Evolution. The process of change, environmental pressure sharpening and molding life. In the short time that I spent in the Everfree Forest, I knew that evolution was both a terrifying and wondrous thing.

Despite ponykind's best efforts, the Everfree Forest had continued to evolve and grow, becoming a haven where survival of the fittest is the first rule of hoof. It is a threatening, dangerous environment filled with beasts, plants, and the relics of a forgotten past.

Ponies helped the evolution of the Everfree Forest along. There was no way the lab we had found was the only one. There could be dozens dotting the deadly forest. The creatures the prewar researchers had cultivated there were lethal, potential weapons that eventually turned on their creators.

I often wonder... what am I evolving into? Were both Discord and the Twilight Society right? Am I a threat to everything that ponies hold dear? Will I evolve into something deadly and evil that will ultimately destroy the Wasteland?

“There you are. Now, come along before I have to get rowdy.”

The orange alicorn's eyes were ablaze as she stared across the broken walls at me. I gritted my teeth, bringing up Stargazer immediately. The other alicorn flapped her wings, moving to the side as I fired and missed. The mare golem spun around , landing a solid kick in the rubble that was the wall. The entire building shook with the force of the blow, large chunks of debris flying towards me. Instinctively I threw up my alicorn shield, the cinder blocks splashing against it in plumes of grit.

Shit! I thought as I looked down at where the shard was sitting. The rumbling had jarred it from the mound it was on. A loud shrieking noise filled the air as one of the insect beasts flew out from the air duct. It buzzed loudly, locking onto the target that wasn't shielded. The orange alicorn paid no attention to the insect, casually lifting a hoof and slapping it away. The creature exploded from the blow, chunks hitting the wall in a mess of blood and gore.

SHIT!!! I thought frantically. I really did not want to get hit by this mare. The orange alicorn grinned, reaching around and kicking another one of the support columns. It snapped like a twig, the entire building groaning loudly. I really really hoped that Violet and the others were outside safely.

“Star!” a voice shouted down the stairs. Violet's face poked around the door, instantly turning pale at the sight in front of her.

“Violet, you've gotta get everypony out of here!” I called back. “This whole place is going down!”

My marefriend yelped, running back up the stairs to round up the others. I returned my attention to the orange alicorn, who was hovering in place smirking at me. She lowered a hoof on the rock, shattering it with a mere touch.

My eyes widened as I watched the floor and ceiling beginning to crack. I lashed out with my telekinesis, yanking the shard away from the mound before the ground below it fell away. The shard flew through the air, making it safely into my saddlebags. The ceiling crashed down, countless tons of debris showering down upon me. I called upon Shining Armor's shield spell and lifted into the air, punching through the cinderblocks and wood and out into open air. A brief glance down revealed that the others had indeed managed to get out of lab. Violet was floating Steeljack along. The stallion appeared to be unconscious still.

The orange alicorn lazily floated up to eye level as I hovered there. I glared at her. She had a bemused expression on her face, almost as if she didn't really care that I'd gotten the shard or that I'd escaped her little trap.

“So, which one are you?” I said angrily.

“They used to call me Honesty, but now they call me Deceit,” the orange alicorn replied. “And you are coming with me, Radiant Star.”

“I don't think so,” I said, patting my saddlebag. “I've got the other half of the shard now. I'm going to stop Spark and put you all back where you belong!” To my surprise, the orange mare chuckled. “What's so funny?”

“Do you honestly think the spirit of Chaos would have hidden something so powerful in just one place?” she said.

My eyes widened as I realized what she was implying – no not implying, outright telling me.

“Yes, the piece you have is one of four. We already have one of them. The other three are out there, being hunted down by the others. I was assigned to hunt down you, after Cruelty failed to contain you,” she continued.

“Well you can't have this one,” I said, lifting Stargazer. “And I'm not going with you anywhere!”

“That's too bad. Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way,” Deceit said, her eyes flaring an angry orange.

I blinked. The mare disappeared, slamming into my still active shield with a fierce buck that sent the entire bubble, myself included, speeding towards the ground. I hit hard, shaken inside the shield as it dropped. Pain shot through my entire body as I bounced off the bottom of the shield. I let Shining Armor’s spell drop as I crumpled to the ground, fighting to catch my breath.

“Star!” Violet shouted, galloping over to me.

I pushed myself off the ground, coughing. Violet extended a hoof, helping me up. I glared up at the orange alicorn. She hovered there impassively.

Violet followed my gaze. “Star... what's going on? Who is that?”

“Honesty,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Violet, you take the others and get back. I need to deal with this, now.”

“Are you sure?” Violet said, her eyes pleading with me.

“No more running,” I said. “I need to know more about the Elements. You guys need to be away from here.” I grimaced, looking up at Deceit.

Violet backed up, galloping over to the others. They started moving away from the destroyed research lab. I growled under my breath, taking to the sky. The research lab was in major disarray below, the pylons holding it to the side of the cliff in danger of falling to the valley. I matched Deceit's altitude, lifting Stargazer out.

“You're persistent,” Deceit said. “I'll give you that. But I'm stronger. And I will be taking you back to Spark.”

“Why?” I snarled, challenging the other mare. “Why are you helping her? The memories of the Elements that I saw... You would have never helped Spark attempt something so insane!”

“Ponies change,” Deceit stated simply. “War, it never changes, but ponies do. War makes ponies do horrific things. We grow tired of your pathetic world.”

“Ponies want to be better, can't you see that? The Lightbringer showed everypony that,” I snarled. I thought about the MMMM, the ponies there in Theater trying to give the city of Chicacolt what they needed with the promise of clean water, good food, and a place to stay. It wasn't glamorous or heroic. It was necessary. “They want to make the Wasteland a better place every day!”

“And yet, they continue to fail,” Deceit replied. “Just like you don't actually believe in her as a ‘Lightbringer’. You think of her as the Destroyer. That is the true nature of ponies. Now then... that's enough of that, don't you think? We were doing this the hard way, remember?”

She grinned, flaring her wings. Mere seconds passed as the mare shot across the sky, slamming into me hard. Pain shot through my chest and shoulders as I fell to the ground. Deceit followed after me this time, landing on the ground as I hit. I hacked up blood, my insides feeling like they were on fire. The orange alicorn stomped hard, her horn flaring as several chunks of rock shot up through the earth. I went flying through the air, grunting.

I picked myself back up, quickly realizing that I didn't have Stargazer. The minigun had fallen to the ground away from where Deceit had originally knocked me down. I coughed again, more blood spraying onto the stones. I wiped myself with my fetlock. Shit this is not good, I thought. This one is a lot faster than Cruelty. How in the hell am I supposed to cast Twilight's memory spell if I can't follow her attack! Deceit stood at the far end of the underbrush, grinning.

Ignoring the pain, I charged forward, reaching out with my magic to grab Stargazer. As soon as my weapon was back in my grasp, I activated E.S.A.T.S., queuing up several shots at the orange alicorn. Time went back to normal and Stargazer spat it's hot payload across the clearing. Deceit kicked down, sending a spray of rocks in front of her that ate the brunt of the shots.

“Cute. But we remember what you did to Cruelty,” she said. “You will not so lucky get again.”

She kicked a forehoof, a short sharp motion that sent a wave of rocks in a line at me. I growled, leaping to the side and firing again with Stargazer. Deceit jumped away, the bullets going wide. She charged at me, her wings tucked in. I yelped, throwing up a shield spell. Deceit barreled into it, shattering it and sending me flying across the clearing. I tumbled along, finally landing in a heap.

“Shit,” I grunted, coughing. I pushed myself up, standing shakily.

Deceit stood there, her stance mocking my every movement. I growled, galloping forward as best as I could, floating along Stargazer. I sent a spray of fire at the other mare, forcing her to jump out of the way. I tracked her as she moved, sending another wave of bullets into her path. Deceit grinned, flaring her horn and creating a wall of rock that blocked them. The orange alicorn kicked out, sending a shower of debris at me. I raised my shield, the rubble impacting on the shimmering purple barrier.

Flinging the spell away, I opened my wings and leaped into the air, sending a telekinetic blast down at Deceit. The other mare grinned, raising a shield of her own. My blast dispersed harmlessly over her shield. I scowled, reaching out and casting my gravity spell on the opposing mare's barrier. It shimmered briefly, but held its position.

“Oh, a gravity spell? How quaint,” Deceit said. “You sure are interesting... sugarcube.”

“Don't call me that,” I retorted. “Try this on for size!”

My horn ignited, casting the gravity spell on the debris surrounding the alicorn. I grinned as the rocks zipped into the sky. I dismissed the spell, bringing the mass of debris down towards my opponent. I lifted Stargazer, firing wildly. Deceit dropped her shield spell, kicking down to create a rock wall that blocked the shots. It didn't block the ten tons of rock that slammed into her though. Dust billowed off the tomb I'd made for her. If that doesn't hold her, then – I started to think.

An orange hoof slammed out of the rock, spraying the rubble everywhere as Deceit emerged. She had a sharp grin on her face. She swept her forelegs through the pile as she climbed out, shooting several missiles of rock right at me. I grunted as I was knocked back, hitting the ground with a *crash*. I groaned, standing immediately as Deceit started forward. I glared at her intensely.

“Your spells are no match for my strength,” Deceit said. “I am simply too strong for you.”

“And I'm Princess Celestia,” I said, gritting my teeth. “Doesn't mean a fucking thing to me. I'm still not coming with you.”

I was running through everything I knew about this mare so far in the back of my mind. She was strong, almost ridiculously strong. I had yet to be hit by a direct blow, and I already knew that I didn't want to be. She was also incredibly fast. I couldn't even begin to keep up with her. Is this how all of the Elements' mortal forms were? And yet... it felt almost like she was holding back. I grimaced.

“Cute,” Deceit replied. “But flippant jokes will get you nowhere in this fight. Let me show you what true strength is.”

The orange alicorn grunted, slamming her back hooves down into the ground. The earth itself quivered beneath her stomp, several large rocks popping up from below. Deceit's horn ignited, turning the rocks into a whirling barrier of death that surrounded her. She grinned, charging forward. The rock barrier turned into something akin to a machine gun as several rock shards ejected from the storm of debris. I yelped, lifting my alicorn shield, but the shards punched through like it was butter. One of the shards struck me on my shoulder, drawing blood and forcing me to the ground. Deceit stopped short of me, grinning as I pushed myself into a kneeling position. My vision was blurry. I wasn't going to last much longer. I needed to do something!

“Star!!” Violet shouted.

I looked up to see my love raise Thunder Flash. She fired, the silvery bolt striking Deceit in the side. While it was enough to stagger her, the blast did little else. Lilith and Nixis stood by Star, ready to fight. Sunshine stood guard further up the ridge over Steeljack, who appeared to still be unconscious. Deceit snarled, kicking her front hooves down into the ground, sending a shockwave rippling across the forest. Violet flew backwards, hitting the earth hard, her beam rifle clattering next to her. Nixis and Lilith held their ground, the hellhound taking the opportunity to leap into the fray.

“Pitiful,” Deceit said.

I shouted for them to leave, but they didn't listen. Violet pushed herself off the ground, picking Thunder Flash back up as Nixis closed on Deceit. The hellhound roared, launching into a flurry of strikes against the alicorn. Despite her stony exterior, Nixis' claws seemed to find purchase in the orange mare's skin. Blood seeped out from the shallow wounds that he left as Deceit backpedaled, igniting her horn. She threw up a shield spell, pushing the hellhound away. Nixis went flying, hitting the ground with a grunt next to Lilith.

“I've already fought one of you,” Lilith said. “And she was a pushover. I'm gonna have fun with this.” She flared her wings and I grimaced as I pushed myself up.

I had to do something. I had to help! I snarled loudly, firing a burst of shots with Stargazer. The orange mare turned and dodged, dropping her shield spell as she moved. Lilith was ready for her. With a flash, she was up in the air and had set the Bitch to work. The missile soared across the clearing, impacting the alicorn and setting her ablaze. I blinked through the flames and smoke.

“Did we do it?” Violet said as she made her way to my side.

I narrowed my gaze at where Deceit had been standing. A black form appeared amidst the smokescreen, revealing the completely unblemished body of the alicorn. She grinned as she kicked down into the ground, sending a spray of rocks through the air. The debris knocked Lilith spinning, forcing the black mare to the ground in a heap.

“You're right,” Deceit said. “That was fun. Now, step aside. My business is with Radiant Star. Not you.”

“Never,” Violet hissed. “I won't let you hurt her!” She lifted Thunder Flash, sending several gouts of silver towards the orange alicorn.

Deceit moved lazily to the side, kicking into the ground. A line of rocks came shooting towards us. My eyes widened as I flared my own horn, picking Violet up and pushing her off to the side. I took the brunt of the blow, falling back to the ground. I was beyond the pain, feeling almost nothing but a tingle. Was that a bad thing? Should I be feeling something? I didn't have time to think about it before Deceit was on top of me, ready to kick down. And yet... she didn't. She stopped short, her expression stern.

“You are quite resilient, Radiant Star. I admit, I'm enjoying this,” she said. “Now then, come along quietly. I do not wish to kill you. You are important.”

“I'm not important,” I snarled. There it is, I thought. That's why she's holding back. She needs me. Spark needs me. She couldn't kill me even if she wanted to! An idea formed in my mind. I needed to throw her off. My horn flared, ripping a very shard edged rock from a nearby pile of rubble. I held it to my neck, glaring at Deceit. “Leave us alone, or I will drive this into my neck. I'll be dead before you get close to me, bitch.”

Deceit's eyes widened. “You wouldn't dare,” she said. I could see that she was trying to resolve some sort of inner conflict as she grimaced. Finally, she looked up at me. “You're lying.”

“Try me,” I said, pressing the shard into my neck for a brief second.

A trickle of blood oozed down the shard. Deceit's eyes widened again, and she charged forward to try and stop me. I grinned, holding the shard until she was right on top of me. She batted the shard away and met my gaze, her eyes showing the realization that I had caught her in my trap. My horn flared, forcing her head down with my telekinesis. As her horn touched mine, I released the memory spell and the world fell away into nothingness.

“Y'all are fired.”

I blinked as shouts from the room I was sitting in echoed all around me. I looked up at the source of the discontent. The Ministry Mare of Technology stood tall and proud at the head of the table. Several business ponies from Equestria's many major wartime industries sat lining the meeting room, all of them fired up and shouting at the orange earth pony. At each of her sides a Steel Ranger stood ready to fend off any attack. I sat in the middle of the table, watching the memory like a spectator.

“What do you mean, we're fired?!”

“You think you can order us around?!”

“What's your problem with us?”

Applejack sighed, lifting a hoof. She had a pained expression on her face.

“Look, y'all can either see yourselves out the door, or I can have these fine young soldier boys do it for ya,” she said forcefully. “Ah'm sick and tired of seeing what y'all are doing to Equestria, and that's the honest truth.”

One of the stallions snarled. “You get rid of our companies and you'll see your Ministry dragged down with us!” he spat. “You need us just as much as we need you.”

“Oh, I didn't say I was firin' yer companies,” Applejack said with a smirk. “Ah'm firin' y'all. And only y'all. I need ponies I can depend on, ponies who will work on the projects that I want to. We don't need guns that will kill our own soldiers. We don't need your direction.”

“That's preposterous,” another of the business stallions said. “We'll raise this issue to the Princess! You can't just fire us!”

“The Princess has already been informed, and she agrees. We're aimin' to end this war, gentlecolts. And that requires gumption I'm sad to say... y'all don't have,” Applejack replied. “I personally don't need a bunch of snake wearin’ leather business ponies who think they know better than me, sneakin' around mah back and tryin' to kill me. Or did y'all forget about that grenade?”

“That's a very deep accusation, Ministry Mare,” the stallion at the end of the table said. “We've always been loyal to you.”

“Loyal? You wouldn't know what loyalty was if it bit you on the ass,” Applejack retorted. “Now. Ah've got a meetin' in thirty minutes with y'alls replacements. Good, hard workin, honest ponies I can trust.” She glanced at the two Steel Rangers. “Boys. Show these gentlecolts the door, please. And try not to be too rough.”

The two Steel Rangers started forward, pointing their battle saddles at the assembled business ponies, who grudgingly got up from their seats and exited the room. I was left alone as one of the Steel Rangers stayed behind. He looked back at the Ministry Mare.

“Applejack?”

“Yeah, Ah'm alright,” the orange earth pony replied. “Don't even need to ask, Applesnack. Look, think I could get a moment alone? I wanna pull myself together after dealin' with those ponies. Gotta be fresh for the next meetin' and all.”

“Absolutely. I'll be right outside here if you need me,” the Steel Ranger said. He stepped out of the room and closed the door. I stood myself, watching as Applejack regarded me curiously.

“You shouldn't be here,” she said, her mouth slowing down and freezing as the brilliant form of Honesty appeared behind her. “You must leave. Now.”

“No,” I said. “I came here to end this, and I intend to do just that. It's curious, how an Element such as yourself has a memory like this one. Why? I thought you were above normal ponies.”

“Applejack... Applejack was hardly a normal pony,” Honesty said. “She was an honest, loving mare. I miss her dearly.”

“So why help Spark then? You know as well as I do that the Applejacks of the future will be nothing underneath her rule,” I challenged.

“You know nothing,” Honesty said, looking down at the orange mare beneath her. “There will never be another Applejack.”

“There doesn't need to be,” I said. “There may not be another Applejack, but there has to be somepony out there who embodies Honesty.”

The orange alicorn grimaced. “There is... there is one pony,” she said. “But Spark... she holds power over us. She has control. She is the binding force, the Element who holds the other five together. We cannot act against her while her mortal form still exists.”

“You did once before, what changed?” I asked.

Honesty sighed, slumping to her haunches.

“We lost them,” she said, pointing at Applejack. “They were our strength, our rock. Pillars of unbridled hope in a hopeless world. We needed them just as much as they needed us.”

“Wait, are you saying because you had a Bearer, that was why you were able to resist Spark?” I said. Honesty nodded. “You said there was a pony. A new Bearer?”

“A new Bearer for a new age,” Honesty said.

“Well then, why not just go to that pony?” I said. “Or call out to that pony for help? Surely they can help us.”

Honesty shook her head. “It's not the right time,” she replied. “The others must be present. The spark must find all of the new bearers before we can be summoned that way.”

“But if... If Spark has her way... that won't happen,” I said. “She'll transcend being an Element and become a Goddess, preventing the Element Bearers from claiming their Element of Harmony.”

Honesty nodded again. I grimaced. This was not good.

“In order for Spark's spirit to be correctly re-associated with a Bearer, she will need to be be made dormant once more like we were before you woke us,” she explained. “She will need to be sealed.”

I narrowed my gaze at the orange mare. “Sealed?” I said. In the back of my mind, I knew what she was referring to, and I didn't like it.

“Yes. Just like Twilight did to her,” Honesty said. “The sealing spell that she performed forced Spark to become dormant, trapping her in the shards of energy you have found. That spell will need to be performed again.”

“But...” I said, looking down at my wings. Twilight's spell, it required certain... sacrifices. Was I ready to make that decision? Could I even consider it? Eyes blazing, I looked back up at Honesty. “What if I don't want to do that? What if I decide there's another way?”

“Then you are a fool,” Honesty said. “And that's the honest truth. You will fail if you do not seal Spark away. If she gets her way, all of creation suffers.”

“Then a fool I shall be,” I said. “But you are a fool too, for helping her.” Honesty shifted, looking uncomfortable. I stomped my hoof. “There is another way, isn't there?”

“I... I don't know. Honestly, I don't. Spark... she's dangerous. If she gets her way...” She said, trailing off. “I can't help you. Not directly, at least.”

“What do you mean?” I said, cocking my head.

“Myself and the others... we're tied to the mortal forms that we have created for ourselves,” Honesty said. “If you can disperse our mortal forms, then you will have a chance at Spark. It's not much...”

“How do I do that?” I asked.

“The gem in the chest of our mortal forms. Destroy the gem, and you will destroy our mortal form for a short time,” Honesty said.

“But I did that already to Kindness,” I said. “And I was told that she wasn't gone.”

“Kindness still maintained a link on her mortal form when you destroyed the gem. In order to disperse our mortal forms, you must convince the spirit of Harmony to sever that link,” Honesty explained with a grimace. “As I will now do for you.”

“Why would you do that if you want to help Spark succeed?” I said.

Honesty shook her head. “You misunderstand, Radiant Star. Spark controls us. We don't have a choice. I would much rather go back to sleep and wait for my next Bearer to call on my strength, but I can't. You woke us up, you alerted Spark to us. This is your problem to fix,” she said, narrowing her gaze at me. “I can't help you directly, so this is the best I can do.”

“I... I...” I said, catching a breath. “Thank you. What's going to happen then once this memory ends?”

“You'll be back in the waking world. Unfortunately, so will my mortal form. The form is corrupt, and it will not realize anything has happened. It will continue to try and capture you,” Honesty said.

“Great,” I said. “And here I thought this was going to be easy.”

“Just being honest with you, Star. You are going to have to fight, and fight hard,” Honesty replied. “Destroy the gem, disperse my mortal form, and find Spark. Finish this once and for all.”

I nodded. “I will,” I said.

The memory began to shift and shimmer, finally disappearing into nothingness.

I grunted, my eyes forcing themselves awake on their own. Pushing myself up, I felt my sides flare up in pain. It was like liquid fire was pouring through my veins, but I had to push through it. I had to. Across the rubble from me was Deceit. The orange alicorn looked like she'd taken a real beating, scuffs and scrapes marring her formerly immaculate form. She stirred, her eyes opening in a flash. With a roar, she jumped to her hooves.

“What did you do to me?” she challenged. “Tell me, and I will make your death quick.”

“You know... I don't think I want to tell you,” I replied, lashing out with my magic, sending a telekinetic blast at the other mare.

Deceit snarled and jumped back, taking the brunt of the blow on a folded wing. She hissed as she pulled her wing back and kicked down, sending a spray of rubble at me. I lifted my alicorn shield, the rocks deflecting off the solid barrier.

“Nice try. I think I felt something there,” I said.

Deceit growled under her breath. I could tell I was starting to royally piss her off.

“I will enjoy ripping you limb from limb, Radiant Star,” she said. “Spark didn't say that you needed to be alive, after all.” She sneered. “Let's test how strong your body really is, shall we?”

“Blah blah blah,” I said. “Less talking, more fighting, 'kay?”

I jumped to the side, lifting Stargazer from where it had fallen. I sent a wave of bullets at the other alicorn, forcing her to dodge. I took stock of the situation, scanning as quickly as I could for where the others were. My E.F.S. was no help, of course. The entire forest was a sea of red, completely obscuring the yellow blips that were my friends. I growled as Deceit rushed forward, intent on a full frontal assault. Her front hooves came down in front of me, sending columns of rock straight into my chest. I grunted in pain, rolling in a tangle of limbs and wings across the clearing. I looked up to see Deceit flying into the air, intent on dive bombing me from above.

A blast of silver fire was my saving grace. Thunder Flash’s shot tore through the air, catching the orange alicorn in the wing. She went soaring backwards, landing with a *thud*. I pushed myself up to see Violet standing next to me, her eyes wide. Behind her stood Lilith, Sunshine, and... Steeljack?! The gray stallion was on his hooves, standing shakily, but standing nonetheless. Violet had replaced his chest plate, hole and all. I could still see the bandages through the hole. He smiled painfully, waving with his hoof. My mind raced as I wondered where Nixis had gone to. The hellhound appeared to be nowhere in site. I didn't have a moment to vocalize that concern before Violet pounced on me.

“Star! Are you alright?” Violet said as her horn lit up, examining me with her medical magic. “Shit... you look like hell...”

I grunted. I was pretty sure that she was right. I hurt all over. The only possible way I'd hurt less was if I was dead, and that really wasn't an option.

“How long were we out?” I said.

“For at least an hour. There was a shield around both of you. We couldn't get through until you came out of it,” she said.

I blinked. An hour?! I looked back over to where Deceit had fallen and thought about what I'd seen in the memory with Honesty. I needed to end this, and I needed to end it now.

“There's a way to stop her,” I said. “We need to destroy the gem in her chest. It won't... it won't stop them for good, but it will give us time. Time we need to find the rest of the shards and Spark.”

“Rest of the shards?” Lilith questioned.

“Discord broke the shards up and hid them,” I said, grimacing. “Seems like something he would do.”

Deceit began to stir once more, pushing herself into a standing position. She snarled.

“Well, it seems the gang's all back together,” she said. “Step aside, and I promise I won't kill you. All I want is Radiant Star.”

“Never,” Violet challenged. “We won't leave her.”

“Fine then, let it never be said that I didn't offer,” Deceit replied nonchalantly. “Time to finish this.”

“I agree,” I said, narrowing my gaze at the orange alicorn. My eyes drifted down to the glowing gem in her chest. “Time to finish this for good.” I lifted Stargazer. “Violet. I want you to cover me. Give me an opening.”

“But Star...” Violet started to protest.

I cut her off with a look. “Just... trust me, alright?” I said. “The rest of you... hang back. Intervene if you have to.”

Lilith nodded, grabbing onto Steeljack and Sunshine and pulling them towards the nearby underbrush. Violet hefted Thunder Flash into the air with her magic. I charged forward, sending a set of bullets towards Deceit. The orange alicorn grunted and stomped a hoof, kicking up a wall of rock that absorbed most of my shots. A blast of silvery fire soared past her head as Violet's initial strike missed. Deceit sneered, kicking her other hoof into the ground. A stone spear shot out, flying at Violet. I growled, throwing up a shield spell that covered my marefriend, forcing the wayward projectile to the ground.

I flared my horn, sending a blast of telekinesis at the rock wall, shattering it into tiny pieces. Deceit kicked down again, but didn't make contact as I put a shield under the other alicorn's hoof. I pushed out with a wave of magic, sending the mare flying through the air. She grunted, spreading her wings to slow down. Violet pressed the attack, firing with Thunder Flash as fast as she could. Silver streams arced across the clearing, slamming into Deceit's forelegs. The orange mare howled and fell to the ground hard. She pushed herself up almost immediately, igniting her horn to block the bullet fire as I unleashed Stargazer's fury. The shield held, dispersing the fire. Deceit kicked down, sending several large shards of rock soaring at us.

“Duck!” I shouted, pressing to the ground.

The rock shards flew over our heads, impacting the earth behind us. My insides felt like fire, painful and raw. I was going to lose it any moment, but not before I finished my task and stop Deceit. I pulled Violet and myself to our hooves, leveling a telekinetic blast at the alicorn's shield. Brute force wasn't working as well as it normally did. Deceit was freakishly strong, even without her connection to the spirit of Honesty. I had to be smarter than I normally was to defeat her. The blast dissipated, blinding the other mare for a brief second. I shot forward, charging through the debris. Deceit looked up, her eyes widening as I shot past her, drawing her attention. Her shield faltered as she turned curiously, her gae on my departing flank.

Violet took that opening and sent a blast of fire into the alicorn. Deceit roared as Thunder Flash's unique magical energy licked her flank. I spun around, flaring my horn and readying another blast of telekinesis. My eyes widened as I saw several sets of large green eyes open in the forest around us. Four timber wolves leaped out of the underbrush, surrounding us. Lilith and the others had been forced out of their hiding spot by the wooden beasts. Deceit snarled under her breath.

“Great...” I said softly. “Nothing is ever that simple isn't it?” I lifted a hoof to my side, breathing hard.

The timberwolves snapped and slobbered, circling us like the dying prey we were. Deceit was the first to strike as she kicked down, sending a column of rock right through one of the wolves, shattering its body into multiple pieces. The remaining timber wolves took immediate notice, disregarding us for the new threat. They pounced as one on the orange alicorn, biting and howling. Deceit kicked out, sending the timber wolves flying into the trees surrounding us. More green eyes glowed to life in the forest. It was like we'd stumbled upon an entire nest of the things! I grimaced. There had to be some way to use this to my advantage, I just couldn't figure out how!

More timber wolves emerged from the underbrush, bearing down on Lilith and the others. Steeljack fired several times with Tempest's rifle, sharp retorts turning wooden wolf heads into splinters. Lilith kicked the Bitch into high gear, blowing holes in the ground and timber wolf legs. Violet stopped and turned, melting a wolf into silvery goop with a S.A.T.S. charged shot from Thunder Flash. Deceit charged at me, ignoring the chaos and the confusion of the fight to engage me once more. A timber wolf appeared in her path, snarling and snapping. Deceit didn’t even slow, shattering the poor creature underhoof as she trampled towards me.

Shit! I thought as Deceit swung out at me. I ducked, but only barely. I felt the wind above me through her swing. If she had lost any power at all from having her connection severed from Honesty, she wasn't showing it. The only major difference was that she was getting more sluggish. My eyes widened. She was getting tired! I didn't know how it was possible, but it was. I just needed to put her in a place where I could strike. I began to pool a bit of magic into the base of my horn, readying a spell for when I'd need it.

I pushed myself out of her range, barely making it away from one of her powerful hoof strikes. I landed on the back side of a timber wolf, who roared loudly as I jumped into the air and spread my wings. A quick burst shot at the wolf put it down. I turned my attention back to Deceit, who had also taken to the sky. She shot forward, attempting to close the distance between us. I lifted Stargazer, sending a spread of bullets out before flaring my horn and casting the teleportation spell I'd been building up. I disappeared in a flash, appearing behind Deceit. The bullets I'd sent flying shot past the alicorn, coming right for me. I grinned, extending a sheath of telekinesis out. I turned them about, sending them flying back at Deceit, who had only just realized what was happening. The bullets struck her in the chest hard, her eyes widening.

“No... No!” Deceit shouted as she dropped like a stone towards the ground below.

She landed on a timber wolf that was getting a little too close to Sunshine, flattening it and crumpling on the hard earth. Another wolf snarled, leaping after the pink unicorn. Sunshine squealed for help, and then something amazing happened. A massive form burst out of the rock below, slicing the timber wolf's head clean off. Nixis roared with unmatched ferocity as my friends turned the tide against the lupine beasts. I soared down, coming to rest as the battle ground to a finish. Violet and Lilith were using Thunder Flash and the Bitch to incinerate the leftover pieces of the wolves while I stepped towards where Deceit had fallen.

The orange alicorn had been cut and scraped all over, but to my amazement she was not bleeding. There was no blood at all actually. I blinked in confusion before remembering that Twilight had said the Elements' mortal forms were golems of some sort. A stray thought entered my mind. Substantial magic given physical form. No need for sleep or for food. Supposedly an untiring body, I thought. But Deceit had tired. Was that because her body had been severed from the spirit it was supposed to represent? Was all that was left the corruption? I didn't know, and I didn't quite care.

Deceit's head tried to move, tried to look up at me. She held a wicked grin on her face.

“You... you have no idea what you're up against, Radiant Star,” she hissed, her breathing shallow. “The others... they will find you... and you will submit.”

I grimaced, my eyes drawn to the gem on her chest. It was sparking, a chip blown out of its otherwise flawless exterior. I brought my foreleg up and kicked down, shattering it into tiny pieces. Deceit spasmed a brief second before her body dissipated in an orange glow. I felt a pulse in my saddlebags as Twilight's memory orb popped out and absorbed the fragments of the gem into it. I blinked. It had done that when I'd fought Cruelty too. My mind could only focus on one persistent question: Why?

Of course, I didn't have much time to think about that before my eyes rolled up into the back of my head and I passed out.

“Star? Star... come on, wake up... Please wake up... Oh Celestia, please...” a voice from above me cried out. It was accompanied by soft tears pattering on my cheeks.

My eyes fluttered open softly and I beheld a vision of incredible beauty. Sure... her mane was frazzled and her eyes were red and puffy, but Violet was my savior. Her eyes widened as she noticed I was awake.

“Violet...?” I croaked. My throat felt incredibly dry.

“Don't move around too much,” she replied softly. “We're safe, for the moment.”

I blinked. I couldn't see too much beyond her. “Where are we?” I asked. “And can I get a drink of water?”

Violet nodded, pulling a canteen out of her saddlebags. She lifted it to my lips and gave me a few sips, relieving the agonizing dryness in my throat.

“Nixis found a cave not too far from the research lab,” she said. “It appears to be uninhabited, thankfully.”

“Is that why it's so dark?” I said.

Violet nodded. Her horn lit up, sending up a ball of light around us. The cave around us came into view. It was a simple one room cave with no tunnels anywhere. Thank Celestia, I thought. I could see the others huddling along the cave wall. They were all nursing wounds of some sort. Steeljack lay resting while Nixis stood guard over him.

“What about Steeljack? Is he...?” I asked frantically.

“The antidote worked, at least as well as it could have. I'm not sure it's completely out of his system yet, but for the moment... he's up,” Violet said. “We need to seriously consider pulling back to Ponyville for more medical supplies. I just used the last of the bandages on you, and we're down to very few healing potions.”

I sighed, grimacing as my eyes traced my sides. Bandages had been applied to the worst of my many wounds. I had certainly been hurt the worst during the fight with Deceit. At the very least, I no longer felt like my insides were going to split open.

“If that's the case... you go. I'll continue on and get the next shard,” I said finally.

Violet's eyes widened. “Oh no... that's not an option, missy, and you know it,” she said. “If we go, we all go. End of story.”

“Violet... we don't have the time,” I said. “If we don't get those other pieces of the shard, we won't be able to stop Spark. I know this is what we have to do.”

“There is another option then. Lilith could go,” Violet said, her expression pained. “I don't want to do that, because she's a heavy artillery user and she's been helpful in this environment...”

“Then we continue forward as a team,” I uttered softly. “Violet... we can do this. I know we can. I know how to fight these Elements now.”

“And you almost got yourself killed fighting one of them,” Violet protested. “At the very least let's find out what the others think. I think you should be able to stand.”

I nodded, pushing myself off the cold cavern floor. It was shaky, but I was able to get there. The others smiled as I tottered into view.

“We need to make a decision,” I said. “Whether we keep moving forward, or pull back to Ponyville. I won't end this now. I'm going to stop Spark, whether she likes it or not. If you want to join me, you're more than welcome, but I will not begrudge you if you want to leave.”

“I'm stayin',” Steeljack wheezed, pushing himself up so I could see him. “If we don't stop Spark, all of this will be for nothing.”

“You should be resting!” Violet hissed.

I smiled, placing a hoof on her shoulder. She silenced, letting the others speak. Lilith bristled her wings.

“You've got me til the very end, Star,” Lilith said. “I wouldn't dream of ditching you now. Not after what we've been through together.”

I nodded, my eyes gazing up to Nixis. The hellhound smiled toothily.

“I am with you as well,” he said, his gaze drifting over to Violet. “And I have an idea of how we can address our medical supply problem. There are many herbs with curative properties that can be gathered in the Everfree. It is the usual reason my kind venture into this dangerous terrain.”

“Do you know what these herbs look like?” Violet asked, her eyes alight.

Nixis grimaced. “Unfortunately, I'm more of a philosopher than a botanist, but I do know some of their names. With your PipBuck we may be able to identify them,” he said.

“Good. Let's make that a priority before we move on,” I said. “We'll do some gathering and see if we can't find some of these herbs.” I looked over at Sunshine.

The pink mare was silent and shivering. She started when my gaze landed on her, then looked up and nodded softly.

“I'm here, too,” she said. “To make up for... you know... but also because I want to be.”

I smiled and glanced back over at Steeljack, winking. “I do agree with Violet, though. You should rest, Steeljack. We should all take a bit of a rest,” I said, turning towards the entrance of the cave.

It was getting dark outside already. At the very least there wasn't a multitude of stars hanging in the air. I wasn't planning on making that mistake ever again. I floated out Twilight's memory orb and the shard piece from my other pack. The shard hung there in midair for a moment before it impacted into the orb. The purple shard inside the orb grew larger, forming into a vaguely star-like shape with the orb at the middle. Accenting two sides of the star were a tinted yellow and orange set of crystals. I noticed the yellow ones were... faded. I wondered briefly what that meant before the star-crystal began to pulse.

I lifted it up, feeling the energy coming off of it as it pulsed. Memories, emotions, all things great and small flooded my mind as I connected with the energy of the shard. I blinked, and I was no longer in the Everfree Forest of the Wasteland. A bright and beautiful sun shone down from above, the sounds of the forest teeming with brilliant life instead of dangerous evil. I looked about, the shimmering glow of the green underbrush surrounding me.

“What the...” I said aloud as the images began to fade away, returning to the drab dreary Wasteland I was used to. “What was that?”

The star began to pulse faster, sending a beam of light soaring into the sky. Shit!!! I thought, fearing that something or someone would see the light and know exactly where we were... like the other Elements. The light pooled into the sky and shot forward, coming to rest over the top of the mountain range at the edge of the northern part of the forest. It then dissipated in the form of what appeared to be Twilight's cutie mark.

“Star? What the heck is going on out here?” Violet said.

I looked back, my eyes wide. “I have no idea,” I said, looking down at the star-crystal. “Did you see that flash of light?”

“What flash of light?” Violet said, cocking her head in confusion.

I blinked. Violet didn't see it? But it was super bright... I thought, the gears in my head clicking into place as I realized I'd been the only one to see the beam of light. It was because I was still holding the star-crystal in my magic! But that must mean... I thought, looking at where the light had dissipated.

“Violet, I think I know where the second piece of this shard is located,” I said, pointing off in the northwest at the mountain range. “Up there.”

Violet looked at where I was pointing and grimaced. “Jeez... that's really far,” she said. “Are you sure?”

I looked down at the star-crystal again. I nodded.

“This thing showed it to me,” I said, lifting the star-crystal so she could see it.

Violet's eyes widened with awe. “Oh... wow... it's pretty,” she said, lifting a hoof to it. “Can you feel that? It's like it's alive.”

I put my hoof on the star-crystal. It pulsed slightly under my touch. I could feel the pulsing growing, the connection to Twilight growing. I blinked.

“Yeah...” I said. “I... I can.” I looked over at Violet as I lifted the star-crystal and placed it in my saddlebags. My eyes felt drawn to it. What happened? Why did I see old Equestria? What did it even mean? I thought.

“What do you think it means?” Violet said as we returned to where the others were sitting inside the cave.

“I don't know,” I said, looking to the others. “I know where the next piece of the shard is. It's up in the mountains… somewhere. I don’t know exactly where.”

“The mountains?” Lilith said. “That's... that's pretty far away.”

“Yes, we had better get some rest. Thankfully it seems like this cave is abandoned. We'll hole up here until morning and then make our way towards the mountains while looking for the medicinal herbs,” I said.

Sunshine raised a hoof. “Question,” she said. “What if we run into another one of those... alicorn things?”

“Then we fight. We can't let them have the shards,” I replied. “We need those to face Spark.”

“And what are we going to do about old Sparky-poo?” Lilith said. “What's our game plan there?”

I hesitated. I hadn't really told the others yet about my plan to save the wayward Element. I wasn't sure I was ready to, either. There were too many things I still didn't know, too many pieces of the puzzle I'd yet to figure out. Was Spark like the other Elements? Would I even be able to reach the true Magic behind the corruption like I'd done with Honesty? I didn't know. Resigning myself to my answer, I finally sighed and spoke.

“To be honest, Lilith... I don't know. I don't know how this is going to play out. I just know that Spark needs to be stopped... somehow.” I looked over at Violet. “For right now, we're playing this by ear. We find the shards, we'll find Spark eventually.”

I trotted over to where Violet had laid out our bedroll. I plopped down, groaning as I turned my attention to my bandages. Thankfully I wasn't bleeding again, but I still felt like I could use a long hot shower, something I was pretty sure I was not going to get in the Everfree Forest. Violet sat down next to me, using her horn to cast her healing spells on my minor cuts and bruises, relief flooding through my body under her ministrations.

“You know, you really gave me a scare there,” she said softly.

“Sorry,” I simply said.

Violet's gaze narrowed at me. “What happened?” she asked. “You know... when you cast that memory spell?”

“I saw the spirit of Honesty... along with a memory of Applejack,” I said, starting to explain what Honesty had told me.

I left out a few details, notably the part about sealing Spark using another of Twilight's secret spells. Violet and I spoke about the details of the memory until it was time to sleep. I yawned loudly, laying my head on the ground. Violet did the same and soon she began to snore softly. I sighed, rolling onto my side. I wasn't able to get to sleep, despite how tired my body actually was. My brain kept running over the memory with Honesty. I couldn't turn it off.

I sighed, rolling over away from Violet and standing. I tiphoofed softly towards the entrance of the cave, looking out into the forest. I noticed Steeljack sitting outside the front, gazing calmly across our surroundings.

“Shouldn't you be resting?” I whispered as I sat next to him.

He looked up in surprise. “Star,” he said. He lowered his head. “Couldn't sleep. Figured this was the best place for me to be.”

“Steeljack...” I said, shaking my head. “You need to rest. You can't be doing too hot after getting hit by that venom.”

“I'm fine,” Steeljack said, his eyes drifting down to his chest. His armor had yet to finish repairing itself. The hole was still there, but smaller. It was no longer smoking. “I won't lie... that hurt like hell... but I'll be alright.”

“Are you sure?” I said. Steeljack nodded in reply. I smiled, shifting on my haunches. I looked out at the forest. Nothing stirred in the darkness, which worried me greatly. The forest was teeming with thousands of little things that would love nothing more than feasting on our tender flesh. “I couldn't sleep, either.”

“Oh? Why's that?” Steeljack asked.

“Just... a lot on my mind, I guess,” I said with a sigh. “I've been thinking a lot about where this is all going. Spark... the Elements... Twilight... I don't know what to do with it all.” I sighed again. “I've got a bad feeling about what's coming next.”

Steeljack grunted in response. We sat there a few moments more in total silence.

“You know...” he said finally, breaking the still air. “Patch would have liked to have seen this.”

He motioned at the sky above the treeline. Though the forest hid a good chunk of it, I realized that I could still see the stars and the moon beyond the sky. The moon hung there, challenging anyone to look upon its glory and fail to see the beauty in its pockmarked surface. It glowed brilliantly, forcing the stars to share the sky beneath it, instead of with it. I smiled. Even after two hundred years, Luna's presence in the world could be felt just by looking up at the nighttime sky.

“Yeah... she would have,” I replied. “I... I miss her too, Steeljack.”

“When I was hit by that thing, I thought I'd never see her again, Star,” Steeljack said softly. From my close proximity, I could see the pained expression on the stallion's face. “I thought I'd... I'd be stronger about this, but I...”

I sidled over, extending a wing around my friend. He looked up at me with eyes wide.

“It's alright,” I said. “It's okay to feel that way about somepony you care about. You really do love her, I can tell. I'm sorry to have to keep you two apart like this... but with her condition...”

“I know,” he said. “I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to her, or the foals for that matter. I made a promise to help you find this Spark bitch, and I'm going to keep it.”

“Thank you,” I whispered. “I... I really appreciate that. Just... take care of yourself, okay?” Steeljack grunted. I grinned. “None of that, now. You go rest. I'll take watch for the rest of the evening. I have a lot to think about anyways.”

“You sure?” Steeljack asked. I nodded in reply. “Alright, then. I guess I'll see you in the morning.”

The earth stallion stood, disengaging himself from my wing. He slowly made his way back into the cave as to not wake the others. I turned my attention back towards the forest, lifting out Stargazer and setting it at the ready in case there was an attack, but at the moment there seemed to be... well, nothing. The forest still chittered and chattered with the sounds of its many denizens, but it was as if the entire place was asleep or taking a break. I shuddered. There was no way this peace could last that long.

Morning brought even more nothing from the forest as a hazy mist settled onto the section we had taken refuge in. The sky above was overcast. Thunder roared in the distance, indicating that it was going to rain.

My eyes twitched, forcing themselves open as I realized quickly that I'd fallen asleep while on guard duty. A blanket had been laid over me to keep me warm. I glanced up, seeing Sunshine sitting next to me. She smiled brightly.

“We didn't want to move you and risk any light from our magic,” she said. “So we just kind of... let you be.”

I groaned, pushing myself up into a sit. “Thanks,” I croaked. “No issues overnight, I take it?”

“Nope,” Sunshine said with a shake of her head. “When you're ready, though, Violet is cooking up some breakfast. We're gonna need to eat if we're gonna make some progress through this forest.”

I nodded, standing and stretching. My wings and my entire body felt much better than they did the day before. I trotted into the cave, sitting down next to Violet to have some breakfast. Somehow she had managed to cobble together some firewood to make a fire and had made some oats. After eating, we packed up our gear and made our way into the forest once more. We walked along the underbrush in the direction towards the mountain range. The sky above turned a deeper and darker gray as the first drops of rain touched our coats. It was miserable. The rain came down, drenching us completely. I cast my alicorn shield, extending it over myself and the others to try and keep us dry, but it was far too late.

“How much farther?” Lilith said, breaking the silence that had fallen while we walked.

I grimaced, pulling the star-crystal out of my saddlebags. It pulsed slowly in the direction we were moving.

“Far,” I said, groaning.

Lilith groaned as well, bristling her wings. They made a slight screech as metal ground against metal. “Great,” she said. “Any more wetness and I think I might rust.”

“You're not the only one,” Steeljack rumbled.

I smiled and pulled up my PipBuck's map. So far it hadn't been much help in keeping track of where we were. The Everfree Forest didn't seem to be one for allowing ponies to map it to get around. It kept switching around, places moving away from where we had left them. I wasn't quite sure how it was doing it, but that was the only explanation I could find for why I kept seeing the same bush over and over.

Eventually, we found ourselves in a glade a mere thirty miles north of where we had made camp. A tiny way station building sat in the center of it. It looked completely abandoned. It was the perfect place to stop and take stock of our surroundings, as well as give Nixis a chance to gather some plants for Violet to identify. The rain had finally let up to a slight drizzle, making the trek merely tolerable as opposed to outright misery. The hellhound and my marefriend disappeared into the underbrush, while the others scouted the area for anything useful. I sat next to the old way station, keeping guard of the place. Sunshine had gone in to check it out. Steeljack and Lilith sat at the edge of the glade, keeping an eye out for any trouble, especially of the timber wolf variety.

“Nothing,” Sunshine said, popping her head out of the way station. “Nothing at all. It's been completely picked clean.”

I grimaced, looking into the door. She was right. The way station was extremely clean for being hundreds of years old. A thin film of cobwebs covered everything. I was about to comment on this when I heard a scream. My ears perked up.

“Violet,” I said aloud, my eyes searching for the source of the noise. Another scream. West. I growled under my breath. “Violet!”

I charged into the underbrush, barely aware of the others following behind me. The forest broke, revealing a large gorge below us. I heard another scream, followed by a roar. That was Nixis! I thought, rage filling my vision as I leaped down into the gorge, spreading my wings to slow my fall. My hooves struck the hard rock and I kept on galloping. Another roar split the air, and I turned the next corner in the gorge to see Violet and Nixis.

Two massive, eel-like creatures with red eyes and an overbite larger than their heads were sticking out of holes in the rock walls, their jaws snapping at the hellhound and unicorn. Nixis stood over Violet, snarling and roaring at the beasts. They seemed to stay away from him. Violet huddled beneath the hellhound, her horn flaring as blood pooled from her leg. I growled, lifting Stargazer and firing at the closest beast. Several of the bullets punched through the tough exterior of the thing's skin, causing the monster to howl in pain.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Pick on someone your own size!”

The beast reared back, blood oozing from its wounds. The other monster turned, shooting forward like a rocket at me. I growled and jumped to the side, dropping into E.S.A.T.S. Time fell silent as I queued up my shots. Releasing the spell, Stargazer took aim and fired, sending most of the rounds into the monster's gaping maw. It reeled back, a screeching sound emanating from it as it whipped around furiously at me. It slammed into me, sending me soaring into gorge wall. I grunted, prying myself from the rock wall. The giant eel-like creature moved further out of its hole, attempting to snap me in two with its jaws. The giant overbite snapped down about two feet from my body, just barely clearing my wingtip.

I heard a snarl along with the rending of flesh as the monster jerked back. It howled loudly as it turned its attention back to Nixis, who had used the opportunity to attack. Sticky blood coated the hellhound's claws, his breathing hard and fast. The other eel beast was hanging out of the rock wall, unmoving. From my vantage point, I could see a good number of massive cuts on it as well. How in the heck did I miss that? I thought. I didn't have much time to answer that before Nixis jumped back from the first monster's attack. I lifted Stargazer, sending another volley of fire into the beast. It snarled and snapped in retaliation before falling towards the ground with a heavy *thud*.

I flapped my wings, soaring down towards where Violet sat. A shadow passed over the gorge, revealing itself to be Lilith. I looked back to see Sunshine and Steeljack standing at the end of the cliff wall. I sighed as I landed, trotting up to my marefriend. She looked up at me, a grimace on her face.

“Violet?” I said, hesitantly, my eyes drifting down to her wounds. She had been lacerated in several places, not deep but enough to draw blood. Her horn was pulsing furiously as she worked to apply her healing magic to stop the bleeding. I withdrew the last roll of bandages I had and set to work.

Violet scrunched her face in response. “Star... you don't need to do that. Those are the rest of our bandages,” she said.

“I don't care. You're hurt,” I replied.

“I'm fine. See? They're healing up,” she said, motioning to the cuts. While they did look better and the bleeding had stopped for the most part, even I knew with my own limited medical knowledge that she needed some additional aid.

“No dice, love,” I said, shaking my head as I finished applying the bandages. It wasn't pretty by any means, but it would work. “Now then... let's get you up.” I helped her up as the others reached us. Nixis stumbled, but appeared to be unhurt.

“What in the Sorrel Hells happened?” Lilith said.

“My... my fault,” Violet said. “We thought we saw one of the plants we were looking for... I ran out to grab it and those... things attacked. Nixis was only barely able to fend them off.”

“I apologize,” Nixis interjected. “I should have been faster.”

“It's alright. No one's blaming anyone for this,” I said. “I think that from now on though, we shouldn't split up for any reason. We really do need the medical supplies now, so we should make that our priority.”

“I agree with Star,” Violet said. “That was the last of our bandages.” Her horn flared, lifting out a few multicolored flowers from her saddlebag. “At least, we found a few of the ingredients we needed to make some healing salves. Not gonna be enough though.”

“Right,” I said, glancing at Nixis. “So... where do we start looking?” The hellhound appeared... distraught. “Nixis? You okay there?”

He looked up, nodding. “I'm... I'm fine. The rest of the ingredients we need should be able to be located further up the gorge line. We're looking mainly for a flower called Star Root. It's main purpose is that it can be wrapped and turned into makeshift bandages, if I remember correctly. My recollection of that particular process is a… bit fuzzy. Additionally, anything such as Heart's Desire can be useful for grinding up into healing salves.”

“Let's get going then,” I said, glancing up at the sky. “We're wasting daylight, and I know that don’t I want to be stuck out here in this gorge at night.”

We made our way back up out of the gorge and into the forest, Violet riding comfortably on my back. It wasn't as if she had to, but even if she was able to walk I wanted her as close to me as possible. I had insisted, and she had accepted with a grumble. We trotted along the gorge line, scanning the forest for anything potentially dangerous. My E.F.S. was now just a sea of red, poignantly pointing out that the entire forest was our enemy. While we walked, we managed to find a few of the plants that Nixis had mentioned, but no Star Root for the bandages. We kept moving, sticking to a direction that took us towards the mountains.

Another abandoned way station appeared just inside the forest along the gorge line. Cobwebs covered the entire clearing, hanging from the trees. The ground was littered with scores of black flowers that had blue stars emblazoned on them. The station itself sat apart from the flowers, standing on pylons in the middle of small lake and connected by a graceful span of a metal bridge. It was almost like a garden center, as if the ponies who worked here had been cultivating the starry flowers.

“Star Root,” Nixis breathed. “And lots of it.”

“Finally,” I said, smiling as I took a step forward, my hoof landing in a smattering of cobweb. I went to take another step, finding that I was unable to. My hooves would not move from the cobwebs. I was stuck! I grunted. “Umm... guys... I think I'm stuck.”

“Shit,” Violet said from my back, her eyes widening as she looked up into the trees. “That's the least of our problems.”

She pointed up and I followed her gaze upwards. Movement in the forest above us. I heard the sounds before I saw them. Skittering and chattering insects. One of them slid down a web in front of us. It appeared to be a spider of some sort, except that it had twenty spindly legs and was bloated in odd contortions. A rainbow colored crystalline star sat on the thing's abdomen. It screeched wildly, spewing forth a stream of multicolored... stuff from its mouth. The liquid dropped to the ground with a sizzle. I heard cries from behind us as more skittering echoed throughout the glade. We were surrounded.

“What the...?” I said, throwing up my shield as the stream of rainbow liquid hit it, causing it to pop and snap. My eyes went wide as I recognized what it was. “Shit shit shit! They're spitting taint! Get me loose, get me loose, get me loose!”

Violet snarled, lifting Thunder Flash in her magic and using it to send the spider spawn into the next life. She smacked my head hard with her fetlock.

“Get it together, Star,” she said.

I grimaced, glancing back at the others. More of the spiders crawled in through the underbrush, boxing us in to where we'd be unable to move because of the cobwebs. Steeljack and Sunshine stood rump to rump, while Lilith hovered above them. Nixis was busy slashing at the ground, trying to sever the cobwebs holding me into place. Steeljack took aim, firing into one of the arachnids that got a little too close, while Lilith sliced another in half with her wing blades. I found my leg moving freely again, albeit with a big chunk of rock attached to it.

“Sorry, best I can do,” Nixis said with a grimace.

I nodded, returning my focus to the situation at hand. The skittering sounds of the spiders were getting louder as the things just appeared in the clearing. Each one was different, bloated and misshapen with varying amounts of legs. Some of them didn't even have legs! They all shared the same rainbow colored star. I knew what had happened to these things. This was what taint did. Taint turned everything into grossly misshapen monstrosities, except the incredibly rare lucky pony. My eyes locked on the way station at the center of the lake. There weren't any cobwebs there! I knew what we had to do. My gaze narrowed and I flared my horn, pooling my magic.

“Everybody hold on!” I shouted, releasing the teleportation spell before anyone could react.

We landed on the platform next to the station's door with a massive *thud*. Violet rolled from my back, but managed to land softly as her own horn caught her in her magic. I pushed myself up immediately, lifting Stargazer out. Several of the tainted spiders climbed onto the metal bridge. They screeched as they began skittering across it. I growled, sending a few shots out that ricocheted off the steel bridge. A stray bullet hit one of the monsters, splattering it into globs of rainbow paste. More of the spiders followed behind it.

“The bridge!” Sunshine called out, reaching out for the control panel on the platform. She pressed a button on it, the bridge grinding its metallic way into the murky waters below.

The spiders fell into the water, howling and screeching. The rest of the tainted horde hung around the edge of the water, not daring to enter into the dirty depths. I grimaced.

“Great. Now we're stuck on an island in the middle of a bunch of tainted monsters,” I breathed out. “Is everyone alright?”

“I'm okay,” Violet said, pushing herself up to a standing position. She winced. “Well... Aside from being teleported again.”

“All good here,” Steeljack said.

“Same,” Lilith said. “What do we do next?”

I strapped Stargazer back to its harness, glancing out at the spiders. They had yet to challenge the water. I looked up, expecting to see them above us, but there was... nothing. I blinked. The complete absence of cobwebs around the platform told me that there was something protecting that place.

“We hunker down inside this station and see if we can cook up some of these plants,” I said. “Unfortunately, I don't think we're getting any Star Root.”

“Not with those things out there,” Nixis snarled. “I agree with Star. We need to rest for a bit. Violet's hurt, and we're going to need her help with the potions.”

“I've... I've got an idea about that,” Sunshine said. “I use earth magic. I could pull a few of those flowers over here easily.”

“Give it a try then,” I replied.

The pink unicorn nodded, her horn lighting up. Several of the plants out beyond the lake disappeared, much to the ire of the spider creatures that skittered over to investigate. They reappeared in a heap of magic in front of Sunshine. She grinned.

“Looks like your magic is back and working,” I said.

“Feels great to finally be able to use it again,” she replied. “That should be plenty, right?”

“Looks like it,” Violet said, lifting the flowers in her magic. “Let's get down beneath cover.”

“Alright, I'll hang out here and keep guard while you guys investigate,” Lilith said. “I don't feel like doing another stint in a dark confined place.”

I nodded, motioning to the others. “Just be careful, and close the door if any of those things manage to get over here.” I said. I flared my horn, checking the door.

It opened just fine, creaking slightly. I poked my head in, the dark musty smell of the tiny hall assaulting my senses. I made my way inside, wondering what in the hell these little stations had been used for. One of them had been used to cultivate and breed those creepy wasp creatures that had attacked Steeljack. What had been this one's purpose?

I pushed those thoughts out of my mind as we reached the end of the main hallway. It was not the time or place to think about those things. I needed to get Violet well enough to continue and rebuild our medical supplies. The room opened up into a main room with stairs going down to a research lab below. Several broken terminals littered the floor along with overturned filing cabinets. There was absolutely no movement amidst the rubble, and no skeletons either. There had been nopony here when the war had ended, but something had occurred here.

Violet trudged down the stairs in front of me, wincing with every step as she reached a table with a hot plate. She pulled out a broken beaker, setting it on top of the device. Nixis loped down the stairs after her, while Steeljack and Sunshine rested near the main entrance. I trotted down, watching Violet and Nixis pull out what plants they'd collected and start to mash them up. Violet's horn glowed softly, turning on the hot plate and depositing the mashed up plants inside.

“I'm gonna look around while you guys are doing that,” I said.

Violet nodded, her expression pained. I could tell she was still feeling the aftereffects of her injuries. The fact that we were out of Med-X didn't help things much. I grimaced, wishing that I knew more that could help her. Instead, I focused on searching the rest of the lab. I found a still working terminal in the rear of the room. Hooking up my PipBuck, I began to search for the password. I had to admit, practice had made it a lot easier to get into these things. The password ended up being 'star-spider'. I blinked. That made a little sense, at least, given the things outside.

There were a lot of pictures of various plants and flora along with an audio log. I pulled the audio log onto my PipBuck and perused the menu. An OPEN SAFE option struck my eye. I clicked it, hearing a soft hiss come from the wall next to me. I stood, using my magic to force the safe door open the rest of the way. I blinked. Inside the safe was the mother load of healing supplies. Cartons of healing potions, bandages, and even two to three bottles of super restoration potions stared back at me from the wall alcove. Several syringes of Med-X sat along the back wall, and there was even what looked like a tube of Hydra.

“Umm... Violet?” I called out.

“Yeah, Star? I'm a little busy at the moment,” Violet replied.

My eye twitched. “You might want to come check this out,” I responded. “I just found a bunch of medical --

I didn't even have time to finish my sentence before Violet pushed me aside. Her eyes lit up as she took in the treasure I had uncovered. Meanwhile, I fell to the ground rather unceremoniously, glaring up at my marefriend.

“This... is... PERFECT!!” she squealed, digging through the supplies and pulling them out of the safe. “Huh? What's this?”

She tossed something out of the safe that landed square on my face as I was getting up. I fell backwards again, my head feeling like it just gotten hit by a freight train. I looked down to see what had hit me. It was a statue of a beautiful yellow pegasus mare with pink hair. She was surrounded by woodland creatures. My eyes widened. It was Fluttershy. The inscription at the base of the statue held the words Be pleasant. I smiled, taking the statue into my magical field. A jolt of energy struck me and I smiled even wider. I felt... nice. I think that was the only possible way I could explain it.

“Star? You alright down there?” Violet said, her telekinetic field holding all of the medicine at once.

I noticed that she had already downed one of the healing potions and was looking significantly better. I nodded, my anger towards her forgotten thanks to the pleasant kindness of Fluttershy's statuette. I stood, stuffing the statue into my bags with the others. I realized that I'd almost obtained all of the Ministry Mare's statues. I was only missing one. Twilight Sparkle, I thought, grimacing. It would have to be her, wouldn't it?

“Yeah, I'm fine. So... good find?” I asked.

“Are you kidding? This is exactly what we needed,” she said as I followed behind her over to where the others had gathered. Nixis nodded in approval as Violet spread out the supplies on a nearby table. “Keep that hot plate running, Nixis. I'd like to still get some of the flowers brewed up in case we need them.”

“Will do,” Nixis replied, turning back to the beaker, stirring its contents gently with a glass rod that had been laying on the counter.

Violet proceeded to separate out the supplies among each of us, ensuring that each of us had enough to make do. I sat back, watching her take charge of the situation. I smiled. I turned my attention to the audio log I'd copied from the terminal. I flipped on my ear bloom, setting the file to play. The soft voice of a mare started up the recording.

Official Ministry of Peace Recording Code Alpha Alpha Gamma Sigma, Research Station X-17

Head Researcher Green Hoof speaking...

We are making good progress on the plant work, categorizing the various plants of the Everfree Forest and their uses as biological and medicinal agents. The Everfree Forest is one of the last bastions of a wild world, and the plant life that has developed here is absolutely extraordinary.

One of the more interesting plants that we've managed to grow is Star Root. The plant itself is fascinating mostly due to it’s unique flower. The flowering plant grows in bunches, which serve as a breeding ground for the star spiders. The little arachnids are positively enamored with them. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. We found out just how much they like the flowers when a few of the spiders followed a sample into the lab. They didn't hurt anything, and were rather glad to be let out, but after that we did all testing and studying with the Star Root outdoors.

The Star Root is also highly useful as a medicinal wrap. It's extremely effective at healing common wounds and skin ailments, while providing a mild soothing anesthetic. Unfortunately, the act of preparing the flower for use involves high amounts of extreme heat, as the Star Root in its natural state is highly toxic to the skin, causing massive breakouts in mere seconds and the potential to cause fatal injury. Only a unicorn can handle the flowers safely enough to place them under the heat required to purge the toxins from the plant. It is believed that it is a safety mechanism, one that does not seem to affect the star spiders, as they appear to share the same toxin in their blood...

The rest of the message was garbled static. My eyes widened as I watched Nixis over by the hot plate. The Star Root we had collected was sitting on the countertop near the hellhound. He went to reach for one. I jumped onto my hooves, latching onto the flowers with my magic and moving them out of Nixis' reach.

“Stop!” I shouted as I dropped the Star Root. “The plants, they're --”

A loud screeching noise cut me off. A star spider with a multicolored star on its back shot forth from the heap of plants. It grew right before my eyes, misshapen and bloated with twelve spindly legs. It howled, leaping through the air at me. I didn't have enough time to get Stargazer out of its harness before the thing latched onto my neck with its fangs. I cried out in pain briefly as Nixis swung, tearing the spider away from my body. His claws shredded the monster into multiple pieces.

“Star! Are you alright?!” Violet exclaimed, jumping up from her sitting position.

I nodded weakly, feeling the venom from the spider's bite already coursing through my body. I staggered, falling forward onto my face. I groaned loudly. From somewhere above me, I heard Violet call out. I faded out of consciousness, the darkness overtaking me.

My eyes opened and I groaned loudly from my prone position. I was at the library again. And here I thought that Twilight didn't want to see me... I thought, pushing myself to my hooves. Maybe she wants to talk about the shards. I grimaced, pushing open the door. I knew on the outside that I was out cold, thanks to the venom from the spider bite. I wondered briefly, if the star spider had powerful venom before it was tainted, what in the hell did tainted venom do to a pony? I was reasonably sure it wouldn't do much to me, being an alicorn, but I wasn't a scientist or even a smart thinky pony to know for sure. I sat there for a moment, pondering what extra appendages I might end up with when I woke.

Shaking the thoughts from my mind, I entered into the library proper. As always, Twilight appeared to be deep in her reading in the middle of the library's common room. She looked up, frowning as she saw me.

“Umm... hi?” I said, waving and grinning sheepishly.

“You know these little visits are really starting to cut into my studying time,” Twilight replied nonchalantly. “I thought we agreed that you weren't to come here unless it was important.”

“It's not like I had a choice,” I said. “I was knocked out, poisoned. I'd much rather be having a nice fever dream about my marefriend's plot than be here.”

“So eloquently put,” Twilight said. “I am aware, of course, of your predicament.”

I grimaced, slumping to my haunches across from her. “So what now? Just wait til I wake up?” I asked.

Twilight shrugged, her gaze dropping back to her book. With nothing better to do than wait, I decided to bring up the one thing that was bugging me.

“The shard, Twilight. It's broken up into multiple pieces.”

The alicorn's eyes went wide as she looked up at me. “What?” she said. “What do you mean, it's broken up?”

“As in, shattered. Discord spread it around the forest in four pieces. I have one already,” I said.

Something in the back of my mind worried me. If Twilight had known about the poison, why didn't she know about the shards? Was the connection getting weaker? Was I getting weaker? Would I even know when the connection gave up and I died? Or would I just suddenly keel over in the middle of my morning breakfast, or when using the bathroom? The Ministry Mare died today of a heart attack while she was taking a shit, I thought, frowning. Not exactly something you want to hear on the radio. Twilight frowned as well.

“I... I hadn't anticipated that possibility,” she said. Her wings fluttered and she flared her horn, bringing a chalkboard into existence. She flew up to it and began writing down figures with a floating piece of chalk. “...carry the two... multiply by seven hundred and sixty three... that's not right... that's a square...” I blinked, not even remotely understanding any of the writing on the board. It was completely foreign to me. I raised a hoof to try and get Twilight's attention but it was too late. She'd already gone off the deep end.

“Uh... Twilight?”

“And then the multiplicative property of the trinomial... No... that's not right either...”

“Twilight?”

“Ah HAH!” Twilight shouted, her wings flapping hard. “It's really very simple! The shard was never supposed to be fragmented that much, because it's a stable power source, but Discord's magic must have introduced an unforeseen instability that allowed him to fragment it! Of course!”

“Huh?”

Twilight glanced over at me, grinning sheepishly. “Sorry. I got a little too excited there,” she said, coming back down to ground. She cleared her throat. “As I was saying, Discord's magic functions on a completely different level than normal unicorn magic. The shard that I used was a stable magic source, something I invented. It was originally intended to be used in the Stargazer project. Of course, we all know where it ended up getting used. I never got to invent another one before the war ended...”

“You mean my minigun?” I said.

“Yes, Stargazer was originally meant to be a magical energy weapon, using the base starmetal core combined with a stable magic source. The shard that I sealed Spark in would have allowed the weapon to convert it's kinetic force into magical energy. Quite powerful, really,” Twilight said with an excited nod. “I don't even think Star Gazer himself even knew what he really created.”

“How... how would that have interacted with the starmetal?” I asked, my train tracks completely derailed from talking about Discord for a second. Twilight knew a lot more about the Stargazer project, mostly because she was the one who ordered its creation. Why, though? That's what I don't get, I thought. Why order the creation of a weapon for Luna, unless she really meant to use it herself?

“Oh, well, you know... starmetal is a powerful and highly sturdy alloy,” Twilight explained. “Some say that it steals a bit of your soul every time you come into contact with it or that it's poisonous, but the chunk that was used in Stargazer's core never exhibited any of those behaviors. That made it's use ideal for combining with the magical energy source.”

“Where... where did you find core for the weapon?” I said, looking in amazement at how much information I was getting about my gun. In the back of my mind, I still wondered about the shard. It was some sort of power source? There was something that Twilight hadn’t bothered to tell me about, and that unnerved me greatly.

“Ah, that actually came from the Princess herself. She provided me with the core when I ordered the creation of the weapon for her,” Twilight said, placing a hoof to her chin. “Come to think of it, I have no idea where she got it.”

“Great,” I said. “Just... great. So, the shard is some sort of magical energy source. That might explain why it's gotten all... weird?”

“Define weird,” Twilight said.

“When it... when it merged with the memory orb it became like this... this... star crystal thing. It showed me where the next piece was. At the time, I assumed that it still had to do with your spell, but now... I'm not so sure. It showed me old Equestria... before the war. The Everfree Forest, specifically,” I explained.

“The shard may be acting a little flaky thanks to Discord, but it's most likely drawing on the power of the memories locked inside your mind,” Twilight said with a frown. “My memories, to be precise.”

“Will it happen again?” I asked.

Twilight shrugged. “That, I do not know,” she said. “I do know that the rest of the shards are the only way that we will have any shot at defeating Spark. I can still feel her presence. She's waiting for us to come to her. I don't know why.”

I blinked. Spark had the Elements under her hoof, she had the spell, she had everything she needed... so why wait? Why was she just biding her time? Was she waiting... for us? For Twilight and myself? She needed something from us... something that only I could provide. Cruelty had made mention that it was my body that she required... was that it? Or was there more? Twilight continued talking about the shard, but my mind filtered out her words until she tapped me on the shoulder.

“Wh-huh?” I said. Right. Smooth, Star. Very smooth, I thought.

“Star... I think you need to leave, and get some rest. You have a lot to do still,” Twilight said. “Now... wake up.”

“Is she awake?”

“Oh, Luna I think she is...”

“Everyone back, don't crowd her!”

“Alright, alright, Violet. Sheesh.”

My eyes fluttered open and I looked up into the green eyes of my marefriend. They were red and puffy. She had been crying. I lifted a hoof weakly to brush it along her cheek.

“Hey,” I managed to say. My voice croaked in my throat.

“Hey,” Violet replied. “We really gotta stop doing this.”

“Yeah...” I said weakly, pushing myself up into a sitting position. I felt very strained, but I was able to sit. The others had gathered around the way station, including Lilith. “What happened?”

“You got hit by the venom from that thing,” Violet said. “We thought we'd lost you. I pumped some of the healing plants into you and sort of... hoped for the best.”

“How long?” I asked.

“Few hours, give or take,” Sunshine said.

“I heard the shouts and came in,” Lilith said. “Those... spider things were starting to creep me out anyways.”

I grimaced. “So... what else is up? Did those things try to get in?” I asked. Violet's face grew dark in response. “What? What's wrong?”

“Umm... You'd better look in a mirror,” Sunshine said.

Violet's horn glowed, lifting out a mirror out of her bag. It was the first time I'd seen my reflection in what felt like forever. My gaze drifted around the surface of the mirror, taking in my features. I smiled, trying to see what Sunshine was talking about. My mane looked normal, and although a little baggy my eyes looked fine as well. Even my ears looked great – wait. My ears? I wiggled both of them, pinned them back and grimaced.

“But...” I said, looking at Violet. “What... what happened to my left ear?”

“It... it just regrew, all by itself,” she replied. “We're not even sure how.”

I blinked again. I knew how. I knew what it had to do with.

“Taint,” I said. “The spider's venom... it had taint in it. It must have had some effect on my ear.” I wiggled my ears again. I couldn't believe how good it actually felt to have the use of my left ear again! I smiled. “This is a good thing, right?”

“I... guess?” Sunshine said. “A little freaky, if you ask me.”

Violet grimaced. I groaned, pushing myself up to my hooves, much to Violet's protestations. I waved a hoof.

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” I said, parking out. I was shaky, but I was standing.

“You still need to rest, Star,” Violet said.

“We don't have the time, Violet,” I said. “We need to get going. We've got medical supplies, so let's get the heck out of Dodge.”

“That may be easier said than done,” Lilith interjected. “Those things are still surrounding the lake this place is set over. They know we're here.”

“I've got an idea for that,” I said, grinning. “Those things are attracted to the Star Root. Let's give them what they want.” I strode forward towards the entrance, igniting my horn and grabbing my saddlebags, attaching Stargazer to its harness as I went. “Everyone grab your things, it's time to go.”

I pushed open the door and stepped into the hall. The others followed behind. I stepped out into the Everfree Forest once more, standing on the metal platform. It was still night out. The skittering sounds of the star spiders met my ears. My ears! I still couldn't believe it. Hundreds of little red eyes glittered in the night. The monstrosities had us completely surrounded.

“When I say go, go. I'm going to distract them,” I said, flaring my horn. “Run for the tree line and don't stop. We'll make for the mountains.”

The others nodded. I could tell that Violet wanted to argue, wanted to say something, but she didn't. She stayed deathly quiet.

I reached out with my magic, latching onto as much of the Star Root as I possibly could hold onto at one time. I lifted hard, yanking them out of the ground. The star spiders reacted immediately, turning towards the glowing plants. I floated along the plants towards the far end of the clearing.

“GO!” I shouted.

Sunshine smacked the button to extend the bridge, the grinding metal carrying the rusty thing over to the other side of the lake. Nixis snarled, bounding across first to defend against any wayward spiders. None of them seemed to pay any attention to my friends. I stepped across last, still carrying the Star Root in my magic. The star spiders followed along diligently, chattering and skittering. It was working! I almost wished I could have found Green Thumb. I'd have kissed her if she wasn't dead! I was trotting happily along towards the tree line when I heard the hissing. I turned. Every one of the tainted star spiders were staring at me, their beady red eyes focused on me.

They began to charge as I dropped the Star Root from my magic, turning into a hard gallop. Shit shit shit! I thought frantically.

“Everyone run!” I called out ahead of me.

One of the tainted spiders appeared in front of my field of vision, snapping as it launched at me. I reached out with my telekinesis, tossing the monster into a nearby tree. It splattered to the ground in a heap. My heart pounded as I kept running. Despite the fact that the tainted venom had somehow regrown my ear, I didn't relish the thought of getting bit again. I broke through the tree line along the gorge, my friends in relative sight ahead of me. It was still dark, but I could see Sunshine and Violet's horns lighting the way. I ran hard until I caught up with them, the chittering sounds of the spiders fading into obscurity. I stopped, looking back at the tree line.

“We... we lost them,” Violet said, panting loudly. “Are you alright?”

I nodded. “Yeah... Yeah I'm okay,” I said. “Let's keep moving, though. I don't think I want to be around if those things decide to get brave and follow us.”

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Lilith proclaimed.

I smiled weakly. I still felt a little shaky, the adrenaline from the chase finally driving down inside me. We started forward as one, making our way along the gorge and tree line. I pulled out the star-crystal, floating it in front of me to use it as our guide. Eventually we had to break back into the tree line as morning broke. The forest was calm again, the only sounds the normal chatter of insects. I breathed a sigh of relief. I played with my PipBuck's radio as we walked, hoping to pick up some sort of signal, but was unable to. Must be far outside of the range of the MASEBS towers, I thought.

The forest swept away at around noon as we finally found ourselves at the foot of a mountain trail heading upwards. The star-crystal pulsed quickly. I remembered that it had pointed at the top of the mountain. I groaned loudly. Even in nature, the Wasteland had some form of stairs. It was a bitch like that. We started up the trail, the heavy sun above us cooking us while we climbed. The path itself was rough, but felt like it had been pony made. It wasn't like the other trails we'd come across. Once or twice we even passed by a metal railing that looked out upon the forest. I stopped at one, taking the opportunity to scan the horizon. I pulled out a pair of binoculars out of my bags, putting them up to my eyes.

There. I saw it. Southeast of our position, was the remains and remnants of the Overcast, a Thunderhead class Enclave ship that everypony in the Wasteland knew had been present at the slave leader Red Eye's last stand at... the Cathedral. The complex beside the downed ship was equally ruined. It's spires, once glorious and regal, now lay broken back at odd angles or even in the middle of the courtyard next to the building. It had no windows that I could see. There didn't seem to be any life out there at all.

“See anything?” Violet said as she stepped up next to me. I floated the binoculars down to her to let her get a look.

“That's where Spark is,” I said solemnly.

Violet nodded, saying nothing. We stood there for a good few moments before she spoke again.

“I'm... I'm sorry about earlier. I should be happy for you, your ear being fixed and all. It's just... I was so scared I'd lost you that when it happened... I assumed the worst,” she said.

I smiled, turning to nuzzle her. “It's alright, Violet. I was scared too. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for scaring you,” I said. “I can't... I can't promise I won't do that again. We don't know what facing Spark will bring. But I promise that it will all end well, alright?”

My marefriend nodded and I smiled again, giving her a kiss on the cheek. I realized that we were relatively alone, the others having continued slightly up the path.

“We'd better catch up to the others,” she said.

We strode forward together, taking up the rear of our little herd. We talked while we made our way up, talked about each other, about our adventures. Anything to pass the time we had until we reached the top of the mountain. My new ear came up several times, and we all theorized that maybe my hearing could be better with a tainted ear than a regular one. It seemed rather silly to think that, but maybe... just... maybe. Within several hours worth of climbing, and without any issues, we reached the top of the mountain.

As I crested the ridge, I felt the heat first. It was dull, but it was still heavy warmth emanating from the mouth of a large cave set in the peak of the mountain. I grimaced, pulling out the star-crystal. It pulsed brightly now, and I knew that this was where the next shard piece was.

“Everyone hang loose. I'm going to go see what we're dealing with here,” I said, flapping my wings and taking to the air.

The heat of the cave intensified as I entered. A stray set of words from Twilight's memories echoed in my mind. Geothermal power? What's that? I thought, shrugging them off and continuing forward. A rumbling noise stopped me cold mid-air. I turned the corner of the cave entrance, my eyes widening as I saw what was waiting for us inside.

Lying upon a massive mountain of gold, gems, goblets, priceless artifacts, even some technological items such as Steel Ranger armor, was a dark green dragon. At the top of the pile, a single purple shard blinked and pulsed in the darkness.

“Well... shit.”

Author's Notes:

And there we have it. Chapter 32, all wrapped up. Only four more chapters to go, and only two chapters until we get to Endgame, Part 1 and Endgame, Part 2. I'm excited! Are you excited, because I've never been so excited! Except for that time you went – GASP.

Anyways, this chapter was mostly devoted to Miss Honesty, and the second of the Elements to rear their ugly faces. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, but also hit a massive delay snag of a whole week thanks to a trip to Wisconsin and Jury Duty. What a month!

Ask Star questions at http://askradiantstar.tumblr.com and also be sure to check out “Fallout Equestria: Tales of Chicacolt”

My fic plug of the week goes out for a double, for both my pre-reader McMesser and my wife LuckyStar! McMesser's been made to write, and he's continuing the story of the Smooze (Finishing Touch) and Featherjoy in his fic “Fallout Equestria: The Seekers of Truth” while my wife LuckyStar is writing her own fic featuring Lucky from Starlight called “Fallout Equestria: When Luck Shines Through”. Go check them out!

Also, my wife is currently seeking out commission work for art / customs, as well as applying to be a vendor at Bronycon. Her deviant Art page is http://luckystarmlp.deviantart.com check her out!

I don't normally do this either, but as we all well know, it's the holiday season and times are hard for some of us, so I'm just putting it out there for the donation box. Paypal donations can be sent to volrathxp AT gmail.com if you feel so inclined. I'm not begging for anything and it's not like I'm going to stop writing if people don't, I'm just throwing it out there. If you like what you've read, and feel like contributing, then thank you very much. If not, I still love you to death for your readership!

If you really like what you've read, leave me a comment, an upvote, a favorite, and what-have-you. That will make you guys all sorts of awesome.

Again, I have to thank my pre-readers McMesser and Heartshine, and my editor Wirepony. It's been a long, long road, but the end is nearing. I'm very excited, and I hope you guys are too.

As always, I thank Kkat for the world she's created. You're awesome!