While her friends slept below, Applejack slapped her face to keep herself awake. She stood at the wheel, guiding them through the unrelenting storm, already cold and getting colder. Her eyes drooped and her heart was heavy with anger and worry. That the others would decide to attempt something inside the snow coil, after such a thorough warning from the police, wore at her waning optimism.

The ship pitched anxiously in a sudden gust, and she overcorrected slightly, sending them through another freezing cloud. She wiped the dew from her brow and squinted for the aquamarine dome around Ponyville, seeing it glinting like a jewel between flurries of snow.

She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in slowly. “They were just doin’ what they thought was right. It was stupid as all heck, but they weren’t tryin’ to do anythin’ bad. Ponies make mistakes, Applejack.” It sounded like an excuse in her head, and she brushed the snowflakes out of her mane.

“Fools. Especially Octavia. She’s too even-headed fer somethin’ like that.” She frowned deeply and turned the ship violently, imagining with a cruel smile that her motion had disturbed their sleep. “Not that it needs it,” she thought. “That white stallion’s there fer that.” She hadn’t wanted to say anything, but he had begun appearing in more than her dreams. Even in moments of deep concentration or relaxation, his piercing, judging eyes smiled coldly at her subconscious. He had yet to speak to her, as he had for the others.

When she passed through the Ponyville shield, she let out a heavy sigh of relief. She still shivered, but the snow and the wind were off her—a small comfort, in the dead darkness and motionless chill that swaddled her. She landed them behind the schoolhouse, as she had the night before, but instead of rousing her friends, went below and muscled her way into the bed between Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Pinkie woke up first, her vision filled with the white stallion’s black hole cutie mark, and squirmed out of Applejack’s strong grasp. After a brief trot around the deck, she woke the others, and they took off after a small breakfast, stopping quickly at the encircling river to refill the ship’s water tanks.

It was still snowing, and Twilight had to erect a tiny shield of her own to work on a letter to Princess Luna, informing her of Discord’s message from the night before. While she wrote, they discussed their destination.

“I would like to propose that we do not go directly to Appleloosa,” Octavia said.

“Why the hay not?” Applejack asked. Her voice was quiet and dispassionate, and partially masked by the wind.

“Trottingham is much closer to Ponyville.”

“Where exactly is it?” Twilight asked, looking up quickly.

“It is on the southern side of the Everfree Forest,” Octavia said. “Perhaps five-thousand miles from here.”

“Five thousand miles! That’s closer than Appleloosa?” Rainbow said.

“Do you have no concept of distance? Canterlot is forty miles from Ponyville.”

“Most of Equestria is wilderness,” Twilight said.

“I guess it feels different when we’re on an airship,” Rainbow said sheepishly.

“Trottingham is a very pleasant town,” Octavia continued. “It is mostly rural, and the ponies that I have encountered there are very friendly. I think that we would enjoy ourselves.”

“How’s the weather?” Pinkie asked. “I don’t wanna be somewhere chilly again.”

“The weather has been temperate every time I have been there.”

“An’ how many times is that?” Applejack asked.

“A dozen or so,” Octavia said. “Classical music is very popular there.”

“How big is it?” Twilight asked.

“If I remember correctly, the city is about twice the size of Ponyville, though there are some settlements outside of its borders. There are several large villas on the south side, I know, as well as a vineyard and a system of aqueducts on the north.”

“Oh, aqueducts? I’ve read about those, but I didn’t know they were still in use.”

“I think it sounds lovely,” Fluttershy said. She shook the snow out of her coat. “At least better than this.”

“I have enjoyed myself when I was there.”

“Maybe we oughta swing by, then,” Applejack said.

“I say let’s do it,” Rainbow said. “It’ll be good to get away from the city life anyway.”

“You’ve got that right,” Rarity said.

Applejack stood against the wheel to see farther out. “Well, all right. Octavia, which way do we need to go?”

“If we are going to Trottingham, our bearing should be south by southwest,” Octavia said.

They slowly turned until they were facing the dark, broken curve of the Everfree Forest, and Applejack locked the wheel in place. “So,” she said, turning. “Last night.”

“You already know what happened,” Rainbow said darkly.

“That ain’t what Ah was gonna say.”

“I personally am sorry for what happened,” Octavia said. “I still think we had plenty of justification for what we did, but we should have gone about it much more intelligently.”

“Yer darn right ya should have. Y’almost died in there.”

“What exactly are you trying to do, Applejack?” Rarity asked. “We know we almost died. We were there.”

“You just wanna rub our noses in it that you were right?” Rainbow asked.

“No,” Applejack said slowly. “Ah just wanna make sure y’all know how foolish it was. This ain’t a game, ya know.”

“Gee, thanks for that. ‘Cause I didn’t know it was a bad idea when I had to drag Twilight out of the freakin’ snow.”

“Rainbow, come on.”

“No, you come on, AJ. We get it, we were stupid. Harping on it’s not gonna get us anywhere, so why don’t you just drop it?”

“Ah’m just concerned y’all might do somethin’ like this again.”

“We’re not idiots, okay.”

“Ya sure had me fooled.”

Rainbow scoffed and flared her wings, and Octavia stepped closer to the wheel.

“We understand our mistake, Applejack. Berating us further will not accomplish anything.”

“Um, it’s just…” Fluttershy said quietly. “Um… oh, never mind.”

“No, speak.”

Fluttershy shrunk behind Pinkie, who looked at Octavia plaintively.

Octavia sighed. “I am sorry. I am not trying to sound angry. Please, say what you want to say.”

“Um… well, I mean, I don’t… I don’t like that you did it, because you were so close to getting seriously hurt, and… well… I just don’t think that’s a very good thing to do.”

“We know this.”

“No, um, I mean it’s not a good thing to do to us.” She fluffed her wings and came out from behind Pinkie. “You didn’t even think about us when you did it. What if those policeponies weren’t there to help? You’d have never made it out of there, and we would never have known.”

“Yeah, you couldn’t at least let us know?” Pinkie said.

“But you wouldn’t have wanted to come along anyway,” Twilight said.

“That isn’t the point,” Fluttershy said.

“It’s a stupid thing to run off without half the group,” Applejack said. “An’ the fact that you didn’t tell us anythin’ really bothers us.”

“You were asleep,” Rainbow said.

“So what, Rainbow? So what if we were asleep? Ah’d rather be woken up in the middle of the night to go with y’all than be woken up to hear how y’all almost bought the farm.”

“You told us we need to stick together,” Pinkie said. “But that’s really hard when we get divided about silly things.”

“Hey, Cloudsdale is not silly,” Rainbow said.

“You know what I mean, Dashie.”

Rainbow looked down, sulking, and Pinkie approached her.

“I’m sorry too,” Rarity said. “You’re absolutely right, all of you. We didn’t even think of you, and we should have.”

Applejack was nodding slowly, and Rainbow glared at her. “Is that all ya got to say?”

“What more do you want?” Rainbow sighed. “We can’t go back in time, AJ.”

“Rainbow is right,” Octavia said. “It was a stupid thing for us to do, but there is nothing to do about it now. We need to move forward.”

“No apologies?”

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake, Applejack. Okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry our stupid plan didn’t work out.”

“Ah know you don’t mean that.”

“Oh, wow, how’d you tell?”

“Stop it, both of you,” Octavia said. “Fighting will not help anything. Applejack, you cannot demand an apology. And Rainbow, you need to stop insulting her. We all understand our mistake. Can we not move on?”

“Yeah, let’s just move past it,” Pinkie said. “I mean, we’re on an airship! We’re heading for a new city, full of new ponies and new experiences and everything! Everypony’s okay, and we all learned our lesson. Let’s just be friends again.”

“I’m down with that,” Rainbow said.

“Pinkie’s right,” Twilight said. “We shouldn’t fight about this. We’ve learned our lesson, we won’t do it again, and we’re sorry. And that’s really all there is to it.”

“Sometimes, a mistake is just a mistake,” Rarity said.

Applejack sighed. “Ah guess yer right. Ah’m still a little shaken up, Ah reckon.”

“Don’t worry about it, AJ. Everyone screws up from time to time,” Rainbow said, the suggestions of a sneer pulling the corners of her mouth.

Applejack stared at her, then turned back to the wheel. “Am Ah on the right track, Octavia?”

“Yes. We will be flying over the forest for some time.”

“Hopefully our trip will be more pleasant this time,” Rarity said dully. She could remember their first journey over the Everfree, with no water to shower. She grinned. “I’ll be below for a time.”

She walked down the hatch in the back, down the narrow stairwell, to the corridor’s end. The bathroom was tiny and freezing, and she looked at herself in the mirror briefly before stepping into the tiny cubicle. Everything about the shower was small: thin streams of water gushed unevenly from a small showerhead, to vanish into a tiny, black drain, giving her just a few, uncomfortable square feet of wetness in the otherwise misty enclosure. She turned the hot water dial all the way up, hoping to counteract the cold that had seeped into her skin. The water was still tinged with cold, but on her damp fur and clammy skin, it was enough to coax a sigh of pleasure out of her.

As she slowly turned under the cool water, her thoughts moved inward. “I can’t believe this is comfortable for me now. By all accounts, this shower is absolutely below standard. This is siphoned river water, for Celestia’s sake, and it is freezing. And yet, here I am. None of our other adventures were like this.” She turned and let the water soak into her tail. “None of our other adventures lasted more than a few days. And we certainly didn’t travel like this.” She sighed. “That’s the price, I suppose. But at least I can shower myself now.” She turned back and dipped her mane into the weak stream. “And yet, we haven’t found even a single Element, or done a thing to slow down Discord. We helped fix Manehattan, and Canterlot, and Ponyville before that, but that really isn’t very much.” She activated her magic to begin scrubbing. “Who is it that has that Element-finding spell? I think it’s Pinkie and Fluttershy. I don’t remember either of them even mentioning it since Canterlot.”

She grabbed the shampoo and began working on her mane and tail. The water was already losing the touch of temperance it had, and she shivered unhappily as it hit her chest. “Perhaps I can get them to teach it to me. It would be nice to have a third Element seeker.”

By nightfall, they had escaped the snow and wind around Ponyville, and were nearly over the intimidating expanse of dark green forest, broken only by the darker color of shadowy chasms between its pieces. They had had dinner early, and while everyone else settled down for the evening, Fluttershy taught Rarity the Element-finding spell, conceding that she and Pinkie had almost forgotten about it.

Twilight sat on the deck, blearily watching the skies; Discord’s warning had scared her into reestablishing their night watch, and she was the first to volunteer. She would wake Pinkie at two in the morning.

For Rainbow Dash, it was a perfect Ponyville afternoon. The blue sky was open and sprawling, the air was still, and the temperature was just cool enough to take the edge off her otherwise grueling workout. Her wings were loose and limber and her heart pounded comfortably as she turned a tight circle over the blank fields outside town. Her reflexes were at their sharpest as she raced back across the countryside, moving close enough to fling loose blades of grass up behind her. She could see Rarity’s boutique in the distance, and marveled to herself that someone could spend so much time inside on such a beautiful day. She did one final loop before landing next to a tree to catch her breath.

“Impressive,” said a voice to her side.

She jumped, startled, and looked at the pony who had spoken to her. She recognized him instantly.

“My apologies; I didn’t mean to frighten you. I thought you saw me when you landed.”

As he spoke, awareness came to her, and the feeling of dreaming slowly ebbed away. He stood before her, as he had every night for a long time, tall, and proud, and very real. His white fur shone in the afternoon sun, flowing off his head and backside in single, silken curtains, contrasted with mirroring streaks of impossible, unbroken black. His sharp horn was like a point of crystal over his brilliant, joyful, blue eyes—the eyes that everyone had seen so many times, but still ensnared her with their beauty. They were without imperfection, and as he looked back at her, they danced with a smile.

“Pretty, I know,” he said, his voice courteous and smooth. His mouth was a perfect slice of straight teeth, and Rainbow couldn’t help but smile sheepishly at his acknowledgement. “Forgive me, Rainbow Dash, for I have forgotten my manners. My name is Fluttershy.”

“Fl—what?”

“Fluttershy is my name. Is something the matter?”

Rainbow looked at him warily. She knew she was dreaming, but the discomfort she felt was real. “No… it’s nothing. That’s the name of my best friend.”

“My my. That is quite coincidental.”

“Yeah.”

He smiled disarmingly. “You fly very fast, Rainbow Dash.”

Confidence swelled in her chest, her earlier awkwardness forgotten. “That’s me! Fastest flier in Equestria!”

“Is that right?” He smiled again, his perfect teeth gleaming.

“Darn right! You’re looking at the only pony alive who can do a sonic rainboom. Bet’cha never seen anyone do something like that!”

He smiled mirthfully, and his eyes gleamed with awe. “That is something to be proud of!” He paused. “Had I known I would be standing in the presence of someone of your stature, I would have taken the time to make myself presentable.” He looked unhappily at himself. “Alas—but I am distracted. I… believe this is a very fortunate encounter, Rainbow Dash. Few ponies know this, but I happen to be the fastest runner in Equestria.”

“No way,” she said, standing up.

“It is true. Would you care for a race?”

“There’s no way that’s gonna be fair,” Rainbow said. “A pony can’t run as fast as a pegasus can fly. It’s not possible.”

“You may be surprised,” he said with a grin.

She shrugged and flapped into the air. “All right, you’re on!”

“Excellent. All the way around town, then?”

“You got it. But no funny business with that horn of yours.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said smoothly.

“Then let’s do it.” They lined up at the tree, Rainbow arching her back into a comfortable position to take off, and the white stallion standing calmly by. “Three… two… one… go!” She took off in a blur of flapping wings and a colorful afterimage, determined to show the stallion the folly of his challenge.

The plain passed underneath her swiftly, leading to a small hill before a bend in the river. As she crested it, she caught no sight of her competitor, but, swooping downwards, heard his voice just behind. “Quite the excellent beginning, Rainbow Dash.” As she turned to look back, he cleared the hilltop, smiling placidly.

Her voice was a baffled whisper in the whipping wind. “What?”

“I told you I’m the fastest runner in Equestria. Come now, let’s make this a challenge, shall we?” He sped up, his white body a comet on the hillside, closing the gap between them. Her eyes were fixed on his inexorable advance, and as he drew within a few feet of her tail, she forced herself to look forward again. A spindly tree shrieked by, and his brilliant coat appeared in her peripheral vision, where it lingered for just a moment before pulling slowly ahead.

“Oh, no you don’t!” she gritted through her teeth, speeding up to overtake him. As she came beside him, he looked over briefly, still wearing his tranquil smile. She dipped to one side and extended her wings slightly, searching for an air current to give her the edge over his own impossible speed, but even as she inched forward, his blurred hooves carried him level with her.

Through the wind in her ears, she still heard him clearly. “Come now, is that all you have to offer?” He increased his pace again, pulling ahead, but she quickly matched him. Her wings were beginning to ache, and she smiled; it was the sign of a comfortable pace, one she could maintain and surpass without much effort.

“All right, no more Mrs. Nice Pony.” With a charge of adrenaline, she pumped her wing muscles firmly and swiftly, taking off with the power and confidence of her years of speed flying. She knew the skill it took to do what she did; she knew the nuance and timing behind maximizing speed and minimizing energy output, the difference between making the sky her own and exhausting herself after a couple minutes of mindless, relentless flapping. In her head, she knew of the unique physics and biology that allowed her to do what she did, the fact that a runner could never replicate it. Still, nervous sweat broke on her brow as she passed the white stallion.

“Nicely done, nicely done,” he said, again coming up behind her.

She looked quickly back at the town; they were just passing the library, and she had the inside track. “How are you doing that?” she shouted, insulted at his speed.

“This?” He laughed. “This is nothing, as I’m sure you’ll agree. Let’s see the speed you’re famed for, Rainbow Dash. The speed that’ll put you in the Wonderbolts someday.” He laughed again, and, looking forward, shot ahead like an arrow, effortlessly cutting a straight path through the air and away from her.

“No! It’s not possible!” she thought desperately, working to increase her speed again. She moved only slightly faster, but her wings were at their limit. She could only flap so fast before air resistance and gravity stopped her.

“Mind the turn, now!” he called, and she snapped her eyes up just in time to see the town’s edge.

She banked to the right, hard, and arrived at the finish line with an unbalanced turn, nearly skidding on her outstretched wing. She slowly walked back to their tree, where he stood just as he had before they started. No panting or gasping broke his firm countenance, and he nodded to her, his face unamused.

“I dare say, Rainbow Dash, I am a little ashamed of that performance. I was expecting a real challenge, and you hardly had me going at quarter speed.” She stuttered indignantly, and he smiled. “Still, it was merely a race between friends.” He looked up at the sun, raising no hoof to shield his eyes. “Oh, dear, just look at the time. I’m afraid you need to wake up now. See you in a few hours.”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy’s voice, accompanied by a gentle shake, roused her.

“Wha? What’s going on?”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, but you were murmuring in your sleep, and at first I thought it was okay, but then you started tossing and turning, and then your wings started flapping and I couldn’t wake you up!”

Rainbow sat up and Fluttershy leaned back. “Oh, thank Celestia, it was a dream.”

“What did you dream about?”

“Guess.”

“The white stallion?”

“Yep, him.”

“He was in my dream too,” Fluttershy said meekly.

“He talked to me this time. Not, like, blurry dream-speak or anything, but full sentences. It felt… really, really real, now that I think about it.”

“He always talks to me.”

Rainbow rubbed her eyes. “He ever give you a name?”

“Um… yes, actually. Just tonight.”

Rainbow stared at her. “What was it?” she asked quietly.

“Um… well… you’re not going to like this. He… he said his name was, well, Rainbow Dash. You.”

“Huh.” She was too tired to give more of a reaction, though her mind froze up at the thought. “That’s… not good.”

Fluttershy only nodded, and when Rainbow lay back down, Fluttershy did too; they fell asleep in minutes, and Rainbow did not wake again.

With Pinkie taking the second half of the night watch, they wound up getting up just at dawn. As the sun slowly crept upwards, they had a light breakfast of toast and water.

“Did you get to sleep all right, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked quietly, and Rainbow nodded. “That’s good.”

“What happened last night?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, just more of that stupid stallion,” Rainbow said.

“I dreamt of him too,” Rarity said.

“This one was really intense. I was flying around, and he approached me and offered to race. So we raced, but he… it was so weird, no matter how fast I flew, he always managed to get ahead of me.”

“So you dreamed of losin’ a race. It ain’t that big a deal,” Applejack said.

“I think it’s a pretty big deal! He ran faster than I could fly. Not by a little, either. He creamed me! By the time I reached the end of the race, I was about to collapse, and all he said was ‘too bad you couldn’t have gone faster,’ or something. He was making fun of me for losing!”

“Easy, Rainbow. It was just a dream,” Twilight said.

“Oh yeah? Well, here’s the really weird part. He introduced himself to me in the dream. Guess what his name was.”

“Ah couldn’t even begin to,” Applejack said.

“Fluttershy.”

“Whoa whoa whoa. Fluttershy?” Twilight asked. “As in, our friend, the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Creeeeeeeeepy,” Pinkie said.

“And in my dream, he called himself Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy added.

“Wait a minute. He introduced himself in my dream too,” Twilight said. “He said his name was Princess Celestia.”

“What? Celestia?” Applejack said.

“This is getting worse,” Octavia said.

Rarity shuffled uncomfortably, and they looked at her. Her eyes were wide with concern, and they stared into the distance behind the ship.

“What’s wrong, Rarity?” Twilight asked, turning. “Oh.”

Covering the clouds over Ponyville, spreading like spilled ink, a dark, distorted shadow grew, bleeding across the sky steadily, dimming the clear blue into a shadowy navy.

“What the hay?” Applejack said quietly as they got up to look.

“This… looks bad,” Octavia said.

“What do we do?” Fluttershy asked, but no one had an answer. They could only watch as the shadow reached over and around the horizon, before coming to a stop right before the sun’s edge.

Rainbow squinted into it. “There’s something out there.”

Where she pointed, they could see it: just a speck, but growing as it moved toward them.

“Right, Ah’m gettin’ us outta here,” Applejack said, turning back to the wheel.

“Wait, AJ.”

The engines’ low rumble turned to a deck-vibrating whirr as Applejack pulled back the unengaged levers. “Ah’m not lettin’ us wait fer whatever that is. What if it’s Discord, comin’ fer round two?”

“It’s him,” Rarity said. “I can see his coat.”

“The white stallion?” Pinkie asked in a small voice.

“Not for long,” Rainbow said, racing over to one of the untouched turrets on the ship’s side.

“Rainbow, stop it!” Twilight cried. “He might not be bad.”

“He’s invading our dreams. That’s bad enough for me.” She wrapped her hooves around the handles and swiveled it toward him, but nothing happened. “Uh, how do I use this?”

“He is not flying,” Octavia said. While everyone else crouched by the gunwales in fear or jogged around the deck, searching for a solution, she passively studied the distant pony. “It looks like he is walking.” She could see his blue eyes glinting and hear a swelling laugh coming from his direction.

“At least he sounds happy to meet us,” Pinkie said.

As he drew nearer, they backed away from the sides to watch as he trotted through the air. Neither wings nor shimmering magic held him aloft, only his impeccably clean hooves, stepping lightly across the air as though it were as solid for him as the earth. He drew level with their ship and strode calmly over the rail, coming to rest on the deck. His black and white mane flopped as he bowed.

“It’s you!” Rainbow cried. “You’re the pony from our dreams!”

“Who are you? How did you get up here? What are you doin’?” Applejack demanded, backing up at the same time.

“Relax, my friends. Relax.” His voice was as it was in their dreams, but more powerful; it seemed to fill the air around them, a strong and soft masculine purr that commanded attention and calm.

“How did you get up here?” Twilight asked urgently.

He laughed. “Now now now, patience. I’m not here to harm you.”

They backed away from him further and looked. They’d seen him in their dreams a hundred times, but to see him in the flesh was altogether different. His coat was more than white; it was brilliant, reflective, almost otherworldly white, the black in his mane and tail the cold, empty black of deep space. His cutie mark was a joyless, lightless circle of pure shadow, and his horn was a long, finely pointed barb of platinum. His eyes were blue chips of pure, calculating lapis, almost unreal in their intensity.

He waited as they took in his appearance, speaking only after they had settled. “My name is Vanilla Cream.”

Rainbow stepped forward angrily. “Wait, no it isn’t! You said your name—”

“Was Fluttershy? Or Princess Celestia? Or Rainbow Dash, or Pinkie Pie?” His smile vanished, and he closed his eyes as he bowed once more. “I do apologize, everypony, but that was just to give you all a start. It’s my idea of a joke.”

“That’s hardly a joke worth makin’,” Applejack said.

“Perhaps for you.” He smiled apologetically as he looked into her eyes. “You recently received a letter from a very powerful draconequus, advising you to watch for something following behind you.”

“How—”

“And that is I.” He smiled again as Applejack’s face contorted in defensive anger. “But! Hold on now, Applejack. Please, allow me to explain myself.”

“We would appreciate that,” Octavia said.

He paced before them, his hooves silent on the wooden deck. “How to begin? You are pressed into service by your goddesses, to fight Discord.”

“Yes,” Twilight said.

“And I am held under similar constraint, for his side. You may consider me a liaison of sorts.”

“Y’ain’t helpin’ yer case much,” Applejack said.

“I am not finished,” he said patiently. “He and I have met before this, but my loyalties do not lie with him. Not entirely.”

“Not entirely?” Rarity said. “Would you care to clarify that a little?”

“I am a summoned being,” he said. “Summoned and bound. Your side—the Gaia—is to me as Tartarus is to you.”

“So you’re from Tartarus,” Twilight said.

“Yes. Several months ago, I was most ungracefully dragged from my home, and forced into an audience with your malefactor, whereupon he cast a binding spell on me.”

“Wait, I thought Gaia magic couldn’t mix with Tartarus magic.”

“The magic he used was that of my own world,” Vanilla said drily. “And he summoned me into the middle of a binding sigil. I had no time to react.”

“Hold on, hold on. Now you’re saying Discord has access to Tartarus magic, in addition to regular magic?”

“Only through me.” He paused, a knowing smile teasing his lips. “Believe me, I too shared your concern. But it became clear to me that his binding sigil was more the product of someone else’s work than his own. All he really did was draw it on the floor. And no, I don’t know where he found it. Probably carved on a wall somewhere in my world.”

“So you are bound to his service,” Octavia said. “You are not sounding very trustworthy right now.”

“I’m aware of that,” he said lightly. “Discord had the right spell, but someone from… here can only use Tartarus magic so well. They simply don’t mix. He has bound me, but cannot hold me to a specific act, only a general goal. And that is why I stand before you now.”

“Ah don’t follow,” Applejack said.

“My goal is his, but my actions remain my own, as well as my agency. I may be loyal to Discord, but that does not stop me from forming loyalties extra to that. And while I cannot exactly plot behind his back, I can become friendly with the opposition. That is you all.”

“So what are you trying to do, exactly?” Rainbow asked.

“I come here with a proposition. I do not want to see him stopped, because I cannot want that, but I know, under normal circumstances, I would. Do you understand?”

“How can you force yourself to do something that you do not want?” Octavia asked.

“How indeed, Octavia?”

She looked down with a blush, and he smiled kindly.

“How do you know our names?” Pinkie asked. “And how did you get into our dreams? And how do you float?”

“Proposition first, my dear. You want him destroyed, I know. I also know how powerful you all are, both in terms of your magical potential and raw physical and mental prowess.” He regarded them carefully. “I don’t relish saying this, but at this point, you cannot even touch him.”

“Ah beg to differ,” Applejack said. “He already came by once, an’ we walloped him good.”

“He was toying with you,” Vanilla said, shrugging and sitting down by the torch. “I’m sorry to have to tell you that, but it’s the truth. However, I can change that.”

“How?” Twilight asked skeptically.

“Well, I can’t disclose any information about your enemy, but I can add to your magic, and equip you for later encounters.”

“With Tartarus magic?”

“No, never. That would destroy you. Your augmentations would be from this side of existence.”

“Why should we trust you?” Octavia asked.

He smiled, showing precise, even teeth. “Because you have little choice. I am going to vex you all whether you like it or not—that part of my agreement is non-negotiable. The least you could do is accept my offer, and receive some form of compensation for the trouble I’ll be putting you through.”

They were silent as they absorbed his words. Eventually, Rainbow spoke. “How did you get up here?”

“My word, you’re persistent. I simply walked.” He laughed. “Did you not see me?”

“How long have you been following us?” Octavia asked.

“Since you arrived in Manehattan.” He smiled again. “I thought touching your dreams would ease you into the idea of meeting me.” He looked out over the landscape, his face wistful. “Though I do apologize for how this must be for you. Perhaps a more abrupt appearance would have been better, but I think not.”

“No, I agree,” Pinkie said. “I mean… yeah, it was scary, but sometimes it’s better to be scared a little bit over a long period of time instead of being super-duper scared all at once.”

“Why’d you have to scare us at all, though?” Applejack asked.

Vanilla shook his head lightly. “I’m afraid it would have been scary regardless. My manner of drawn-out appearance could not be improved, to my mind.” He sighed. “I do wish I could stay, but that would be ill-advised. Inordinate time spent in your company can very easily inform Discord of my intentions. Think about my offer; that’s all I ask for now.”

“Wait,” Twilight said. “How are you planning on ‘vexing’ us, exactly?”

He turned and walked to the end of the deck, and stepped off the rail, walking back into the open air. “I will visit you again.” With a mild flash from his horn, he was gone, and the sky shadow with him.

“What… the… hell,” Rainbow said.

“That was definitely him,” Twilight said, frowning, trying to keep calm.

“He was followin’ us since Manehattan? He coulda killed us a million times by now!” Applejack shouted.

“Did you not hear him? He said his intent is not to harm us,” Octavia said.

“Why should we trust him? He’s been giving us nightmares for a month now!” Rainbow cried.

“That is true,” Octavia said carefully. “But if he truly wanted to destroy us, he would have done it when he was just here. He clearly has the power to.”

“Maybe he wants to deliver us to Discord.”

“He has the power to do that too,” Twilight said.

Rainbow looked over her shoulder as she settled down. They all thought for a minute. “So what are we gonna do?” she eventually asked. “Fight him?”

“I think we should accept his offer,” Rarity said.

“But how do we know his magic is the real deal? What if it’s all a big trick?”

“He may be poisoning us, or taking our original magic away,” Fluttershy said, finally choosing to speak.

They were silent, and each pony contemplated the turn of events. “We will need to continue the night watch,” Octavia said at last. “If he returns, everyone must be woken.”

“He better not be one of those night-visitors,” Applejack said.

The day ended slowly, and just after dinner, Twilight received a response from Princess Luna, to which she replied detailing the visit from the white stallion. Everypony was skittish, looking behind themselves often, or spending minutes at a time standing at the sides of the ship, staring into the darkening sky.

When they went to sleep, leaving Rarity to watch the night, there was a small note under the bed, angled precisely for Octavia to see her name on it as she lay on the floor. When no one was looking, she read it to herself: Yes, it was I. You’re welcome. Vanilla Cream.

“Interesting,” Twilight said; it was midmorning, and they were cleaning up from breakfast.

“What is it?” Applejack asked.

“Princess Luna replied to my letter.”

“Does she have anything to say about the white stallion?” Rainbow asked.

“What was his name again?” Rarity asked.

“Vanilla Cream.”

“Yes, she does. She did some research on him last night,” Twilight said.

“Like what?” Octavia asked.

“Apparently, he’s been in Equestria twice before—in recorded history, at least. Once was a few centuries ago, and he was responsible for drying up a lake near present-day Fillydelphia.”

“Dryin’ up a lake? Why would he do somethin’ like that?” Applejack asked.

“She didn’t say. And the second time was only a few decades ago, where he was spotted in the Everfree Forest. He didn’t do anything that we know of.”

“So, what? He was just takin’ a walk?”

“I guess.”

“Even creatures from beyond the veil of our reality like to take a stroll sometimes,” Pinkie said.

“What did she say about his offer?” Rarity asked.

“She says it’s completely up to us. We just need to be really careful, and think it through before we accept it,” Twilight said.

“Ah don’t like it,” Applejack said.

“I say we take his offer. We have had some of our magic unlocked already; we may as well be complete,” Octavia said.

“Princess Luna said we should ask him a lot of questions about the magic before we let him do anything,” Twilight said.

“He’s probably gonna try an’ cheat us,” Applejack said.

“That’s her primary concern,” Twilight said, her brow furrowed as she folded the letter. “However, she said that we can trust his motivation. To a certain extent.”

“What extent?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, it makes sense he’d want to go against Discord. I mean, he did summon him against his will. Most of us would try to do something.”

“Hm. Ah still don’t like him,” Applejack said.

“Neither do I, but the way I see it, there isn’t much we can do.”

“We will simply have to keep watch for him, and react with caution,” Octavia said.

“Don’t you mean act with caution?” Rainbow said.

“No.”

“Oh. Okay.”