakily. Sweat trickled down from his brow. He looked down at his closed fist. The wounds on his hand had reopened and had stained the bandages. He unclenched his fist with great effort though the hand still trembled. “I’m okay.”

Luna gazed at him. Whether it was with caution or pity, only she could tell. She turned to Twilight.

“If they were indeed lured from the path, then they would have had to been traversing through rough wood, correct?”

Twilight hesitated between her worry for Lero and answering the princess for a moment. “I… yes,” she finally said. “Yes, they would.” Her eyes darted back and forth in contemplation. “And that means they wouldn’t have been able to get very far.”

Her horn flashed again and a compass appeared. “If we assume the average walking speed of an average adult pony, reduce it by a third, it should give us the speed of an average filly. Granted, these are three very active fillies, so they may be faster that most, but they will not have been in any hurry to go to or come back from Zecora’s.”

Twilight placed the compass in the center of the path between the question mark and Ponyville’s forest line.

“Trying to navigate a forest, from any point of view, is always slow going, so if we factor in the time they entered the forest, we can figure when they would have exited to go to Sweet Apple Acres…” She adjusted the compass, giving the device a smaller radius. Starting from the center of the path she traced several circles outward, covering a portion of the forest’s northern region.

“Princess Luna,” she said. “Can you tell us where you felt the strange magic?”

Luna nodded once. “Indeed, Twilight Sparkle,” said the alicorn. She took the pencil in her own magical grasp. “T’was here.”

She circled the furthest eastern border, encompassing a portion of the quarry.

“I had my Night Guard scout the quarry, though they found no evidence of foul play or any sort of entrance. And it has been many years since fair-” she hesitated only a moment. “Since fair Applejack had her run-in with the Diamond Dogs. My sister’s watch ponies have reported no further trouble with them since then, so their tunnels are most likely long abandoned.”

Twilight nodded her head. She recalled the loose and gravelly ground that composed the quarry from her brief adventure into the tunnels. The earth surrounding them could have been dug out with ease but would not have lasted very long; a single, torrential rainstorm would have been enough to flood and collapse the entire network. And there had been several such storms in the past years. That meant that the quarry would have been an unlikely destination.

“Then that means...” Twilight took the pencil and circled the relatively small overlap between her calculations and Luna’s own markings. “Here. This is the most likely place they were taken.”

Luna allowed herself the faintest smile. ‘I commend you, Tia,’ she thought to herself. ‘You have always recognized genius. I wonder, though. Could she truly be the one?’

“That’s still a big area,” commented Lero. “A few square miles of pretty dense forestland.”

“I don’t think we could search the whole thing in any kind of reasonable timeframe,” said Lyra, “even by air. It would take the guard days to find anything.”

“They wouldn’t anyways,” said Lero. “If the girls have been gone for this long… they are well into the Hedge by now.”

“The Hedge?” asked Twilight.

“It’s…a space, I guess,” said Lero. “Not really a proper place. More like a barrier but bigger. The one that exists between our world and…” Lero trailed off for a moment.

“Can you tell us anything else that your other self learned?” asked Luna. Lero nodded.

“The one that took them was something called ‘The Silken Harpist’.” He closed his eyes in concentration. There was something there, at the edge of his memory.

“I cannot say which Faelord she belongs too, if she does at all.”

The memory was gone in an instant. Lero turned back to the others. “The impostors also mentioned another name: ‘The Dollmaker.’”

“So now we have a location to look into and, more importantly, names to investigate,” said Luna. The alicorn thought for a moment, then looked up at the human. “You have been through this ‘Hedge,’ then, Sir Michaelides.” It was not so much a question, but a statement of fact.

Lero nodded his head. “Yes,” he said quietly. “It is how I was taken there. And how I escaped.”

“Then thou shalt lead Us through the Hedge, Sir Bellerophon,” Luna proclaimed.

Lero stared dumbfounded. He could have sworn he had heard Luna, the Princess of the Night, Mistress of the Moon, and Diarch of Equestria, just spew a load of crap out her mouth.

“The hell did you just say?”

“That thou shalt lead Us into the realm beyond the Hedge,” responded the Princess, who was at that moment ignoring all of the looks that the other Elements were giving her, as if she had just declared that King Sombra was the father of her offspring (a theory many now forgotten scholars had postulated before their sudden disappearances). “I intend to travel through this Hedge, retrieve the three kidnapped fillies, and teach a most harsh lesson to whatever creature was foolish enough to trespass into Our kingdom to steal them.”

Silence reigned supreme. Until Lord Lero of Earth challenged its right to rule with all the suave tact befitting a noble aristocrat.

“Are you out of your FUCKING mind?!”

The table gasped. Not even when faced of the prospect of having to reform Discord did any of them stoop to using such words in front of Celestia. They may have been thinking it, (rather loudly in a few cases,) but they would sooner risk an Ursa than voicing such thoughts aloud.

As such, Rarity was rather quick on the uptake. “Lero!” she shouted and gave her stallion a swift hoof to the shoulder. “Language! Manners!”

“Ow! Well I’m sorry, Rarity, but I think it is called for here! She just asked me to lead her on a suicide run! We’ll BOTH be killed! Or worse!!”

“But what about-” started Pinkie Pie.

“No!” shouted Lero. He stood up so quickly that his chair went flying backwards and clattered to the floor. “Absolutely not! None of you have any idea what I had to go through to escape that horrible place! None!”

“Er, well neither do you, sugarcube,” Pinkie pointed out.

“Exactly! I drove myself certifiably bat-shit insane to get away from there! To forget! And now?” He allowed himself a harsh laugh. “Now you want me to go back?!”

“Lero, please,” said Twilight. “Just listen-”

“No, Twilight, you listen, for once!” Lero knelt down until he was level with the unicorn. “This wouldn’t be just some jaunt into the Everfree to get the Elements. It won’t be some half-mad spirit of chaos, some power-hungry bug queen or a disembodied tyrant! This place is a living nightmare. Nothing is as it should be. Nothing makes sense. The are things out there that make everything you have ever heard of seem like one of Dash’s cute little animals! After she tamed them!

"There are things that hunt you, that want to take you, change you, twist you, make you do things you would never do, become things that you could never imagine, turn you into some kind of creature that makes you want to beg just to be put of out your misery, but they won’t because it’s all just for their whim! You exist because they allow it and are thrown away like an old toy when they deem it! They have powers stretching over entire realms, that have control over reality like a child with a playset... like an author has over his surreal horror-fantasy novel... bending and twisting the realms they rule to fit their every petty whim! They are beyond everything we are!”

“And you would invite them here? To Equestria?” Luna’s voice was cool and smooth as glass; it shocked Lero out of his mad ramblings. He was breathing harshly and had tears running down his face.

“Wha…?” he turned to the crowd. Everypony wore a similar look of fear. Pinkie and Applejack were holding onto each other. Rarity stared at him in horror, a pale hoof covering her mouth as tears spilled down her cheeks. Lyra, always so stoic and quick to grin and joke, genuinely looked unnerved. Rainbow Dash was trembling on the spot, her body curled into a tight ball as she shivered. He looked back down to Twilight and he felt his heart break.

She looked up at him and she was afraid. Not just of what he was saying. But of him. She was afraid of him.

And in that moment, he despised himself.

“I-” he tried to say.

“Because that is exactly what you would be doing, Sir Bellerophon,” continued Luna. “To allow this incursion to go unopposed would be tantamount to letting them into our very homes. It would send a message that we are weak, that they may do with our lands and our little ponies as they wish.” Luna stood from her chair and walked around the table until she was inches away from the human.

“So let me tell you this, human: I will not allow some foul abominations to enter into my home and snatch my subjects away to become their playthings! Least of all, the sisters of the mares who saved me from my own darkness!”

Here, she gave very deep and grateful nods, first to Applejack, then Pinkie Pie, then a quick half-nod at Rarity.

“I will go into their lands, into the heart of their power, and make them know that Equestria is off-limits to their schemes! They will know to fear Us and Our power! I will send them a message, one that will last a thousand of their lifetimes, that they may never trespass into Our kingdom and that no incursion of theirs shall ever go unpunished!”

Lero stumbled away, his heart pounding so hard that it threatened to burst from his chest. He turned away covered his mouth and forced his breathing to slow.

‘She’s right,’ he thought to himself. ‘God help me, she’s right. They won’t stop. They never will. Earth had been cursed with them for as long as humans walked its surface. They shaped our legends, our myths and cultures. They made us afraid.’ He glanced back at the table, his friends, his lovers. ‘What kind of man am I if I can’t protect them? I promised...’ Lero’s hand drifted to his head, just behind his left ear. Her felt the two feathers braided in his hair.

Rainbow Dash had given him one years ago. It was a sign of her love, her commitment to him. It was a little piece of her soul that she decided to share with him, one that would last forever.

Lero closed his eyes and felt fresh tears build up.

Since the Swap, Rarity had begun seeing that feather as a white flower, one that she gave him instead of Rainbow. And even though he had held no feelings for the white mare in the beginning, he had fallen in love with her, heart and soul. And now, just a few days ago, Rainbow Dash had given him another of her feathers. Lero and the other girls in his herd took it as sign that they were bound by more than just love. They were all bound by fate.

He loved Rarity.

He loved Twilight.

He loved Lyra.

And he loved Rainbow Dash.

They were his wives. His lovers. His family. And he would move Heaven and Earth to protect them all.

‘Whatever kind of man I may be, that is the man I choose to be.’

“Alright,” he said with determination. “Alright, Princess. I’ll take you there. And you and I… we’ll find those three girls together.”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes softened and then it was her turn to surprise everyone in the room. The dark alicorn wrapped Lero in her soft wings and placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered, though everyone else heard. “Thank you, my brave, dear friend. You are more noble that the whole of Canterlot.” Luna rested her chin on his shoulder as Lero returned the hug.

“You give me too much credit, Princess,” he said with a small smile.

The alicorn eventually pulled away and offered the shaken human her most sincere smile. “True bravery is not about being fearless, my friend. It is about moving forward in spite of those fears.” Luna gently placed a silver clad hoof on Lero’s chest. “And this heart of yours overflows in such bravery. In all my long lifetime, I have only known a few who were so.”

Lero put his hand over her hoof, feeling the cool silver on his palm. “Thank you, Your Highness,” he whispered. The alicorn’s teal eyes sparkled.

A gentle cough brought the pair back to reality. “Not to interrupt, darlings,” said Rarity, who held a tiny twinkle in her eyes, “but I suppose we will be needing to make plans now, won’t we?”

“‘We’?” Lero repeated. He suddenly had a sinking feeling in his gut.

“Well, you can’t expect I’m just going to let the two of you go gallivanting off to who-knows-where by yourselves.” She took a dainty sip from her cup. She regarded Lero’s dumbstruck look and rolled her eyes. “Oh, come now, my prince, do I really need to spell it out for you? I’m coming too.”

Twilight would later think back on this moment and realize the strange sound she heard at that moment was that of whatever contraption that served as Lero’s brain stripping its gears.

“Bwha?” her stallion said.

“I’m going too,” Twilight announced. Lero turned to her. Twilight was convinced he had completely unhinged his jaw at this point. “I’m not passing this up, Lero. I’ve never been one to back down from a threat to Equestria and I’m not going to start now.”

Lero couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He turned to Lyra. Surely the most level-headed of all his mares would see the sheer insanity in trying to-

“Sorry, Fingers,” the mint unicorn said with her trademark smirk. “Looks like you’re stuck with us.”

Lero’s face remained a study in stupefaction for several moments, to the point where Twilight was starting to genuinely beginning to worry for his mental well-being (as if the long-repressed, alien presence of The Lost wasn’t enough). Finally, Lero grew a scowl on his face and furrowed his eyebrows.

“No,” he said with determination. “Absolutely not!”

“Lero, please,” said Twilight, “you two can’t do this alone! Princess Luna may be very powerful but-”

“The answer is still no, Twilight! I can’t risk losing you! Any of you!”

“Lero, be reasonable,” Lyra pleaded. “Only a fool goes off on a venture like this, all half-cocked without any kind of support.”

“Well, call the two of us fools then, Lyra-”

“Viceroy!” exclaimed Luna, who did not relish having her intelligence impugned.

“-because there is no way in HELL I am letting any of you join me for this one!”

“Lero-”

“I said NO, Twilight! I- As stallion of this herd, I FORBID it and that is fin-”

“Bellerophon Tiberius Michaelides!” shouted Rarity, who projected her voice in a way that gave even Luna pause.

It was a widely known fact among pretty much every sapient creature (and several animals) across the realities, that being called by one’s full name, especially in that tone and especially by one’s wife, was among the single most terrifying experiences one could have this side of an iron maiden.

Lero’s survival instincts took over. His jaw instantly snapped shut, almost taking his tongue off in the process. He didn’t dare flinch as the pale mare’s sapphire eyes bored into him. He could almost physically feel his dignity as it was stripped off his being.

‘How did she know my middle name?!’ he barely had time to wonder to himself. ‘I’ve never told anyone my middle name since coming to this world! Not once! Not even Rainbow Dash before the Swap!’

“If you think, for one bucking second,” Rarity seethed, as she started to stalk towards him like some kind of predator, “that I am going to allow you to go off and fight those creatures alone, even with a demi-goddess at your side, and put this herd’s future in jeopardy, then you have another thing coming, mister!” She punctuated her statement by rearing up and firmly jabbing her hoof square in his chest. Lero stumbled backwards and landed on his rear.

Anger flared in his eyes, even as he looked up at Rarity from where he sat on the floor. “Me jeopardize the herd?!” he yelled and pointed an accusing finger at his lead mare. “You’re the ones who want to join me on this little suicide mission! If anything happens to you girls-”

“So what, you think that gives you permission to go yourself?! I can’t lose you, Lero! Not again!”

Lero’s eyes went wide and any retort died on his lips. Rarity suddenly had tears in her eyes. “That night over Bramblewood, when I saw you fall, when I had seen what that horrid spider did to you, I-” She sobbed and buried her head in Lero’s chest. Lero felt the dampness creep through his shirt. “It- it the most horrifying thing I had ever faced. More than facing Discord, Chrysalis, and even Sombra, the prospect of losing you... I almost didn’t make it in time, and now you’re asking me to not be there for you at all?!”

Rarity wrapped her forelegs around her stallion. “I can’t go through that, not again, Lero,” she whispered. “We survived that ordeal together. We are a herd, Lero.” Lero suddenly became aware of two other bodies pressing up against him as both Twilight and Lyra took up both his sides.

“We stick together,” said Twilight.

“Through everything,” added Lyra.

Rarity looked up into his eyes. The sadness had been drained from her, leaving only pure love. “To love you and cherish you, to have you and to hold you, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad. For the rest of my days, I will be beside you, both in body and in spirit, and I will honor, respect, and love you, until death parts us.” She looked past Lero, smiling at her herd-sisters. “All of us will.”

Lero’s breath hitched in his throat and he felt tears of his own. He reached up and held Rarity’s cheek. “You realize,” he said, swallowing a lump forming in his throat, “that this will be extremely dangerous.”

“We know,” said Rarity.

“You’ve never faced anything like this before.”

“We never faced anything like our other challenges either,” said Twilight.

“This will probably be a one-way trip.”

“Now you’re just making this sound fun,” said Lyra.

Lero and the others laughed quietly. In truth, Lyra was just as scared, but the Still Way had taught her control. It had taught her discipline, but to also bend and shift like the willow tree in the wind. Her fear would pass over her like water over a stone.

At last, Lero sighed. “Alright, I surrender,” he said. “I know better than try and argue with my girls when I’ve already lost.”

Rarity planted a quick kiss on his lips. “And that is why we love you, my sweet prince,” she said and then rested her forehead against his.

“...I,” came a quiet voice.

The group looked up and saw Rainbow Dash looking back at them. Rainbow had been quietly crying. She didn’t know why but the words Rarity had spoken… those beautiful words… they resonated with her so powerfully. Somewhere, deep in her core, buried under the fears and insecurities, something woke up inside her. Dash realized what those words meant.

It was a promise. One made among that strange little herd, one that signified their devotion to one another, their complete and total commitment to love and protect one another.

In that moment, Rainbow Dash wanted to be a part of those words more than anything in the world.

She stood tall with her chest puffed out, her lithe and athletic body posed in a brave stance. “I’m coming too,” she said. Lero opened his mouth to argue but Dash silenced him with a raised hoof. “Don’t try and talk me out of it, Lero. Every reason Rarity just gave is a reason for me to go too. I… I love you, Lero. And after all you have done to help me these past few months, I wouldn’t be able to face myself in the mirror anymore if it meant bailing on you when you needed all the help you could get. Besides.” Rainbow sat down with a swish of her tail. “I promised you, didn’t I? The day Lyra came home?”

Lero raised his eyebrows, the memory of that day clear to him. When Lyra had first returned from her long sabbatical, and described her adventures with the other Grandmasters, she had talked about facing groups of demon-like creatures that had come through a portal on a small island. Aardvark Island… yes, that had been its name.

That conversation had caused him no small amounts of stress, as impressions and feelings of the Fae had caused him to nearly have a fit. It had been Rainbow Dash that had brought him back down to reality with her suddenly firm promise: “We won’t let them take you! If... if some big meanie tried to steal you away to hurt you, I... I wouldn’t let them! I’d stop them!”

Lero smiled warmly at the memory. He reached out Rainbow and ran his hand through her hair, letting his knuckles rub her behind her ear. “You are still awesome, Dash.” He leaned forward and kissed the pegasus. Dash’s eyes widened at first, then closed as she too leaned in and returned the kiss.

Rarity, Twilight, and Lyra all shared the same smile as they watched their stallion and potential herd sister. For Rarity, it was a welcome sign of her stallion branching out, becoming more comfortable with Equestrian customs. For the other two, it was hope; hope that, one day soon, their herd could be made whole again. That their wayward sister would be fully returned to them. It felt like such a close thing, these days...

But for now, they would all have to be put to the test. And it was Princess Luna that brought cold and cruel reality back into focus. “Then it is settled,” declared the dark alicorn. She spread her wings and raised herself to her full regal height.

“Herd Bellerophon, We, Princess Luna, Diarch of Equestria, Mistress of the Moon, Guardian of the Night, Dream Warden for the Peoples of Equestria, do hereby charge you all with this quest: to accompany Us into the Hedge to rescue the fillies known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, to return them to the safety of their families, and to ensure the safety of Equestria from the forces that dwell beyond. Do you accept this task, good mares and stallion?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” answered Lero, speaking for them all. As the five of them kneeled before the diarch, a strange sense of déjà vu fell over Lero for a moment.

“Then go and rest,” said Luna. “The morrow shall be a day of preparations for us all. I must away to Canterlot and make arrangements with my sister. On the second morning, at nine-of-the-clock, we shall all gather at the edge of the Everfree and venture forth on our task.” Luna walked to the entrance, her guards saluting her as she approached. She cast one last look back the small gathering. “Rest well, all of you.” She offered a smile and gave a quick wink.

And then she was gone, leaving the Elements and company alone in the empty café.

The roads home were long that night. For everyone. Pinkie had been escorted back to Sweet Apple Acres by one of the night guards that had remained behind, one Sergeant Night Shade. He was older than most of his brethren in the Guard, with piercing golden eyes that glowed in the pale moonlight. The sergeant had volunteered to lead the farm mare safely home, partially out of a sense of chivalry, but mostly under the orders of Princess Luna.

The princess had hinted that there may be extra perils along the country roads that night, but had been vague as to what they might be.

Regardless, the sergeant had approached Pinkie as the group left Sugarcube Corner and offered her his protection. Pinkie nodded and the two left with a short goodbye into the coolness of the autumn night.

Applejack had left for her boutique, still muttering to herself about radical new designs. “Skirts made from spider’s silk...” the fallen fashionista mumbled, “jewelry from bird claws… Can Rainbow spare a few of her friends?” Another member of the Guard quietly walked beside Applejack. Whatever his opinion on her designs were, only he could say.

This left Herd Bellerophon to walk back to the Golden Oaks Library. Two thestrals joined them, each on either side of the small group. No words were spoken as the weight of the day’s events had finally caught up with them. Spike rode on Twilight’s back, already curled up, fast asleep. Rainbow had walked behind them, glancing nervously between the ground and Lero.

“We shall keep watch, Dame Twilight,” said one guard as they arrived. “Some members of the Day Guard shall arrive in the morning.”

“Will you be staying long?” asked Twilight. “In Ponyville, I mean.”

“Until we receive orders otherwise,” replied the other guard. The two thestrals took their positions on either side of the library’s door, as still as statues.

Lyra opened the door and began to lead the family inside when a gentle cough sounded behind them. Rainbow Dash was there, staring at the ground as she anxiously shifted her hooves. “Um, I,” she half-whimpered, “Um. I-I know I’m just dating you guys at this point, so I know that it’s probably not cool- I mean, um, proper, but um, do you think, I mean, if it’s okay-”

“Dash,” said Lero. Rainbow looked up. Lero looked back at her with a warm smile and pushed the front door open wider. He didn’t need to say anything. Rainbow saw equally warm smiles on the faces of the other mares and felt a warmth spreading in her heart.

She followed them into the library as Lero shut the door behind them.

Twilight carried Spike up to his little bedroom and tucked the young drake into his bed. Spike stirred in his sleep and pulled the small blanket closer to his body. Twilight smiled. ‘Pretty soon we’re going to have to get you a bigger blanket, Spike,’ she mused to herself. ‘Maybe even a bigger bed.’ A frown soon crossed her face. ‘That is… if we ever make it back though.’

Twilight gently closed the Spike’s door and headed for the master bedroom. She found Lyra waiting for her by the door. “So,” said Lyra, “when do you think we’ll start courting her?”

“Who?” asked Twilight, looking slightly confused.

“Luna,” said Lyra, who turned into the bedroom. “Given how close those two had gotten back there, I’d say it’s obvious our Lero has caught the royal eye.” Twilight’s jaw dropped slightly, her face turning a shade crimson. Lyra leaned close and went in for the kill. “I’ll bet that it wasn’t the only thing of hers winking.”

“Lyra!” Twilight gasped. “I- You!- She-” Her stammering was cut off when the Grandmaster stole a long kiss from her and Twilight’s train of protests was quickly silenced. When the kiss broke, she couldn’t help but smile at her herd sister. Twilight leaned in and gave her a tender nuzzle. “Thanks, Lyra.”

“Any time, Twilight,” replied the mint unicorn. They both turned to the bed and found Lero undoing his shoelaces.

A morning of hiking and an afternoon of sprinting had physically exhausted Lero while an evening of sanity rocking revelations had mentally exhausted him. Lero was able to muster enough remaining energy to sit on the edge of his large bed and take off a single shoe before collapsing on his back, almost falling asleep on the spot. He struggled to get back up before a pale hoof stilled his movements.

“Sssshhhh,” whispered Rarity. “Just rest, my prince.” Her horn lit up with gentle blue light. Lero’s remaining shoe was removed along with his socks, shirt, and pants, leaving him only clad in his undershorts and his bandages. Twilight floated him above the warm sheets as she pulled back the comforter before laying him gently into bed.

Rarity took up position on his left side and Lero instinctively wrapped an arm around her. Twilight and Lyra went to his right, careful not to disturb his bandages in the process. This left Rainbow at the edge of the bed, her eyes darting back and forth, trying to find a place for herself in the large bed.

“Well, Rainbow Dash?” said Rarity. “We’re waiting, darling.” Rarity motioned with her eyes and Rainbow understood. With a gentle flap of her wings, Dash rose up and settled herself directly on top of Lero. He had forgotten how relatively light she was and reveled in the feel of her fur on his bare skin again. Though he was in no real condition to make love to her (or any of his mares) at that point, the feel of her, the warmth of her body, the smell of her hair, like fresh rain, awoke fond memories for him.

As Dash settled in, her head on top of Lero’s chest, Lero half-wondered if this was a dream. Maybe he was already asleep.

He didn’t care. He was warm and comfortable and surround by his mares. His herd. His family. And though the morning would bring many troubles with it, Lero Michaelides allowed himself the illusion of peace.

If only for a night.