Cold stone flickered in and out of my hazy vision. My body ached all over, and the splitting headache only added to the piling list of pain I had. Last time I remembered hurting this bad was the first time I challenged Shine Spark to a sparring match.

“Ugh, did someone get the plates on that carriage?” I groaned and picked myself off the floor.

Compared to what I’d just gone through I would’ve rather got run over by a dozen carriages. I remembered the three of us fighting Malice...well, more like getting our flanks kicked, until I somehow zapped a hole through the windigo barrier. Still trying to figure out how the hay I pulled that off, as well as what Discord did after he asked me to protect Chrysalis. Wish my head had picked a better time to have a fuzzy memory.

Another groan caught my attention. Vision now cleared, I recognized the slumped form of Chrysalis against the corridor wall. I scrambled towards her. “Hey, are you alright?”

Chrysalis’ eyes fluttered open. “Could be better. Where are we?”

“No idea. Here, let me help you up.” I extended my hoof, providing Chrysalis the support to find her hooves and stand. Her eyes searched around, then came back to me.

“Where’s Discord?”

Our answer came from a spine-rattling roar from Malice at the end of the hall. The building rocked and rumbled from the explosions. It didn’t take long for me to get the jist of what happened.

“Stalling Malice.” I pointed to the path the sounds resonated from. “We need to put some distance between us and the fight.”

“We can’t leave him there! Malice will kill him!” Chrysalis nearly bolted away from me when I reached out and grabbed her tail.

“Oh no, you don’t! We’re not going back there!”

Chrysalis used her back leg to break my grip. “We are not leaving him behind! I’ll save him with or without you!”

“Enough!”

My hoof slammed into the wall. As if responding to my thoughts, a series of spears broke through the wall and formed a gate to cut off Chrysalis’ escape. Her horn lit up and, in a blink, she disappeared, only to reappear squished against the gate.

It was enough to snap Chrysalis out of her panic. Anger left her face, throwing me a surprised look. “How did you—”

“I don’t know, but that’s not important right now! Going back there is going to undo the one chance Discord gave us to find an answer to stop Malice! I don’t like leaving Discord back there anymore than you do, but we’ll only make things worse!”

Chrysalis’ carapace lightened in color, a feral growl ripped from her lungs. “There is no choice! We can’t let that idiot get killed!”

“If we go back there, it won’t be Malice that will get him killed. It will be us distracting him that will kill Discord. If we can’t beat Malice as we are then we will only hold Discord back.”

Chrysalis flinched. Her carapace returned to dark colors. Her piercing glare lingered, beaten only by the realization we could do nothing to help Discord. I’d seen such a look a few times before, usually when Cadance watched Shining Armor leave for battle.

“Listen,” I spoke in a softer tone, “Discord is far more mobile without us weighing him down. We still have a job to do, and that’s to maintain a safe distance and find the source of Malice’s magic. Discord’s putting his faith in us, so let’s put our faith in him to survive Malice.”

Chrysalis hissed, staring down the corridor. For a moment she looked ready to break from me and try to break down the gate. Once the tension from her face disappeared she let out a sigh and walked down the opposite end of the corridor. I fell in step with her.

“Discord is dealing with a lot of resentment and emotional instability,” Chrysalis said. “Between being trapped with no way to help his friends, powerlessness, and the recent news of Twilight’s demise, the threat of falling victim to Malice is more than likely the only thing keeping him stable and focused. He’s not the best at making tough decisions when under duress. This is something Malice could take advantage of and Discord knows it.”

Her words gave me pause. With Discord’s talks of manipulating Malice’s energy, it hadn’t occurred to me it could also work the other way around. “Do you think he’s being influenced by Malice?”

“We don’t know. That’s what scares him most. I’ve taught him how to release his insecurities through small, controlled bursts. It’s not easy to teach a powder keg how to put out a fire.”

“And now that powder keg is stuck in a lava zone. That’s one way to stress test,” I groaned. “I hope he’s able to deal with it considering his bloodthirsty brother is breathing down his neck.”

Chrysalis’ expression hardened. “It’s not Discord’s ability to control his emotions or escape Malice that’s concerning. It’s how long he can keep it up.”

My stomach twisted at the absurd idea of Chrysalis worrying over Discord for more than tactical reasons. To think this is the evil incarnate who ruined my life. Fussing over Discord like a worried wife.

“You really are his anchor, aren’t you?” I pointed out.

Chrysalis chuckled. “It’s a job I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”

With such thought over our heads we wordlessly decided to stay silent and not dwell on it. We had our own issues to deal with, as this castle was an obstacle in its own right.

For a castle spawned from my subconscious, the interweaving hallways and stairs made the overall structure seem both organized and a messy maze. The rooms were about what I expected: bed chambers, kitchens, training grounds, and even a music room. Outside small hints of Malice’s icy touch, nothing looked out of place for an otherwise labyrinthian castle.

The lack of Discord’s presence weighed heavily on Chrysalis and I, leaving a wall towering between us. Her silence made the push through the castle all the more unnerving. I couldn’t help thinking about Discord’s fate. Did he get away? Did Malice kill him and we just didn’t know it? What if Malice was watching us right now, waiting for the right moment to ambush us?

The sudden shift in temperature brought me to a halt.

“What are you—”

My hoof shot up to my muzzle. Chrysalis nodded and stayed silent. I beckoned her with my hoof to follow and we stalked towards the center of what I assumed was a series of connected halls stretching as far as I could see. The atmosphere was electrified. Thick. Slicing wind greeted my ears. Curious, I peered around the corner.

A windigo look-alike lazily stalked the hall. Streams of wispy smoke flowed from its breath and spread along the walls, coating it in snow and ice. It moved towards our direction.

I flattened myself against the wall. Chrysalis took a hint and did the same. The louder its heavy breathing grew, the harder my heart pounded. I channeled spark into my hooves, ready to lightning bolt it out of existence. A disastrous thought stopped me.

Killing it might alert Malice to where we are. If he catches us now, we’re done for.

My light source gradually dimmed as the spirit was about to pass us. I wasn’t sure why, but it was freaking me out.

Contact was imminent. My light was almost out. I held my breath.

The vassal move past us without incident, a breath away from contact.

I continued to hold a little longer until the vassal disappeared around the corner. My light crystal’s brightness returned to normal.

“Looks like scouts,” I whispered, checking my corners.

“The moment they see us, no doubt Malice will know exactly where we are.”

“What was it doing? Looked like it was freezing up the area with its breath. But why?”

“It’s Malice’s influence on your mind. The more he corrupts you, the stronger his grip will be and the more accessible your memories and thoughts are to him.”

“Is he trying to destroy my mind so he can take over?”

“His aim isn’t to destroy your mind, though he certainly isn’t above such an option. He wants to destroy who you are. To turn you into a war machine that constantly sustains his existence.”

I shuddered at the thought. “So all this crap about me embracing my anger is just him trying to mold me into his weapon?”

“And his meal ticket. The rage of his host is what sustains him, and you are far from his only chosen ‘champion’. If we don’t stop him, my invasion will look like a snowball fight among fillies compared to what Equestria will go through.” Chrysalis snarled. “And my Changelings will be used as tools to fan those flames and destroy anything that could be used to stop him.”

“All the more reason to find this pathos source.” I swiped sweat off my brow. A frustrated growl slipped out. “Ugh, I hate feeling so lost in this place. Bumbling around with those patrols on the loose is just asking for it.”

“Well, this is your mind, so you’ll have to forgive me for not bringing a map.”

I growled internally. “I’m losing my mind from getting lost in my mind. Unbelievable.”

Chrysalis hummed in thought. “Well, I’m sure wherever we need to go, Malice’s presence will be considerably potent. Whatever set of memories he targeted will be the ones buried deepest in your heart.”

Buried deepest…

Something about that phrase rang true in my mind. I had no doubt one of those memories was the Canterlot invasion. It was a memory that I would never want to relive ever again.

A memory I would want buried to never see the light of day…

That’s it! How could I have been so dumb?!

“I know where to go!” I beamed.

“Really? Where?”

“Well, it’s a theory, but I’m almost positive of the direction. We need to go down. Like, way down. There might be an archive, vault, someplace I would want to lock up my memories and throw away the key.”

“And in most castles, the most well-kept secrets are often basement level,” Chrysalis nodded to herself. “Yes. I can see this being a logical direction to take.”

“Just one problem; we have to navigate through this maze of a castle while dodging those scouts.” I paused, an idea forming. “Unless you can teleport us there.”

Chrysalis shook her head. “It’s safe for me to teleport short distances. Clearing stretches of territory without knowing my destination is too risky.” She paced back and forth, brow furrowed. “I don’t like the idea of using a slower means of travel either. It’ll take too long and increase our chances of losing Discord and getting caught. Unless…”

She stopped to give me a look. “You teleport us there.”

“Say what now?”

“You’ve adapted very well to using magic in this space. I think you can pull it off. Not to mention it’s better you learn now than wait until Malice brings his blade to your throat. Even if we took it slow and went floor by floor, it would be better than walking it.”

“Is… this a really good idea considering that I could screw this up? What if I got stuck in a wall or something?”

Chrysalis laughed. “You sound like my Noble when she first learned about teleporting. It’s not too different from how a balloon would act if it went beyond the size of its existing space. Your magic will adjust to place you at the next closest location that has enough space for you to emerge. The act of teleportation is completely safe. It’s where you end up that you must be concerned of.”

The mental image of appearing in front of Malice’s claws forged a knot in my stomach.

“Point taken. So how do I do it?”

“You have to sense your way towards your destination. Visualize your distance and where you want to be. It’s much easier if you can picture the precise location in your mind. When you have your target in mind, you have to, for lack of a better word, ‘project’ your energy at the location you want to go. Feel it out. The sensation won’t feel like teleporting. It’ll feel more like the universe pulled you into that spot.”

Pulling… why does that sound so familiar?

I recalled fighting the fake version of myself when he killed Twilight. How the world just seemed to wrap around me, and in the next second I was in front of him. If I could try to capture that feeling again...

To test it I directed my attention to the far end of the hall we just came from. I poured my focus towards the space at the end and channeled my spark. ‘Projecting’ my energy turned out harder than I thought. It was one thing to imagine something happening, another to picture throwing myself at the target. The energy was there in my chest, just a matter of executing it.

Well, if mentally throwing myself doesn’t work...

On a whim, I decided to jump towards the target. Reality stretched, then snapped into place in a single instant.

I stumbled upon landing. I ended up several meters away from Chrysalis. To my surprise I had just managed a successful teleport.

Right in front of a patrolling vassal about to turn the corner towards us.

Oh shit!

My hoof shot forward and pushed out energy. The lightning arced from it and zapped the windigo. It howled in pain as electricity surged through it, moments before exploding into sparks and fizzling out.

I stood frozen with my hoof out, not daring enough to move a muscle. My gaze drifted to Chrysalis who matched my terrified look while looking over her shoulder.

“Let’s not stick around here any longer than we need to,” I suggested.

“Agreed. There’s no telling if Malice knows what just happened.”

I had taken a few steps towards rejoining Chrysalis when the ground rumbled. We stopped to listen. After a moment the ground shook again, this time accompanied by the faint thud that echoed along the walls.

Either the fighting is getting worse, or…

The thud got louder. From Chrysalis’ west.

I channeled my spark and leapt at Chrysalis, teleporting to knock her back just before the wall exploded where she had been.

From the dust and debris emerged a particularly vexed, ghost version of Malice. He lunged with his blade raised overhead.

I conjured my spear and blocked the blow. My forelegs trembled under the weight of the blade and angry dragon behind it.

“Where is he?” Malice snarled.

Brief relief washed through me. Looks like Discord gave him the slip.

I smiled. “Only if you say please.”

Malice pulled back one of his claws, the other still clutched on the blade. “I’m going to enjoy this more than I shou—”

A green laser slammed into his chest over my shoulder and sent him flying down the hall. With a flip he recovered and landed in a crouch. I followed up with a lightning bolt and blasted him against the wall.

Wait a second. Why does he seem weaker? Something’s not right.

“Hehehe, very good.” Smokes and sparks coming off his ghostly body, Malice locked eyes with me and tapped against his temple with his finger.

Dread dawned on me. Did I give it away, or can he read my thoughts?

I quick series of footsteps drew my attention to Chrysalis. I turned just in time to see Chrysalis raise a shield to block a sword strike from...another ghost Malice?!

Before I could assist Chrysalis, the Malice—or rather vassal—I had knocked back rushed at me. Our weapons clashed in a deadlock. Despite not being as powerful as Malice, I still found myself fighting an uphill battle of strength against these Malice-variant vassals.

More footsteps reached my ears, emanating from both around my corner and from Chrysalis’ direction.

“Flash, we can’t stay here!” Chrysalis growled. “They may be vassals, but they are still Malice.”

“Tell me something I don’t know!” I shouted back.

“You will never escape us!” Both vassals spoke in unison and doubled their efforts, bashing their weapons against our defenses.

Even if we can take them out, there are more coming. At the corner of my eye I spotted a dashing Malice-variant down the path with the broken wall. I can try teleporting again, but I can’t leave Chrysalis behind to get picked off. Maybe...

I thought back to when I helped Discord and Chrysalis slip through the mind barrier.

It was a long shot, but it had to be done.

If this doesn’t work, this is going to be really awkward.

I jumped to the side and allowed the windigo’s weapon to slide off my staff and bite into the ground. At the same time I reached out to Chrysalis and grabbed her tail. Chrysalis barely had time to cry out in surprise before I threw myself and my spark energy downward with all my might. If there was ever a moment to make a blind leap to the basement level, it was now.

We teleported.

Stars exploded in my eyes upon re-entry into reality as my face slammed into the ground. Any reprieve I thought I would have was lost when something hard and heavy crushed down on my back and pushed out the air in my lungs. Said hefty object yelped on impact.

“What in the world was that?!” Chrysalis yelled.

“Can’t… breathe…!”

After a short moment, Chrysalis hurried off of me, startled. I coughed and gasped hungrily for air. Even with the help of Chrysalis’ magic to find my hooves, I struggled to find my hooves and shake the spots out of my eyes.

“I think I broke a rib…” I groaned.

“Stand still. Let me help,” Chrysalis flourished her magic, casting a veil of sparkling green essence over me. The pain gradually began to ebb away. “Between Malice’s blows and the fall, I’m surprised that’s the only thing broken.”

My mouth acted before my thoughts caught up. “No, that was from that meteor you call a flank.”

When the healing magic ceased, I knew I bucked up.

Chrysalis glared down at me, cheeks tinted with color. “Excuse me?!”

Uh oh.

“Oh. Um, I was just saying, uh, how we barely escaped Malice attacking from our flank… and how he hits like a meteor…?”

The face Chrysalis made spoke volumes. I smiled back nervously.

“I can add a broken jaw to your list of injuries if you keep running that mouth,” Chrysalis threatened.

“H-hey now, there’s no need for that. Besides, big flanks are a hot commodity these days with stallions. You should be taking that as a compliment.”

“I will not take being called ‘fat’ as a compliment!”

“To be fair Cuddlebug, you are Pretty Hot And Tempting.”

“Stay out of this, Discord!” Chrysalis shouted.

I blinked. Chrysalis blinked. Discord smiled.

Chrysalis and I shrieked, nearly jumping out of our skins.

“Hey! Did ya miss me?” Discord greeted.

“Discord, you son of a bitch! Don’t scare us like that!” I roared.

Chrysalis response was to crack him on the jaw with her hoof.

“Ow!” Discord rubbed his bruised jaw. “Jeez, is this what I get for making a heroic sacrifice? What happened to the hero’s kiss on the cheek?”

“No, that’s what you get for scaring Flash half to death, you foolish fool!” Chrysalis hissed.

“Excuse me?!” I bellowed at Chrysalis. “I wasn’t the one freaking out over him disappearing!”

“I’ve told you that lying is dangerous, Flash.”

I sputtered, floored by how smoothly she just lied to our faces. Forget it. We don’t have time for this. “That aside, Discord, I’m glad you managed to get away from Malice.”

At the mention of Malice, Discord let out an exhausted sigh. “It’s far more difficult than you would think. Do you have any idea how many times I had to pants him to get away?”

“Huh? What does pantsing him have anything to do with—”

“It might be better not to ask,” Chrysalis warned. After thinking about it, I couldn’t agree more.

“Anyway, good work getting him off our tail,” I said. “On the topic of good news, I think I figured out where to start our search. Malice’s anchor is probably going to be towards the bottom of the castle.”

“Well that would explain why this stairway to Tartarus is all spooky and chilly. You really need to start getting some furnaces in here, Flash.”

I peer around Discord and Chrysalis to get a better look at the spiral staircase.. Chilling winds howled from the depths. Wherever it led to was definitely not the most inviting place in the world. Then again, that’s exactly the sort of place unwanted memories would likely rest.

“This must be the place. Let’s go check it out!” I took lead, guiding the two down stairs.

The hall grew colder the further we descended the spiral stairway. Thin sheets of frost evolved into mounds of thick ice and snow. At the bottom of the stairwell was a gate with a broken padlock.

“Looks like we’re entering the deep consciousness,” Chrysalis peered over my shoulder. “This is likely where all the core moments of your life reside. The good and the bad.”

This is where Malice is attacking me from. My deepest memories.

My hoof rested on the gate’s door handle.

Chrysalis will get to see everything, won’t she? My weaknesses. Fears. Can I trust her?

The padlock repaired itself, barbed spikes thickening.

“A subconscious response. He’s hesitating,” Chrysalis said.

“Hey Flash, mind letting us in before the manifestation of swords and pain waltzes in here to kill us? No pressure.”

“Maybe… it isn’t here,” I offered. “It might be somewhere else.”

Discord frowned. “Can you not be ‘that guy’ right now? Really need you to put your big colt pants on and let us in.”

“It’s not ‘us’ that’s bothering him,” Chrysalis’ gaze fell. “It’s me he doesn’t want in. As long as I’m here, the gate won’t open.”

My hoof trembled.

She’s right. I seriously don’t want to let her in. Anything she sees she can use against Equestria and myself. How can I possibly be okay with letting the one who ruined my life seeing all of my most important memories?

Slowly, I began to withdraw.

“You can fight this!”

I gasped. Twilight’s voice echoed through the chamber.

“I believe in you!”

After a moment, I let out an easy breath.

With a swift punch I shattered the lock. The gate swung open.

“Let’s go,” I ventured onward into the depths. Chrysalis and Discord followed, though I could hear them muttering among each other.

“D’aww… that was so cheesy.”

“More like sickening.”

“You’re just jealous I don’t give you uplifting advice in your head.”

“There isn’t enough magic in the world to make me want you anywhere near my subconsciousness.”

I turned my head towards the two. “Those were Twilight’s last words to me before I killed her.”

The two shifted awkwardly, not knowing what to say. I continued down the depths, barely catching their conversation.

“Talk about a mood killer. Ow!”

“Silence, you fool!”

I sighed.

Never thought I would see the day I missed dealing with Noble’s shenanigans.

Just when I thought the castle could not look anymore haunted, the ‘memory dungeon’ surpassed those expectations with flying colors. Or rather, lack thereof.

We trudged through the thick sea of snow down the charcoal stone walls and series of steel prison bars. Behind the prison bars were floating crystal shards, emanating a blue glow that stood out among the unsettling darkness. Malice’s oppressive and chilling presence could be felt all over the place. Powerful. Violent. Didn’t feel any different from taking a stroll through a predator’s home.

“Well isn’t this a dreary little basement,” Discord whistled.

“Any idea what to look for?” I asked.

“Not exactly. Discord would probably be able to figure it out once he sees it. For now, we have no choice but to explore and play it by ear.”

“We don’t have time for this,” I grumbled under my breath. With Malice breathing down our necks, the last thing we needed was random shots in the dark. For all I knew he was watching our movements through me, waiting for the right moment to pick us off.

Nevertheless, there was another dilemma I needed to deal with first.

“Before we go in,” I started, facing the two, “I need both of you to swear to me that whatever you see here stays here.”

Discord shrugged. “Believe me, I have bigger things to worry about than whatever creepy skeletons and fetishes you have locked in your closet.”

I facehooved. I’m starting to hate working with Discord.

Chrysalis reaction on the other hoof wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for. She smirked widely. “You do realize you’re speaking to the Queen of Changelings, right? There’s no guarantee I will be able to keep everything to myself, especially if it involves my Changelings.”

Spears erupted from the ground and barricaded Chrysalis. I stumbled back, half expecting Malice to show up and attack. Chrysalis gasped and tried to jump out unsuccessfully, startled at first. After a few moments she relaxed and fixed me a stoic glance. The message was clear; this was my defense mechanism at work.

“Uh, Chrissy?” Discord raised an eyebrow. “I know diplomacy isn’t your strong suit, but this is the part where you smile, nod, and peek when he isn’t looking.”

I glared at Discord.

...really starting to hate working with him.

“Flash already suspects me of it, and I’m not claiming that I’m going to sabotage him. If we come across a memory that involves something that could harm my Changelings, why wouldn’t I be concerned? Flash would do the same thing in my position and he knows it.”

The prison of spears tightened around Chrysalis. Her eyes bounced along the blades that drew closer to her face, panic showing through the cracks of her calm facade. Discord raised a finger to snap, then stopped when Chrysalis shook her head. I knew why, and it was a point I had to keep in mind. I could kill Chrysalis with a thought, controlled or otherwise.

“While I appreciate your honesty,” I started, “I can’t in good conscious risk you using this against ponykind. If you see a memory that bothers you, discuss it with me before automatically declaring that I’m going to use it against your kind. Let’s focus on the real threat rather than each other, alright?”

Chrysalis nodded slowly, eyes glued to the blades pointed at her. “Trust me, overthrowing Equestria has fallen far from the top of my to-do list, nor am I in any position to be picky about my choice in allies. I’ll honor my word and safeguard information from your memories. As long as you honor your word.” I nearly missed the waver in her voice, though quickly realized it came from a place of nervousness rather than deceit.

I let my glare linger a bit longer, judging her body language. There was no shifting movements or unease in her expression. Recognizing she had not misled me so far, I was forced to take her word for it.

The spears slipped back into the ground, freeing Chrysalis.

“Of course. Alright, let’s get this over with.” I reached out towards the gate, then paused to take one last look at Chrysalis. I nodded at her. She returned the gesture, a silent agreement of trust settled between us before I touched the steel bars.

Nothing happ—