The dining room table creaked with strain as Rainbow, munched, chewed, and devoured her way through dish after dish without prejudice! She was consuming Discords weird entree’s nearly faster than he could think them into existence! She swiped up his tea kettle, practically drowning herself as she dumped most of its contents right into her awaiting maw. Discord would have been disgusted if he wasn’t so busy being impressed, and intrigued. He had to literally cast a shield over his own plate to keep Dashes paws off of it.

“Curious. I don’t remember you having this vicious of an appetite the last time we met, dear Rainbow. Are you trying out some new and exciting athletic diet? Cause there’s more stuffed Manticore tail where that came from.”

Rainbow didn’t even care if what she’d just crunched through really was Manticore tail, it tasted amazing!

“Naw naw, nothing like that. Just had the munchies lately! Plus this food is really awesome!”

Discords eyebrow raised. “Strange. I can’t seem to recall the last time you or your friends paid me a compliment. In fact, now that I put it to thought, you’ve been acting very differently towards me than I would have expected of you. If it weren’t so enjoyable to finally have someone here who appreciates my food and humor, I’d wonder if you were a Changeling pretending to be Rainbow Dash...Tell me, for how long have you had these ‘munchies’?”

“Oh ya know...” Rainbow picked up, what appeared to be a large crab leg, and bit into it like a pair of large pliers. There was a loud and obvious suction sound, during which Discord was certain the meat was being literally vacuumed from the shell, then Rainbow smacked her lips together with a satisfied smile. “....About a week or two. Can’t really remember to be honest.”

Discords fingers pulled at his beard. For a moment he sat still, simply sipping at his tea and watching Rainbow Pac-Man her way across his table. He’d stopped attempting to refill it now, for worry that she might just keep consuming whatever he added until she exploded. Whether she was too trusting or just that hungry, it almost wouldn’t even be worth it to do anything underhanded to her. It would be too easy, and therefore not at all fun.

Reaching up, Discord gently lifted his hat and withdrew a tiny flask from within that appeared to have just been sitting atop his head this whole time. waiting. The bottle bubbled and fizzed as he lightly shook it, making sure its contents were still very active. With a snap of his fingers another small tea cup appeared before him. He poured Rainbow half of his own tea into the cup, not daring to materialized another full kettle for fear she might attempt to drown herself again. Very quietly, he uncorked the sealed flask and poured a small teaspoons worth of liquid into the second cup. He watched as the tea steamed, then fizzled. He nodded to himself.

“Oh Rainbow dear...more tea?”

Had she been a dog, her ears might have just perked up. She whipped around at a surprising speed and was back at his end of the table before he’d barely lifted the cup. Discord watched in awe how, without any hesitation, Rainbow brought the cup to her lips and drank up its contents, appearing to be dying of thirst! She finished with a satisfied burp, then returned to the opposite end without a word, to continue her quest for total genocide of all edible products present.

Discord watched her, waiting with baited breath to see his little brews effects. It did not take but a few minutes for him to see the results begin to show. First, she finally climbed down off his table and began actually eating from its side like a semi normal person. Then, her speed decreased and the rate at which she shoveled food dropped drastically. Mere moments after that, she found herself holding only one piece of Cockatrice leg in her hand, and was barely munching upon it. Then finally, she took a step back from the table and let loose the loudest of burps! It shook Discord from within like that of a great bass drop and he found himself giving a light round of applause to her.

“Munchies huh?...hehehe I think not. Very well done Rainbow! A bellow worthy of the gods!”

Rainbows hand rubbed the back of her head. “Uh...hehe ...thanks I guess. I uh...I think I’m done eating.”

Discord smirked. “Oh I quite hope so. If you still felt an appetite after that I’d be very worried for your health.”

“Why’s that?” Rainbow slowly shied away from the small rebel force of food that had managed to outlast her and made her way back to her seat next to Discord.

Discord waved his about nonchalantly. “Oh because, I added this tiny little brew into your last drink is all.” He showed her the tiny flask hidden within his sleeve.

Rainbow felt like she should have been mad, or suspicious about what he might have done to her. But no feeling like that entered her head, instead she just felt curious.

“Soooooo...What is it? What’s it do?”

Discord looked surprised. “What, that’s it? No accusation or immediate demand that I reveal all to you? Hmmm...hormones do strange things to a woman...that or you just matured without my noticing...Any who, I shan’t not reveal this little potions contents to you this day dear Rainbow. It would ruin the surprise, and this is one I think you should hear from someone other than myself. But I did just cure you of your supposed munchies, so that’s all you need to worry about for now. Oh...and try to avoid any strenuous activities for the next few months.”

Rainbow was finally starting to look a little suspicious as she eyed Discord. “Right, like I could dothat...So no added sides effects? I’m not gonna turn purple or something am I?”

“No no Rainbow. Nothing like that. I merely aided you in a completely selfless manner.”

“Uh huh.”

“What? Do you question my honor?”

Rainbow blew her lips out like a horse “You really think I’m that st-”

She paused just then, as the whole building shook around them. All of the chairs lined along the table shivered like maracas. Rainbow watched as ripples of energy flowed out from the wall, along the table, passed through both them both and flowing into the next room. A cold chill traveled down her spine as the energy touched her skin. The temperature in the room suddenly felt ten degrees lower.

“What was that?”

Discord, leaned back on the hind legs of his chair, carefully balancing himself as he casually sipped at his tea.

“If I had to hazard a guess; I’d say that our dear little prince has gone and done something he shouldn’t. I’m surprised you haven’t noticed his extended absence from the room this whole time.”

“Well I was oh so busy bonding with you, I didn’t have time.” Rainbow stood from her chair and headed towards the back of the room, the way Daybreak had exited previously. “Which way did he go?”

Discord chuckled “Yeah you were busy alright. Busy with your ‘munchies’ as you called it. No matter-” Discord lifted his finger and pointed out of the room. The door directly before Rainbow opened slowly, and a hefty mist began to pour out almost instantly. The mist blocked any vision beyond where Rainbow currently stood. Discord began to gesture with his index finger. “Out of this room, third right door on the right, top to bottom: Follow the path all the way down, and you’ll find our young crown. Better pick the right door in this quest, else you may have two boyfriends at the end of this test. Ta Ta.”

“Discord this is no time for-!” He was already gone by the time she turned around. “-games...Fucking ass...”

She turned back to the door blocked by the fog wall. After reaching out her hand to confirm she could pass, she decided it was safe enough, and stepped through. The sight that greeted her in the next room sent her temper sky rocketing.

“Gods dammit Discord!”

Rows upon rows, columns upon columns, the entirety of the rooms wall was nothing but doors. All identical looking in every way. Rainbow spun in place, unable to comprehend what might have possessed Discord to create such an annoying room. The moment she thought it, she realized she’d answered her own question.

”To be annoying of course. Goddess, and Daybreak actually lived in this place for a few years. This would drive me mad...guess that explains a bit...”

Realizing she had little choice but to choose a door, she thought back to what Discord had said to her just before vanishing.

”Third right door on the right, right?”

She looked to her right. Just like everywhere else in the room, the wall was lined from ceiling to floor with doors. She slowly approached the third to her right. Gently she reached out her hand ensnaring her fingers around the tiny golden knob. She went to turn it, but something stopped her. Something felt off. Nothing was this easy with Discord.

”What else did he say...third right door on the right...top to bottom...The hell does that mean?...Maybe...”

She looked straight up the wall. Indeed there were doors that lined the wall just under the ceiling.

”Top to bottom....knowing Discord, he totally would put it in the most annoying and hard to reach place.”

She focused on her back and flowed mana through the skin, just behind her shoulder blades. A quick sensation of peeling flesh arced through her. A moment later, a pair of magical, shimmering, cyan wings appeared behind her.

“Aww yeah! Getting easier all the time!”

As she fist pumped to the air, her wings gave a quick flap and she was airborne. With only minimal bobbing and stuttering, she made it up to the door at the very top of the wall in good time. As she reached for the handle, she looked back down to confirm it was indeed the third door to the right of the entrance. As far as she could tell, it was. She gripped the handle tight in her palm.

“Oh please don’t do something weird!”

Preparing to face some horrible consequence, she flung open the exit!

“Ugh...my head...what happened?”

Daybreaks eyes slowly fluttered open...or at least, it felt like they did. There was no way for him to be sure since zero light was present in the room to assist him. He could feel that he was on his back, due to the ache coursing through his spine. Presumably from being blasted onto his ass. He blinked, trying hard to adjust his eyes to utter darkness, but to no avail.

“See, this is why having only one light in this room is a fucking nuisance...”

He reached back his hand to push himself up, but instead of floor, his palm pressed down into something warm and sticky. On instinct his other hand came up with a small flame in its center, providing him some much needed light. A quick glance down showed him that his hand was resting inside something black, and slimy.

“What the...?”

As he peered closer, he noticed there was more if around him. Holding his inflamed hand higher, he spotted the gel-like substance all around him, nearly covering most of the floor. Realizing he was surrounded by the stuff he jumped to his feet. Pointing his finger to the air, he shot the small fire ball from his hand straight up. It paused and hovered several feet above, casting an illuminating glow across the entire room. He recoiled in disgust when he realized that the small bit of stone he’d been laying in was the only remaining bit of floor not completely covered in this sloshing black ooze.

Spinning in a circle confirmed that he was literally surrounded by the stuff. Squinting in every direction, attempting to pinpoint the walls so he could make his way towards the exit, he found he couldn’t see them. He willed the small flame above to illuminate brighter, casting its glow as far as he could manage. But no matter how brightly lit the room became by his flame, he still could not spot any sign of the walls.

But he did spy something equally as interesting. The Mirror. About ten feet away and directly in front of him, the mirror sat. Only this time, there was one easily distinguishable difference. A large, fist sized crack sat towards the right side of the mirror, at about the same height that his fist would have come to. What was more, the crack seemed to be the source of the ooze, as he could see the sludge dripping and flowing from the breaks in the glass down onto the floor.

Several pieces of the glass seemed to be barely hanging onto where he punched and were just waiting to fall off. He could hear them crunching together as the black tarish sludge flowed from its wound. Wound was the most appropriate term for what he’d done to the Mirror. After all, the tar was flowing like blood from a slashed artery. He smiled, taking a small bit of satisfaction in knowing he’d wounded the object he hated so much. Though he also couldn’t help but feel some disappointment...he’d meant to shatter it completely.

”Though I suppose I should give myself some credit. It is an omnipotent all powerful god mirror. I suppose the mere fact that I even managed to crack it is impressive.”

He wanted to go over and examine the wound further, and perhaps try to finish the job, but the sloshing sludge that separated him from the mirror by ten feet, discouraged from that. Without knowing what it really was, trudging his way through that slush could have dangerous consequences.

As if on que to his thoughts, the very substance he was thinking of started to bubble right in front of him. Expecting trouble, he willed fire to his fists...but they went out almost immediately. At the same time, the floating orb of flaming light he’d cast suddenly dimmed to near dark and he could no longer see but directly in front of him. He could just barely make out the bubbling tar, now starting to slowly inch towards him from all sides. Again he called forth fire, and again it sputtered out.

Before he could try a third time the sludge was already washing over his feet and coming up to his ankles. As it continued to rise, faster and faster, he began to fear that he’d soon be swimming in the slush if he didn’t think of a way out. He tried one last time to call forth flames to his fists, but this time they didn’t even ignite. But the sludge beneath him did. For just a moment, when he’d tried to light his hands, he’d spotted a slightly orange glow in the sludge. Then he realized what was happening.

”This stuff is absorbing my magic...shit...is there even anything I can do then?”

If he didn’t locate a door before the room filled, he’d end up drowning in this shit. Ironic as that might be, he had no plans of dying that way. So for better or worse, he started trudging through the muck. He got about three steps in before his feet suddenly stuck in place and refused to lift.

“The fuck?!”

He yanked and pulled, but it was as though his feet were suddenly glued to the floor. As he struggled, he became aware the sludge had miraculously stopped rising. It settled at knee height for him and gave no more signs of rising. Squinting his eyes in the dim light, Daybreak tried to make out the Mirror from his current position, but found it was impossible. With his tiny flame getting seemingly dimmer by the moment, he was lucky he could still see anything at all.

A cold shiver traveled down his spine as something beneath the sludge coiled around his feet. It felt thick, like a tough tendril, and unnaturally cold especially inside this warm goo. Unable to move his limbs, he was forced to just stand there as he felt the thing begin to coil its way around his legs and up towards his knees.

He waited, knowing he’d have his chance the moment it broke the surface. He had to squint hard in the dimming light, to be sure he was ready to grapple when it came up. He could feel it, getting ever closer to just behind his knees. It seemed to sense his tension because it slowed to a slither as it moved. He clenched his fists, feeling it just below the surface now.

He waited. Then it lunged! The moment it broke the surface, the light from his flame went out all at once, and he was caught off guard by the sudden darkness. The serpentine tendril coiled around his entire body, binding his arms to his sides and lifting him out of the sludge into the air.

He struggled, but knew it was futile, whatever was holding him felt like pure muscle. He doubted even Applejack could wrestle something this strong. Somewhere in the back of his head, the thought dawned on him that it could likely crush his ribs with a single flex. After a moment, he simply went limp, deciding it was best not to aggravate his captor until he knew what was going on.

For a moment he just hung there, suspended in the air while the sounds of shifting and moving sludge echoed around him in the darkness. He wondered what could be occurring beneath his sightless gaze, until a more alarming realization pierced his nostrils and neck. Something was breathing on him, directly in front of his face. A brief moment of panic struck him, and he felt like struggling, but he calmed himself before he could act on the impulse.

Whatever had him, had him good. If it was going to crush him it could do so without an effort, therefore screeching and flailing would only make things worse. He forced his fear to the back of his mind and waited. The breathing became louder now that he was aware of it. He expected it to wreak of some horrid smell, but surprisingly he smelled nothing. He only felt the hot discomfort of breath upon his neck and nose.

A voice suddenly croaked through the darkness. A voice that was both familiar yet seemed foreign to him. He recognized it, but felt like it should have sounded different.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

The voice seemed ragged and old, yet all at once full of life. He couldn’t tell if there was multiple voices speaking at once, or just one voice altering its speech pattern while it spoke.

A sharp gurgling to his front silenced his response in his throat. It sounded like someone was trying to gargle paint while speaking.

“Your actions have consequences Daybreak!”

He almost chuckled, but managed to resist, lest he piss off his captor more than intended. “Yeah? Like what? The only consequence I was hoping for was a shattered mirror.”

His eyes were filled with light! So quick and intense that he had to shut them out of pain. Unbearable heat traveled across the top of his head and face, forcing out a minor grunt from within his chest.

“Look at me.”

Slowly Daybreak opened his eyes. A scream of terror found its way into his throat, he barely found the strength to swallow it back down! There, directly before him, was an enormous face, large as his whole body and seemingly made entirely of the black sludge around him. But that wasn’t what made him want to scream, it was who the face seemed to belong that brought new nightmare fuel to his brain.

If his eyes were to be trusted, then he was starting into the overly large face of Solar Eclipse, his shadow that resided within the mirror. The face was made of the black tar and seemed like it was barely holding itself together, but he could still recognize his own features within. It was a terrifying thing to behold. Instinctively he looked away and instead searched for the source of the intense heat now giving him a one sided facial tan.

Oddly enough it was his little ball of fire in the air, though now it was burning bright enough to be a miniaturized sun in this place. He figured the sludge version of him must be powering it, cause he certainly wasn’t providing that kind of power burst to it. To avoid looking back at the face before him he instead looked down to the tendril holding him. He had assumed it to be different that the tar he’d been in before, but it looked entirely the same. Though it was more solid and clearly stronger, it seemed it was nothing more than the sludge beneath them given a powerful shape.

“I said look at me Daybreak....LOOK! AT! ME!”

The sharp screech forced his attention (reluctantly) back on Solar Eclipse.

“Do you see what you’ve done? What you’ve done to me?!”

Knowing it was his double binding him made him a bit more confident that he wouldn’t get crushed for talking back, so he took his chance.

“Yeah I do...So out of curiosity, if I’d actually managed to smash the mirror...what would have happened to you then?”

The tendril binding him tightened, forcing the breath from his body and sending sharp pain through his ribs. He loosed a groan, which seemed to satisfy Solar, because he relaxed his bind afterwards.

“You’re a fool and a coward. You don’t have the power to smash the mirror, you never could. You gave it one hundred percent in that punch, and that crack was all you did. You put all your power into trying to run from you’re fate again, and now instead of facing it like a man, you’ll suffer.”

“Are you going to kill me then?” The question escaped him before he could suppress it. The mass before him gurgled, in what he could only assume, was a chuckle.

“As much satisfaction as that would give me, no. Deformed as you’ve made me we are still connected. So I can’t kill you, but I can punish you.”

“Punish me?”

His whole body lurched forward as the tendril whipped around and across the room. He found himself hanging less than a nose distance from the mirror. The sharp crack now all the more visible as it lightly bled out the black sludge binding him.

“This time, only one of us will leave this place. I was willing to wait before, but I refuse to exist in this undignified deformed state. You WILL open the portal and face me! Or I shall make you suffer until you do.”

Daybreak stared at himself, his reflection, in the mirror. He didn’t see what he looked like. Instead all he could see was Solar Eclipse, as he should appear, staring back at him through the glass. His form lacked his usual armor and instead wore casual clothing, which made him seem all the more handsome and alluring. He watched as the reflection slowly held out its hand to him and its mouth moved. No sound came, but he could feel it on his lips.

“Come to me.” The words felt like they would be soft, welcoming, nothing like the creature now binding him.

He averted his gaze without even a moments hesitation “I refuse.”

A horrid screech filled his ears, making him wish he were deaf as his body was lurched once more back up to face his deformed shadow.

“Then you will suffer!”

Like a switch had been thrown, suddenly there was nothing. The light vanished from the world. Not just the light in the room, he truly felt like his vision itself was suddenly gone from him as true, complete, and utter darkness overtook his eyes.

“Oh come on! I don’t have time for this crap!”

Rainbows fist connected with the stone doors blocking her path! A sharp ripple of pain traveled up her arm throughout her body as the door refused to give even the slightest inch to her full powered punch. Hand throbbing, she jumped back from the unforgiving stone and wiggled her aching limb about like a noodle.

Oooooh! Ow! Ow ow ow ow ow ouch! Stupid fucking door.”

The first door had been easy enough for her to figure out. The scalpel and the fresh blood stains on the stone had been a clear enough answer as to how she was to proceed. The procedure was barbaric, but she couldn’t help noting its efficiency (though perhaps that was because she’d been spending too much time around around her boyfriend lately). Without Daybreaks fresh blood having already stained the door, it might have taken her awhile to piece together what she was supposed to do.

This door however, was nothing like the one previous. As in, Daybreak had left her no indication as to how she could get through. If he’d physically done something to the door, she couldn’t see it. She’d stared at the door for a long time, just combing through the imagery that adorned it. It was all just a bunch of pictures of people suffering in various horrific manners. From impalement on spikes to burning to death, it was a charming picture really. She was sure the disturbing scenes meant something, but she doubted she had the time to sit there and ponder. Since she’d gotten into this room, she’d felt several more magical ripples flowing through the house and increasing in intensity with each blast. Whatever was happening to Daybreak beyond this door was getting worse, she could feel it in her chest.

She felt like giving the door another good smack, but her currently throbbing hand discouraged that sort of behavior. Realizing that with violence not being an option, she only had one other choice. She had to solve the door properly. She took a few steps back and laid her gaze on the text she’d noticed when first entering the room.

Know Thy Self, Seek Thy Desire, Conquer Thy Weakness.

The bright red letters that shone like blood made the text hard to miss, especially being that it was almost perfectly eye level. She only wished the sentence made a little more sense. She’d read tons of Daring Do and adventure stories about solving riddles and puzzles that hide ancient treasure. They’d always seemed so easy when behind the pages of a book. But now that she was face to face with one in real life, she had no idea how to figure it out. She walked forward and touched her palm to the text.

“Maybe there’s, like a secret button or something hidden in the words...Yikes!”

The door rippled at her touch, causing her to jump back in surprise. She gathered her cool, just in time for a voice to echo around the room, or in her head, she couldn’t really tell.

“What do you seek beyond my stone?”

“What...the fuck? It talks?” She took a step forward, searching for the source of the voice, expecting to find a face or mouth of some kind. But there was nothing. Again the voice echoed

“What do you seek here? Answer or leave this place.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. Was the door actually asking her what she was looking for, or was some kind of test. No, it was obviously part of a test, what would be the point of it otherwise? Her eyes slowly drifted to the text before her. She figured she’d give it a try and see what happened.

“I...I seek to know myself...”

There was silence. She heard a hum in her head, like the voice was thinking to itself.

“No. You do not seek that. What do you seek beyond my stone?”

“Gods dammit...well it was worth a shot...Gimme a minute to think.”

She didn’t really expect a response from a door, so she was quite surprised when she heard

“Very well”

She took a few steps back from the door and sat down on the cold stone. She brought her knees up to her face and wrapped her arms around her legs. Staring up at the images painted all across the surface of her current obstacle, she mumbled.

“What do I seek huh?”

The answer seemed obvious to her. Obviously she was looking for Daybreak, but the answer couldn’t be that simple. Could it?

“Hey...umm...door?”

She couldn’t believe she was talking to this thing.

“Do you know what you seek?” The voice sounded almost hopeful.

“Umm...Do I seek my friend Daybreak?”

“Do you?”

Now the thing was teasing her, great.

“Umm...yes?”

“No...you do not seek that. What is it you seek beyond my stone?”

“Figures...Can you tell me a hint?”

“What you seek is the answer.”

“Can you give me another hint?”

“No. What is it you-”

“Asshole.”

“No, you do not seek that. What-”

“Oh my fucking gods! Be quiet and let me think!”

Silence answered her.

“Finally...geesh...”

She leaned back on her hands, staring at all the images on the door.

“This is gonna take awhile...”

Rain pattered down against the rooftops of Canterlots streets. It was not a violent storm, but a musty, cold, slush filled downpour. A heavy mist settled on the streets as a young boy stumbled forward from an alleyway moments ago filled with shimmering light. A small hooded cloak covered the child as he trudged forward, seemingly unsure of where he was. The light vanished and returned the alley to darkness as soon as the boy stepped out fully into the storm before him.

The rain smacked his cloak as he struggled to stay upright on his wiggling feet. His legs failed him after mere seconds of exposure to the frosty air, and he fell to the concrete twitching, writhing in apparent agony. His tattered and worn pants ripped at the knees as he writhed against the unforgiving stone ground like he was having a seizure.

Daybreak looked upon the scene from but a few feet away. He attempted to reach out his hand to aid the young boy, perhaps out of some instinct, but found his hand simply passed through him without feeling. Just like the rain from above passed through him without creating any sensation. He looked towards the sky, watching the rain surely strike his pupils, but he felt nothing as the droplets passed through his body. He was no more than a phantom here. Unsure of what was happening, and how he’d seemingly ended up back in Canterlot as a spirit, he decided to simply watch on and see what occurred.

The boy twitched against the ground a few seconds more, before he finally lay still. The wind howled as the storm picked up, taking hold of the boys hood even as he lay upon the flooded ground, and removed it from his head. Shock and disbelief found Daybreaks features as he stared into the young child’s face. Grime and filth covered forest green hair with a singular starch white streak down the center right hand side of his head. The young boys hands wobbled as he pushed himself to his knees. He managed to get to one knee, before several sparks of energy flowed outwards from within his palms, and traveled up the sides of the nearest buildings.

It was nearly instantaneous. The energy shot up the side of each home, and before the boy could react, the roofs of each house exploded like fireworks! The explosion knocked the boy onto his back, but this time he recovered faster. Rolling onto his side he forced his legs to stand him up. Still wobbling, he stumbled forward several steps and fell again. His hands came out against the nearest wall to stop his decent, but the moment his fingertips touched brick the wall ignited and was engulfed in flames. Stumbling back out of fear, the boy whimpered as he heard the people inside scream and flee the now burning building. Some stopped as they exited the tavern, and noticed him. with energy in his palms. Putting two and two together, many began to approach him shouting obscenities.

“No! Wait, please! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to!”

He held up his hands to show the fleeing and angry citizens he meant no harm. But instead a large power gathered in his open palms, pulsating outwards like a rippling wave. The entirety of the buildings to his immediate left and right disintegrated to dust in less than a moment! The few citizens who were shrieking in anger before, now joined the majority fleeing in terror.

Standing some feet away, Daybreak felt a lurch in his chest. Realization dawned on him as he remembered this day, and the upcoming events.

“No...”

Both he and his younger self spoke together.

The boy collapsed to his knees again, and felt a shock-wave exit from his hands as he touched the ground. He did not look up to see what destruction he caused, he just curled up and tried to cover his ears to the yelling.

Daybreak felt his fists clench, he attempted to look away, but a voice echoed in his brain like a bull horn, overlapping the sounds of the scene before him.

“DO NOT DARE LOOK AWAY! YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM WHAT YOU DID!”

Like some invisible force took hold of his face, Daybreak now found his body refused to allow him to turn away, and as his younger form stood to walk once more, his own legs moved to follow without his permission.

The muscles in the boys left arm pulsated, and fire ignited along his skin, causing him to shriek in pain! Though his skin remained unburnt, the pain he could feel was still very real. A familiar voice echoed across the scene, though it was clear this time his younger self could hear this one as well. His head turned searching for the source.

”You can’t escape! Did you think dragging your pathetic form from the Mirror would save you!? You lost! I’ll have what’s mine!”

The boy screamed as his face contorted, for a moment, seeming to shift between different features. His hair glowed, changing to complete white for a moment, a ghostly, snow stained white. The boy dropped onto his back and writhed, screeching the entire time!

“NO! No! I don’t want this! I won’t let you!”

The formless voice screeched back, clearly displeased

”It’s my body now! MINE!”

Daybreak cringed as he heard the bones in his younger self’s arms break from his spasms, then snap and set back together within the same few seconds. The boys screams could not describe the hellish pain he felt as his very skin felt like it was melting, then healing over and over, repeating endlessly.

More energy waves pulsated and traveled from his body, arching outwards like lightning and blasting apart the first thing they touched! The boys cloak had all but burned off from the searing heat of his own power and his shirt was looking like he’d been mauled by a bear that breathed fire! He kept himself from falling over yet again and simply sunk to his knees, attempting to curl like a ball and bury his head in the ground. He lightly began smacking his face into the concrete.

“Get out of my head, get out of my head, get out of my head!”

He whimpered over and over as he bloodied his forehead against the ground. The formless voice answered him back, agitated and sounding like it too, was struggling.

”NO! This is our-MY head now! MY body! I’ll rip it apart and put it back together to keep it if I have to!”

A woman shrieked close by, the child did not react, but Daybreak found his face was forced to turn towards it source.

“Firefly what are you doing?! Get back here!” A woman yelled to her friend, who had stopped fleeing from the scene along with some others. But unlike them, she was beginning to slowly inch her way towards the kneeling child at a snails pace.

The other on lookers did not dare rush out and try to retrieve her, lest another blast come forth. The woman named Firefly inched ever closer and began to speak, softly.

“Hey there little...umm...guy...are you...ok?”

Daybreak watched as his younger form briefly ceased smashing his own face, and slowly looked up to observe this woman.

Her features were something Daybreak would never be able to forget, unfortunately for him. Her hair was pink like cotton candy, and weighed down by the rain, but seemed like it would have curled slightly were it less wet. Her skin was a light cyan and she had a fair complexion, even in this weather. As she neared closer to him, both Daybreaks could see the color of her eyes, a shimmering magenta. Something powerful seemed to glow within them, like determination, but she was still to far for him to tell exactly. His younger form looked at her for a moment more, then a spasm and a twitch sent several shots of violent energy soaring just past the young womans head, missing decapitation by inches. The young boys head returned to striking the ground and he began muttering again, though more loudly than before.

“No, no, no! It’s my body, you can’t have it! Get out of my head. Get out of my head!”

The woman looked back to her friend (who was much too far back for Daybreak to make out) and saw the destruction his magic had just caused. Flames now licked their way along the streets, consuming anything they touched and slowly creating a large ring around the younger Daybreak and the woman closing in on him. This effectively cut Firefly off from her friend and the others. Many of the onlookers turned to flee once more, but some decided to stay and watch Firefly attempt to talk him down. She inched ever closer, nearing ten feet now.

“You’re destroying this whole block...I don’t think you mean it...please stop...Maybe I can help you?”

“GET AWAY!”

The woman was swept from her feet as another magical ripple arched outwards from within little Daybreaks outstretched arm! He twitched and squealed in pain as flames coiled upwards and around his body, encircling his form like a serpent. The fire lashed outwards just over top of Firefly’s head igniting the entire area behind her! People ran and yelled for help as flames settled on solid ground and rocketed off in every direction! Large packs of people were beginning to huddle about here and there as every clear path to safety went up in smoke and fire.

Rolling over onto her knees, Firefly crawled over to the young Daybreaks side. She reached out her hand towards the top of his head. Palms shaking, she was fearful but determined. Slowly she placed her fingers in the child’s hair and began to lightly stroke his messy locks. The boy twitched violently and looked up, startled to see this woman had still approached him when no one else ever had before. Their eyes met, he couldn’t help but stare into them.

Daybreak felt his legs carrying him closer to Firefly and his young self. Dread welled up in his gut, he knew what was coming, but he felt drawn to the scene nonetheless. It was as if he needed to see it again...as though there was something important about it. Even without seeing it from his younger self’s point of view, he could still vividly recall the ease he felt as her magenta eyes stared into his. Nevertheless he tried scream, to yell for her to get away. To get back! He knew what was coming, but there was no stopping it. No saving her.

“You know...my daughter has temper tantrums sometimes...floods the whole house with storm clouds then zips around laughing about it. Is that...maybe what’s going on here?”

His head shook as his eyes found the ground, struggling to hold back a violent spasm. A surge of magical energy tried to lurch forward from his chest, but he held in the blast. The energy shimmered around his body for a moment, before settling back inside him. Slowly his head raised again and he met eyes with Firefly once more. She still had not moved, though perhaps that was because she wasn’t fully aware of what his energy waves could do to her. Daybreak could recall his thoughts back then. He had been unable to comprehend why this woman was not fleeing from him in fear, or had not jumped back when his energy had threatened to engulf her.

The voice from before pounded against the inside of his skull, louder than a steam train! Both Daybreaks brought their hands to their ears, pained by the intensity of the screeches within their skulls!

”MY BODY! MINE! MINE! MINE!”

Firefly withdrew her hand with a gasp as the young Daybreaks body engulfed itself in fire! She stumbled back and fell while a tornado of flame sprouted up from beneath him! Both Daybreaks lost sight of Firefly, and the rest of the crowd as the inferno whipped outwards and spread itself across the streets! The young boy screamed as he felt the pain of his entire body burning, melting, all at once! His skin remained uninjured, but the sheer intensity of the pain threatened to overwhelm his brain! The sheer weight of the blast that freed itself from him now, was nothing like the ones previous! The flames did not linger upon buildings, they disintegrated them! Walls several inches thick with brick or concrete burned to ash in the blink of an eye! People screamed out all around him, then went silent as their body ceased to be anything but dust!

”MINE! MINE! ALL MINE!”

”NO!”

Something in his gut, something warm and hot yet nothing like fire, exploded within him! His self control slipped from his grasp and a scream of fury escaped his lips! A blinding beam of green and golden energy followed behind his scream and freed itself from him chest, flying straight upwards into the night sky! As his energy left him and made a crescent above the castle walls, it exploded outwards! A tidal wave of magic rained down across the city! The last thing young Daybreak saw before losing consciousness, was the green flakes of energy sprinkling down and dousing the flames burning within his sight.

Daybreak watched as his young self fell face first into the muddy streets. Out like a light, Daybreak knew he would not awaken for several hours. And he knew the sight that he was witnessing now would be what greeted him when he awoke. An entire city block reduced to dust and rubble, burned black and grey by his own flames. There was no smell of dead bodies, for everything had been so completely burned away all that remained was the petrified ashen corpses of the people caught in the blast.

There, less than five feet away from where his younger self now lay unconscious, was the ashen corpse statue of the woman who had tried to help him. He watched as the rain and wind struck Firefly’s body. He watched as it crumpled to the ground, nothing but dust. Not even a body for her daughter to bury.

He looked around. All over the block it was the same sight. The buildings lay in crumpled rubble, and the people who had been close by, had become nothing more than ashen statues that fell under the weight of the rain. He felt ill and attempted to look away, but found his head refused to obey him.

Solar Eclipse, the real Solar Eclipse, who had trapped him here in this hellish nightmare of a memory, now appeared before him. A shimmering, ghostly version of what he was supposed to look like phased into view, arms crossed as he stared Daybreak down with a hate filled glare.

“Now you will relive this moment, this scene, over and over again. Forever. Unless you finish what you started over a decade ago.”

Daybreaks head hung, he felt water tugging at the edge of his eyes, but he refused to give in to it.

“No.”

He had expected a wrath filled scream, a hate filled roar of blood lust directed at him. He got none of that. Instead, the shimmering form of Solar Eclipse grinned. A grin so terrifying it made all the hair on Daybreaks body stand up straight. Something flickered in the lighting of this dream world, and for a singular moment, Daybreak saw him for what he truly was. It froze him to his core, and the next words Solar Eclipse hissed ensured he would never thaw.

“Have you learned nothing?”

“FUCKING OPEN FOR CELESTIA SAKE!”

Rainbow screeched as she threw the full force of her weight against the door still impeding her progress! Her shoulder throbbed as she stepped back from the immovable stone. There wasn’t even a dent. No proof whatsoever that she’d been unleashing all her frustrations upon this door for the past thirty something minutes. After a moment of silence, as if to simply torment her more, the voice she’d come to hate spoke forth once again.

”What do you seek beyond my stone?”

Legs wobbling, Rainbow sunk to the ground. With a loud thump, she flopped down on her haunches and pouted.

“I fucking hate this stupid door.”

The unending frustration she felt welling up inside her chest was easy to understand. She’d been answering the same question for over half and hour, each time being told she was wrong. What was she seeking? How could that be such a complicated question? She’d actually tried to figure it out too! But beyond seeking Daybreak, which was why she was here, or seeking herself like the writing on the wall implied; she couldn’t think of anything else. After trying and failing to get through the proper way, all she could think of now was trying to force her way. Judging by her throbbing shoulder, that wasn’t going to work out either.

Now all she could do was sit and think. The good news (if there was any) was that she hadn’t felt any more magical ripples pass through the wall in some time. So whatever was happening on the other side had stopped, probably. Though in truth, there was no way for her to know if that was actually a good thing or not.

“For all I know my boyfriend could be dying in there and I’m stuck talking to this fucking wall!”

She picked up a piece of loose stone from the floor and tossed it at the door out of spite. It clattered against the stone in an unimpressive manner, then rolled away into the dark. A few moments passed, and she sat there, wallowing in her own inadequacy.

“All those Daring Do novels and I can’t solve the real thing...how lame is that?”

Off to her right, an ever so faint tsk tsk tsk could be heard. Her ears perked as she recognized the condescending tone. Looking up, she was just in time to spot the familiar form of Discord passing through the wall like it were just another door.

“Tsk tsk dear Rainbow. And here I expected to arrive finding the situation had already been resolved. Imagine my disappointment to see you still perched here outside the final entry point.”

“Screw off man, I’m not in the mood for your shit right now.”

The tone of her voice easily conveyed her feelings, bringing a smile to Discords lips.

“I can only imagine how it must make you feel, I know you are ever so fond of those adventure novels. Treasure hunting and whatnot. This is a pivotal point in those types you know. The big riddle preventing our hero from claiming their prize. Faltering right here, just before the end. It must be infuriating for you, hmm?”

“Keep talking ass hat, I’ll take my anger out on your wrinkly face.”

Discord was suddenly beside her, bending over and whispering into her ear.

“Is that really what you want to do right now? Hit, scream, punch and kick? I remember my boy telling me you thought well on your feet as of late. But it looks like you’re still the same Rainbow Dash that I so easily bested in the maze those years ago. Do you know why I was able to beat you back then? Without lifting so much as a finger?”

She turned, and her arm swung up violently, but he was no longer beside her. Yet his voice persisted in her ears. She knew he was still close by somehow. Quickly getting to her feet and looking around, determined to find him so she might deliver a long needed punch to his face.

“It’s cause you’re predictable, dear Rainbow Dash. The most predictable member of your little team. Your friends may all have quirks for me to seek and exploit, but you...you I don’t even have to go looking. Your ego, your need to win all the time, and always feel like you’re making the right decision. It’s so obvious I’m surprised more of your enemies haven’t used it against you, or your friends.”

“Would you shut the hell up and leave me alone!” She cast a storm cloud in no particular direction. It bounced around the darkened room, firing off random bolts of lightning before dissipating seconds after.

“Tell me something Rainbow? Are you more loyal to your friends, or to my son?”

“What kind of fucking question is that? I’m just loyal. To my friends, to my family, and to Daybreak. Anyone I care about. You don’t honestly expect me to rate them do you?!”

A loud cackle bounced around the walls.

“But I do, dear Rainbow, that is exactly what I expect! Tell me. Do you honestly think that this being, this Famine that you all face, won’t use every means available to her to defeat you lot?”

“What does Famine have to do anything?” Her voice sounded less pissed now, and more uncertain. She couldn’t understand if this was going somewhere, or if Discord was just screwing with her.

“Everything! The Horseman has everything to do with this! Think! Just think for one second Rainbow Dash! What if Famine took Daybreak and used him against you? Would you aid him, or your friends?”

“That would never-” But Discord cut her off. His voice was raising by the second, Rainbow could not tell whether he was yelling or laughing as he spoke. His voice was echoing so much that he could have been doing both.

“What? That would never happen? That absolutely could happen, in any number of ways! She needs his consent to accomplish her goals Rainbow Dash! Do you really understand what that means? She needs him to WANT to help her.”

“Daybreak wouldn’t do that. He would never help Famine destroy the world. You’re his father, you should have more confidence in your own son!”

The echoes stopped blasting in her ear. Now she only heard one voice speaking.

“I know my son, dear Rainbow, much better than you...” She heard him sigh, loudly, before speaking again. “Listen...Daybreak is still young, he is still a blank canvas that can be painted in many different colors. He is not like you and your friends. All of you grew up around love, happiness, and were shaped to believe in specific strong morals. He had none of that. He’s always been an outcast and only ever spent minimal time with me or his mother. He drifted the world as a wandering exile for more time than he spent with me or Celestia combined. Anything he has come to believe, he had to discover himself, with nobody to reconfirm his beliefs. He’s only stayed on the right path for this long, because he believes it’s the right path. No one has ever truly tried to convince him otherwise.”

“What do you mean? He told me he lived with you for awhile, and studied with Celestia for a few years...You telling me that neither one of you tried to, I don’t know, act like parents towards him? For all that time?”

Another sigh bounced along the walls.

“I wanted him to find his own way. My way ignited a one thousand year war. I still don’t think you and your friends have come to grasp the severity of that fact. Having been born afterwards you don’t truly understand what those centuries were like. I did not want him repeating my choices. As for Celestia. I cannot fault her for being so cold toward him in his childhood, and if you knew as much as I, neither would you.”

Rainbows face gave away exactly what she wanted to say, and Discord must have been able to see as much from wherever he was.

“This an odd thing to say coming from me, so I understand if this response is not good enough...but just trust me. Where Celestia is concerned, you lack all the facts. And regardless, this is not my point. It doesn’t matter if you can understand how or why Daybreak might choose to aid Famine. I’m asking you. If that DID happen. What would you do? Would you stay loyal to your friends, whom you’ve fought and suffered and loved with for all these years? With whom you’ve encountered and defeated dozens of foes for the good of the world? Or, would you stay loyal to the boy whom you’ve pledged your love and devotion to? The boy whose life you swore to fill with happiness no matter what he ever did? Tell me Rainbow Dash. I want to know!”

Rainbows fists shook. She felt angry. Not because Discord was taunting her beliefs, but because she didn’t actually have a satisfying answer for herself.

“I...I’d....” She stammered. Discord could see and hear the uncertainty in her voice. “I’d protect Equestria...But I’d find a way to save Daybreak too.”

Several cackles echoed around her.

“You can’t even convince yourself of that, yet you try and pass off an answer like that to me? What are you playing at? You honestly think you could protect the world and him?...Fine...And what if he became your enemy? Tried to hurt you? Kill your friends, or you?”

“Why...?” But again Discord interrupted her, though much louder than the times previous.

“Answer me girl! You came here to meet me as my sons girlfriend right?! To make peace?! Then I tell you this; give me an answer if you want my blessing as his father! Hurry quick, before I lose patience and portal you to the other side of the planet!”

”I DON’T KNOW DAMMIT! I DON’T KNOW!” Rainbows aura rippled off her body, translucent wings spreading outwards from her back as she yelled to him!

“I CAN’T PRETEND TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH US! BUT I KNOW I CARE ABOUT HIM, MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE EVER HAS FOR SURE! I’D NEVER BETRAY HIM OR MY FRIENDS!”

Her aura calmed as her excitement quickly died down. Her wings folded against her back and vanished into sparkling dust as she breathed deeply.

“Even if...somehow he did turn against us...I still wouldn’t...I’d find a way, somehow, to save him.”

“And if he tried to kill you?” Discords voice sounded, almost distant now. Like he was drifting away.

Dash’s hands started to shake again. “If...If that happened...I’d stop him, but I’d do it without killing him.”

A faint snicker made its way into her ears. “You are still a child at heart dear Rainbow. To believe that a scenario like that would actually be possible. But of course, this is all just theory isn’t it?”

His voice sounded close. Turning, she found him standing just a few feet away, his right hand placed upon the center of the door. Rainbow watched in awe as the frame began to creak forward, the blistering sound of scraping stone digging into her ears.

“No need to think too deeply on it after all.”

Right before her eyes, his form vanished into vapor. The door swung open, revealing her final destination at last. Without any regard to Discords departure, or the riddle she had failed to solve, Rainbow sprinted forward into the darkness!

Alone. He was alone. Alone in the darkness. Floating. He was alone, floating in the darkness. It was cold, so cold...so unbearably cold. Alone, floating in the cold darkness. Images passed though his vision. The same images, over and over, refusing to give him rest. Nothing was there in front of him, and yet he could see the events, clear as if he were right there witnessing it again. Houses burning, children screaming, people melting, and becoming nothing more than ash. Solar Eclipse’s voice, his horrible laugh, taunting him. The sounds of it were so close, ringing in his ears. The scene refused to leave him. Eyes open or closed he could not escape it.

He could feel warm liquid in his eyes, blurring the sides of his vision. But even through the blur, the scene was still clear as daylight. He wanted it to stop. He wanted to force it to stop. Stop the screams in his ears, and stop the bloody images in his eyes. But what could he do? He had no feeling in his limbs. He was aware that they were there with him, dangling in the emptiness. But he could not will them to move. Try as he might to think about it, all his brain could process was the images.

Firefly’s silent scream as she was engulfed in flame and burned to ash right before him. Buildings falling in on themselves and crushing those hiding within. Children, with faces covered in soot, crying aloud for their parents. It was all he could see, all he could hear. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t make it stop!

Then he heard something. Something...different. Out of place. The screams were still there in his head. They consumed every other sound, but even still he heard something...else. A voice, different from the ones yelling in pain. He heard it, truly heard it. It wasn’t in his mind, it was a real voice! A real voice somewhere in the darkness! But what was it saying? It was so faint, almost less than a whisper, yet somehow more pronounced than the screams. He tried to focus, to hone in on what it was saying, and where it was coming from.

”Daybreak!”

There it was! His name! The voice was calling his name.

“W-Who...is it?” He tried to respond, but his voice came out in barely a croak. His throat felt dry and dehydrated.

”Daybreak!”

He wanted to shout. He was here! Right here! Although he had no idea where here was, but the simple sound of his voice might draw whomever was calling closer to him. Yet words could not find him. His throat was dry, no moisture came to his lips as he tried to push out words. He could do nothing but silently yell for the voice.

“Daybreak!!!”

It was closer. Much closer than it was before. The voice was moving closer to him. That meant that it might know where he was.

He felt heat. Something warm was touching his shoulder. He willed his head to move and look, but his body did not respond. He did not worry though. For some reason, this heat was not painful, but comforting. The cold darkness surrounding him seemed to lessen as this heat gripped him. His stomach gave a sudden rise, as he felt his whole body lurch! He was being turned about, but which way, he did not know. In the darkness with nothing to see, he had no idea which way was up or down.

The heat on his shoulder intensified, and began to feel firm. Like a hand. Something was pulling him, something he could not see. As it pulled him, he felt his body growing warmer, like it was pulling him out of the abyss.

”NOT THIS TIME!”

An icy chill shot up his body as a cold tendril coiled around his thigh gripping him tight. His body stopped moving, yet he could feel the presence on his shoulder trying to pull him free.

”I WON’T BE DENIED WHAT’S MINE! NOT AGAIN!”

The voice was as cold and frozen as the tendril gripping him. He recognized it easily, and knew he had to confront it.

“N-not...yours...yet.” His response was barely above a whisper, but he knew Solar Eclipse had heard him.

A firm tug on his shoulder felt him pull free of the vine. Once again he was hurtling towards the warmth, towards freedom. Solar’s voice screamed and screeched from below them!

”NO! YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME AGAIN! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME HERE ALONE!”

“I’m sorry...”

The cold darkness faded into nothingness, along with the images in his mind. He knew, he was free.

All at once, he felt a wave of warmth wash over him! Heat and light overtook his senses like a tidal wave! The sensation of hitting hard stone ran up his hip and into his spine. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

The smiling face of Rainbow Dash greeted him as he looked up towards the (now) candlelit ceiling. He was on his back, and she was leaning over him. He blinked once, twice, three times just to be sure.

“Rainbow?”

“So...you made it out once again.” The familiar tone caught his attention. He turned his head around, and found Discord leaning against the golden frame of the Mirror. His fingers were running along the large crack Daybreak had made in the glass.

“What did you hope to accomplish by doing this?” His usual demeanor was nowhere to be found as his eyes stared down at his son, a tone of intimidating seriousness backed his words.

“Discord! That can wait, look at him!”

The tone in Rainbows voice caused a minor panic to stir within his chest. Raising his head, he forced his body upwards into a sitting position to check himself in the mirror...then immediately bent over and threw up the contents of his stomach. As he emptied his insides onto the floor, he caught a glimpse of his current appearance in the cracked glass. The image only made him sicker. He was starch pale and drenched in sweat. His eyes were bloodshot with dark shadows underneath them, and he could swear he looked skinnier than before.

Once he had nothing else to throw up, his wiggling arms collapsed under him and he fell chest first into his own sick.

Rainbow took a half step back. “Ok dude, that’s gross. I’ll gladly help you outta here, but you’re pulling off that shirt before I touch you.”

Daybreak mumbled a confirmation and rolled a bit to the side. Barely a foot or two away from the pool of sick, he wiggled and struggled his way out of the vomit covered shirt. He tossed it, and heard it make a sickening splat somewhere else in the room.

Satisfied, Rainbow came over and helped him off the floor. She pulled his arm around her neck and yanked him to his feet. As he came up, Daybreak raised his head and saw his father running his index finger along the cracks in the Mirror. Trailing behind his finger was a glowing white light. Rainbow too, paused to observe what was occurring, but Daybreak knew without seeing anymore than a moments worth.

Less than a minute later, Discord stepped away and wiped the smallest ounce of sweat from his brow. The cracks in the glass were completely gone. The Mirror looked brand new, as though it had never been struck in the first place. Daybreak spat in disgust, luckily he was pretty sure Rainbow thought he was just getting the horrid taste of his own sick out of his mouth. They both turned without a word and made their way from the room in silence.

Author's Notes:

Hard to believe I actually met my own deadline for once with this chapter. Even harder to believe that we are nearing the crescendo in the semi-near future. Don't fret though. That is still many many chapters away, but from here on out, things are going to start picking up pace. Hope you're ready for that.
Until next time space ponies