Wendy Fischer - Lord of the Rings
Dan's Comments

DISCLAIMER: My Little Pony is the property of Hasbro, Inc. The Rings of Power and characters of Lord of The Rings belong to the Tolkien Estate

"But dad!" she whined.

"'But dad' nothing," her father said as he packed, "You agreed to go, I'm sorry I won't be able to go with. Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do." He tousled her hair. "Like I don't want to go on this business trip, but I have to."

"But it's all ponies!" she complained, "It's embarrassing."

"And the Lord of the Rings convention we all went to that Graham hated?" her dad asked.

"But that was cool!" she protested.

"Well, your brother thinks this is 'cool'. What people like is different."

"But dad," she complained, "Ponies are horses."

"Tell you what," her dad said, "To keep you from getting too bored. Or having to look at horses." He took down a box that had been a family handicrafts project. One she was particularly proud of.

Her eyes glittered as her dad opened the box. "You'd let me take those?"

"Three rings for the Elven Kings, Seven for the Dwarf Lords, One for the Dark Lord," her dad said with mock seriousness.

"That's not how it goes," she said as she looked at the collection of rings. She knew they were costume jewelry, not real gold and gems, but they were still beautiful.

"Don't raise up what you cannot put down," he said seriously.

"Like ponies. Why does he like that show anyway? The one with Megan I could almost understand, but the new one's so girly."

"Different people, different tastes. They've got tomboys in that one, wouldn't you like to hang out with Rainbow Dash."

"She's a jerk who only cares about winning, and looking cool. Spike's the only one worth the powder it would take to blow him up. Considering he is a dragon, that's a lot of powder."

"You'd hope he grew up into Smaug?" her dad asked.

"Naw, Smaug was dumb. He shoulda show up, said, 'my flame's hotter than anything you got. What's it worth to ya?'"

Her dad nodded. "Okay, pick out a couple, and we'll tape them up so you can wear them," he told her.

She missed her mom mouthing 'Thank you' over her head, and her dad's answering nod.
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"For a girl who hates 'girly stuff' you sure love the bling," her idiot brother said. She wondered if her parents named him Graham as a pun on what his brain probably weighed.

She rolled her eyes, then returned them to the rings on her fingers. Nenya and a similar Dwarves ring were on her ring fingers. The one ring was on her thumb. All taped so they wouldn't slip off. The ring on her thumb was taped more than the others, to specifically not fall off. She didn't think it would do what the real one would do, but neither she nor her dad wanted to risk losing it. She and her grandpa had worked so hard on it before the accident took him away.

Okay, dad was right, she thought as all three, her brother, mother and her were shocked by the very large man wearing what looked like a severed pony head as a hat, and a rainbow tail coming out of his shorts. There are some very different people around.

She stuck a lot closer to her mother and brother after that. She also took off all but Nenya and stored them in the case in her backpack. Boring is fine, terrifying is not the way I wanted it to be, she thought as she looked around. Why all the excitement about a movie escaped her.

The fire alarm was not what anyone expected. Some people panicked, she kept her eye on her mother and brother, who sensibly headed for the nearest exit. She caught glimpses of them as people moved, they knew she was following, both had seen her, so she wasn't worried that they went through the door well ahead of her. The transition from dim interior of the theater to bright sunlight blinded her for a moment but she stepped forward and let her eyes adjust.

She started worrying the instant she arrived in the alley, and was alone. Even the door back to the theater was missing. "This isn't funny," she said and pounded on the wall. It looked and felt like brick. She looked around the bright, sunlit alley and felt her panic rise. "Wait, find a firefighter or police officer," she told herself. She looked at the rings on her finger. "And put that back in the box." She took off the rings and replaced them in the carry box. Some odd instinct told her to keep the gold band with the writing with her. She took the chain from the box that was for that very purpose and hung the ring inside her shirt and zipped her jacket up. She put the box back in her backpack and moved out of the alley onto the street.

What she saw had her retreating back into the alley. "Minotaurs. Lots of them. Unless they're Nimons and they're moving to their next planet," she thought and found herself clutching at the ring under her clothes. "Oh, My Precious is tricksey, makes me go to another world does it?" she asked, then sighed, "Well, sorry Gandalf, I'm not going to Mount Doom unless I get an eagle ride there. Teleporting close would be better."

She waited there, trying to think. But every time a thought formed, panic rose and she stared frantically at every feature of the alley for some clue where the door went.

Mom and Graham must be going crazy, unless this is one of those portals where no time passes. What if that door scattered everybody who went through it all over the place? They could be as lost as I am! she thought and felt an urge to run, but with nowhere to run too, she just shifted her weight from foot to foot.

She caught herself reaching for the ring around her neck. Then yanking her hand away. Quit being a baby, she thought, It's not going to magic you a solution. She looked at the opening to the alley. Naw, it couldn't be! She pulled the ring out of her shirt and slipped it on.

"WOAH!" she exclaimed as she looked around. The world was dizzyingly bright, not the dim colors of either the Jackson or Bakshi version of wraithworld. She spotted a faint, glowing crack in the brick work. She ran towards it, trying to keep from breaking the chain that held the ring. She leaned close, peering at the crack. "Mom! Graham! Can you hear me?" she shouted into the crack, then tried to claw it open with her nails. All they encountered was brick. "Mom! If you can hear me, I'm in another world!"

"They can't hear you," a voice she recognized came from behind her.

She cringed before turning. "It's a trick," she said as she looked at the figure. It was not the Eye of Sauron. "Grampa? But you're . . . "

"Wendy, you're looking in the spirit world. Do you think Nana and I wouldn't be keeping an eye on you?" the figure asked. Then rested his fist on his chin and tapped his nose with a finger. "Let's see, would Sauron remember how you got bit by that horse, right here?" The figure tapped the side of its neck.

"Or that you cold cocked the horse to make her let go," she said she ran to him, but passed through him, feeling only a spot of warmth and the familiar smells of paint, machine oil and varnish, and old books. Her love of tools and crafts, and reading had come from him.

"Sorry," he said as he turned around. "You can see me, but I'm not real enough to touch."

"What's happening?" she cried, "What is all this?"

"You're caught between the doorways. As far as Lizzy and Graham are concerned, you're just stepping through the doorway. You may take a little longer, but they aren't going to be pining away for your arrival. But for you, the end of the doorway is going to be a long, hard walk, in time, space and growth."

"But why?" she asked. She shook her head. "This makes no sense."

" 'Why' is difficult to explain. But there's a simple part to it. That ring around your neck, and the others in your pack are real."

She felt her eyes widen. "They can't be!" She fished out chain and held up the ring on her hand. "We forged this out of Merlin's Gold, you helped me carve the letters on the outside."

"And we purchased the others to have a complete set. A distortion of the historical events, but it doesn't change anything," he said as he looked at her slowly pointing to herself.

"That makes me . . . ?"

He nodded. "That leads to a few problems you need to know. First, if you wear the One, and any of the others, you would dominate yourself. Fear, hunger, need for sleep can all be overcome, but you need all those things. No food and you will pass out, same with no sleep. And fear warns you of danger. Second, if you pass those out to others -"

"I'd dominate them like Sauron did. So, it's safest to keep all of them," she said, "Got it." She grew concerned. "Grandpa, are you all right?"

"Tiring making myself seen. So I have to make this quick. I won't leave you but I won't be able to talk to you that often. The Rings all magnify the native power of the person. You aren't that powerful, yet. You're the best granddaughter I could have hoped for, but you're going to have to face a lot of problems and overcome them. It'll be hard, but the people here are going to need you desperately, and they're going to need the best you they can get."

"I'm scared," she said.

"So am I," he replied, "But I'm with you, even if you can't see or hear me. Your mom and Graham are waiting for you. Don't give up hope. You're the best hope these people have, and they can help you. If you let them. You've got a huge amount of power in a world where magic is a science that can be taught. Don't forget what I, and Nan and your dad taught you. Remember yourself."

She was standing alone in the alley. The wild colors of the spirit world swirled around her. She saw a streamer appear at one end of the alley, in a worrying color. Then at the other end, several similar streamers, and one of a pale blue. A minotaur burst into the alley, followed by several griffons. Another pair appeared at the other end of the alley.

"Leave me alone," the minotaur said looking between the two groups.

Why can't I get the image of Mrs. Levenson out of my head? she thought, remembering her school's elderly librarian.

"You've got all the money from late fees, we just want that, and no one gets hurt," the biggest griffon said.

This isn't right, she thought, then grinned. She walked up beside the griffon leader, a boy griffon. And kicked him as hard as she could. Her boots more than did their work, and she jumped back as the griffon kicked out, catching one of his friends.

"What's the big idea?" one of them complained, and got a wordless explanation from Wendy's hiking boots.

She scrambled past the confused minotaur and high kicked one of the lady griffons in the head, and the other boy griffon from behind.

The minotaur might have been an older lady, but she knew an opening when she saw one. She jogged down the alley and out into the street. Wendy fell in behind her, leaving a pack of very confused griffons behind. The minotaur quickly found a police officer and directed him towards the alley. He came sailing out of it in a heap, and several more officers and a few bystanders soon joined in and the griffons were carted off. Assaulting a police officer trumped attempted robbery, the matron minotaur was free to go.

Wendy followed her to the largest building she had ever seen. 'Grand Library'! she thought as she read the letters on the plinth over the line of columns, 'Labyrinthopolis' . . . where else would minotaurs live? She followed the minotaur in the main entrance and watched for any security guards or special locks. When the woman headed into the office areas, Wendy stopped and headed instead towards the card catalog. When she was out of sight of everyone, she took off the ring. Reappearing between two of the massive bookshelves and she started through the card catalog. Before computers, she thought as she felt relief that the writing, while in a weird font, appeared to be English. Elementary magic. She made a few notes on the small scraps of paper provided, and then headed off into the library.

There she stopped. She had absolutely no idea where to go. The library was not laid out in any way she was used to.

Panic rose up and threatened to overwhelm her. She briefly considered putting on two rings and compelling herself not to panic. She sat down at one of the small kiosks and let herself cry. She let every disaster she could think of race through her mind, sending her into another bout of silent weeping.

When she'd finally cried herself out, she raised her head, and noted a worried looking minotaur staring at her. "I beg your pardon, but we don't get many people looking at the stacks and bursting into tears."

She gulped. "Sorry. Just feeling a bit homesick, and the library is a bit intimidating."

"There is the help desk," the minotaur offered.

"Thanks. I think I'm over the worse of it," she said.

"You're welcome, always ready to help. Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?" she said as she followed Wendy to the help desk.

"Not far from here originally, but the neighborhood is so different. The place I grew up in is gone," she said.

"Yes, a few of the old brownstones have been taken down, and new buildings put up," she said. They arrived at the help desk. "So, what do you need?"

"Frankly, a set of instruction. I copied these down from the card catalog, but I can't guess where the stacks are."

"Oh, maps are there, and there, and there," the help desk minotaur said, "Maybe we should put one of the maps near the card catalog?"

"Might help," the other minotaur said, "Anything else?"

"Yes, what are the hours? I didn't see them posted when I came in," she said. She realized with her ring, this was the perfect place to sleep.

"They're posted on the maps," the help desk worker said.

"Thanks," she said and headed towards the map. She sighed and started wondering about food.

It's not like I had much money to start with, and I doubt they'd take money as foreign as mine, she thought and saw all the books she wanted were on the upper floors.

The stairs were odd, and she nearly stumbled on them as she climbed several flights to get to the level where her books could be found. She was glad there were other creatures than minotaurs here.

No! she thought as a horse walked out of an alcove. She froze and stared at it as it walked past her. It was several moments before her heart slowed and she felt she could walk safely. That thing looked like one of the ones from the show, she thought and reached the section where the books she needed were. There was a desk in the rear of the alcove and she took the books there and began reading through them. Most of the stuff was kindergarten level, but some of the ideas made her head swim.

One thing stunned her to silence. 'Equestrian Publishing'? she thought and read the copyright page. Based in Manehatten. I'm in the show, she thought with horror and sat back to think. Now I do wish I'd watched more than bits and pieces. Help? Yeah, I really wanna get mauled by that pack of maniacs. I go to Celesta, she'll just throw me to Twilight, and then I'm her guinea pig. Besides, I'd piss myself if I ever ran into Superhorse. She took a deep breath and let it out. What could possibly happen here that the Mane 6 wouldn't handle? They were the disaster magnets, the only bad stuff they didn't react to, or cause, happened in prehistory. Am I in prehistory? If this is a thousand years before the show, all kinds of stuff could be happening pretty soon. And I'd know the details from my idiot brother's yapping about it endlessly. World, you're doomed.

It was about an hour before the library closed that she put the books she'd taken off the shelves into the return bins, and made her way out the front door. Some distance away she entered another building, checked that no one was about, and put on Vilya. She was delighted that she vanished from sight, and she used that to follow a late arrival back into the library unseen.

She was seated on a table as the librarians and the guards swept the area to get everybody out, then they locked up the library. Several security gates closed off the stairways, and a metal cage enclosed one collection of books. Other than that, the place was open.

She watched the guards do their patrols. They had what looked like a lunch-box-sized metal watch that had to be 'wound' by a key that was chained inside boxes at various points in the library. It enforced a rhythm to their movements.

Perfect, she thought as she slipped under the security gate and clambered upstairs on all fours to reduce the noise. At the top of the stairs, she added a dwarven ring to her arsenal, and began 'feeling' for the construction of the building. On the fifth floor, she 'felt' a large open area behind a nondescript door. She checked on the location of the two guards, then slipped inside.

Jackpot! A cafeteria! she thought as she moved through the darkness, aided by the enhanced senses of the rings. It's even got a kitchen. I hope they have some left overs.

She knew what she was doing was technically stealing, but she was desperate. If my stomach growls, all the invisibility in the world won't hide me.

She crept into the kitchen, and found a large walk-in freezer. She quietly opened the door and then made sure it had a way to open it from the inside before she went in. There was all manner of food in here, but what caught her eye were two large steel pots. She touched one and realized it was still warm. She opened in and looked in at what smelled like cream of broccoli soup. The other had a vegetable chowder in it. She took the pots to a secluded place in the kitchen and poured a large bowl full. Then she returned the pots to the freezer. She ate until she was full almost to bursting. Then she got sleepy.

Voices! She jerked awake. Oh no, the guard, and it's their lunch time! She heard them talking in the cafeteria proper. Was the soup their lunch? she wondered, but neither of them approached the kitchen. She stood and waited. A full stomach of warm, filling food trying to lull her to sleep, and the voices of the guards jerking her to terrified wakefulness. It seemed to go on for hours. But, eventually, they left the cafeteria. She waited until they were gone, straining to pick up any sound, then slipped out of the kitchen, and then out of the cafeteria. As she was passing the door, she felt a hollowness behind the paneling, and the hollow seemed to coil around and it spread out under part of the cafeteria floor.

Think about that tomorrow, she told herself and slipped down the corridor away from the guards back on their rounds. Exhaustion and the events of the day threatened to make her drop to sleep where she stood, but she knew she couldn't risk that. She searched with her eyes and her other senses to spot a place where she could lie down and wouldn't be disturbed. Someplace better than a broom closet. She nearly slapped her head as she guessed the answer. She headed for the office bathrooms. Sure enough, the 'women's' bathroom had a couch in the entryway. She'd always thought it was ridiculous to have one in here as if women were so delicate they needed someplace to lie down. Now she was grateful for it. The room was warm enough her jacket was enough. She curled up on the couch and went to sleep.
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Damn chickens, she thought as the sound of crowing roosters brought her awake, This place doesn't open for hours. I don't need to be awake.

She roused herself, made sure she was still invisible, and slipped out of the bathroom. The guards were nowhere to be seen, or heard. She slipped back to the cafeteria and the mystery panel. She risked pulling off the rings and with them off and better light, she could clearly see the division. Okay, rings mess up your vision, she reminded herself, she replaced the rings and looked close. She could just make out the border. She headed into the kitchen and got a spatula. She worked it into the joint between the door and the wall all the way around. Then she tried to hook it to open the door, but several attempts made it clear either the door was bolted somehow, or the paint on the jamb was still strong enough to hold it closed.

So much for the perfect hiding place, she thought as she returned the tools and slipped out of the cafeteria, I need to find a map of this place. Or blueprints.

She waited until after the door had opened for 'customers' before removing her rings and reappearing where she was unobserved. She returned to the section with the elementary magic books and began going through them.

Oh! When I was in here I should have grabbed some scratch paper from the wastepaper baskets! she thought, There's no way I'm going to remember all this stuff. She sighed. That's it, I need to figure out how to get some money. At least for supplies.

She fumed for a bit, then pulled out everything she had in her pockets and in the pouches of her pack. All the coins had human faces on them so none could be just sold for the artwork. She strongly suspected that pocket lint was of little value, she needed the box and the rings. The mightiest magical artifacts imaginable, and I'm scrounging for pocket change! she thought angrily, I bet mom or dad, or even Graham might have a dozen ways to use these things to make scads of money, but I can think of one that won't get me tossed in jail.

She sat back and went back to reading. About lunch time she started to feel hungry. Nope, I have to wait until no one can see me, she thought, Before I help myself to their food. She felt angry with herself that she was so dependant.

I'm a kid, I'm not supposed to be independent, she thought as she got up and went for a walk. Her limited resources returned to her backpack and pockets. She traveled to the top of the library. Roof access was denied. But where she'd felt the one empty space near the cafeteria, over her head she could feel more. She returned to the steps and climbed up to the locked hatch that blocked the way to the roof. She thought about the nearly five feet between the top of the ceiling, and the theoretical entry to the roof.

There's a lot of empty space there. Storerooms? she wondered and walked through all the public areas of the top floor. There seemed to be no access to the area. It isn't for plumbing or air ducts, those have their own areas. Maybe they just walled them over and forgot about them? That doesn't make any sense.

She headed downstairs to the card catalog and a search through the history of the library itself.
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She was walking outside after what she'd found. Mainly so her cackles of glee wouldn't scare the other library patrons, and so it wouldn't give her way. There was a way to those open areas, and they were huge, perfect for bedrooms. She was still grinning like a sugar-fueled maniac when the soldier minotaur stepped in front of her.

"No further miss, the area's cordoned," he said, not unkindly.

"Can I help?" she asked.

He seemed to grin at this tiny creature offering assistance, but he didn't patronize her. "No, there are hostages involved, and the pony who's got them is not someone you want to meet," the soldier said and sent her back the way she came.

The manic grin took on a grim turn as she turned and walked away. Horse, she thought as she considered the cache of items in her pack. Grampa said I'd have to be more that I am, and he said I could 'command' myself. She glanced back at the cordon and the building many of the soldiers were looking at. The idea formed. She knew it was like something in a bad movie. But the entire special effects budget is in my backpack!

She found a place out of the way where she could put on all the rings.

The plan was simple, and she knew she'd be changing it once she made contact. Getting through the cordon was the first test, and she passed with invisible colors. Getting into the building was the next trick, and that was even easier.

What she faced next, standing in a stairwell leading up, wasn't so much difficult as confusing. What is that? she wondered at what looked like a snake of fire stretched out along the stairway. It wasn't physical, she was seeing it in the spirit realm. Can I just step over it? she wondered as she approached. She jumped back as it coiled and hissed. Some kind of spell. But if I just snuff it out, will that alert the unicorn that someone is here? She stared at it, trying to see if any part of it led anywhere else. She decided to take a risk and just extinguish it.

The unicorn above didn't seem to notice. She crept up the stairs, and peeked her head up to look. A group of bound and gagged minotaurs waited. She could smell their fear, even over the petroleum smell from them.

He doused them in gasoline? she wondered, then spotted the small brazier orbiting above them, and the plan became simple: preventing the brazier from pouring down on the trapped minotaurs.

Then she made the mistake of looking at the mastermind opposing her, and her courage failed her. It was a horse. It was little, pastel, cute, but still a horse. She couldn't move, she could barely breathe. The powers she had, possibly the mightiest magic weapons on the planet might as well have been ten thousand miles away, instead of literally at her fingertips.

Wait, I can, order myself! she realized, and ducked down, so the sight of the creature didn't keep affecting her. The light clopping of its hooves could be drowned out.

Okay, she thought and concentrated, You will not fear the horse. You will not fear the horse. You will not fear the horse.

She felt her fear vanish, and she stood to peek in on the scene. She saw the hostages, the brazier that directly threatened them, and - the horse. It's hurting them, like it hurt me, like they always hurt the weak. It enjoyed frightening me. This one likes frightening those minotaurs. They've never hurt me, but horses have. She saw the steel folding chair and smiled. It likes frightening people, likes hurting people. Like that other horse, like all horses. Let's see if it likes being hurt! Let's hear it cry and wail and beg from something that doesn't care!

The dome of water went up to protect the minotaurs from the brazier, she sprinted past the chair and hoisted it up. It looked at the defense against its threat, and briefly saw the chair before she attacked.

Stop! Stop being angry! Stop hating! Stop feeling anything! she ordered herself and stepped back. Calmly and rationally. She looked to the dome as the brazier lay empty but still sizzling on the dome of water. The coals lay on the floor, soaked and extinguished, although some still steamed. She altered the dome to cover and extinguish them completely.

Then she looked at the bloodied mass in front of her. If she hadn't commanded herself to not feel anything, she might have been horrified. The unicorn was still breathing, loudly, wetly, but still alive. The chair was broken in pieces. Possibly the only thing that had saved the unicorn's life. She grabbed a newspaper off the floor and covered the bloody mass so neither she nor the minotaurs would see. The blood soaked through the ancient papers quickly enough, but she concentrated on the captives. She moved the dome of water into a wall and she began untying the captives.

"Listen carefully," she said in a high, wavery voice, "Step through the wall of water to wash the worst of the oil off, then go to the door and call to the troops that you are ready to surrender."

"We've done nothing wrong!" one idiotic teenager complained.

"If they shoot you for scaring them, how will that help?" she asked.

I sound like the Lord of the Nazgul from the Rankin-Bass version, she thought, I always thought that was creepier, and more appropriate for a wraith.

"Do as I say, and you will be well. Do it not, and I can leave you to await their finding the courage to approach. What say ye?" she asked.

"We'll do it," most of the adults said or agreed. She untied them and pushed them towards the wall of water when they balked at following orders of an invisible creature. The teenager took a little convincing, and more not to go over and kick the unicorn.

Once they were heading down the stairs. She thought about money, and that the unicorn might have some in the pack in the corner. She felt an opening under the floorboards as she walked towards them. And a familiar waiting snake of fire within the hollow.

This time she summoned the power of Narya and snuffed it out. Then she ripped up the floor boards and smiled at the cache of gems, gold and books. She left the books for the police, and helped herself to the money.

It's stealing, but it's stealing from someone who stole, she thought, without the faintest trace of guilt. That didn't set right. I should be guilty about this, but I told myself not to feel. She looked at the collection of bloodstains running together through the newspaper. Like I told myself not to be afraid. But I wasn't afraid, I was angry. It wasn't the one who hurt me. I could have just knocked it down. The dome would have protected the others. I didn't have to do that.

She trotted down the stairs after the minotaurs who were carefully approaching the police cordon. She headed down the street, still cloaked by the power of the rings, to not mess up them being recovered. She slipped between two officers watching the upper stories of the building, and then ran for all she was worth down the street. She didn't stop until she was inside the library and headed to one of the bathrooms. Once inside a stall, she bolted the door and began taking the rings off, leaving the dwarven rings for last. As soon as the last was off, the horrors she'd seen and inflicted fell full force on her. Waves of terror and rage chilled her to the bone. She bent over the toilet and shook with dry heaves at what she had done to a bad pony, but it hadn't done anything to deserve what she'd done to it. She'd worn magic on her hands that could have fried it alive, yet she'd beaten it with a chair until the chair began to break up, and almost thought of using the rings not for their magic, but as knuckle-dusters. She saw the face in the reflection in the water trying to puke up an empty stomach.
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The cloth ceiling was new, she didn't remember any room in the library with cloth ceilings. Then the ceiling lifted away to give a vision of the ceiling of one of the offices, before descending again.

"How are you feeling?" the minotaur female she'd met on the first day asked.

That's a cloth over my eyes, she realized.

"Better, I passed out?" she asked as she adjusted the cloth so she could see. She saw the minotaur librarian, and one of the officers from the cordon.

"In the ladies room," the librarian said, "While you aren't under arrest, you are in 'protective custody', so the nurse can treat you. Now she may want to interrogate you. I don't think she's seen anything like you. She's down in the zoology department."

"She should be in mythology," Wendy said as she settled in the couch. She'd seen her pack, and it had been gone through. "I don't think there's anything like me on the planet. Unless some other ponies have as sick a sense of humor. About four years ago, I was attacked by some horse, and when I didn't die as I was supposed to. Well, you can see the results."

"That's why you panicked when you heard about the criminal? Don't worry, she's behind bars," the officer said, "She got a little too clever and blew herself up with her own defenses."

"It wasn't just that," Wendy assured the officer, "Just my fear, that maybe it was that horse, come to finish the job."

"Do you want to swear out a report?" the officer asked.

"Officer, if I thought going to the authorities would have done any good, I would have gone to the ones in Equestria. I have no idea why they turned a blind eye to what happened."

The officer nodded. "You really should get all that locked up, like a safe deposit box."

"If I announce who I am, then . . . " she said and stared at the officer.

"He, she or it will find you," the officer said, "In your travels, did you ever encounter a spirit who helped people."

"None that didn't have a body," she told him, "Why?"

"Just making inquiries," the officer said and left.

"You should rest," the librarian said, "I can't imagine what would frighten someone as badly as that. I'm, glad I don't know."

I'm glad you don't know either, Wendy thought as she lay there, I just tore into that pony. No one deserves what I did to it. I have to be more careful. If it's in custody, then it survived. I have to figure out how to better control myself.

She let herself fall back asleep.
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The note on the desk apologized that she was locked in the office for the night, but there was a salad left for her, and the office would be opened when the staff arrived.

She shrugged and locked around the office. There in the corner was a blueprint cabinet. She nearly danced with glee as she searched through it and found the old prints for the roof, and the area where the cafeteria was now. There are the things that looked like apartments in the book. They're up there. But they're too small for minotaurs. Pony researchers? She also found a path to access the stairwell that led to the apartment under the cafeteria. And the quickest way is through the other apartments, she thought as she borrowed a couple of sheets of paper, and sketched out her 'findings' and replaced the blueprints.

She was done, rested and fed when the librarian entered her office. "Sorry," Wendy apologized.

"Considering what you slept through," the librarian said, "We figured you'd sleep until next week."

"Just exhausted," Wendy admitted, "I did notice that you have a blueprint cabinet. There's a large gap between the ceiling of the top floor, and where the roof ought to be."

She looked at Wendy, then the cabinet. "Let's take a look," she said.

"I'm sorry, I never caught your name," Wendy said.

"My friends call me 'Granny', I've long outgrown where my name is appropriate, I'll give you a clue, my family name is 'Cuddle'."

Wendy was briefly glad of the horrors she'd witnessed recently. It gave her something to think about instead of this massive creature having a long line of ancestors, male and female, all going by 'something' Cuddle. "Granny it is," Wendy said and let Granny get out the blueprints. It was the wrong one, but Wendy had to bide her time.

Finally Granny brought out the right print. And there it was laid out in front of them. "What are those? Storerooms?" Wendy asked.

Granny seemed shocked. "Let me tell the head librarian, then let's go look," Granny said, "You stay here."

"Can I check out the other prints?" Wendy asked. Granny just waved at the cabinet.

Wendy pulled out the others she'd checked out and pulled out her notes from earlier. When Granny, and the head librarian returned, they were shocked. "I study fast, I did some archeology and engineering work," she said.

With Nana and Grampa looking over my shoulder the whole time, she didn't add.

"Let's go. If nothing else, those rooms aren't on the inventory," the head librarian said and marched off, expecting to be followed. Granny paused to get the blueprint, and Wendy to get her pack. They were with the head librarian shortly.

The stairway up was in an office behind a pair of filing cabinets. Wendy giggled as the two, matronly creatures each picked up a full, five-drawer filing cabinet and set it out of the way. The head librarian produced a key and unlocked the door in the wall. Wendy handed her a yardstick she'd picked up in the office to clear the cobwebs out of the stairs.

The head librarian looked at the passage and handed the stick back to Wendy along with a glowing crystal. "I think you go first."

Wendy moved up. The stairway would have been narrow for an adult, but she could navigate it easily. The minotaurs had to walk up sideways and they were none too sure of themselves. The corridor the stairway entered into was also not scaled for minotaurs. "This looks like it was built for ponies, or some other smaller race."

"Griffons most likely," the head librarian said, "Ponies don't like to travel outside their homeland. Thank the Maker."

Somebody doesn't like horses any more than I do, Wendy thought as she cleared the corridor of cobwebs, half expecting giant spiders to come swarming out at the disturbance of their webs.

They reached the first door, and the head librarian had to go on her knees to get through the corridor. "Must have been built this way to ensure their privacy. That's probably why it's way up here, easy roof access," the head librarian said, turned the handle. Then shouldered the door open. She gasped at what she saw inside. Boxes and boxes wrapped tight in oilcloths. The clipboard by the door revealed what was within. The writing was old and faded, difficult to read by the pale light of the crystal, but it was the inventory the head librarian had mentioned.

"Biggest archeological find and it's inside an existing building," Granny said, "You know what this is, don't you Henny?"

"Yes I do," the head librarian, Henny, cooed delightedly. Then she hugged Wendy. "We thought this was all lost! Thank you!"

"I'm lost, what is it?" Wendy asked.

"A thousand-year-old cache," Henny said, "The history of the world before Nightmare Moon. Before the purge we foolishly agreed to."

"If you still remember it, it can't have been that effective," Wendy said.

"I don't remember it," Granny said, "Or the purge." She looked sheepish. "Officially that is."

"That's why I'm head librarian. There are things we have records of, which don't get disseminated," Henny said.

"But in a thousand years, this paper should have dissolved into dust," Wendy said and handed Henny the clipboard, "And the building is a thousand years old?".

"Not if the paper is actually foil. This is metal, not parchment." Henny stared at the clipboard, as if her eyes could burn through the metal, "And yes, the main structure is that old."

Wendy caught Granny's eye and smirked. Granny nodded. "Okay," Wendy said, "You've got these apartments to go through, I want to check on another anomaly."

"Oh," Henny raised her head and said, "Yes, yes, just tell us what you find."

Wendy took a look at the blueprint and headed off into the darkness. She hoped to find the crawlspace that led to the room she wanted access to. With all the bits I have, I could just buy a room, she thought, True, but where are you going to get more? She had no answer.

The crawlspace would never have allowed a minotaur through. She wondered what it was for since it was a tight fit for her, a human child. On the other side, she found the stairway. Unexpectedly, it went down a fair distance as well. The smell of death was strong in the stairwell, not decay, as the birds that had gotten in and not gotten out were long ago desiccated, but there were a number of them. There were also several doors, likely all sealed over. She noted them and then headed back to the two librarians. She had a mental list of places to check for doors later, when the place was closed.

"Find what you were looking for?" Granny asked from the third 'apartment' that they'd pried open. Inside were the same piles of oil-cloth-wrapped boxes.

"No, I couldn't get in. I'm small, but I'm not that small," Wendy said, "I hope that this was useful."

"Oh, terribly, terribly useful!" Henny effectively chirped.

Granny rolled her eyes. "I think the starving student was looking for a more concrete example of our gratitude."

Wendy shook her head, and received the gentle glare they must teach at grandmothers' school.

"Like a cafeteria pass?" Granny said.

"But that's for - "

"Staff, and patrons of the library," Granny said.

Henny brightened. "Yes, patrons of the library. Yes, that would be a very good idea. And we wouldn't need any authorization, or reveal what we found. Yes!" Henny gave Wendy a hopeful look. "Is that acceptable?"

Granny gave a slight nod.

"It's more than generous," Wendy said, "It means, I mean I am very grateful for the consideration. Thank you."

"Stop by my office before lunch," Granny said, "I'll have it filled out. But I will need a name to put on it."

"Wendy would be the best choice," Wendy said, "It's a very old, unfunny and complicated joke. But my grandfather and grandmother called me that."

"I am honored," Granny said. Henny kept looking between them, but held her tongue.

"Thanks, I'm going to go back to studying. Thank you and I'm glad I could help," Wendy said before she departed.

On her way down she visited what she thought were the locations of the doors. Only one showed any evidence and it was a broom closet. She didn't know who, if anyone had the key, but it was the best lead.

She left the building, bought some notebooks, and returned to the library to continue her 'studies'.

She left the library a couple of times during the day to cover not always being there, once or twice returning invisibility after another patron to later show up and have people wonder when she arrived. She ate in the cafeteria, testing out her pass that gave her lifetime access to breakfast, lunch and dinner. She sighed and considered if this was going to be her routine for a while.

Not if I can get one of those doors open, she thought and completed her study of basic magic for the day, and vanished from sight. An hour later, with the library closed and the guards far away, she fiddled with the lock on the janitor's closet. She discovered it was only stuck, and soon had it open, and then the door behind it. Glad there's a closet full of old mops and weird smells or this addition might cause questions, she thought as she wrinkled her nose at the smell of death in the stairway. The stairs rose to the apartment under the cafeteria. She could barely hope as she pushed the door open. This one had not been sealed long ago. The room was also filled with objects under oil cloths, but what was preserved were furnishings. Love seats, tables, and a bed. The mattress was gone, and so was any bedding, but it was a start. The bed was solid and all she needed were a few sheets and she could sleep there comfortably. I also need to get a couple of changes of clothes so I can wash these, she thought as she lay in the bed and let herself fade away. Secure for the first time in what felt like forever.
------------------------------

Celestia woke with a cry of terror, again. She felt little waves of the darkest magic she had ever experienced. But when she tried to localize the source, she couldn't. Not the town, county, country, or even the hemisphere.

None of the embassies reported a cackling madmare, or things that should not be walking the streets. Nightmare Moon's cult was awakening, but she knew that was inevitable as the thousandth anniversary approached. But there were no clues anywhere that whatever was using this dark energy so blatantly was announcing its presence to the world.

I hate clever enemies, Celestia thought, They are so much more work. Since she was awake, she drafted instruction to forces around the globe to increase their surveillance and be prepared to deal with this new menace 'expediently'. I don't dare let it make common cause with Nightmare Moon. We have to get her where the Elements can be used on her.

Celestia sighed and considered the short-term effects of her action. In the long-run, at least her long-run, none of it would matter.
------------------------------

After two weeks, her study of what the rings could do, and more importantly, what they could do together paid off. The rings also let her study faster and more effectively. If I could make those available, every kid in the world would want one, she thought

She'd also learned what using the rings together would do. No wonder Sauron wanted them all. They would have let him turn out dozens of lesser rings. Every colonel and mayor would have one, and be invincible and under his control. The ultimate empire, no need for reports, he'd just know everything going on and be able to coordinate everything perfectly. Perfect program, little script files living their lives.

Her first experiment of massing their power was beginning. The collection of dead animals and other detritus was being assembled by a small waterspout, and the bubbles suspended within were scrubbing the concrete floor. She smirked at her success as the waterspout wound through the spiral staircase and headed towards the hatch in the roof.

She climbed after it on the bone-dry stairway until she burst through the hatch, and deposited the mass in the trash container at the rear of the library.

With the exaltation of her success fading, she felt only exhaustion. Okay, I can do it, but it is tiring, she thought as she sat atop the library and looked over the city, the streetlights and the people enjoying the night. It was beautiful. But it isn't home. Where do I have to 'travel to' to get home? She felt the tears coming as she thought of home, and her family. I even miss that idiot Graham, she thought, I must really be lonely.

The sight of two, gray-clad pegasi almost invisible against the night-sky replaced her homesickness with raw fear. She managed to turn away and conceal herself. She took a few moments to get herself under control. I command myself to be calm. The fear was there, but it was more like the fear she guessed regular people felt when encountering unfriendly horses. What are they doing? she thought as she crept forward to watch them. The One Ring kept her unseen, and the pegasi were unconcerned about what little noise she was making as they scattered the pigeons who roosted all over the roof. She guessed that their clothing made them nearly invisible to normal observers, but they shown out in the wraithworld the ring placed her in.

She saw the tools they brought out of their saddlebags, tools to break into the library, and weapons to kill the guards. She dodged the guards herself, but they were just doing their jobs. Not while I'm a 'patron' of this library, she thought and lined up on the one still in the air.

The gap between the knuckles of her fist was an adequate gunsight. The firebolt surrounded one pegasus, and incinerated her feathers, 'ninja-suit', mane and tail. She dropped screaming to the courtyard below. Since she was still on fire, the regular police could deal with her. The other drew its crossbow and looked around.

She considered the spells she had and decided to test one power she hadn't had the opportunity to use before. She focused her concentration on the One Ring, and directed its power against the pegasus. She felt the beginnings of rage at this horse who wanted to hurt the old minotaurs who patrolled the library, and steal the books within. She directed her fear, her terror of horses into the ring and against the pegasus. It looked around, seeking what was worrying it. She poured more of her fear and terror into the pegasus. She waited until it whimpered, not seeing or understanding its fear.

"I'm not going to lie to you," she stage whispered, watching its ears twitch to locate the source of her voice. "You don't have a chance. But you have a choice. Surrender to the police. Or face me."

"Come out where I can see you and we'll see," it hissed.

"I am before you, and you cannot see, I am beside you and you cannot hear, I am within you and you cannot feel. Pitiful, winged thing that cowers in the gutters. Even so high, you cower and crawl," she hissed.

"Come out!" the pegasus demanded, "Who are you?"

"Your god stole the sun, but who made it? Your god stole the moon, but who made it? Discord stole Chaos, but who made it? You want to know who I am? I am I am, I was, and I will be, that is who I am. You who cower in the darkness, LET THERE BE LIGHT!" She hit it in the face with a beam of light like a searchlight.

It screamed in terror and flipped off the edge of the roof. The stupid thing forgot it could fly, so it plummeted and nearly landed on the police tending to its partner. Flashlights played over the roof and passed by and through her as they searched.

Okay, that was over the top, she thought as she grinned, But I didn't really hurt them. She walked to where the pegasus had been. Eww, she thought of what he'd left behind besides his tools and weapons. That's it, I'm going inside and going to bed. She left the roof and moved back into her room. The blankets she'd smuggled in wrapped around her and let her sleep comfortably.
------------------------------

Wendy watched the collection of minotaurs, griffons and a pony or two. The guards were assembling an absolutely massive table and a set of chairs in the middle of the area directly under the library's massive skylight. Wendy wondered what they were doing. Literary Society? she wondered, They cleared everyone else out at closing time.

She waited as the group socialized. She did note that several distinct groups formed and there were only suspicious or haughty glances among them. Henny was one of the few moving from group to group and trying to make peace. The first group Wendy labeled the nerds seemed to be of a more scientific bent as they set up several instruments at their seats at the table. The second group Wendy labeled the gypsies for the bangles and shawls, they looked like what gypsy fortunetellers would have looked like, if they'd been minotaurs and griffons. The third group were the ones neither of the other two wanted anything to do with. Ponies, Wendy thought and briefly considered showering them with books, Naw, the books don't deserve it.

The last group seemed to be well-to-do citizens swept up in the moment. Wendy would have liked to know what was going on, but only Henny was known, and she was extremely busy. She seemed to be herding the people to their chairs.

They clasped hands as the guards lit candles that had been spaced around the table.

"Oh, the vibrations are strong," the most bebangled griffon said in such a stereotypical manner she might have been playing a gypsy in a bad movie.

A seance? Wendy thought and tried to stifle her giggles.

"We humbly beseech the spirit who has defended our precious library to come to us and answer our pleas," the griffon said. Her melodramatic tone and the glances of the society folks made Wendy smile.

Oh good grief, they are trying to summon me, she thought and despite her best efforts she started laughing.

"It answers our call!" the griffon called.

"Why is she laughing at us?" a minotaur with a star blaze on his nose asked, "We want to ask you some questions, knock once for yes and twice for no, do you understand?"

The griffon fluffed her feathers. "Sir, this is my -"

Wendy stomped twice. 'Star' grinned at the griffon. "I'm a scientist."

"It clearly doesn't understand," the griffon said. All the ponies lit their horns and began looking around.

"It's a comedian," 'Star' said, he looked across the table to a minotaur who looked like a younger, male version of Granny. The other minotaur nodded to urge 'Star' to go on. "First, we'd like to thank you for protecting our library. Second, is there anything we can do for you?"

Wendy walked along the railing, rapping on it as she went. The collection below seemed content to wait, although the ponies were directing much magic in an effort so sense the invisible target.

"We." And the pony was shushed by both the griffon and Star.

"Hotdogs, enjoyed, on Friday," Wendy said in a high, shaky voice like the Lord of the Nazgul in the Rankin-Bass Return of the King.

"That's ridiculous," another pony said. And was shushed by nearly the entire table.

Henny spoke up. "We will have hotdogs for anyone who wants them on Friday. I understand. Do we provide condiments and buns, or just hot dogs?"

"They must be enjoyed," Wendy said in the same wraithlike voice.

"Choice," the Granny Jr. minotaur said. Henny nodded.

"Is there something you wish us to know?" the griffon asked.

" 'the end of the doorway is going to be a long, hard walk, in time, space and growth,'" Wendy told them. She heard the murmuring in the group below as they tried to figure out what she meant. Whether it was a riddle or some great revelation seemed to be a matter of contention even among the various groups. Wendy figured she'd had enough fun for one day and withdrew, ignoring the questions they lofted into the sky.
------------------------------

"Granny," Wendy asked as she arrived at lunch, "What was the big to do they had in the library?"

"Oh, they had a spirit raising to ask it why it protected the library from those cultists," the minotaur answered, "They tried to break in and they were prepared to kill the guards to steal . . . I can't say."

"I don't want to know then. So you said cult, what cult?" Wendy asked.

Granny leaned close and whispered, "Nightmare Moon. They were going on and on about it 'being her time', and they found out about what you found. So don't talk about it."

They must think those old records hold something of interest. But I already know what happens to Nightmare Moon. Something about stars and her defeat by the Elements. So what would they have been looking for?

"Put it out of your head, whatever you were thinking," Granny warned.

"Actually, I was thinking that there was one of the people who looked a lot like you. If you were a younger male."

"Oh," Granny said and blushed, "That's Tuxedo. He's an expert on magic and ghosts. He works on abjuring them, sending them home."

Maybe someone I need to talk to, she thought and concentrated on her lunch, It also means I'd better pick up on my lessons. If Nightmare Moon is going to show up, there's going to be panic when the sun doesn't rise. The local police are going to need a lot of help. Or do I stay back and defend the library from idiots who'll want to sacrifice it to appease whatever god they think keeps the sun working? Crap, I'm not even getting a grade and I'm studying harder than I ever did for school! It's not fair.
------------------------------

"Captain Armor," Celestia greeted her guard captain as the prisoners from Labyrinthopolis arrived, "These are the cultists?" she asked.

"Yes, Highness. The Cult of the Nightmare Moon. Same creature we sacrifice candy to on Nightmare Night." Armor sighed.

"You don't approve of the cult?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, Highness, I do not approve. If night eternal arrived, we'd all die. We'd either starve to death, or we'd run out of breathable air. So I don't understand what possible benefit they could achieve."

"It's the illogic you disapprove of?" Celestia asked.

"The waste. I can understand throwing your life away for a goal to better ponies everywhere. But throwing your life away, just so you'll be among the first to inevitably die? That makes no sense."

"Have they described what defeated them?" Celestia asked. She struggled to maintain her placid expression as Captain Armor stared at her.

"Yes, but what they describe doesn't make any sense either. Its name is 'I am, I was and I will be', and it appeared as a pure and blinding light. I've never heard of anything remotely like that even in legends. I can only assume they are trying for an insanity plea."

Celestia nodded. "I'll let you perform your more formal interviews. After which, I'd like to speak to them. I have some questions I want answers for that are not part of your investigation."

"Understood Highness," Armor said and bowed as she left.

There was a massive surge of dark energy at the time and before they were defeated. So the creature was there. I felt it before the attack, but during the attack, I couldn't locate it, even though I scanned the Labyrinthopolis Grand Library in case they were after that recently uncovered cache of books. Whatever it is, it seemed better at hiding itself than I am at finding it. If Twilight can rescue Luna from Nightmare Moon, do I send her and the Elements she'll have discovered to Minotaura to confront this enemy? I don't know, I just don't know. She walked on, lost in thought.
------------------------------

Anyone who follows Nightmare Moon is an idiot, she thought as she packed most of the rings away, and climbed into bed. For days she'd had the uneasy feeling something was searching for her. When she'd worn the One Ring, she'd almost felt the eye seeking her. It had only taken a map and a ruler to lead her back to the source of the feeling. And instead of getting her people ready for the showdown, Superhorse is looking for me. Brilliant. She stared at the ceiling and considered all that was going on. Her control had increased by leaps and bounds, as much by disproving what the books on magic said as by following them. Her power and breadth of powers had also increased.

How close am I to the other side of the doorway? Have I grown enough to pass through? she wondered, Maybe tomorrow would be a good time to return to the alley. The Summer Sun Celebration isn't for several days. So if I'm the back up against Nightmare Moon, I have a few days. I wish I knew, I wish I knew, she thought as she faded off into an exhausted sleep.

Once the chickens again announced the arrival of morning, she slipped down stairs and waited for the first of the library staff to enter, and she slipped out. The city was quiet this early and no one was in the alley where she'd arrived. The One Ring's wraithworld-view revealed the faint crack in reality. But none of the magic she'd studied, and none of the powers of the rings allowed for either dimensional travel or ripping open a dimensional rift.

Is the way out even through you? Or is it somewhere else? she considered and looked around for her grandfather. Then she sat down and began sketching a series of diagrams she'd learned about how to analyze magic. Trying to see how it reacted to various stimuli.
------------------------------

The trio of ponies walked into the library as soon as it opened. They stayed together and carefully walked the entire available floor plan. They marked down the time they arrived at certain corners, when they moved from one level to another, and when they saw anything unusual. They didn't know what the instruments in their saddlebags were recording, but they didn't need to know. As soon as they completed their circuit, they proceeded to reverse and cover the exact same ground and made the exact same observations. Once they were done, they left and headed back to the embassy to let the local experts go over the data.
------------------------------

Wendy watched the ponies leave and briefly considered trailing them. Her natural fear of horses kept her rooted to the spot until they were out of sight. Yeah, chasing something I'm petrified of is a great idea, she thought as she entered the library and headed up for breakfast. At least I have the diagrams to go on. She thought as she continued through the building she was thinking of more and more as her home. She missed her toys, she missed her bed, God Forbid, she even missed her idiot of a brother, but this was a place she'd worked for, fought for and felt a sense of responsibility for. I am going native, she thought as she headed up the stair to find them serving, hot dogs.

"Head Librarian, what is this?" she asked, then remembered it was Friday.

"Oh, just a whim," the minotaur said, "Open to all patrons. So you don't need your card." She looked a little worried. "You do enjoy hotdogs, don't you?"

"With buns and tomato and pickle relish, yes," she answered, alleviating the Head Librarian's concern. "But for breakfast is a little strange."

The older minotaur smiled and tried to gesture whimsically. It seemed a half-hearted attempt by someone not good at it in the first place. Wendy ignored it and enjoyed the taste of home.
------------------------------

"The day," Wendy said, then laughed at how pompous it sounded. She'd gotten to bed early, so she'd be up early. She slipped on every ring that she had. She wasn't sure where she'd be needed, so she climbed to the roof of the library and waited.

In the wraithworld, she saw the stars approaching the moon, and the 'mare in the moon' figure fading and racing towards, presumably, Equestria and Ponyville.

When the sun didn't rise, people still went about their day without concern. But she watched it seem to creep up on people. Glancing between their watches and the sky. Asking others around them for the time or if they'd seen the sun. The panic she'd been expecting didn't come, but the tension among the people was definitely rachetting up as the night wore on beyond its expected limits, and the sun made no appearance. Soldiers appeared in the streets, but none seemed to know what they were doing, other than offering their presence as reassurance.

When she saw the dark cloud of miasma racing for the city, she knew the plan had changed. Calm, you will be calm, she ordered herself and her magic lifted her from the roof.

Somewhere in the city, mages raised a shield. But Nightmare Moon shattered it easily. But she shied from a miasma that exceeded even her darkness. The two eyes of blue that glared at her from the cloud made her shy in the air.

"I AM NIGHT ETERNAL!" she called, but would not press forward.

" 'You cannot enter here!'" Wendy shouted back, with booming tones, in her wraith-voice, " 'Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall to the nothingness that awaits you and your Master! GO!'" she thundered, drawing all the power of the ring to place fear in the heart of Nightmare Moon.

The mare of darkness squirmed as her terror grew and she fought to overcome it.

In her own mind, Wendy fought down and subdued her own terrors at facing not a pony, but a full-grown horse. The thing that had so hurt her and she knew would hurt her again given the chance. But these people are less protected than I am, she thought and commanded her own calm, and found herself fighting her own compulsion. She balled her terror up, and thrust it into the One Ring to hurl it at Nightmare Moon. It was like a battering ram against the Great Gate, but Nightmare's uncertainty called to Wendy's fear, it almost welcomed it in.

"I am Night Eternal!" Nightmare began again.

Wendy interrupted with her laughter. " 'Old fool! This is my hour! Do you not know Death when you see it?!'" Wendy raised her unseen arms. The spells were so obvious, she felt the rings would have forced them upon her if she hadn't cast them herself. High above the city, an orb of brilliant sunlight formed and streamed down on the city and surrounding lands. It was smaller and closer than Celestia's orb, but for this area it would serve. " 'Die now! And curse in vain!'"

Nightmare raised a wing to shield her eyes from the light. "Impossible!"

'away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn', Wendy thought as her hated 'alarm clocks' made their opinions heard, So it passes muster with them, I am so glad.

Nightmare's jaw dropped as another sound joined it. The cheers and bellows of defiance of the city below.

Wendy cast the same spell she'd used again the pegasus. Little more than a searchlight, but visible for miles and blindingly bright. " 'YOU CANNOT PASS!'"

Nightmare shied, casting darkness after darkness, but none could match the light that blinded her. She fired into the miasma, lightning, fire, and wind, but all her spells were superbly aimed, and Wendy was nowhere near the nimbus that confronted Nightmare.

"You have won this little victory," Nightmare said, and her voice cracked, "But I shall return at a time of my choosing!" She returned to her miasma form and fled.

Wendy returned to the library's roof. Once there had to sit down, the shakes began and she couldn't stop them. I can't do that again, she thought as her terror nibbled away at her resolve, I can't, I can't, she thought, But maybe I don't have to.

She kept the light of her ersatz sun above the town until she was too exhausted to hold her concentration. She let it go out and ignored the cries from the streets as she crawled back through the hatch in the roof and clambered down the stairs on all fours. Once in her room, she didn't bother removing her clothes still soaked in fear sweat. She bundled herself up to stave off the icy chill of terror and went to sleep.
------------------------------

Wendy had no idea where she was for the first few moments she was awake. She slowly became aware that she stank, was screamingly hungry, and that she was still exhausted despite being wide awake.

She sat up and moved to the bathroom of her commandeered apartment. The figure looking back at her from the mirror looked like a Halloween costume, hair sticking up at all angles, bloodshot eyes and an expression that defied her attempts to describe it. She splashed some water on her face, and tried to convert the jungle on her head into something approaching a human hairstyle. She also resolved she wasn't going to go out into the library until she could actually think without flashing lights exploding in her vision.

"She stared again at the figure in the mirror and told her to get some sleep," Wendy said, "Except I'm wide-awake. I just feel awful." She managed a half smile at that. She carefully ran some water in the tub, took off her clothes and washed herself. She'd wash her clothes later, but she needed to get out and see if the sun had indeed risen.

The library was dark, and the clock indicated it was night time. Outside the library people were cleaning up after what appeared to be a citywide party.

Well, maybe they did win, Wendy thought and considered just doing her laundry and returning to bed, Was beating Nightmare Moon enough? Or will I have to face another stretch of villains? I can't think they'd be too tough. I took down the biggest one, and the others can't be as formidable.

She turned and headed back to her room.
------------------------------

The streets were a happy madness. It was noon, the day after she'd fought Nightmare Moon. On the front steps of the library, Henny was serving hotdogs and seemed to be enjoying herself capitally. Wendy noted that the Head Librarian glanced at a vendor giving away salads, so Wendy picked one up for Henny.

"Thank you!" the older minotaur said, "Quite a day."

"I'll say. I almost can't believe what I saw at what was supposed to be sunrise," Wendy said as she got a hot dog exactly as she liked them.

Someone was paying attention that Friday, Wendy thought.

"Yes. The last time Nightmare showed up, there was a massacre. I'm just glad our friend drove her off," Henny said, "You might not have been, but I was worried when her sun winked out. Of course the regular sun rose about 15 minutes later, so the whole planet is celebrating."

"Any news that Princess Celestia's sister has returned," Wendy asked, "Oops, I wasn't supposed to mention that."

"Maybe I would have been shocked yesterday, but that's part of what today's party is about. As well as yesterday's party being a slapdash patchwork of neighborhood affairs. This is the whole nation celebrating," Henny promised. "I'm afraid the library is closed today, and maybe tomorrow."

"Well, do you need a hand?" Wendy offered.

The old minotaur grinned and nodded to the partially-sliced onions.

Wendy finished with the onions, and spelled Henny to let her go wander. When the minotaur returned, Wendy wandered.

Weird, I can't go two blocks without seeing someone selling hotdogs, she thought and walked over to the 'games of skill', They're probably all rigged, but I can deal with that. She felt the weight around her fingers, but she'd figured out Galadriel's trick of turning the rings invisible.

She went to the ring toss, and discovered she had a problem other players didn't, actually two. She was short, so had to toss the rings awkwardly, and second, she did NOT want to win the first prize. The huge, stuffed Celestia toy glared down at her, as if threatening her for having taken the tiniest sliver of credit for defeating Nightmare Moon away from Superhorse's Chosen One, Twilight Sparkle.

She nearly had to compel herself not to bolt, but managed the fear. What she wanted was the third prize, a comforter with lots of griffon chicks and minotaur pups playing in snow. With that won, and awkwardly stuffed in her pack, she headed toward a shooting gallery. Spring-loaded rock throwers rather than air rifles. The sights were off, but after two shots, she knew enough to compensate. Again she had to carefully lose, since the first prize was another horse prize. She wanted the pillows.

Oh, they weighted those targets, getting third is going to be easy! she thought happily and added the pillows to her hugely overburdened pack. Finally not having to sleep on a rolled up blanket, this is going to be so much better.

She toured the fair and ate enough to hold her over until the library opened. Then she slipped out of sight and back to her hatch and down to her room for a good night sleep.
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Several weeks of practicing, several weeks of studying, and some days of goofing off and playing pranks on the late-night muggers had come to this. Why are ponies such a problem? she wondered as she stalked across the roof. This one was a firebug. The few griffon officers the local police had were not enough to corral this idiot.

She watched the pony pour the oil-smelling liquid in the building's gutters. She touched Narya and slowly concentrated on fire, the shape, the feel, almost the spirit. The bastard dropped a match, and nothing happened. The pony panicked and dropped another and another. She strained, but the fire would not light. She held her strength against the natural tendency to light.

Then the spray from the fire brigade's hoses hit the pegasus. It squealed as it tried to find the air, but the water had found its wings.

She ignored the impulse to kick it off the roof and let it fall the eleven stories to the pavement, and the growing mob who realized the arsonist was nearly in their grasp. She also resisted the impulse to simply set it on fire.

It would be poetic justice, she thought, No it wouldn't, it hasn't killed anyone yet.

She considered briefly letting it do something foolish, when a team of commandos came over the sides of the building and threw nets over it. She hadn't heard them and was nearly trampled by one. Their people are getting better, she thought as she moved away from the contest. The hose kept playing over the roof to wash down the flammable liquid the pegasus had been planning to use.

She waited until they had vacated the roof before she climbed down and returned to the library.