Author's Notes:

OK...so apparently I have HORRID timing...

A story called "Always" by Vlad was put out only a day or two before I began writing this, and it's pretty much the same idea. Wow...I checked it out a bit and it seemed good, though not how I would (and am going to) do mine. So, if you've read his, I promise mine won't be a carbon copy by any means. If you haven't read his, go read it after you read mine ;)

Just goes to show, there's no limit to good Snape fics.
-TBK

The corners of his vision were corrupted into darkness, which spread quickly over everything. A few mere seconds later, the beautiful green eyes were the last sparks of color and life he could find, and then, he was gone. He was dead.

He could not feel anything, see anything, hear anything, or smell anything at all for what seemed to be an eternity, and yet he soon realized that his senses were slowly coming back to him. He soon found himself to be cold and he was not aware of much of anything around him; it appeared that his afterlife was nothing short of barren purgatory. Just within his line of sight was a blinding white light, which lay to his right, and to his left was an even darker shadow which seemed to be alive, struggling to consume him as he floated weightlessly in the gray expanse that he perceived as his life after death.

He could not move towards one side or the other no matter how hard he tried. Perhaps it was in fact purgatory, a lonely and unfulfilling existence between light and dark. Finally, rainbow colored lightning struck in the distance and broke the monotony, but it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared, only for another flash to erupt seconds later. He found that his senses were becoming stronger with every flash of the lightning.

The shining white light, however began to recede and slide farther and farther from his reach. The darkness seemed to have forgotten him as well, and it looked as though it was swallowing itself up. The stronger he became, the fainter the darkness and light became. He could not move much, but he could slowly alter the course of his floating existence if he chose. Before moving either direction, a figure of rainbow light broke through the gray expanse and called out to him.

"Severus Snape...it is a pleasure," The voice thundered, though Snape could not tell it to be either male or female, though he assumed the former based on the more noticeable masculine features of the rainbow frame.

"Who are you?" Snape replied, still unable to move about freely and properly face the visitor, who was well above Snape's prone figure.

"I am the Guide. It is my job to bring those who have passed to a side. If darkness is the consuming fire in one's spirit, then they will be lead to the left, to abide in everlasting shadow and cold. If light was the spark of the soul, then off to the right one will be sent, to enjoy the shining warmth of paradise. You, however, will not be going to either side."

"Why is that? What am I to do then?"

"You stand out among your contemporaries. I have greeted Dumbledore, Voldemort, Rufus Scrimgeour, Dobby the elf, Bellatrix Lestrange, Fred Weasley, and many, many more...and yet none are quite like you."

"Voldemort is dead!" Snape exclaimed, his eyes wide and his mouth agape at the mention of the names.

"Some take longer to guide than others. In the physical world you left behind, it has been approximately 19 years since Voldemort's defeat, which occurred very shortly after he killed you. You have finally been judged Snape, and your new task awaits you."

"My new task...I am not resigned to rest or torment then?"

"No, no, goodness no, Snape. Your talents and willpower were quite extraordinary. To give you up to either side would be rather unfortunate. Truly, however, to deny one his eternal fate is a sin greater than most others, especially if the second chance is abused. I will give you another life, but you must do your all to resolve the dark conflict that plagues the lands. If you rid them of the great threat they face, you will be guaranteed eternal rest and absolute reverence across the universe."

"I'm not going back to Hogwarts...am I?"

"No. No you will not be going back to your old life. Those you left behind have tempered the darkness there, and for now...all is good. However, another land, a land in another world, is in an extreme danger that I feel you would be greatly suited to resolve."

"What is this new land I am being sent to then?"

"Equestria. It is ruled by several Alicorn Princesses, one of whom, I am sorry to say, is in great danger, and from a fellow Princess no less. I warn you, the perpetrator may not even be aware of her wicked deeds. If one dies, then their entire order will be offset, and it is possible, that the nation will fall. This is not the face of evil you are used to seeing, but it is the same evil beneath, I guarantee you. It is a puzzling and mysterious problem, Severus, but I am confident that you will be able to diffuse it."

"I understand."

"Unfortunately, I cannot give you much more, for the task is yours, not mine to solve. I will tell you that while you can be as open or closed to your past life and actions as you choose, it would be unwise to trust any of the Princess- or those close to them. Still, this task will likely take a long time, and you should get used to the idea of living there. I can promise you that by the time your mission ends, Equestria will be some kind of home to you."

"..."

"I wish you luck, Severus. You are the most complex soul I have met in a long time...I look forward to our next meeting."

With that, the rainbow figure disappeared before Snape could blink and the gray expanse around him was flooded white. His senses once again left him and he blacked out for the second time since his death in the Shrieking Shack.

The sound of an explosion and a tremor that threw her off her bed woke Princess Twilight abruptly. Before she had the chance to get to her hooves, Spike ran in screaming wildly and ran circles around her.

"Twilight! Twilight! Something just fell from the sky and landed in the Everfree Forest!"

"Spike! Calm down, we're okay," Twilight assured and wrapped her hooves around the baby dragon for comfort and because his yelling was the most aggravating thing Twilight remembered hearing in weeks.

"But the Everfree Forest-" Spike began to protest, but Twilight's hoof stopped his mouth from speaking.

"We're fine, and how did you see what happened anyways?"

"Well...I was...I was going for a midnight snack and..."

"Of course," Twilight teased and giggled. They got up and left, traveling down the quiet and dark stairs of the library just as Mayor Mare and most of Twilight's friends came running. They met up at the front door.

"Twilight, did you see it?" Rarity exclaimed and pointed towards the forest. It had clearly been disturbed and it seemed to Twilight that the source of the disruption was coming from nearby the Castle of the Twin Sisters.

"No, what hit the forest?" She asked, as the Mayor looked around nervously as other ponies began to step out their doors and investigate.

"Something big and bright," Rainbow replied, "but it didn't look like anything I've ever seen before."

"You don't think it was unfriendly, do you?" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Maybe...Mayor Mare, can you keep things quiet and calm here?" Twilight asked as she looked out to the Forest, the heart of which seemed to be in a state of flux.

"Yes, but where are you going Princess Twilight?"

"My friends and I are going to investigate. If it is something unfriendly, I'll let you know so you can order an evacuation," Twilight explained as her friends, save Applejack and Pinkie, who were absent, gathered around her.

"Very well, good luck Princess Twilight!" The Mayor called as she lavender alicorn teleported herself and her friends far into the interior of the Everfree.

The Everfree was darker than usual, and it seemed that most of the weird and often unsettling creatures that dwelt there had moved elsewhere. The chill in the air seemed augmented as well. The area where the ponies teleported into had been burned, but no sign of flames was to be found. Even stranger, the black, leafless trees surrounding the supposed area of contact between the object from the sky and the ground had been twisted and gnarled worse than most trees appeared.

"Does this mean it's gone?" Rainbow asked as she peered out to the best of her ability, searching for anything remotely out of the ordinary.

"I'm not even sure what 'it' is, but I wouldn't take any chances...these don't look like good signs," Twilight told them as she examined the side of the Castle, which was very close by.

Fluttershy and Rarity looked through the endless maze of trees and fog, checking behind every rock and into every crevice for the fallen object. Rainbow had gone into the air to examine the skies of the outer parts of the forest, in case who or whatever had arrived was a swift traveller, and Twilight was beginning to check inside the Castle, where she figured anything sentient would head for shelter.

The old halls of the forgotten fortress were still in rather good condition thanks to the efforts Twilight and her friends had made during the past several months, but even now dust was bleeding through the polish. By taking in the grandeur of it all, Twilight had almost missed the fact that a strange liquid had been left on the floor. Upon lighting the hall with her horn, she discovered it was blood.

She swore the air grew twice as cold and the shadows twice as dark as they had been. The logical side of her brain told her that it was entirely possible that a sentient being was hurt and needed her help. The emotional side replied by noting that some kind of carnivorous monster could have attacked another sentient being.

Her thought train was broken as a crashing sound came from the staircase above her and down the hall. She inhaled deeply and flew up to the upper level and soared through the hall, towards the Castle library. It did not escape her notice that the same dark blood was present in the hall as well.

Twilight peddled down and stopped upon coming into a large corridor, with flashes of light and the sounds of more crashing and clanging coming from the door at the end and on the far right. If she remembered correctly, this path led to a balcony overlooking an old castle garden.

She ran down after the noises and after passing what she guessed were bedrooms, she reached the large balcony, which was barren of anything except a dried up, cracked fountain in the center. A strange figure was using it for cover and it appeared to be bleeding.

Facing the strange creature was an even more odd looking thing, and Twilight hadn't the slightest idea of what it was. It appeared to be a hulking creature that looked like a timberwolf had crossed with a cragadile. Twilight thought that some kind of rocky substance coated the bloated wood that made up it's skeleton, but such a creature was unparalleled to Twilight's knowledge. It walked on two legs and it's large tail had just been used to destroy the old fountain, knocking down the stranger who was behind it.

Rainbow had caught wind of the scene on her way back and flew down to attack the beast, but it easily reversed her advances with another mighty swing of its tail. The smaller creature began to cough up blood, and the red liquid was still leaking from the black garb around its middle. There was no time to debate; action needed to be taken, and quickly.

Twilight fired a beam from her horn that didn't seem to hurt the beast, but definitely caught its attention, and it began charging towards her. She flew up into the air and out of its reach as she fired again and gave Rainbow time to get to the bleeding creature. The smaller creature pushed Rainbow away and got to its feat without her help, but as the pegasi protested, all the creature could notice was the beast attacking Twilight, a worried expression on its face.

"Rainbow, get it away! It's hurt!" Twilight called out while continuing to evade the beast's strikes, a task that was becoming all the more difficult as the hulking creature seemed to be learning Twilight's patterns.

"It won't let me!" Rainbow protested and prepared to speak up again when the small creature raised a small stick-like item and shouted out.

"Sectumsempra!"

Without warning, Twilight was thrown down as a magical force of some kind cut the creature across the chest twice in long, deep slashes. Luckily she had been almost shoved down to the balcony, as the creature howled with pain and a green fluid began to ooze from the cuts. The power to injure a creature like that was more than noteworthy, and the smaller creature was injured to boot. Twilight only hoped it wouldn't lash out at her and her friends after the hulking cragawolf.

The beast gave another loud and angered cry before getting on all fours and aiming its jaws at Rainbow and the stranger. The very stone beneath it quivered and shook as a massive force was unleashed from the beast's maw and hurled at the two. The small creature raised the stick object and looked like he was about to use another odd and powerful ability when he clutched his chest, fell to his knees, and struggled to move.

Rainbow seized the stranger and attempted to fly away but Twilight was fast enough to erect a magic shield around them, and the howling blast was deflected to either side of them.

"Rainbow, get going!" Twilight shouted and rocketed off into the sky again to gain more maneuverability over the monster.

Rainbow looked torn. She knew it wouldn't be right to leave the stranger to die, but Twilight's magic didn't seem nearly as effective as whatever the stranger was doing. She bit her lip as Rarity and Fluttershy finally came running up through the hall, both with alarmed looks plastered on their faces.

"Fluttershy," Twilight reached out, "can you stop it? Maybe with the stare?"

The yellow pegasus gave no answer, and she looked like she was trying to force herself to stay. Rarity took her back a few steps and began urging her into action while the cragawolf kept at Twilight, barely missing its mark on almost every occasion.

"Hey, you're hurt, and we have to get you healed soon, but if that thing isn't stopped, we won't get a chance to heal you at all. Do you think you could do that slashey thing again, that worked really good," Rainbow implored.

The stranger took a moment before replying in a low voice, "Do you think I haven't been trying?...By the way...referring to me as 'he' will suffice."

With a grunt, the stranger got to his feet, raised his weapon again, and after a slight pause, took a step forward and thrust the weapon in front of him, releasing a red spark that flew almost faster than Rainbow could follow. Twilight defended herself from a fierce attack by the beast, barely managing to create a dome of magic that saved her from grave injury when the monster flipped its attention backwards.

Twilight then noticed that it was actually on fire, having been set ablaze from behind, and that the stranger was on his feet, breathing in and out with some strain. It wasn't very fast, but the creature was actually being incinerated before their eyes, slowly being burnt into non-existence.

While she had many more tricks up her sleeve, Twilight was more than surprised that the stranger could defeat such a raging beast like that. And to think the stranger was in intense pain...this was very, very intriguing, and a little frightening too.

"Hey!" Rainbow exclaimed with alarm.

The stranger collapsed before Twilight could think to say anything, and in a few seconds she, Rarity, and Fluttershy approached hastily.

"I don't really know advanced healing spells...certainly not something to save a non equine being from injuries like this!" Twilight panicked.

"What do we do?" Rarity joined in and looked around nervously for something to help them.

"I will help him," A voice from the sky commanded as the figure of the Princess of the Night descended with grace yet serious intention.

Before bothering to say anything to Twilight and the others, Luna focused on the bleeding figure and closed her eyes in concentration. Her healing prowess was put to the test and sweat was soon running down her face as she did her best to save the stranger from certain death.

Twilight fidgeted with her hooves, as did Fluttershy, while Rainbow hovered nervously beside Rarity, who was biting her lip with as much poise as she could manage.

Luna continued in the intense treatment for a few moments more before wiping away most of the sweat that coated her face; she turned to the other ponies and remarked to herself that she was more out of practice than she ought to be.

"How did this stranger arrive here?" Luna inquired with less of a serious tone, but still a confidant and strong one, given that she was the senior Princess in the situation, "I imagine it has something to do with the falling object that hit the Everfree Forest not long ago."

"That's what I believe," Twilight replied with more surety than she imagined she portrayed, "but we haven't had much of a chance to talk, given the circumstances."

"I have never seen a creature quite like it," Luna commented as she turned and lowered herself near it.

"I know it's a he, he told me, but I didn't get much other than that...except a snarky attitude..." Rainbow explained, lowering his voice to just above mumbling as she announced the last part.

"I will take him to my sister then, and we shall watch over him for the time being," Luna announced, once more turning to face the ponies.

"Should we come too?" Twilight asked.

"It might be best if you did, and perhaps we should also get the other two Element bearers, in case he turns out to be trouble; where are they?"

"Back in Ponyville with the Mayor, keeping the ponies there calm and collected, we hope," Twilight replied.

"Then we will take a quick detour and head back to Canterlot. I shall send word for my sister to be woken when we arrive, if your assistant would not mind, Princess Twilight," The Princess of the Night decreed.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy squeaked out before retreating behind Rainbow and alerting the others that the stranger had gotten to his feet.

He looked at his chest and examined himself, seemingly in awe of Luna's healing powers. Other than that aspect of him, it was hard to tell exactly what was going on in his mind, though a good guess would be that he was annoyed with the location.

"I believe I am in your debt," He commented, emotion still indiscernible, and bowed his head slightly to Luna, who did her best to both acknowledge him and keep a good diplomatic face, but it was clear he was far more a master than her at such things.

"May I ask you your name?" Luna inquired as the stranger took in his surroundings.

"...Severus Snape." The name seemed to rattle poor Fluttershy quite a bit, and though Luna remained as unfazed as she had been, Twilight and Rainbow both felt a tinge of reverence for him bubble up.

"Welcome to Equestria, Severus. It's clear you are a stranger to these lands," Luna said as she approached him, walking forward only a little slower than she normally would.

"Thank you," there was hesitation in his voice, but he masked it well.

"It seems you have healed well, but this was not all my doing. You have many talents, Severus Snape," Luna complimented.

Instead of replying, this time Snape merely nodded and finally walked towards the other ponies, examining each one for a moment, then moving on to the next.

"Might it be possible that you are a Princess?" Snape asked Luna.

"I am Princess of the Night."

"I'm also a Princess," Twilight spoke up. Though she felt her cheeks go red, she was proud to have said what she did when she did, and committed to taking a more active role in welcoming the strange and powerful individual called Severus Snape to Equestria.

"And may I inquire as to exactly how many Princesses there are?" Snape asked, pacing back and forth slowly now in front of the ponies, who all stood still and mostly silent when they were not talking. His air of authority and intimidation were strong, yet oddly subtle.

"Four, and I'm sure we would all like to meet with you. Never before have I seen a creature such as yourself, and I'm almost sure my sister and my niece have not," Luna answered.

"Well, I suppose I should formally greet each of you then, and make my presence....legal?" He paused, though Twilight felt it was on purpose, as though his very words and they way he said them had a purpose.

"Yes, we should introduce you as soon as possible," Luna agreed quickly and walked forward, past Snape, and led him towards the edge of the balcony, the other ponies trailing the two closely.

"Can you manage your friends back to Ponyville, Princess Twilight?" Luna asked, though she was almost sure of the affirmative nod that came seconds later, "Very good. I can teleport you there, Severus."

Snape motioned for her to proceed and she got close to him before teleporting them far past where the eye could see. Twilight followed up with her friends soon after and they left the matter of the large beast behind them for the moment.

A flash of solid blue light erupted in Ponyville, followed up by a dark pink one seconds later, and six figures appeared in the midst of Ponyville, to the great alarm of many.

"Princess Luna," Mayor Mare greeted and bowed, the looked up with some confusion as to the identity of the stranger. The crowd of gathered ponies bore similar expressions and it was clear that nopony quite knew what to think of the creature that looked strikingly like an overgrown bat.

"Greetings subjects, I have come to report that the disturbance from the Everfree Forest is nothing to hold concern over," Luna proclaimed to the gathered masses.

Snape looked more stunned than he had upon seeing Luna, Twilight, and the others, yet his expression was still more or less solid and his eyes moved from pony to pony with cold calculation, as though he were trying to determine if things added up. His posture remained rigid and unfixed for a moment, but soon he settled himself and leaned back a bit, examining the crowd further.

"You must all be wondering who this is," Luna finally acknowledged the general idea the crowd was giving off, "and while I do not know if he wishes to reveal much of himself to us, I can tell you that he is friendly, and that we will take him to Canterlot to speak with the Princesses very shortly."

Snape gave another short and low nod in greeting, but did not interrupt his posture. Most of the crowd seemed at least content that he was not about to set their houses ablaze, but many were still somewhat uncomfortable with his presence.

"Twilight!" Spike called out and ran forward to greet the lavender alicorn upon returning. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were close behind and both had smiles on their faces at the sight of their returned friends.

"See Spike, everything turned out OK," Twilight told the young dragon, who immediately went forward for quick embrace.

"We were worried sick about y'all," Applejack said as the group of seven converged, "why didn't ya come and get us?"

"Yeah, how could you have sleep over treasure hunt without me?" Pinkie asked, as if somepony had wanted to know what "PBnJ" was.

"Sorry, but there wasn't a whole lot of time, and for all we knew what had landed was bad news," Twilight explained.

"Yeah, next time you just gotta move faster," Rainbow teased.

"So what's up with your new friend?" Pinkie asked, "are there no colors where he comes from? Talk about an eyesore," Pinkie began to rant in the usual Pinkie manner, which visibly worried Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity.

"Severus, ain't it?" Applejack interrupted and held out her hoof to the man, "pleased to meet ya."

Snape observed the ponies interact and when he was finally approached, he seemed to have not quite noticed the outstretched hoof at first. He finally shook it and replied with a tone that border-lined on mild contempt, "How do you do?"

"I'm sure you're gonna find Equestria is a great place," AJ continued.

"I'm sure," he replied in the same manner as Luna finally came over to speak with Spike about sending a letter to Canterlot.

After several more introductions, Snape was taken with the Element users and Princess Luna to Canterlot. It seemed that he truly was doing it all over again. Perhaps it would go smoother this time around. He was still unsure as to how open to be, how much magic he should show, and how to behave around the implausibly colored equines, but he had decided upon seeing the tall towers of the Equestrian Capital that it was no dream. Severus Snape was in Equestria, and he had a purpose.