Twilight slept contently in the knowledge that the ‘human problem’ was dealt with. That night, she dreamed of stars and light and pleasant fields and meadows. It was a quiet night and Twilight felt at peace within herself, for perhaps the first time in a very long while.

“Twiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiggght,” a voice murmured in the darkness. It was soft, barely audible among the other sounds of the night. Twilight’s ear flicked in response.

“Twi~light~” it continued. It was louder this time, rousing her from her sleep.

“Huh– bwuah?” she mumbled, raising her hooves to her eyes and rubbing them blearily.

“Twilight, it’s been such a long, long time…”

Instantly, Twilight shot upwards, her eyes wide open and staring. She swept her head around the room in an effort to locate the sinister voice among the darkness of her room. She clutched the bedsheets closer to herself.

“Is anypony there?” she called out uncertainly. There was no reply.

Gingerly, Twilight poked her hoof out of her bed and placed it on the floor, slowly.

The voice chuckled maliciously.

“Why Twilight, forgotten me already?”

Twilight swallowed and her eyes widened. “No,” she moaned. “It’s not possible.”

“Yes,” David replied, stepping out of the shadows. “I’m back.”

3 - It Ends

David and Twilight relaxed, listening to the sound of the waves on the shoreline. After a full year of trying to scare each other to death, they found that the experiment had been a resounding failure. David cleared his throat.

“Yes?” Twilight mumbled, her eyes half-closed in bliss.

“You know,” David began, rocking his rocking chair a little for the fun of it. “This was actually quite fun.”

Twilight nodded, sipping David’s home brew beer. She found she acquired a taste for it. It had something in it that was similar to Applejack’s cider. She smacked her lips in appreciation.

“It was fun while it lasted, although it was a failure,” her tone turned a little somber at that.

“Oh heck, Twilight, just submit a report like you usually do. A scientist once told me, negative result is just as interesting as a positive result.” He scanned the horizon.

“Mmm,” Twilight muttered, sinking into the chair a bit further. “Thanks, David.”

“No problems.”