Author's Notes:

Here it is, part one of a two part special! This episode was a lot of fun to write and is filled with so much it'll drive you even more loco in the coco! Have fun ;)

And as always, the biographies and pictures for all new characters will be added to the accompanying website asap.

It's hard to believe, but one month has already passed since the horrible attack on Ponyville that many now refer to as the EgT Incident. It seemed like an ordinary Equestrian day. Everypony was enjoying the amazing talents of those competing for the praise of the three judges, and it seemed like Devlin Speedster was a horseshoe-in to win the entire thing. However, following the stallion's beautiful vocal performance, Oblivion himself interrupted the competition and sent a fatal attack out, revealing himself to have returned to a physical form. It was an unprecedented move, taking everypony by surprise, including the usually knowledgeable Princess Aurora. Not even somepony like her saw this coming. For him to have gathered the necessary power to make such a drastic move is just mortifying. It proves that his strength has begun to grow faster than ever, and that there isn't much time left. If he is to be defeated, the six destined heroes have to find and gather the remaining four Elements of Harmony as quickly as possible...or rather, the five of them still there.

Bri still hasn't been seen or heard from since her initial disappearance over a month ago now. With everything that they have learned about the Elements, they understand that five ponies cannot wield them all. Without Bri, their hopes of defeating Oblivion are crushed. So while finding the Elements themselves is a high priority for them, finding Bri is even more so. Therein lies the problem. They have no idea where to begin. Up to this point, all they have worked out is that she must have left Ponyville alongside Scatter Brain, the stallion once housed in the Ponyville Mental Hospital after the disappearance of his then girlfriend, Pinkie Pie. It's easy to assume that Bri and Scatter had been connected through their admiration for the long-missing pink party pony, but other than that, they are unable to even guess as to where the two of them have gone to.

On top of the horror of Oblivion's growing power and the mystery of where Bri is, now the normally content and blissfully unaware citizens of Equestria have begun to take notice of the ever-looming threat that plagues their land. Their lives have become fueled with panic and an overwhelming, crippling fear, and with every moment that passes, every minute that they continue to live their lives like this, Oblivion grows stronger. Getting on with their everyday lives is nothing but a pipe dream now. It's just hard to believe that only a couple of months ago, everything was as normal as could be. It was the arrival of those dreaded dark stars that turned Equestria on it's head. It was then that they knew that their lives would never be the same again, not with the threat of worldwide annihilation peering over their shoulders. Any breath could be their last.

But the dark stars had disappeared as quickly as they arrived, and with them, the famed stage pony Sevulva Star, who had been possessed by Oblivion. Life seemed to go back to normal, and though it was odd, nopony was panicking or living in fear anymore. They just went on with their lives as if the dark star incident never even happened. Some would say it's their strength that propelled them to pony on. Others would simply call it a weakness, and ignorance. Whatever the case may be, it cannot be argued that this gave the ponies hope, and the will to carry on. Yet even though everything seemed good and fine, the evil, possessive force was still watching them in the background, biding it's time and awaiting the moment when it could return.

Nopony knew that within their very town, six seemingly normal ponies were called to action by Princess Aurora, joining forces and forging friendships to research the dark stars and Oblivion, and hopefully figure out how to save the world. They didn't know that the thief who began to invade their homes and shops was under the control of a force of pure, absolute darkness. The same force that had given birth to the dark stars. They just went on with their lives as if it would all go back to normal. They now know how wrong they were. With the attack on Ponyville, the EgT Incident has brought their minds to the reality of the situation, and they found themselves wondering if, in the end, their past ignorance ever even did them any good.

One does have to wonder about this, especially with where things have now gone. Ponies of all colors and sizes from all over the country gather together now within the hallowed main room of the large, brooding Canterlot Funeral Parlor, seated in rows upon rows of chairs that sit only feet away from the essence of death. Bitter, salty tears stream carelessly down their faces as they all look with sorrow at the sleeping body of Trixie Lulamoon set before them. She just seems so peaceful in death, as if the weight of the world has finally been lifted from her shoulders. Resting against the casket that houses her body are framed pictures of the showmare in her prime, displaying her wide smile and determined eyes. Behind the casket hangs a copy of the poster from her very first show, and all around the stage, flowers decorate the display, all brought by the guests to pay honor to the late mare.

The room is nearly silent, the only sounds still going through it being the sorrow-filled sobbing coming from those seated there. In the very front row sits the only ponies who could have been considered close to Trixie prior to her untimely death; the six friends who had only known her for a short time, but for whom she had gained an insurmountable love; Princess Aurora, who had always shown care, love, and kindness towards the showmare when nopony else would, despite her sometimes unwelcoming personality; and of course, Trixie's very parents, who now cry harder than anypony else at the sight of their daughter’s motionless corpse, unable to help but remember the day thirty seven years ago when she was born.

One seat in the very front row remains empty, for standing there directly in front of the casket, is another pony who had known the showmare for such a long time now. Other than the parents, this mare had probably known Trixie longer than anypony else in the room. Tears cascade down her eyes as well, and as she quietly leaves a bouquet in the stiff, wrapped hooved of the late mare, Fluttershy slowly turns around and begins to walk over to the pulpit set up to the left side of the presentation. It had been decided that she would be one of those to address everypony regarding Trixie, and the life she lived. She was one of the first of the speakers chosen, and the last to actually speak. At first, she didn't want anything to do with this, and wasn't sure of what to tell Trixie's family, but she eventually accepted.

As she reaches her destination, standing stoically behind the pulpit, the shy pony says nothing at first. She just stands there, continuing to sob to herself along with the others. Nopony judges her, or even wonders why she has yet to talk. They understand the pain she must be going through. While Trixie was never the most humble of ponies, she always gave a good show. She would even, on occasion, perform for free as a way to thank her most loyal of fans. She was also a regular donor to different charities. Trixie was a far cry from the pony many often saw her as. She was more than just the boastful personality she used on stage. She did truly care for others, and in the end, she even died for them, working to help somepony else rise to fame and become a prominent part of the Equestrian spotlight.

"Everypony," Fluttershy suddenly speaks up as she begins her speech, allowing the remainder of her tears to freely flow from her eyes. She refuses to wipe them away, feeling that it would dishonor the memories of her lost friend. "One month ago, we all lost a great mare well before her time. I first met Trixie Lulamoon during her first ever show in Ponyville almost twenty years ago to this very day. At the beginning, my friends and I found her to be boastful and prideful, having an off-putting attitude that just rubbed us the wrong way. We acted rudely towards her, and even tried to show her up during her own performance. It was these very judgmental attitudes that caused two young colts to inadvertently unleash an Ursa Minor upon Ponyville, and in the end, cause us to show Trixie up once again."

"We didn't meet again until almost a year later. Trixie had come back to Ponyville, but this time she was corrupted by an ancient artifact of great magical power. It amplified her anger and aggression, and caused her to act out in revenge against us all, and most specifically, against the now missing Princess Twilight Sparkle, who she blamed most of all. We treated Trixie horrible, and in the end, although we were able to stop her anger-fueled tirade and bring her mind back to reality, she was the one who ended up begging for forgiveness. With how we had treated her, and everything that happened because of it, it should have been the other way around."

"We had made narrow-minded assumptions about who she was, and never were even willing to give her a chance. Time and time again it went the same way. Every time she came to Ponyville, she would leave nearly in tears because of how poorly we would act. But one day, she made a mistake during one of her acts. It caused her to accidentally take the lives of a couple of young ponies. We were all ready to imprison her at that point. Some of us had even called for her banishment, and in extreme cases, her execution. However, Princess Twilight reigned us all in. She knew that this wasn't Trixie's fault, that it was all an accident, and saw how devastated the showmare was by the entire ordeal. But because of our past actions, Trixie ran away in fear. None of my friends ever saw her again, having either died or disappeared by that point."

"It wasn't long ago," she continues slowly, taking a deep breath to reign in her emotions as everypony looks on and listens intently, "that Trixie returned to Ponyville to ask for my help. I had just come out of my seclusion and still harbored bitter, resentful feelings towards her, and because of it, although she desperately needed it, I refused to lend a hoof to help her. But despite my actions, these six ponies right here in front of me did their best to work with her, and in the end, helped her save all of Canterlot from a terrible Ursa Major invasion."

"I do deeply regret with all of my heart that I wasn't willing to help her in the slightest. In the end, I had allowed my anger and sorrow to get the better of me, and to control my actions. I wasn't able to save Trixie during the EgT Incident one month ago, and now I'm left with the knowledge that in the end, she probably did forgive me. I don't deserve her forgiveness though, and probably never will. Not once have I ever acted in any way towards her than with bitter hatred. Once, long ago, I represented the spirit of the Element of Kindness, and yet, I turned my back to somepony who needed that kindness the most. Instead, I showed Trixie hate and disdain. I acted against my very nature, and now she's gone. The only thing I, or any of us, can do now is honor her memory, honor everything that she once stood for. So with that, in honor of Trixie Lulamoon, I vow to change my life. I want to live, to love, and to show kindness once more to those who need it. I never want to forsake anypony again, and this time, I will NOT hesitate in working my hardest to save everypony that I can. I won't let anypony else die by Oblivion's hoof...for Trixie!"

The very next day, early in the morning not long after the sun had been risen for the day, the majority of Ponyville's residents find themselves gathered in front of the town hall. Just the night before they had all been asked to meet there for an important meeting that was to be held to discuss the future of the town. It wasn't the idea of the meeting that got them all interested, however, but rather who they were told was hosting it. Nopony would have ever expected somepony as shy and quiet as Fluttershy to ever hold a meeting, much less one of this much importance. Naturally, their curiosities had been piqued, and their interests quickly gained. So as they all have gathered there in front of the currently closed doors of the town hall, the ponies have begun to mutter amongst themselves. They wonder what could possibly propel Fluttershy to call forth the entire town like this. Has something else happened? Has this evil Maaebjan creature attacked again?

They don't have to wait very long, as Fluttershy suddenly flies down from behind a grouping of clouds in the sky. Her normally happy and content face now glows with a serious, hardened, and almost angry expression. They can tell from that alone that whatever this is about, it truly must be of high importance. Armed Canterlot guards suddenly come out on both sides and stand there stoically, as if to give off an intimidating presence. It works, and everypony begins to instantly quiet down. They want to know what all of this is about, and why they had been asked to come so early in the morning. For a moment, Fluttershy paces in front of them all, seeming agitated by something. She seems like she's going to speak once or twice, but stops and just continues to walk back and forth. However, as the chatter picks up again, the shy pony's actions having confused everyone, she growls and yells out, "ENOUGH!"

Everypony shuts up and once more turns to Fluttershy as her eyes twitch and she continues, "I've had it! I've bucking had it! I already lost three of my friends sixteen years ago, and the other two disappeared! Now Trixie's been murdered by Oblivion for no other purpose than to cause terror and panic! I cannot, I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS ANYMORE! THIS ENDS NOW! With Ponyville defenseless without the Elements of Harmony, I believe that we as a town need a branch of the Canterlot royal army to be stationed here! No, we need our own military force! We need constant, round the clock protection! Especially with that flank, Oblivion, breathing down our necks!"

Cheering out in agreement, the ponies show their support for the mare and her idea. It's an exciting concept, and one that surprisingly hasn't been brought up before, despite everything that seems to go on in their town. They want to feel safe and protected for once, and the idea of a militant branch protecting them all day and night certainly seems like a reasonable thing to ask for. Fluttershy then calls for their attention again, continuing to speak and telling everypony that the first task in completing this goal is to assemble a militant task force to serve the town while she can meet with Princess Aurora and Mayor Mare to discuss the militarization of the town further within the upcoming weeks. However, she adds that because of this, she needs somepony to step up and lead the task force, telling them all that doing so would require a lot of expectations and constant, tiring work. A naturally daunting task for anyone to take on. However, right off the bat, one stallion steps forward to volunteer. Dark blue coat with a mane and tail and color of flames, the former captain of the Canterlot elite royal guard firmly but respectfully tells Fluttershy that, "I'm not only willing and able to take on the position, but due to my military background, I am the most qualified to lead the task force in this mission, ma'am."

"I agree," Fluttershy replies with a smile, "you'll do perfectly. So everypony, from this point on, the leader of the Ponyville Militant Task Force is Terra Lionmane! And one thing, the task force will NOT replace the police force already in effect. They will be a more militant force to protect our town from bigger threats, most notably Oblivion."

Smiling, the normally shy mare then asks everypony else if there's anyone who would like to volunteer to be a member of the task force to keep Ponyville safe, explaining that it will require constant work and is not recommended for those who aren't sure about making this the biggest focus of their lives. Right away, a group of other ponies begin to step up, unafraid of Fluttershy's warning. Among them are Pound Cake from Sugarcube Corner, Apple Bloom's husband Fuji Apple, Devlin Speedster, Agelian Wingblade, and even Star Rider. All of them step up, wishing to join the task force to save the town they love. A wide smile spread across her face, Fluttershy gives them all nods of approval before dismissing the remainder of the town so that the task force can begin their planning.

Everypony else begins to disperse, and as the last is out of earshot, the mare turns to Terra and asks if he could take charge at this point and give out his first orders. The former captain of the elite royal guard nods and salutes her, approaching his new soldiers as she then flies off to meet with the princess and mayor. Standing there, Terra looks at the remaining volunteers and with authority yells out, "Ok everypony, this is it! You have stepped up today to serve your town, to serve Ponyville! You have chosen to protect everypony else from Oblivion and his agents of evil! It was you who made this decision, remember that! Because from this point on, the entire future of Ponyville rests on your shoulders! Your first task will be to investigate and search for any and all information you can get on Oblivion, the dark stars, and the EgT Incident! Even if it at first seems unimportant, make sure you get EVERYTHING down! And if you happen to learn ANYTHING directly focusing on the Elements of Harmony, Oblivion, Briance Happer, or the like, you will report it to me right away! I will be here in town square to do my own investigation, now get to it!"

While everypony else begins to head out, Terra suddenly walks up to one of the individuals; a stallion with a gray coat and a black and blue mane. Turning, the stallion faces his commanding officer. He looks tough, but not too much so, and salutes Terra with respect. The new leader of the task force raises an eyebrow and tells the stallion that he doesn't recognize him, then asks that he introduce himself. Nodding, the pony tells Terra in a calm, almost quiet voice, "The name is J.D. Gumila, sir.” Nodding, the captain orders the newcomer off to complete his duties, unaware of the menacing grin the stallion gives as he trots away.

As she quickly trots in the direction of the southern sector of the town, Star finds herself more than ready to begin her search for information. However, she suddenly stops as a problem arises in the deep recesses of her mind; she has no idea where to even begin. She only wanted to join the task force in the first place so that she could put all the studying and research that she's already been doing to a better use. She wanted to work side by side with her friends and everypony else to help stop Oblivion once and for all, and make sure that nopony else had to die like Trixie. However, most of her research thus far has been through books and articles. She's unsure of how to start gathering intel in any other way, much less by just asking around. And she doubts that Terra would want her to just use the library's resources the entire time. He'd want her to get out there, pound the pavement, and start asking anypony she came across.

She continues to think this over, going through the different options in her head as she attempts to figure out some way to make this all work. She walks on without really looking, and suddenly, something hits her in the side, hard. Knocked off her hooves, Star's face contorts to that of surprise and she looks quickly around as she falls to the ground with a thud. Not more than just a foot away now stands a frantic looking mare. Eyes widened, she herself looks around. Her coat is a light blue color, and her mane is of a darker shade with white highlights. She has golden eyes and a cutie mark displaying the image of a lyre. Star gets to her hooves and notices that the pony has begun to pick up some oddly shaped boots that she had dropped when they bumped into each other. They seem to be made of a light, almost airy clear material and have five strange protrusions coming out of them. She sighs, but smiles as she walks over to help the mare pick them up.

"Omigosh! I'm sooooooo sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" the mare profusely begins to apologize as she quickly stuffs the weird boots back into her saddlebag as if she were trying to hide them. The bag itself is also made of an odd material, leather. Saddlebags aren't made with leather anymore. This one seems old, very old, and is even falling apart in a couple of places. However, Star simply shrugs it off and gives the mare the remainder of the odd boots before realizing that she doesn't recognize the mare at all. It's almost as if she were new to town. Knowing that this could be the lead she needs, she asks her for her name.

"Oh, I'm Lyra," she tells Star with a big grin, "Lyra Heartstrings."

It's almost as if a wave of instant realization seems to flood over the mare as she hears the newcomers name. She turns to Lyra with surprise etched on her face and just stares quietly for a moment before she finds the words to reply, "I know about you! My sister used to talk about you when I was younger! Aren't you that pony that everypony says is completely obsessed with mythical creatures?"

"HUMANS AREN'T MYTHICAL CREATURES!"

"GAH!" Star cries out in shock as she falls back from the surprise of the pony's loud outburst. Just moments ago, she had seemed as normal, cheery, and kind as anypony out there. However, with the sudden yell, her face has become filled with rage and distress. It luckily only lasts for a moment though, and she soon goes back to how she was before, once again apologizing to Star as she lends a hoof to help the pony up. She seems almost embarrassed and begins to explain that human beings aren't mythical creatures like everypony around seems to think. This time Star is the one to apologize, telling Lyra that she didn't mean to offend her, but adds that she also isn't quite sure of what she's talking about. Naturally she had heard the myths regarding human beings, but they're as made up as any other. There's no proof to their existence, and they're only out there to entertain young foals. Maybe ponies are growing differently these days, but she doesn't believe that Lyra Heartstrings is a foal.

"Oh, by the way," Star says as she desperately tries to change the subject, turning the focus to that of what she had been out to do in the first place, "would you happen to know anything about the evil force Oblivion, the dark stars, Bri Happer, of the Elements of Harmony?"

Lyra had been turned the other way, her attention caught by one last boot she hadn't picked up yet. However, she suddenly spins around on the spot at the question and with wide eyes, looks at the mare for a good minute. Surprise is clearly shown in her expression, and she doesn't seem to know how to react or respond. Biting her lip, the mare then turns back around and quietly tells Star, "Yes, I do. I know about all of that, a lot about it as well. I wasn't aware that you were her. I'm sorry for that Star Rider. I promise that I'll tell you everything I know about it all, but first I need you to do something for me. I need your help. Do this for me, and I'll give you all the information you need to kill Oblivion, find your friend, and save the lost princesses."

"Wait, save the princesses!?" Star yells out, "so they're all alive!?"

"I'll answer all of your questions once you have done this for me," she repeats, refusing to even slightly elaborate on the information beforehand. Star sighs once again, knowing that this might be the only way to find out everything that she needs to know. So she agrees to do what she can to help Lyra, who then smiles and grabs a hold of Star's hoof, leading her away. The two of them head towards a secluded part of the town that barely anypony lives in anymore. Run down, with buildings that are falling apart and plantlife that hasn't been cared for in a long time, Star is surprised that she's never been down here before. It almost seems like an entirely different town.

It takes the two of them only a short minute or two before they arrive at an old, run-down looking house at the very edge of the town's border. Smiling back at Star, Lyra turns and puts the key in, turning it to unlock and open the door as she welcomes the guest into her home. As the mares enter, Lyra heads straight to the kitchen, leaving Star to look around. Every inch of every wall is covered in pictures of the mythical human beings. The floor is littered with weird looking objects, and clothing that doesn't look like it's made right for any kind of pony. She looks back at the pictures of the humans and notices two stalks coming out of their middle body. On the end of each stalk is five weird appendages that seem to match the shape of those odd boots that Lyra had. It all seems to be coming together now.

Walking over as she takes in the overwhelming imagery of the room and tries to avoid stepping on the pictures, clothing, and more all over the floor, Star takes a seat on the couch, pushing aside what appears to be a stack of poems about humans. In the corner of the room is a lyre that seems old and unused, which seems strange considering the mare's very cutie mark seems to center around it. Some of the instrument’s strings are broken, and beside it sits a piece of unwrapped candy with a pink and blue striped wrapper, and a couple flowers, almost as if it were a memorial shrine or something. It's a certainly confusing sight, but at the same time it intrigues the mare. She wonders what it could be about, and why it seems like the house hasn't been entered in years.

However, her thoughts are quickly interrupted as Lyra returns from the kitchen with a cup of fresh brewed mint tea, which she gives to her guest before pulling up a chair to sit across from her. The mare sits down in a strange way and smiles over at Star. Considering how on the edge Lyra had been earlier, she decides not to question this, and instead quietly sips her drink as she awaits her host to speak first. Luckily, this happens quickly as Lyra pulls a book out of her saddlebag, in which are more pictures of humans. She tells Star that she knows all too well that humans do really exist, and has even seen one herself many years back. Naturally, Star is reluctant to believe her, so she explains the situation that led to her meeting a human long ago.

"It all happened one day when I was at the park with my fillyhood friend Bonbon. It was an ordinary day, and as usual, we were just sitting there on one of the park benches and enjoying the spring air. We had begun to talk about things going on. My lyre playing, her candy selling, that kind of stuff. It seemed like a wonderful time. Nothing too special at all. That's when I suddenly saw Pinkie Pie hopping by. I thought nothing of it at first, until I saw someone with her. A mysterious creature was struggling to keep up with her, and it just shocked me. I had always been a huge mythology lover, especially with the myths of human beings. So when I saw a real life one right there, I was so surprised, confused, scared, and excited all at the same time. Bonbon hadn't been looking and didn't believe me, but I knew what I saw. So I got up and went to try and follow him, but lost track rather quickly."

"I eventually was able to find the human again though. It was the next day if I remember correctly. Oh, but I do know for sure that I remember the human well. Tall, and he stood on two things called feet. He had a black, pointy mane on his head, but had no fur at all. Instead his body was covered with nothing but leathery skin. He wore a dark blue suit that covered his entire body, and his hands...oh his hand, they were BEAUTIFUL! I even tried to tell him so, but he seemed like he was looking for somepony and left rather quickly."

"You do realize how crazy this all sounds, right?" Star asks, frustration boiling up inside of her at this point. The entire reason she had come is because Lyra told her that she needed her help with something. If she had known from the beginning that it was only to hear this convoluted story about mythical beings, she would've never agreed to this. She needs to find this information about Oblivion, the Elements of Harmony, and Bri as quickly as she can. She doesn't have the time to go through all of this nonsense. So, she decides to edge things along a little and asks Lyra if she could move on. Surprisingly, the mare isn't hurt by this, but nods in agreement.

"Well, to be completely honest," she tells Star, sighing to herself, "I really don't know much else about the guy, that's what a human stallion is called. But one thing I was able to figure out is that he was definitely a human. I did also notice though that he was spending a lot of time around a few specific ponies, mainly Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Oh, but of course, this was well before Twilight even became a princess."

"Later on I had asked everypony about him, especially those who I noticed seem to have the most contact with the guy, but nopony seemed to know what I was talking about. They acted as if I were the crazy one. Not even Trixie Lulamoon, whom the human had direct contact with on multiple occasions during his time in Ponyville, would admit to knowing about him. It was weird."

"Trixie!?" Star says, surprise echoing in her voice.

"Yeah. I don't know why, but apparently it seemed as if the two didn't get along that well. From what I had seen, they almost outright hated each other. It was just so strange though, right? Nopony seemed to remember him at all, and it was only one day after he had left too. It's as if their memories were somehow tampered with. Or, the more likely explanation is that all of them were faking it. For some reason, everypony was hiding something from me. Something that I felt it necessary to find out about. So I began to do my research."

"Wait, why would they be hiding something? That doesn't make any sense."

"Oh, it makes perfect sense actually, Star! You see, it's all because of what happened with the Equestrian 500 and the death of Ace Swift! I figured it all out! The human must have been there because of the trial that had been going on. Rainbow Dash, one of Twilight's friends, was being accused of Ace's murder. She was going to be banished to the sun! I heard talks that the lawyer defending her was someone mysterious and unknown. I think it might have been the human, and...wait...Star, where are you going? I'm not done yet!"

Having gotten to her hooves, Star rolls her eyes, feeling that by this point, she's heard more than enough. This lead is obviously a complete waste of time for her. First this loony pony talks as if human beings were actually real, and now she's going on about the old pony's tale regarding Ace Swift, the cheating racer who has been proven on multiple occasions to have never even existed. The trial, even the Equestrian 500 itself are all lies! The last Equestrian 500 race occurred over 50 years ago! She just can't handle listening to this crap anymore, so without a word, she begins to head towards the door so that she can head out and get some real information regarding Oblivion.

However, Lyra suddenly trots up and stops her. Star begins to get angry at this point, but the mare suddenly leans forward and whispers into her ear, "Check the library, Star Rider." She then backs away, allowing Star to continue to the door. Opening it, she grumpily heads out, leaving the insane pony behind to wallow in her declining mentality. She had always heard that Lyra Heartstrings was a little weird, but now this is just crazy! It's as if she's unable to tell the clear difference between reality and fictional stories. This was just a complete and utter waste of time, and didn't lead her anywhere. Lyra didn't know anything about Oblivion. She just wanted a reason to talk about her insane beliefs.

But wait, how did she know her name? As Star trots on down the road, this question keeps popping up in her mind. She never even introduced herself to Lyra, and to the best of her knowledge, the two have never even met each other before now. So why does it seem like this insane mare knew so much about her? And then there were those last words she had said; check the library. What could she have possibly meant by that? For some reason, she actually doubts that it has anything to do with humans. It was the way Lyra had said it. It makes her feel like she can trust it as a real lead. Besides, checking the library couldn't possibly hurt the search for information any more. So, she decides to make a quick stop over at the P.T.S.M. Library before she continues her search elsewhere. Maybe Spike knows something about a book that can help.

Unfortunately, she never makes it to the library, as a few minutes later, she sees a flash out of the corner of her eye. Her head swiveling on it's axis, she sees Lyra running off somewhere. Something about this is still all too strange. This Lyra pony has got her on edge now. She feels that the mare truly does know something, but it's hard to trust somepony like that. She needs more information on Lyra before she can get the information on Oblivion. She remembers hearing the name of Bonbon the candy maker mentioned in the psychotic mare's fictional story, so she decides that it's as good a place as any to begin. If she can help her learn about how reliable Lyra is at least, that will be a start. Maybe then she can find out the truth.

The small bell rings as she opens the door, walking in to the candy shop. Bonbon stands behind the counter, smiling from ear to ear as she awaits the customer to make her order. Smiling back, Star goes up and greets her, saying, "Hello Miss Bonbon. I'm sorry, but I'm not here for any candy today. I just wanted to ask you a quick question while I was passing by. I just met with your friend Lyra, and I was wondering if you could tell me more about her."

It's almost as if a switch turned off in the room. A cold chill sweeps down Star's spine as she watches Bonbon's happy smile turn to an expression of pure, unadulterated rage. Her eyes widen, and pupils shrink. Her teeth gnash against each other, and veins pop out on her forehead. The most surprising part of it all is the tears that begin to fall from her eyes as she screams out in anger before literally jumping the counter and chasing a very confused Star out of the shop. Running, the mare doesn't turn around. She's afraid that if she does, it'll only slow her down enough to give Bonbon more of a chance to catch up.

After a couple minutes, however, she realizes that the candy maker is no longer chasing her, and so breathing a sigh of relief, she leans against a building and wipes the sweat from her forehead. She just doesn't understand what's going on. She goes around town, seeing if anypony else might know about Lyra, but everypony she asks only gives her weird looks or tells her to just go away. Something isn't right here. She knows that this might not be the lead she was looking for, but that it's definitely something worth looking in to. She has one last idea of who to go to, and so the mare rushes throughout town until she reaches the mayor's office, luckily catching Mayor Mare as she's just entering the building.

"Mayor, can I ask you something really quick!?"

"Star Rider? Yes, of course you can," the mayor replies, confused but always happy to help. So with a deep breath, the mare begins to tell the mayor of what happened with Bonbon and the other ponies, and how she only wants to know more about Lyra and where she might be able to be found around now. However, even Mayor Mare flashes her a strange look, and turns to walk away. Falling to the ground in desperation, Star grabs at the mayor's hooves and begs to know why everypony is acting like this. She just doesn't understand what's going on, and the actions from everyone is just so crushing and confusing to see. She can't stand being let down like this anymore.

Seeing this, the mayor sighs and tells her very quietly, "Star, Lyra Heartstrings was one of the ponies killed back when the Hay & Stay Hotel blew up on the night the dark stars disappeared."

"But that's impossible..." Star replies, confused more than ever, "I just met her earlier."

"Are you ok Star? There's no way you could've seen her. Her body was crushed, and she was cremated in accordance with her will. We had even given her ashes to Bonbon because of their relationship, though I doubt she'd let you see them now. Don't you see why Bonbon got so upset with you? It was a hard loss for her, and for all those who cared for Lyra. Maybe you should get some sleep. You've probably just been working yourself too hard."

Walking away without saying another word, Star just shakes her head in disbelief. This doesn't make sense. She knows that she had met with Lyra, and that it wasn't just her imagination. She remembers the taste of the mint tea, and the odd texture of the weird boots. The crazy house and the even crazier conversation. She knows that it was real, but if what Mayor Mare says is true, it can't be. How could Lyra have died back during the dark star incident and still be here now. It's just impossible. Now what should she do? Continue to figure out this entire situation with seeing dead ponies, or go back to her original goal of locating information on the three big topics that need her focus right now? She feels that the right decision would be the latter, but she just can't let this go. Something isn't sitting right with her about this.

Suddenly, as if on cue, she sees Lyra once again. Unless the mare is lying about her identity, this is the pony that others believe to be dead. For some reason, she doesn't believe that to be the case. This really is her, she just knows it. Watching, she notices that the mare seems to be heading towards the Everfree Forest. This is it, her decision's been made. She's going to continue to follow this lead and try to figure out what's going on with the mysterious Lyra Heartstrings. So giving chase, Star follows the mare throughout the remainder of town all the way past Fluttershy's cottage. Right ahead is the forest, and without even thinking twice, she follows Lyra in.

Turning her head as she continues to run, Lyra looks back at Star suddenly and smiles. She then returns her focus to the front of herself and bolts off faster than ever. It takes all the strength she has to keep up. She isn't an athlete after all, she's just your everyday, ordinary pony. They reach a clearing and the mysterious pony continues ahead full force and without warning...disappears. Just like that, she vanishes in mid-air. It happens so suddenly that Star nearly crashes into a tree just from the loss of concentration. Sitting there, staring right at the spot where the pony had last been, she rubs her eyes for a moment and looks again. She has to have seen that wrong. However, no matter how hard she tries to prove otherwise, she knows what she saw.

Curious, Star slowly begins to walk to where she saw Lyra disappear, and as she reaches the spot...nothing happens. She looks around at first, and even trots onward a little to make sure that she's not just losing her mind. However, the signs are telling her otherwise. Maybe Mayor Mare was right. Maybe she does just need some sleep. Sighing, she decides that she's gonna head home and turn in early. Everything that's been happening HAS been taking a lot out of her. It is true that her sleep cycle has been messed up more than ever in the past month since the EgT incident. She was probably just seeing things in her mind. Having heard about Lyra before, she probably just made up the pony's likeness in her mind and constructed it out of a need for sleep.

Turning back, she begins to head home. She can almost hear her bed calling for her now. She'll tell Terra that she didn't find anything useful, and from what it seems, she really didn't. At least now she'll be able to return her attention to finding Bri and the Elements of Harmony so that she and her friends can stop Oblivion once and for all. She soon reaches her house as the sun begins to lower in the sky. She hadn't realized how long she's been going around. It seems like just an hour ago that she was getting her orders from Terra, but apparently it's already night. Smiling, she sees her house coming and prepares to think about her comfortable bed. That's when the sight of lights coming from inside capture her attention.

She's sure she turned the lights off when she left this morning. As she gets closer, voices accompany the lights and worry begins to eclipse the mare. Something isn't right here. Why would there be somepony in her house? Could it be Grace? She does have a key, but why would she be over at this time? Maybe Mayor Mare had told her about the entire incident earlier regarding Lyra. It's definitely something that her sister would worry about. But wait, she can hear multiple voices. Are her friends there too? Could they be worried about her apparently declining sanity? Is this some kind of intervention? No, but wait, she doesn't recognize these voices...any of them. Who are these ponies in her house?

Slowly approaching, she cautiously looks in the window. Four ponies sit there talking and laughing with each other. But it's not just the unknown ponies in her house that confuse Star. The inside is completely different. The decor, furniture, everything, none of it is hers. What's going on here!? Panicking now, she decides that maybe she does need family right now. Grace will hopefully know what to do. So running full speed across town, she quickly comes to her older sister’s house. Once again she hears voices not belonging to anypony she knows. However, somehow these ones are different.

The voices coming from within are somehow familiar to her, comforting and welcoming. She doesn't recognize any of them, but for some reason she knows them. She does as before and approaches the window to look in, scared at what she might find. And as she looks in, time seems to slow to a stand still. Tears well up in her eyes at what she sees, and a hoof rises to cover her mouth so she can't scream out in shock and pure emotion. She doesn't know how to react, what to do, what to say. This doesn't make sense, what is going on here?

"Grace, eat all of your food," her mother scolds a young filly, unable to hold back a chuckle as she feeds a baby foal...her mother. No, but it can't be, it just can't! Not just her mother though, but her father as well. Both of them are right there, sitting at the table, only feet away and separated by nothing but a sheet of glass. And then there's Grace, the older sister she had come to get help from, just a young filly, and the baby being fed by their mother...but it's impossible. The coat, the mane, the eye color. It's...it's her. It's her as a foal.

Unable to hold it back any longer, Star screams out in a mixture of confusion, horror, and sorrow. Tears explode from her eyes as she turns and bolts away from the house, trying to escape the ghosts of her past that haunt her now. Why is this happening? How is this happening? So many thoughts race through her head as her wings unfold and she takes flight. She doesn't rise too far off the ground, and rather uses them to gain speed and momentum, trying to get away from the pain surging through her body after seeing that. However, her flight only lasts a few moments.

Just as she had been earlier, Star is knocked back suddenly as she collides with something, or rather, somepony. Fear begins to sweep over her right away. Who could it possibly be now? What's going to happen this time? Is it Lyra again? No, she can't fly, or can she? Is it somepony else who should be dead? By this point, the mare is laughing hysterically as her mental stability fades more and more. Her wings flap around excitedly without actually doing anything worthwhile, and her head jolts around, trying to locate the pony she had hit this time. She expects to see Trixie or somepony else she knows shouldn't be able to be here, but what she does end up seeing is somepony she never could've prepared herself for. Mind finally breaking, she passes out and falls with a thud to the hard ground below. The other pony, meanwhile, climbs back to her feet and looks around, still in shock that someone had run into her. Straightening out her wings, and levitating up all of her dropped goods using her magic, Princess Twilight Sparkle looks down at the unconscious mare.

"Oh Celestia, what have I done?"

...TO BE CONTINUED!!!