Truth.

The fact of the matter is that truth hurts. We all believe that truth and honesty will make us better ponies, but the harsh reality of it is that sometimes a lie is easier to tell than the truth. How many lies were told during the war? How much deceit and treachery was committed in the name of a pointless conflict? Truth be told, I’d rather not know. Honesty is dead, and lies are all we have to get us through the day.

What falsehood lies before me? That I cannot say. During my time as part of the Goddess, there were no lies. Everything was shared in glorious Unity. But life cannot go on like that. Secrets must be kept. Lies must be told. For the good of everypony, we must deceive each other. The world is built on the backs of secrets and conspiracies. It is part of our basic nature.

Why deny that which is a part of who you are?

“What do you mean… dead?” I asked blankly. The hum of the elevator filled our ears as the unicorn bowed his head to speak.

“As in deceased, disappeared, gone. I am the one of the few that is left from the order. I’m getting ahead of myself though. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Life Bloom,” the scarlet maned unicorn responded. “All will be explained in due time. We are almost to our destination.”

The elevator continued humming until a creaking noise indicated that it had finally stopped. It felt like it went on forever. Did we go up to the top floor? I thought as the doors hissed open and Life Bloom stepped out. I followed closely behind him, trying to process what the unicorn had said. The Twilight Society was really gone? Did I come here all this way for nothing? I couldn’t begin to consider the ramifications of the Society just being gone. We stepped into an incredibly beautiful marble foyer with an alicorn statue/fountain dominating the center of the room. At the top of the stairs at the end of the room were two sets of doors. One read Twilight Sparkle Athenaeum while the other read M.A.S. Emergency Broadcast Station. Life Bloom led us to the latter doors.

“I have somepony I’d like you to meet. She will be able to explain what’s happened better than I can,” he said, pushing open the door to the radio station. Rows of computer screens and television monitors lined the walls along with massive arcano-mainframes. At the center of the room sat a grey unicorn mare with brilliant blue hair, a microphone at her mouth and horn glowing as she spoke with an all too familiar voice.

“Welcome to the Wasteland kiddies! This is DJ-PON3 bringing you the latest news on what’s happening out there in our world. The sun is down, and night time is shining bright. Our latest news comes all the way in from Trottingham, checking in for us to let us know that the storm that blew through that area was actually caused by several Enclave Remnant forces. Thankfully our good friends over at the Shattered Hoof, the Talons, were in force to help put those naughty pegasi back on track. The situation has been remedied without a single casualty, and the wayward pegasi have been offered a chance at helping the citizens of Trottingham in return. Remember folks, extend kindess to those in need, when they need it.

In other news, a little birdie has told me that the Ministry Mare herself is headed here to our very own Tenpony Tower, where I’m broadcasting from right now. Sources said that she was spotted on the monorail line just a few hours ago! How exciting! I hope I get to meet her. It’s not every day you get to meet a living legend! This is DJ-PON3 signing off for now kiddies. Remember, be kind and always rewind. Have a little Sapphire Shores.”

The microphone receded into the floor and the unicorn’s horn stopped glowing. She turned and winked at us. Life Bloom stepped up to her.

“Fillies and gentlecolt, I would like you to meet Miss Homage, otherwise known as DJ-PON3,” he said finally.

Our jaws dropped in unison.

“So… let me get this straight here. You’re DJ-PON3?” I asked, sitting down in front of the wild haired unicorn.

Life Bloom had literally dragged us back down into the main foyer where we plopped down to speak with the wild-haired DJ.

“That’s right, and you’re the Ministry Mare,” she said with a definitively feminine voice. She smiled warmly at me.

“My name is Radiant Star. Life Bloom told me that you would have some answers for me?” I responded, getting down to business.

Homage chuckled. “I guess that’s a no on the interview then,” she said nonchalantly, catching my glare. “Alright, alright. I suppose that means Bloom has already told you about the Twilight Society.”

“He said they were dead,” Violet interjected. “What happened to them?”

“Quite simply, we don’t know, but Bloom can be a little overdramatic sometimes,” Homage responded, her expression turning serious as she shot a cute little glare at Life Bloom, who merely chuckled pensively. “One day they all just disappeared. We had heard rumors after they retreated back into the recesses of the Tower, but nothing substantial. When we finally went down to see what happened, they were all just gone. After they went into hiding, many of their number including Life Bloom felt that retreating to the ways of the past was the wrong idea. Some of their order left because they thought that the Society should have been helping ponies instead of running away from them. The Twilight Society as they exist right now only consists of himself and a few others.”

I nodded. “I wish they’d help me out,” I responded, sighing. I had been through so much to get here, to only find out that the very ponies who could possibly have an answer for me were all gone. It was heartbreaking.

“I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, Star,” Homage responded. “But it’s the truth. To be honest… we kind of need your help.”

My ears perked up at this. What did she just say?

“You want my help? With what?” I asked pensively.

“We’d like to find out what happened to the Twilight Society,” Homage said. “In order to maintain peace, the Twilight Society must be active in the Wasteland. They must be an example for every other pony to follow. I’m sure you’re familiar with Celestia One?”

It was Violet who piped up at this. “You mean the megaspell that was used against the Enclave?” she asked. She was lying crooked on the couch, taking great care to watch her leg as she did.

“The very same. Without the Twilight Society to guard it, it could be very dangerous if any other group got their hooves on it. It would be war all over again,” Homage stated.

“Everything we’ve worked for, to make the Wasteland a better place. All of it would have been for nothing. That’s why this is a secret. If the truth got out… it would be catastrophic. Tenpony Tower would suddenly become a target for every major player in the Wastes,” Life Bloom said with a nod.

“We wouldn’t ask you if we didn’t think you could do it,” Homage interjected. “I mean just look at you. You look like a Ministry Mare, and you’re doing good things for ponies everywhere.”

Yeah, and fucking up at every turn. If she only knew just how close I came to damning hundreds of innocent lives down in that Stable. How I let myself give in to the rage and anger that seethed in the back of my mind. Still, if finding out what happened to the Twilight Society could give me some answers, I’d do it.

“Where do we start?”

After taking our leave of Homage and thanking her for her hospitality, Life Bloom guided me down the levels of the Tower to the areas of the Inner Sanctum where the Twilight Society had last been seen while Steeljack and Violet rested up. The confines of the Tower itself were overpowering my senses. I suspected the tiny Twilight in the back of my mind was relieved to be back in such a familiar setting. As I followed the scarlet maned unicorn, I found my mind wandering to various memories of days long past. I was a bit startled when Life Bloom spoke next.

“You mentioned before about having a two hundred year old mare inside your head. What did you mean by that?” the unicorn asked.

I jumped out of my skin a bit, before realizing it wasn’t anything bad.

“Oh… that. It’s sort of why I came here to begin with. I was hoping that the Twilight Society would have some answers, having to do with Twilight Sparkle and all,” I replied, gazing at him with soulful eyes.

“What would Twilight…” he started to say before realization crossed his eyes. “Oh. You have her inside your head?”

“Well… I don’t know that it’s exactly her… it’s in pieces. There’s all these jumbled memories of her life, and all these emotions that belonged to her. It’s a bit much to keep track of. Plus I didn’t exactly paint myself to look like her,” I responded.

He paused for a moment, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he thought.

“Interesting. That’s very advanced and powerful magic to have placed those memories and emotions inside of your mind,” Life Bloom finally said. “Not to mention to have changed your body to this extent. When did this start?”

“Just a couple weeks ago… why?” I asked.

Life Bloom nodded as we came to a door emblazoned with Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark. The mark of the Society. “That’s… odd. That’s almost exactly when the rest of the Society disappeared,” he said.

My jaw dropped almost instantly. So my transformation occurred when the Twilight Society disappeared? Did they have something to do with it? My mind was reeling with question after question. Why me? Why then? I couldn’t put a hoof on an answer to any of my questions. Life Bloom waved a hoof on the front of the door and crackling noises could be heard from behind it. The door opened inward, revealing a bare room with several tall pillars surrounding the center in a circular pattern. The same familiar cutie mark was etched into the floor in the center of the room. Beyond that, several rows of seat lined the sides and back of the room. A large iron-bound chest was sitting in the middle of the pillars. I followed Life Bloom inside, looking about for any clues that could help us.

“There’s only one place we were unable to search,” the scarlet maned unicorn said, pointing at the chest.

As I moved closer, I saw the lock was magically adhered, the image of Twilight’s cutie mark engraved in the lock itself.

“Both Homage and I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t respond to any of our magic. I didn’t even know this existed until this happened. The Twilight Society must have had good reason to keep this under wraps,” Life Bloom said.

“So… what do we do then?” I asked curiously.

Life Bloom stared at me calmly. “I want you to try to open it,” he said. “There might be just enough of Twilight in you to do it.”

I looked to the lock and then back to Bloom. I nodded and began focusing my horn on the lock. I tugged harder and harder trying to disengage it. I was met with the result of being magically thrown across the room into one of the pillars. I pulled myself up, my head spinning as I tried to stand. Life Bloom had already made his way over to me and was helping me up.

“What happened?” he asked.

I shook my head to clear it and get my bearings.

“Some sort of counter measure on the lock. A trap of some sorts,” I said. I marched up to the chest and began again. And again. And again. After about the fifth time being thrown back into a pillar did Life Bloom try to stop me by grabbing my tail with his mouth on my way back to the chest. I looked back at him and glared. He quickly let go of my tail and chuckled.

“It’s obvious that there’s some sort of magical ward here preventing us from getting in,” he said. “If you keep beating your head against it, you’re going to get hurt.”

I snorted and turned back to the chest.

“I have to try. There might be something in there that could tell me what I need to know,” I replied. “I can’t just walk away.” I focused on the lock once again. This time, I tried to remember what Spark had told me about teleportation, about letting go and feeling the motions of it. Slowly but surely I began to feel the lock instead of just beating on it. The ward was meant to protect against brute force it seemed, as my light intrusions came unnoticed. I grinned as I finally bypassed it. A soft *click* emanated from the chest as I disabled the lock.

“Did it!” I cheered, sticking my tongue out at Life Bloom.

He chuckled as he reached out with his magic and opened the chest.

Inside of the chest were six memory orbs, each colored and marked by a cutie mark. I immediately recognized Twilight’s mark among them, as well as Rarity’s mark. The others then must have belonged to Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. My eyes widened. These were memories of the Ministry Mares. What were they doing here? Why would something this important just be laid out where one could just find them? None of this made any sense anymore.

“Oh… my,” Life Bloom softly muttered, staring in awe at the six glittering orbs. A message above the beautiful orbs painted itself across the side of the chest.

Seek the Path of the Six, For It Will Enlighten You.

“They’re incredible…” my lovely green unicorn friend said as she gushed over the six orbs in the chest.

Life Bloom and I had taken the chest with us back to a room that Homage had graciously allowed us to stay in until we left the Tower. It was a little perk of doing this job for her. Life Bloom had since take his leave of us, indicating that he wished to keep in contact with me if any further developments came up. To that end, I learned a new spell! He taught me a neat little telepathy spell that would let me talk to him from long distances. I was sitting around a table with Steeljack and Violet trying to figure out where we should go next.

“Have you viewed any of them yet?” Violet asked, interrupting me for like the third time.

“No, I haven’t. Bloom said that they could be booby trapped. He wants more time to study them before he lets anyone view them,” I replied with a glare. “In the mean time, Homage gave us a list of places that might have some clues to the whereabouts of the Society. I think we should decide which one we should head to.”

Violet nodded in response and began looking at the map that Homage had marked down for us. “Ponyville?” she said, pointing at a location north of us and looking up at me. “Isn’t that a hellhound town now?”

“Yep, but the word is that the hellhounds left most of the structures in the town intact. The most important being the town library. It was where Twilight Sparkle resided when she lived there,” I told her. “As far as I know the hellhounds that live there are peaceful.”

“Hoofington? Oh fuck that place,” Steeljack interrupted, drawing funny glares from myself and Violet. The grey buck looked and stared us. “What? That place sucks.”

I shook my head and laughed a little. “I didn’t know you were so against Hoofington, Steeljack. What happened, hoofball team beat yours or something?”

Steeljack rolled his eyes and went back to cleaning his gun.

“There’s also the Ministry of Arcane Science Hub in Fillydelphia,” Violet said suddenly, pointing at another of the marked locations on the map.

I sighed and then groaned, flopping back on the couch.

“I can’t decide. I wish we had more clues or something,” I lamented. I wished I knew at least something about what happened to the Twilight Society. Not having any clues really sucked. Maybe even more than those stairs (but not by much).

Sigh, did you want my help? Spark popped into the back of my mind. I sighed. More crazy time for me I guess!

Yes Spark? Did you see something that I didn’t? I responded to the bodiless voice.

Of course I did. I suggest going to the Fillydelphia M.A.S. Hub myself, Spark said, a hint of humor in her voice.

What’s there? I asked her back.

That M.A.S. Hub was used for a lot of Twilight’s secret projects. She often spent more time there than she did here at Tenpony Tower. The amount of technology that she worked with there would be priceless, Spark replied.

I thought for a moment on her words. What about the other locations? I replied. What are your thoughts on those?

The Ponyville Library would be too small for any members of the Twilight Society to go to and not be seen. I don’t think anypony in their right mind would go near Hoofington. You’d have to be pretty fucking stupid to go near that shithole. That leaves out one other option that you’ve neglected to notice, the voice said. I sighed again and looked at the map.

Maripony, I said finally to the spirit. I know. I purposely didn’t mention it. I think Violet knows why too.

It’s where you were made into what you are. Home is where the heart is they say, Spark said, chuckling again.

Alright alright, you’ve had your fun. Fillydelphia it is then, I responded before being alerted by a small green unicorn poking me in the side.

“Hey in there!” she shouted in my ear.

“What?” I snapped at her. She grinned and nudged me in my side with her hoof. My face softened. “Sorry. Spaced out again did I?”

“Yeah. Anyways, we were just thinking that maybe we should go to Fillydelphia. That could turn up some clues,” Violet responded.

I smiled. “Exactly what I was thinking myself,” I replied. “I’ll let Life Bloom know where we’re headed. Hopefully he can find more clues for us.”

I focused my horn and activated the telepathy spell. Life Bloom? I spoke into the void. A minute later I felt a rush as my mind connected with the scarlet maned unicorn.

Yes Star? He responded.

We’ve made a decision. We’re going to go to the Fillydelphia M.A.S. hub, I said. There was a pause for a moment before he spoke again.

Excellent, he said. I’ve got good news for you too. I believe that the memory orbs we acquired in the Inner Sanctum to be safe. I have been reviewing the writings of the Society and references to them have come up several times. I think you should take them with you; they may be important clues to finding out what happened to the Society, and ultimately what happened to you.

Thank you Life Bloom, for everything, I said in return.

It is a pleasure Star. I only wish I could give you more help than what I have. I know how hard all of this must be on you, Life Bloom responded before severing the connection.

I grinned at Violet and Steeljack.

“Alright, onward to Fillydelphia!”

Some hours of rest later we found ourselves back on the monorail line heading out of Tenpony Tower. The sun was high in the sky and the day was relatively clear, with a few clouds hanging above us. We had transferred the memory orbs into a more portable carrying unit (since nopony really wanted to carry around that ridiculously heavy chest), acquired what supplies we needed, and made our way out of the Tower proper.

Questions swirled through my mind like an endless tornado of pure thought. Why did the Twilight Society just up and disappear? Why was I the one to bear these emotions and memories? Was I important, or was I merely the butt end of a massive cosmic joke? I was lost in my thoughts for a long time while we made our way through Manehattan and back to the central road that would take us south to Fillydelphia. The city of Manehattan seemed to loom over us as we walked, as if some dark omen had been cast over the ruined metropolis.

Hours later, as night time was descending upon the Wasteland, we had reached the junction point and began heading south. It was getting dark fast, and we would need to find someplace to hole up for the night. We approached one of the buildings on the side of the road, one that had been situated inside of a complex with a long torn down fence that would have kept any intruders out. Large electrical towers surrounded the building. A broken sign outside of the complex stated that the building in question was Hippocampus Energy Plant # 11. An old broken cart that was once used to move cables and parts around the building lay in pieces in the yard beneath the broken electrical towers. There was no sign of external power or the telltale hum of electricity as we neared the entrance to the facility. This particular facility had been shut down for years it seemed.

The door to the power plant creaked inward and fell off of its hinges as I pushed on it. The hallway before us was dark and kind of creepy. My E.F.S. revealed that we were alone except for the low red marks of radroaches in the walls. I breathed a sigh of relief as we quickly located a small lobby to bed down in for the night. I sat down next to Violet as she pulled our map and other various items out of our saddlebags. She smiled and laid herself at my side, snuggling close to me. I smiled back and comfortably brought myself down to her level as well.

“How’s your leg feeling?” I asked her as she was perusing the map.

“Feels a lot better. Can barely tell that I was hurt now. Those Friendship City doctors sure know what they’re doing,” she replied.

I nodded. Ever since the incident at the Stable, my friend had been spending a ridiculously large amount of time around me, almost as if she felt more comfortable knowing I was here. I nuzzled her neck and sighed, thinking about everything that had happened down in that hellhole of a Stable.

“Violet?” I asked softly. “Are you alright? You’ve been kind of… ever since…” I trailed off in the middle of my speech.

Violet nodded lightly. “I’m fine. I meant what I said before you know… I love you,” she replied, smiling brightly at me.

I sighed again before finally responding to her. It was all I had ever wanted to hear, and she’d said it first.

“To be truthful. I… I love you too. I have for some time, and just haven’t quite found the right time… well...” I said quietly so that only she could hear. I gave her a light peck on the cheek, causing her to turn a bright red. It was like watching a Hearth’s Warming Tree light up. I grinned and looked up to see where Steeljack was, mostly making sure he wasn’t prying into our private time. Like always however, the grey buck was fast asleep, using his bags for a pillow. I pulled the case containing the memory orbs out of my saddlebag and set them in front of myself and Violet. Her eyes widened.

“Are you going to view one of them?” she asked, looking in awe at the orbs as I opened the case.

“I feel I almost have to. They were left there for a reason. Just… which to view first?” I replied, looking over the incredibly beautiful orbs. I let my hoof run over the smoothness of the six orbs, feeling the engravings adorning the top of each one. Finally I rested on the orb that was engraved with three balloons. It was the cutie mark of Pinkie Pie, the Ministry Mare of Morale.

“I think… this one. I caught glimpses of something concerning Pinkie Pie while we were in the Hoofton. She was important to Twilight even though they drifted apart because of her drug addiction,” I finally said, looking at Violet with pleading eyes.

She smiled and nodded. I reached out with my magic and touched the pink colored orb, and the world fell into blackness.

This was a unique feeling. Being in Twilight’s mind had felt like I was in a very under control type of pony. Being a host to Pinkie Pie’s body felt like riding a rollercoaster that just never stopped going around in a loop de loop while going a hundred miles per hour with rocket boosters. As I gained some self-awareness, I realized that my host was in Fillydelphia and was surrounded by her five friends. A flash of a camera alerted me to what was going on around me. My host and the other Ministry Mares were standing on a platform in front of a large crowd that was taking pictures. Twilight Sparkle was standing at a microphone and was addressing the crowd. I became distinctly aware that my host was very bouncy in that she was literally bouncing up and down to a beat that I couldn’t hear or even fathom to understand.

“As leaders of your government, we promise to uphold the values that all of Equestria holds dear,” Twilight said at the microphone. “The Ministries have dedicated themselves to all of Equestria. We will find a way to end this war!”

The crowd cheered on for us, as my host waved at everypony in the crowd. Dear lord could this mare move! I felt like I was being dragged literally around as my host bounced from pony to pony, shaking hooves and unleashing a torrent of words at each one. The rest of the Ministry Mares were mingling with other guests, each of them dressed in incredibly beautiful gowns. I had a distinct feeling that Rarity had given her all to make their first appearance as the Ministry Mares a smashing success. Apparently aside from being a press conference this was also a party. Confetti and streamers adorned every part of the large social hall the crowd was situated in.

“OhmygoshhowareyouI’mfineohlovelytoseeyouhaveaniceday!” Pinkie Pie excitedly chattered at the crowd as she made her way to her friends.

“Twilight! Can you believe all of this attention? I’m just so happy! I can’t wait to make everypony smile!” my host gushed at the purple unicorn, who merely chuckled in return.

“Pinkie, it’s not just about that you know. We’re responsible now. We have a promise to keep to the Princess remember?” Twilight said with a serious face. How beautiful she looked in the prime of her youth, before the ages of war beat her into submission.

My host pranced about the purple unicorn and grabbed her friend in a spine-crushing bear hug.

“I know silly filly, but it’s going to be so much fun! We’ll show those mean meany pants zebras that they can’t push us around, no sir!” my host responded.

Twilight giggled through the squeezing hug. “Okay Pinkie, you can let me go now okay?” Twilight gasped, attempting to breathe. “I’m having trouble breathing!”

“Okey dokey lokey! Sorry about that Twilight, I’m so excited!” exuded the pink party pony. She quickly let go of the lavender unicorn, who quickly adjusted her dress from where Pinkie had ruffled it. She smiled demurely at my host.

“It’s alright Pinkie. To be truthful, I’m kind of excited too. I can’t wait to start working on all these ideas I have in my head! I’ve already got big plans for this city alone,” Twilight responded. She waved at another partygoer before turning to me.

“Pinkie, I’m going to go mingle. You go on and have a good time alright?” she said.

I nodded my head up and down enthusiastically and then went bouncing off at the speed of ‘I don’t know’ around the social hall. As my host moved around the room, I noticed little by little that Pinkie Pie watched everypony in the crowd like a hawk. Even at this early stage in her Ministry, she was keeping tabs on everything that happened around her. As I watched my host’s body zip around the room, she slowly found a corner of the room that was inconspicuously absent of any crowd. She found a door and exited through it, leaving the party. The pink mare wandered down the hallway, walking from door to door as she did. At last she opened one of the doors, which led to a bathroom. Oh great, was I going to have watch my host take a piss? Gross! The pink pony stopped instead in front of one of the mirrors and stared straight into it. She pulled a tin from underneath her dress and popped it open. I realized that what I was watching was way worse. I was going to watch Pinkie Pie drugging herself up.

A few colored tablets appeared in her hooves. Pinkie lifted them and tossed them in her mouth. She turned on the faucet and drank her fill and swallowed. She laid back against the wall for Celestia knows how long. I began to see wild amounts of color as time itself seemed to just stop. Pinkie stared wildly into the mirror. I got a distinct feeling that she was staring right at me.

“You know if you’re going to ride along with me, you could at least say hello,” my host said into the mirror.

My eyes widened from behind the mind of the party mare. Are you talking to me? I thought as I tried to comprehend what was going on.

“Of course silly filly, who else would I be talking to? I mean there’s no one in here except me and you,” Pinkie replied, giggling.

I don’t get it… this is a memory… how can you…? I thought.

“It’s best to not question these things,” the party pony said. “One of these days, you should come see me. I’d really like that. I gotta get going now though, but I can give you a push in the right direction at least before I do. There’s a hidden sanctum right above Twilight’s old office. You’ll find something interesting there.” With that, the pink mare resumed her hyperactive nature and headed out into the hallway before I had a chance to respond. Within mere seconds she was back at the party, and back to her usual animated self. As Pinkie began to glide around the crowd, making sure everypony was having a good time, the world began to fade to black.

Waking up after a memory experience was a lot like waking up with a hangover. It was usually highly disorienting, and sometimes gave one a headache. I came to, lying on the floor of the lobby next to Violet, who was still awake and waiting for me to come out of the memory dream. She smiled at me and reached in, nuzzling me. I shivered at her touch.

“Everything alright?” she asked.

“It was… odd. I feel like my head has been through a meat grinder,” I replied with a nod. I wrapped my wing around her back, pulling her close. “What was really strange about the whole thing was that she spoke to me…”

“Who did?” my green companion asked.

I pointed at the orb, which was lying comfortably amongst its companions.

“Pinkie Pie,” I said. “It’s like she knew I was there. She said something about a hidden sanctum above Twilight’s old office.”

Violet crossed her eyes at this and thought intensely. “You think she meant we’d find something at the M.A.S. hub?” she finally responded.

“Maybe. I just hope we find some answers there,” I said, resting my head across her forelegs.

She smiled and used the opportunity to give me a kiss on my forehead, pushing my mane aside and smiling. I yawned profusely.

“How are you not tired?” I spoke through the yawn.

“I am… I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I went to bed is all,” Violet said with a chuckle, resting her head next to mine. “We can go to sleep now though. It’s not like Steeljack is waking up any time soon.”

I chuckled softly, my gaze falling upon the buck, who was now snoring with his legs nearly straight up in the air.

“Good night Violet.”

“Good night Star.”

Light filtered into the lobby as morning breached the sky outside of the power plant. I flipped over on my back, feeling the cold of the bare floor. A muffled noise from my side stirred me from my sleep. A soft *click* fills my ears as I groggily opened my eyes, seeing the barrel of a gun leveled right at my head. I stared past the barrel to see a grinning unicorn stallion standing over me. Several other ponies surrounded us. More muffled noises alerted me to notice that they had tied up and gagged Violet and were currently holding her off to the side quite roughly. Steeljack was also tied up and gagged on the other side of the group. I became distinctly aware that I had been bound as well. They hadn’t gagged me though, which I thought was odd. The unicorn stallion pointing the gun had a cutie mark of a dollar sign resting on his flank. The armor the group was wearing indicated that they were raiders.

“Well well well,” the unicorn said. “Look who decided to wake up.”

“Who are you?” I snarled. “What do you want with us?”

The raider leader chuckled. “Me? I want money, I want mares, I want it all,” he crooned happily. “Mostly I want to stick your head on a pike, you fucking cunt. But that would do me no good now would it? It doesn’t help me get what I want the most, and that’s power. You can call me Greed.”

“What? What are you talking about?” I said, trying to process what was happening. How the fuck did these guys sneak up on us? I couldn’t think straight. I wanted to strangle these fuckers to death for hurting my friends.

“You’re famous around these parts you know that right? All the time on the radio, DJ-PON3 going on about the ‘Great and Powerful Ministry Mare.’ So I got to thinkin’, if you really are as powerful as they say you are, you can help me become just as powerful,” the buck continued saying, grinning that wicked grin. “All you need is a little… incentive.”

He nodded to one of his cohorts, a black coated unicorn mare who removed a knife from her saddlebags. She brought the blade down to Violet’s cheek and sliced slightly, drawing a thin line of blood. She whimpered through the gag they had tied around her muzzle. I growled again.

“Don’t you fucking touch her you fucking prick!” I shouted, struggling to get out of my bonds. Greed laughed. “I can’t do what you want anyways. I couldn’t give you any more power than I could give a spark battery a fucking charge you moron.”

“You misunderstand me,” the grinning buck responded, motioning to his retinue. “Grab her and their stuff. She’ll help us if she wants to see her friends safe.”

I glared at Greed and snarled again. Two hefty stallions stepped forward and began to lift me from the cold floor.

“Let me go!” I yelled, trying to struggle my way out of the bonds.

Greed cackled wildly. “I’m gonna make this very simple you see. You’re gonna help me with a little job. There’s something I want to steal, and it’s very special. If you don’t, well then I’ll kill your friends. I’ll make sure to have plenty of fun with the little green one too before I do.”

I sighed as we were being dragged out of the power plant. The morning sunlight nearly blinded me as we were thrust into it.

“And if I do this… you’ll let us go?” I asked tentatively.

Greed nodded. “You have my word as an honest stallion,” he crowed.

I narrowed my eyes at this. What kind of fucking raider prick was honest? I really wanted to strangle this one over and over.

“Fine. I’ll help you. But you have to untie me,” I responded.

Greed’s eyes gleamed with triumph. He nodded at the two stallions who dropped me on the ground (ouch that hurt!) and released me from my bonds. I stood up and stretched my wings out, before noticing that Stargazer was resting comfortably in the hooves of one of the larger stallions. I focused and yanked the weapon away from him, clipping it back into its harness.

“My gun,” I said, snarling at the confused stallion.

“A mare after my own heart. This is going to be fun,” he said. He looked over at the rest of his gang. “Untie the other two so they can walk on their own. If any of them makes a move, kill them swiftly.”

Soon we were following them down the road towards an uncertain future. I stepped up close to Violet and checked her neck. The cut wasn’t deep and had already sealed up.

“Are you okay?” I asked her quietly.

She nodded. “I’m fine… I don’t like this. I don’t trust that buck,” she responded, pointing a hoof at Greed.

“I don’t either, but right now we’re outnumbered, and don’t have much of a choice,” I said, placing a hoof on her shoulder to comfort her. “When the time is right, I’ll make sure that fucker gets his.”

A few hours later we arrived at what Greed told us was our destination. It was a small town just north of Fillydelphia called Far Hills. The town was ragged and dirty, and smelled like somepony had taken a piss all over the town. I couldn’t begin to fathom what it was the crazy stallion wanted here, until he pointed at a building in the middle of the town. It was an old natural history museum. The roof of the place had cracks all over it and the foundation was beginning to sink at one end of it. It looked absolutely decrepit. I didn’t know much about this town, only that its inhabitants tended to stick to their own, and hated outsiders with a passion. I glared at the grinning stallion.

“What do you want me to do?” I said, narrowing my gaze at him.

Greed pointed at the museum again. “We need to get in there. There’s something very special in there, and I want it. Got it?” he replied. “You help me out, I’ll let you go. That’s the deal.”

“Fine, but we do this discretely. You all look like a bunch of raiders, and I’m not perfectly comfortable with killing anypony who doesn’t deserve it,” I said with a glare, putting emphasis on the last part of my sentence.

Greed snorted and laughed. “That’s why you’re here. I’ve heard all about you. You can teleport right?” he asked. I nodded in brief reply. “Good. Then you and me, we’re going to go in there and get my prize.”

“What about my friends?” I asked, glowering.

“They stay here. That way you have incentive to come back,” Greed replied, indicating the thugs holding my companions.

I winked at Violet and looked down at the museum. A soft *pop* later and both Greed and I were standing on the roof out of plain sight. Greed pointed at the door leading down into the museum. He pushed it open and I followed him into the dark stairwell. As we made our way down the stairwell I quietly tried to make some form of conversation with my kidnapper.

“What exactly is this thing you’re looking for?” I asked quietly as we reached the door at the bottom of the stairwell.

“Have you ever heard of Daring Do?” he responded. He pushed open the door as I shook my head. “Before the war, she was an archaeologist who dug up all sorts of mystical artifacts from all over the world. She became so famous; she took up a pen name and starting writing down her stories for all to read. Many of the artifacts she discovered were placed on display for everypony to see. It just so happens one of those is here.”

“What is it?” I asked curiously. Now I wondered what this stallion really wanted. His demeanor had completely changed from the bravado he put up in front of his gang.

“It’s a figurine of a pony carved out of starmetal. It’s supposed to grant immortality to the one who cracks its secrets,” Greed said chuckling lowly.

We made our way through the top floor of the museum hall, dodging rubble and debris as we progressed through the hall. Busts of long-dead ponies adorned one hall while skeletons of ancient Equestrian monsters lined the wall of another hallway. We continued silently through a hallway containing modern Equestrian art to a set of stairs that would take us down to the ground level. I checked my E.F.S. for any sort of threats, but saw nothing. This concerned me, mostly because I was expecting some form of automated defenses in this place.

Of course… I was wrong. The sharp *crack* of turret fire awoke my defenses as two mounted turrets awoke from the ceiling on the ground level, leveling their barrels at myself and Greed. I jumped out of the way and pushed myself behind a stone statue. Greed stood there and laughed maniacally as he unleashed gunfire at the turrets while the bullets bit into him as well. Was he seriously fucking crazy? I couldn’t even begin to tell. I pulled out Stargazer and let loose a stream of fire at one of the turrets, blowing it off of the ceiling. Greed’s pistol disabled the other turret shortly afterwards. I stared blankly at the white buck. The parts of his body where he had been struck were sizzling with magic, like some sort of magical shield. Every bullet that had hit him had fallen to the ground around him, as if the gunfire never even touched him. The shield slowly receded, revealing his white coat again.

“What the…?” I said flatly. Greed stared at me with psychotic eyes, wild with joy. “What the fuck are you?”

Greed laughed. “A long story,” he finally said. “Maybe if you live long enough, I’ll tell you about it. Maybe.”

I stared more. There was something seriously wrong with this raider. He was an indestructible killing machine! There was to be no snapping of this buck’s neck, no sirree.

Shouts from outside stirred me to reality. The sound of the gunfire obviously had alarmed the townsponies. I nudged Greed and pointed down the hall, indicating that we should keep moving. He nodded and we kept going down the large exhibit hall. Another set of turrets popped out of the ceiling, spreading hot lead through the room. I took cover and returned fire, blowing them apart and pushing through into the next exhibit hall. Greed pointed down the hall to the Ancient Cultures wing.

“The figurine should be down there. It’s in a secure room, so we’ll need to bust through it. We don’t have much time before the townsponies get here, so if you wish to remain discrete…” he snarled, running ahead of me.

I groaned and leapt after him, matching his stride as we moved through the museum wing until we arrived at a steel door barring one of the exhibits. I stood my ground and focused, tugging at the lock mechanisms with my telekinesis. The lock stayed firm for a few minutes but then eventually began to disassemble itself under the strain of the magic forces acting upon it. The door began to force itself outward as I yanked the lock from it, crushing the door into pieces. What lay inside before us was absolutely incredible. A carved figurine of an earth pony rested on a pedestal in the center of the exhibit room. It glowed an unnatural bluish color that swirled around the body of the figure. Greed’s eyes glowed with absolute enthusiasm.

“Excellent,” he said, stepping into the room.

I stayed outside, watching for anypony that might be coming. Greed levitated the figure off of the pedestal and placed it into his saddlebag. Seconds later, several earth ponies rounded the corner, wielding various firearms. Gunfire erupted into the hall around us as I ducked back into the exhibit where the figurine was. I howled as several bullets grazed my flank, drawing a stream of blood down my back leg. I floated Stargazer out and fired several bursts as a warning, drawing several screams from our assailants. I yelled out of the room.

“Hold your fire!” I screamed. “We’re not here to hurt you!”

My call was met by another round of gunfire. These ponies weren’t interested in talking it seemed. I poked my head out to get a good look at them. The group was dressed in dirty, bloody barding and was comprised solely of several earth ponies. They were grimy and had maniacal looks in their eyes. These ponies were raiders! Well, that explained why the ponies in this town hated outsiders. I looked back at Greed who was grinning widely. I nodded at him and leaped out of the room, bringing Stargazer up as I entered into E.S.A.T.S. Time slowed to a crawl as I lined up my shots. I dropped the spell and unleashed hell against the raiders, Stargazer’s blue bullets eating through barding and flesh as they struck my targets. Greed stepped out behind me and let out round after round of his pistol, blowing several holes in the head of one of the raider ponies.

“Come on you fuckers, just try and kill me!” the unicorn stallion shouted, laughing maniacally as he stepped forward into the hall and unleashed several rounds of gunfire.

The raiders returned fire, the bullets biting into Greed’s body as they were deflected by his strange shield-like ability. He cackled wildly and fired again, taking the head off of one of the raiders. My flank felt on fire as I moved around a corner to avoid getting shot again. Despite just grazing me, the wound hurt like hell. I had an idea. It was a crazy idea, but it was still an idea. I leapt out of my hiding spot into the fray in front of Greed and activated my shield, surrounding myself and the unicorn. I dug my hooves into the ground and shouted.

“STOP THIS AT ONCE!” I yelled, putting as much force into my voice as possible. The force of the shout knocked back several of the raiders across the exhibit hall. I focused hard, trying to teleport myself and Greed out of the museum, inadvertently letting my shield drop to do so. I barely heard Greed shout as one of the raiders’ bullets struck me in the leg, dropping me to the ground. I howled in pain as I lost consciousness and the world fell into pure black.

I hurt. A lot. If anything could ever possibly suck, it was being shot. In all fairness, I think the stairs are still winning on my list of things that suck. I awoke groggily and in pain, the warm heat of a campfire blazing in front of me. What happened? The last thing I remembered was being shot in the leg. In hindsight, I really needed to stop waking up in strange places or getting hurt like this. It was getting to become too much of a habit, and not one I particularly liked. A voice above me brought me back to the world of the living.

“You’re resilient stranger, I’ll give you that. You’re lucky even we get DJ-PON3 out here,” the voice said.

I looked up to see a dirty grey earth pony mare sitting down next to me in front of the campfire.

“Where am I?” I choked out, trying to sit up. My leg felt like it was going to fall off. Hadn’t these ponies ever heard of Med-X before? Apparently not.

“You’re in town square. This is Far Hills,” the mare replied.

I finally sat up and took in the sights around me. I was in the center of the small dingy town. The museum I had been in was looming over me like a grim reminder of why I had been there. A campfire had been set up, presumably to keep me warm. Several other ponies were standing about the square. I was also bound by my hooves.

“My friends?!” I shouted. “Where are my friends?”

“You mean the raider you were in our museum with? He took off. Nothing we did hurt him,” the mare said.

I shook my head. “No… he wasn’t my friend. He blackmailed me into joining him. Took my friends hostage…” I responded, trailing off.

“I wondered what the Ministry Mare was doing raiding a town’s cherished museum,” the mare said, nodding. “And killing our townsfolk.”

I started to cry at her hooves, thinking of my friends and if they were okay. No, I don’t have time to cry. Violet and the others are in trouble! I thought angrily. I snapped out of my funk and looked up at the mare.

“You shot me you know,” I said with a growl. “What’s the matter with you ponies? Dressing up as raiders and shooting at others?”

The mare chuckled and waved her hoof around.

“As you can see, we’re not raiders. We’ve defended our town against enough of that riff-raff to gather their armor and weapons. It’s how we keep outsiders out of our town. You’d be amazed at how much dressing up as raiders deters others from attacking us,” the mare explained.

I gawked at her, unable to believe what I was hearing. Ponies dressing up like raiders just to deter raiders? What was this world coming to?

“Is that why you decided to not kill me?” I asked.

“Yet. You’re not exactly an unknown pony to the Wasteland, thanks to DJ-PON3,” she responded. “We didn’t realize who you were until we got a good look at you. That being said, I apologize for shooting you.”

“So what happens now?” I said.

The mare grimaced. “The other villagers, they’re not happy about this. They say we should execute you. Deliver a little Wasteland justice.”

“And what do you think?” I asked.

“I think that we should be doing what DJ-PON3 says to do,” she replied quietly. She motioned around her at the other villagers. “Show a little kindness. I’m gonna get a lot of flak for this, but… if you do something for us then I will be willing to look the other way and let you go.”

“Name it. Whatever you want. I just want to get my friends back from that psycho,” I said, lowering my voice to a whisper as well.

“The item he took from the museum. I want you to get it back for us. It’s likely valuable and we could really use all the help we can to make enough money to support the town. We’re… not well off at the moment,” the mare said. “You do that, and we’ll be square. I’ll tell the others that you overpowered me and then tell them the truth once you’re long gone. They’re not going to be happy with me, but we need all the help we can get.”

“Deal. I’ll retrieve it for you,” I said. “Now free me and I will be good to go.”

“Hold on,” the mare said. “I have to take you to town hall. We’re keeping your saddlebags and gear there.”

I got to my hooves shakily with her help, the bindings on my legs allowing me to move slowly. I nearly tripped several times on our way to the hall. As we walked, I caught the glances of the other villagers. They were stares of disgust, of hate. They looked at me as the monster, and I felt that way deep inside. I’d killed other ponies already of course, but most of those had been genuinely bad or otherwise evil. This time… I’d killed those who could otherwise be considered innocent. I felt like shit. I lowered my head, deciding that I would do whatever it took to help these ponies.

I followed her inside town hall. The mare stopped and untied my bonds. She pointed at a table where my saddlebags were sitting. On top of them sat Stargazer. I sighed in relief at the sight of my beautiful weapon. I grabbed everything and strapped it all on.

“Alright. I… I really appreciate this, and for what it’s worth… I’m sorry about those I… I killed,” I said softly. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

The mare nodded. “I know. Go now, before the others get suspicious. The window at the top of the hall is open.”

I extended my wings and took to the sky, soaring through the open window. As I lifted into the air, I brought up my E.F.S. and input Violet’s PipBuck tag. I’d never used that function before so it was weird seeing the little tracking blip showing her approximate location. I brought up the automap and noted that the blip was tracking south towards Fillydelphia.

I started flying towards Violet’s blip on my E.F.S., hoping to get there in time before Greed decided to be less than impatient with them. I sped along as fast as my wings would allow, pushing the limits of my body. I was pissed off royally. Not only did that fucker leave me for dead, he took my friends! I was going to gut him like a fish and feed him to parasprites!

My E.F.S. indicated that Violet wasn’t far at least. The blip wasn’t moving at least, which made me even more pissed off, since it was possible that Greed had killed my friends and left them for me to find. I swooped down towards the road where I could see two shapes that were tied together. There were no other blips on my E.F.S. other than two blue friendly indicators. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw that Violet and Steeljack were sitting off the side of the road, tied up and unconscious. I floated down and used my telekinesis to rip the bonds from them. A cough from Steeljack indicated that he was awake.

“St-Star…?” he said, looking up at me.

I nodded, smiling. Violet slowly regained consciousness next to me. She latched onto my foreleg, crying. I nuzzled her for a moment before returning my gaze to the earth pony before me.

“Are you guys alright?” I asked. They nodded in response. “What happened?”

“We heard your shout from up on the hill,” Steeljack started. “When we tried to get free, the gang knocked us unconscious. When we came to we were tied up here. That Greed feller was standing over us. He said you did your part, and he would keep to his word and let us live. Also said he would see you again. Knocked us out again, and now you’re here. I think that’s pretty much the thick of it.”

“I was a scapegoat. He never meant for me to get out of there alive. I was supposed to get caught by the townsponies and executed,” I said, staring off into space. “I’m just glad you two are alright.” I looked down at Violet who was still crying into my leg. I cooed softly as I nuzzled her neck. “It’s okay… I’m here now.”

She sniffled and looked up at me with teary eyes. I smiled in return, earning a weak smile creeping onto her lips as well.

“We should keep going, get to Fillydelphia,” she managed to choke out through the tears.

I nodded in agreement, helping her and Steeljack to their hooves. We kept a brisk pace as we walked along the road, continuing south. It took a while, but eventually we could see the ruined landscape that was Fillydelphia. As we made our way down the road to the city, I clicked on the radio, letting the sounds of DJ-PON3 fill our ears.

"Goooooood evening Wasteland! This is your host, DJ-PON3, giving you all the latest news from the Wastes! And boy do I have news for you. A news report came in from the town of Far Hills of all places. It seems the Ministry Mare paid a visit to their fair town, and was actually shot at on sight! Based on reports, the townsponies of Far Hills acted like raiders to keep outsiders out of their town, but recent events have changed their minds on the matter. Some of the ponies in the town claim the Ministry Mare killed some of their own, but come on kids! If you act like raiders, expect to get treated like raiders! Seriously!

Anyways, thanks to that very same Ministry Mare, the town's inhabitants now can access the old natural history museum after our intrepid hero bypassed the museum's security systems. Word is that they may even open it and the city up to outsiders again! Good on you Ministry Mare!

Remember everypony: if you're kind to your neighbors, they'll be kind in return. Until next time, be safe and be happy. Have a little Sweetie Belle."

The Ministry of Arcane Sciences Hub was located at a junction of the city just north of the Fillydelphia Crater. Hopefully this meant that we wouldn’t have to run into any of the warring gangs in the city, but we couldn’t afford not to be on high alert. We made our way through the ruined city quietly and quickly, trying to avoid any attention we possibly could. The decrepit building that once belonged to the M.A.S. Hub loomed in the distance. I breathed a sigh of relief as we made our way through the rubble and debris to the front gate of the Ministry building. The gate was turned over on its side, broken in several pieces. The courtyard beyond it was filled with broken pieces of the building that had fallen over the years. I pushed aside several large pieces of cinderblock with telekinesis and trotted up to the door leading into the facility. Locked. Of course. Why make it easy on me Wasteland? The Wasteland neglected to respond, as normal. I grabbed the door with my magic and yanked it away, a musty ancient smell assaulting my senses once the door was out of the way. Violet and Steeljack warily followed behind me as we entered the facility.

Once again, I was assaulted by memories of days gone by as I strode into the ruined Ministry building. I also couldn’t help but think of what Pinkie had said to me in her memory. The prospect of finding something here that could give me some answers haunted my every move as we walked through the quiet halls. It was a little too quiet. Usually these Ministry buildings had some sort of automated defense systems, something that would shoot at you until you were pretty much dead. But this one… nothing. Nothing at all. I was almost disappointed. It was as if the Wasteland had given me some sort of break. I snickered at that thought, because I knew it was untrue. The Wasteland never gave you a break. Never.

The large hallway we were in fed into a series of offices near the back of the building. The largest office held a brass plate that read Twilight Sparkle, Ministry Director and the door was emblazoned with Twilight’s cutie mark. I pushed open the door and remembered Pinkie’s words. The hidden space above Twilight’s office held some sort of secret. I was getting a little tired of secrets to be honest. All I really wanted was somepony to be honest with me at this point. I’m pretty sure the only honest pony I’ve met lately was the jacked up psycho pony Greed. And even that was pushing it!

As I began checking out the center of the room to find this hidden space, Violet and Steeljack fanned out around the office and began perusing anything that was unlocked. As I inspected the ceiling, I could see no way that there was anything situated above the office. A large banging noise followed by a surprised yelp from Violet ripped my gaze away from the ceiling. One of the lockers had nearly fallen on my green friend, almost crushing her. She pulled herself out of the way, and laughed a bit as she looked back at me.

“Sorry,” she said, smiling.

I sort of ignored the smile and pointed instead at the wall behind the locker. “What’s that…?” I asked.

She looked back at the wall at what appeared to be a big red button. Why hide something like a button? Unless… I prodded at the button with magic, pushing it inwards. A noise above me brought my attention back to the ceiling, which now appeared to be opening up and lowering a staircase down.

“Violet, you’re a genius,” I said, as I allowed the staircase to come down to floor level. I started up the stairs, hoping for something, anything that would give me some answers. The room above the office was filled with machinery, computers, and other equipment. In the center of the room was a set of pillars, much like the ones from the inner sanctum of the Twilight Society. A large operating table lay in the center of the pillar. A sheet draped over the table, obscuring the lump laying on it. Cautiously I stepped forward into the room. What was this place? Was this some sort of secret experiment that Twilight was working on? A million questions assaulted my mind as I continued on into the room. A voice filled the room, startling me and my companions.

“Welcome… I was wondering when you might show up here… Twilight Sparkle,” the deep voice sounded through the room. “I’ve been waiting, oh so long for you.”

“Who’s there?” I called out, stepping up to the table with the sheet. “Who are you?” A deep chuckle erupted from inside the room. “Where are you?”

“Please, what fun is there in revealing the entire plot before its time? That just ruins everything,” the voice continued, laughing heartily. “But if you want answers, look under that sheet. It will enlighten you in ways you never thought possible.”

I snarled, and ripped the sheet off of the table. I felt my breath constrict as I took in the sight before me. The creature on the table was freakish, with long black legs that had holes in them revealing sickly looking flesh. Long blue hair fell from the head of the creature, which had a horn like a unicorn’s own. The thing was clearly dead and reeked of decay. Cradled next to the thing in its hooves was a memory orb.

“More memories?” I snorted. “What is that going to do? Show me more of the fucked up past? Who did this to me? Was it you?” I shouted to the room.

The voice chuckled again. “Oh me oh my. I can tell you it wasn’t me. Even I wouldn’t do something that silly,” the voice responded, cackling madly again. “No… this memory is special. Trust me.”

I glared around the room, trying to locate the bodiless voice before my gaze returned to the sickly creature and the orb it held. I looked to Steeljack and Violet, who only nodded. I stared at the orb intently, and let my magic wrap around it, allowing the world to fall into blackness.

At least I was in familiar territory. I recognized Twilight’s body instantly as my vision fell into focus. I was sitting at a desk, the same desk in the very office that was below me, signing paperwork and humming along to a tune that was playing on the radio nearby. I finished the papers and got up from my chair. Sighing, I moved the locker from the wall slightly, and pushed the red button behind it. The staircase extended and I stepped up into the laboratory. It appeared nearly the same, only this time the operating table was missing. All of the equipment was buzzing away as I stepped into the center of the room. I pressed another button on one of the pillars. Slowly the operating table lifted into the room, a sheet covering its occupant.

I removed the sheet, revealing the same creature I had just witnessed, except this one was alive. It snarled as it tried to escape the bonds holding it to the table.

“I was told you had infiltrated my Ministry, posing as a top security officer to gain intelligence,” my host said to the beast before me. She pointed a hoof at the creature. “Who are you working for? The zebras? Or is your Queen involved in this too?”

The creature merely snarled again.

“You’ll have to kill me to make me talk you bitch,” the thing growled, writhing in its bonds. Before my eyes the beast changed into a perfect copy of Twilight and then back to its normal self. What were these things? I sighed and shook my head as I paced in front of the beast.

“I’m afraid that’s not an option for you. I’ll have to call Pinkie Pie and let her Ministry take over now. She’ll be able to extract your memories so that we can find out exactly who you were working for,” my host responded.

That explained how Pinkie knew about the hidden room, but what purpose did this serve to the problem at hand? I still had yet to see anything that answered my questions. In fact, if anything this brought up more questions. I trotted to the other side of the room and pulled out a syringe. I moved to the creature’s side and injected it into its leg, drawing the thing’s blood.

“For a little experiment. What Pinkie doesn’t know won’t hurt her right?” my host said, feeling a wicked grin creep onto my face.

The creature’s eyes widened as the memory dissipated into nothing.

I awoke in the room next to the dead creature in the company of Steeljack and Violet. I shook my head as I stood up. The heavy voice re-entered the room.

“Oh, you’re awake now? How pleasant. So… what did you think?” it said, chuckling again.

“What was this thing? How does any of this have anything to do with me?” I shouted angrily. I was tired of being jerked around. I wanted some answers, not more questions.

“That ‘thing’ as you so eloquently described it was a changeling. They’re a race primarily existing outside of Equestria. They have a very special talent… the ability to transform themselves to look like anything,” the voice erupted into the room. “As far as what this has to do with you, consider your bodily changes. Changeling magic is quite special. But mix that with unicorn magic or rather alicorn magic, and anything can happen.”

“Are you saying that this creature has to do with what happened to me?” I asked, now more confused than ever. Of course, I was also talking to a strange voice, but that was nothing new.

“Indeed my dear Twilight. I daresay that somepony wanted you back. Imagine if you will the living Goddess walking Equestria once again. Mixing such a powerful personality and magic with your alicorn body, well it would create a being nearly as powerful as Celestia or Luna,” the voice responded. “Whoever controlled that power, they could control everything. This is why I’m so glad you’re here, because now I get you all to myself.”

What? I thought as the room began to rumble. A serpentine body broke through the floor in front of us, revealing a creature even uglier than the beast on the table. The head consisted of a pony’s head, but with a deer antler on one side and a goat horn on the other. Its eyes were maniacal and different in size, while a sinister looking fang curled out of its lips as it sneered at us. The thing’s body was serpentine in nature, with a lion’s arm on the right and an eagle’s claw on the left. The beast laughed maniacally as it reared back. My eyes widened with fear as I shrunk back next to Violet and Steeljack. Clearly the part of me that belonged to Twilight recognized this beast.

“Welcome to your new home Twilight Sparkle. It is ever so good to see you again,” the creature snorted, chuckling as it reached towards me. “To answer a previous question as to who I am… you can call me… Discord.”

Author's Notes:

Okay so season finale really gave me a lot of ideas to finish this chapter. I was sort of floundering a bit until I watched it. Suffice to say I was pleased with how it turned out. Don’t worry! The changeling at the end is not Chrysalis, although it totally wouldn’t surprise me if she were dead. We’ll just have to see how it plays out. And answers! Intrigue! Discord!

Once again I’d love the thank the ever awesome Kkat for letting me use Homage and Life Bloom in my fic. You are incredible!