As the six mares barreled headlong down the intertwining passages and tunnels, the sound of their hoof steps was broken intermittently only by the sound of their increasingly hoarse breathing and the odd cacophony of a magical spell detonating somewhere behind them. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had caught the room full of cultists off-guard and quickly and easily dispatched them, leaving them dazed and unconscious in the corner, however the time they had taken to do so, not to mention the commotion it had made, had given the other robed unicorns the time to locate the escapees who were now leading them on a chase through the depths of the complex.

Rarity led the way, sweat pouring off of their bodies, as they continued their mad gallop through the hallways watching for any sign of an exit or escape. Bringing up the rear, Pinkie Pie ducked as they turned another corner, a fireball narrowly passing over her head and scorching her mane. Stopping for a moment she quickly reached back and patted out the flaming lock of hair before renewing her desperate gallop and catching up to the other girls. The few moments were enough for her to catch a sight of their pursuers, and any thought of stopping to negotiate with them, fleeting as the idea was, was quickly lost. The pure unmitigated cruel determination in every one of their faces was enough for the pink pony to realize that the decision to run had been the point of no return. They were either going to escape from the lair… or perish trying.

Every so often, reaching an intersection or crossing of tunnels, Rarity would pause for the briefest of moments to evaluate her options and decide which direction to go. It only happened on occasion, but it was enough for Applejack to start to get the feeling that the white unicorn wasn’t being up-front about knowing which way would truly lead them to the exit.

“Uh, Rarity? Ah don’t mean to distract ya, but ya sure ya know which way yer goin’? Seems like we’re getting deeper and deeper when we should be goin’, ya know, up an’ out?”

“Well,” Rarity sputtered between breaths, “I’ll admit that I only heard the directions once, and I’m not altogether positive at every twist and turn which turns to take, however I am reasonably certain that we are, in general, going the right way to safety.” In reality, she had forgotten the directions entirely during the short fight with the cultists, and had been leading them blindly for the last fifteen minutes. Rarity was not the Element of Honesty, and while that pony was present, Applejack felt that calling her out on her lie would do more harm than good, seeing that anypony else leading would be just as aimless. Putting her head down, the farmer merely grunted and continued running.

Their path brought them to a large room, with tunnels leading in several directions. Boxes and barrels lined the walls with a few chairs and tables thrown in. For all intents and purposes it seemed to be some sort of central storage room, though no doors or barricades separated it from the other parts of the complex, indicating that whatever was kept their was likely not valuable or only stored their temporarily. The six mares slowed for a moment as Rarity anxiously glanced between the various possible routes to take. Dash, who had grown increasingly impatient, growled.

“Alright there tour guide! Where should we go from here? You said you knew where we were going… so? Where’re we going?!” Rarity frowned and glanced to one of the doorways.

“There! That’s the way we need to take to get out of here, I…I’m sure of it!” Dash growled again.

“Oh yeah? You don’t seem so sure. How much further do we have to go then? How far down are we? Does this route take us past anything we should know about? Like… oh I don’t know… more crazed cultists like the one’s following us?!” Applejack spun on her hooves and smacked Dash on the side of the head.

“That’s ‘nough outta you! We’re ah’ll darn scared, but fighting amongst ourselves ain’t gonna git us outta here. Whether or not Rarity knows the way,” a blush spread on the unicorn’s face, the cat out of the bag, “it’s a good a route as any. Unless you’d like to lead us out?” Applejack glared at the upstart pegasus.

“W-well…” Dash stuttered for a moment before finding her voice. “Alright fine! Let’s just keep moving it won’t be long until, CRIPES…” She ducked a pair of fireballs that whizzed overhead, narrowly missing her and exploding against one of the far walls, leaving the mares paralyzed with fear for a moment. The screams and shouts of the pursuing cultists shook them from their shocked states and with a few screams of their own they continued down their chosen route.

The momentary argument had allowed the robed unicorns to close much of the gap between them and their quarry, and the shrinking distance between them had increased the fear of the mares ten-fold. Never before had they been so close to death, and they were starting to crack under pressure. Fluttershy, journal clutched tightly between her wings, had tears running down her face.

“G-girls! I c-can’t keep this up much longer! I’m running out of breath!” The yellow pegasus was noticeably winded, and her tear streaked face was covered in fear-induced wrinkles. Pinkie looked back and frowned.

“Fluttershy can’t keep running like this! If we don’t get out soon… what are we going to do?!” She looked between her friends frantically as the possible options ran through her head. The last few days in the wilderness had done much to toughen the six up, and the mares that were running through the complex now were slightly hardier than the ones who had left Ponyville, but the ability to run as hard as they could for extended periods of time was not something that was learned overnight. Each mare had been pushed to their limits, and Fluttershy was obviously starting to be pushed past hers. As each scenario ran through the pink mare’s head, she started to feel a real fear, one which until this point in her life she had never felt before. If Fluttershy started to fall behind, and the rest of them unable to carry her… She didn’t want to think about it.

“Twilight!” Pinkie’s voice was just below a scream. “Can’t you teleport us all out of here?”

“No!” Twilight shook her head, her horn rapidly pulsating with lavender light. “I’ve been trying. Something is preventing it!”

Pinkie could feel her own tears starting. She was the best friend of everypony in Ponyville. If she had it her way, she would be the best friend of everypony in Equestria. That she might have to leave anypony, let alone one of her closest friends, behind was like sticking a knife through her heart. Glancing between the others, she could see on their faces that the same uncomfortable thoughts were running through each of their heads. She silently pleaded with them to voice another suggestion, another idea, but the unsure glances between them solidified the growing fear that for the rest to survive, a sacrifice might have to be made. Rarity, was finding herself increasingly distracted.

This isn’t fair. What did we ever do to deserve this? I’ll admit that I could have been nicer to Nathan when he first arrived, and I wasn’t exactly the friend that Fluttershy needed, but what else could I have done? I was only looking out for the wellbeing of everypony. Even if only half of what Mango said was right, he was a credible threat. Now, we’re running for our lives from robed hoodlums and in order to save ourselves Fluttershy needs to suffer for it? I can’t accept this. I won’t allow my best friend to suffer that fate just for-

“Fluttershy.” Twilight Sparkle called again, breaking Rarity from her thoughts and drawing everypony’s attention to her. “You’re our friend, and we love you but…” It slowly dawned on Fluttershy what Twilight was about to suggest and the terror was clear on her face. Before Twilight could continue, however, Rarity looked back and interrupted her.

“Dearie, do us all a favor and shut your mouth. I don’t care how far up the dirt creek we are muddied and without mascara, that will never be an option.” The group turned the corner, continuing down another passage. Applejack yelled out.

“Uh, Rarity?” The white unicorn frowned.

“Not now Applejack, I’m speaking. Now, you might be content to just let our friend suffer the same fate as Nathan, and I’ll admit up to a few days ago I wouldn’t have been as upset about that as I am now…”

“Rarity…”

“Applejack please! However, leaving him behind was a tragedy that you at least in part orchestrated and I will have no part in allowing you to repeat such.”

“RARITY STOP!”

“What, Applejack?!” Rarity finally looked ahead of herself and down the hallway and found it full of cultists. In her distraction, she had failed to notice that their route had taken them directly into a, possibly literal, dead end. The mares screeched to a halt, coming up a few dozen feet short of the group ahead of them. Quickly about facing they found the other end of the hallway closed off by the group that had been following them. Twilight grunted and threw up a shield, encapsulating them in its protective sheen.

“Now,” one of the cultists spoke between huffed breathing, “If you all are quite finished your inane attempt at an escape, please drop your shield and come along. There are dozens of us and six of you. Even without catching you off guard, we could easily defeat you. We make no promise that you will not be harmed, but it is inevitable that you will either be tested or perish. This will however be easier for all involved.” Twilight scowled.

“No, we will not be making anything easier for you! You ponies should be ashamed of yourselves and what you’re doing here. How would Princess Celestia react to what you’re doing here?!” Twilight’s quandary was met with a rolling chuckle from the cultists, leaving her slightly confused.

“Princess Celestia? You realize that we work with an ancient magic of the sorts that only an alicorn such as the princess is normally privy to don’t you? You act as if she doesn’t know exactly what is happening here.” The cultists continued to laugh. Applejack narrowed her eyes at the speaker.

“Twi…” Applejack was about to warn Twilight away from falling for the obvious attempt at goading the unicorn into a confrontation.

“You…” Twilight’s horn began to glow and spark with magical discharge as the air around her crackled from the power. The other mares looked nervously at the aggravated unicorn, and realized what was about to happen. Twilight was going to drop the shield that was the only thing separating them from their aggressors, to blast the smirking unicorn in the face. Before anypony could say or do anything, there was a shimmer of light and the whole world stopped. Or more specifically, everything outside of Twilight’s shield stopped.

Twilight stopped channeling the spell. As the glow ebbed away and died, she looked around at her friends, seeing them all in similar states of confusion. Fluttershy was breathing heavily, her head held low between her legs and saliva running freely onto the ground, while Rarity was gently laying a hoof on her back doing her best to relax her terrified countenance. Applejack and Pinkie were walking around and looking out at the cultists, stunned looks imprinted on their faces, Dash eying a fly frozen in mid-flight. At each end of the hallway, the groups of cultists had been frozen in place, their rage, screams, and flying spittle completely immobile. Dropping her shield, Twilight walked forward towards the nearest group of robed unicorns and gently reached out a hoof to touch one.

“Ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” A voice from behind them forced Twilight to withdraw her hoof in shock. Turning in place she saw a small brown unicorn filly walking out from the group at the other end of the hallway, cloaked in similar garb to the cultists surrounding her. “Magic such as this tends to be slightly fragile, and we have things to discuss before you six start running again.”

“Ohhhh no you poor little filly.” Fluttershy flitted over to the foal. “You poor thing, trapped down here with these horrible, horrible ponies. How could they possibly take an innocent thing like you captive?” Fluttershy immediately pulled her into a hug, one which the filly enthusiastically returned.

“Release her; there are things all of you are to know.” The mares spun around as a rust red colt emerged from the opposing group of cultists wearing a similar cloak. As Fluttershy released her grip on the filly, she darted out and around giggling, as the other mares goggled between the two fillies. “The six of you are to listen, and listen carefully.”

“Uh…” Dash was scratching her head with a hoof. “I’m a little lost here. Who are you two? I take it you’re not a couple of lost foals?”

“Nopes.” The filly was crouched on her front hooves playfully swatting at the butterflies on Fluttershy’s flank, drawing a nervous blush from the pegasus. “We’re not lost, we’re not foals, and we’re definitely not a couple.” She giggled a bit.

“Stop.” The colt turned to the mares. “We are and are not real. You’ve spoken with Truth Seeker and his zealous pontification on the fates?” The mares nodded silently. “We.” The colt gestured to himself and the filly. “Are metaphysical extensions of the magical presence governing the very same.”

“I sort of understand, I think.” Twilight slowly nodded, looking deep in thought. “However why even have Truth Seeker and this cult in the first place? If you are what you say you are, and can just visit us, why have such a horrible group of ponies do your work for you?”

“You’re silly.” The filly was giggling again. “Have you ever tried to make yourself be something when you weren’t something to begin with in the first place but if you weren’t something how could you ever be something ever anyways?”

“Oh! Oh! I totally know what you mean! That would be so hard!” Pinkie was nodding vigorously. The other mares simply looked on even more confused than they were before.

“You’re incorrectly applying the assumptive measures regarding this cult, the actions of Truth Seeker, as well as taking liberties with what you think is our yet to be stated goals. He is necessary but not in the way you imagine it to be, as all consequences are derivative of previous actions, as will any consequent action be responsible for every one proceeding from it. We do not share your scope of morality, nor any value-significant conclusion from said scope. His mad bid for power is necessary, as is your own survival, in our view there is no contradicting mutual exclusivity in both scenarios, as, indeed, from any and every action happening right now, before, and after.”

“Hol’ on there pardner.” The assembled ponies turned to Applejack, surprised at the confident expression on her face. “Alright, if ya’ll say yer not really a couple of foals. With all the magic flyin’ around Ah can believe that. Ya just said that all this here happenin’ here is fine so there ain’t no reason in buttin’ inta this, but here ya are sure as the apples on mah flank. So what’s this all about? Why stop them cult ponies from knockin’ us a few apples short o’ a bushel?”

“Ooooh, it’s different hearing everything isn’t it? It’s true what they say, qualiac understanding is something else too! Can we bring her along? Puh-leaaaase?”

“No.” Sighing he turned his attention back to the mares. “No, we will not be bringing any of them along. However, your companion is correct; we do have a reason to address you personally. It is very much the same rationale behind speaking to Truth Seeker with the truths that we have spoken, as it is speaking to you with the truths that we will speak to you about. They will be heard by nobody…”

“You mean nopony?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“… ‘nopony’, but those who would deigned be heard. It is equally coincidental and not that you six mares were the ones to act on the eve of the summer sun celebration, and that Celestia has deigned to grace Twilight with the very same study assignment on the origins of the celebration that led to her uncovering our prophecy, as well as the interpersonal experiences that led to your budding and mutual friendships. Truth has his part to play, but his value schema is not equivalent to your own, nor would his interpretation of the very same be equivalent to your own. Needless to say, while we continue to use his cult to disperse some of our knowledge, it is not necessary that he is privy to all re-telling of them. Rather the opposite.” He inclined his head towards Rarity. “You were far more correct than you thought, when you said ‘All of us were BFFs forever and we didn’t even know about it’. You all were, indubitably, best of friends from far before you ever knew each others names or were even born, and still don’t know just how long and how intricately the six of you are connected, and you still won’t appreciate it until much, much later.”

The strange little filly was absentmindedly playing hop-scotch with a rock and a few loose stones in the hallway floor when she caught the flat stare of her colt companion. Stopping in mid jump she turned back to the group, giggling slightly.

“Sorry, I’m just having so much fun with these hooves! You pretty much said it all anyways. What did you need me to add?” The filly shrugged.

“What, you don’t want to tell me I’m espousing too much or interfering?”

“Nope. Truth Seeker’s a jerk. And you already know the answer to the latter. There’s one way to be efficient, but there’s better ways to deal with others. Woulda been nicer to just kill ‘em, you know?”

“Eep!” Fluttershy shrank away from the filly, mortified. “I-I thought you were the n-nice one.”

“I am!”

“So what does this have to do with us?” Twilight shook her head confused. “And while we’re on the topic, why wasn’t my teleportation working? I couldn’t even teleport myself out.” This brought a few glares from the other mares, Twilight’s own eyes widened as she realized what she may have just implied. Rainbow Dash looked just about ready to jump at her.

“Well,” the colt motioned for the filly to join him, “we’re sure that you’ve heard about this prophecy that Truth Seeker keeps going on about. We need you to hear it, and then respond accordingly. That‘s also why we allowed the suppression of your magic. We needed to speak with you in an environment that ensured your attention and complicity.”

“Wh-what?” Twilight’s eyes went wide with shock. “You nearly got us all killed just to talk to us?!”

“Incorrect, you would not have died and, indeed, have not died. A sense of danger is a physical biological fuzzy logic estimate on an unknown future under estimable factors that you deem would harm you. We know your future, ‘nearly got you all killed’ is not an applicable term for any actions we take.”

“B-but doesn’t there need to be some sort of chosen one? Isn’t that why Truth is doing all of this? We don’t even know what it is!”

“Yes, there is one it pertains to, though whether you would call them ‘chosen’ is a matter of definition.”

“Do you even know who it is?” Twilight was starting to get an uneasy feeling in her stomach from the casual way the colt had said “cursed”.

“Of course.”

“Can you tell us? Wouldn’t that make it easier?”

“Nope!” The little filly trotted next to the colt. “Otherwise you’ll react differently than if you didn’t hear about who it was! Same thing applies with the words I just said, and these words, and these words, and these words, and-” The colt shoved at her, and she shut her mouth with an audible clack. The two foals stood side by side and their horns began to glow. A blue swirling orb of energy similar to the one Dash had seen earlier in the evening appeared above them, and softly emitted a light that bathed the hallway. However, unlike earlier, rather than the words coming out of the orb, the voices were those of the two foals.

“W…whoa. That’s heavy.” Dash backed slowly away from the foals, noting that her friends were making similar movements. Rarity was visibly shaken.

“F-fingers. D-did you say fingers? Not only that, but two legs?”

“Yes.” The foals responded in unison.

“N-no, that’s impossible. N-not him.”

“Rarity,” Fluttershy put a steadying hoof on Rarity’s back. “It’s just a jumble of words. Fingers and legs could mean anything or anypony.” Rarity shrank back from the pegasus’ touch.

“How many ponies do you know that have fingers? Last time I checked other creatures, like Spike, have claws. What else could it mean?! He’s… he’s dead though… how could that be possible? It’s impossible.” She looked towards the foals. “It’s impossible right?”

“It is not for us to say. It is as it is.” The colt shrugged. The action didn’t do anything to help the clearly upset mare.

“It is as it is?! That’s it?! We could potentially have been walking side by side with the greatest danger Equestria has ever seen and you have nothing to say?!” The colt gave another non-committal shrug. Rarity shrieked.

“Regardless,” the colt continued, “It is time for you to go. Our time here is drawing short, and these cultists would so love to rip you apart. Don’t worry; you will receive aid.”

“Yuppers!” The filly squeaked out. “Hope you packed your umbrellas!”

“Huh? Umbrellas? Nopony has umbrellas.” Twilight raised one eyebrow questioningly. Pinkie’s tail twitched wildly, as her eyes widened.

“We’re falling! They’re going to make us fall!” Pinkie started shrieking before all hell broke loose. The spell that had frozen the cultists in place went as suddenly as they came as the robed unicorns resumed their aggression against the mares. As the first spells were slung from their horns, the hallway floor faded and turned to dust underneath the six ponies and they plummeted from sight shrieking as they went. The volley of spells missed their targets entirely, resulting in friendly fire from both ends of the corridor; their screams were indiscernible from those of the mares. Unseen by the rest of the assembled ponies, the two foals watched the scene play out.

“We should proooooobably get going, I wanna try racing hard enough to make leaves fall!”

“Content yourself with your perceptions; you know I have another trip to make.”

Falling into the depths, both of the pegasi spread their wings and grabbed for their friends. Dash wrapped her hooves around Applejack, and Fluttershy was able to grasp Rarity. Neither pony was able to fly with their loads and in their state of exhaustion, but it was enough that the two pairs were able to float down slowly. Twilight lit her horn and watched for the approaching floor and, seeing it nearing, teleported herself a few feet higher and over, slowing her descent enough for the pile of hay she had identified to break her fall. Pinkie pulled out a trampoline and threw it under herself, bouncing off and doing a flip in the air, landing on the floor with her fore hooves in the air. A moment later, the journal that Fluttershy had dropped when she spread her wings dropped into Pinkie’s waiting hooves.

“Ta-da!” The other mares were less than enthused at their near deadly plummet, however they were safely out of reach of the cultists for the time being. Looking far above, they could see the robed unicorns milling about the hole that Twilight’s spell had made, and finally looking for another, safer, route down. Rarity walked over to Twilight and back-hooved her roughly across the face.

“Oww!” Twilight squealed and rubbed the side of her face with a hoof. “What was that for?!”

“I didn’t want to believe it when Pinkie said it that you were going to sell us out for that awful Truth Seeker, Twilight Sparkle, but after what I just saw from you… if you ever try and suggest that we leave anypony behind, especially Fluttershy, I… I… I don’t know what I’ll do! Then there‘s everything with that Celestia-forsaken prophecy!” Rarity stormed off, looking for something to take her frustration out on. Twilight looked to the other mares for some sort of support, but mostly found scowls. To her surprise, Fluttershy trotted over and put a hoof on her shoulder, a sad smile on her face.

“Twilight, I kn-know that we’re in a tough place right now, and decisions don’t come the easiest when you’re scared for your life. I don’t want to be any bother, and if you had to leave me behind, just so you could escape, I would have understood.” Twilight looked away, ashamed.

“I… I know, Fluttershy, but Rarity’s right, I should have…” Fluttershy shook her head.

“No, really. We’ve had our fair share of adventures together, and a lot of the time you girls are looking out for me. If it meant that you would all die, then… well it wouldn’t have been right. I learned that from a good friend just the other day. Isn’t that right Nathan?” Pinkie gently placed the journal back between the yellow pegasus’ wings, and Fluttershy visibly sighed at having the comforting feeling of it on her back. She smiled. “Thanks Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie was fighting back her tears.

“Y-you’re welcome Fluttershy. It means a lot to all of us for you to say that, but it doesn’t make it any better. We have to stick together until the end. Right girls?” The other mares, save Dash, nodded. Dash merely looked off into the corner. Pinkie trotted over and placed a hoof on her back. “Dashie?” The pegasus brushed her off and frowned.

“I told you to stop calling me that! Only Pinkie can call me that. And I'm not sure sure there is a we anymore.We’re all going to die because you ponies can’t get your acts together. Where are we anyways?” Twilight focused on her horn again, spreading the dim lavender light until it encompassed the entire room. The glow revealed that they had fallen into another storage area, this one much older and obviously neglected. The shelves were full of dusty molding tomes, jars, and other assorted containers. In one corner were a few barrels of some unknown substance, long forgotten by the annals of time, and the hay that Twilight had fallen in was decaying away, leaving a long trail of sickly juice rolling along the floor. The lavender unicorn grimaced at the thought that she had been in the pile moments before. One side of the room had several other tall jars with rolled up parchments. Only one door lead out of the room. Rarity strutted about, her anger with Twilight fading.

“It appears to be some sort of storage room, though I dare say it hasn’t seen a pony’s touch in many years. The hay would suggest it hasn’t been that long since somepony was in here though…” Twilight shook her head and jumped in.

“I think the magical nature of this place explains the hay. If it was anywhere else it would have decayed years ago. Nothing in this room seems to have aged as much as it should have. The dust is really the only evidence of the passage of time. It gives me the willies to be honest.”

“Well,” Applejack trotted around taking in the room, “that sorta makes sense. Ah mean, those hooligans did say that there’s this all powerful fates thing around here.” Twilight nodded. Trotting over to the rolled up parchments, she began to search through them, her face brightening as she pulled one in particular out.

“A map! This is exactly what we need! Let’s see here…” She rolled it out on the floor and started tracing out a route on the parchment. The others looked on, and while they had already surprised at how large the complex was, the map, as old as it was, gave them the first glimpse at the sheer enormity of the place. It was almost impossible that such an isolated group of unicorns would have been able to build such a place, thralls or not. “Alright, I think that we’re here. Here’s the dining hall… cells should be right around here… oh here’s this larger room with all of the passages so… yes we’re here. Alright we should be able to just head out the door here and it’s a straight shot to the nearest exit.” She pointed out the route on the map for emphasis.

“Yeah,” Dash huffed, “but this map is old. Who knows if any of these passages still exist. We’ve already seen what happens when you use an out of date map.” She glared at Twilight, who largely ignored her.

“I think it should be fine. A place this size with forgotten rooms like this, I doubt it will have changed very much over the years. It’s a good a choice as any. Now should we get going before those cultists catch up with us.” As Twilight said this, she started walking for the door. Before she could reach it though, she couldn’t help but be drawn to the other parchments. “Well, maybe we’ll see what else is here.” She pulled a few out, rolling them out on the floor as the others rolled their eyes. Unfortunately (or fortunately from the other mare’s points of view), she didn’t find anything else worthwhile. “Well that was a waste of time. I was hoping there would be some more information about the prophecy here. No such luck.”
.

“Look, we’ll have to get to the bottom of this later. In the meantime, Ah think it’s best we got moving. Alright, Twilight said that it should be a straight shot from here, so we should make it quick.” Applejack motioned towards the exit.

The door gave a little resistance, due to being rarely used over the years, but with a bit of effort Applejack was able to pry it open without making too much noise. The hallway beyond was covered in a similar layer of dust, though a few hoof prints revealed that it had indeed been used. Moving quietly through the complex they discovered, true to Twilight’s words and to their collective relief, that the map was roughly accurate even after years in storage, and they quickly found the hallway that lead to their salvation.

“Well,” Twilight started, “looks like we’re almost out of here girls!” Just as she spoke, they heard a growl behind them, and spun on their hooves. Far down the hallway they could see an angry Truth Seeker and a group of cultists. “Oh horse apples.”

“Twilight Sparkle! I’m not sure how you were able to so thoroughly harm those who were chasing you earlier, as hesitant as they are to give an explanation, however my offer still stands: join me and assist me with the tests, and you shall gain knowledge and power you have only dreamed of. Reject me, and you and your friends shall perish. Such is the will of the fates.” Even from the distance separating them, they could see the malice etched in his eyes. Pinkie trotted up beside Twilight.

“We’re almost out. We need to stick together- c’mon Twilight, don’t listen to that big meany jerk face.” Pinkie turned to look at Truth. “You hear that? You’re a big fat meany jerk face!” Truth Seeker chuckled.

“Pinkamina, you more than anypony should understand what the fates drive us to do. We cannot escape what has been ordained. Just like you can’t escape your feelings for…”

“No!” Pinkie screamed. “I don’t care who you think you are, what you know, or what sort of fate you claim to work through, you’re a bad pony, and we’re leaving.” She glanced to the others. “Let’s go!” She bolted down the hallway, with the other mares hot on her tail. Twilight spared one last glance towards the menacing mob before sighing and turning to follow her friends.

Turning the corner at the end of the hallway, several fireballs exploded against the wall, spreading flames and scorch marks in a wide radius. The mares shrieked as several of the flames licked at their hooves. Growling and cursing followed soon after from the pursuing cultists, though the girls were too far ahead to make out most of what was being shouted.

Passing another intersection, they could see another group of robed unicorns heading towards them. Rarity spared a glance, and noted that it was the group that they had evaded earlier. A surge of lighting crackled between them, narrowly grazing the top of Applejack’s Stetson and causing the mares to scream. Continuing their breakneck pace, they rounded the final corner and could see a set of stairs marked with torches.

“There!” Rarity shrieked. “Those stairs will take us up to the exit! Quickly girls!” She bolted for the stairs, sheer panic etched across her face. The other mares were right behind her, but at that point in time, if she was being honest, and she wasn’t, she would have said that she could have cared less for anypony but herself. Reaching the first step, she spared a glance behind her. Her friends were nearly to the steps themselves, and the cultists weren’t that much further behind them. Turning back around, she continued her upwards progress.

“Fools! Incompetents! They’re getting away! She’s getting away! Don’t let them go!” Truth Seeker generated a massive fireball, intending the wreath the escaping mares in a bale of hellfire. The last of the mares scrambled away up the stairs as the torrent of magical energy detonated at the foot of the staircase, engulfing the area. Simultaneously, several other cultists expended their spells adding to the destruction. Their combined assault shattered the stone walls and ceiling, and the entrance to the stairs started to cave in. “Idiots! You’ve collapsed the entryway!”

The mares paused to see that, in fact, the entryway to the stairs was caving in, and moving through the collapsing structure would be impossible. The cultists slid to a halt just on the other side of the crumbling arch. Truth Seeker trotted forward and peered up at them.

“You may think you have escaped us, but we will come for you. The fates demand it. Stay safe Twilight Sparkle, and keep her safe. Time will tell what the fates have in store.” With a final rumble the archway disintegrated completely, obscuring their view of the cultists. Taking a deep breath for the first time it what seemed hours, they slowly walked the rest of the way up and back into the jungle. This had not been the entrance they had originally been brought to, so the landmarks were unfamiliar. With a final sigh, they departed wordlessly into the underbrush.

“Scootaloo! Applebloom! Sweetie Belle!” Spike had been calling out for the three fillies for the better part of the last hour, having lost them in the underbrush soon after entering the Everfree forest. Normally, he wouldn’t have even considered running after them, but Twilight had trusted him to look after the library, and regardless of who claimed ownership, that shell was in the library. On top of that, with the mares out of town there were few ponies willing or able to traverse the forest in search of wayward foals, and he felt it was his responsibility to keep them safe.

So it was that he found himself wandering through the forest as the sun began it’s slow descent below the horizon. With the dense foliage the light levels rapidly dimmed, and the adolescent dragon was finding it more and more difficult to see where he was going. The sounds of the forest coming alive in the twilight hours was enough to unnerve Spike, and his eyes rapidly scanned the forest for any signs of trouble, be it a monster or worse.

While the path to Zecora’s hut was fairly straightforward, Spike was unaccustomed to wandering through the Everfree forest in the dark. Feeling along the edge of the trail, he glanced behind himself and examined his surrounding, relieved that nothing was following him. A moment later, however, he slowly felt the scales on the back of his neck stand on end. A shiver running down his spine, he reached back and attempted to smooth them out, only then feeling a warm breath blowing on him. Freezing in place, he slowly lowered his hand back to his side and kept his eyes facing straight forward.

A low growl came from behind the dragon and against his better judgment, he slowly turned to face the owner of the, now that he was paying attention, foul smelling breath. Audibly gulping he started to quiver in fear as his eyes took in what he was seeing. Where before was an empty trail he now saw a pair of timber wolves, their veneered teeth glinting in the rising moonlight.

“N-n-n-nice doggies. Y-y-you wouldn’t eat a dragon would you?” Spike’s teeth were chattering so hard he could barely speak. The pair of wolves looked at each other and turned back to the diminutive dragon, gnashing their teeth in tandem, looking towards an easy kill. Spike turned tail and ran, screaming the whole way. One of the wolves lashed out and attempted to grasp him in it’s teeth, narrowly missing his tail. With a howl of frustration, the pair pursued their meal.

Spike darted underneath an overhanging branch, bending it back as he went. Releasing it, he heard it snap back and strike one of the timber wolves. Sparing a glance he could see that the branch had hit the wolf across the face, and it was momentarily stunned as it rubbed away the feeling. Turning back to face forward Spike realized a moment too late that he was several feel from a steep drop-off. Skidding on his heels in a futile attempt to arrest his progress, he found himself moments later tumbling head over heels down, striking rocks and branches as he went. What took but a few seconds felt like a small eternity to the adolescent, as he felt every impact on his tiny body.

Finally coming to a rest at the base of the hill, he struggled to keep conscious. Glancing up, he could see the wolves consider following him down but, apparently thinking better of it, shook their heads and gave one last frustrated howl before taking off into the woods. Spike whispered a quick prayer to Celestia before he passed out completely.

Stirring back to consciousness a short time later, his eyes slowly flickered open. Spike could vaguely make out several shapes milling about and peering down at him from an uncomfortably close distance. His eyes flying wide he gave a small shriek and pushed himself up, trying to escape from whatever horrible creatures had abducted him.

“Spike you must not move so quick, though my potion has healed you it might make you quite sick. Don’t worry yourself, you’re in my room, with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom.” Spike recognized the voice immediately.

“Zecora?” Spike blinked his eyes again and he could see that, true to the zebra’s words, the other figures in the room were indeed the fillies that he had been looking for. “Girls! Boy am I glad to see you! I was worried when you ran off into the forest without telling anypony where you were going! I almost got eaten by a pair of timber wolves!”

“Spike,” Applebloom scoffed, “zap apple season ain’t for another few months. Timber wolves shouldn’t be around these parts. Ah understand if you were scared, but ya don’t gotta make things up.” Zecora shook her head and looked sternly at the trio of fillies.

“Only foolish foals enter the forest at night without a chaperone, one would hate to think what could happen when you are all alone. To make matters worse you abandoned your friend, which is to be frowned upon no matter your errand. As for you Applebloom, do not mistake Spike’s words for lies or whines, there is no doubt that this night he encountered a pair of canines.”

“Wha?” Applebloom’s eyes went wide. “That’s not possible though! Granny Smith said that they only come close to town when it’s zap apple season. How d’ya know that he ran into them?” Zecora shook her head and sighed.

“For one who lives in the forest like me, the caustic spittle on the back of his neck was easy to see. While checking him over for cuts and wounds, I saved a little in a jar for a potion or brew. As for why the wolves are near town in the snows, that is a thing likely only the princess knows.” Applebloom and the other two fillies shared a look of shame and peered up at Spike.

“We’re sorry Spike.”

“Yeah,” agreed Scootaloo, “we really should have stuck together, or found someone to take us to Zecora’s in the first place.”

“We were just so excited to try and find out what it was that we found at Twilight’s!” Sweetie Belle said.

Carefully feeling himself over for any permanent damage, Spike was pleased to find that he was relatively unharmed. The back of his head still ached from where he had struck a stone, but Zecora had applied some sort of poultice that was steadily wicking away the pain. Looking among the gathered equines, he shrugged.

“It’s alright girls, I’m not badly hurt, and we’re all safe and sound now.” Zecora nodded.

“The four of you make such good friends, it is for the best that you have made amends. While your journey was slightly hazardous, I’ll have to take you back. I’m leaving on a trip soon and I really have to pack.” Spike tilted his head.

“A trip? How are you going to leave with the ban on travel in place?” The dragon was confused. With the lockdown currently in effect across Equestria, it was difficult for anypony to get permission to travel, other than wealthy traders and merchants. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were an exception of course, due to the pull they had with the princess, however Zecora was a zebra, and a relatively unknown one at that. The three fillies and Spike had managed to slip out of the shield surrounding Ponyville fairly easily (the side closest to the Everfree was lightly guarded owing to the fact that ponies avoided the place) but in order to go anywhere other than deeper into the forest, Zecora would have to head into town, detaining her with the rest of the residents.

“I’ve lived long enough in lands far and wide, to know a few tricks on how to survive. Getting past a guard, even with his devoted watching eye, is not a difficult task for a zebra such as I.” Zecora smiled to the assembled youth.

“You always were clever Zecora!” Sweetie Belle smiled back. “But where are you going?” The zebra’s smile dropped.

“Zebras like myself normally don’t live alone, they live together in tribes and tend to move around rather than have a home. While they aren’t necessarily related, or share the same blood you see, each tribe might be loosely be considered a family. My closest kin belong to one such group, and through them I am sibling to a several-score large troop. I don’t normally get to see them, even if it would be better, but I’ve been diligent to make sure each month they get a letter.” Zecora sighed and looked out the window. “Every month like clockwork they would make sure I got one back, I’ve kept every single one and made a little stack. Suddenly around four months ago I stopped receiving them altogether, it’s not like my family’s tribe to forget to send me a letter. I’ve made up my mind to leave, no matter if Equestria is in lock-down, something terrible has befallen my family and I have to get out of town.”

The adolescent’s eyes went wide. This had been the first time they had heard her talk about her family. They had always assumed they Zecora had some sort of family, but they were so used to her living alone in the woods it was weird thinking of her interacting with anypony else on a regular basis. Not only that, but her family was missing. Applebloom felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Ah don’t know what Ah’d do if my family went missing. Ah’m so sorry Zecora. Ah wish there was something we could do to help.” Zecora smiled and shook her head.

“Your sympathy is appreciated and you do your family proud, but it will be easier for me to slip out of Ponyville without being followed by a crowd.”

“Well,” Spike started, “I guess if you need to leave that we should get back home. Girls?” The three Crusaders groaned, but nodded and started for the door. Zecora grabbed a bag off the shelf turned to follow them.

“Your parents are probably worried with the four of you out so late. I can only imagine the punishment will be similarly great.” The fillies groaned again, however Spike looked slightly smug. “One last thing though, before I take you back, what is it that brought you to my hut on a night that is so dark and black?”

Sweetie Belle suddenly remembered why they had bothered walking through the forest at all and procured the shell.

“This Zecora. We found this in Twilight’s old lab. We didn’t know what it was for sure so we thought we’d bring it to you.”

Zecora stood on her hind legs over her table and grasped the shell in her hooves. Squinting her eyes, she examined the peculiar looking item that the filly had produced. Peering inside she could see some sort of material deeper down. Grabbing a small blade in her teeth, she slowly slid it into the opening and gently cut a hole in the material. Tipping the shell over she gave a sharp inhale as the contents poured out over the table, making a neat pile of black and white powder. She whipped her head towards the four youngsters and fought back a glare.

“You! Come here this instant if you care for Ponyville. Where again did you say you found this thing that can only kill?”

“W-well we found it in Twilight’s old l-lab like we said Zecora…” Applebloom had gone white as a sheet at both Zecora’s sudden outburst as well as the possible danger of the shell they had found. Glancing to the others she could see they shared a similar expression.

“Twilight is playing with such a thing? Does she have any idea the woe this could bring?”

“It’s not T-Twilight’s.” Spike was stammering. “It’s Nathan‘s. He made it. He was just staying with us.”

“That is a strange name for a pony, and it fills me with fear. Where is this Nathan, is he still living near?”

“Well, that’s the thing, he’s not a pony. He’s a human. He’s only been in Ponyville for a couple months. Also, he’s uh… well he and the girls have all gone to Canterlot. They left about a week ago.” Spike backed away slowly as he saw the zebra’s eye twitching, a wave of discomfort washing over her face. Her eyes ran over the interior of her hut awkwardly, an internal struggle playing behind her eyes. Reaching up on a shelf she pulled down some flint and steel and trotting back to the table she gently separated a few grains of the substance from the pile. Striking a spark, the small gathering watched as it landed on the stray bits and a poof of smoke and flame erupted, scorching the table. Zecora sighed.

“It’s as I feared, and it seems I‘ll have to delay my trip yet, this ‘human’ that you speak of is a potent threat. If it is true what you say and the mares travel with him, then I must reach them before they lose worse than a limb.” The fillies were frightened again, a mutual shiver passing amongst them. Applebloom warily stuck her hoof out towards the table.

“D-do ya know what that thing is then Zecora?” The zebra sighed.

“Applebloom this substance is known to most zebras and I, though in this I wish to you I could lie. Long ago zebra alchemists played with what we now call ‘powdered doom’, misuse of the powder sent many zebra ‘to the moon’. Now gather your things and lets you back to Ponyville and to bed, I must reach those ponies… before they wind up dead.”

Once again, Rarity found her sleep filled with dreams. At first they were the normal dreams that she had experienced for most of her adult life- dreams of gems, parties with popular Canterlot ponies, dressmaking, even a bizarre scene of Sweetie Belle being courted by Prince Blueblood that, much to her surprise, was likely one of the more disturbing images she had seen in the last few months. However, as the last few nights, the swirling images and half-broken scenes gradually came into focus and she once again found herself sharing the view of a human.

Unlike the last few nights however, she was sharing the point of view of a child, a little girl in fact. Looking around she was in a living room not unlike her boutique. Everything was in its place, baubles and trinkets along the walls, a cabinet full of fine china was standing in the corner, and the furniture was well kempt, if slightly out of style. Well, at least this evening I have the privilege to share a moment with one of the children. I couldn’t bare to experience another night as the victim of a psychopath. Mind you, this home could use a touch of…pizzazz.

Looking out a nearby window she could see the sun dipping over the horizon. A clock on the wall indicated it was sometime after seven, and she had already dressed in what Rarity assumed were some sort of nightgown. All around her were toys and blocks, and the little girl was happily humming to herself while brushing the hair of her human shaped doll. A noise at the door distracted her.

“Cathryn, honey?” Rarity’s host looked to the door and an older female was standing there. “Your father and I are going out for dinner. Do you remember Julie?” The little girl nodded. “She’s going to be babysitting for you and your brother. Please behave yourself and I expect you to be in bed no later than nine. I’ve already told her as much, so don’t you even try to pull one over on her.” The mother gave a mischievous smile. Cathryn ran over and gave her a a light hug.

“Alright mommy. I love you so much. Have fun with daddy!” Rarity’s host seemed slightly sad that her mother was going out without her. “I hope Julie plays games with us like last time!”

“I’m sure she’ll play all sorts of games. Now, go back to your toys and Julie will be here in a few minutes.” Cathryn’s mother walked away and Rarity could hear her slowly walk down a flight of stairs. Her host went back to playing with her doll, and the inhabiting pony could feel a warm glow come over her. Once again she was pleased to see that the human world seemed to be wonderful at times. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew, especially from one of her previous dreams, that not everything was warm and caring, but it seemed somewhere along the line she assumed that the opposite had to be true, that everything, and everyone, had to be something worse than any nightmare she’d ever conceived.

A few moments later she heard the door of the house open and close, and the voices of several adults talking. A small bout of laughter later and once more the door opened and closed. A new set of footsteps came up the stairs and another slightly older female youth walked into the room.

“Julie!” Cathryn leapt up and ran over to the babysitter, the obvious excitement clear to Rarity. Beaming, the younger girl could barely contain herself. “Are you going to play board games with us? It was so fun last time!” Julie smiled.

“Sure thing squirt.” Julie nodded her head. “Let’s go get out ‘Candy Land‘. Where’s your brother at anyways? Do you think he wants to play a game?” Rarity could feel her host’s disposition grow darker.

“I don’t know.” Cathryn sighed. “He hasn’t wanted to do much of anything lately. Mom and dad say he’s just growing up, and needs his ‘growing space‘. Whatever that means. Every time I ask him if he wants to play he just rolls his eyes and walks away. One day he yelled at me. He’s been in his room all night.”

“Well, I can sort of understand. I went through something like that when I was his age too. Yelled at my parents a bunch, got mad at my little sister. Sucks though.” Julie shook her head. “We’ll just play a game on our own, and then if he wants to come join us he can.” Cathryn seemed to accept the explanation and went over to a cupboard where all sorts of board games were kept. The poor dear. When Sweetie Belle and I were fighting I can only imagine how dreadful she felt after the way I treated her. We all go through our phases though I guess. These humans seem more and more pony-like every time I see them. Well, let’s see what sort of games she has.

After a quick search, Rarity’s host grabbed a box labeled “Candy Land” and set it up on the floor of the room she was in. Julie had wandered off to what Rarity assumed was the kitchen and returned with a couple of cups of water as well as a bowl of popcorn. Cathryn had the game set up and the two of them started playing. While the younger girl was oblivious to the machinations of her sitter, Rarity could see that the older one was “cheating” so that she was slightly behind Cathryn a majority of the game. Inwardly the unicorn smiled, seeing in Julie the sort of kind compassion she would hope for in any friend. I wonder if I can recreate this game for Sweetie Belle and her friends…

Just as the game was coming to a close they heard screaming coming from down the hallway. Julie looked shocked for a moment and hopped up. “Cathyrn you stay here and pick up the game. That sounded like your brother. I’m just going to make sure he’s ok.” Julie wandered out of the room. Cathryn did as she was told and cleaned up. She was happy that she had won, but was concerned for her brother. She saw Julie walk past the door and then double back.

“Everything’s going to be alright Cathryn. Your brother had a bit of an accident and I have to make a couple of phone calls. Just stay there and play with your doll until I come back alright?” There was a tinge of fear in Julie’s eyes, but Rarity’s host nodded in compliance. Julie gave a strained smile and continued on down the stairs. Cathryn picked up her doll and went back to brushing its hair. Below her, she could hear the semi-frantic but muffled sound of Julie on the phone. What is going on here? I do hope her brother is alright. Oh dear…

Rarity’s host heard a door down the hallway open and close, and the footsteps of someone wandering around. A few moments later there was a sound at the door to the room she was in. She turned to see a boy a couple of years older than herself standing in the entryway.

“Hello Cathryn.” The boy started to walk further into the room. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and a line of blood was running down one arm. The other arm was held behind his back. Rarity felt a wave of panic wash over herself as well as her host. “Have you had fun playing with Julie?”

“Y-yes brother…” Cathryn slowly stood up and backed away from him, gripping the doll in both hands tightly. Her eyes ran to his arm where blood was still pooling on the surface. What… What happened to him?

“Mom, dad, Julie. They all liked you best, did you know that? I mean mom and dad love me of course, but they have to love me. Julie’s just a babysitter so who cares about her. You though, they love you so very much. He told me so.”

“W-who told you?”

“That voice of course. Can’t you hear him? He’s talking to me now. He tells me many things. Tonight, he told me that I should get rid of any competition I have. I tried to fight it.” He held out his arm and Cathryn got a good look at the wounds crossing her brother’s arm. The blood continued to slowly drip on the floor, and Rarity could see the clear conflict in his eyes. “He won’t stop though. He’s been telling me the same thing over and over again the last few weeks. I don’t think I can deal with it anymore.” He stepped forward and pulled his other arm out, revealing a large knife he had procured from the kitchen.

“W-what are you doing? D-don’t…” Call for help! Scream! Julie get in here! As if she could hear Rarity’s desperate pleading, Cathryn opened her mouth to scream, but all that came out was a hoarse gasp. Any further attempt to speak was drowned out by her overwhelming fear.

“Sorry Catheryn…” Her brother rushed forward and plunged the knife into Cathryn’s stomach, slicing deeply into her and watching a trail of blood drip to the floor. Rarity screamed, feeling the blade pierce skin and flesh. Cathryn let out a choked scream and looked desperately up at her brother. Distantly, she could hear the sound of the phone slam down below her.

Re-gripping the handle, the boy leaned his weight downwards on the knife, the blade roughly tearing through her midsection. Still clutching her doll Cathryn’s cries were slowly drowned into pitiful sobs. The doll falling to the floor she brought her hands upwards against her brother, trying to push against and away the weight on the blade. Her efforts only succeeded in twisting the blade painfully amongst her innards. One struggled to relieve the force cutting into her, while the other sought to bring it in deeper. Collapsing on her knees, her pleading eyes looked up at her brother, the brother she had loved from the day she was born, begging him to stop. His eyes were hidden as he grabbed the knife with both hands, sidled against his sister forcing her against the wall, anchored his knee on top of the handle, and dropped himself on top of the knife still stuck in her. A few heart-wrenching gasps for breaths later and Rarity’s host fell. Still trapped and still screaming, Rarity could only watch the rest of the scene play out, her own silent, pained screams overwhelming her thoughts.

The boy, who by her estimates couldn’t have been much older than the age at which a pony earns their cutie mark, dropped the knife and sighed, a mixture of relief, sorrow and dread.

“It stopped… It finally stopped. Don’t worry Catheryn… I’ll love mom and dad for the both of us.” Just then Julie ran into the room. It took her a moment to realize what she was seeing, but it sunk in and she went white as a sheet. The boy was standing in a puddle of blood, coated with his own sister’s life fluid.

“Cathryn?! Oh no… oh God no, what have you done?! What have you done?!” Julie screamed and ran to the limp form of the little girl, cradling her and sobbing. The boy just walked around Julie as she rushed past him. The last thing Rarity remembered was an ugly set of large purplish spots, something she could fit on her hooves, on the back of the retreating child.

Rarity woke up screaming again. She managed to avoid vomiting this time, but her delirium quickly woke the other mares. The mares leapt to her side.

“Rarity! Rarity! What is it? What’s happened?! Another nightmare?!” Rarity gasped for air, waving her front hooves around in the air as if to ward off any imagined aggressors. Screaming, she rose to her hooves herself and backed away from the others. The small clearing they had chosen to camp for the evening in the jungle was barely illuminated by the small fire Twilight had lit.

“E-even their children! What kind of species has children that will willingly slaughter their own siblings?! That psychopath was one thing, but this?!” She barely pushed the words out between screams. “No! This can’t stand! Mango was right, they’re nothing but awful barbaric demons.”

“Rarity?” Dash trotted up to her. “What are you screaming about? What about children? Who’s a demon. What in hay’s a Mango?!” Rarity’s chest was still heaving but she managed to suppress her panic enough that she had ceased her screaming. She waved a shaky hoof towards Dash.

“I had another one of those awful visions! It started out all sweet and tender and then… and then HE STABBED HER!” Rarity could feel the panic rising in her throat again. Dash shook her head.

“WHO?!”

“I DON’T KNOW! Some human! The girl’s name was Cathryn and her brother… he had this knife and the voices and and and that Julie and…” Dash rolled her eyes.

“Rarity, again?! You seriously need to calm down over the humans. There’s only one we know of, thanks to you he’s probably dead, that prophecy is bogus and you’re just having bad dreams. I’m getting sick of your hating. What happened to being generous?”

“I’m not hating! They aren’t just dreams! I know what I saw… what I felt. That happened. Maybe it was happening as I slept, I don’t know! All I know is that somewhere, someplace, some human child killed his own sister! Nathan, bless his heart, if every human was as gentlemanly as him, I would be fine with them. The more I see though… the more I think he‘s the exception to the rule. There has to be more good ones though right?” While she had fought it off before, her emotions overwhelmed her and she vomited on the side of the clearing, drawing a disgusted look from Applejack.

“Whatever, you’re hopeless. who’s this Mango anyways?” Rarity averted her eyes from the others and did what could only be described as a Fluttershy impression, hiding behind a lock of her mane.

“Oh… uh just a friend.” Now the others were curious. Rarity was hiding something, that was plain to see. Applejack squinted her eyes seeing through the lie.

“Rarity, Ah don’t think you would bring something up like ’just a friend’ that none of us happen to know at a time like this. Now spill. Who’s this Mango and what does he gotta do with the humans?” Applejack’s eyes burned into Rarity’s soul, and she couldn’t take it. Breaking down she sighed.

“I’m surprised none of you have met him yet. He’s a stallion that moved to Ponyville a few weeks ago. Charming fellow. I had my suspicions though, and it turns out he came from the human world!” Twilight blinked and shook her head.

“Rarity that’s impossible. Nathan said it himself: ponies in his world are just pack animals. Humans are the dominant and only sentient species where he comes from. Also, how would Mango have even arrived here, even if that was the case?”

“Well…” Rarity was still frazzled from her nightmare, but her breathing had mostly returned to normal. “Nathan obviously came across from his world, so why wouldn’t somepony else be able to? That’s what Mango said anyways.” Twilight frowned.

“Rarity, Nathan didn’t just ‘come across’. It would have taken a level of magic near or above what Princess Celestia is capable of to rip a being from their world…” Dash pushed Twilight aside and glared at Rarity.

“So what you’re telling us is that for months you’ve been talking to some crazy pony that claims to be from the human world and hiding it from us?!” Rarity continued to backpedal towards the tree line.

“N-no I wasn’t hiding him… I’m sure you could have talked to him if you wanted to. He just happened to talk to me! He told me how dangerous Nathan was and that I needed to protect you all at any cost! I’ve just been trying to stop you from coming to harm.”

“Harm?” Fluttershy had an uncharacteristically harsh look on her face. “Did he try and cause us any harm when he first came to Ponyville?”

“N-no…”

“Did he try to harm you even though you continually refused to make him clothing, even though he had more than enough to pay you?”

“Well no but you see…”

“When the changelings attacked if he wanted to harm us, or rather us come to harm, he could have just left town. Instead, at risk to himself, he came back and saved us. I’m so… so… SICK of dealing with you and your blatant fear based racism. I don’t care anymore Rarity. I’m sure your nightmare was horrible but if you keep blaming it on Nathan…”

“I’m NOT blaming it on Nathan!” Rarity shrieked. “I’m not blaming anything on him! I’m just… I’ve been so confused. At first it was easy to just let him take all of my insecurities, and then… and then I saw how he affected us. All of us, for better or for worse. Then there was Mango and he told me what the human world was like, and what the rest of them were like, and I got scared. I’ve been panicking non-stop for the last three months and these nightmares haven’t made it any easier.”

“That’s what I don’t get though Rarity.” Twilight scratched her chin with a hoof. “Nopony by that name lives in Ponyville. There is no Mango.” Rarity looked like she had been hit by a manticore.

“No…” her eyes frantically ran over her friends. “No that’s impossible. I’ve spoken with him several times. Of course he lives there.”

“Mayor Mare keeps a back-up of most of the town records at the library, in the case that something happens to the town hall. I update the census for Ponyville weekly, the last time being the night before we left. Rarity… I understand that you’re scared of Nathan and the prophecy but if he’s dead then why make up a story like this?” Rarity opened her mouth to speak but was cut off before she could.

“I’ll tell you why!” Dash poked a hoof into Rarity’s chest. “Nothing’s changed. She’s been giving us this big sob story about how she’s seen the error of her ways, but she hasn’t really. She’s still being a snobby. Ungrateful. Dramatic. Pretentious. BRAT.” Every word was punctuated with a repeated shove with her hoof, pushing Rarity into the bushes. She sprawled out on her backside and began to sob.

“You don’t understand… the things he showed me… the visions…” Rarity forced out her words between the tears. “I just want you all to be safe!” Dash was fuming.

“Yeah well… I’m done. With all of you. This is it, the last straw. If you’re all too stupid to see what’s she’s doing then I can’t help you. I’m so angry I could… I could… JUST EXPLODE!” Dash reared up on her hind legs, throwing her fore hooves in the air in a dramatic bluster. Just as she did this the tree behind her literally exploded into a fireball, scattering flaming bark and branches everywhere.

Scrambling for cover, the mares screeched as another ball of flame blew past and set fire to the undergrowth. Peering out from the bushes they hid in, they could see a robed unicorn walking towards them through the jungle.

“I told you none of you could escape your fate. You may have postponed it, and for that I give you my utmost respect, however this game is at it’s end.” There was no mistaking the gravely voice of Truth Seeker. He lashed his magic around Applejack and threw her against a tree, winding her. Twilight attempted to waylay the offending cultist with telekinesis of her own, but Truth channeled it into a feedback loop and funneled the magical energy back into the lavender unicorn’s horn. She shrieked in agony and clutched her head.

“You guys go, I’ll deal with him and catch up!” Dash leapt out of the bushes and growled at the robed unicorn. Pinkie stepped up beside her.

“Dash you can‘t do this alone…”

“Pinkie, don’t tell me what I can’t do, especially since I don’t even know if you’re Pinkie or not. Somepony needs to teach this fool a lesson. I’m so mad I could buck a dragon right now. GO!” Dash’s eyes glinted with resolve. Pinkie looked into them and recognized her intentions immediately. She, and Applejack, had seen it before.

“No… not like him.”

“Pinkie, please. Just go…. get the others to safety. I’ll catch up.” Frowning, Pinkie helped Applejack to her feet and pulled her back. Rarity and Fluttershy were similarly helping Twilight. As they did so, Truth glared at them.

“Running? That doesn’t seem like a very harmonious thing to do!” Channeling his telekinesis once again, he grabbed a nearby tree and with a modicum of effort he pulled it, roots and all, from the ground. Swinging it like a club, he caught all of the mares, save Dash, in the branches and sent them flying, bouncing off of trees and boulders alike. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity were knocked unconscious instantly, while the other two struggled to retake their hooves.

“H-how are you wielding this much power… shouldn’t be possible…” One of Twilight’s eyes was sealed shut from the attack, and she struggled to focus the other on Truth.

“Twilight Sparkle, you went to one of the most prestigious schools for unicorns in Canterlot. Did your teaching tell you nothing? Energy and matter can neither be created or destroyed, only shifted or altered. Where do you think all of the magical energy from those ponies in the pit of the great hall went? I would be a fool not to harness them for myself!”

Pinkie managed to drag herself over to the other three before passing out herself. Twilight took one look to her injured friends, then glanced back to Truth and Dash who were standing apart from each other glaring daggers.

“Dash, we need to stick together. There’s nothing we can’t do if…” Twilight heaved, trying to take in enough air. “If we work together.”

“I’m sorry Twilight, I’m done working together. Some things a pony has to do for herself. Get the rest of them out of here.” Rainbow Dash took to the air and pointed at Truth Seeker, who had just stood there watching their banter. “I don’t care about you, or your fates. Today is the day Rainbow Dash puts you out to pasture.” Truth laughed.

“You’re going to allow your friends to run while you try and stop me, at risk of your own life? For a moment there I thought for sure you hated them. What a brave little pony you are. It’s for nothing though.” Truth nodded towards the air-borne pegasus and ignited his horn. Dash could feel the telltale glow of telekinesis envelope her body and before she could react Truth Seeker threw her into a tree, bruising her side. Flopping to the ground, she groaned. In the corner of her eye she could see Twilight hobble towards her but she stopped her with a growl.

“GO! Somepony needs to tell Celestia about this place.” Against her better judgment, but knowing the stakes, Twilight enveloped the other four mares in a telekinetic field and slowly limped away, casting one last forlorn look over her shoulder before disappearing completely from sight.

“Good, so I won’t have to kill you while they’re watching. I’ll catch up with them soon enough though.” Truth’s gloating died away as he noticed Dash start to laugh.

“You’re an idiot, did you know that? Did you think that I wanted them to run because I didn’t want them to watch me fail? I’m Rainbow Dash. I don’t fail. No, there’s another reason I asked them to run.” Faster than Truth could react she bolted in an explosion of colour, stopping abruptly by his side. With a swift hook, her fore hoof dug into his face, sprawling him out across the jungle floor. Jumping to his feet he attempted to lash her down again, but this time his horn was met by an expertly thrown rock that stuck him at the base. Groaning he fell over again, his spell petering out.

“I’m what you call a slow learner. I’m stubborn, arrogant, and downright thick-headed at times. However, when I see things that work, or when my friends help me to understand something new, I tend to pick it up. Anything to make Dash a better pony. I have this one friend, you would probably hate him, and he taught me that sometimes, just sometimes, playing the nice non-combative pony doesn’t work. Sometimes you have to get dirty.” She pounced on the recovering pegasus, striking both of her fore hooves into the back of his skull and smiling as his chin smashed into the jungle floor, leaving a splatter of blood. He struggled back up to his hooves and glared.

“You think you can defeat me? I am the Speaker!” If looks could kill, Truth would have slaughtered the pegasus. Dash flapped a few meters away and landed.

“I can and I will. The real reason why I asked them to leave is because there are just some things nopony should have to see, like a broken sobbing unicorn.” Truth’s glare intensified and he generated another large fireball, hurling it towards Dash. She smirked. Flapping her wings powerfully in place, she generated a cyclone and positioned it a few feet in front of her. The fireball was caught in the gust of wind and swept up into a whirling torrent of flame. With another powerful sweep of her wings the firestorm blew back into Truth Seeker before he could move out of the way. As the flames tore into him he screamed. As the tornado died away Dash surveyed her handiwork, finding Truth once again crumpled on the ground.

“Correction. Broken, sobbing, and burnt.” Truth Seeker’s robes had half burned away, patches of fur were missing and several parts of his body were covered in first and second degree burns. He groaned, carefully moving his hooves under himself and staggering upright. Any sense of confidence had faded from the unicorn, and he slowly backed away.

“H-how? Y-you’re one of Celestia’s students… my magic should have easily defeated you.“

“No. I’m not. I’m friends… well was friends… with one but I’m not her student. Now, I need to find out what’s wrong with them. So, you’re going to turn around and go back to your little friends, and leave mine alone. What’s left of them anyways.”

“You can’t escape your fate.” Truth bent his head down, attempting to unleash one more spell at the arrogant pegasus. Unfortunately for him, Dash had been watching for any sort of subversion. Releasing the stone she had concealed in her wing with a deft flap, it struck him across the face, leaving a long gash of blood. Screeching again he lifted his fore hooves to the cut. “You could have taken out my eye!”

“Last chance.” Truth took one more look at the almost eerily calm pegasus and galloped off into the jungle. As soon as he was out of ear-shot Dash’s legs started to tremble, finally giving out from under her. She had done what needed to be done, but nausea soon washed over her. Taking a few steadying breaths she looked up into the air.

“I really don’t know how you could do stuff like this. That just felt… wrong. This is all wrong. They’re wrong. Even… even Celestia is wrong.”

“Both of you are not incorrect. Neither can you escape your destiny, nor do you have any compulsion to do so, it is fully within your best interests to run towards it.” Dash spun in place to see the filly and colt from earlier standing there watching her. “Though I do admit, things are technically wrong, among them the Prime pillar, aspect of order.”

“What? You two again? No, never mind that, tell me everything you know! What’s wrong with everything? Why’s everypony going crazy? How’d Nathan get to Equestria? What the heck’s an aspect of order?” Dash had gotten right in front of the colt’s face, almost nosing him.

“You’re funny!” The filly was running around in circles mimicking what Dash had just done to Truth Seeker, including falling over screaming and twitching from the imaginary firestorm. “Whoosh! Bang! Pow!”

“What I can tell you is that the Prime pillar is known, among other things, by you to be Celestia, your Sun princess.” The small colt spoke evenly, right to Rainbow Dash’s face. “What you need to hear, and we need to inform you of, are some of the details regarding the prophecy.”

“Me? Wait! Does this have to do with that other prophecy?! The one that talked about me specifically?” Dash desperately needed information from them, but she couldn’t help but feel a little excited as well.

“Yes, and no. The scope of a prophecy encompasses anything and everything that ever happens in Equestria, all prophecies are.”

“Wait, so… You’re gonna tell me everything I need to know right?” Dash raised an eyebrow, to which the colt only shrugged.

“Yes, in some sense. You’ll hear everything you need to hear from me.”

“You’re gonna at least tell me where to go right? I just can’t involve the others with that, not when everypony wants to drop each other off cliffs. Heck, I’m not even sure if those’re my friends over there, I just can’t let them go anywhere like this. C’mon, ya gotta tell me something. ” Dash begged with her hooves held out. The filly spun around in a circle a few times while holding a leg over her eye, finally falling over on her flank giggling. Opening her eyes she stuck her leg out in the air and pointed.

“That a way!” She giggled some more. Dash turned to the colt pleadingly.

“Uniquely as she put it, she is correct. That is exactly the way you should go. All of your questions, even the ones you don’t know that you have, will be answered. You’ll also be meeting an old friend along the way.” Dash nodded and towards the direction that the filly had pointed. Hunching over to prepare to take to the air, she was stopped by a hoof on her shoulder. “Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah?” The colt stared into her eyes unblinking and spoke.

“If you fail, everyone will die. Everypony you’ve ever loved, everypony you’ve ever hated, everypony you’ve ever known and not, including your friends, your family, the deities above and below, Scootaloo; they will all die if you fail in your endeavor. Do not be merely careful, be as terrified of every mistake as you are resolved to your success, for each mistake will perhaps result in the death of another that desperately depends on you.” Throughout the speech, Rainbow Dash had acquired an ashen pallor, wide eyes unblinking as she listened to the small pony talk. She took a shuddering breath, as if only just remembering her ability to breath.

“W-why…. Why the heck’re you telling me all this? I’m… I’m Rainbow Dash! I ain’t gonna make any mistakes…” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings weakly, starting her slow crawling ascent backwards and upwards, away from the small colt glaring at her from the ground.

“Because you wanted this. You ached to become a hero, you wished for the fates of everyone who adored you to depend on you, you jubilated over the very thought that if small, weak, and helpless fillies were under grave danger and that if you were the only one capable of rescuing them that you would come rushing hastily to their aid. You craved their approval of you to be justified and a part of you, albeit small, hoped for suffering to come upon all of existence, so that you may come upon the opportunity to save the day. Now, the responsibility of the world rests upon the sturdiness of your hooves Rainbow Dash, just as you’ve always wanted, just like all your favorite heroes.” The colt out spat the blue mare’s favorite word, in his still characteristically high pitch of a young pony, like it was the nastiest black bit of a particularly charred haycake. Hyperventilating and still climbing higher into the sky, the pegasus found herself unable to escape him, captivated by both his words and gaze. “Now go fulfill your wildest dreams, go halt the chaos and insanity which plagues this world, this is the opportunity you’ve yearned for.” As the colt turned aside while the mare broke from her stupor and fled towards her destiny, as the other small filly cantered beside him.

“Soooo, how’d it feel? You know what I mean by what I mean by that, but how did it feel?”

“It was as difficult than I knew it would be.”

“Mmnhmm, you didn’t actually tell her anything new. With that last lil’ itty bit. You almost made me feel convinced you were angry too. You kinda lied too, though I knew that was gonna happen.”

“Intentionally misleading and lying are two very different things.”

“Nu-uh stop deflecting like a mortal, you knew she was going to take what you said exactly the way she took it. After all, lotsa ponies are gonna die even if this reality wasn’t a set of causal relations, and Rainbow Dash did screw up. She would be really, really sad if she knew she was only significant enough to save some ponies but not all of them. This story literally can’t be happy for her.”

“Yes, and you know that is precisely why we did not tell her.”

Discord sat watched the last few days unfold in his cauldron. He had avoided returning to the changeling kingdom for several reasons, not the least of which being that Chrysalis had begin to irritate him to the point that he no longer felt he could refrain from doing her permanent physical harm should she so much as look at him funny. Mostly though, his absence had been due to needing the time to focus on his plans and back-up plans. Things had been mostly going his way, but the ongoing stress of managing several sides to an already complex process was taxing in the extreme, even for the demi-god of chaos. His ongoing tumultuous grasp on sanity not withstanding.

Drifting a finger idly through his cauldron he reviewed the last few days of the Element’s progress to Canterlot. He had, of course, been keeping an eye on them in real time as well, but he was making sure he had missed nothing that could be used against him. Watching them for any length of time left a sick feeling in his stomach, and he scowled. He would have liked nothing better than to ignore them completely, but months of planning were coming down the wire, and any miss-steps now could cost him everything. Better to suffer through their nonsense.

Watching the mares get abducted by the cultists had been amusing to watch, and he would have just loved leaving them to their fates, but the fact of the matter was that if anypony could disrupt his plotting, it was likely Truth Seeker. Now that they had escaped and were near Canterlot, he could breathe easy. Everything was falling exactly into place.

Discord almost wished it wasn’t this easy. After spending the first two-hundred years trapped inside of a statue, he had broken free and immediately started planning. Years of traveling and watching other worlds and dimensions had imbued him with a wealth of magic and techniques that he had fanaticized over using against Celestia and the rest of the ponies, and he had made contingencies of contingencies. Eventually though, he had watched the human world long enough to decide that he should just bring one to Equestria.

The amount of chaos he had already brought to Ponyville was just the tip of the iceberg. Discord could barely contain his glee as the human dutifully trudged closer to Canterlot. Then he fell off a cliff. That had set Discord back, but no matter, he did enough that it didn’t particularly matter. With the Elements of Harmony in disarray, even Chrysalis couldn’t screw up eliminating Celestia. Discord growled at the thought.

Discord recollected the Schism War, which led to the splitting of the four, the establishment of Equestrian order, and his own petrification. He smiled that after near millennia of order that the pendulum was finally set to swing the other way. Especially with Celestia having mentally regressed, her attempts to forcefully enforce the decaying state would only make things far more delicious.

Lightly raking his claws along an already tattered tapestry, it tore to ribbons and he smiled as the ragged remains decayed in his hands. At long last, discord can come forth once again. Celestia… Chrysalis… Or even Luna. None of them fit his vision of the new world. He scoffed thinking on the cultists that the mares had been captured by. The fates themselves were ultimately valueless in the big picture. The ebb and flow of the world dictated that they would not overtly interfere with his plans. Ultimately what was to be ordained would yield through his claws: pure, unadulterated chaos. As the first beams of sunlight began to show over the mountains he returned to his throne room. Striking a pose in front of his stone subjects he allowed a smile to cross his face.

Leaving the jungle behind them, the five injured but now conscious mares found themselves at the base of the mountain that lead up into Canterlot. Above them they could see the city shimmering behind the mauve shield that protected it from outside attack. Twilight was the first to react.

“This isn’t right. The other side of the unmarked area on my map should have put us several hours west of here. We shouldn’t be anywhere near this close to Canterlot.”

“What, you’re saying the jungle merely ‘spit us out’?” Rarity scoffed. “Really Twilight, maybe you just read the map wrong.”

“No, I didn’t. In fact, I’ve seen this area from Canterlot many times there shouldn’t even be a jungle…” Twilight stopped talking mid-sentence as she turned to look at the jungle they had come from. “…here.” There was no jungle behind them, just snow-covered plains as far as the eye could see.

The other mares turned and to their collective shock their vision of the land was the same- no jungle, no cultists, no nothing. Just empty plains.

“I-I-I don’t understand.” Fluttershy was stuttering. “W-where did it go? Where did Dash go?”

“Ah don’t like this at all, there was a jungle here jes’ a minute ago warn’t there? Twi?”

“I… I don’t know. This isn’t possible. There was never any jungle visible from Canterlot, so it makes sense that it’s not there, but we were in it just now… I just don’t know.” Rarity shook her head.

“I don’t know dear. A lot doesn’t make sense right now. Maybe Dash was right, maybe I did make up a pony just so I didn’t have to face…” Fluttershy put her hoof on Rarity’s shoulder and gave a weak smile.

“No. You’re not the type of pony to do that. The both of you had many misunderstandings about each other, but we’re all past that now.” Fluttershy tilted her head towards the journal still diligently grasped between her wings. “I’m sorry I yelled at you back there. I haven’t been dealing with… it well.”

“None of us have darling. I completely understand.”

“Maybe,” Twilight interjected, “Princess Celestia will be able to help you with your dreams? Her or Luna of course. Such psychological trauma should be monitored carefully.”

Rarity blinked and started walking towards the path that would lead up to the city proper. She didn’t have anything to say to Twilight. She just wanted this to be over. Twilight shrugged and skipped along, the anticipation of finally seeing the princess coursing through her. Applejack, head down, followed along.

Fluttershy sat on the ground and dropped the journal, flipping it open to a blank page. She was startled a moment later as Pinkie walked up beside her and sat next to her. Neither of them spoke for a long moment, though finally Pinkie broke the awkward silence.

“Why did you lie?”

“So what, you’re Applejack now?” Fluttershy snorted.

“No, but I can tell when a friend lies to another friend.”

“Pinkie,” the yellow pegasus kept her eyes squarely on the blank page in front of her, “how would you tell your best friend that you hated them? She despised him, and Nathan may very well have traded his own life for hers in return for that. I’m not a strong enough pony to let that go Pinkie.” Pinkie sat in silence again, unsure what to say. She knew a thing or two about lying to her friends. “These feelings will pass, and I’ll get over it sooner or later. Thank you for being there for me.” Pinkie just nodded. Fluttershy pulled out a quill and inkpot she had been saving in her mane and slowly began to write a new entry in the journal.

Nathan, we’re almost there. We’re going to be in Canterlot soon. Oh how excited I am to show it to you! The gardens, the animals, the birds! You’re… you’re not really going to be there though, are you? I keep wishing and hoping that we’re going to arrive and you’ll be there, waiting for us with open arms. That would make me so happy. At the same time though, I know that that’s probably not possible. Everypony is falling apart around me, and though I’m not a strong pony, I’m going to do my best to help them as best I can. Especially Rarity. You would have wanted that, wouldn’t you? I have to get going now, my friends are waiting for us further up the path. I’ll see you… when I see you.

-Fluttershy.

She had allowed Pinkie to read over her shoulder as she wrote, and for a pony who’s life revolved around friends, every word was like a cut into her heart. That Fluttershy felt like this… was there any fixing their friendship? She sighed.

“Come on Fluttershy, we should catch up to the others.” Fluttershy nodded, tucking the journal and supplies back in their respective places. Trotting up the hill they headed towards their tentative friends.

Truth Seeker groaned. He and his cultists had been humiliated by a sniveling broken group of six mares that by all rights should be his thralls. One of the other unicorns was tending to his wounds received in the fight with Rainbow Dash, while the others were busily working to clear away the remaining rubble blocking the exit to their complex. Truth Seeker had given chase earlier by teleporting passed the pile of rubble, but as he was the only one that could perform such a spell the others were forced to stay behind.

Grumbling, he started to plan what their next step should be. They couldn’t just let the mares escape permanently. They needed to be brought for testing. Scratch that.Those six are too dangerous . They must be eliminated. Especially… His thoughts were interrupted as they heard somepony walking down the stairs. Looking up, Truth couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Y-you!! It can’t be!” As his eyes shot open in fear and shock, everything around him froze. His fellow cultists were stuck in place, various looks of fear and horror etched on their faces. Looking up at the terror walking down the stairs into his complex, he could see the anger and wrath in their eyes. His confusion passed as he looked down and behind the rubble popped out a pair of familiar foals.

“Hello Truth Seeker.” The colt’s expression was dark, but his voice level.

“It’s so good to see you again! We have such a fun game to play with you!” The filly was giggling as usual. Truth had indeed seen these two foals before. Many years before, in fact, when he was first about to ascend to the position of Speaker. He knew exactly who they were, and their presence filled him with nothing but dread.

“Why are you here? What has brought you to my domain?”

“Perhaps you mean our domain, Truth.” The colt snorted. “Actually, that’s precisely why we’ve come. Loose ends to tie up, you being one of them.” Truth Seeker backed up nervously, his gaze shifting rapidly from one filly to the other.

“The fates are there to set the strong on their path! Those with the might to control the fates are the ones destined to control Equestria! You said so yourself, you can’t punish me for this!”

“We did say so, we also knew exactly how literally you would interpret it, but neither does it preclude you from physical consequence. You, by the very nature of your position, possessed by far the most extrinsic ability to do anything about it. Of course, the reason you received this in the first place, was because we knew you would act as you did. So in essence, perhaps you were truly the most powerless out of anyone.”

“I found a fun friend for you to play with!” The filly was still giggling, drawing a glare from the colt. Truth glanced up the stairs to where the figure was standing.

“So, you’re just going to kill us all? I thought the fates were supposed to be balanced. Wanton slaughter was never your style.”

“Oh, you’ve misunderstood so many fundamental, simple things. Things happen because of balance. Not the other way around, think of a giant tub filled with water, if it cascades to one side, surely it must return to the other side? As it is, you’re in luck. At long last, you are finally to be informed the true meaning of balance. You deluded yourself enough into thinking that partial knowledge of the future meant that your actions were consequence-free.” The colt smiled wanly at Truth Seeker, as he slowly paled.

“D-don’t leave me to this… don’t do this…”

“We are not going to do anything. You can fight back, of course. We’re counting on you to do so.” Truth lunged towards the foals, but found himself grasping thin-air, the pair having disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared. Time resumed its normal flow and Truth turned his attention to the imposing figure that continued making its way down the steps.

“We hath hearkened that thou was to bring harm to our little ponies. Whilst they may not have brought to thee in greatness harm… We art very able and very willing.”

From outside in the jungle, all that could be heard in the long distance were tortured screams.